baby.
She’d better be ready to play with the big boys.
Chapter 6
IT WAS FIVE-THIRTY in the morning. Before the sun had even reached the sky. And Lorelei sat awake on the edge of Mark’s guest room bed in the dark and wondered how the hell she’d gotten there. It wasn’t as if she hadn’t protested. Oh no, she’d raised a ruckus, all right. She believed she’d even threatened him with bodily harm. But to no avail. He’d still gotten what he wanted. She had a suspicion that he usually did and it ticked her off that she’d played right into his hands.
She had better things to do than play his warped game. And she sure as hell didn’t want to spend so much alone time with the jerk. She might just forget all about her integrity if she saw his naked chest again.
As enjoyable as that might be, she had a life to get back to.
Just because she didn’t have an office at a fancy building didn’t mean she didn’t have a job. She had a life. She had friends. Most importantly, she had family. Her brother, Logan, was going to start worrying about her if she didn’t show back up soon. Mark didn’t give a crap about any of that.
Lorelei sighed into the quiet of predawn and stretched her arms above her head, slow to wake up. The outline of downtown Denver was just becoming visible through the open windows in the weak light. The condo was so still she actually cringed at the sound of a yawn that escaped her.
What she wouldn’t give for a big, fat, designer triple-shot mocha with whip right at that moment. Full of fat and caffeine and chocolate. Coffee was one of her weaknesses. Another being a sick addiction to rock music from eighties’ hair bands. She was not a happy person without her caffeine fix.
If only she could run to a coffee shop and grab a mocha. Oh, but then she’d want a chocolate croissant. No, maybe a chocolate chip muffin. Better yet—both. And a fresh scone to chase it all down with.
Standing up to head to the bathroom, she mentally pictured the room as she evaded a potted palm and a stubbed toe by mere inches. Mark’s taste certainly ran toward the contemporary. Not overly so like some decorating magazines she’d seen. Nothing space-age or futuristic. Just clean and simple lines.
Not her favorite style, but then her style didn’t matter. Still, she’d have preferred a little more warmth and visual coziness to her prison. Instead, she got a room with Asian-inspired decor, and two black and white photos of nature scenes.
And it was all very neat and tidy.
Lorelei stepped into the bathroom and flicked on the overhead lights. “Shit! Ouch.” Pain shot through her eyes at the sudden burst of brightness and she flinched. Her toes dug hard into the green slate floor. Why on earth hadn’t someone yet discovered a way for lights to come on gradually? Getting poked in the eye with a thousand pinpricks first thing in the morning ranked right up there with hot dogs on her list of favorites.
Rubbing the heels of her hands into the sockets of her eyes, Lorelei mumbled a curse. She dropped her hands and grimaced at the sight in the mirror. It wasn’t pretty.
She looked like hell. She wouldn’t be entering the Miss America pageant this morning, that’s for sure.
Hair fell in a tangled, snarled mess from her sloppy, lopsided ponytail. Dark shadows dusted the undersides of her eyes, and her usually tawny skin was pale.
Raising her right arm, Lorelei did a quick sniff test and winced. Not good, but not too bad. At least she didn’t smell nearly as bad as she looked. Yet. But she could really use a shower before Mark woke up.
Before Mark woke up. Genius! She slapped her hands flat on the cream granite countertops and grinned. She could be out of there and on her way home to Loveland in two minutes. If exhaustion hadn’t forced her into sleep moments after he’d planted her in this room, she’d already be home. Frustration gnawed at her over that fact, but quickly subsided. She’d tried her best to stay awake and wait him out. That had failed, but she had another opportunity right now.
Racing from the bathroom, Lorelei stubbed her toe on the foot of the bed and cursed. Hopping around on one foot as pain slithered from her toe up her calf, she gritted her teeth and