Sebastian takes another sip of his beer, watching me over the rim of his glass. “You don’t believe me.”
“I don’t not believe you. I’m just trying to figure out how much of the bullshit you spout you actually believe.”
“Most of it,” he tells me with a grin.
“Well, that’s honest.”
“I’m always honest. Lying is for the weak.”
“Or the desperate,” I feel honor bound to tell him.
“Perhaps.”
There’s no perhaps about it. Never has been. I wouldn’t be here, living the life that I am, if I had any other reasonable alternative.
“Look, can we cut to the chase here? I only have a few minutes before I have to get back to work.”
“Absolutely. Let’s cut to the chase.”
I wait for him to say something more, for him to tell me why I’m really here, but he just leans back in his chair, ankle crossed over the opposite knee, and watches me with eyes that see far too much.
I recognize what he’s doing, try to wait him out, to prove that I have as much self-control as he does. But the clock is ticking and with every minute that passes, my stomach grows tighter, my palms damper. I hate the feeling, hate the loss of control that he’s forcing on me. But I hate even more the fact that I might have to leave here without the answers I so desperately want.
“I already told you I’m not going to sleep with you,” I tell him after the silence stretches longer than I can handle.
“You did.”
“So why am I here? Why are you even bothering with me?”
“Does everything have to be about sex?”
I laugh then. I can’t help it. The question is ridiculous, especially considering the sexual tension between us burns hot enough to light up half the hotels on the Strip.
“It doesn’t have to be, but in my experience it usually is.”
Displeasure flickers in his eyes, on his face, but it’s gone almost as soon as I register that it’s there. And then we’re back to waiting and watching each other silently.
“You like your job,” he finally says. I’d congratulate myself for making him break the silence, except I’m learning that Sebastian never does anything he doesn’t want to do.
“I like the money it brings in.”
“Is that all you like about it?”
I’ve never really thought about that before, about whether or not I like the job I’m doing. I like not being under my father’s thumb. I like being away from the violence and the darkness that is a way of life for my family. I like making my own way in the world, even if it is precarious. But the job itself? Do I really like it?
“It’s not bad,” I hedge. “It pays the bills and I’m good at it.”
“You are good at it,” he agrees. “But you could be better.”
“Oh, really?” Now I’m insulted. Maybe it’s the overachiever in me, the girl who always made top of her class—even at one of the most competitive universities in the world. “And how is that?”
“You lack control.”
“Excuse me? I’ve worked here for over a year and last night was the first time I ever lost my temper.”
“I didn’t say you lacked self-control.” He inclines his head, narrows his eyes at me until I feel like I’m being toyed with. “I said you lacked control.”
He drains his beer, sets it aside. Then he stands up and reaches a hand out for me. I start to refuse—I’m annoyed and the last thing I want to do is touch him right now. But there’s something in his face, something in the way he looks at me that makes my stomach flip and my breath catch in my throat. That makes me think it would be a very bad idea to refuse the hand he extends to me.
So I take it, allow him to pull me to my feet. Then I let him walk me over to the huge picture window that makes up the entire back wall of his office. It’s nine o’clock and darkness has finally come to the desert. Not that you would ever know that if you were thirty flights below us on the Strip, where the lights burn so brightly that most days it feels like you’re at the top of the world where the sun shines twenty-four/seven.
Sebastian is behind me again, his long, powerful body pressed to mine from shoulder to knee. He’s warm and solid and—despite everything I’m thinking—it feels so right to lean against him. To bask in the warmth and command that roll off him in waves.
“I’ve spent too many hours today looking at the video of you from the other night,” he whispers in my ear as his fingers gently stroke my hip, my stomach, the outsides of my thighs. “Too many hours today watching you work.”
“You’ve been spying on me?” I try to sound offended, but it’s hard to pull off when I’d felt his eyes on me all evening. It’s even harder to pull off when my body is literally melting into his.
“I’ve been observing you.” He bends his head until his lips are only an inch or so from my ear, his breath hot against the nape of my neck. “And do you know what I saw?”
