Fuck, he liked the sound of his name on her lips—all breathy, needy, and soft.
He rolled his tongue over her, sucking with the right amount of pressure to send her over the edge. And once she fell, he’d be on her. She pressed closer, a breathy cry escaping her, and wantonly pumped herself against his mouth.
She was close. So fucking close. He could taste it. Feel it.
“C-Can I come?” she asked, her words coming in breathless spurts. “Please?”
He grinned against her. “Yes. Now.”
He slapped the side of her ass and moved closer to her pussy, tracing her slit again. The whole time he did this, his mouth worked over her. When he slipped a finger inside her, crooking it just right, she stiffened and cried out, her body convulsing around his finger. He pulled out and let her fall back to the mattress.
“Look at me.” After positioning himself at her entry, he lifted her hips and tilted them up. She stared at him, the picture of eroticism. “And Tara?”
Her body trembled under his. Strained to get closer. “Yeah?”
“Next time I make you come, don’t shut me out. I want you watching me.” He rubbed his cock against her clit. “Don’t you dare close your fucking eyes on me.”
Biting down on her lip, she nodded. “I w-won’t.”
He tightened his grip on her hips, flexing his fingers, and took a calming breath. When he thrust inside her…he found heaven. Fucking. Heaven. He pulled back and pushed inside her again, all the way. Her pussy clenched his cock, squeezing him in more. She was so fucking tight. He thrust deeper, then tensed when she cried out.
He hesitated. “That okay?”
“Yes.” She tightened her legs around him. “Don’t stop.”
He tsked. “That wasn’t a proper request.”
“Please. Please, please, please.” She heels dug into his ass, and he stopped thinking about requests or demands or anything at all.
He squeezed her hips, watching the spot where their bodies joined. His cock, buried deep inside of her. It was the most erotic thing he’d ever seen. “Fuck. Yes.”
He gritted his teeth and withdrew before shoving deep inside her. Hard. She cried out and balled her fists. Moving faster, he repeated the motion. She matched his rhythm, rising to meet him each time he withdrew, and then surged back. Never once failing to be ready and waiting.
And she never shut him out, either.
Moaning, she sank her heels in harder, urging him closer. He let her fall back down to the mattress and rested his weight on his elbows. Cupping her face, he slammed his mouth down on hers. Her tongue dueled with his, and he moved faster. Desperate for the release he knew she could give him. Needing to come.
She struggled against the cuffs again, and he debated removing them so she could hold him. But he was too far gone for that. He wanted…needed…
“C-Can I come?” she cried out, tightening around him.
He pushed into her deeper, sweat dripping down and blurring his vision. “Yes. Fucking come.”
“Yes. Yes, yes, yes.”
She clenched down on his cock, sending him straight to heaven, and she went stiff. Her orgasm had induced his own. He threw his head back, letting out a guttural moan. When they crashed back down to earth together, her body went limp and her legs fell to the sides.
He nipped at her shoulder. He was beginning to worry he might never get enough of her. Might never want to let her go. And the thought terrified him more than any bomb ever could. Lowering his head into the crook of her neck, he hid his face.
He didn’t want her to see him right now. Didn’t want her to know how much this had affected him. He took a shuddering breath, then pushed off the mattress, needing to distance himself from her.
As he crossed the room to the wastebasket, the cuffs slid against wood again. She cleared her throat. “So, uh, can you undo me now?”
He glanced over his shoulder. She was spread wide, her pale skin flushed from the pleasure she’d found. The pleasure he’d given her. He dropped the condom into the can and turned to face her. “Nah.”
Rolling her eyes, she tugged on the cuffs. “Haha, so funny. Now get the key.”
He crossed his arms and leaned against the wall, deciding now would be a good time for some payback. “I don’t think so.”
Her pleasant expression faded away, and her brow furrowed. “Don’t even tell me you’re being serious.”
