Smiling despite himself, he shook his head. Where had she been all these years? He’d missed her, even if he hadn’t known it at the time.
“Delete it. Now.”
Tara opened one of his matches. He was a blond firefighter. Or at least he was posed like a firefighter—shirtless and all. “Oh. He looks nice.” She skimmed the description. “Too bad he’s gay.” Tara hit the hide button, and moved on to the next one. Equally attractive and equally gay. “Wow. All the good ones really are all gay or taken, aren’t they?”
The smile faded away, and he frowned. Feeling jealous was ridiculous, since they were all obviously batting for the other team, but he didn’t like standing here watching her drool all over these men. Didn’t like her drooling over anyone but him…
Whatever the fuck that meant.
She was his, and he didn’t fucking share.
“Delete. The. Account,” he said between his clenched teeth. “Now.”
She closed all the other matches, including the one she’d been checking out, and deleted his account with a couple of clicks. “There. It’s gone. Happy now?”
No. He was jealous.
“Are you ready to go on-site?” he asked, his voice hard. He needed to stop feeling all these stupid emotions she was bringing out in him, and start focusing on getting the job done. As much as he wanted her, it was best if they parted ways soon. “Or do you need to create another account for me behind my back?”
“I’m done for now,” she said. “Let’s go.”
“After you.”
They headed into the main office, and she stopped at Gordon’s desk. “Hey.”
“Uh,” Gordon studied her, his gaze dipping down her body. “Hi.”
“I saw you earlier, and I wanted to tell you how much I love your ink.”
Gordon’s arms flexed, and he grinned. “Thanks. Do you have any—?”
“We’re leaving now to go on-site,” Jake interrupted. The ridiculous jealousy struck again, seconds after he told himself to knock it off. She’d never said a word about his ink. Not one word. “Can you let Cooper know for me?”
After Gordon nodded, Jake led Tara to the elevator and pushed the button, frustration at his own reactions to this woman making him itchy and irritable.
Once inside the elevator, he backed her into the corner, one hand on either side of her head. His fingers flexed. “I know that you were trying to make me jealous back there. Talking about hot men being taken, and sexy ink.”
She let out a breath in a whoosh, her wide eyes on him the whole time. “What? I was just talking. Why—?”
He smashed his mouth to hers, needing to claim her. Dominate her. Make her his.
She didn’t pretend to not want it, or him. Hell no. She didn’t hesitate to entwine her tongue with his, moaning into his mouth. He wanted to drop to his knees at her feet and worship her properly. He let out his own guttural sound, positioning himself between her legs where he wanted to be.
Where he needed to be.
“You like fucking with me?” he asked, thrusting his hips into her. “You like pissing me off? Well, lucky for you, I like making you pay.”
“But I didn’t—ah, screw it.”
“Exactly.” He tugged on her hair. “Good girl.”
She squirmed against his hard cock. “Please don’t stop this time,” she begged, her nails digging into his shoulders. “Don’t stop, Jake. I’m yours. All yours.”
Something inside him shifted, and he kissed her again. Though he’d planned to kiss her and warn her not to test him again, he didn’t want to stop anymore. She’d asked nicely—and he wanted to give her what she wanted. Everything she wanted.
The elevator doors opened, and he stepped back from her. After capturing her hand, he dragged her to the storage closet at the end of the downstairs hallway. He knew for a fact it wouldn’t be used till this afternoon—and it had a lock on it.
Fucking perfect.
Stopping in front of it, he glanced over his shoulder, then opened the door. She went inside willingly, and he closed them in. The lock clicked in the silence of the small room. Darkness descended, but he had no problem finding her.
Hauling her close, he kissed her with all the pent-up frustration he’d been suffering from since she first barged back into his life. She fisted his shirt and urged him closer, lifting her leg to let him inside her thighs. She wore those thigh high-pantyhose, so the only things stopping him from fucking her were her flimsy panties and his own pants. He rubbed his thumb over her clit and pressed his upper body into hers, crushing her against the wall in the process.
