Panic snaked its way up Venus’s spine and she was helpless to keep some of what she felt from showing on her face. Malcolm, in tune with her every emotion, motioned for the men to stand back as he approached the bed. It was then she saw the rope he carried.
He sat on the edge of the bed and slid one hand leisurely down her body, his smile warm and reassuring, but his eyes glittered with need.
“Trust me,” he whispered.
And at those two words and the tenderness in his expression, her trepidation dissolved in an instant.
“Oh, I trust you,” she whispered, injecting all the warmth and emotion she felt into her smile.
He took one of her hands and looped the rope around her wrist, securely binding it to the slat she’d held moments earlier. Then he did the same with the other until both hands
