Beneath His Hands | ✔

Beneath His Hands - Excerpt

This story is a continuation of Her Prison, His Game. This is only an excerpt as it has been published on Amazon. Link can be found on my conversation board.

Chapter One Excerpt:

Ethan Barrett stood there with his arms crossed, staring at her, as she walked down the dock towards his boat. She wasn't the type of person he wanted on board, young and cute. She would be too much of a distraction. But his long-time steward, Mr. Peterson, was away on medical leave and he ended up having to call the temp agency that his family often deals with.

The last thing he wanted was a woman to fill in for his friend. He needed a testosterone filled boat, not an estrogen filled one. As he watched her, he couldn't help but notice that she walked with a slight limp. He was almost tempted to lift up her long black skirt to find out the cause. His gaze traveled the length of her body until their eyes locked. Flames swam in her hazel eyes, like a blazing inferno.

"Yes, I know. I walk with a limp," Jenna McCay said, placing her hands on her hips. "Do you want to see the ugly reason why, so you don't keep staring at me this whole trip?"

"Don't you think that should wait until we're in bed?"

Her hands rolled into tight fists and before he had a chance to prepare himself, she shoved him off the dock and into the frigid waters below. His entire body stiffened and his breath was knocked out of his lungs as the water closed over him.

Breaching the surface, he gasped for air and swam back to the dock as quickly as his frozen body would let him. Hauling himself out of the water, he stood up. She turned to run, but he grabbed her arm and pulled her into a cold, wet hug.

"Welcome aboard," he said, teeth chattering.

"Let me go, you big buffoon," she said, giving him another shove.

He flailed backwards almost toppling into the water again, but managed to regain his balance. She may be small, but definitely had some power behind those puny little arms.

"You'll find I don't like being groped or touched, Mr. Barrett. If you try that again, I'll knock you on your fine ass."

"You think my ass is fine?"

Shaking her head, she said, "Oh God, this is the strangest interview I've ever had."

"I can't say I've ever been pushed into the water during one before," he said, motioning for her to follow him. "Let's go inside. Once I get changed, I'll show you around."

"You deserved it," she quipped.

He left her in the saloon and headed to his stateroom. Somehow he had the feeling she wouldn't be a distraction at all. He'd be able to get his work done in peace and not have to worry about her hanging all over him.

His screenplay had to be completed within the next two months to meet his deadline. If it wasn't ready, his agent would smack him up the side of the head. Jen had already pitched his story to producers who were gung-ho to get it.

Peeling off the last layer of wet clothes, he shivered as the air hit his cool body. He hadn't planned on going for a polar bear swim. Okay, it wasn't January first, but they didn't live in the tropics where the water was warm twelve months of the year. It was mid-June and the weather was not quite swimmer friendly yet.

When he returned to where he'd left her, she was staring at the Oscar trophy in his display cabinet, all wide-eyed.

"So you aren't just some rich kid who mooched off his parents, huh?" she said, hooking a thumb towards his award.

"Is that what you're after, a rich kid?"

"I'm not after anybody, Mr. Barrett. I just have more respect for someone who works for what they have."