by Lauren Rowe
“What’s the name of the school where Miss Westbrook worked in Seattle, Jonas?” Sarah asks Jonas. “That might be helpful for Eric to know for his search.”
There’s a beat. Jonas isn’t answering her. He looks like a deer in headlights.
Aw, Jonas.
“St. Francis Academy,” I say, answering for my brother.
Jonas flashes me a grateful smile and I grin at him. Some things will never change.
“Okay. I’ll do my best,” Eric says.
“Thank you,” Sarah says. She puts her arm around Jonas’ back and squeezes him tightly, and he leans into her, completely at ease in her tender embrace.
“Okay,” Agent Eric says. “I’ll go talk to my boss right now. I’ll give you guys a call later.” He nods at Kat, reassuring her in particular. “I promise I’ll give it my all.”
“I know you will, Eric,” Kat purrs. She shifts her eyes to me and leaves them there. Oh my God, she’s looking at me like she sees right through me—like my invisible shield has somehow vanished and I’m laid bare for her. “I have full faith in you,” Kat says.
Thirty-Three
Josh
“Henn, pass the ketchup,” I say, but I can barely concentrate on my burger.
Our meeting at the FBI was un-fucking-believable in countless ways, not the least of which is the fact that Kat’s application to The Josh Faraday Club is burning a hole in my proverbial pocket. And heart. And dick.
“You crushed it, Kat,” Jonas says. “You were amazing.”
“Absolutely,” Sarah agrees.
Henn passes the ketchup to me. “Who’s the fucking genius now?” he says. “Damn, girl.” He puts his fist up and she bumps it with hers, a huge smile on her gorgeous face.
Kat fantasizes about me while masturbating?
“To Kat,” Sarah says, raising her beer, and the rest of us hold up our beers in Kat’s honor, too. “You’re the reason Eric started taking us seriously,” Sarah says. “No doubt about it.”
“Aw, thanks,” Kat says. “But it was definitely a team effort.”
We all raise our glasses again and drink to “the team.”
She wants to feel my hard-on sliding deep inside her?
I clear my throat. “So how are we gonna get the money, Henn?” I ask, pointedly not looking at Kat. Shit, I’m hard as a rock right now. If I look at her, I’m not gonna be able to stop myself from grabbing her and kissing the hell out of her right here and now, in front of everyone. “I thought you said most of those accounts are set up for in-person transfer only.” Fuck. I can’t stop imagining Kat masturbating.
Ever since I saw you in that hallway, she wrote, I’ve taken self-love to an art form.
I shift in my chair, trying to relieve the throbbing of my dick in my pants, but it’s no use.
“They are,” Henn says. “Which, obviously, means we’re going to transfer the money in-person.” He pauses, shooting Kat a meaningful look. “Hello, Oksana Belenko.”
Kat grimaces sharply. “Oh, I dunno—” she begins.
“You’ll be fine,” Henn says. “I’ll set you up with a passport and a driver’s license—”
“I don’t know if I can—” Kat says, sputtering.
“You can,” Henn says. “Today proved that. Indubitably. Don’t worry, Kitty Kat.” He touches the top of her hand. “I’ll hack into each account and shave thirty years off Oksana’s age—they won’t even question you’re her for a second. And then I’ll walk into each and every bank with you, right by your side.”
“But will she be safe?” Sarah asks.
“I’ll make sure of it,” Henn says.
“So will I,” I add.
At my words, Kat’s eyes flicker to me and my cock hardens even more. The right thing to do is pull her aside and kiss her for the first time in private—but I’m not sure I can wait.
A waitress walks by and Kat flags her. “Double Patron shots all around, please.” When the waitress leaves, Kat lets out a long exhale. “Okay, I’ll do it.”
“Kat, are you sure?” Sarah asks. “You don’t have to do this.”
“Yes, I do. This ain’t no casino heist, fellas—and very pretty lady.” She winks at Sarah. “This is about taking these guys down so they can’t hurt you ever again, Sarah. It’s a no-brainer.”
