by A. J. Macey
“Well, let’s hope you don’t. I don’t want to get arrested for beating the fuck out of some prat.”
Snorting, I got the mental image of Theo punching Stephen and couldn’t deny the sick glee that filled me at the idea.
“As Sam said, I can handle myself.” I refused to let him know how I felt about his protectiveness.
“Just because Sam said so doesn’t mean you should have to do it alone. You asked for my help, remember?”
“I distinctly remember asking for the Auckland Kings’ help,” I corrected but knew it wasn’t true. When I asked, all I was thinking about was Theo.
Not that I’d ever tell him that.
“Mhm, whatever you need to tell yourself, baby,” he taunted. “How much longer until you head to your father’s office?”
I glanced at the clock and bit back the bile that quickly rose in my throat. I can’t believe I’m actually doing this. What the hell is wrong with me? Probably because I’ve been trapped in a small space with Theo, of all people, and I’ve officially lost all common sense. Stockholm Syndrome, that’s totally it.
Right?
“He should be leaving now, so in just a few. I’m going to give him a bit to leave the building. I don’t know if you’ll see him and his driver leaving,” I rambled, tucking away the spiral of unwanted thoughts.
“I’ll keep an eye out just in case.”
“Thanks,” I told him as I shut the computer off.
“Wow, an apology and a thank you from Mila Walker on the same day?” Theo teased. “I must be pretty special.”
Rolling my eyes, I refused to rise to the bait. I slipped from the office, my eyes darting between the hall and the clock on the wall.
“Okay, I’m heading to the office,” I revealed after a good five minutes passed, and my father didn’t return.
“For the love of God, please be smart and stay safe.”
“Aww, Theo, if I didn’t know better, I would think you’re worried about me,” I whispered as I slipped into the empty hall.
“Surprising as it may be, I do, in fact, have a heart,” he countered.
“A tiny shriveled-up one.”
“Yes, a tiny, shriveled up heart, but a heart, nonetheless, and somehow, it seems to beat for you,” he admitted, a warm laugh filling the earbud.
Wow, that’s a sexy voice. I was momentarily stunned, not only by the smooth notes of his chuckle but the statement itself. Huh, maybe I’m not the only one dealing with Stockholm syndrome. Yup, that’s definitely what’s happening here.
“I’m in,” I told him, refusing to let the emotions blooming fill my words. “Hopefully, it shouldn’t take too long to locate, as long as he didn’t put it in his safe.”
“I’m almost afraid to ask, but if he did?”
“Then I’ll break into it,” I muttered, my eyes trailing over the folders and items littering my father’s desk. I didn’t want to move things unless absolutely necessary. One less thing that could give away someone had snooped through his office.
“You? Break into a safe?”
I sighed. “My father may be in charge, but he’s not the most logical about his own personal security. I’ve known him my whole life, so it’s pretty easy to dissect what he’d use as a combination or code.”
“You’ve broken into his safe before.” A statement, not a question.
“Don’t sound so shocked. I was curious,” I admitted with a shrug no one could see. Fingering through the few stacks, I didn’t spy the Travis Dorchester police file, so I moved on.
“About what?”
I wasn’t sure why the question surprised me.
“Everything. The Phantoms, how it’s run, what makes the money, what we deal in, all that. It was a few years ago, right after my father took over, so before you go all ‘but you said you didn’t have any idea,’” I impersonated in a deep voice, “I don’t know specifics of what’s changed over the years.”
“I wasn’t going to say that.” There was an odd note to Theo’s retort.
“Don’t pout, Theo. Not everyone can be as skilled as me.” I chuckled, leafing through my father’s filing cabinet after I briefly looked for anyone in the hall.
“I’m not pouting! I don’t pout!”
I bit back a giggle at his defensive response and settled for a simple ‘Mhm.’ A loud, frustrated huff filled my ear.
“Filing cabinet and desk are clean. Going to check the safe now. How long have I been in here?”
“About ten minutes.”
