Shadow game Page 0,143

few hours to just give you pleasure."

Her blue gaze collided with his. Her entire body flushed at the idea. "Thank you for taking my mind off of the handcuffs, they really hurt. And they make me feel trapped. I almost feel like I can't breathe with them on."

"We're right here, honey, just a couple more minutes," he promised as he eased the Porsche into the garage and closed the garage door, plunging them into darkness. He reached for her hands. "I don't have my tool kit, so I have to concentrate. It may take a little bit of time."

"I don't care, just get them off of me." She wasn't going to cry now that she was safe and almost home.

It took a few minutes, Ryland working at the skill with precision until she felt the cuffs loosen and drop off. He handed them to her as he scooped her up. "I'm going to carry you, honey."

"I'm too heavy." She was just grateful to have the cuffs off.

Ryland made a rude noise and pulled her from the small car.

"Don't we have to wait for the others so they can get the guards around the house to look the other way?" She was tired. She wanted to sleep forever.

"We can do it ourselves. One at a time. I'll let you know when we have to combine our energy." Ryland scooped her up and carried her from the building into the thick stand of woods.

The morning sun was filtering rays of light through the dense canopy above them. Branches and leaves swayed and danced to the mild wind. Lily looked around her in wonder. She had forgotten beautiful things could exist. Birds were calling back and forth to one another in spite of the chatter and scolding of squirrels.

Lily settled her head against Ryland's shoulder, circling his neck with her arms. "I kind of like this part of the bondage thing. It feels like you're my slave instead of the other way around."

He bent his head to scrape his teeth back and forth playfully along her neck, his tongue swirling to ease the tiny nips.

Lily laughed softly. "I think it's true about sex being on the minds of men every three seconds. You are thinking about sex instead of guards, aren't you?"

"You say that as if it's a bad thing. Of course I am. All this talk is stirring me up. How the hell do you manage to smell so damn good all the time?" Lily felt the change in him, going from banter to business. He didn't stiffen, but there was power moving through his body, raw and deadly. He nodded toward their left. Lily felt the interruption in the natural flow of nature around them. A foreign presence was in the forest.

She closed her eyes, gave herself up to the common path, touching on the wave, feeding it, allowing Ryland to assume command. He did the directing, suggesting a walk in the other direction. The subtle flow of power persisted until the guard sauntered away, giving them free passage to the tunnel entrance.

Once inside, Ryland moved fast, knowing his way, taking her straight through the maze of passageways to the nearest corridor to her suite of rooms. Sunlight was pouring through the windows. He closed the drapes even before he laid her on the bed.

Lily stared up at his face. "I don't have the energy to find a recorder." She pulled the small disk from her slacks pocket and handed it to him. "Arly will have one somewhere. I just want to lie here and look at you."

He put the precious disk on the nightstand and knelt beside the bed to remove her shoes. "I want to look at your leg. Does it hurt?"

"I'm so tired, Ryland," she admitted, "I can't think about it."

Ryland tossed her shoes aside and dragged her slacks down, tossing them aside. "I forgot you weren't wearing underwear. For God's sake, Lily, no wonder I think about sex all the time. You go from scaring me to seducing me."

A small, reluctant smile tugged at the corners of her mouth. "How am I seducing you? I'm just lying here." The idea would have had merit if she hadn't been so completely exhausted. There was something about the way he looked at her that always managed to heat her blood.

Ryland examined her calf carefully, massaging the cramped muscles. She lay quietly under his ministrations, her eyes closed, wearing only her shirt. The material was hiked up, showing her navel