A knock at the door interrupts us and I excuse myself to answer it, wondering if the agency double-booked a showing today.

When I open the door, Hale strides inside as if he owns the place, dressed in a navy suit, crisp shirt, and striped tie.

“Are you almost through?” he asks, gliding past me without so much as a hello or explanation.

“Uh…yes,” I manage, trailing after him as quickly as my high heels will allow.

He stops at the dining table where my clients are seated. “Thank you for coming today. If you could see yourselves out, Brielle will be in touch later this afternoon.”

They share a confused look, but Sarah shrugs. “Okay, we’ll talk later.”

My professionalism returning, I follow them to the door, handing them the packet of information I prepared. “Thank you for coming. I think City View has everything you guys have been looking for. I’ll be in touch.”

As soon as the door closes, I spin on my heel to face Hale, hot anger rising up inside me. “This is my job! You can’t just show up like this.”

He stalks closer, his dark eyes pinned on mine, and doesn’t stop until my back is pressed against the wall. “We had an agreement. I told you that I would push you outside of your comfort zone, test you and challenge you. I didn’t force this arrangement on you. You agreed, heartily. I’m only following through with my end of the deal.”

I’m about to ask him how he knew where I was, and then I remember that I told him when he called. My anger subsides just a fraction. I was pretty much through with my meeting anyway, and based on my clients’ reaction to seeing the drop-dead gorgeous man in front of me, there’s been no real harm done.

“You need to be punished for that little stunt you pulled earlier. Making my dick hard and swollen like that…” He makes a grunting sound of disapproval, and my pulse spikes. I can read the need written all over his features, in his tight posture. The need to punish me is flaring inside him, and that excites the fuck out of me. What’s happening to me?

“I’m sorry, sir.” I blink up at him, my eyes communicating my own need.

“What should we do to settle this?” His firm hands settle on my waist, making my belly twist with nerves.

Boldly, I reach down between us, my hand curling around the weight of his shaft, that even soft, is heavy in my hand. “I could take care of this,” I offer.

His eyes sink closed for a moment, and I feel him begin to harden against my palm. When he opens his eyes again, his perfect control is back. “Would you like that, pet?”

I nod. “Yes.” The idea of sinking to my knees before him and taking his heavy cock in my mouth makes me wet.

He shakes his head, telling me I’ve said the wrong thing, given too much away. “Not this time,” he says, then reaches for my throat.

Lightly circling his fingers around my neck, his lips graze mine. With his hands at my throat, holding me in place, he has my full attention, which I think is the entire point. His thumb strokes along the column of my neck, and he smiles slightly when he feels the insistent thrum of my pulse.

“Being in trouble excites you. Naughty girl,” he remarks.

I make a small whimpering sound as the need to touch him, to kiss him, rises inside me. The masculine scent of his skin, the way he towers over me, even in my high-heeled shoes, the devastating look that says you will belong to my cock. It’s all too much.

“How much time do I have before I have to return you?” he asks.

I can see into the kitchen, to the clock on the wall. “I have forty-five minutes before my next appointment.”

“Perfect.” Placing a kiss at the base of my throat, Hale steps back and begins removing his tie as I watch in hungry anticipation the way he slides the knot free and pulls it from his collar. “Turn around.”

I spin around so I’m facing the wall, and Hale takes each of my wrists, binding them together firmly with his silk tie. He’s silent, and I can’t even begin to guess at his emotions. Once I’m secured, he guides me by my shoulders farther into the condo, my feet carrying me blindly down the hall. He leads me into the master bathroom where I was earlier, and faces us at the mirror with him standing behind me.

His rugged jawline is sporting a five o’clock shadow, and he looks devastatingly handsome. He could easily pass for a movie star on the cover of People Magazine’s “Sexiest Man Alive” issue. His eyes are glued to me, just like mine are to him.

I watch in the mirror as his deft fingers make quick work of unbuttoning my shirt, revealing the white lacy bra underneath.

“Just as I thought.” He traces his thumbs over my already hardened nipples. They’re swollen and ultra-sensitive with the rasp of the lace between us. My breath gets caught in my throat, and I moan softly as the sensations tumble through me.

After flicking open the front clasp of my bra to allow my breasts to tumble free, Hale picks me up and sets me down on the countertop, much like I fantasized about earlier. He brings his mouth to one breast, firmly sucking my nipple into his warm mouth, making me cry out.

I want to touch him, to stroke him, but with my hands tied behind my back, all I can do is sit perched before him, taking every ounce of pleasure he so expertly delivers. He moves from one breast to the other, licking and sucking until I’m soaking wet and about to explode with need.

When he rises to his full height before me, his lips are soft and damp from his onslaught of naughty kisses, and I want nothing more than those lips on mine. But Hale reaches into his jacket pocket and withdraws a small silver bullet-shaped vibrator. With a twist to the end, it hums to life, and butterflies take flight in my stomach.