Chapter 16
THEO
Staring at my reflection in the full length mirror in my closet, something was different. I couldn’t pinpoint what it was, but that was not the same man I’d seen for the last twenty-nine years staring back at me.
I’d had a haircut the day before, but that wasn’t it. I’d worn the tux often enough to not be jarred by how it looked. Everything about me was exactly the same, yet it wasn’t.
The truth was, I wasn’t just Theo Snow, CEO of Snow Enterprises, and the keynote speaker for the evening. There were also parts I needed to explain to her. But for now, I was the man waiting for Maggie Bauman, the man who would be arriving with her on my arm.
The past week had been strange in the best way possible.
The unfamiliar tension in my home was exhilarating and not altogether unwelcome.
Operation: Wooing had turned into the most high stakes negotiation I’d had ever engaged in.
I had gone from being a logical and practical man, whose entire objective was to move Maggie and her kids in to protect them, to a man with sweaty palms, pacing my bedroom contemplating all the ways I could woo her in a single evening.
I had no doubt I was crushing it.
In less than two weeks I got to witness Maggie in a way I hadn’t seen since college.
The awe on her face at the picnic set up.
The unguarded laughter when I told a dirty or punny joke.
Then there was the soft way she’d leaned into our goodnight kiss.
All of it was more than I had expected from our arrangement and it was everything I’d ever wanted.
The Snow Enterprises Charity Gala was one of the few things I enjoyed about my job.
I didn’t mind the tuxedo and fake smiling at the ass-kissers because at the end of the night a lot of money would be going to various charities.
The kind of charities my father would have sniffed at.
Women’s causes were always at the top of my list, we also donated to a non-profit that provided legal assistance to those who couldn’t afford it.
But with all that came some scrutiny. I hadn’t taken a date to these events since I had taken over from my father. Neither had Tiffany. We’d arrive at the gala together with Hunter as our bodyguard a step or two away from us.
The fact that Maggie would be with me, was bound to raise some eyebrows.
With her arm hooked in mine or her hand intertwined with my hand, people would speculate, and for once the speculation would be correct.
I imagined the dress she would be wearing.
I had no idea what it looked like since both her and Tiff had been so secretive about it.
I remembered how her eyes lit up when she returned home from shopping and she found me plastered in make-up and glitter thanks to my little Pop-Tart.
She looked at me as if that was the real prize and not the black credit card I had told her to use. And maybe it was. Heaven knew handing over that card was infinitely easier than entertaining a four-year-old who’d felt left out.
My work phone buzzed on the dresser, and I ignored it. Rina could handle things, the evening was about Maggie. And I was the lucky asshole who got to show her off.
I slipped on my watch and grabbed my keys and made my way downstairs as I prepared to wait for Maggie.
There was no doubt I’d spent a fair amount of time at the foot of the main staircase.
With four children in the house, waiting was just a part of life for me.
Yet, I still found myself checking my watch about once per minute.
I was ninety-nine percent sure she would start walking down the guest suite stairs any moment.
Yet, there was the tiniest part of me still afraid that she would change her mind and decide my life was not what she wanted.
There was a part of me that knew I needed to be honest with her before we got more invested.
She deserved to know everything I had done.
The softest click of a heel on the hardwood floor had my head snapping up. And then my entire world shifted. She appeared at the stop of the stairs and every thought I’d had immediately dissolved.
Her smile lit up as soon as she saw me. It was the perfect accessory.
That. Dress. Was. Perfect.
A pale pink cloud of softness seemed to float around her as she descended the stairs, one hand on the banister.
Strapless, it appeared to wrap around her chest and torso until layers of fabric draped to the floor.
It hugged the right curves and seemed to skim over the rest. Like the best combination of sweet and sexy.
She was a goddess, my queen. Mine.
Her skin glowed and those brown eyes shone. Her hair was up in some kind of complicated twist. I sincerely hoped it was simpler to fix than it looked.
As she stepped off the last stair, I held out my hand. As soon as she placed her hand in mine I pulled her close.
I did not tell her how stunning she looked. Nor ask if she was ready. I simply did the only thing that came to mind. I dragged her into my office.
No one else was home, the kids were with their grandparents, but either one of my siblings could return at any time. I needed privacy.
“Theo?” She frowned and tried to let go of my hand. “What’s going on?”
Instead of letting her go, I backed her against the closed door. The thud of her back against the wooden door echoed my desperation. Any worries about being caught flew from my mind. “I’m not ready to share you with the world just yet.”
My voice was nothing more than a growl before my mouth crashed down to hers.
It wasn’t merely a kiss, it was an invasion.
More desperate than even our first one, more powerful than anything I had experienced before.
Everything I had felt for her since the moment we met was released with one explosive meeting of the mouths.
She groaned into my mouth as my hand made it up to her hair. Her body stiffened and she flicked my hand away. “Anything but the hair. It took me forever to get it right.”
I couldn’t help but smile at her instruction.
Instead, I made even better use of my hands.
I gathered the layers of fabric in my hand and pulled it up to her waist. As frustrated as I got, I took my time.
The last thing I wanted was to ruin the dress.
I mean, I did plan on it, but that would come at the end of the night.
Those soft thighs, wrapped around my waist, gave me the use of both hands. I popped the button and undid the zip of my pants, while allowing my other hand to travel between her legs.
“Theo.” Her voice was breathless. “We’re going to be late.”
