Sin's Magic [Rapture Island 3] (Siren Publishing: The Leah Brooke Collection)

by Leah Brooke

  Wrapping an arm around her waist, Sin pulled Veronica against him.

  “This is Veronica Sands, my girlfriend and Mrs. Sands’ granddaughter. I hope you don’t mind that we sit in on this with you.”

  His tone made it clear that he really didn’t care if she minded or not.

  Veronica hid another smile as she sat down in the chair Sin held out for her.

  Moments later, Victor came in and introduced himself, giving Esmerelda a sharp stare before collecting forty dollars from her grandmother.

  Suddenly, everyone got down to business.

  A sharp look from Sin had Veronica biting her lip to keep from saying anything about them taking her grandmother’s money, but inside, she seethed.

  Lowering himself to the seat next to her, Sin turned slightly in her direction, giving her a slow wink before turning back to give Esmerelda his attention.

  The exotically dressed woman flattened her hands on the table, closed her eyes, tilting her head back, and began chanting.

  Evidently, the part had come when they were supposed to feel a cool breeze because her grandmother frowned, and both Esmerelda and Victor appeared slightly alarmed.

  Her grandmother glanced at Sin, the look of comprehension on her face breaking Veronica’s heart.

  She hated destroying her grandmother’s illusions, especially since she’d gotten so much pleasure from believing she could communicate with the husband she missed so dearly.

  Gripping her grandmother’s hand, she smiled an apology.

  Patting her hand, her grandmother gave her a watery smile before turning her attention to Esmerelda.

  “Is something wrong? Where’s the breeze? Isn’t Frederick coming?”

  Veronica kept her expression cool. “I came because I wanted to see what my grandfather had to say.”

  Victor’s side of the table lifted, only to fall back down with a thud.

  Across from him, Esmerelda looked panicked, her eyes wide as they went to Victor’s.

  Seconds later, both turned their gazes to Sin’s, their eyes widening again with growing horror.

  Clearing her throat, Esmerelda shot a hard look at Sin, a look that quickly became apprehensive.

  She looked at her grandmother, swallowing heavily. “It appears that your husband has nothing to say tonight.”

  Sin smiled, an icy smile that sent a chill down Veronica’ spine, and got to his feet.

  “Veronica, take your grandmother and go out to the limo. Sam’s waiting.”

  “But, Sin—”

  “Do it now, Veronica.”

  * * * *

  Sitting in the limo with her grandmother, Veronica watched the door, waiting anxiously for Sin to appear.

  “I can’t believe he sent us to the car. I wanted to see what happened.” She knocked on the glass separating them from Sam, Sin’s scary bodyguard and the chauffer.

  When the window lowered, Veronica glared at Sam. “Unlock the damned door.”

  “No. I have my orders, ma’am.” Sam’s frowning face disappeared as the window closed again.

  Her grandmother sighed. “Sinclair’s like your grandfather. A man who looks after women. A good man.”

  Less than a minute later, the door opened and Sin appeared again.

  Sam got out of the front seat as Sin crossed the sidewalk to the limo—the doors unlocking just as he reached the car.

  With a feline grace, he slid inside and handed her grandmother an envelope with a smile. “Needless to say, you’re no longer welcome there. You can tell Martha that you got all of your money back.”

  Veronica sucked in a breath when he turned his smile in her direction. “What happened? What did you do?”

  “Unplugged the fan and slipped the ruler from her sleeve. She and Victor used the rulers from their sleeves to lift the table while their hands were flat on the surface.”

  Swallowing heavily at the icy look still in his eyes, Veronica glanced at his hands to see that the knuckles of his right one appeared red in the faint light.

  “So what did you do to them?”

  Sitting back, Sin regarded her steadily for several long seconds. “I told them that I would do my best to ruin them if they cheated another person.”

  “And they just gave you the money?”

  Sin’s lips twitched. “Of course.” He reached forward, opening a compartment just as the limo started to move. “How about some champagne?”