“What?” I can’t stop myself from asking any more than I can stop my body from responding to his. Nipples peaking, blood pounding, sex aching. I don’t know what it is about him that revs me up so much, but it’s like my body recognizes his. Like it knows something that I don’t.
“Someone who craves control as much as I do. Someone who wants control over herself, her life, her world.”
“That’s—that’s not true.”
“Isn’t it?” he whispers.
“No. I just—I don’t want to be at anyone else’s mercy. I want to live my life the way I want to live it and answer to no one.” Why is my breathing so erratic? My heart beating so fast?
“Control,” he tells me again. “Discipline. Restraint.”
The words frighten me even as they turn me on. Or maybe that’s just the way he’s holding me, touching me. The way his lips skim up my neck and across my jaw.
“I don’t—” My voice breaks. “I don’t know what you want from me.”
“It’s not what I want from you,” he says even as he presses hot kisses against my cheek, the corner of my mouth. “It’s what I want to give you.”
“And what’s that?” I force the words out of my too-dry throat.
“Tell me, Aria. How much does control mean to you? How far will you go to get it?”
Don’t miss this continuing series, five installments available now from Loveswept
Play Me #1: Play Me Wild
Play Me #2: Play Me Hot
Play Me #3: Play Me Hard
Play Me #4: Play Me Real
Play Me #5: Play Me Right
BY TRACY WOLFF
Play Me
Play Me Wild
Play Me Hot
Play Me Hard
Play Me Real
Play Me Right
Ethan Frost Novels
Ruined
Addicted
Exposed (coming soon)
Extreme Risk Series
Shredded
Shattered
Slashed (coming soon)
Other Books
Full Exposure
Tie Me Down
PHOTO: © KEVIN GOURLEY
New York Times and USA Today bestselling author TRACY WOLFF lives in Texas and teaches writing at her local community college. She is married and the mother of three young sons.
tracywolffbooks.com
Facebook.com/TracyWolffAuthor
@tracywolff
The Editor’s Corner
I don’t know about you, but this is my favorite time of year. Sure, the month is crazy with holiday preparations, but before you know it, they’ve come and gone…which always makes me a little sad. Never fear—I’ve got some great romances to lift you out of those seasonal doldrums. Loveswept in December—guaranteed to keep you on that holiday high!
New this month is the latest tantalizing Rule Breakers novel, Want It, from Jennifer Chance, in which an irresistible alpha male follows his ex into a deadly standoff—and reignites a heated affair. A warm welcome to Wendy
S. Marcus as she makes her Loveswept debut this month with Loving You Is Easy—she’s a survivor of the political front lines and he’s a wounded soldier returning home from the battlefield. Can they place their trust in the power of love? You bet! You’ll be thrilled to know that the conclusion of Ella Patton and Liam Stone’s story is here in Laura Marie Altom’s Possess—more of the contentious love affair that began in Control. Historical romance fans will adore His Saving Grace, by Sharon Cullen, a captivating novel that tells the deeply emotional tale of two devoted lovers facing the ravages of war.
And a little something special for you this month: Play Me, a serialization written by New York Times bestselling author Tracy Wolff. Five wonderful installments complete a full-size novel, and each section will tantalize you. Listen to this: Aria Winston lives the life of a loner, waitressing at a popular Las Vegas casino. Sebastian Caine is the hot son of the owner who manages the business while his father recovers from a series of mini-strokes. Things heat up fast, and the glimpses of the man behind the façade disturb Aria but also make her want him more (contains BDSM elements).
Wishing you a happy, healthy, and safe holiday season—and just in case Santa doesn’t deliver on the goodies, remember: Loveswept has what you need this month in romance. Until next time…
~Happy Romance!
Gina Wachtel
Associate Publisher
Love stories you’ll never forget
By authors you’ll always remember
eOriginal Romance from Random House
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Tracy Wolff, Play Me Wild
(Series: Play Me # 1)
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