Price of Surrender by Unknown

force of his emotion was clear, however, and she smiled tremulously up at him.
    He lifted his hand from her stomach to touch the circlet of gold at her throat „You’re mine now,“ he said. „Really
    and truly mine. My God, sweetheart, I’ve never wanted a woman the way I wanted you tonight, and I have the feeling
    that next time it’s going to be worse!“
    „Worse?“ she mocked lightly.
    He ignored her attempt at humor. „Next time I’ll know for certain what’s waiting for me!“
    „What is waiting for you?“ she asked provocatively.
    „I got lost in your arms tonight, sweetheart,“ he explained, leaning over briefly to kiss the tip of one breast. „And
    you’re a witch to laugh at me for it!“
    „I wouldn’t think of it!“
    „Uh-huh,“ he muttered skeptically. „Just remember that however much you taunt me, you belong to me. My own
    sweet slave girl.“
    „One doesn’t own slaves in this day and age, Holt Sinclair,“ she admonished.
    „No?“ He sounded disbelieving as he traced the outline of her lips with his forefinger.
    „Definitely not! The modern romance is a partnership of equals,“ she lectured.
    „Whatever you say, sweetheart“ He kissed the tip of her nose. „I’m a generous man; you’re welcome to believe in
    your own personal fantasies as long as you don’t forget the reality behind them.“
    „Your version of reality?“ she chuckled.
    „Adena, stop playing games with me, sweet witch, and look at me.“ He waited until she lifted her indulgent
    turquoise eyes to meet his steady, determined gaze.
    „Yes, Holt?“ she murmured with suspicious meekness.
    „You gave yourself to me tonight,“ he rasped a little dangerously. „You were meant to belong to me and now you
    do. From this moment on I have the right to look after you, to take care of you. Do you understand what I’m trying to
    say?“
    „You’re asking me to have an affair with you?“
    „The affair,“ he returned thickly, „has already begun. Adena, I want to hear you say you belong to me…!“
    „Talk about catching someone in a weak moment!“ she complained, still unwilling to be totally serious in the
    luxurious aftermath of his lovemaking.
    „I know,“ he admitted, „but, as I’ve told you before, I’m a practical man. This somehow seemed like an opportune
    moment!“
    „Businessman that you are, perhaps I should wait until I’ve read the complete contract,“ she hedged in amusement.
    „After all, you once told me I wasn’t very clever at bargaining.“
    „And tonight hasn’t revised my opinion any, either.“ He grimaced wryly.
    „What’s that supposed to mean?“ she demanded, annoyed.
    „I mean you handed everything you had to give over to me without making certain I intended to be equally
    generous in return,“ he scolded. But there was a curious satisfaction in his voice.
    „You swept me off my feet,“ she complained, laughing up at him.
    „You’re not going to be serious about this, are you?“ he sighed.
    „No.“
    „Ah, well, I suppose it doesn’t matter,“ he groaned, bending once more to kiss her shoulder. „Just let me have the
    words and I’ll let you go on cracking jokes all night long.“
    „The words?“ she asked innocently, knowing she would give them to him eventually because they were the truth.
    „Let me hear them, Adena,“ he ordered in a soft growl as he half-smiled down into her eyes.
    He really needed them, Adena realized suddenly. He had to hear her make the commitment How could she deny
    anything to the man she loved?
    „You’re a tyrant,“ she protested, postponing the inevitable a few more seconds.
    „I expect most owners of slave girls are.“
    „I told you the other evening you were going to be difficult to control,“ she sighed.
    „Adena?“
    „I’m yours, my darling Holt If the words are necessary, then take them. I belong to you.“ Her lips curved invitingly
    upward. „Just remember, chains like this work both ways!“
    He