Already longer than I wanted. I frowned, moving faster. While my father may be out of the office, people might come to drop off information in the lockbox on the wall just outside of the door. With large glass panels on either side of his door, I didn’t want to risk being caught snooping.
Walking to the wall, I pulled the painting that acted as a cover for the safe alcove, the hinges silent in the quiet office. The safe was the same as it had been the last time I broke in, but my father had no doubt had changed the combination. Thankfully, it was a digital keypad, not a dial, so I turned on my phone’s flashlight and inspected the numbers.
“Really, Father?” I muttered when I realized which keys had slight wear on them. “The day you took over? That’s the combination you decided on? A fucking tot could break that code.”
“Wait, seriously?” Theo asked, laughing as he spoke.
“Unfortunately,” I said, typing the date on the panel. “Well, not for us, mind you, but that my own blood could be so dumb. It’s bloody embarrassing to be related to him, I tell you.”
“Yeah, I can imagine. I assume it worked?”
“Bingo.” The file was among the other items in the metal alcove. There was a large pile of cash, an expensive cigar box, no doubt filled with my father’s most precious smokes, and other files I was curious about but didn’t touch. Grabbing the file, I tucked it into the bag slung over my shoulder. I was just about to close the safe when I made a split-second decision. Snatching the files and a wad of the money, I left the bulk of the bound bills with the cigars.
“You leaving now?” he asked as I closed and relocked the safe. The hall was still empty as I slipped from the room, sticking close to the wall, so I was in the camera’s blind spot. I didn’t respond until after I had reached the staircase, choosing it over the elevator because—for whatever reason—they didn’t have cameras.
The Phantoms really should work on their security.
“Yup, heading to the main floor,” I explained before Theo could start yelling at me again for not staying in touch.
“Good. Hurry your ass up,” he commanded, making me roll my eyes.
“You’re not the boss of me.”
“You know you’d love it if I was,” he taunted with a hint of heat. Before I could argue, I would absolutely not—even though I would—I ran smack dab into a muscled chest.
“Hello, Mila.”
Oh, no.
“Stephen,” I ground out, glaring at him. “Are you stalking me now?”
“Stephen?” Theo asked sharply.
“It’s not stalking since you’re my fiancée,” the slimy bastard countered, smirking.
“I’m not your anything. I believe I made that quite clear a few days ago.” I knew it wasn’t smart to wind him up, but I couldn’t help myself. “Now, move. I have shit I need to do.”
“Hm, I don’t think so,” he murmured, moving faster than I expected, trapping me between him and the wall near the side door I planned on using to escape. “You’re supposed to give your beloved a kiss before leaving. You wouldn’t want to break tradition, would you?”
“I don’t give a fuck about tradition, and I’m sure as hell not kissing you,” I spat, my hands shaking in my building anger.
“One kiss and you can leave. It’s not a difficult request,” he said with a cocky smirk.
“That is your fucking fiancé?” Theo questioned. “What in the hell is your father thinking, setting you up with this asshole? If you don’t get o
ut of there in the next two minutes, Mila, I will come in there.”
A hint of panic filled me at the ramifications of his declaration, so I did something I knew I would hate. Leaning forward, I pressed my lips to Stephen’s. My nails dug into my palms sharp enough, I would probably bleed when I finally unclenched my fists, but it was the only thing keeping me grounded through the horrid kiss.
“See, that wasn’t so bad, now, was it?” he murmured, the scent of cigarette smoke wafting over my face as he spoke.
I didn’t respond, shoving him slightly to head toward the door, and much to my relief, he didn’t fight me. Acid threatened to overtake my throat, but I swallowed it and fled to the safety of the car.
Theo
“That is your fucking fiancé? What in the hell is your father thinking, setting you up with this asshole? If you don’t get out of there in the next two minutes, Mila, I will come in there,” I commanded sharply, barely containing the utter rage that filled me at the way Stephen was speaking to Mila.
The line was silent for a long stretch, but just as I shoved the door open to leave, I heard the man’s sleazy voice once more.