She groaned and threaded her fingers in his hair, her nails digging into his scalp. “Jake, please,” she pleaded, tugging on his hair.
He growled. “You asked so nicely.”
“I know, so please take me.” She pulled again, harder. “Now.”
He thrust the panties aside and slid two fingers inside. They came back wet, and he groaned. She wanted him, and he fucking needed her. Withdrawing his fingers, he pressed her into the corner of the walls and undid his zipper.
When he freed himself, he took a condom out of his pocket and slid it on. The whole time he took care of the safety aspect of what he was about to do, his mouth worked over hers. “You taste like fucking heaven.”
She jerked on his collar. “Hurry up.”
“Say please,” he said, his hold on her ass tight. She wasn’t playing by his rules, and he was dangerously close to not giving a fuck. “You need to beg me, damn it.”
“Please. Please, please, please.”
He spread her thighs wide and positioned himself at her entry, touching the wet heat of her pussy with the tip of his dick. Christ, she was so fucking ready to envelope him. He thrust inside her with one hard movement, not bothering to work his way in slowly.
When she screamed out his name and threw her head back, holding on to his shoulders with a firm clasp, he groaned out her name. Biting down on her neck, he drove even deeper. “I should stop now. Make you wait.” He thrust again. “I should leave you hanging all fucking day because of what you did.”
“Jake,” she moaned, her hands moving all over his body. “No. Please. Don’t stop.”
The fact that she still wore all of her clothes, including those sexy-ass heels she’d put on, only turned him on more. Not like he needed much help in that area. He closed his palms over her breasts, squeezing hard and rolling his thumbs over her hard nipples.
She clamped down on him, and he knew she was close to coming. He angled his hips and claimed her mouth again, swallowing her cries as she grew louder. More frantic. Her nails scraped everywhere she could reach, but that didn’t seem to satisfy her. She kept scratching, her teeth digging into his lip as she kissed him back.
When she grabbed his vest and hauled him deeper, her pussy gripping his cock as she came, he groaned and drove inside of her one last time, all the way. He broke the kiss and buried his face in her neck, taking a shuddering breath, and the world imploded around them.
Shit, had he really just fucked her in a closet? Because she’d complimented Gordon’s tattoos? He was losing control fast. The hold she had over him was frightening. Once he calmed down enough to speak, he rasped, “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have…I get jealous.”
She hugged him close. “It’s okay. I did kind of flirt with him, I guess. I wanted to see if you cared.”
“Don’t do that again. Don’t fuck with me like I’m a toy you can throw away. I’ve had enough lies and games to last me a lifetime. I don’t want them from you. Anyone but you. You want to be done with me, then say so.” He turned his face away, even though she couldn’t see him, because he felt way too damn vulnerable right now. She’d hurt him. “You’re free to end this whenever you’re finished, just like I am.”
“Jake.” When she cupped his cheeks, something inside him gave way. Something huge. For once, she sounded dead-ass serious. “I’m not done with us. Not even close.”
He swallowed, his heart twisti
ng hard. It was then, in that moment, that he realized she had way too much fucking power over him. He’d needed her to want to be with him, and now that she’d admitted she did, he felt like he could fly.
This was dangerous. She was dangerous.
No matter how much she wanted him right now, it wouldn’t last. She might find him amusing for now, but the novelty would wear off. And when it did? She’d be gone. She would find a man who could stand for more than an hour at a time. One who wasn’t as scarred on the inside as he was outside. And she’d be smart to do so.
Plus, there was that whole jail thing…
Feeling sick, he gripped her legs and unwrapped himself from her body slowly. When she stood on the floor, her knees wobbled slightly, as if she couldn’t stand on her own. Once he was certain she wasn’t going to fall, he leaned against the wall and put all of his weight on his good leg.
