he'd try to make up for that lack.

he guided her to her feet and stood himself. a whistle brought the dogs, panting and quivering with happiness. "back to bed, crew," he ordered, ushering her into the house.

"it's almost dawn."

"it's sunday. we're going to sleep in." he tucked an arm around her as he led her to the bedroom, feeling the rightness of having her beside him. "been wondering, buttercup. what kind of a bribe will it take to get you to cook breakfast?"

the slight tilt of her lips told him exactly what inducement she was considering.

as he ran his hand over her luscious ass, he smiled. wasn't it amazing how great minds thought alike?

in her apartment, rainie tossed another bra toward the overloaded suitcase on her bed. three pieces of underwear fell off the pile onto the floor.

"babe," jake said, amusement in his tone. "don't you have a bigger suitcase?"

he was laughing at her, damn him. she eyed her carry-on. it really was too small.

each night since last weekend, jake had coaxed her into staying at his place. and she'd loved that-but hated having to visit her apartment every morning to change outfits. if he didn't own two cats and now guido, they might have alternated. but the felines were used to freedom.

besides, rhage loved jake's fenced acreage. and she always gave her sweet puppy what he wanted. really, she was doing all this for the dog: working with jake. having sex with jake. sleeping with jake.

she opened another dresser drawer and considered the shirts. jake wanted her to pack some clothes and keep them at his house. and she'd finally agreed.

since finding rhage, she'd spent more time with jake than in half a year with geoffrey. every day, she fell more and more into...liking him. caring for him.

"how did this happen?" she muttered.

jake walked up behind her and pulled her back against his chest. gripping her hair, he tilted her head sideways, giving him access to nibble on her neck. his beard stubble tickled, scraped, and the slight sting of his teeth was soothed by his gentle lips. hard and soft, pain and pleasure, sweet and cruel. he never gave her a chance to get her bearings.

"it happened, rainie." he nipped her earlobe. "and i'm damned pleased. aren't you?"

under his level, questioning eyes, all she could do was nod. "i... yes. i am." very pleased. very happy.

and very scared. she felt as if she'd been floating in a meandering river and suddenly an undersurface current had grabbed her. her emotions were being swept along with no chance of escape.

she reached up to touch his lean cheek. when had she come to care so much?

he smiled slowly. "keep looking at me like that and you'll get fucked instead of packed."

a snort escaped her. she retreated, pointing at him with an accusing finger. "you are insatiable." and she loved it.

"quite true, where you're concerned." blatantly adjusting himself in his jeans, he turned to study the clothes scattered over the bed. "bigger suitcase?"

"in the closet." she turned back to the dresser and selected another set of underwear. with more room, she could-

behind her, the bed squeaked as jake tossed the suitcase on the mattress. latches clicked.

"well, well, well. i am impressed." jake's baritone had lowered, turning an edgy hot as if he'd descended into the fires of hell.

with a red thong in her hand, rainie glanced over her shoulder. oh crap. wrong suitcase.

the oversize black suitcase lay open, showing how she'd customized the interior with styrofoam and padding to hold dildoes, vibrators, gags, edible oils, and...everything. "i arrange sex-toy parties. those are the samples. my stock. that's not the right case."

"baby, this is the perfect suitcase." jake picked up a pair of fluffy nipple clamps and gave her a dom's assessing stare. one that made her entire body soften. "remove your blouse. and bra."

"jake." her mouth had gone dry-and her pussy was dampening, preparing for him. "i-i don't... the toys are for parties."

"how come i never get invitations?" laughter teased the edges of his eyes. "don't worry, sweetling. i'll buy whatever i open."

she gulped. "but-"

"rainie," he interrupted and picked up a gag. "want me to use this?"

"no." yes. oh yes. "i'll keep-"

"i'll be damned. you do." his gaze turned more intense.

oh shit. she backpedaled, heading for the door.

hard hands closed on her arms, and he tossed her onto an empty place on the bed. a second later, he'd pushed the pretty red gag into her mouth and was strapping it on.

as she made irritated noises and struggled, he mercilessly stripped her clothes off-and picked up a set of nipple clamps from the case.

not nipple clamps. "mmmmh, mmmmh!" she tried to roll off the bed.

he swatted her ass, rolled her onto her back, and straddled her, holding her down as he applied the damn things.

ow, ow, ow.

"damn, those are pretty," he murmured. with a finger, he rang the little hanging bells.

she glared at him-and he laughed. but he hadn't made the clamps too tight, and as he fondled her breasts, the ache in her nipples turned wonderfully exciting.

"i think we'll have to make time to visit your apartment more often. this canopy setup has definite benefits." he knotted one of the hanging drapes around her right knee, then another on her left, forcing her thighs widely open. after an evaluating look, he shoved a pillow under her hips to open her more widely. bare and exposed.

she should feel embarrassed, but the appreciation in his gaze and the heat simmering under her skin burned it away.

after a quick search, he placed one of rhage's squeaky toys in her hand. "i might not be able to differentiate between your screaming and a safeword, so use that."

screaming?

from the suitcase, he removed a tube of lube, and his hand hovered over the array of anal plugs. "according to your shadowlands trainee files, you've done anal play."

oh, the gods of cruelty have struck again. she nodded. she loved being taken anally. and hated it. it felt too...intimate, too...possessed. and yet nothing quite equaled the sensation.

"good." he chose the smallest plug-thank you, god-lubed it, and pushed it in with no fanfare, ignoring her wiggling. the slight burn and the stretch and wakening nerves made her clit throb and need.

her gaze took in the wonderful bulge beneath his jeans. she was so ready to have sex.

instead, he turned and dropped additional anal plugs beside her.

she stared at him and made a sound. a bad sound.

he gave her a terrifying smile and picked up a vibrator. "after you come-each time-i'll reward you with a bigger plug."

the restraints held her open as he ran his finger around her clit. "don't worry, sweetling. the biggest one will be...me."

chapter nine

with a depressed sigh, rainie finished updating her resume at jake's kitchen table. now that the task was completed, she needed to send out applications. get a job. move.

misery grew like a weed inside her.

for a while, she'd escaped thinking about the future. between wedding chores and the clinic, she'd been busy. then there was rhage, as well. and-her new man took up even more time.

i have a man.

she could feel her lips curling up into an idiotic grin, but didn't care. she loved it all. loved having her life filled with activities, loved having a dog, loved being involved with jake sheffield.

from outside came the sound of a mallet striking metal. she rose to peek out the window.

across the green swath of grass, jake was attaching what looked like a chain wastebasket to a tall pole. jake had decided to set up a disc golf course.

admittedly, the game was fun, although she'd never been able to hit the broad side of a barn with a frisbee. actually, she was lucky if the disc stayed in the same zip code. but ever since last sunday when jake had dragged her out for some "fun," she'd been improving.

and both rhage and guido loved frisbee catch. they'd gone out with jake today, obviously in hopes that he'd play with them again. but he was focused on getting the course done so he could start having weekend frisbee golf and grill parties.

only he'd used the word "we." "we can have..." the way that made her feel, with hope and sadness so intermingled she couldn't pull them apart.

as she watched, jake peeled off his shirt and tossed it over the pole. his wide chest gleamed in the sunlight, and her thoughts scattered before a rising wind of lust. down, girl. he wasn't stripping for a show but because the sun was too hot. shame on me.

feeling guilty, rainie poured ice tea into a sports bottle and grabbed a couple of the cookies she'd made the day before. if nothing else, she could go succor her man.

she sure didn't do much for him-all she gave him was food and...well, and sex. nothing emotional. nothing real. her lips turned down. she'd come to need him, but the reverse wasn't true at all.