“Just because we fucked doesn’t mean you get everything you want from me right away. I mean, it was great and all.” He crossed the room slowly. “But I’m still in charge. You still have to listen to me, and I’ll let you go when I’m ready.”
She stiffened. “I didn’t swear to obey you in everything—only in bed.”
He headed across the room. “In case you didn’t notice, you’re still naked in my bed.”
She jerked on the cuffs again. “Then let me out of it so I can tell you what a jerk you’re being right now.”
He sat down at her hip, staring at the piece of hair that had settled over her lips. Reaching out, he smoothed the strand off her face, not letting go of it once he had it out of the way. Everything about her was so soft. So pretty.
Sometimes he wondered what it would be like to have a woman like her in his life…permanently. As if she’d burned him, he dropped the strand of hair, his stomach hollowing out. Damn it, he couldn’t think like that. It was dangerous.
“I’ll let you out once you tell me the fix for the code. Don’t worry.”
She paled. “W-What? Jake, no.”
He stood and grabbed his shorts off the floor, slipping the key to the cuffs out of his pocket. He undid one of her hands, then the other, forcing himself to grin the whole damn time. To act as if he wasn’t having scary thoughts about them in the back of his mind.
“Come on now, sweetheart. Did you really think I’d leave you cuffed up like that? Seriously?”
She glowered at him, rubbing her wrists once he freed them. “Now you remember you like to play tricks on me?”
He lifted a shoulder. “I was fucking with you for old times’ sake. Getting a little bit of payback for the rearranging of my guest bedroom.”
“Nice time to gain a sense of humor again,” she muttered. But despite her apparent anger, her blue eyes sparkled. “Jerkface.”
He laughed. “Your insults haven’t changed much, either.”
“Why mess with perfection?” she asked, smiling at him.
It wasn’t until he sat down next to her, grinning like a fucking fool for real, that he realized the mistake he’d committed. He’d stayed by her side after sex. Bad, bad, bad idea. He didn’t do that. Didn’t grow close to other people. Didn’t trust other people, or have fun. Didn’t laugh. Tara was just fucking with his head, trying to gain her freedom. That was her end goal. They both knew it. Once again, he’d let her get too close.
Already, he wanted nothing more than to curl up with her and spoon throughout the night. Fucking spoon. He didn’t do that shit. He gave her his back, knowing he’d fucked up. Time to remind her—and himself—exactly where their relationship stood.
As in, it didn’t exist.
“Don’t forget: this doesn’t change a thing. You still need to help me figure out that code, and then you go back to your life,” he said, keeping his tone flat and hard. Unyielding. Like him. “Away from me.”
She flinched, pulling back from him both mentally and physically. Scooting a little to the left, she turned her face away. “Yes, sir.”
“Don’t be like that.” He bent down, picked up her panties, and tossed them on the bed. “We both knew what this was.”
“I never said I didn’t. What’s your deal?”
He wanted to apologize. Hug her close and assure her that he was the fucked-up one—not her. So he did the opposite. He lashed out at her even more.
“You can go back to your own bed, but don’t steal anything when I’m sleeping. If you do, I’ll keep you cuffed next time,” he said, keeping his back to her.
> Forced himself to act as if she meant nothing at all to him. He had to do that, or maybe she would mean something. And he didn’t need that in his life. Neither did she.
She could do better than a man like him.
Sheets ruffled, and her feet hit the floor. “Only you could take a perfectly enjoyable experience and then ruin it by talking.”
With that, she slammed the door shut behind her. Perched on the edge of the bed, he listened to her retreating footsteps until the guest bedroom door shut behind her. Then he fell back on the mattress, flung his elbow over his eyes, and wondered exactly what he’d just started with Tara…
And what it would mean in the light of day.
Chapter Eight
Tara lifted her lids slowly, not really wanting to wake up. If she opened her eyes, the slight belief that the past two days had all been a nightmare would fade away. And she would still be a prisoner in Jake’s house, forced to help him or go to jail—all while fighting off an insatiable desire to be his. But she recognized the guest room immediately. It hadn’t all been a dream.
