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CHAPTER 1

Colt

She stood there with her wrists bound up over her head, her full breasts pressed out against her T-shirt She looked up at me, defiant, her pouty lips parted and ready to yell

When I’d learned that eted by an angry environ like this I’d reluctantly agreed to fly out to the site and see if I could defuse the situation I didn’t co a bigger thorn in my side than expected In honor of my visit, the leader of the protests and a few others had chained themselves to the fence around our construction site

It was just dumb luck that the lead activist turned out to have a body built for sin And she’d soht way to showcase her assets I’d cuffed ht of fun

Dealing with these activistswith their leader I took a step closer, towering over her

“I’d offer reeted her A wry saze flickered up to her handcuffed wrists “But I see you’re all tied up”

“Save your sweet talk,” she hissed at me, fire in her eyes

“You haven’t heard anything yet,” I warned her, taking another step closer She had honey-colored hair, tuled a bit against her restraints I sood of her to present herself exactly how I liked Now if only we didn’t have a slew of crazy environ us

“We don’t want your hotel here!” she spat out at me

“It’s not a hotel,” I corrected her “It’s a destination resort”

She rolled her eyes “You think you can just coa-hotel?”

“Resort,” I corrected her again “And, yes, that’s exactly what I’e to stroke a strand of her hair that had worked its way down and now rested, curling gently along the swell of her breast

“Eyes up here,” she growled at me

With a grin, I gave her what she wanted For now “It’s not my fault that you handcuffed yourself for me”

“I did not handcuff myself for you!” She stoet all agitated Theway “We are chaining ourselves to this fence around your proposed construction site in protest!”

“Right, right,” I soothed her, glancing to the side and noting a few scraggly-looking hippie types chained to the fence “What is it you’re angry about again?” I looked at her lips as I spoke, so full and lush and pluue flicked out, briefly, and my cock hardened in response

“The lichen!” some kooky activist down the fence belted out

“Yes!” she answered, see to remember herself “The lichen! Love the Lichen!”

Oh, that’s right My assistant had briefed ht over Apparently there was soered species” of lichen that thrived on the coastal area where we planned to build Where ould build I was Colton Kavanaugh, CEO of Kavanaugh Investors I did not take no for an answer

My phone rang My settings were such that if a call actually rang through, it was one I had to take Most went directly to my assistant

“Don’t go anywhere,” I told her, glancing at the handcuffs and giving her a wink She gave a frustrated huff as I turned my back and strode a few feet away to take the call

“Sorry to disturb you, sir” I knewout 90 percent of what ca she could onto the tearoup who helped cultivate the perfect balance of risk and reward As an investor, you had to be part ga with disaster But you also had to bring sout instinct

I happened to possess both Arrogant? Of course I was I had what it took to back it up The chumps I had no tolerance for were the ones alked the walk but that was it They’d cruht Me? I kne to thron and win

“Yes…No…No” I checked off the boxes my admin presented to me over the phone Until she connectedOfficer

You kno I said I’d built a trustworthy team? That was true, to an extent I’d inherited this coo when acy and fortune, big shoes to fill as CEO, and a shrewd, o, part Machievelli, Leonard Synder could talk a shirtless ht possibly own for the rest of his life I knew he’d stab ot the chance I’d seen him do it to countless others

Why did I keep him in his role as COO? I’d learned a lot from my father Keep your friends close and your enemies closer It was a lot easier to avoid a knife when you had your eye on the guy the whole ti a ruthless bounty hunter on your team paid off a lot of the time

“I’ive roup behind this protest Love the Lichen Apparently they had some local

ties—including the leader ly tied up front and center—but also financial backing froroups Those deep pockets had enabled the plans Teet my way, sooner rather than later I always did

My teaht they’d picked a trouble-free spot to locate this new destination resort, but inas trouble-free The Southern Oregon coast was the new “it” location, they’d assured me Milder and sunnier than the Portland area up by the border of Washington state, the town of Redwood Bay bordered California and only required an hour’s flight froh tech tycoons had private planes This resort could becoround for Bay Area elite

The only probleer than I noraze and attention over to finer subject matter Namely the curvy seductress handcuffed to the fence She was all temptation, that one, head to toe, feisty and wide-eyed at the saainst her T-shirt as she adjusted her stance I had to give

I couldn’t remember the last time I’d felt that kind of instant attraction Itherself to ine her restrained like that, stripped completely bare I could torment her for hours, her arms bound over her head as I relentlessly coaxed, stroked, built, demanded pleasure from her Those breasts alone could keep , sucking, listening to herwith need as I played with her stiff nipples

She glimpsed over to me, then turned away quickly, part annoyed, part e me out She seemed to like what she saas used to that Women tended to offer themselves to me with relentless predictability What was neith this one was the struggle She didn’t want to like what she saw That was a fun challenge It would be ht her own attraction I’d like to make it harder for her, see how far I could take her until she reached the edge of her desire What would it take for her to get to the brink, then succu herself over to the pleasure I could provide? I’d like to find out

“What do you think?” Leonard asked Huh I thought I’d like to get that woht

“Tell me more,” I responded Never shoeakness, I’d learned that early on Always keep people on their toes, always guessing, always perfor more to try to capture your attention and approval Leonard didn’t need to know that I was spacing out, fantasizing about a woman with the most luscious curves I wondered what her ass looked like, what it would feel like cupped in ainst the fence I’d ainst me

It didn’tI found her The woories, and I could already tell she fit into neither The first functioned as networking partnerselse, easy companions at parties in the Ha all the sah Investors I’d also inherited a bonafide title fro, I’d become the Baron of Warwick, complete with ancestral estate in Yorkshire As such, I required a suitable dinner date at functions