Handcuffed in Housewares (Tulle and Tulips #3)(2)
Author: Nikki Duncan

“I guess.” She nodded toward his hand with the dangling cuff. “You want me to remove the other one?”

He raised his wrist. Leigh supported the weight of his wrist in her right hand. With the left, she stuck the skewer tip into the keyhole and quickly popped the lock. She pulled away with the cuffs in hand.

He immediately missed the tingle her touch incited. The sensitivity of the skin he’d turned raw fighting the cuffs had numbed when she held his wrist. With her retreat the tenderness returned.

His wrists weren’t the only parts of his body acutely aware of her. His skin vibrated. His dick pulsed.

Maybe it was morning wood or maybe he was just an easy target, but a second of Leigh’s touch took him from attracted to horny. Damn if the image of her standing nak*d in the bathroom didn’t flash into his head, and with it came the realization that he’d stripped without more than a token argument for his date. For Leigh, if she let her hair down enough to ask, he wouldn’t have hesitated.

Needing to not come off like a creepy sex addict, Burton took a step back. “I’ve rescued damsels with flat tires. I’ve never been the rescued.”

“I have to say I’m curious as to exactly how you got yourself in this situation.”

“An overeager libido.”

“I get that your date talked you into sex in public. It’s the handcuffed bit I’m not able to picture.”

“You’ve been trying to picture it?”

“I don’t like puzzles. They need to be solved.”

“Then I’ll clear it up for you since you were kind enough to save me.”

She did that thing again with her forehead where it almost looked like she was raising one brow. It made him want to smile, but the seriousness in her eyes indicated she wouldn’t share his humor.

“She said she’d always had a fantasy of dominating a man while he was tied up. In this case it was cuffs, but I didn’t have any reason to think it would bite me in the ass.” He regretted his choice, but he couldn’t change it now. He could only make sure he never repeated it. “She liked that bathroom setup. Said she’d never had sex in a bathroom. There are limited places to tie someone up in a bathroom.”

“So naturally you went with the toilet.” Impressively, the more she quizzed him the less she blushed.

“It was a strange request, but I didn’t see a reason to tell her no.”

“Because you were only interested in how quickly she would get you off.”

“Anyone would take a similar risk if they were turned on enough. As for a man—” now he did grin, “—we’re most always willing.”

“To risk your job?”

“To be tied up, play games, yes.” Leigh had helped him. Because of her he would be able to finish the Hearth and Home job. With the completion of the job he’d have a great addition to his portfolio. “Endangering my job is something I would never have agreed to. A jeopardized job puts my entire company in danger.”

Leigh nodded and handed Burton the handcuffs and skewer. “In that case, I suggest you resist a woman’s request to tie you up.”

Burton began to speak, but closed his mouth when Leigh pivoted on the ball of her sensible shoe and walked away. Anything he might say lost appeal as he studied her hourglass figure. Strong calves, a narrow waist that flared into wide hips, the woman showcased curves where others fought to lose them.

She was confident. Kind. Damn if he didn’t love that.

Chapter Two

Leigh Schyuler stood outside Tulle and Tulips Designer Weddings and smiled at the dream she lived every day. A tulip twisted in tulle had been etched on the double doors in a stunningly artistic way, and inside was a group of event planning experts who were equally artistic as they designed custom weddings of every budget for their clients.

It was a dream she had shared with Lori Mullins from the moment Leigh had heard about the new company. The women involved had become an extended family.

If she hadn’t been a part of Tulle and Tulips, if she hadn’t invested the sweat equity she had into her part of the business, she wouldn’t have recognized Burton’s dedication to his. Sure, he’d made a stupid choice. He struck her as the kind of person who would learn from it.

A part of her wondered though, because he’d been so willing to joke about the situation. To shrug off the fact that he’d been nak*d in his client’s place of business.

“Are you going in, or are you working from the hall today?”

Leigh turned to find Trevor Masters smiling at her. She’d heard rumors of him being unyielding in business. She could sort of see it in the way he dressed in expensive suits and the way he carried himself, clearly broadcasting his power, but then she remembered how he was with Lori. She remembered how he turned into a marshmallow as he tried to talk the woman he loved into marrying him.

“Just thinking for a minute.” Leigh smiled. “You ask Lori to marry you today?”

“Not yet.”

“You know she’s enjoying your game, right?”

“So am I.” He pulled open the door for Leigh and smiled. “But it won’t be much longer before she gives in.”

“With confidence like that I can’t doubt it.”

“You two look like you’re up to no good.” Jenny, receptionist extraordinaire, greeted them. “What are you scheming?”

“Trevor’s up to his daily antics.” Leigh smiled as she picked up her messages from her tray. “I’ve already skewered enough antics for the day.”

