"Not at all. His last one was with him for thirty years. She's retired, living in Palm Beach."

"Does he expect me to sleep with him?"

"No. He's married. And when I say that, I mean married. He doesn't cheat on his wife."

"Is he eccentric? Weird? Mean? What's the deal?"

"Nope. Just private and elusive, and the average person doesn't hear or know much about him because that's the way he likes it. All of his employees come to him through personal recommendation. He rarely fires anyone. People don't quit. They retire or are promoted. He has offices in New York and L.A., too, and travels back and forth quite a bit. If anything, the only catch will be that you'll have to travel sometimes."

New York? Los Angeles? On someone else's dime? Wow.

"It sounds like an amazing opportunity." Understatement of the year.

He smiled. "I'd hoped you say that." He cupped her cheek in his hand and brushed his mouth over hers, a soft, sweet kiss. Swamped with mixed emotions, she closed her eyes and just let it happen. "Now, there's something else I want to talk to you about. It kind of has to do with the question you asked earlier-why we locked you in the cage." There was an edge in his voice that told her she was probably not going to like what was coming.

"Oh?" Here comes the catch. She supposed some people would think a job as great as he described was worth a favor or two in return.

"I'm asking if you'll stay here with Tryphon and me for the week until you go to that meeting."

"Stay here a whole week? Why?" There went those warning sirens again. She pushed out of his embrace, wrapping her own arms around herself.

"Because we just want this time with you."

"For s.e.x," she stated, trying to understand. "You locked me up so you could keep me here for a week? To spend time together? Or for s.e.x?" Despite her confusion, her body instantly decided a week of s.e.x with Bale and Tryphon would be tolerable, even if she still couldn't comprehend why they'd go to such extreme lengths to keep her there. The rest of her wasn't one hundred percent sure sticking around another five minutes was wise.

She was sort of prost.i.tuting herself. s.e.x for a great job. Good s.e.x for a great job.

Huh. Really, if she could look at it in that light, who was getting the better end of the deal there? Hardly prost.i.tuting, when she thought about it that way.

He shrugged. "Maybe s.e.x. Maybe. But more than that."

Unsteady, she leaned against the nearest piece of furniture. "What's that mean, more? I need you to be straight with me. You're not making sense." The rational side of her had its own ideas about this whole thing. She liked s.e.x. A lot. But she never let her partners treat her the way these two had. And she never got emotionally intimate with anyone. Ever.

She had a few f.u.c.k buddies who she'd drop in on when she needed to relieve some tension. They knew what she wanted and were glad to accommodate her. She liked them. They were her friends, but for various reasons, they could never be more than her friends and f.u.c.k buddies.

These guys weren't like them. When they weren't p.i.s.sing her off by stuffing her in a cage, they were making her feel things. Things that scared her.

"We would-I would-like to just spend some time with you. Get to know you. Talk. Maybe we could go out. I have a few surprises planned..."

This sounded like boyfriend-talk. What did this say about his relations.h.i.+p with Tryphon?

Confused, she shook her head. "I don't know, Bale. I mean, I don't want to sound ungrateful because I can't tell you how much I appreciate your help with the job. I probably owe you something for that. But honestly, there've been a lot of things about this situation that have bothered me. Tryphon and his control issues. The whole cage thing. And now this. Even if I could somehow set those other things aside, I'm not looking for a long-term relations.h.i.+p right now, and that's what it sounds like you're looking to start. It's just the wrong time-"

"Whoa," he interrupted, waving a hand in the air. "I swear I'm not trying to start something serious. Tryphon and I love each other. We're solid. That's not what this is."

Getting more confused and frustrated by the minute, she threw her hands in the air. "Then what is this, Bale? The average guy doesn't lock people in his bas.e.m.e.nt. h.e.l.l, he doesn't ask people-virtual strangers?-to stay as his guest in his home for no reason."

He stood but didn't move toward her. "It's something I want to do. Something I need to do."

