Dean suggested the two of them celebrate the Fourth of July by hiking in the Smokies. With his long legs and endless stamina, he had to keep doubling back on the strenuous trail to wait, but he never tried to rush her. Instead, he said he liked the slower pace because it kept him from sweating through his hair gel. She couldn’t see even a dab of gel in that crisp hair, but he was being too nice for her to call him on it. She hated it when he was nice, so while they ate their trail lunch, she tried to pick a fight. He dragged her into a shady area near a waterfall and kissed her until she was too breathless to think straight. Then he took cruel advantage.

“You,” he said gruffly. “Against the tree.”

The silvered lenses of his latest pair of zillion-dollar sunglasses kept her from seeing his eyes, but the deliciously menacing set of his mouth made her shiver. “What are you talking about?”

“You’ve pushed me far enough, lady. It’s time to play a kinky game of Prison Break.”

She licked her lips. “It, uh, sounds scary.”

“Oh, it is. For you, anyway. And you won’t like what happens if you try to run. Now turn around and face the tree.”

She was tempted to run just to test him, but the tree idea was too enticing. They’d been playing various forms of domination and submission games from the beginning. It kept things light, just the way she wanted it. “Which tree?”

“Prisoner’s choice. Your last choice before I take over.”

She lingered too long admiring the swell of muscles under his T-shirt. He crossed his arms over his chest. “Don’t make me repeat myself.”

“I want to call my lawyer.”

“Out here I’m the law.”

He could still manage to surprise her. She was alone with 180-odd pounds of alpha male, and she’d never felt safer or more aroused. “Don’t hurt me.”

He pulled off his sunglasses and slowly folded in the stems. “That depends on how good you are at following orders.”

Wobbly kneed from sexual overload, she moved toward a sturdy red maple surrounded by a mossy carpet. Even the splash from the nearby waterfall couldn’t cool her off. When this was over, she’d have to repay him in kind, but for now, she’d simply enjoy.

He tossed aside his sunglasses and gave her a nudge so she was facing the tree. “Put your hands on the trunk and don’t drop them unless I tell you to.”

She slowly extended her arms over her head. The rough scrape of bark against her skin heightened the sense of erotic danger. “Uh…what’s this all about, sir?”

“The recent prison break at the maximum security women’s prison on the other side of the ridge.”