Read Dungeon Time (Play at Work) for Free Online Page B

at him and let it go. They were both tired. She would head back home after she ate and get some sleep so she could rise early and go buy furniture. She hadn’t lived at home for free—children paying rent unheard of in their family—for all these years without accumulating some savings. Her parents had expected it to go toward the down payment on a house when she married, and maybe to help with the wedding. Although they saved for her, with such a big family, it would be hard to manage them all.
    She wouldn’t spend everything she’d saved. But she did want a couch and a small dining table and a few other things. The rest would have to stay in the bank. A flower store didn’t come cheap.
    “This is it.” Edward pushed a gate open and stood back, allowing her to enter first.
    She blinked. “It’s a cottage.” The short brick path with rose bushes on either side could have been in the English countryside. Leaded glass windows bracketed a heavy, arched door of dark wood that could have come from a fairy tale. Vines with purple trumpet blossoms climbed the gray stone walls. “This doesn’t look like a beach house.” Old roses in every color possible bloomed at the edges of the small, velvet-green yard. Their scent hung in the air, pushing back the ocean’s salty scent.
    He laughed, white teeth gleaming in the porch light. “It doesn’t, does it? I wanted the best of both worlds, the old country and the new. But I can’t take credit for the garden. A very talented gardener comes by twice a week.” Unlocking the door, he reached inside and flipped a switch. “Come on in, and I’ll order our pizza.”
    “These are amazing roses. They remind me of my mother’s garden. I miss tending it already.” Anna followed him into a high-ceilinged room, furnished with leather couches and full bookshelves. A wall of windows at the back drew her, and the house’s size became apparent. The cottage facade did not reveal the extensive lower level reaching well out onto the beach. A surfboard leaned against the outside wall of a pool deck. She couldn’t imagine the stuffy Edward Masters surfing, but it made her more comfortable to try. “You have a nice home.”
    Edward closed the door with a soft click and approached, Nikes squeaking on the wide oak boards. “I like my comforts.” He stood just behind her, his breath soft on her cheek. “Did you want to take a swim in the pool? The water is warm.”
    She shivered, something about the way he said “warm,” implying so much more. “I don’t have a suit with me.”
    “Perhaps another time.” He rested his hands on the sill, on either side of her, smooth muscled forearms with a light sprinkling of dark hairs drawing her complete attention, but then he pushed away and left her there, alone with the moonlight glinting off the dark ocean and the swimming pool. “I’ll call for pizza. Pepperoni okay?”
    “Yes, fine.” What if he had suggested she swim without a suit? Would she have done it? Not usually, but on the day of her independence, with so many other extraordinary things happening, maybe.
    While he ordered their dinner, she focused on the pool, imagining him in there, stroking back and forth with the moon shining on his skin, lighting his hair. Muscles low in her belly tightened and her panties dampened.
    “Wine?” He reappeared at her side and handed her a heavy goblet. “I hope you like cabernet.”
    Her cheeks heated “I’m surprised you trust me with it, after my behavior earlier.”
    Edward rested a hand on her waist and turned her away from the window. “Oh, yes. Not a good policy, getting tipsy during the work day.” He took her arm and led her to one of the deep sofas, against the side wall. “You were a bad girl.”
    Reckless with freedom, she giggled. “Yes, I was. Someone should take me in hand before I run completely amok.”
    “I think I’d like to see what you’re like, running amok.” Drawing her down at his side in the deep cushions,