“See, that wasn’t so bad now, was it?”
That fucking bastard. He actually fucking kissed her. He had no right. Mila is mine, not his. How dare he?
“Go,” Mila hissed as soon as she clamored into the car, breathless.
Her tanned cheeks were red, and her eyes were sparking dangerously with her fury. I slammed the door and practically peeled out down the street, the movements betraying my emotions. We didn’t speak as we drove around the city, having decided ahead of time it wouldn’t be smart to go directly back to our hideout. The silence was tense, nearly palpable. The only sound cutting through it was the soft rock playing on the radio. I wanted to say something but didn’t trust myself to do it while I was driving and not crash.
Not that I was pissed at her—well, not completely anyway since this idiotic plan had been her idea in the first place—but at her piece-of-shit fiancé, at her father, and at the Phantoms for their backward way of thinking, which put Mila in such a position. The focus of my anger was knowing, she and Stephen had kissed, the mental image plaguing me until I wanted nothing more than to capture her lips to let our kiss overshadow anything Stephen could do. When we reached the house, the both of us were still fuming as we stormed up the small pathway and into the living space.
“Okay, out with it!” she demanded, turning and tossing her hands up.
“Out with what?” I ground out, glaring at her.
“Whatever the fuck is pissing you off because clearly, something is!”
I narrowed my eyes and strode forward until we were only a breath apart.
“That was the stupidest, most dangerous plan I have ever seen. Do you have any idea what could have gone wrong, outside of what happened at the end?”
“I got the file, didn’t I?” she challenged, her chest heaving with each panting breath.
“But not without risks,” I murmured coldly. “I mean hell! Look at how that bastard fucking talked to you! He kissed you when you didn’t want it. What kind of sick person does that?”
“I kissed him!” she shouted.
“Why?” I challenged, my gut sinking.
“I couldn’t risk you getting caught, and as much as I fucking hated it—believe me, I almost fucking threw up—I wasn’t going to let you and your anger get you shot because you wanted to defend me!”
“Excuse me for being concerned about your physical and mental wellbeing, Mila! I don’t want anyone, especially you, to have to do shit like that.”
She eyed me incredulously, trying to decipher if I meant what I said, but instead of giving me a scathing retort, she shook her head and turned around. I ground my teeth as she walked away, my feet moving on their own accord. She wasn’t going to get out of this discussion.
Not this time.
10
Mila
What the hell does he know, anyway? I fumed, my anger pulsing with each step I took away from him. I was too focused on my own frustration to realize he was following until he grabbed my arm, spinning me to face him before I could open my bedroom door. The wood was solid behind me as he pinned me between the smooth surface and his broad torso. It was the same position Stephen had held me in not an hour ago, but instead of being sickened by it, I felt a spark of desire course through me.
“You don’t get to always walk away from a hard conversation,” he said sharply. “Not this time. Not when you were just talked to like a fucking pet instead of a woman. No one should talk to you like that.”
“No one?” I challenged, not expecting the secret thought that maybe he would slip past my lips. I felt light-headed, dizzy at the possessive gleam in Theo’s eyes as he looked down at me. He was so close, and the anger that had fueled me quickly melted into something else. Something I didn’t want to acknowledge.
“No one except me.” He smirked, the sinful sight making me shiver.
It took a moment for his words to register, but before I could counter, his lips were against mine in a passionate kiss. As if my body was no longer under the tight control of my brain, my arms snaked around his shoulders, holding tight to him as I kissed him back.
He tasted like coffee, and his cedar and mint smell made me dizzy as his arms wrapped around my waist, cupping my ass roughly. A low moan filled my throat as his tongue brushed against the seam of my lips. Opening, I let him taste all of me, my entire body humming in need.
Tangling my fingers in his hair, the dark tresses were softer than expected. I gripped the short locks tightly as I matched his fervor. Tongues tangled together, teeth nipping sharply, we stripped each other of the way too many clothes between us.
