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had to act the part of a terrified woman.
    But the same things making her fear for her safety also turned her on so completely she could hardly stand it.
    “Don’t even fucking think about cops or trying to get help.” He whirled her around and shoved her against the deck railing. Pinning her with his body, he pulled a silk scarf out of his pocket. A scarf Nolie recognized as one of her own. The one she’d wanted to wear that morning, as a matter of fact. No wonder she hadn’t been able to find it.
    “Stand still,” Joseph ordered.
    As if Nolie would have been able to move with him holding her in place. Joseph was large and strong, and Nolie couldn’t have freed herself if she’d wanted to.
    “You don’t have to blindfold me,” she said, her voice cracking. She hoped Joseph wouldn’t realize how frightened she was. He hated hurting or scaring her in any way.
    Then again, as much as he seemed into the game, he might enjoy knowing the effect he had on her. After all, that was his intention if he was playing the role she’d given him.
    “You think I’m going to let you see where I take you?” He smacked her ass again. “I’m not stupid, bitch, but apparently you are.”
    Anger surged through Nolie, cooling her arousal. How dare he call her names? He had no right, and she sure as hell wasn’t going to tolerate it.
    Then she stopped herself. Of course he’d called her names. He wasn’t playing a loving husband, and a bad guy wouldn’t hesitate to use language and terms that would upset someone.
    “Nothing to say?” He leaned close to her ear. “You were pretty talkative a minute ago. Bet your husband hates that you never shut up, huh? Or maybe he likes dirty talk in bed.”
    “Maybe.” She didn’t have a clue how to respond to that. Joseph sometimes cut her off in conversations, so maybe she did talk too much for him. And he had never mentioned anything about talking dirty during sex.
    Apparently she didn’t know as much about her husband as she thought, because the tone in which he’d mentioned dirty talk certainly implied it was something he might be into.
    “Of course you don’t.” He whirled her around and held her. The sunglasses obscured his eyes, and the mask hid most of his face. Even close up, she couldn’t see anything for certain that proved this was her husband, and he was behaving more like a stranger than the Joseph she loved. But she had no doubts about who he was, no matter how he acted.
    He hesitated, and Nolie suspected he was worried he’d gone too far. She searched her brain for a way to reassure him without pulling them both out of the game.
    “I know a lot,” she said. “I’m not stupid. I know my husband loves me, for one thing.”
    He nodded. “Yeah, well, you just go on thinking that if it makes you feel better. I need to get you the fuck out of here before someone sees. You are not getting away from me.”
    In an abrupt move, he covered her eyes with the scarf and tied it behind her head. It obscured most of her vision. She could see only the deck directly in front of her feet and Joseph’s feet nearly touching hers.
    “Can you see anything?” he barked.
    Nolie shook her head. “No.”
    “You’d better be telling the truth.” He gripped her arm and tugged her away from the railing. “Come on.”
    Nolie trembled, and she froze again. She hated not being able to see. Although she trusted Joseph not to let her fall, she wasn’t entirely sure she was dealing with the usual Joseph. “I can’t see where I’m going. What if I trip over something?”
    “Don’t.” He yanked her arm. “Get moving.”
    She slid one foot forward, and he pulled her so she had no choice but to continue walking. As he guided her down the steps from the deck, Nolie relaxed. He was leading her. And with her gaze focused toward the bottom of the scarf, she realized she could see just far enough ahead to spot obstacles before she tripped.
    She almost believed Joseph had tied the scarf