  He smiled at her grandmother. “You wouldn’t want to go back to Martha without being able to tell her that you drank champagne in the limo, would you?”

  Grinning, her grandmother took a sip of champagne and set the glass aside. “I’m not one for drinking, but I can honestly say that I sipped champagne in the limousine.”

  “Yes, ma’am. You can.”

  Watching the two of them together, Veronica smiled her gratitude and sipped her own champagne.

  He was truly an amazing man.

  Her grandmother grinned, a grin that immediately put Veronica on alert.

  “So you like my granddaughter?”

  “Grandma!”

  “I do.” Taking Veronica’s hand in his, Sin sat back and stared into her eyes with liquid green ones. “We haven’t known each other very long, but she’s already captivated me. I’m leaving for vacation this weekend, and I’d love to take her with me.”

  Veronica gasped, every nerve ending in her body prickling with awareness.

  “Good.” Her grandmother smiled, looking more relaxed than she had in years. “She hasn’t taken a vacation in years. I mean a real vacation. She spends her vacations working on her house or mine. Last year she painted my living room.”

  Sin’s brow went up, the twitch of his lips pure mischief. “Really?”

  Thankfully, they arrived at her grandmother’s house.

  “I see Martha’s here. Grandma, I’d like to talk to Sin for a minute. I’ll be right in.”

  Her grandmother scrambled from the limo. “Fine. Fine. Take your time. I’ve got a lot to tell Martha.”

  As Sam walked her grandmother to the door, Sin wrapped an arm around Veronica and pulled her closer.

  “She seems much happier.”

  “She is, and it’s all due to you.” Leaning back, she ran a hand over his chest. “You really are an incredible man.”

  Sin caught her hand in his and lifted it to his lips, placing a hot kiss in her palm.

  “I’ll send the limo for you tomorrow at seven. You and I will have a nice dinner alone.”

  Gripping her chin, he tilted her head back and stared into her eyes, the light from the streetlight giving his green eyes a hypnotic glimmer. “You and I have some things to discuss.”

  “About your vacation?”

  Sin touched his lips to hers. “Among other things.”

  Veronica shivered with sexual awareness, her nipples tingling when his hands moved down her sides and slowed on the outer curve of her breasts.

  She didn’t want to think of him taking another woman with him to the island and touching her so intimately.

  “I think I’d like going to the island with you.”

  Shaking his head, Sin sighed and released her, leaning back against the seat. “Baby, I would love to spend time with you. You’re one of the most fascinating women I’ve ever met. Gentle. Caring and feisty. You’re also sexy as hell, and thoughts of taking you kept me awake all night.”

  “Then why—?”

  “Because I don’t want to scare you, and I sure as hell don’t want you to come to the island with me out of a sense of obligation.”

  “Bullshit.” Blinking back tears of anger and frustration, Veronica reached for the door handle. “You just want to take someone else—one of the submissives from the club.”

  Mortified, she started to climb out of the car. “Take one of your beautiful women. Thanks again for helping my grandmother. Oh!”

  Sin yanked her back, pulling her onto his lap. “That was a very nice exit line. Too bad you didn’t make
it.”

  Struggling to get out of his hold proved pointless, his firm hold making it impossible to move at all.

  Irritated that arousal mixed with her growing anger, she fought harder, giving up altogether when she realized that the only thing she was doing was embarrassing herself.

  “Let go of me.”

  “No.” Sin smiled. “You’re even more feisty than I realized. I’m going to enjoy taming you.”

  Veronica sucked in a breath, stunned by the effect his words had on her.

  “Kiss my ass.”

  Chuckling, he dropped a hard kiss on her lips. “I’m sure that’s something I’ll be doing often. Okay. We’ll talk about you going with me tomorrow. We’ll do a little experimenting and see how well you do.”

  “Fine. Let me up.”

  “I want a kiss first.”

  “No. I don’t feel like kissing you. I’m mad at you.”