“Must you wear so many layers?” I huffed breathlessly, shoving Theo’s shirt down his arms. Underneath the thin short-sleeve button-up was a white tank, making me groan in frustration. I wanted to see what Theo looked like in all his glory, to feel his tanned skin against mine, and I couldn’t bloody well do that with all the garments he still wore.
“Oh, like you’re any better,” he smirked. His calloused palms roamed over my skin beneath my shirt before yanking it over my head. “At least I don’t have shitty contraptions.” He tugged on the strap of my lacy white bra.
“Then maybe you should stop talking and get back to stripping, hmm?” I challenged with a cocky grin. His eyes sparkled, and without notice, I was whisked into his arms with a shocked yelp that was quickly swallowed when Theo captured my lips once more.
He expertly balanced me in his arms, kissing me deeply while somehow opening the bedroom door. It didn’t take long for him to reach the bed and lay me on the rumpled sheets. I had been too lost in the tantalizing swirls of his tongue around mine to realize he’d unhooked my bra until the cool air of the room brushed over my bare chest. The chill and goosebumps were chased away quickly when Theo’s palms cupped each breast and squeezed gently.
“You may be insufferable, Mila, but you are gorgeous,” he murmured in a rich, husky tone that went straight to my already slick core.
“Mmm, you sure know how to make a girl feel special,” I taunted softly, finally tugging his undershirt off his broad torso. Despite his bulky build, his muscles were cut and defined. The sight made my mouth water. “The years certainly have been kind to you.”
“I’m only thirty-three, though I’m unsurprised it may be hard for you, a woman of only twenty-nine, to realize it’s possible to stay fit.”
I rolled my eyes at his ridiculous statement, kissing him in lieu of countering his banter. There was only one thing I wanted at that moment, and it wasn’t his sharp tongue.
Well, unless he used it somewhere much lower.
It seemed Theo wanted it, too. His attention shifted over my jaw and down my throat in a trail of nips and licks. I bit my lip sharply when his fingers pinched my already pert nipples, a moan escaping me as he rolled them.
He moved lower, his hands going to
my jeans. With skilled fingers, he unhooked my belt and the button as his lips continued down my chest, peppering my sensitive skin with lapping ministrations. I tangled my fingers once more in his short hair as he slipped between my suddenly naked thighs, the rest of my clothing tossed over his shoulder.
“Fuck!” I moaned loudly as Theo’s mouth fused to my clit in a harsh suck. Arching off the bed, I felt electrified. I desperately wanted everything Theo could give me, right then and there—his sinful tongue, nimble fingers, and hard cock trapped behind the restrictive fabric of his jeans.
It didn’t take long for the desire to reach unbearable levels as his fingers slipped into me as his tongue circling my clit. My fingers dug into his scalp and the bedding, my body trembling beneath him as I barreled toward my release.
“Theo… fuck!” I cried out, coming in a blinding wave of pleasure as stars burst in my eyes. I knew I was muttering, but I had no clue what I said as he moved away from my quivering pussy. As I gasped, Theo’s half-lidded, sparkling gaze took me in, a small self-satisfied smirk curling his lips. I forced myself to stop shuddering, trying to come back to my senses, only one thought filling my head with each deep inhale.
If that’s how hard I came from just his mouth, I can’t wait to see how it feels from his cock.
Theo
Mila never looked more glorious, flushed and utterly debauched as she laid spread out before me. I wanted her more than I ever had before, my cock aching painfully as I watched her chest rise and fall in panting breaths.
“You better well get those fucking jeans off, Theo King,” she commanded in a rough whisper.
Chuckling, I cocked a brow in challenge. “Why would I do that?”
“Because there is no way in hell you’re leaving this goddamn room tonight without fucking me. Got it?” she demanded with her own fierce gaze.
Whatever control I had shattered. I moved quickly, covering and kissing her deeply.
“As if I’d let your sexy ass walk away from me now,” I murmured, nibbling her ear lobe. “I’ve had a taste now, and there’s nothing you can do to stop me.”