Read Online Tempted by a Dangerous Man by Cleo Peitsche - Free Book Online Page B

have done. A murderer who has rediscovered his empathy. You saved me. And all that before I even got to know you.”
    As he talked, I felt my eyes filling with tears, and I stared at the food so that Corbin wouldn’t see. Knowing, of course, that he would. He noticed everything.  
    I grabbed a fork. “The curry’s kinda spicy,” I mumbled even though I hadn’t taken a bite in half an hour.
    “You deserve better than this,” Corbin said.
    That made me laugh, and Corbin sent a curious look my way. I could tell that he wasn’t going to ask, but after he’d confessed so much to me, it felt petty to withhold something so trivial.
    “It’s just funny that you say that, because you’re…” I waved my hand.
    He frowned. “I’m what?”
    “Gorgeous. Smart. Attentive. I’ve always seen you as the perfect guy.”
      Unexpectedly, he chuckled. “No, baby. If you knew, you wouldn’t stay in this cabin another minute with me.” He leaned forward. “Despite my best intentions, look how much I’ve complicated your life.”
    “That’s not—”
    “Must be the sex.” There was a gleam in his eye.  
    “Must be,” I murmured, wondering if the most perceptive man I’d ever met was truly unaware of my feelings. Though I had been pretty emphatic in my denial.  
    I stood and began cleaning up, but Corbin stopped me. “Go relax.”
    With sex on my mind, I took a fast shower and got into bed. Unfortunately, I fell into such a deep sleep that I didn’t even notice Corbin getting in next to me.  
    But he did, because I woke the next morning tucked under his arm and so horny that I could barely breathe. Instead I got up, slipped into an oversized tee that I found on a chair, and went to make him coffee. There weren’t many opportunities for me to do something nice for him, and I wasn’t about to pass one up.
    “Nice,” Corbin said. “Hot woman making coffee.”  
    I jumped. Corbin came up behind me and grabbed a glass, filled it with water. His hair was mussed, but his eyes were clear.  
    “Had the weirdest dream,” I remembered. “You gave me your house and car.” I paused, thinking. “You remember how I was hell-bent on turning you in?”
    “Not the sort of thing I’m likely to forget,” he said dryly, but his full lips smiled.
    “No joke, but I actually had this weird fantasy…” I trailed off as Corbin leaned in, interested. “Perv,” I said.
    “Tell me your fantasy,” he purred in a deep voice.
    “You’re going to be so disappointed. I had hoped you would try to bribe me to let you go by leaving me your house. It wasn’t realistic, of course.”
    “Wow.” Now he wore a huge smile. “I thought sex with me was worth the two-million-dollar bounty, but I was wrong. That’s a fifteen-million-dollar house.”
    “You’re kidding.”
    “It’s got a lot of invisible perks.”  
    “Like extra security.”
    “Yes, for example.” He studied me. “You can have whatever you want, you know. Ask and it’s yours.”
    I laughed, but Corbin cleared his throat. “I’m serious. You lost your job. It’s in my best interests if you’re not homeless.” He held out a glass of water.
    “Ok.” I waved away the glass. “I’m not comfortable where this is heading. I’ll get a job to support myself until the non-compete expires in the fall.”
    Corbin shrugged mildly. “Don’t want to make things awkward. It’s just that I have a lot of money—”
    I covered my ears. Corbin’s hands wrapped around my wrists, pulled them down. “Ok,” he said, disappointment tingeing his voice. “I got it. Won’t offer again. But you’re going to let me pay for dinner.”  
    “Tonight or all the time?”
    “Hurry and get dressed.”
    “Where are we going?”
    A grin stretched across his gorgeous face.
    “Well?” I prodded. “No more secrets, right?”  
    “I’m amending my decision. Fun secrets are allowed.”
    “Convenient,” I said. But I was excited about spending the day with him, doing