Yours to Keep part 3: Billionaire CEO Romance (Captured and Claimed) Read Free Page A

on the pad. God, did everyone who played at the resort know what had happened to her? Whatever happened to the rule “what happens at Freedom stays at Freedom”?
    She mumbled that she was fine and darted outside. A flick of the switch on her umbrella opened it and she slipped into the stream of people rushing along the sidewalk. Zigzagging through the crowded streets, she hurried to Onyx, her favorite Manhattan cocktail bar. The heavy front door opened just as she reached for it, and she came face to face with fellow lawyer Rick Douglas, a guy she’d dated in the past.
    “Rebecca,” he said, his smile so bright, his teeth so straight, she couldn’t help but think he’d paid for some dentist’s summer home. “Where have you been? I haven’t seen you around lately.”
    “Didn’t know you were looking.” She closed her umbrella and ducked under the overhead awning with him.
    He laughed, and his gaze fell from her face, the look in his eyes almost lecherous. “You know, I always loved that smart mouth of yours.”
    “Oh yeah?” She held back a smart-assed reply. She knew what it really was about her mouth that he loved. Too bad he never reciprocated such favors in the bedroom. Between the sheets it had always been about his needs.
    Blue eyes that any other girl would get lost in narrowed in on hers. “Yeah, so where have you been?”
    “Busy working,” she explained, not about to tell him anything.
    His smile widened. “Beautiful and driven. You’ll be partner before you know it.” He looked over her shoulder. “You alone?”
    With the tip of her umbrella, she pointed to the lounge area. “Meeting my friends.”
    He stepped closer, crowding her. “Then maybe we can meet up for a drink later. I’ve missed you.” He gestured to a restaurant across the street. “I’m meeting a client in a few, but we should be wrapping up around eight.”
    Her first reaction was to say no. Been there done that. If she wanted an empty experience that let her know something was missing from her life, she’d use her vibrator. But with Quinn out of the picture and the BDSM lifestyle behind her, if she ever wanted to feel a warm body next to her again she’d soon have to settle for someone like Rick, and a sex life that was less than orgasmic.
    But as she visualized herself between the sheets with him, her blood turned cold—her body’s way of saying it wanted Quinn, and Quinn only. She shivered, crossed her hands over her chest and hugged herself. For some reason Rick took that as an invitation to touch her. He pulled her into his arms and ran his hands up and down her back to create warmth with friction. Too bad all he succeeded in doing was cementing her belief that climbing between the sheets with him would leave her with nothing but a dull, needy ache in the pit of her stomach.
    She shook her head, once again wishing she’d never met Quinn, never felt his touch or known the pleasures of submission. She breathed deep and let it out slowly. Honest to God, the man had ruined her for every other.
    “Thanks,” she said. “But I can’t. I’m seeing someone.”
    Rick’s eyes narrowed and he angled his head, those ocean-blue eyes of his moving over her face.
    “Oh, I didn’t realize.” He rolled one shoulder, like he was brushing it off because he didn’t believe her. “Well, if things change between now and eight, you know where to find me.”
    He pulled the door open for her and she slipped inside. She exhaled slowly, fixed her damp hair, then made her way to her friends. From the empty drink glasses in front of the trio, it was clear they’d been there a while. She dropped into her chair beside Sophie, and three sets of eyes stared at her with unease.
    Rebecca couldn’t help but laugh, her mood lightening slightly. Either that, or she’d crossed the line from mad to crazy. Quinn was right. She really did have great friends. As ribbons of tension left her body, those three pairs of eyes narrowed in on