Page 31 of Donovan Blake: Adrenalin

“There’s nothing you need to hide from me?” she quipped. “Don’t you have all kinds of secret stuff?”

“Stop it,” he said, landing a quick swat on her backside, “or do I need to put you over my knee for a full five minutes with that paddle?”

“I didn’t do anything.”

“Except be a smart ass.”

“A girl has to have some fun. But on a serious note, what’s going to happen to me? Am I staying here or will someone pick me up and take me someplace else?”

“My P.A. will arrive in a couple of hours. Her name is Nadia, and she’ll be here until I get back.”

“Which will be when?”

“Hard to say. Hopefully just a few days,” he replied, taking her hand and heading from the kitchen.

“So much for that second cup of tea.”

‘’Such is life.”

“Donovan, may I have the code to the dungeon? I’d really like to spend more time down there.”

“I suppose it can’t hurt. It’s M-A-S-T-E-R. Master.”

“Of course it is. I should have realized, and it just hit me. You’ve taken me all over the house, but you said there are other rooms with keypad locks and I didn’t see any,” she exclaimed as they climbed the stairs.

“There’s another wing. I’ll show you when I get back.”

“Is this job very dangerous?”

“Yes and no.”

“What does that mean?”

“It means, yes and no,” he repeated emphatically, pushing open the door to his bedroom suite. “It might be, it might not be. Until I get the lay of the land it’s hard to say.”

“Donovan, stop a second.”

Pausing his step, he turned and stared down at her.

“Sorry, I didn’t mean to be a pain,” she said, softening her voice. “I’m just worried, especially after what happened that night.”

“It’s okay, I understand, but this situation is very different to the one that landed me inside that van.”

“Will you tell me about that one day?”

“Hopefully I’ll be able to. Now I really must pack.”

“I know. I’m just going to sit here for a minute,” she said, moving across to the conversation pit and settling on the couch.

Her demeanor seemed calmer, but as he walked into his large, walk-in closet he glanced back at her.

She was smiling.

A chill pricked his skin.

“Hey, Phoebe…don’t do anything you shouldn’t while I’m gone.”

“Like what?”

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