PlaybyPlay Read Free Page A

her, as much as he was attracted
to her feisty and fiery personality, he’d soon come to realize Katherine lived
for power, thrived on being in control, which he was content for her to have at
work, but not at home, not in his bed, and he wasn’t certain she could
relinquish her authority even there.
    The men she dated—if he could even call them that—were
wimps, puppies, boy-men who had no backbone. If those were the type of men she
wanted then he stood no chance.
    Seth would never, could never be that type of man. He knew
he didn’t always have to be in control to hold the power. She could be the boss
lady all she wanted, but if he ever took her to bed, he would take her,
master her, brand her until she was so thoroughly dominated that when he made
love to her, she wouldn’t even dare to come without his command.
    “Seth?”
    He stiffened, remembering where he was. “Hmm?”
    “I asked, what are you doing?”
    He glanced over at his discarded jacket. “That should be
obvious.” He stepped closer toward her, drawing in a ragged breath to ease the
lust that his wayward thoughts had conjured. “I’m going to be glued to your
side until we catch whoever is doing this.” He shook his head when she parted
her lips to speak. “You hired me to be your bodyguard. Now if you have a
problem with that, then you’d better fire me.” He waited for her to say
something, but she said nothing. Instead, she snapped her lips shut and pursed
them into a tight line. “All right. Since you’re not going to fire me, then I’m
headed to your kitchen to make dinner.” He shot her a wry glance. “Because we
both know you can’t cook.”
    He bit back a smile when she stuck her tongue out at him and
rolled her eyes.
    Brat.
    “Since I came straight over, I didn’t have time to stop by
my place to get a change of clothes, so Joshua is going to drop by with some of
my things. I suggest you take a bath and relax. I’ll call you when dinner is
ready.”
    With that, Seth brushed past her into the kitchen, leaving
her standing there in the middle of her living room, fuming mad.
    She hated being dismissed, hated taking orders, but until he
caught the creep threatening her, he was the one in charge, not her, so
she’d just have to get used to it. He bit back a sigh.
    That was easier said than done.
    * * * * *
    Katherine’s stomach rumbled at the tantalizing aromas
wafting down the hall as she strolled toward the kitchen. Even after a relaxing
bath in her Jacuzzi tub, she was still furious with Seth.
    No one dared boss her around—except him, apparently. He didn’t
do it often, but when he did it had a curious effect on her. It rankled her,
but somewhere beneath her irritation it stirred something within her, something
she didn’t want to examine too closely.
    “How was your bath?” Seth asked as she walked into the kitchen.
    She sat down at the table and reached for the glass of wine
sitting there. “Relaxing, although I probably would have relaxed more had you
not been here.”
    He arched one brow with a cocky grin. “What? Don’t tell me
my presence unnerves you.” He leaned down to set an empty plate before her, his
body just inches from hers, so close that with every breath she drew his
masculine scent mixed with the spice of his cologne deep into her lungs.
    She stared up at him, her eyes meeting his, and the flash of
sexual awareness she glimpsed within his gaze made her heart skip a beat and
her breaths uneven. She didn’t want to be affected by his intense gaze, she
fought against it, but it was nearly impossible. She drowned in the golden
depths of his eyes, her nipples tightening, pushing against the thin fabric of
her white tank top.
    She stood abruptly, putting as much distance as she could
between them.
    “I’ll grab the food,” she mumbled hastily, relieved that her
voice didn’t shake. She busied herself with bringing the plates of food over to
the table until he stopped her.
    “I’ll get the salad,”