She wasn’t sure how she felt about that just now.
The door opened, and in marched the man himself. Instead of the casual gear he’d put on yesterday, he wore a light gray button-down shirt and a black vest. All of his sexy ink was covered up, and he looked every part the businessman instead of the thief she’d once known. Black khakis completed the outfit, and her heart did a ridiculous pitter-patter at the sight of him.
He didn’t even remotely resemble the man who cuffed her to the bed last night. That man had been reckless and street-tough. This guy looked like a professional. Straitlaced and hot. Which one was the real Jake?
Last night, she’d thought he needed her. She’d felt such a bond with him when she’d given herself over to him…and then he’d metaphorically slapped her across the face with his actions afterward. He’d clearly gotten what he’d wanted from her.
And now he was ready to move on.
Just like the last time.
“Rise and shine,” Jake said, crossing the room and opening the curtains. “It’s Wednesday, and in my world? That’s a workday.”
Lifting on her elbows, she didn’t bother to hold blanket in place. It rested right above her breasts, showing cleavage. His attention immediately drifted down, then came hurtling back as if he didn’t want to see any more. She tilted her head to the side, ignoring the pain his slight rejection gave her. “I don’t work with you.”
“You do now.” He stared at her, and there was a heat that hadn’t been there earlier. He stepped toward her, but cut himself short, fisting his hands at his sides. “Until you crack the code, that is. Then you’re free to go.”
She swallowed hard and turned away. He expected her to go into the belly of the beast, and work with him? Hell to the no. “Can’t we work from here? I don’t want to go to your office.”
“No. We’re going to my office, and then we’re going on-site.”
“So, you want me to return to the site of my crime?” She snorted. “Yeah. Not happening.”
He grabbed hold of the blanket and tore it off of her. “You don’t have a choice. Now get up and get dressed, or I’ll drag you to jail naked today.”
“Fine.” She rolled out of bed and stood up. Holding her head high, she put her hands on her hips. “But I already told you that I don’t remember what I did. You’re wasting your time with me.”
He cursed under his breath and crossed the room, leaning into her face with anger written all over his expression. “I don’t think you realize how much trouble you’re in. The only way I got him to agree not to press charges against you was by promising him you would help me make his safe impenetrable by tomorrow morning.” He grasped her chin. “If you don’t help me, then I can’t save you.”
She blinked. “Who asked you to try in the first place?”
“No one. I did it because I had fond memories of you. And now, I have even more.” His gaze dipped down to her mouth, then shot back up. He shook his head slightly and let go of her, lurching back as if he hadn’t wanted to touch her in the first place. “So get your pretty little ass dressed before I do it for you, and put that brain into overdrive so you can remember what you did.”
She closed her fists at her sides, her body stiff. A part of her wanted to help him, to give him the answers he needed, but she couldn’t. She’d spent her entire life helping people like her clients get their rightful heirlooms back. Getting revenge on the bad guys, like the man who had killed her parents, and Jake’s foster father.
She couldn’t turn her back on her life’s work.
Not even to save herself.
“Wear something that covers more skin than last night.” He walked toward the door. His stride was purposeful, but she noticed his limp. Had last night taken a toll on him, physically? She’d seen the scars, and now knew the extent of his injuries a little better. He’d probably been in danger of losing his leg with a wound as serious as his. “I don’t want any other men seeing too much of your skin—not when you belong to me.”
The door shut behind him, and she blinked at it.
Wait a second, she didn’t belong to him.
She hadn’t agreed to that…had she? She hadn’t realized she would be expected to obey him outside of the bedroom. Only in it. If he thought he could boss her around all day long, he had another think coming. It was time for him to start asking her nicely.
Shaking her head, she opened her suitcase and pulled out her shortest skirt and a tight silk blouse. Muttering under her breath, she hopped in the shower that was connected to Jake’s room. Afterward, as she rolled black thigh-highs up her leg, she planned how best to appear truly stumped at this project.