Well, shit. That fucking hurt. He’d be limping all day now, thanks to his impulsive actions. He should have known his injury wouldn’t stand up to wall sex.
But fuck his injury.
He was sick of being the guy he’d been lately. He wanted to be different. Wanted…shit if he knew. He just knew he wanted. Dropping his head back, he took a deep breath. After removing the condom and disposing of it in the trash can by the door, he tucked himself back into his pants.
If he looked at her, she might see too much. “Is your skirt back down?”
“Yeah. I think we’re good.”
He took a deep breath and opened the door. She straightened and smoothed the soft material over her thighs, then nodded at him once. Around her, he felt more alive than…hell, he didn’t know.
Since before the war.
Before he’d witnessed half of his buddies get blown to puzzle pieces, and survived to relive every single fucking detail at night when he slept. The light from the hallway illuminated her profile, and he focused on her again. Her swollen lips and flushed cheeks reminded him how amazing she felt, and her tousled hair teased him. He’d done that to her. Given her that I got fucked look.
And everyone would know it.
Swallowing hard, he latched gazes with her. She watched him with such trust, such openness, that it killed him. He had to do whatever it took to keep her safe, and he had a feeling he had the perfect plan. The problem was, it would make her hate him. She’d never forgive him, but she’d be out of jail.
That was all that mattered…or so he kept telling himself.
He cupped the nape of her neck and urged her close. “I’m sorry I had to blackmail you into helping me. And I’m even more sorry I might have to send you to jail. I wish—”
“I know,” she said, her flushed cheeks going pale. “I know.”
Unable to put the rest of his thoughts into words, he stepped out into the hallway, and they headed for the door. It was time for him to save her…
And pay the consequences.
Chapter Ten
Tara took a deep breath and pushed some random numbers on the safe lock. She tried her best to make her incompetence convincing, but she knew she was a complete and utter fail in that department. And judging from Jake’s narrow stare…he agreed with her own rating of her mediocre acting skills.
She’d been pretending to be an idiot for an hour and a half, emitting moans and a few curses here and there, but she was running out of ways to act stupid. She didn’t do stupid.
The glow of his phone illuminated his perfect face, since the dim overhead light didn’t do much in that area. They were in Soltese’s safe, which was easily the size of Jake’s guest room, and dark gray walls surrounded them. It smelled like money and potpourri.
She sighed loudly. He was probably playing Candy Crush or something equally innocuous while she killed herself over here trying to look stumped. When he didn’t look up from his phone, she sighed even louder. Slowly, he glanced up. “Is there a problem?”
“Yeah. I want out of here. Take me to jail now. I surrender.”
His mouth tightened. “It’s been almost two hours. You’re telling me you can’t remember how you cracked the code?”
She stood and swiped her palms on her skirt. “Can we go home now?”
“No.”
“Maybe we can try tomorrow?” she asked hopefully. “Fresh minds and all that?”
“We need a solution by today, or tomorrow morning you’ll go to jail.” He strode to the door. “I know you don’t have signal, but I do. Maybe you need a little more persuasion.”
She tensed, watching him cautiously. “What are you doing?”
“Persuading you.” He tossed his iPhone through the door of the safe. “And hoping like hell that you can get us out of here.”
She stumbled after him. “No, you can’t do—” He closed their only exit with a bam. She clamped her mouth shut and scowled at him. “Seriously?”
“Seriously.” He leaned against the wall as if he didn’t have a care in the world. As if he hadn’t locked them in together, with no hope of escape. “Now get us out.”
He thought he could force her to reveal her secrets? Screw him. “I can’t. I told you that. Trying to force it out of me won’t do you any good.”
“I don’t believe you.” He crossed his arms. “You did it once, you can do it again.”
She shook her head and hooked up to the system. After randomly pushing buttons, it beeped at her and turned red. She glowered over her shoulder. “See? I don’t know what I did.”
He came up behind her. “Think harder.”
“I am.” She curled her fingers on her phone even tighter. “I’m trying.”