  Sin’s expression changed, a subtle shift in his eyes and his lips that sent a chill up her spine.

  “Do you really think that if you go away with me I’ll tolerate your little temper tantrums or that I won’t do what’s necessary to deal with them?”

  Insulted, Veronica gasped. “Temper tantrum? I’ll show you a damned temper tantrum!”

  Sin caught her wrist before it connected, clicking his tongue. “And you think you have what it takes to submit?”

  “Damn it, Sin!” Regretting her outburst, she clung to him. “I don’t want you to go to the island with someone else.”

  Without warning, his lips covered hers, the possessiveness and hunger in his kiss stunning her.

  The hand at her back slid to her nape, holding her in place for a kiss she never wanted to escape.

  Lifting his head, Sin tightened his hand in her hair when she leaned up to kiss him again.

  Smiling, his eyes glowing in the dark interior, Sin tucked a loosened tendril of hair behind her ear.

  “Why don’t you just be honest about what you want, Veronica? No one else can hear us.”

  Staring into his eyes, Veronica’s welled with tears.

  Tears of fear.

  Tears of frustration.

  Tears of need.

  Sin’s tender smile wiped all embarrassment away.

  “I need to know.”

  “Need to know what, Veronica? Say the words.”

  She took a deep breath and blew it out slowly, embarrassment creeping in. “I need to know if the fantasy can become the reality.”

  Lifting her gaze to his, she smiled tremulously, her chest tight.

  She moved out of his arms, disappointed that he let her.

  “Please. I trust you. I don’t know if I can do this or not.”

  Wrapping her arms around herself, she stared out the window, unable to meet his sharp gaze. “I need to know.”

  Sin slid a hand in her hair, turning her to face him. His eyes flared with something hot and intense. “I know you do.”

  Staring into her eyes for several long seconds, he traced the backs of his fingers over her jaw. “But just how far are you willing to go to find out?”

  Chapter Six

  How far are you willing to go to find out?

  The question had plagued her all night, along with the realization that she had no idea what to expect from him.

  She’d read dozens of books on the subject, but fantasy and reality were two very different things.

  After getting dressed for work, Veronica called a locksmith to get her locks changed, arranging for him to meet her that afternoon.

  She had plenty of time coming and would ask her boss if she could leave early.

  She didn’t know if he’d be upset or not since she’d just asked to take her vacation the following week, but she didn’t have any choice.

  Shrugging on her coat, she grabbed her keys and purse and rushed to the door, moving the chair that she’d propped against it the night before.

  Just as she reached for the handle, someone knocked.

  Sucking in a breath at the thought of Sin paying her an early-morning visit, she peeked through the peephole, frowning to see a stranger standing on the other side of the door.

  “Who is it?”

  The young man on the other side of the door smiled and stared at the peephole. “I have a package here from Mr. Majors. I can just leave it out here, but he wanted me to make sure you got it.”

  Not until she opened the door and accepted the package did she realize that he would probably be expecting a tip. “Oh. Um. Wait just a minute.”

  The man smiled. “It’s already been taken care of, ma’am. Have a nice day.”

  Curious and wondering what kind of erotic thing he would send to her, she ripped open the box.

  Grinning, she pushed the paper aside, hoping it was sexy lingerie.

  Frowning when she saw that it was a cell phone, she took it out and tossed the box aside.

  “What the hell?”

  She jolted when it began to ring almost at once, almost dropping it on the floor.

  Cursing, she fumbled with it and finally managed to answer it. “Hello?”

  “Hello, Veronica.”

  Her senses came alive at the sound of his voice. “Sin?”

  He chuckled softly. “Yes. Did you expect someone else?”

  “No. Of course not. I’m just surprised.”

  “Well, your home number is unlisted, and I don’t have your cell number. I want you to keep that phone charged and with you. No one else gets the number. It’s just for me. If you want to contact me, my number’s programmed as number one.”

  Grinning, Veronica plopped onto the sofa. “Of course. Is there a reason you wanted to call me?”