Grrrr. Where was her explanation? She wanted to turn around and race up those stairs and out of this house. None of this made sense.

If I leave, I'm walking away from a great job-the only one I've been offered in months. f.u.c.k!

Inching toward the stairs, she asked, "I have to stay to get the job?"

He visibly swallowed. Nodded.

b.a.s.t.a.r.d.

She scrubbed her face with her palms then s.h.i.+vering, tightened her arms around her body. "A whole week?" Maybe he'd be open to negotiation? "I need to get home. How about one day instead?"

"A whole week, not a day less. Not a day more."

"Does this have to do with Tryphon and his domination thing?"

He shook his head emphatically. "Absolutely not. I had a talk with him about that. I told him to stop pus.h.i.+ng the submission stuff on you."

"That's a step in the right direction. I mean, if that's what Tryphon likes, that's fine, but it's not cool for him to force it on anyone."

"I understand. I'll talk to him about it again if it'll make you feel better about this."

s.h.i.+t, what to do? On so many levels, this was totally unfair. The prideful side of her wanted to tell Bale to take the job offer, shove it up his a.s.s, and go to h.e.l.l, after what he'd done to her. But the desperate side-the very side that these two manipulative jerks were taking advantage of-wouldn't let her do it.

"No more cage. That's f.u.c.king wrong."

He lifted his hands, as if surrendering. "No way. I promise. That's why I'm asking you to stay here of your own free will."

"I mean it. I don't get the cage. What was that?"

"It was for your good."

Bulls.h.i.+t. "What?"

"We had to make sure you didn't leave," he explained, cryptically.

"Why?"

He shook his head. "There's so little I can tell you-"

"You owe me an explanation, dammit. Give me something, or you can forget it. You expect me to blindly trust you. To stick around, for G.o.d only knows what. When you two threw me in a f.u.c.king cage. You think that's the way to earn a girl's trust?"

"No." He sighed. Shoved his fingers through his hair. "It's not."

"It's not s.e.xy. It's not cute. It's insulting. Demeaning. Wrong. So tell me why I should trust you. Why should I believe a word you say? About the job. About anything."

He tipped his head and crossed his arms over his chest. "Because you want to? You want to believe there's a job."

"f.u.c.k you!" That was it. She was done. He'd locked her up and now he was admitting to her face that he was manipulating her. Didn't care to deny it. The man had b.a.l.l.s-she'd give him that.

There probably wasn't a job anyway. She started up the stairs, but she only reached the third one before Bale stopped her by tugging on her arm. She yanked it out of his grip, swiveling around to face him. "I'm leaving, and you'd better not try to stop me."

"Please. I know I'm making things worse, but I'm asking you for some time. I need to talk to Tryphon before I tell you more. But the job is for real. I can verify that if you need me to. The pay is excellent. It's a good position, a great opportunity, and I want you to have it."

"Then tell me it's mine whether I stay or go."

"It's yours, even if you leave." He reached into his pocket, pulled out his cell phone. "Here. I'll let you dial the number. From the phone book if you like. That way you know I'm not calling a friend and asking him to lie."

She narrowed her eyes. Something was still very strange about this setup, and she wasn't entirely comfortable. She needed a minute to sort things out. She took another step, lifting her arms. "Give me a second. I need to think."

"Take as long as you need."

To some girls, this would be such a no-brainer. They'd tell these two guys to f.u.c.k off and forget about the dream job. But it wasn't that simple, not for her. And not with what could be a really great job on the line. Granted, Bale had said the job was hers, regardless. But she couldn't leave and take the job now. She never accepted handouts.

Oh h.e.l.l. This was plain weird. A week of whatever in exchange for a job.

Time to sort this out.

She sat on a step and buried her face in her hands, closed her eyes. What they were asking was for her to stay around, in this gorgeous place, for one week.

Okay, counting yesterday as day one, that left six more days, five after today. They maybe wanted to have s.e.x-which had already proven to be a reward in and of itself. She liked that part. And they also wanted spend some time with her doing whatever. Actually, that last part-the whatever-was the most intimidating.

