My brows flatten. I might find it hot when he says it, but part of me has to fight him anyway. “What if I want them to?”
It’s a totally unfounded hypothetical. I don’t make many friends outside of Isla, I’m not a big flirt, and I barely go out to party.
The air in my lungs puffs out of me when I’m pulled back against his hard chest. His lips graze my ear. “Try it and see how many severed hands I leave at your doorstep.”
“Jesus,” I push out hoarsely. Inexplicably, his promise of violence born of jealousy sends a thrill through me. “You’re like a deranged oversized cat.”
His chest vibrates with his laughter. “Anything to make you scream.”
There’s no stopping my shudder and he makes a pleased sound, sliding his big palm across my stomach. After I put in my order at the Mediterranean bistro, he stops me from opening my wallet. Before I can blink, he hands over a black credit card to pay for my meal.
“You do have manners,” I say in mock wonder as he carries my tray to the table. “That was almost boyfriend-y. Are we going steady or something?”
“You’re mine,” he grunts, taking a seat and tugging me into his lap. “Nothing else to discuss.”
“Dude.”
I toss a grape at him, but it bounces off with little consequence. All I get for my protest is his arm tightening around me and a piece of warm pita bread dipped in hummus offered against my lips.
“Eat,” he commands in a low voice.
I part my lips and take a bite. His thumb lingers at the corner of my mouth, gaze intent.
“You’re tempting me to make good on what I promised you right now.” The sultry words are a soft, warm puff against my neck. His nose grazes my pulse point. “Here on this table while everyone watches me take you apart. I don’t think I could wait to get you alone.”
My mouth opens and closes, battling the confused arousal spiraling through me. Maybe it’s just Wren—the dark thing about this man that attracts me to him, making me want whatever depraved thing he comes up with.
I rake my teeth over my lip. “I don’t think I’d like that.”
His lips brush my throat in a light kiss. “I’d make you like it, baby. No matter what I do to you, you’d be begging for it all.”
Well, shit.
Desperate for a subject change, I take out the folded note from my bra. “Since I don’t plan to get arrested for public indecency today, I want to show you this.”
Wren’s teeth scrape a sensitive spot on my throat. He grumbles, but sits back and takes Ethan’s note.
“I found it at the apartment I share with my brother when I was cleaning,” I explain. “He wrote it like he was in a rush. Something had him on edge in the last week or so before he said he was leaving to follow a story.”
His eyebrows furrow. “You’re sure it’s his handwriting?”
“Definitely. I looked it up. It’s an address at the shipping docks.”
“I’m aware.”
The lack of surprise makes me straighten. “Do you know something about this? Why didn’t you tell me if you found out something about it?”
“Because that’s not how this works.” His gaze flicks up to me through his lashes. “We’re not private detectives. I’ll tell you if I think you need to know, otherwise I’ll continue to operate as I see fit.”
“So I’ll just find out for myself,” I say mutinously. “I plan to check it out tonight anyway.”
Wren’s body goes rigid beneath me. “You will not go near this address.” Leaning into me, his fist thumps on the table with finality. “We’ll be handling everything. You’re not to go off half-cocked on your own. I mean it, so don’t do something stupid if I tell you not to.”
“You don’t get to decide that for me.” Annoyed, I push off his lap. I don’t spare a moment to be surprised that he lets me go, too wrapped up in my indignation at his ultimatums. “When you agreed to help me, I didn’t think it meant you’d shut me out like I’m some fragile little thing. That’s not me. All I want is to find my brother, and if you’re going to keep being a dick about it, then I don’t think I want your help anymore.”
A muscle in his jaw jumps when he clenches it. “There’s no backing out of a deal with us.”
I open my mouth to challenge the statement, but he’s on his feet in a swift movement, grasping my chin to angle my head before his mouth crashes over mine. I claw at his t-shirt as his tongue pushes past my lips.
This time his kiss is controlling, forcing me to submit to his will. When I attempt to pull away, he holds me in place with a feral noise and kisses me harder. As mad as he makes me, this thing between us pulls me under with the strength of a tidal wave. I kiss him back, biting his lip.
