Chapter 50
fifty
I am not an easy man to surprise.
Anticipating other people’s moves is my essential skill, honed over a decade.
So the fact that I’m in utter shock by the time I stagger into my apartment is quite an accomplishment for my sweet girl.
I started ripping my clothes off in the elevator, equal parts pissed off and turned on.
Did she do this to lure me here? Is she teasing me?
Or was stripping naked in the living room and rolling around on my couch with her hand between her thighs meant to be a private moment? One I will undoubtedly be interrupting.
My tie and my jacket are already fisted in my left hand when I step over the threshold, giving no care to the slamming door or my heavy footsteps.
Let her hear me.
Naughty, sweet girl.
Over the last few weeks, I’ve had Alice just about every way I could have imagined. Showered her with all the praise and softness she deserves. Given in to the blossoming dynamic between us, fulfilling her desire for direction and approval.
She’s never needed to be punished before.
But if she’s done this on purpose—taunting me while I’m at work, sending me head-first into arousal so feral, I’m not even sure which company car I took to get here…
My handcuffs are a solid weight in my back pocket. An image springs to mind, but it’s obliterated a second later when I walk into the living room. And see her.
Fucking hell.
She’s lying on her belly, with her knees bent and her ankles crossed behind her. And—God—her body. Pale, creamy curves. Ripples of softness, all sensual grace. Laid out in the afternoon sun, bare and burnished. Like a fucking banquet.
Her Kindle glows from its place in front of her as her head snaps up.
I expect surprise. Maybe even guilt.
Instead, her blonde brow arches.
As if she’s caught me.
Alice tilts her head, offering an innocent, coquettish look. “Marco,” she says softly. “What brings you home so early?”
Her expression gradually sinks in. Understanding dawning.
She did this on purpose.
Because she’s figured out I’ve been watching her.
The brilliance of this woman hits me all over again. My hard cock ticks fuller, pounding with its own pulse. I have to work to keep my lips from tipping up.
She isn’t as circumspect. Her lush mouth pulls up in a well-deserved smirk.
“You know,” she says, he voice still light and smooth. As if she isn’t completely, beautifully exposed. “I heard something interesting today.”
I step toward her, blood singing. Feeling like a wild predator with prey in its sights. “Is that so?”
She shifts, her glorious ass jiggling while her hips squirm slightly. “Something about my—Tony.”
I’m not sure whether I want to growl about her nearly referring to that animal as “her” anything, or if I want to praise her for stopping herself. My jaw clenches. “Huh?”
An unexpected flash of vulnerability gilds her azure gaze. “How did you know?” she whispers. “That he was…”
Trash?
I take another careful step. “Because what he did to you had nothing to do with you, Alice. You were never weak or stupid; just kind and giving. He was the fucked-up one. Only a cruel dumbass would throw someone so valuable away. I know men like that—and I know they will always find a new low to sink to. Because bad men do bad things.”
A new light sparks in her eyes. “And good men catch them.”
She’s talking about me. Calling me good, despite all the ruined pieces of myself she’s seen up close and personal. Confessions and scars and mistakes.
Even now, knowing I haven’t been able to keep myself from watching her all these weeks.
She thinks I’m a good man.
Now I’m wondering if she did this as a way to thank me for the strings I pulled to catch her ex in his latest scheme. While also calling me out for my stalking. And turning me on.
Because—goddamn it—she’s perfect.
I reach into my pocket, pulling out the solid metal cuffs. I hang them from two fingers, curling them toward me.
“Get in my bed,” I husk. “Now.”