Holy shit. She’s blowing my mind today—first, with the FBI guy, and then with her application, and now with this. She’s willing to impersonate Oksana Belenko to steal The Club’s money? I wouldn’t have thought it possible when we first started on this bizarre adventure, but Kat’s turned out to be every bit as valuable to the team as any of us—far more valuable than me, actually.
“We’ll create an offshore account,” Jonas is saying to the group. “And funnel everything into it at the last possible moment.”
“Two offshore accounts,” I say pointedly. “I think we’re gonna have to take a little finder’s fee on the deal—don’t you think, bro? Maybe one percent?”
A light bulb goes off on Jonas’ face—as usual, my brother can read my mind.
“Fuck yeah,” Jonas says. “Great idea. Yeah, five and a half mill sounds about right for our commission. Kat and Henn, you guys will each get a cool mill off the top. You’ve both earned it.”
I nod emphatically. A million each is exactly what I’d had in mind.
“Are you serious?” Kat squeals. “You’re gonna give me a million dollars?”
“You deserve it,” Jonas says.
Kat squeals again and leaps up to hug Jonas, jiggling her tight little body with excitement, and then moves on to kiss Sarah full on the mouth.
Oh, Jesus. That’s it. I give up. I’ve got to kiss this woman right now. Waiting ’til we’re alone is a fucking pipe dream. Whatever she wants, yes, I’ll do it. I don’t fucking care anymore. She told me her shit, I’ll tell her mine. I’ve got to have her, no matter the price.
Kat’s done kissing Sarah and now it’s my turn. She bends down, obviously intending to chastely kiss my cheek—but I stand abruptly, grab her face, pull her sexy little body firmly into mine, and devour her lips. My tongue slides inside her mouth and instantly leads hers into sensual movement.
Kat yelps with surprise and throws her arms around my neck, her tongue responding to my entreaties with extreme enthusiasm.
I press myself into her even harder, suddenly overcome with so much arousal, I can barely stand, and she runs her hands through my hair.
Oh, God, I’m light-headed. Every nerve ending in my body is in overload, surging with pleasure and relief. Oh, God, yes, she tastes incredible, better than I’d even imagined. And she smells fucking amazing. Our tongues swirling and intertwining feel electrically charged. Oh my fuck, if we were alone in my room the way I’d originally planned to finally kiss her, her clothes would already be off and my cock inside her. It’s just that good.
But, shit, we’re not alone.
Fuck.
Contrary to every primal urge coursing through my body, my lips release hers.
She pulls away from me, her lips red and her eyes smoldering.
I clutch my chest and smile at her. “I feel like I’ve been waiting a lifetime to do that,” I say softly.
“Why the hell did you wait so long, Playboy?” Kat breathes, pressing herself into my hard-on.
“Gee, I wonder why.” I press my forehead against hers, grinning broadly.
“So does this mean you’re finally gonna tell me?” Kat says.
I nod. “You win,” I whisper, almost inaudibly. “God help me, you little terrorist, you win.”
Kat laughs and sits back down, grinning from ear to ear, a living portrait of victory, but when she sees Henn’s face across the table, her face instantly falls.
“Oh, Henny. I’m sorry,” she says.
Henn shakes his head. “No, it’s great. You’re both the best.” He swallows hard. “Indubitably.” He tries to smile.
“Hey, Henn—” I say.
“No, really.” He waves me away.
“I’m good.”
But, clearly, he’s not good. Not good at all.
Kat gets up from her seat next to mine and works her way around the table to Henn. She grabs his shoulders emphatically and stares into his eyes. “You’re the best. I’m proud to call you my friend.” She kisses him on the cheek.
But he’s clearly heartbroken.
Shit.
The waitress arrives with the tequila shots Kat ordered and Sarah leads the charge on raising our drinks in the air. “To the Party Girl with a Heart of Gold and the Hacker,” Sarah says, clearly trying to cheer Henn up. “A couple of mill-ion-aires.”
“Here, here,” I say.
“Yeah, well, let’s not put the cart before the horse,” Kat says, putting down her empty shot glass. “There’s still the little matter of actually getting the money.”
“Oh, we’ll get it—don’t you worry,” Henn says.