Wren ends the kiss before I’m ready, leaving me to sway against him, head clouded. He offers a pretentious grin that makes my blood boil, burning away the desire he stirred.
“Behave, kitten. Or I’ll find a pretty cage to hold you in. You’ll only get to come out when I want you to.”
At his sinister warning, I close my eyes for a moment as my stomach tightens with wicked desire despite how irritated I am. Centering myself, I let my head clear. He can believe he won this round, but I’m not giving up so easily because of his sinfully good kisses. Seething, I snatch my brother’s note off the table and dump what’s left of my lunch in his lap when he sits down again.
“What the fuck, Rowan?” he shouts.
“That’s for being the biggest asshole in the world,” I snap. “You deserved it. I’m going to be late for my next class. Don’t follow me.”
Wren glares at me, still foreboding even with hummus smeared across his jeans. I leave him like that, ignoring the gaping stares and whispers of questioning if I have a death wish for taking on Wren Thorne.
I do it anyway, because fuck him.
If he expects me to sit by and do nothing to help find my brother, he doesn’t know me at all. He can kiss the hell out of me all he wants, but that controlling prick still doesn’t decide where I go and what I do. Armed with pepper spray and a cat-shaped metal self-defense key chain since I’m alone at night, I intend to get some answers.
The address brings me to an industrial shipyard by the coastline. I park down the block at the lot that leads to the lookout point with a lighthouse on a rocky jetty to get a better idea of what kind of security I’ll need to sneak past to get to the location on Ethan’s note. The moon is out tonight, cutting through the eerie mist clinging to the rocky Maine seaside to light my path.
Waves splash against the rocks at the lighthouse. It provides a perfect vantage point. The docks themselves are brightly lit, but some of the shipyard is shadowed around the warehouse buildings. I use my phone camera to zoom in. A tall chain link fence encloses everything, but the entrance only has a boom gate that lifts its long pole arm to allow late shift workers to drive onto the lot. Bingo, that’s my in.
If I was worried this place was heavily guarded, I had nothing to stress over. The gate guard is easy to slip by while he’s distracted talking to someone with a clipboard. Keeping to the shadows, I sneak around, counting the warehouses until I reach the one Ethan wrote down. SynCom is painted on the metal siding beneath a single lamp.
It’s much like every other warehouse and dock here, surrounded by stacked shipping containers and crates awaiting intake or their ride on a ship. I creep closer to one column of crates and shine light from my phone screen on the side. A crease forms between my brows.
Medical-grade manufacturing supplies? When I searched for the company, weren’t they connected to a drug bust?
Two men storm out of the warehouse and I duck behind the crate to remain out of sight. Their argument carries, their voices thickly accented.
“How can we still trust them? They consider themselves kings, but only look out for themselves.” The taller man slashes his arm in an agitated move. “Look what they allowed to happen to our operation in Colorado.”
“There was no avoiding that,
” the second man says. “Come now, Sergei. They provide us what we need to rebuild our supply chain here.”
“You only say that because of their money.” The taller guy spits on the ground. “We do their dirty work.”
“It’s necessary when there’s a rat to be weeded out.”
The tall man grunts an affirmative. “His evidence is destroyed like they instructed.”
“As long as the partnership is beneficial, their investment is good. You want to sit at their table, you play by their rules.”
“Pompous Americans and their keys.” The first man swears in another language—Russian, maybe? My mind snags on the mention of keys.
They move further away toward a row of shipping containers. I come out of my crouch to follow them.
A hand covers my mouth and I freeze, a scream working up my throat. I’m lifted off my feet, but my frantic kicking does nothing to throw off the strong guy who has me in his arms. He keeps mine pinned with a sure grip so I can’t get to my pepper spray or stab him with my pointy cat ears keychain.
Shit, shit, shit.
Great idea. Isn’t this exactly why Wren warned me not to do something stupid? I struggle harder as I’m carried further away, not planning to end the night kidnapped.
