In Control Read Online Free PDF Page B

replied.
    His spoon sang off the sides of his coffee cup as he stirred a scoop of ground chocolate into the rich, aromatic blend. He took a sip and groaned his pleasure. They didn't have coffee like this in 'Stan."
    Seth forked up another bite. "Think she'll respond?"
    "I gave her my phone number. We'll see." Zach focused on making inroads into the dessert. "I left a well-baited hook."
    "Oh?"
    "I happened to mention Jeremy was my brother."
    Seth paused. His eyes gleamed with understanding. "What's your plan?"
    "The classic mindfuck."

 

Chapter 5
     
    She managed to ignore the phone number for an entire seven days.
    Yes, she'd caught herself looking at her phone and thinking. She'd also caught herself fussing with the napkin he'd used to slip her his phone number. A Portland area code and number. No relation to Jeremy's that she could see. Not even the same carrier. By the prefix, she could see he used a budget, throwaway carrier, as if he had no intention of keeping a phone long-term.
    If he had no need for a long-term phone, then she had no need--or desire, really--to initiate contact. Then why am I tempted?
    Maybe he'd lost his phone and got a cheap replacement? That happened sometimes. Had the airplane company lost his luggage? That could explain much...except why he had stowed his phone. Most people tucked their phones into their carry-on. Lost carry-on?
    She took hold of her buzzing thoughts. What did it matter what carrier he used? But it did, because if he didn't intend to stay around, as indicated by the throwaway contract, then why get involved? She'd only be facing more abandonment. She couldn't handle more abandonment. She'd pretty much had more than her fair share of it and wasn't looking to increase that load.
    Wow. Obsess much?
    What was the obsession? His movie star smile and physique? His promise to worship her? Or was it--as the allegorical devil on her shoulder her continually whispered into her ear--that he was Jeremy's brother? Her control over him would send shock waves through the community, especially if she let on that Jeremy wasn't so different... They would believe her, wouldn't they? Delicious revenge. But she couldn't get the vision of his gentle gray eyes out of her mind as he'd promised to worship her.
    Or was it those shoulders?
    In the end, yeah, she called. The promise of his loving devotion was something she couldn't disregard. Wait...scratch that. Revenge is the reason. She'd be a fool to trust anything else. Never trust again, she told herself, even as she picked up the phone.
    Zack's voice was as pleasant as she remembered, carrying a whiskey-laced-with-chocolate resonance that crept along her nerves with a subtle, dangerous charm. Using her Domina camouflage, she turned on the attitude and demanded he attend to her today--well, tonight really. His one and only chance lay in his agreement and the act of dropping everything to attend to her. Zach promised an astonishing experience and recited directions to his home.
    And just like that, she was on her way to a play date. Annabel had a brief moment of wondering why he'd sounded amused, but soon enough, early evening downtown traffic snagged her attention. In time, she found the street she sought and made the required left turn to head into the swanky part of town.
    This was the part of Portland that sported floor-to-ceiling views of...whatever was outside the window to see--mountains, rivers, Mount Hood turned a rosy pink by the kiss of the setting sun. In truth, this wasn't the part of town she came to often. Populating her world were artists sporting dreadlocks and coffee cups; utilizing backpacks instead of briefcases. Except...this area looked familiar.
    Had she taken a wrong turn? At a red light, she glanced at the paper she'd scrawled the instructions on, then checked her location. No, she had followed the directions properly, but, honestly, everything looked familiar. She didn't know anyone who lived in a high-value neighborhood