I grab Kat’s hand under the table and squeeze it and she leans into me.
“Those fuckers almost killed you, baby,” Jonas is saying to Sarah. “They owe you a shitload more than three million bucks. Plus, you’ve been our fearless George Clooney through all this—you deserve it.”
“One hundred percent,” I say.
“No, I can’t—”
“Sure you can,” I say.
“Absolutely,” Kat adds. She returns my hand-squeeze under the table and leans right into my body.
“But what about you, Josh? Don’t you want some of the money?” Sarah asks.
I laugh. “Hell no.”
“But you’ve been helping us from minute one—”
“Of course, I have. I wouldn’t have it any other way.” I smile at Jonas and he grins.
“Just don’t make a decision about the money yet,” Jonas says to Sarah. “Think about it for a little while.”
Kat puts her hand on my thigh under the table and my cock twitches violently.
“I want you so badly I’m in pain,” she wrote to me. Jesus Fucking Christ. I can’t wait another minute to fuck her.
“So, Henn, how quickly do you think you can—” Sarah abruptly stops talking.
Some dude in a suit has just walked up to our table.
Sarah looks ashen.
Jonas looks like he’s about to commit murder.
Oh, Jesus. Shit. This dude’s got to be Max—the creep who demanded a “freebie” from Sarah. No wonder Jonas looks like he’s about to kill the fucker—I wanna kill him myself. I look at Kat and her eyes are bugging out of her head.
“What do you want?” Jonas spits out, putting his arm protectively around Sarah. He looks like a rabid Doberman pinscher on a leash.
“Hello, Mr. Faraday,” the guy says smoothly. “Sarah.” He glances at the rest of the table for show, but it’s clear he doesn’t give a shit about anyone but Sarah.
“I hope you’re still enjoying your stay here in Las Vegas?” the guy asks.
“What the fuck do you want?” Jonas asks.
“I had some business in the hotel—what a coincidence to run into you.”
The expression on Jonas’ face makes me release Kat’s hand under the table, just in case I need to leap up and fight this fucker.
“Hi, Max,” Sarah says, her voice shaky. “Yeah, that’s one helluva coincidence. Hey, everybody, this is Max—a friend of mine. These are some friends of Jonas’ who met us in Vegas to party—Jonas’ brother Josh, Josh’s girlfriend Kayley, and his roommate from college, Scott.”
Max barely acknowledges the rest of us. “I just need to steal you for a couple minutes, Sarah.” He puts his hand out like he’s expecting Sarah to take it.
“No,” Jonas says, pulling Sarah into him.
“Hey, guys,” Sarah says to the group. “Could you all excuse us for a few minutes?”
I look at Jonas, unsure whether we should leave him and Sarah alone with this asshat or not. “Um... ,” I say.
Jonas nods at me, signaling it’s okay for us to go.
I flash Jonas a look asking him if he’s sure, and he nods again.
“Sure,” I say slowly. “Come on, Kayley. Scott. Let’s go roll some dice.” The three of us get up from the table and walk toward the front door of the restaurant—but just inside the front doors, we stop and watch Jonas and Sarah for a long moment, assuring ourselves they’re gonna be safe if we leave, and when it seems certain the guy is here to flap his gums and nothing more, we slip outside the restaurant and enter the bustling casino.
“Whoa, that guy was exactly like I pictured him,” Henn says. “Talk about Dr. Evil.”
My eyes lock with Kat’s. She smiles broadly at me.
“Did you see Jonas’ face?” Henn asks. “That Max dude’s about to become hash browns, man.”
I can’t wait another minute. I grab Kat’s hand and pull her toward the elevators on the far side of the casino.
“Hey, boss,” Henn says behind me. “The craps tables are this way, man.”
“You’re gonna have to play on your own for a little while, Henn,” I say over my shoulder.
“Oh,” I hear Henn say behind me. “Gotcha.” He sounds crestfallen. And I’m intellectually sorry about that, I really am—because I love that fucking genius like a brother—but right now, the only thing I care about is finally getting to experience the motherfucking force of nature that is Katherine Ulla Morgan from the inside-out.
