Read Online Bound To Love by Sally Clements - Free Book Online

stones and precious metals covered every surface. On one side of the room was a small kiln, and below the surface of the worktop was a safe. Tempest placed the box on the worktop and opened it. She pulled a bracelet out of the bag. In the sunlight, it was the most beautiful piece of jewellery he had ever seen.
    ‘I don’t understand.’
    ‘How could I have made them already, when I’ve only just got the contract?’ A smile curved her mouth as she held the piece. ‘I follow my instincts, Jake. Skye and Mum think I’m crazy, but when I get a hunch I follow it.’
    She handed him the bracelet and he turned the heavy cuff around in his big hands.
    ‘I was commissioned to make two of these for the Egypt Museum, and when I sourced the lapis lazuli,’ she reached a finger out and stroked the matt blue stone which formed the centrepiece of the bracelet, ‘I bought enough to complete four. I knew I’d get another commission. In fact, the feeling was so strong I started work on the bracelets as soon as I could. I bought enough gold to complete them and have spent the past two months making these.’
    He searched her eyes for some sign of deceit. It was more than convenient that the bracelets were right there, just when they were needed.
    ‘Buying the raw materials must have cost a lot.’
    Tempest chewed on her bottom lip. ‘It did, and the fact that I’d followed my instincts into debt was a major irritation to my mother. She’s been giving Skye a really hard time about it.’
    He was missing something here. ‘Why berate Skye? Why not go directly to the perpetrator?’
    ‘Because I’m not talking to her, or taking her messages.’ Her lips tightened, and her shoulders stiffened. She clearly didn’t want to talk about her mother. ‘As Skye’s my older sister, my mother always holds her responsible for everything I do wrong.’
    It didn’t sound remotely fair, in fact it sounded crazy, but he didn’t have either the time or the inclination to question her further. They had a job to do and precious little time to do it.
    ‘Well, looks like you were lucky, this time anyway. You got the contract didn’t you?’
    ‘It wasn’t luck. I knew I’d be asked to make more.’ The stubborn set of her shoulders warned him this was a familiar battle, and one she intended to win.
    ‘Well, by this quality of workmanship, it was logical to assume you’d win another contract. I reckon it was an acceptable risk.’
    ‘Do you always evaluate the risks?’
    He nodded, moving closer. ‘Always.’ She was compelling in this combative mood. Heck, she was compelling in any mood. ‘It’s the only way to keep things under control.’
    ‘Oh.’ Her eyes shone as she smiled back at him. ‘I guess being in control is good.’
    Yeah, being in control was good. Being in control was what Jake did best. Until now.
    He leaned closer, gazing into Tempest’s eyes. The black circle of her irises expanded and her full lips parted a fraction. He shouldn’t do this. They had work to do. His mother was in danger. But right now, none of that mattered.
    All that mattered was touching her. Jake traced the faint sprinkling of freckles that dusted the bridge of her nose, and then ran his fingers down over her warm skin to linger across her lips. Her breath whispered in and out, and her lips parted at his touch. Her eyelashes flickered, and she arched her back angling her mouth towards his in invitation. Jake moaned as his legendary control dissolved in a wave of desire.
    She was irresistible.
    Their kiss was no soft, tender exploration, but a frantic mating that heated his blood and had him forgetting his own name. His fingers swept around under her heavy curtain of hair to cup her nape, holding her in place as he plundered her soft mouth again and again. Through a haze of blistering sensation he barely registered her moan, and then her arms slid around his back, forcing him closer. Her chest was flattened against his, but his fevered body