Page 78 of The King's Maiden

At that moment, I had a strong feeling they wouldn’t hurt the guy’s chances. But Landon shook his head. His other hand came up to my chest, and he eased my body back onto the bed.

“When the offer for the same thing is on the table in front of you? Practicallybeggingyou to give in…On hands and knees promising you a world of pleasure…And fully prepared to give it to you?”

He swept my hair out from under my shoulders before laying my head down and letting me go. I ached at the loss of his touch almost instantly.

“You’d be strong enough to last a day. Maybe three or four. But six days with temptation staring you in the face?”

I swallowed, my mouth going dry as three very different and equally tempting images came to mind. It felt nearly impossible to imagine resisting.

My stubborn pride hated that.

“I told you, Landon. I came here to win. I want it more than anything. Oranyone.”

“So you’ve said.” He smiled at the set of my jaw. “Let’s test that theory, shall we?”

I lifted my chin. “Do your worst.”

He climbed onto the bed, throwing his leg over my body and straddling me without warning. “I’ll set the timer on my watch. Say you yield before it goes off and the test is over—I win. Outlast me and the timer—you win. Deal?”

“And you can’t cross the line? Whatever the hell that means, considering you’re on top of me?”

“It means no part of my body can touch anywhere on yours outside of your arms and legs up to mid-thigh. Nothing under a dress, nothing above the neck. Deal?”

“Can you order me to touch you? If so, where?”

His lips twitched. “Nothing under the shorts. No…Erogenous zones.”

He held himself steady over my body, arching a brow as if waiting for my next question. The tension in his thighs distracted me, but I thought through what he said and nodded.

“I say I yield and you win. Outlast you and I win. Deal.”

“Deal.”

He started the timer on his watch.

Resting his forearms on either side of my head, he slowly lowered down. “Oh, and if you give in and ask me to touch you before the timer goes off, I still win…” His face hovered an inch away from mine, his lips curling into a wicked grin. “But I’ll make you come so hard you’ll scream.”

My hips lifted on instinct, and I sucked in a quick breath. He held himself above me, his body rolling slowly as his mouth came inches away from my neck, collarbone, and breasts. Showing me how he’d move on top of me—what he’d do while he was inside me—if I said yes.

Pressing my back into the mattress, my mouth parted and eyes fixed on his lips. “That’s playing dirty.”

“That’sexactly what you’ll be up against.” He continued to tempt me, staring at all the places he wasn’t allowed to touch,with a hunger in his eyes that made no attempt to hide how much he wanted it.

Wanted me.

The confidence I’d felt about outlasting him a few minutes ago evaporated slowly. It vanished completely when his first command left his lips. His warm, quiet breaths fanned my cheek as he leaned in close to my ear.

“Undress me.”

Chapter Twenty-Two

QUINN

“But that’s?—”

“Not against the rules.” He glanced at his shirt, the tight-fitted button down straining over his chest and arms. “As long as you’re careful not to touch me.”

He pushed up higher to give me space.

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