Page 9 of Playing By His Rules

His jaw clenched with annoyance. “Come on, Madison,” he said, doing nothing to conceal the impatient bite to his voice. “You don’t need to play hard to get. Every woman has a price that will prompt them to spread their legs for a man or get them on their knees to deep throat a dick. Name yours, and we can get out of here and dispense with all the tiresome pleasantries and you playing coy.”

She barely managed to suppress a shudder of revulsion at his crude words, along with the panic rising to the surface. The flare of irritation in his eyes told her he wasn’t a man who was used to rejection, nor did he respect a woman’s boundaries, which was equally frightening when she thought of being alone with him in any capacity.

Her stomach churned, but she lifted her chin more fearlessly than she actually felt. “I said, I’m not interested,” she repeated succinctly, and gave him his one and only warning. “And if you don’t take a step back out of my personal space, I’m going to have to let security know that you’re harassing me and won’t take no for an answer.”

He stiffened, then his eyes narrowed, cruel and mean. “Goddamn bitch,” he hissed in a voice so low only she could hear him. “I don’t know who the fuck you think you are that you think you can threaten me, but you clearly don’t know who you’re dealing with.”

He was livid, and she swallowed hard, clinging to the last of her bravado. “It’s not a threat. It’s a promise. Back off.”

She made eye contact with security, and just before she lifted her hand to signal she needed help, William finally took a step back.

“You’re not worth the fucking trouble,” he seethed. “At least not here, but maybe I’ll see you around the resort and we can have this conversation in a more private setting where there isn’t security around to protect your virtue.”

He walked away, leaving her shaking and her heart racing from the encounter. She knew she should report him, but did she really want to be known as a troublemaker on her first night there? And with the amount that these men paid for membership to The Penthouse, William was likely to only get a slap on the wrist for his behavior. He was also the type of guy who would turn the whole situation around to make her look bad or deny everything she said.

It was a wealthy member’s word against hers, and who was she really in the scheme of things except for a paid, dispensable escort?

Deciding she’d had enoughenjoymentfor the evening, she abruptly turned around to head toward the door to leave—and walked straight into a man’s hard, unyielding chest. She stumbled in her heels, and she would have landed on her ass if he hadn’t gently grabbed her by the arms to steady her back on her feet. Instinctively, she fisted her hands in a crisp white dress shirt for added balance.

At first, she thought it might be William, until she looked up into a face that was breathtakingly masculine and gorgeous. Dark green eyes held concern as he glanced down at her, and even though he was still holding onto her by the elbows, there was nothing threatening or aggressive about his touch. No, his hold on her was surprisingly . . . protective.

Her cheeks flushed with embarrassment, and she immediately released his shirt. “Oh, God, I’m so sorry,” she rushed to apologize. “I wasn’t paying attention or watching where I was going—”

“It’s fine,” he said, his deep, smooth voice interrupting her. “You didn’t do any damage, I promise,” he teased.

No, she didn’t image she would inflict any harm to a man so solidly built, and the fact that he was being so kind about the situation eased a bit of the tension from her body.

“Are you okay?” he asked, his playful tone reverting to concern, even as he dropped his hands from her arms. “Did that guy do or say something to upset you?”

So, he’d witnessed the confrontation, and all she wanted to do was forget about it. “I’m fine,” she said, and gave him what she hoped was a believable smile. “I was just leaving.”

“Don’t go,” he said quickly, startling her. “Stay and talk with me.”

His request caught her off guard. He was incredibly good looking. Confident and sexy and virile enough to make her body tingle with awareness and make her wish she were brave enough to wear the lavender or red bracelet for him. She’d even dare to say there was a spark of an attraction between them. Except, being here wasn’t about her finding a romantic connection with a guy but making a few hundred bucks so she could pay her upcoming bills. And she doubted that a hot, gorgeous man like him would be satisfied with chit-chat for the next few hours.

“I’m only offering companionship,” she told him, certain that would be the deal breaker for him. “Nothing sexual.”

His too sensual lips twitched with amusement. “Perfect. I could use the company tonight.”

She couldn’t help but be skeptical after what had just occurred with William. “You can have any woman in this room. Most of whom are willing to provide more than just conversation. I’m sure I’m not what you want or need tonight.”

He didn’t seem the least put off. “Tell you what, why don’t we find a private place to sit down, have a drink, and you letmedecide what I want or need tonight?”

She exhaled a deep breath and glanced around, just to see if William was still nearby, or watching her.

“Don’t worry,” the man in front of her said, seemingly knowing who she was looking for. “That asshole already moved on to someone else and there’s no way in hell I’ll let him near you again without doing bodily harm to his person.”

His perception surprised her. “How do you even know that something adverse happened between us?”

“Body language. His and yours.” His broad shoulders lifted in a shrug beneath his suit jacket. “Both of you were pretty easy to read, even from across the room. He looked increasingly pissed, and you appeared anxious and unnerved, though you clearly handled him just fine.”

Wow, she was impressed that he’d read the situation so accurately and was curious as to what other conclusions he came to when he looked at her. Did he see how calm he made her feel? How oddly safe she felt in his presence without really knowing him at all? And how she wondered what his full, sensual mouth would feel like pressing against her lips, or sliding down the side of her neck . . .

His eyes darkened a bit, as if he were inside her mind reading her inappropriate thoughts, but he smiled easily and tucked her hand in his arm. “Come on, let’s go and have that drink and talk.”

As he led her away, she willingly followed.

Chapter 6

---