Chapter 20
Chapter Twenty
Sylvie grabbed his arm. Dominic let himself be dragged down the hall into her room. She pushed him inside and closed the door. “Are you sure we can talk freely in here?”
“Pretty sure. It’s not bugged. But I can’t discount my uncle’s people using parabolic microphones.”
“There are more Bennett Security bodyguards patrolling the neighborhood. So that’s doubtful.”
“Of course there are.”
Dominic pulled up a classical playlist on his phone to add background noise, just in case Sylvie’s friends were listening in, too. He didn’t want anyone overhearing this conversation.
They each set their thumb drives on the dresser. His was black. Hers was red.
“Explain,” she demanded.
“You first.”
“No.”
She’d been in his office. He was sure of it. She’d probably been messing with his computer. The situation was dripping with irony, and he’d never liked those kinds of books. The dark dramas where people do terrible things to each other, all under the mistaken belief that it’s necessary.
Maybe because his regular life too often fit that description.
A few minutes ago, he’d snuck out of his own room and come to Sylvie’s after he was sure she’d be asleep.
He’d confirmed her lights were off and soundlessly opened the door.
He hadn’t even glanced at her bed to see that she was there, just reached immediately for the laptop bag where he’d seen it when he said good night.
He’d had her laptop in one hand, the USB drive in the other. But then, his limbs had stopped cooperating. He just couldn’t plug the damn thing in. Couldn’t do it. So he’d quietly replaced her computer, backed out of her room, and carefully shut the door.
Then who did he run into in the hallway but Sylvie herself?
Apparently, she’d had more balls than he did.
“What did you do?” he asked.
“Nothing.”
“Neither did I.”
“Bullshit.”
“Right back at you.”
Sylvie leaned on the edge of the dresser. She spun one of the flash drives around like a top. “I’m curious. Is your uncle really threatening your brother? Or was that just a new lie to manipulate me into trusting you?”
“I would never lie about Raymond.”
“Just about yourself? I know you must’ve faked that murder attempt. Maureen’s screams? The blood on the door? What a touch of drama.”
“Are you kidding? They shot at me. You know that. You were here.”
“Yes, very conveniently. After you insisted I come back to fix your supposedly ‘glitchy’ security system.”
“Hey, yesterday you showed up at my door. Claiming you missed me? You wanted to see me? I should’ve known better.” He felt pathetic to have imagined she liked him.
“I did want to see you, and I felt terrible about hiding my ulterior motive. I hated lying. But you clearly had no problem with it whatsoever. Pretending you liked me in your texts? Asking me to spend the night? ‘We’ll see what happens?’”
His gut twisted with shame. “I know. I’m sorry. But later, I practically hinted that you should go home because I didn’t want to do this. I tried to tell you the truth, that I had no decent choices and didn’t want to betray someone and hurt them.”
“Right. Blame me for not interpreting your veiled warning. Why not try air traffic control signals? I wouldn’t have understood those either.”
This argument was pointless. They were wasting time. Sandford had threatened her.
Dominic dug his hands into his hair. “Sylvie, I need to know what you did. If my uncle and the people he’s working with find out you’re trying to mess with them, they won’t hesitate to kill you. They have no scruples.”
“Unlike you?”
“If you think I’m the worst there is, then you’re fucking naive.”
“I didn’t do anything. I chickened out because I felt bad about betraying your trust. I was under the momentary impression you deserved better. Shows how stupid I am.”
“You didn’t use whatever’s on that flash drive?”
“No.”
He closed his eyes, sinking on the bed. “Thank god. Neither did I.”
“Well, I stopped the loader before it was finished.”
“Wait, you what? You plugged it in? These people are watching everything that’s on my computer. They might’ve seen what you were doing.”
She made a face. “No, they couldn’t. I’m not some amateur.”
“What does that mean?”
“It means I have skills. Those assholes aren’t going to catch me. If I’d loaded that malware onto your laptop like I’d intended, they still wouldn’t know about it.”
“What malware? What does it do?”
“Probably the same kind of thing you have on your flash drive. You were supposed to load it onto my computer, right? A rootkit to install a back door in my system, bundled with a payload that would steal my info. Maybe bots to spread onto the Bennett Security network. And of course, it would report everything back to the people who made it, all while staying perfectly hidden.”
“And that’s what you were going to install on my computer?”