“Are you taking me to read your application?” Kat whispers, clutching my hand.
I don’t reply. We’ve reached the elevators and I bang on the call button. Now that I’ve kissed her, I’m about to explode with my pent-up sexual desire. I’m a dam about to break.
“Are you taking me to read your application?” Kat repeats, her voice barely controlled excitement.
I turn to face her. “No. I’m taking you to my room where I’m going to fuck the living shit out of you,” I say evenly. “And then I’ll give you my goddamned motherfucking application.”
She clamps her lips together, shocked.
I grunt with frustration and lean in to whisper into her ear. “And I swear to God, you little terrorist, you better not say another goddamned fucking word about that motherfucking application until after I’m through fucking you. You’ll get what you want, I swear to fucking God, because it’s clear to me now you’re as inevitable as goddamned gravity, but first things first I’m gonna get inside that tight little body of yours and fuck you ’til you’re screaming my name.”
Thirty-Four
Kat
The elevator arrives and Josh pulls me inside, his chest heaving, his eyes blazing. An orchestral version of “Take on Me” by A-ha greets us in the enclosed space.
The doors begin closing and Josh lunges at me, making my clit zing with anticipation—but just before the doors slide shut, a hand stops their progress and an elderly couple steps into the elevator car.
Josh leans abruptly away from me, clasps his hands in front of his crotch, and looks down at the floor of the elevator.
I straighten up, feeling light-headed and weak-kneed.
“Hello,” the lady says. She’s got silver hair and she’s wearing a simple sundress.
“Hello,” I say brightly to the woman and her husband, trying to distract attention away from Josh and his pained expression.
“Are you two having fun?” the woman asks.
“Definitely. You?”
“Oh, yes. We always have fun in Vegas. We play the slots and see a show—always a good time.”
“Have you been winning?”
The lady laughs. “No.”
I look at Josh. His head is bowed. His hands are still clasped in front of his pants.
“What show did you see this time?” I ask, my heart racing.
Josh shifts his weight next to me.
“Blue Man Group,” the woman replies, her eyes darting to Josh and back to me. “What have you been up to, honey?”
“Oh,” I say. “Nothing much. The usual Vegas stuff—a little craps, Cirque Du Soleil,
plotting to overthrow the evil empire and save the world, bringing a stubborn man to his knees—you know, blah, blah, blah.”
The woman chuckles.
The older couple’s floor dings and they step out, and the minute they’re gone, Josh leans toward me aggressively, like he’s gonna fuck me right here and now. But a dad with two young kids in swim gear immediately gets onto the elevator, causing Josh to step back and clasp his hands in front of his crotch again.
“We’re going up,” Josh barks out, his eyes like lasers.
“Oh, whoops, thanks,” the dad says, putting his arm out to stop the elevator doors from closing. “Come on, guys, step out,” the dad says, glaring at Josh. “Daddy messed up. We’ve gotta go down to get to the pool. Sorry about that, folks.”
“No problem—have fun,” Josh says, obviously trying to make amends for how loudly he just barked at the guy.
Wow. I’ve never seen Josh look more like his brother than he does in this moment. If this is how Jonas looks at Sarah on a regular basis, then it’s no wonder she’s suddenly been acting like a cat in heat.
The dad and his kids step off the elevator and the doors close behind them—and Josh freaking attacks me. His lips are on mine. His hands are all over me, exploring my breasts and ass and back. Oh lordy, he smells so fucking good. His tongue is sensual and confident, his lips utterly delicious. His hand moves confidently between my legs, under my sundress, right to the crotch of my panties, where his fingers confidently stroke me. I pull back slightly and grip the bulge in his pants as his fingers slide over the fabric covering my clit.
“Oh my God, Kat,” he murmurs as I vigorously stroke the hardness under his slacks.
“I’m dying,” I breathe, my body bursting into flames.
The elevator doors open and we tumble out together, still kissing and groping each other. We bang into the wall with a loud thud but keep going, both of us moaning and laughing at the same time as we work our way down the short hallway toward Josh’s room.
“You have a condom?” I mumble into his lips. Oh my God, my body’s already beginning to warp and twist from deep inside.