“No, you’re not.” He trailed his fingers down her leg and toyed with the hem of her skirt. “I think you’re playing me. And I’m prepared to stay in here until you get us out, no matter how long it takes.”
He dropped his hold on her and left, crossing the safe to sit down on a bin.
“And if I don’t? What then?” she asked.
“Then we die in here.” He crossed his ankles. “I don’t know about you, but no one will miss me too much.”
She clamped her mouth shut. “Not even your sister?”
“Well.” He lifted a shoulder. “Maybe her. But she’s got Tyler now.”
“That’s not the same as the love of a brother,” she said.
“Fuck, I’d hope not.” Jake pointed at the lock. “Now get back to work.”
She blew out a breath, fluttering her hair. “You’re being stupid.”
“I’m good at that.”
“You don’t say?” She turned her attention to the code, mind racing. “I hadn’t noticed until now.”
He snorted, but didn’t reply.
After a few minutes of her aimlessly poking buttons, he broke the silence. “Why do you do this?”
Grateful for the distraction, she stopped acting as if she was trying to crack the code and walked over to his side. “Why do I do what?”
“Steal. Explain it to me again.”
She exhaled. It was the first time he’d asked her that. Maybe it meant he was beginning to see she wasn’t being evil. Maybe he was beginning to understand her. “You protect stuff for people, keep it from being stolen. I do the same thing. The only difference being that I recover stolen items, and you keep things from being stolen.”
He studied her, as if he was having a hard time understanding her logic. For him, everything was black and white. There was nothing in between. “You break into other people’s homes and steal. That’s wrong.”
“Even if they stole it themselves?”
“An eye for an eye leaves everyone blind,” he said. “Is this because of your parents?”
“Yes. And yours.” She lifted her chin. “I hate that bad people in this world get away with everything, and we can’t do anything to stop it. The people who stole all my parents’ money. Your foster parents. The man who killed my parents. They all have one thing in common. They all walked away without a single punishment, and we couldn’t do a thing to stop them
.”
“No one said the justice system was perfect.”
“It’s unfair. Unjust.” She took a deep breath, wringing her hands. “I debated becoming a cop so I could arrest them all. But I’m not disciplined enough. On top of that, I’d never be able to walk away from someone I knew was guilty because we didn’t have the legal evidence. So…I do this.”
His gaze latched on hers. “You steal from them.”
“Yes.” She bit down on her lip, and added defensively, “They all deserve it. You can’t deny that. They’re all assholes. I only steal from the ones who stole it first.”
He shook his head. “That doesn’t make it okay. If I treated everyone the way I was treated, I’d be in jail. Would have been since my parents died.”
Kneeling at his feet, she covered his hand with hers. His fingers tensed under hers, as if he wasn’t sure he wanted her touch. Funny, considering all they’d done together in the past twenty-four hours. Heck, even before that.
“I know. And it’s people like Soltese that need to be taken from. That deserve to have their privacy invaded, and the items they took from innocent people taken back.”
He shook his head. “It’s not that simple, Tara.”
“Yeah, it is.” She withdrew. “Ever wish you had been honest with Christine and told her you were being abused? Do you ever wish someone came and took you away from him?”
He moved away from her, his profile barely visible in the dim shadows of the safe. “‘Took me away?’ I’m not one of your items that can be stolen away in the night.”
“But still.”
Pressing his mouth into a tight line, he shook his head. “You have no idea what you’re talking about. I was fine, and I didn’t need to be rescued. It was one year of hell, after seventeen years of happiness. That’s it. It wasn’t a big deal.”
“But it was a whole year.” She bit her lower lip. “I saw the bruises and the broken bones. I saw what he did to you. And I also saw how much you hated living there. Hated life, even. When my parents died, my grandmother took me in. I had a loving home, plenty of support. You got him. How can that not piss you off? How can that not make you hate the world a little bit?”
Stealing His Heart Page 10