“Girl”—his Southern drawl rolled out so fast it thickened the air in the room—“I’ve never met a woman in more need of a good spanking than you.”

Her mouth dropped open so fast her skin stretched. He did not just say that. There was no way he’d just said that.

His smile was pure masculine sin. “So that’s how to get you to stop talking.”

Her lips snapped shut. Spirals of heat, sharp and tingling, circled down her torso to land hard in her abdomen. Her panties grew wet. This should not be turning her on, but right now, everything about him was just so wrong and sexy and somehow right.

Her body was a moron. “I signed a contract and couldn’t tell you the truth.” They had to find a common ground; surely he’d understand that she’d had to follow the rules.

“I don’t give a fuck about contracts right now,” he growled. “Some things, including friendship and becoming lovers, trump all contracts. You lied to me.”

Yeah, his rules were all his own. Not society’s. Why had it taken her so long to realize that fact? “I like you.”

Instead of softening, his expression sharpened. “I don’t like you very much right now, Brigid. Tell me to leave, and I will. Now.”

Her gaze dropped to the obvious bulge in his jeans. Her breasts tightened. “You don’t want to leave.” A slight tone of triumph entered her voice.

“Didn’t say I wanted to leave. I said a smart girl would toss me out. Right now.” He crossed his arms, pulling his T-shirt tight over those strong chest muscles. “It’s your choice, but if you let me stay, the talking will be kept to a minimum. I want you, there’s no hiding that. But I don’t trust you, and I ain’t going gentle.”

That drawl. Solid, authentic, Southern sin. A shiver took her, and she barely hid it. “I’ve never said I wanted gentle.” She was caught in the moment, in the challenge of handling his anger. Even so, in the very back of her mind, a warning hummed. This was no ordinary man, and she was out of her depth.

Warnings had never worked before with her.

“If you’re sure, take off your clothes.” Lust and anger burned in his eyes.

“No.” The word came as naturally as breathing.

He smiled, and desire beat harder inside her. “Your legs are twitching. You want to run? Want me to catch you?” He looked like he wanted to hunt her down.

Yeah, she’d like that. But she looked around the tiny apartment. “There’s nowhere to run.”

“Exactly,” he murmured.