“Shh,” a familiar muffled voice whispers. “It’s only us.”
Forcing my pounding heart to calm down, I seek out the source of the voice in the shadows and find Jude’s bright golden eyes peering back at me. He has a baseball cap and a half face mask on to obscure his features. Twisting, Levi allows me to see him from the corner of my eye. He doesn’t take his hand off my mouth.
Levi keeps me trapped in his arms. I wriggle to get free, but it’s no use. Jude pulls his mask off, tucking it into a pocket, acting like this is a casual night out. When we’re away from the shipyard, Levi removes his hand.
“Let me down! How the hell did you know I’d be here tonight?”
Jude tilts his head, peering at me through his dark lashes. “Followed you. Wren sent us. He suspected you wouldn’t listen to him.”
“Damn it,” I hiss.
“Aww, cheer up, sweetheart.” Jude chucks me under the chin and waggles his thick eyebrows, nodding to Levi over my shoulder. “We brought the bikes. You must’ve really buttered this guy up for him to let you ride one.”
I hold out for a moment, savoring the sullenness and fighting the prickle of excitement. Losing the battle, I sigh. “Really?”
“You still don’t get to drive,” Levi says brusquely as he finally puts me back on my feet. “You ride bitch with Jude. I don’t take passengers on my bike. And this?” He grabs my metal self-defense keychain. “Does nothing if you’re not alert. I told you to be more aware of your surroundings.”
Glaring, I rip it away from him. “I would’ve been fine. You have superhuman skills for sneaking up on people.”
“Let’s not keep him waiting,” Jude says ominously as Levi leads me by the arm through the shadows.
A pit tightens in my stomach that isn’t entirely born of dread. Part of me broke Wren’s rules and disobeyed because I like the thrill I get when he exerts control over me, subconsciously goading him to seek a repeat of catharsis I experienced before. Heat shoots through me and my breathing grows short.
“What about my car?” I ask when we reach the secluded spot the bikes are parked.
“It’s fine.” Jude gets on one and hands me a helmet. “We’ll take care of it.”
We speed away from the docks. The ride is exhilarating, but my thoughts are stuck on what I heard those men talking about. I grip Jude’s leather jacket tighter when we reach the winding incline that leads up to the Crow’s Nest.
Wren says nothing when we enter the main room. Unlike earlier at the TPU campus, he’s in a suit, seated on one of the couches, a lit cigar perched between his teeth. Power is the first word that comes to mind when I lay eyes on him.
Levi and Jude flank me. I can’t help feeling like it’s on purpose to make sure I don’t run. Wren’s eyes drag over me, much like the first night we met in the decrepit ballroom upstairs. When I jut my chin, his mouth curves in a slow feral grin.
Taking a long puff of his cigar, he pushes the bitter smoke out through his nose while watching me. It has no business being so sexy, but heat throbs between my legs.
My heart skips a beat when he rises from the couch and takes my wrist, leading me away from the main room. I pull to test his hold, but his fingers tighten. He takes me through the underground level, down long hallways. I had no idea this much was down here. After a few minutes, he stops in front of a door, unlocking it.
It’s a bedroom. Wren tugs me inside and my stomach bottoms out.
The room has a large bed with dark gray sheets taking up the majority of the space. One of Wren’s suit jackets is draped over a chair by an ornate carved wooden desk against the wall. Another door is ajar, leading to a bathroom.
“You sleep here?” My words come out hoarse and shocked. “Sorry, I just—I was picturing like an apartment at a glitzy high rise downtown, or something more mansion-like than a sparse dungeon bedroom beneath your crumbling hotel.”
“I have both of those,” Wren murmurs. “This will do for tonight. Remember what I told you earlier about my impatience?”
He slips a hand in his pocket and takes out something on a long chain. A necklace, I realize. He smooths a thumb over the polished metal heart with a deep frown. The cigar dangles from his other hand, forgotten.
“I told you not to go there alone,” he rasps. “It was reckless.”