As if he could read her mind, Bale said, "s.e.x is not part of the bargain. You don't have to f.u.c.k us to get the job. We're not asking for you to pay us back for the favor with s.e.x. I want to make that perfectly clear."

Clear. Not hardly. That made things more confusing. If they weren't asking her to hang out because they liked having s.e.x with her, then what exactly were they looking for? "If this isn't about s.e.x, then what is it about?"

Bale paused before answering, "Maybe you could think of this as a short vacation? We'll pamper you, spoil you. You can relax and just enjoy, mentally and physically recharge so you'll be ready to tackle your new job. Think fun. Casual. Nothing serious."

She glanced at him. "Fun?"

"It's entirely up to you how this week goes. How's that sound?"

"Up to me?"

"Yes. Totally."

Hmmm. If she could hold them at arm's length, and if Tryphon gave up the submission stuff, and if Bale kept to his word and didn't shove her back in that f.u.c.king cage, she might be able to handle a week of rest and relaxation. Casual fun.

s.h.i.+t and double-s.h.i.+t. What should she do?

She'd done crazier things in the past, had taken bigger risks and had trusted people a whole lot less trustworthy than these two. Considering the fact that they'd locked her in a cage-basically holding her hostage overnight-that was saying something. But past mistakes were what they were. She'd learned from them and moved on, and let those lessons help sharpen her people-radar. It had been years since anyone had surprised her. By the end of a short conversation with a stranger, she usually knew whether he or she was up to no good or not.

These two...there was something fishy going on, but in her gut she knew that fishy something wasn't evil or dangerous. She'd risked her life on a gut instinct before. It might be worth doing so again. Correction-she wasn't risking her life. She was agreeing to spend one week with a couple of men. Not having s.e.x. Or having s.e.x, depending upon her whim, evidently.

Finally, her mind made up, she nodded. "You've got yourself a houseguest for one week. But if you don't want the police raiding your house, you'd better let me get in touch with my roommate, Liz. She's probably reported me as a missing person by now."

"Sure. You can use my phone." He handed her his cell phone.

Perfect, in case anything weird happened, Liz would have Bale's phone number.

"Thanks." She snapped it open and dialed.

Liz answered on the second ring.

"Liz, it's me."

"Where the h.e.l.l are you? I have been worried sick! You're with that Tryphon guy, and you never stay out-"

"I know, I'm sorry, sweetie. I'm at Tryphon's house. Everything is okay."

"What's going on?"

Raine slid a glance in Bale's direction. "Well, a lot."

"Yeah?"

"I've got an interview next week for a great job."

"Really? That's awesome! With who?"

"The owner of a company called Omni. It's a woman's fas.h.i.+on company, I guess. Ever heard of them?"

"Nope. But I can check around."

"Yeah, do that, will you? And call my cell when you get something."

"Raine." Liz's voice dropped. "Why can't I just tell you when you get home?"

"Because..." Raine turned her back to Bale, took a few more steps. She rested a hand on a piece of furniture, a bondage table of some kind. "I'm staying here for a while."

"A while?"

"A few days."

"Few? Why? You've never spent a weekend with a guy, let alone a few days."

"Actually, it'll be six days, five after today." Raine turned around and scooted up on the table, letting her legs dangle over the edge. "It's a long story. But I swear everything's okay."

"I smell rotten seafood, Raine-"

"Don't, Liz. I know what I'm doing. I'm a big girl."

"I don't like this."

"I didn't think you would. But that's okay. You're you, and I love you. But I'm me. And you know I'm going to make decisions you wouldn't."

Raine heard breathing, and in her mind's eye she could picture Liz giving her that look, the one that said "you're making a huge mistake." Glancing over her shoulder, she met Bale's gaze, smiling tensely when he gave her an encouraging nod. "Okay, I've got to go now."

"Raine..."