CHAPTER TWENTY
Craig
My heart nearly stopped when Victoria tore the top off the gift box on the desk. It was almost a relief when I realized it was a pig's heart in the box, an image of Tiffany attached to it by a letter opener. Someone had clearly intended to send her a message, and I couldn't stop myself from muttering, 'what the fuck.'
Tearing my attention from the box, my eyes raked over Victoria. She was pale and shaking with her hands in her pockets, clearly rattled. I wanted to comfort her, but I wasn't sure how. Instead, I turned to Mrs. McMillan.
"Was anything else in the center disturbed?"
The older woman pursed her lips and shook her head. "No. Just this office. If I hadn't needed to grab a new sign-in sheet before we open for the day, I wouldn't have even known someone had been in here."
"I need to check the security footage, see if we can figure out who did this." I said, turning to Victoria. "Will you be alright here, Princess? Or do you want to come with me?"
"Hmm?" she replied, her eyes never leaving the box. "No, I need to clean up this mess and try to recreate the donor list."
"I'll stay here and help. Keep an eye on her for ya," Mrs. McMillan spoke.
I gave her a nod of thanks before grabbing the gift box from Victoria's desk and strolling from the office. Leaving her to clean up the destruction didn't sit right with me, but I knew she would be safe with the Center's matron. Mrs. McMillan had a bloodthirsty streak to rival the deadliest gangsters, especially when it came to protecting her neutral ground.
Stepping inside the small control room where the security monitors were set up, I pulled out my phone and called Joey.
"I'm ready. What do you need?" Joey asked the second he answered the phone.
"I need you to send your forensics guy to the center." I replied, sliding the box onto the long control panel and flipping the switches to access the last twenty-four hours of security recordings.
"Someone attacked the center?"
"Yes, and no. Someone destroyed Victoria's office here and left a really fucked up gift for her. I'm getting ready to sort through the footage now, but I want someone looking into this fucking box while I do. Don't say a fucking word to Leighton until we know something. He took the princess to a fight, you know what that means, and we can't afford him going off the deep end right now."
"Okay, got it. I'll get our guys out there. You send home whoever you don't need. Call me if anything turns up. And… take care of our girl. She's not going to deal with this well."
"Always." I replied before ending the call.
While waiting for Joey's guys to arrive, I reviewed the footage. I started after the Center had closed for the night the day before and let it play at three times normal speed. The first few hours' worth of footage were unremarkable. It wasn't until the recording timer displayed just after two a.m. that the recording seemed to glitch. I stopped the playback, rewinding it to just before the glitch occurred, and let it resume playing at normal speed. The screen flashed black so quickly that I would have missed it if I hadn't been looking for it.
"Son of a bitch." I hissed. "Someone's altered the fucking footage." I backed it up a couple of times, trying to match the exact moment to the timestamp on the recording before a knock on the security door pulled me out of my concentration.
"Boss?" The door opened a second later, and one of Joey's favorite errand boys walked in. "Got a crew waiting in the lobby for direction. Mostly street guys, but there's some forensics here."
"Thanks, Phil. Get the rest of your guys on clean up if Mrs. McMillan and the princess haven't finished most of it. Do a sweep for anything out of place, and tell Joey know what you find." I grabbed the gift box off the control panel and moved past him to the team waiting in the lobby.
Handing the box off to one of the forensics guys, I gave them the same instructions I'd given Phil before heading toward Victoria's office. Mrs. McMillan came out of the doorway as I approached and shook her head when she spotted me.
"You need to get that girl out of here, Dougherty. She's not built for this kind of stuff." Her tone was firm, leaving no room for argument.
Not that she'd get any. Victoria wasn't made for this. I nodded and turned to the office, my gaze landing on Victoria. She was kneeling in the corner where the filing cabinet had stood. Her hands worked in frantic motions as she muttered to herself, words spoken too softly for me to make out.
I approached her slowly so as not to scare her. It didn't take a genius to see that this direct and personal message shook her to her core. I reached out to touch her shoulder. The moment my hand made contact, she nearly launched herself into the wreckage of the filing cabinet, jumping away from me.
"Shhh, Bunny, it's just me. You're okay." I spoke just above a whisper, crouching to be on her level as she whirled around to face me.
