The Gilded Cuff Read Online Free PDF Page A

only…
    “Time!” Royce’s triumphant call shattered the glass bubble that had cocooned them for the last two minutes. Murmurs of shock from the surrounding crowd broke through.
    “Damn.” Emery’s eyes darkened. Anger, but not at her, flared at the lines of his mouth. He bent to press his lips against her ear. “You were close, weren’t you, darling? So close I almost had you.” His body was trembling beneath hers, the little movements wracking his arms and chest. The press of his arousal beneath her bottom far too evident. He’d been there, right alongside her, dying to come. Together. And it hadn’t happened for either of them; two minutes hadn’t been enough time.
    Sophie’s legs shook as cold reality slashed through her. The climax her body had been prepared to give Emery faded away. In its wake little tremors reverberated along her limbs, made worse by the tension in her entire body that hadn’t found release. She tried to breathe, to let her shoulders drop and her muscles relax. It was going to take a while to come down from this.
    Almost had her? No. He definitely had her, practically wrapped up with a bow on top, totally and completely his. No question.

Chapter 3
    T HE KITCHEN IS NOW THE OFFICIAL CRIME SCENE WHERE THE ABDUCTION IS BELIEVED TO HAVE OCCURRED. T HE CRIME SCENE WAS LITTERED WITH BROKEN COKE BOTTLES, BLOOD, AND HALF-EATEN SANDWICHES ON THE BOYS’ PLATES.
    — New York Times , June 10, 1990
    S o, my best case of bourbon?” Emery raised his face to look at Royce, who stood in front of the couch.
    “If you don’t mind.” Royce’s eyes twinkled with devilish merriment, but he clapped a palm on Emery’s shoulder with gentle camaraderie. “I’ll be by the house later to pick it up.”
    “I’ll have it ready for you,” Emery assured him, and then turned his attention back to Sophie. “Now, little sub, let’s see about that punishment.”
    A sensuous light flickered at the back of his eyes, like a lighthouse’s beacon fighting to shine through the depths of a storm. Every emotion—a thousand of them—shuttered and then exploded behind his gaze. To Sophie it felt as if she was seeing the entire world captured in one rapid blink…and then it was gone. His eyes were heavy with desire and nothing else.
    Oh dear . “I…uh…” How inadequate words were! What could she say to persuade him against punishing her?
    Emery rose from the couch in a fluid movement with Sophie still clasped in his arms. She had only a moment to marvel that her weight didn’t seem to bother him at all before he was carrying her through the group of people. There was a door ajar halfway down one of the halls that branched off the center room. He nudged it open with his foot. It was completely empty save for a thick rug spanning the entire room and a wooden piece of furniture that she knew from her research was a spanking bench.
    At the sight of the bench Sophie went rigid; her limbs locked up, her hands balled into fists. Only a sliver of her panic came from fear. The rest of her wanted to know too badly how it felt to be bent over that, with his hand smacking her ass until she cried out. That scared her: how much she wanted to experience something so dark and sinful. Emery set her down and started to close the door. He left it open about an inch or two. Someone could come in, could get to her if she needed help. Still…Sophie shot a glance at the bench. There was no way in hell she was going to bend over that and…and…let herself go with him. She’d never been able to do that with anyone and she couldn’t start with someone like him. He was tall, blond, and brooding. She’d make a fool of herself if she gave in to him. What would he think of her if she got aroused by a punishment? That she was just like any other woman in the club? The thought stopped her cold.
    She didn’t want to be just another woman to him. She wanted to be something more; she wanted him to trust her, to open up to her. Letting