Page 42 of Capitol Matters

“I bet you feel amazing.” His nostrils flared, and his eyes swelled dark as I met his gaze. “You gonna call medaddy, baby girl?”

God, it was hard to say no. I hadn’t counted on Lover Boy beingmytype, or near enough to it. But I didn’t have to turn him down. Not exactly.

My gaze slid over to the bedside table, but my move that direction was halted by Lover Boy’s unrelenting grip on my collar.

“You like roleplay?” I murmured.

Lover Boy nodded vigorously.

“How do you feel about…” My attention drifted to the bedside table once more. “A kidnapping fantasy?”

Lover Boy practically purred. His hooked finger fell away. “Where do you wanna take me?”

Intrusive thoughts marched through my brain:To a storage unit across town. You’ll love it there. All the pizza you can eat.

I swallowed a laugh. “If I told you, it would ruin the surprise.”

Walking forward drove him back until he hit the edge of the bed. All I had to do was press my palm against his chest, and he toppled, staring up at me with hooded eyes. He rubbed his hand over his boner.

It was an invitation I almost took him up on.

But Donovan was waiting, and I was working. So, I retreated and rounded the bed to the side table. Yanking the drawer open revealed Liv’s box of tricks. I rifled through it, tossing unwanted items to the floor.

“You have no idea how bad I’ve needed this,” Lover Boy said from his reposed position. “Work’s been stressful. All the same shit on repeat. Vandalism. Riots. Plague, plague, plague…”

“Mmhmm,” I muttered, pausing to adjust myself before tucking a bright red ball gag and blindfold under my arm.

A length of rope came to hand and kept coming, like a magician’s scarf trick. I didn’t want to fuss with tying knots. She must have had some handcuffs around here somewhere.

“Did you hear about that bank robbery the other day?” Lover Boy asked.

“Can’t say I did,” I lied.

He heaved a breath. “It was something different, at least.”

Finally, I spotted them. Handcuffs. Fuzzy, pink ones. Not Liv’s vibe, which may have explained why they had been banished to the far recesses of the drawer. It also meant she wouldn’t miss them, which was good news because I had no plans to make a return trip anytime soon.

Lover Boy propped himself up and looked my way. “Not complaining, but are you almost ready? I’m going soft over here.”

I dangled the blindfold from one finger, prompting him to grin. “The question is, areyouready?” I asked.

“Maybe I should callyoudaddy,” he replied.

He held out both wrists as I came around in front of him and ratcheted down the cuffs. The blindfold came next, though it was more of a sleep mask in black satin that I slipped over his head.

Damn, his hair was soft.

The ball gag went in my pocket in case he decided our game wasn’t fun anymore, then I grabbed the chainthat linked his handcuffs and tugged him to his feet.

“You’re coming with me,” I said, pitching my voice low. “Now, move.”

“Ooh, you have an offsite location?” Lover Boy asked. “Elaborate.”

The other man shivered as I led him toward the door. He stepped gingerly and too slowly for my liking. But that was an inconvenience I would have to tolerate unless I wanted him to see the confused expressions of everyone we passed on the way out. Isha may have filled Liv in on my business here tonight, but I doubted the other girls and customers were in the same loop.

The stairs presented an entirely new challenge. I led the blindfolded man one excruciating step at a time, earning a scowl from a prostitute and her john held up on the lower floor, watching the whole production.

I dragged Lover Boy past them, then through the back door and into the alley where Donovan’s car was parked.

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