Eric was still wary as if suspected the item he held were secretly a jack-in-the-box. That was okay. His pride had received a blow-- though, really, so what if he wasn't the dominant one between them? Was that really such a disgrace?-- and he needed more than a few bright words to recover. Amber would win him over. She’d decided she would, and she had the advantage that he was drawn to her. She could do this.

The handshake became a solid hold, Eric's skin warmer and softer than she'd let herself reminiscence, and he didn't do more than thumb her knuckles, but her heart trilled anyway. This, here. This was the promise she'd remembered, palpable and visceral. Maybe Eric submitted to her, but this connection, she was at danger, too. Amber was opening herself to vulnerabilities. She’d been hurt by him. She could be, again. But she wanted this, him, too much to give it up over fear. Amber Volakis didn't work that way.

When she spoke, it was in tones of gravel, low and serious. "Then what do you want?"