“To go after the black-hat hackers who work for your uncle. You were trying to give them access to Bennett Security. After Max trusted you and tried to help you.”
Dominic clenched his teeth together.
“Weren’t you?” she demanded. “That’s what you wanted. To hurt Bennett Security.”
“I never wanted this. I had no clue about the first attack. And the thing tonight—I wanted nothing to do with it.”
“But you were still going to help your uncle.”
“No wasn’t an option. I didn’t go through with it.”
“But you considered it.”
“So did you. You plugged your drive in. I didn’t do that.”
“But at least I’m on the right side of things! I was trying to work against the Syndicate. You’re still working for it. And you always will, won’t you? Because it’s the ‘family business.’ Because you’re Dominic Crane.”
He shot up to standing and advanced on her, forcing her back up against the wall.
“You think I want to be? You think I like being defined by my family name? Trapped by their expectations? I’ve never been good enough, but they won’t let me go, either.
All my life, nobody except my brothers has cared about me as a person.
Everyone else has only wanted what they could use me for. ”
Sylvie had said earlier that evening, right to his face, that she didn’t want to use him. Liar.
She must’ve been thinking the same thing because she averted her eyes. “As a kid, I felt trapped by my family, too. So I left. I started all over again. It was scary, but I did it. I didn’t just sit around making excuses.”
Dominic braced his arm on the wall over her head. He glared down at her. “Then I guess you’re stronger than me. You’re lucky I managed to find the willpower not to fuck you earlier.”
“Because you felt too guilty? You’re right. That does surprise me.”
“I still thought about it. I was tempted.” He brought his other hand to the wall at her side, caging her in. “If I’d been willing, would you have fucked me? Even with what you were planning later?”
Sylvie’s gaze lifted to his. Her chest heaved as she tried to catch her breath. Her plump mouth was slightly open, and she smelled like heat and anger and desire.
Sylvie thought he was the bad guy? Fine. He would be.
He lowered his head until his lips were an inch from her ear. Close enough she’d feel his whisper against her skin. “Admit it. You still want to fuck me right now, even knowing what I am. Even though you hate me. You want me just as much as I want you.”
She grabbed his face and crashed their mouths together.
His tongue pushed in, battling hers, trying to reassert control.
Her teeth bit hard into his lower lip, making him grunt with a mix of indignation and lust. Dominic pressed her to the wall, maneuvering his thigh in between her legs. His dick felt long and heavy in his sweatpants, not even all the way hard yet.
Her fingers dug into his hair and yanked, forcing his head back. Then Sylvie put her hands to his shoulders and shoved. His legs hit the bed. Another shove forced him to sit on the mattress.
Her eyes were wild with fury. He thought she’d had enough, that she might even slap him.
But instead, she went to her knees in front of him and yanked down the waistband of his sweats, uncovering his growing erection.
His brain was still trying to process these new developments when her lips closed around his shaft and sucked.
“Fucking hell.”
Oh, yes. This is happening.
Her mouth was rough and aggressive, like she was trying to punish him by devouring his cock. It was right on the edge between pain and pleasure. Her tongue pushed into his slit, and he braced his hands behind him on the mattress as lightning bolts of heat traveled up and down his spine.
Sylvie lifted off of him, and her fingers took hold of his length instead, her tongue moving down to lap at his balls. Dominic almost came when her mouth closed around his sac.
“Shit,” he moaned. “Stop. I’m going to…”
“This isn’t what you wanted?” Sylvie stroked him a few more times, like she was daring him to come, before backing off. She stood up, her lips swollen from sucking him. Her glasses were askew on her nose.
“I’ll show you what I want.” His fingers wrenched open her pajama top, sending a couple of buttons flying. Creamy skin appeared, rosy-tipped breasts. So beautiful. He teased one nipple with his teeth while he tugged the other between his knuckles.
“Yes. Just like that.” Sylvie dug her hands into his hair again and pulled.
He didn’t want to think about what they were doing, or why. Dominic didn’t want to be her enemy. But if this was the only way he could have her—savage and angry—then so be it.
Sylvie couldn’t stand him, but she wanted to fuck him. He’d happily oblige.
He pushed her pajama pants and her panties over her narrow hips. She stepped out of them. Dominic shucked off his sweats the rest of the way and kicked them aside.
Sylvie fisted the edge of his tee. His arms lifted as she pulled the shirt over his head. They were both naked now. Her eyes went molten as she looked at his body. He looked right back.