BOUND EXCERPT

   Upon André’s and Destiny’s return to the Bentley, he sat next to her instead of across from her. Then, he poured himself a glass of champagne. Sade’s lilting voice could still be heard wafting from the speakers.

   “Do you want a glass?” he asked her when he finished pouring.

   “I don’t turn twenty-one until next year,” she told him. “And I’m fine, I don’t need a glass.”

   “Sometimes, I forget about the difference in drinking ages between the U.S. and Canada,” he murmured before taking a sip of his drink. Silence lapsed between the two of them as he turned to stare out of the window. 

Seizing the opportunity, she reached out and touched his birthmark again. 

He swiveled his gaze back to her. “What is it with you and my birthmark?”

   “Why do you always react so strongly when I touch it?” she countered, not moving her hand.

   He stared long and hard at her, swirling his drink around in the glass. Then he set his glass down on the minibar, his movements slow and calculated. Her fingers continued to dance lightly across his arm. He looked down at her hand, then back up at her face.

   The look in her eyes dared him to grab her hand and move it, the way he had in the opera house.

   “You think I’m bossy?” he asked quietly.

   With her heart racing in her chest, she nodded.

   “Come here,” he said in a soft voice.

   She scooted closer to him.

   “Closer,” he commanded.

Any closer and I would be on top of him, she thought. And maybe that’s what he wants. She closed the final inch of distance between them.

   His movements were slow and deliberate as he leaned over and kissed her on the lips.

   She kissed him back without hesitation. Her hand fell away from his arm. All her thoughts flew from her mind as their kiss deepened. He hooked an arm around her waist and pulled her on top of his lap in a smooth, scooping motion. She briefly worried about the dress tearing, but soon that thought also escaped her.

   He pressed feverish kisses to her lips and lowered his kisses from her mouth to her neck, to her collarbone. She tilted her head back, loving the feel of his lips on her skin. Her entire body was on fire for him. She’d never felt this way for anyone else, not even Jordan.

   She cupped his chin and tilted his head back so she could kiss along his jawline. He groaned and tightened his grip on her waist. Her pulse quickened as she continued to kiss beneath his earlobe. Feeling daring, she caught his earlobe between her teeth and sucked on it.

   “Ah,” he gasped, sucking air between his teeth. His hands worked at lifting up the skirt of her dress.

   She returned her attention to his lips and kissed him, wrapping her arms around his neck.

   He opened his eyes mid-kiss and pulled away from her. “Destiny,” he whispered.

 “André,” she whispered back, and started to kiss him again.

 He pulled even farther back. “Destiny,” he said again, his voice sounding a lot clearer.

 She blinked. “Yes? What’s wrong?”

  “If we’re going to take this any further, there’s something I need to tell you.”

   She ran a hand through her hair. “O-okay,” she said, confused. Now that she was sitting on his lap, he wanted to have a conversation? His timing was far from ideal.

 He brushed a strand of hair out of her face. “I’m not looking for a committed relationship right now. If we continue like this, the arrangement would be strictly casual.”

   She sat back on his lap, frowning. “Casual?”

   “Being who I am, with the interests that I have, a contract would also be involved. To ensure discretion.”

   Her brows knitted together as she tried to make sense of his words.

   “I would give you an interview, if you wanted,” he offered. “For your paper.”

Those words sent her scrambling off his lap, hastening to adjust her dress. She felt hurt. Offended. Cheap. Tears burned the back of her eyelids while she straightened the bodice of her dress.

“I’m sorry if I gave you the wrong impression,” he apologized quietly.

   “Wrong impression?” she mimicked. “You took me on a date, André. This is a date. You bought me a dress and shoes. You took me to an amazing play. For what? Why do all of this, if you just want me to be some glorified booty call?”

   He touched her shoulder gently. “I don’t want you to be a booty call. That’s not what this is.”

 She swiped his hand from her shoulder. “Then what is it?” she demanded.

“You were right about me earlier. I’m very particular. I have interests that are…out of the ordinary.”

   She shook her head. I am an idiot. I should have known this was too good to be true. A successful, gorgeous media mogul showing interest in her, a girl who was wrapping up her final year in college while working in a bakery? She’d had some modern-day Cinderella type of fantasy in her mind if she thought that she would skip off into the sunset with him for a lifetime of happily ever after. Of course, he was into strange shit. If she rejected his advances, he would probably troll the grocery store cashiers next to look for someone desperate enough to fulfill his weird fetishes.

   “Look at me.”

“You can’t tell me what to do anymore,” she said firmly, continuing to stare straight ahead. “Take me back to the bakery so I can pick up my car.” She could feel him shifting in his seat but didn’t dare look in his direction.

   “All right.”

   The rest of the ride was quiet. When the car pulled up to the curb in front of Eli’s Bakery, she couldn’t get out of the car quickly enough. She slammed the car door shut and stormed down the sidewalk with her arms crossed over her chest. Her anger didn’t allow her to hear the car door opening and closing a second time, but she did feel someone grab her elbow a moment later. Furious, she whirled around with angry tears in her eyes. “What do you want?”

   “I want you to get back into the car with me,” he told her.

   Still refusing to look at him, she turned her head to the side.

   “I’m sorry. Maybe I sprung this on you too soon.”

   “No, I’m glad you brought this up now. I almost made a hugemistake.”

   He searched her eyes and sighed. “Please come back to the car. We can talk about this, maybe over a nightcap in my hotel room.”

   She met his gaze head-on. “I’m not signing a contract. I’m not looking for a casual arrangement with someone. I want a real relationship. According to you, you can’t give me that. There is no reason for me to get in that car with you. We just avoided one major mistake. We should part ways right here and now.”

   “If you come with me, you can interview me with no strings attached,” he said, holding up his hands in a defensive gesture. “You don’t have to do anything for me in return.”

   “I’m insulted that you thought I would enter into some weird arrangement with you for an interview,” she spat at him. “Is that how lowly you think of me?”

   “Of course not,” he insisted.

   “And now you’re patronizing me.” She turned on her heel and walked away from him.

   He followed her around the corner of the building, to the parking lot at the back of the building. “I don’t mean to patronize you. What do you want me to say?”

   “I want you to apologize to me,” she said, stopping and leveling a glare at him. “What you asked of me was very offensive and inappropriate.”

   He blinked. “I’m sorry,” he said.

   She shook her head, more at herself than at him. She was so angry at him, soangry, and yet looking at him, her anger was already dissolving. It was impossible to stay mad at him when he looked so apologetic. Frustrated, she tore her gaze away from him before her resolve vanished completely.

   “Destiny,” he said.

   “Stop saying my name,” she muttered.

   “Okay.” He stood there, looking completely helpless for several moments before asking, “Can I just do one thing?”

No. “Yes.”

   He stepped forward and grabbed her face in his hands. Her chest heaved as his face lowered close to hers. He kissed the tip of her nose, then lowered the kiss to her lips. She reached up, intending to pull his hands off of her face, but her hands remained limp on top of his as he kissed her. Any protests she had were muffled against his mouth. His arms lowered and snaked around her waist, pulling her closer to him.

   A runaway tear rolled down her cheek as she kissed him. She liked him. A lot. They had come close to making love in a moving car. Even though she was a firm believer in waiting before becoming intimate with a guy, she’d almost thrown caution to the wind. One look from him, and she’d been ready to jump into the sack with him. She pulled away from him and turned blindly, her eyes filled with tears as she stumbled towards her car.

   This time, he let her walk away.