By now, he knew her well enough. She’d have to lay it on thick enough to make it appear to be real, but not so thick that it was transparent.
She needed to make it seemingly genuine.
After taking five minutes to make her wavy brown hair a little less crazy, she applied some light makeup and stepped into a pair of red pumps. As she studied her reflection, something caught her attention on the top of the dresser.
Reaching over, she grabbed the picture of Jake.
In the photo, he wore a pair of shorts and nothing else. He didn’t have any scars on his leg, so it must have been before that. His arm was thrown around his sister, Christine, and they were both smiling as if they didn’t have a care in the world.
They seemed young. Innocent. Happy.
It was the Jake she’d once known. The Jake she was trying so hard to bring back to life…before he tossed her in jail. How ironic was it that she was trying to save him, while he was trying to end her?
She stuffed the photograph into her bag and headed down the stairs. He waited at the bottom for her, a shoulder against the wall. The pose was meant to be casual, but he kept the bulk of his weight off of his injured leg. There was nothing casual about it. It was calculated.
His gaze ran over her, his brows lowering. “That is not what I requested you wear. Go change.”
“Life’s full of disappointments.” She headed for the door. “You’d best get used to it.”
“I’m well aware of this fact.” He snatched her arm as she passed, his touch unbreakable but light. He behaved as if they were talking about the weather instead of bossing her around about her clothing. “But if you wear that, I’m not responsible for how hungry I’ll be by the time I get to have you again. Or how I’ll react when I see other men staring at your sweet ass. Who do you think I’ll punish for that, huh?”
Her stomach hollowed out when she remembered exactly how he’d “punished” her—with pleasure. She wanted more. “That’s a risk I’m willing to take.”
He spun her so her back pressed against the wall and boxed her in with his body. He touched her between her legs, cupping her core. She was embarrassingly wet already. “You have no idea what you’re going to get when you poke me with a stick, little girl. If I were you, I�
�d never provoke me again. You should keep your distance, and keep my hands off of you from now on.”
She swallowed. “Luckily for both of us, I’m not you. You don’t scare me.”
“God help us both, then.”
He kissed her, his fingers working over her core with the perfect amount of pressure. If he kept doing that, she’d come right here, in his foyer. She clung to his vest, her tongue dueling for dominance with his. There was no softness left in him anymore, despite his seemingly unaffected demeanor.
He ravished her, stealing her breath and her ability to think. But then he broke off the kiss, his thumb moving over her harder. He shoved her panties aside and thrust a finger inside her. “You want to come. You want me to make you finish.”
“Y-Yes.” She squeezed her lids shut, thisclose to coming. “Jake.”
“Ask me,” he demanded.
“May I please come?” she asked, her voice breathy and needy.
“No.”
Wait. What? She’d almost been there. Two more seconds, and she’d have been feeling satisfied instead of frustrated. “But—”
“I said no.” He pulled back, taking his touch away. Taking it all away. “Let’s go. We’re going to be late.”
Comprehension struck. He’d said he might punish her…and he had.
He so had.
“You…I…”
He looked completely calm and collected, while she was a quivering mass of want. Every single hair on his head was smoothed into place, and he watched her with a steely composure that had her wondering if he was actually human. “You going to finish that sentence, or what?”
She straightened her skirt. “I hate you sometimes.”
He grasped her waist, tugging her close enough that her sensitive breasts brushed against his vest. “Is that supposed to hurt my feelings?”
She tilted her chin up. He was such a control freak…and she wanted him so badly it hurt. It wasn’t fair. “Fuck you.”
“Maybe later, if you behave yourself.” He steered her outside into the sunlight. “But right now, I’d like to discuss work.”
She ground her teeth, sexual frustration humming through her veins like a bolt of electricity. “I’ve got nothing more to tell you.”
Stealing His Heart Page 8