He keeps his voice deceptively light, but his anger blankets the room. Curling my hands into fists, I stand my ground.
“I’m not sorry.” I slide my lips together. “If I didn’t go, I wouldn’t be able to tell you what I found out. These two guys came out of the warehouse arguing about the people paying them. They mentioned evidence being destroyed and doing the dirty work of the people paying them. Could they have been who Ethan was doing a story on? They could’ve taken him if they discovered him.”
Whether he’s interested to hear what I have to say or not, he turns his back on me, setting the cigar in an ashtray and the necklace on the desk. His fingers linger on it, shoulders tensing for a moment. My gaze falls to the necklace. It’s important to him.
Wren turns to face me again at last. “You broke my rules, Rowan.”
With methodic movements, he removes his expensive watch and leaves it on the nightstand, then unbuttons his cuffs and rolls up the sleeves of his shirt, revealing his strong forearms.
I swallow at the weight of his stare as he prowls toward me.
Wren stops in front of me. Grasping my chin, he lifts it so I meet his cunning gaze. “You’re begging for that punishment I promised, my curious little kitten.”
Eighteen
Wren
Not only do I plan to punish Rowan for her brash defiance, I want to tame her once and for all. She won’t disobey me again.
I had a hunch she’d go, so I sent Jude and Levi. But the thought of her in the hands of the same people that might have killed her brother—the thought of her in danger at all is unacceptable. It makes my chest itch with a sharp sensation.
“You wouldn’t,” she sasses. “I thought you were joking around.”
Her tone eggs me on, but heat flickers in her eyes. Naughty little brat.
I arch a brow. “When have I ever joked with you?”
Rowan licks her lips, darting her gaze to the door. She takes in the lack of a door handle and shoots me a confused glance.
“Nifty trick of Colt’s. It comes in handy when we don’t want to be disturbed.” I tilt my head, watching her. “There’s a hidden fingerprint scanner embedded into the door. If yours isn’t programmed, you don’t get access.”
Her eyes go round. “You can’t keep me here. I have classes, a job—”
“I told you if you didn’t behave I’d find a pretty cage for you.” I sit down on the bed and give my thigh a
commanding pat. “Come here.”
Her lashes flutter, but she doesn’t move. Good. I like her fight, it makes my cock hard. If she gave in too easily, I wouldn’t be so obsessed with her.
“So stubborn. It’ll only prolong the inevitable, kitten.” I put steel in my tone. “Get your ass over here now.”
This time she only resists a few moments before she crosses the room, chest heaving beautifully. If I stripped off her jeans and stroked her pussy, I know I’d find her panties soaked. Reaching out, I circle my fingers around her arm and pull her between my knees.
“You think if you act like a brat and do whatever you want, there won’t be consequences?” There’s a dangerous airiness to my tone.
“Seeing as how you’re not the fucking boss of me, yeah.” She folds her arms, but it does nothing to hide the way her hardened nipples strain against the thin fitted top beneath her leather jacket. “Sounds about right.”
I give her a predatory grin at her back talk. She brings out something in me that’s been dormant for too long.
“Is that so?” Without warning, I yank her face down across my lap and land a quick smack against her ass. She yelps, mostly in surprise rather than pain, squirming. “How about now? Are you ready to behave?”
“Fuck you,” she snarls.
“Wrong answer.”
Rowan cries out when my hand comes down on her ass again with slightly more force. The jeans muffle the effect I want. With a deft move, I reach beneath her to pop the button, ripping them down far enough to trap her legs and expose her pert ass to me. I hook my fingers under her thong, pulling it taut between her cheeks to enjoy the decadent view, running my fingers back and forth along the material before I let go. The fabric snaps against her crease with a satisfying crack.
“Jesus! I hate you,” she swears, fisting the sheets for leverage. “So fucking much.”
“Keep telling yourself that lie, my sweet kitten,” I croon, stroking her ass. “We both know your pussy is wet for me right now. Shall I find out now, or after your punishment?”
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