Her eyes were wild with fear and anger. I felt awful, knowing I couldn't take it away from her. Realization crept in after a moment, and she calmed down.
"Craig?" she whispered.
"The one and only." I said, offering a reassuring smile. "Come on, Bunny. Let's get you home. Mrs. McMillan can direct the crews here for clean up. There's nothing else we can do for now."
She looked like she wanted to argue as her gaze swept around the office again, but after a moment, she nodded and let me help her up to her feet. I momentarily searched her face because asking aloud if she was okay seemed monumentally stupid. She wasn't, but she'd tell me she was.
"Let's go home." I wrapped my arm around her shoulders, rubbing her arm as I walked her out of the Youth Center. Mrs. McMillan directed the sweep our guys were making and nodded her goodbyes to us on the way out.
The drive home was mostly silent. I kept wracking my brain about what I could say that would chase the haunted look from her eyes. At least she wasn't shaking and muttering anymore. I couldn't complain after she'd reached for my hand at some point on the drive, gripping it tightly. It was hard not to grin like an idiot about it.
I didn't want to let go of her hand when we arrived back at the manor, even though it was necessary to get out of the car. Sighing at the loss of contact, I raced to the passenger door to help her, letting my arm fall around her shoulders again once I shut the door behind her. Her arm slid behind me, her hand resting on my lower back, sending a jolt of awareness through my entire being. Her dazed and faraway expression told me she didn't realize what she'd done, even though it had lit up every nerve in my body.
Crossing the manor's threshold, my reverie was broken when her stomach growled loudly to remind us that we'd missed breakfast and it was already nearly lunchtime. She blinked a few times in surprise, and I couldn't help but smile at her.
"This is something I can help with. Go on up to my room, and I'll whip us up some comfort food. We can eat in peace in there, and I can get my systems running." I jerked my head toward the stairs and rubbed her arm before reluctantly letting her go. She raised an eyebrow at me but did as I'd asked.
I went to the kitchen and pulled out the ingredients to make grilled cheese and tomato soup. After the shock of not only seeing her office destroyed and the contents of the gift box left behind, I figured a light meal was the safest bet. I worked as quickly as possible without screwing up my recipe, wanting to get back to her as fast as possible.
While the soup simmered, I tore through the kitchen like a tornado, retrieving plates, bowls, and spoons. Then I turned my attention to the grilled cheese, my foot tapping impatiently as I cooked two sandwiches each. When the last one was on a plate, I dipped a tasting spoon in the soup and tested the temperature and flavor. It wasn't my best work because of how much I'd rushed, but it was still better than something from a can. Ladling some into both bowls, I grabbed a tray from under the counter, loaded the dishes up, and made my way upstairs.
"No better comfort food in the world than homemade," I smiled, strolling through my bedroom door.
Victoria looked up from where she sat on my floor, twisting a length of rope in her hand. She'd obviously taken the time alone in my room to poke around, and I couldn't say I minded. I handed a plate to her and sat down in the plush reading chair she was leaning against.
"You have a lot of rope for a tech guy." She said casually, and I nearly choked on the bite of grilled cheese I'd just taken. I could feel my face heat to what was probably a solid red, and it took a few tries to get the food to go down. When I met her gaze, it looked like she was doing everything she could to not laugh at me.
"It's usually not a good idea to kill the cook." I countered, not remarking on her observation. A giggle slipped out in her attempt to not laugh at me. I reached out to snag an errant strand of hair and gave it a playful tug, relieved to see her calm enough to find the humor in the situation. "Brat."
We finished our food in a more comfortable silence than we'd driven home in. She leaned against my leg on the floor and seemed to just be taking in my space. However, I spent my time trying not to contemplate the rope on the floor next to her leg. Trying and failing horribly.
I collected her dishes, stacked them on a table by my door, and moved to the large desk that dominated one side of my room. The array of monitors lined the back, and a couple of custom-built monitors were positioned out of the way of my workspace. I kicked the system on, and the fans hummed to life. I found the thumb drive I'd given Joey earlier sitting neatly by my keyboard.
"Make yourself comfortable, Bunny. This won't take long. I just have to get them going, so I have something to work on later." I motioned toward the bookshelves next to the reading chair. "I don't know if there's anything there to your taste, but you're welcome to look."