“There’s a story there,” Misty stated as she came out of her office and moved to stand by Leigh. As usual, she smelled like the flowers she spent so much time arranging. More common than her sweet scent was the twinkle in her eyes that hadn’t left since she accepted Jace’s marriage proposal.

“Naked man handcuffed to a toilet.” Leigh shrugged. “I picked the lock with a kabob skewer.”

Trevor, Misty and Jenny all busted out laughing. Misty recovered enough to speak before the others. “You say that like it’s an everyday experience.”

“I thought you were going to tour Hearth and Home this morning.” Jenny chuckled.

“I was. I did.”

Misty leaned against the circular receptionist desk. Jenny kicked back in her chair and crossed her arms. Trevor even settled in for the story.

“Tell us about the nak*d man in cuffs and the skewer.”

Leigh didn’t have anything to be embarrassed by, but thinking about Burton, about his body, had the flame of humiliation flooding her cheeks. She wanted to stop thinking about his hard, ropey muscles and the smooth glide of his skin beneath her fingers. She shouldn’t be thinking about how tempting it had been to see if the rest of his skin had been as soft. Or how non-repulsive the idea of exploring him in a public place had been.

Her cheeks burned brighter. She really should stop thinking about him. “I have clients coming in.”

“Your nine a.m. rescheduled,” Jenny said.

“Fine.” Leigh sat her bag at her feet. “I was walking through Hearth and Home with Mark. He got called away and left me to look around on my own.”

Lori stepped out of her office looking stunning in pressed black slacks, a silk blouse and sexy heels. Trevor stood taller and his eyes brightened as he watched the woman he loved cross the distance between them. When she was close enough, he took her hand in his and pressed a lingering kiss to the corner of her mouth.

Trevor looked at Lori the way every woman wanted to be looked at. He was a proud man who could easily have turned into an arrogant ass. Instead, his confidence gave him the strength to be open and honest with his thoughts and feelings.

Leigh had seen a similar confidence in Burton, as if he did more than construction. He’d held himself, even nak*d beneath the robe she’d gotten for him, with a power that would fit in at Trevor’s boardroom table. Powerful. Honest. Dedicated to his job. Sexy.

“Why are you all staring at Leigh? Why’s she blushing?”

“She’s telling us about skewering a nak*d man this morning.”

“Sounds like the stories I might have had to share not too long ago.” Lori settled into the curve of Trevor’s arm and smiled. “What happened?”

“It really wasn’t that big a deal.” Big enough that fire licked more furiously at her cheeks. “I was looking at the clocks. Mark got called away. When he left, this man called out to me.”

“The nak*d man?” Lori asked.

“Yes.” It wouldn’t be long before the entire staff was huddled around for the story. She needed to tell it fast so she could move on to forgetting. She wasn’t sharing the details of what Burton looked like nak*d. Or how she’d caught a glimpse of him in the mirrored clocks on the wall opposite them. Or how she’d been tempted for half a second to finish what his date had started. Yeah, he was bigger than she’d thought, and it wasn’t all in regard to his muscles.

“He was cuffed to a toilet in one of the showroom bathrooms. I got him a robe and picked his cuffs so he could get free.”

“So you stole for him and took a kabob skewer to his cuffs.” Lori wiggled her brows. “I should have known of these inclinations before bringing you on here.”

Leigh ignored the smirk on Misty’s face and the wiggle of Lori’s brows. Her friends had told her time and time again she needed to break out of her shell, and take more chances and worry less about the consequences. They clearly thought the nak*d man should have been one of those chances.

“He couldn’t exactly go to his truck in his birthday suit.” Though his nudity hadn’t seemed to bother him. “And he’d bruised his wrists trying to get out of the cuffs on his own.”

“Why was he nak*d in a business that’s not open yet?” Trevor asked. Thank God somebody was being logical.

“He’s working on the build-out. There was an issue with the plumbing last night that he went to fix.”

“Seems natural,” Jenny said. “I’m always nak*d when I get my plumbing snaked.”

Trevor squeezed his eyes tight, like he was desperately trying not to think about Jenny’s plumbing. Seeing the man who defined businessman cringe because of Jenny’s humor was hysterical.

“He was on a date when the call came in.”

“And the date liked the idea of sex in public.” Misty nodded. “I’ve got to say, there’s excitement to hav**g s*x where you work.”

Lori and Trevor shared a smile that said they knew what Misty meant. Leigh blocked the images that came to mind. She worked there. She’d never be able to look at the place again if she was wondering where they had done it.

“Anyway.” Leigh shook her head. “She offered sex. He went along. She locked him up, took his clothes and left him there.”

Misty laughed. “I wish I could have seen you facing down a nak*d man cuffed to a commode.”

“Was it more embarrassing for you or him?” Jenny asked.

“Probably me if his attitude was any indication. And now, if you’re finished getting your entertainment at my expense, I have work to do.” Leigh pivoted toward her office and walked as briskly as she could without running.