Chapter 38 #2
It’s not a long wait before I have the burgers and the coffees, giving me more of a chance to get back to the apartment before Isla wakes.
And sure enough, a short walk later, I step through the door and close it softly behind me, placing the food and coffee on the counter, keeping one espresso in my hand.
I stop at the bedroom door, watching her back rise and fall at a peaceful pace, her naked body splayed across the bed. I admire her full back piece, the dragon’s tail trails down one of her cheeks and ends at the back of her thigh, disappearing on the side, curling around to the front.
I step in, rounding the bed, and kneel before her, taking the top off the to-go cup. I hold it up to her nose and swirl, the aromas filling the air.
Once.
Twice.
And slowly she moves.
Her eyes open first, followed by that lethal fucking smile.
“Good morning,” she mumbles, her voice thick with sleep, and I smile back.
“Morning, baby,” I say, lowering my lips to hers, but she stops me, placing her hand over my mouth.
“No!” She shoots up in bed. “I haven’t brushed my teeth yet.”
My smile drops as I place the coffee on the bed side table, annoyed. My hand wraps around her delicate wrist as I climb on top of her, holding both her hands above her head, and take what’s mine.
Her lips are still swollen and tender from last night, the broken skin on her bottom lip a reminder of our passion.
“Don’t ever stop me from kissing you again.”
She smiles. “I thought I was the one with the power to make demands now.”
Pulling her up to a seated position, I hand her the coffee, and she takes a deep inhale before taking a sip.
“You’ve always held that power. You just know how to wield it now.”
Her eyes don’t leave mine as she takes another sip. “Where’s my burger?”
“How do you know I got you a burger?” I ask, narrowing my eyes. “Did you put a camera on me?”
She forces a laugh, then takes the last sip and throws the empty cup at me.
It hits my chest, then falls to the floor.
“No. Because I know your neurotic ass would have noted down everything to the last detail when you were stalking me those three weeks.” She crosses her arms, her breasts more prominent, sitting perfectly as I bite back a smile. “Well, am I wrong?”
I place my hand over my mouth, covering the smile on my face. “I forgot.”
Her face falls. “What?”
“I’m sorry, I forgot what you liked, so I got you a croissant.”
She doesn’t say anything as she stares at me.
Then she’s up out of bed, sifting through the small luggage I store here for emergencies.
Finding an old shirt of mine, she stuffs her arms through the holes in a huff as I barely contain my laughter.
She stomps out of the room, and I follow her into the kitchen.
Just as she spots the burger on the counter waiting for her, she turns back to glare at me. Reaching for the pillow on the couch, she hurls it at me, and I catch it, finally letting out a laugh.
“You’re a dick.”
I close the distance between us, caging her against the island, right in front of the spot we fucked last night. Reaching for the burger on the counter, I hold it up to her. “Yeah, but I’m yours. I know everything you like, from your shampoo down to the brand of makeup you wear.”
She snatches the burger from me, unwrapping it to take a bite. “If I didn’t know you, I’d call you a psycho.”
“Knowing everything about my woman doesn’t make me a psycho. I’m not the one who dropped a fucking transmission from a car.” It still irritates me when I think about it. “And you still haven’t told me who fucking taught you how to do that.”
A playful smile spreads across her face, and she takes another bite, enjoying every moment of my jealousy. “What’s that information worth to you?” she asks in a sultry tone, and I’m so close to taking her rough right here on the fucking counter to show her.
Even when she’s eating a fucking burger, unshowered and fresh out of bed, she can make my knees buckle.
“Anything you want.”
Just as my lips touch hers, tasting the sweetness from the bacon, the phone in my pocket rings, shifting the air and filling it with tension. Her gaze catches mine when I reach for it.
“Ezra.”
“What the fuck happened last night?” The hardness in his voice is expected, and the only thing I have to lean on is the hope that he can understand what it’s like to be in love. “I sent you in there to do a fucking job, and you couldn’t follow through.”
My jaw tightens as I listen to his words. Ezra is known to blind people simply because he feels like it, but I know it’s different with me. He feels responsible for me, somewhat like a prodigy.
His sigh is heavy on the other end of the phone, and I can sense his frustration from here.
“Turn the fucking TV on.”
I reach for the remote on the coffee table and turn on the first news channel that pops up. Benedict’s photo is plastered on the right side of the screen as the news reporter holds the microphone close to her mouth on the other, her blonde hair in a short bob.
“Breaking news. A prominent figure amongst London’s elite is missing under suspicious circumstances.
Billionaire, socialite, and philanthropist, Benedict Archibald, renowned for building the London Harbinger from the ground up, has been missing for weeks, and authorities are now asking for the public’s help in locating him. ”
I hit mute on the TV.
“Tell me you fucking have him,” I say, closing my eyes.
Ezra huffs a laugh. “Of course I have him. Even roaches can’t hide from me.”
I release a breath. “Tell me what you need me to do.”
Isla steps in front of me, the burger still in her hand by her side, and I see the warning in her eyes. Whatever I’m doing, wherever I’m going, she wants to be there.
“I have a plan, but I need you to get Isla on board,” he explains, and I watch her eyes narrow. “If she wants her life back, she needs to compromise.”
Isla shoves the rest of the burger into her mouth angrily, crumpling the wrapper in her hands.
“She’s ready to cooperate.”
She gives me an incredulous look, but doesn’t say anything.
“Emmett will pick you both up tomorrow. Remember, you’re a wanted man. Don’t fucking do anything I wouldn’t.”
He hangs up, and I smile at the way her brows come together, her lips pursed with contempt.
“Where were we?” I ask, forgetting about the entire conversation.
“What!?” She fists the rubbish in her hand. “I can’t believe you’re just going to brush over that entire phone call.”
“We have approximately twenty-four hours left, just me and you…alone. Do you really want to waste another moment of it worrying about what’s to come tomorrow?
” I scoop her into my arms, pressing her warm body against mine, my dick already hard as the images of her coming on my hand, face, and cock flash across my vision. “I need that information, Isla.”
Her palms rest on my chest as she looks up at me, the wrapper falling to our feet. “I don’t think you can afford it.”
“If jealousy were a currency, you’d be the world’s wealthiest woman. You own me, Isla. Now tell me what I have to do to pry that bastard’s name from you.”
The playful glint in her eyes is back as she tips her head to the side, pure enjoyment reflected in her features. I’ll do anything to keep her like this. Happy and in my arms.
“I’ll tell you when I think you’re ready to hear it.”