Settling into the computer chair at my desk, I set to work pulling up all the programs I would need to review the backup footage later. I'd barely opened the first one when my chair was tugged to the side, causing me to turn away from my monitors. Victoria stood before me, her bottom lip between her teeth, as I stared at her in confusion.
"Something wrong, Bunny?"
She tilted her head slightly and then plopped down into my lap, wrapping her arms around my neck. I went utterly still, unable to move a muscle.
"I know you have this whole thing going where you fuck with Az, but he's not here right now, so I'm not sure what you're hoping to accomplish," I said, my voice barely above a whisper.
"This isn't about Az and his bullshit. I… I need a distraction. Everything my mother worked to build vanished without a trace, and whoever did that decided to threaten me in the process."
"You know we're going to keep you safe. Nothing is going to get to you while we have anything to say about it."
"I want to believe that. I do." She sighed. "But I need something to take me out of this awful headspace. Please, Craig. I need this. Whatever this is that's been building. I need it."
"Victoria, I…" I groaned, my mind waging war on itself with her request despite my body's immediate and enthusiastic response. "Believe me when I say I would love to. I don't want to take advantage of you, or to have you feel like I did…"
Her hands slid from behind my neck, tracing a path along my chest, and she shifted her position so that she was straddling me. "If I'm being totally honest, I've wanted this for a while now. Today just made it crystal clear that ignoring what I want and need isn't getting me anywhere." She paused momentarily, her tongue flitting out to wet her lips. "Do you know how hard living in this house with the five of you has been? I go to bed most nights fantasizing about what it would be like if I'd met you guys differently."
My hands gripped the arms of my chair so tightly I knew my knuckles were turning white. "Victoria…" I said, my tone laced with warning.
She rolled her hips, grinding against my rapidly hardening dick. "Craig." She retorted. "I know you're trying to give us both an out, but I don't want it. What I want is to know whether the reality is better than the fantasy I use to get myself off at night. And I'm still curious about why you have so much rope."
I couldn't stop the groan that escaped me when she rolled her hips against me again. My hands moved from my chair to her hips with the same harsh grip. She slid her hands under my shirt, and I felt the soft bite of her nails against my skin. She groaned, frustrated, and did a little bounce on my lap that thoroughly scrambled my brain before she crashed her lips into mine for a kiss that was all but begging me to meet her halfway.
My grip on my control shattered. I snaked an arm around her waist, placing the other hand on the back of her neck. I teased her lips with my tongue, and she parted them to deepen the kiss. I squeezed her ass before hooking my arms under her thighs and standing.
Victoria wrapped her legs around my waist as I moved us across the room to my bed. It took every remnant of my shattered self-control to set her down gently rather than tossing her down the way I wanted. She watched me through hooded eyes as I slowly reached behind my head and snagged my shirt, pulling it off in one smooth motion.
"All of it." She demanded, propping herself up on her elbows.
"Demanding little Bunny." I chuckled, letting my hand slide down my chest toward the button of my jeans. "How about a little game instead? For every piece of clothing I strip off, you do the same. As I seem to have lost my shirt, it's only fair you lose yours."
She sucked her lower lip between her teeth before she smirked. "I'm wearing more clothes than you. That hardly seems fair."
"Oh, you'll be removing your bra too, Bunny. Fair is fair." I chuckled darkly.
"I suppose it is," she said.
Moving to her knees on the bed, she slowly pulled her t-shirt up, locking her gaze on my face. Keeping my attention on her, I moved to the nightstand and retrieved a condom before gesturing for her to continue. She finally pulled her shirt over her head and tossed it away. She made an excruciatingly slow show of removing her bra by sliding the straps down her arms before she let it fall away from her chest.
A low rumble of approval vibrated in my chest as I took in her bared breasts. The sound caused her cheeks to flush, and I fought to keep the knowing smirk from my face. As if we had all the time in the world, I placed the unopened condom between my teeth and let both hands fall to the waistband of my jeans. I watched Victoria as I slowly undid the button, then the zipper, before lazily lowering my pants inch by inch.
"Two can play the games you're trying to play, Bunny. And only one of us truly knows what it means to be in control." I growled around the condom.
I barely caught the sound of her sharp inhale before she batted her lashes at me innocently. "What games, hun?"
