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being laid out like a slab of meat.”
    She wriggled underneath him. When she pushed against his chest he gave way, rolling on to his back. She propped herself on her elbow to glare down at him.
    It was hard to concentrate when his hand settled in the small of her back like that. And then he reached up with his other hand to tuck a strand of loose hair behind her ear. Electricity shot through her at his touch. That hand was capable of killing—had killed—yet it touched her as gently as if she were a newborn lamb.
    “Tom.” Drat. Her voice sounded as breathless as she felt. “You’ve got to stay in bed.”
    “And just how are you planning to make me do that?”
    Plastered alongside of him like this, she was intensely aware of how much bigger and stronger than her he was. There was no way she could forcibly make him do anything.
    “What’s it going to take to keep you in bed?”
    Sexy sparks lit his eyes, making them glow bright blue. “If you kept me entertained enough, I might be convinced to stay here.”
    To his credit his voice wasn’t laced with sleazy innuendo when he said that.
    She stared at him thoughtfully. “Entertained, huh? How do you feel about gin rummy? I play a mean game of it.”
    “Hate gin rummy.”
    “Cribbage?”
    “Nope.”
    “Strip poker?”
    A grin split his features. “Now you’re talking.”
    She laughed back at him. “My father taught me never to gamble with strange men, especially when clothes are involved.”
    “Too bad. But he’s right.”
    She stared at him thoughtfully. “Would you accept some sort of bribe to stay in bed?”
    His grin widened, took on a suggestive slant. “What did you have in mind?”
    “Outrageously expensive chocolate would work on me. How about you?”
    He shook his head. “Sorry. I don’t have much of a sweet tooth.”
    “Oh.”
    “But there is one thing I might like enough to stay in bed for…”
    She perked up. “If it can be had in Gavarone, it’s yours.”
    “Oh, it can definitely be had in Gavarone.”
    “Name it.”
    “You.”
    She blinked. He sounded serious. “Come again?”
    “You. If I can have a taste of you, I might be convinced to stay in bed a little longer.”
    She felt hot all of a sudden. “And just what constitutes a ‘taste’ of me?”
    He considered her for a moment. “A kiss.”
    It was tempting. How did a man’s man kiss, anyway? With the prospect of finding out dangling before her, it was suddenly imperative that she do so. It also had the side benefit of keeping him in bed where he belonged.
    She gazed at him narrowly. “What’s the catch?”
    “Just one thing.”
    She groaned. “I knew it. What?”
    “I need a preview. To make sure you taste as good as I think you will. Besides, you owe me two kisses for walking out of the hospital.”
    “You’ll stay in bed if I play along with this foolishness?”
    He placed his mouth close to her ear to murmur, “Except for when I need to go to the washroom.”
    A shudder of pure delight whisked down her spine. “Okay. Two kisses to pay you back for not making me carry you out of the hospital. Then we’re square.”
    “Three kisses. You owe me one for staying in bed today.”
    She did her best to sound resigned. It was better than letting on how her heart was racing like crazy and her breath was suddenly too short.
    “All right. You realize, of course, that this is blackmail and you’re a bully. But I’ll do it. For your own good.”
    He pushed her down gently to the mattress, looming over her, dark and potent.
    “Poor little good girl,” he crooned. “Always used to getting her way. And then a big, bad sinner like me had to come along and spoil everything.”
    The smile faded from his eyes, leaving them as bleak as a cold winter sky.
    His mouth descended toward hers.
    “Welcome to hell, angel.”

Chapter 3
    T om was lost the second his lips touched hers.
    Dark fury at her swirled through him. An urge to hurt her momentarily rocked him. He set aside