“Yes, we are.” My fingers glided over all that silky wetness. “Fuck, love, you’re soaked.”
“You're at fault.” Her words were muffled as she kissed along my jaw.
A thought occurred to me and I let out a grunt. “Maggie, please tell me you’re on the pill. I haven’t been with anyone in at least a year.”
“I’ve been on the pill since Jaycee was born.” She nodded. “And I haven’t been with anyone since she’d been conceived.”
That had me stopping and I looked at her. “Maggie—”
“Oh no.” She shook her head as she glared at me. “You started this. You will fucking finish it. Just go slow.”
Go slow? God, that was going to take all my self-control. “I will try my best.”
I moved her panties and with one thumb toying with her clit, I used my other hand to free my cock from my boxers.
The cutest growl escaped her throat. “Theo. We can take it slow and enjoy all the foreplay later. Right now, I need you inside me.”
Knowing I needed to go slow, I nudged the head of my dick at her entrance. Slowly, I started to push into her, savoring her heat with every inch. She was warm and tight and fucking perfect.
She let out a small grunt and I stilled. “Did I hurt you?”
“No.” She rolled her eyes. “It's been years, there will be a pinch, but we are not stopping. Your piercing just surprised me.”
With that she jerked her hips forward taking more of me, and I let out a groan. Fuck. It took everything I had not to ram into her. To not show her exactly what that piercing felt like.
By the time I was fully inside of her we were both panting hard. “Give me a moment.” I needed to gather what little control I had or I would blow far too soon.
My movements started slow. Just a gentle glide in and out of her.
Her pussy felt like a vice, not wanting to let me go.
She buried her head in my neck as I found my rhythm.
I found the place I belonged. Her tightness was my home.
Her need, my entire world. I had everything I wanted right in my arms.
My hips moved faster and her inner walls tightened.
“Fuck, Theo.” Her voice was harsh, her breathing labored. “I’m going to—”
She didn’t get to finish her statement. Her body convulsed and her walls rippled around me, setting off my own climax. I pushed into her once more before my body stiffened and I released.
“Mine.” My growl was raw and possessive as I rested my forehead to hers.
“I need to fix my hair.” She patted her head. “We’re a mess.”
She was right, we were a mess. But I had never seen anything more beautiful.
Her lipstick was smeared and her hair looked like she was freshly fucked.
And it was all my doing. Her hands trembled as she pushed at the pins in her hair.
She was beautiful and vulnerable, a gift I would never take for granted.
What flowed through me was not just lust, it was commitment.
I had just claimed her and I would fight like hell to keep her.
I took Maggie into the downstairs bathroom and helped her clean up. I straightened my tie and jacket while she pinned up her hair and reapplied her lipstick. She stepped over to me, her hand wiping across the corner of my lip. “Don’t want my lipstick all over your face.”
“I don’t care.” In fact, the idea unleashed something feral inside me. “I quite like the idea of everyone knowing that I’m the one who gets to kiss you.”
She left the bathroom. “I need to get another bobby pin and fresh underwear.”
Less than an hour later we pulled up to the hotel where the gala was being held, just a block down from the skyscraper that housed the Snow Enterprises offices.
The gala was in full swing when we arrived, the ballroom sparkled with a band providing an instrumental version of a trending pop song. Cameras flashed and glasses clinked as Maggie and I snuck in.
Shiloh and Ryder were the first to spot us. Shiloh let out a low whistle. “Mags, you did not come to fuck around. I knew that dress would be perfect.”
Ryder kissed her cheek then turned to shake my hand. “You look happy… It's unsettling.” Then he smirked and rubbed his thumb over my jaw. “Maybe this bit of lipstick has something to do with it.”
I moved his hand away and attempted to wipe my jaw myself. But that feral, possessive feeling caused a grin to spread across my face. Let the world see. That lipstick mark was a sign, a brand. I had been claimed and the evidence was right there on my jaw.
Tiffany walked over. She wore a satin blue dress that draped low in the front and in my opinion showed off far too much boob. Maggie obviously disagreed.
“Look at you.” Maggie smiled at my sister. “That dress really shows off the girls perfectly.”
Only once the keynote address was done, and people started mingling did I allow myself to relax. And as Murphy’s law would have it, that was when things went to hell.
Hunter walked in glaring at me and my body went on alert. His voice was urgent. “Why the fuck aren’t you answering your phone?”
“I’m kind of in the middle of something.”
“We’ve had a breach.”
His words had my blood running cold.
Next to me, Maggie turned as my body tensed. “What’s wrong?”
Then Nick, as well as Noah Moore, who were both at the gala stood in front of me. Noah Moore was a partner at Salinger Security and heir to the Moore Entertainment Empire. Also, he was a former marine.
“According to the monitors there are two intruders in your server room. Height and build suggest two men.”
What the fuck does any one want from there. That’s only data. Our sensitive information was kept off site.
I turned to Maggie, who couldn’t hide her panic. “Stay here with Anna.” Nick’s wife was excellent in the field, but she preferred to stay out of it.
I pulled off my jacket and undid my tie. My shoes were not ideal, but then neither were Shiloh’s.
Just as the five of us were getting ready to leave, the chandeliers flickered for a moment then the whole room plunged into darkness. My first thought was for Hunter. He was trained for just this type of situation.
Why would they want the hotel in darkness? Then it hit me. “It’s Fred. He’s not in the server room. He’s here.”