My hands paused, leaving my jeans hanging just below my hips. Narrowing my eyes at her, I smirked and stalked toward her. Quicker than she could react, I flipped her off her knees and onto her back, grabbing her ankles to pull her across the bed until it only supported her upper body. I wrapped her legs around my waist long enough to remove the unopened condom from my mouth and lay it beside her on the bed.
"If you want to play things that way, Bunny, you're in for a surprise."
I didn't give her time to respond, using my empty hand to flick open the button of her jeans and hooked my fingers into the waistband, ensuring I snagged her panties. Stepping back just enough to give myself room to work, I pulled them free of her body and tossed them behind me, catching her ankle before she could lower her legs.
She gasped in surprise, but I ignored it. Wrapping one of her legs around my waist again, I lifted the other and began licking, kissing, and nipping my way from her ankle to her thigh. Her hands slid to my head, trying to guide me to her center. I chuckled, letting my breath caress her sex as I ignored her demanding hands and worked my way down her other leg before working my way up again.
Her restless noises and squirming made me chuckle against her skin. She scraped her nails across my scalp in insistence. I nipped the sensitive skin of her inner thigh in response, which caused her to yelp before I continued my ministrations. When I reached her apex, I once again denied her, instead kissing my way up her soft belly to her neck.
"Asshole," she breathed, her hands trailing down my sides until she reached the open jeans and shoved them down.
"Impatient," I murmured against her neck. Using feather-light touches across her skin, I traced my fingers down her body. Testing, searching for reactions to know where my attention was best dedicated.
My fingers drew lazy patterns just above her core, and I watched her face wearing a smirk. Her furrowed brows and the insistent movement of her body made me want to give her everything she'd ever wanted. I finally dipped my fingers into her slick folds, drawing slow circles.
She rolled her hips to meet my fingers, and the appreciative moan from her lips made my cock twitch in anticipation. Her eyes fluttered closed as I traced her clit with the same leisurely pace.
"You're soaking, Bunny," I said. I flicked my fingers across her sensitive bud, making her gasp sharply. I teased at her entrance, still holding tight to the leash of my control and not simply taking her to my satisfaction.
It didn't take long for her to start whimpering with need in my hands. She wanted more and was rolling her hips against my fingers, seeking it. Her breath was hitched, and her cheeks were flushed.
"Craig, if you don't fuck me until I'm delirious, I'll go finish the job myself," she snapped.
As if to prove her point, she wrapped her legs around my waist, her heels digging into my backside in a desperate attempt to force my hand. I chuckled lightly and pulled back, tearing open the nearly forgotten condom and sliding it on.
"I'll give you what you want this time, Bunny, but the next time, we play by my rules."
She let loose a wanton moan as I lined my cock with her entrance and slammed myself into her to the hilt. I gave her a moment to adjust to my size, needing a moment myself to acclimate to how her walls gripped me tight. Her back arched, and her hands flew to grip my shoulders. When her breathing steadied, I ground my hips into her fast and hard. Victoria's nails clawed at my back, her heels spurring me on as her moans filled my room.
"Fuck," I groaned.
She felt perfect wrapped around me, and I knew she was going to become an addiction. I slid my hand between us, finding her clit. She writhed beneath me, lost to the pleasure building between us as I drove her toward her release.
I leaned back and grabbed one of her legs behind the knee, pushing it up to give myself a better angle to hit that sweet spot inside her. It was music to my ears when she cried out my name, knowing I'd found it. I rolled my hips as I pistoned into her. The sight and sound of her in pleasure was a heady mix that had me straining my grasp on my control as I gave her what she pleaded for.
Applying more pressure to her swollen nub, I watched her come undone. She looked like a fucking goddess beneath me as she screamed her climax. The sight and feel of her had me hurtling over the edge of my release. I collapsed on top of her, our chests still heaving.
"Holy fuck," she muttered after a while, breaking the comfortable silence.
I pushed myself up and rolled off her, letting my hands fall to my chest as I landed on my back.
"Everything you hoped for, Bunny?" I chuckled.
"Not really."
I leaned up on one elbow, studying her face. "Well, tell me what I missed and next time I'll do better."
"A guy who takes notes," she smirked. "I didn't know those existed."
"Well, let's hear them." I prodded.
Her lips spread into a wide grin. "You never explained why you have all the rope."