  With a sinking feeling in the pit of her stomach, she jumped back up again. “Are you cancelling our date?”

  “No. I want to make sure you dress comfortably tonight. We’re eating in my room so there’s no need to dress up. Wear a loose top and comfortable pants.”

  “Oh.”

  Disappointed that he didn’t demand that she wear no panties or bra, or that she wear something sexy and revealing, Veronica plopped onto the sofa again. “Okay.”

  Sin chuckled, a low rumble that sent ripples of delicious need through her. “I’m very much looking forward to tonight. You and I have a little exploring to do before we can take our…association any further.”

  Veronica stiffened. “Association?”

  “We really don’t know what we have, do we?”

  * * * *

  With a hand braced on the window frame, Sin stared out into the bright sky. He’d love to fulfill every one of Veronica’s fantasies, especially since they matched his own, but was very much afraid of scaring her when the reality of submitting didn’t meet her fantasy.

  Veronica’s sigh tugged at something inside him. “No. I guess we don’t. We hardly know each other, do we?”

  Amused and intrigued at the rapidly growing closeness between them, Sin grinned. “We’ll change that soon, won’t we?”

  “Yes. Yes. I guess we will.”

  “That is, if you decide to accept the rules.”

  “What?”

  Her breathless question stirred his cock.

  Smiling at the thought of the evening ahead, he poured himself another cup of coffee.

  “Tonight I expect honesty. In everything. I also expect obedience.”

  “Obedience?”

  Smiling again at the shock and breathless arousal in her voice, Sin leaned back against the counter.

  “There are rules, Veronica. Surely in all those books you claim to have read, rules were mentioned.”

  “Um. Of course. And contracts. Will I have to sign one of them?”

  “Yes. You’ll have to sign the contract Rapture Island provides. We both will. I’ll give it to you tomorrow night.”

  “And if I don’t sign it?”

  “Then you don’t go.”

  Holding his breath, Sin waited several heartbeats for her to speak again.

&
nbsp; Her voice lowered. “If I don’t, you’ll take someone else to the island?”

  The thought of taking another woman to the island didn’t have the appeal that it had only a few days earlier, but going alone had even less appeal.

  “We’ll see.”

  “We’ll see my ass! I’m going. I already got approved for the time off.”

  Thinking about the evening ahead had kept him semi-aroused since he’d dropped her off the night before, a condition that left him more than a little irritable.

  “I’ll see your ass soon enough, Veronica. Sam will pick you up at seven and bring you to me.”

  Sin disconnected before she had the chance to reply, knowing that he’d given her enough to think about.

  Tucking the phone into his pocket, he went back to the sofa.

  “Problem?” Sam strolled into the room and took a seat in one of the chairs across from him.

  “No.” Ignoring his bodyguard, Sin thought about Veronica and the night ahead.

  He would be gentle with her while making his expectations clear.

  He would enjoy the chance to spend an entire week with her with no interruptions—something he hoped to build on in the future.

  If he played his cards right, he’d come home with a submissive of his own.

  * * * *

  Wiping a hand over her hip, Veronica stepped into Sin’s hotel suite, glancing nervously at Sam, who nodded once and closed the door behind her.

  “Veronica.”

  Veronica sucked in a breath at the sight of Sin walking toward her, his welcoming smile filled with a confidence and erotic edge that made the sexual tension in the room even sharper.

  Dressed in dark casual trousers and a green shirt that made his green eyes seem to glow, he smiled and reached out to take her coat.

  “Hello, Veronica. You look beautiful.”

  His tone, a combination of silky seduction and steely intent, set the butterflies loose in her stomach.

  He tossed her coat onto the back of one of the dining room chairs before turning, holding out a hand to her.

  “Hungry?” His eyes held a gleam that told her he was asking about more than her hunger for food.

  Placing her hand in his extended one, Veronica allowed him to lead her to a seat at the other end of the long table, her heels clicking on the gleaming hardwood floors.