Page 68 of Close Pursuit

He raised his glass to her in silent toast and drained its contents. He untied his bow tie and let it hang around his neck as he stalked toward her, menace radiating from him.

“Do you, umm, want me to take off my dress?” she asked nervously.

He paused directly in front of her. He flipped his right hand down sharply, and a knife was abruptly in his fist.

Where in the hell had that come from? She sucked in a sharp breath as he lifted the blade, running the flat of it along her shoulder to the neck of her dress. With a quick flip of his wrist, he slashed the neck of her dress, never even nicking her skin. The halter front sagged, revealing her left breast.

Her nipple puckered in the cool air but she held her ground and didn’t run screaming. Frankly, she was pretty proud of herself.

He reached across her and sliced the other side of the dress, and the entire front fell to her waist, leaving her breasts naked to his gaze.

“Unzip it,” Alex ordered, his voice thick with desire.

It was nice to know he wasn’t completely unaffected. In the past, he’d held himself so totally aloof from their sexual encounters she could scream.

She reached around behind her and unzipped the dress’s skirt slowly. The silk slithered over her hips to the floor, leaving her standing in a pool of black, wearing only a black lace thong and high heels.

Alex walked all the way around her slowly, looking but not touching. Although, the heat of his stare felt like it would incinerate her. When he was standing in front of her once more, he reached around her head to remove the long clip holding her hair in its French twist. Her hair tumbled down around her shoulders in thick waves and she couldn’t resist giving her head a shake.

“Don’t move,” he ordered.

She stood there, a few wayward curls half across her face and was surprised when he pulled out his cell phone and took a picture of her. He stepped back a few paces and took several more pictures of her in all her topless glory. He moved behind her and snapped her from behind, and given how skimpy her thong was, the shot wouldn’t leave much to the imagination.

“Bend down,” he ordered coldly, “and grab your ankles.”

Embarrassment sprang to her cheeks in a hot rush. He was back there with his camera, and such a pose would be seriously lewd.

“Do it,” he bit out.

She bent down and grabbed her ankles, burying her face against her knees. She’d asked for him to bust through her sexual boundaries. She couldn’t very well complain now that he was doing it.

But then his finger hooked beneath the narrow thong and lifted it aside, revealing all her most private parts. She hadn’t the slightest doubt he was photographing those as well.

He moved back in front of her. “Unlike me, you still have a reputation to concern yourself with. I will be photographing most of this night’s activities. Also unlike me, you have a soul.”

“What does that have to do with anything?” she blurted.

“A person with no reputation and no soul is rather more difficult to blackmail.”

She stared, shocked. “You plan to blackmail me? But I’ve got nothing you want. You’re rich.”

“I want your silence. These pictures are my insurance.”

“Alex, what goes on in the bedroom stays in the bedroom. I would never kiss and tell.”

He laughed shortly. “You’ll do a lot more than kiss, tonight, lamb.”

“So. You’restillall talk and no action.”

That got a real laugh out of him. “Ahh, sweet Katie. You never fail to surprise me. You should be scared to death right about now, and instead you’re goading me. You’re either incredibly brave or incredibly foolish.”

She cocked her right hip and planted her fist on it. “You gonna get busy or am I taking charge around here?”

Abruptly serious, he snapped, “On your knees.”

She did as he ordered and was not surprised when he reached for his zipper. A frisson of fear skittered down her spine.

But this was Alex. At the end of the day, she trusted him. She’d already trusted him with her life. She reached up and pushed aside his hands. Frankly, she was a little surprised when he let her.

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