Chapter 25 Theo
THEO
Location: Cardiff, Wales
THE NEXT STOP on the royal tour was Cardiff, Wales, and I spent the first half of the twelve-hour flight catching up on some much-needed sleep.
Fucking Shep into oblivion was by far one of the best nights of my life, but it did require a certain amount of stamina, especially considering I wanted a repeat.
After all, the private jet did have a spacious bedroom in the back…
I glanced over to where Shep typed away on his laptop, catching up on work, and took advantage of his distraction to watch him.
How he stayed in a full suit and tie on such a long flight instead of making himself comfortable was beyond me.
I’d changed as soon as we boarded, but even his polished shoes were still on.
Hell, he probably hadn’t even napped, had he?
But damn he looked good. Maybe I was seeing him now through orgasm-tinted lenses, or maybe I’d just been missing out all along. I loved the fact that I got this powerful man to submit to me and enjoy every second in the same way I craved being pinned down by him.
We were evenly matched in that way, even if outside the bedroom we were complete opposites. I’d barely gotten him out of the hotel before we left to explore a little, wanting to check out some of the street food at Dotonbori, while he’d been content to stay in and order room service.
No thanks. I couldn’t spend my life being a cooped-up royal, which was why being one of the Libertines had been such a lifesaver for me. I needed an outlet, otherwise all the restless energy inside me would just explode.
Kind of like I had inside of Shep last night.
That memory had my lips twitching, and I bit down on my thumbnail and relived it over and over again until Shep looked up, catching my stare.
“Now that’s a look that means you’re up to no good,” he said, reaching for his glass—of water, what the fuck—and taking a sip.
“I’m always up to no good. You like that about me, though.”
“Do I?”
“You do. You want that devil on your shoulder encouraging all those dirty thoughts you try to keep to yourself.”
He shook his head, but one side of that sexy-as-sin mouth curved up. “You’re a menace.”
“You’ve mentioned that. And yet you still let me fuck you.”
Shep’s eyes moved from me to the flight attendant who had stopped by my seat to top up my glass of cognac, and the way his expression turned thoughtful had me smirking.
I took a sip and then nodded in his direction. “Make sure to top up his water, since he’s living wild over there.”
Shep put his hand up. “I’m good, Josie, thanks.”
“Of course, Mr. Winchester.”
As she headed out of the cabin, my phone vibrated on the seat beside me, and I pulled up the text, expecting it to be Amaya with her laundry list of instructions.
UNKNOWN NUMBER:
Mixing business with pleasure?
I frowned at the message before realizing it must’ve been a wrong number and tossed my cell back on the seat. That didn’t happen often, not when Alessio’s abilities meant keeping us off the spam lists, but maybe someone had misdialed.
A few seconds later, my phone went off again, only this time they’d sent a photo. I didn’t blink as I stared at the image, my whole body going still.
What the fuck?
I made the picture bigger and could clearly see the moment I’d kissed Shep on the neck yesterday while standing in line for takoyaki. What wasn’t shown was the way he’d pushed me back seconds later, telling me not to do that in public.
UNKNOWN NUMBER:
What will your illustrious leader think about this new development?
Wait…illustrious leader? Whoever this was knew about King? Or was I reading too much into that?
How the hell did they get this photo?
I lifted my eyes to Shep, who’d gone back to working on his laptop, and a strange, uneasy feeling settled in the pit of my stomach.
This was the asshole who’d doctored the video. The same one who’d threatened me and was now apparently adding stalking to his list of crimes.
I ground my molars as I tried to think of a way to call this fucker and get to the bottom of whatever shit they were pulling. But being an unknown number meant I couldn’t dial out, only respond via text.
“Theo?”
“Huh?” My head snapped up, and when my eyes locked with Shep’s, I did my best to mask my annoyance at what I’d just been looking at.
“Something wrong? You went quiet.”
Trying to play it off, I plastered on my best smirk. “I can do that occasionally.”
“Yes, but you’re usually sleeping.”
“You would know.”
Shep lowered his eyes over me and then gave a slow nod. “Yes, I would. So tell me, what’s wrong?”
“Nothing, I just—” My phone picked that exact moment to vibrate where I’d laid it face down on the armrest.
I flexed my fingers around the device as if I could crush it, and when it stopped, I looked back to Shep.
“Who’s that?”
“No one,” I answered a little too fast.
“Is it Yuki?”
“Who?”
Shep rolled his eyes and closed his laptop. “Your playboy date, genius. How soon they forget.”
Oh, right. Unfortunately for Yuki, I’d fucked him out of my system with Shep. The only thing I remembered from that date was the tiger shrimp.
“Non. Not Yuki.”
Shep’s eyes narrowed on me. “Why are you so agitated, then?”
Because I want to check what else this asshole just sent, and you won’t quit looking at me. That was what I wanted to say, but then Shep would demand to see the texts, and I wasn’t letting that happen.
“I’m not. I’m just restless because I’ve been sitting still too long. This flight takes forever.”
“Theo?”
“Hmm?”
“Do I look stupid to you?”
No, he looked really fucking hot. Especially with the way he was scowling now. And under any other circumstance, I’d welcome his attention, even relish in it. But why was he being so focused now?
“I can tell when something’s bothering you. I can also tell when you’re blowing smoke up my ass.”
I bit down on my lip, a frown pulling at my brow.
“Wow. No smartass comeback to that? I lined it up for you and everything. Now I know something is wrong with you. Give me your phone.”
Shep held his hand out, and I snorted. “Sure, Mom.”
“Theo.” Shep’s voice was stern in a way that made my spine stiffen. “Your phone. Now.”
Usually I’d tell him to fuck off, but the mix of anger and dread swirling into a knot in my gut was making me feel sick. Maybe sharing it would help. Plus, it did kind of involve Shep, so he was going to find out eventually. Especially if this motherfucker made good on his threat.
With a sigh, I picked up my phone and handed it over to him. When he flipped it over and saw the message, his face morphed from concern to volatile anger.
“Who the fuck sent this?”
“How should I know? It’s from an unknown number.”
Shep’s eyes were almost bugging out of his head as he took in the image of me kissing him. “We’re… You’re… I told you not to kiss me in public.”
“That’s your biggest concern?”
“This very second? Yes.” Shep let out a breath and shook his head. “This is what happens when you act on impulse.”
I spun in my chair to face him, my jaw in my lap.
“Are you serious right now? Some fucknut is out there stalking me, sending me photos of us together, threatening to send them to King, and you want to play the blame game? Okay, fine. I shouldn’t have kissed you in public, but it’s your fault for looking too fucking sexy to resist.” I slumped back into my seat and crossed my arms over my chest. “I’m not going to say sorry.
Not in any of the five languages I know. ”
“I don’t want you to,” Shep softly admitted. “I just wish you were a little more concerned with your own safety.”
“Why?” I scoffed. “That’s what you’re here for.”
“Theo…”
“Well, it’s true, isn’t it? You’re here to babysit me.”
“I’m here to make sure no one hurts you, yes. But it would be helpful if you cared about that too.”
“I do. But I’m not about to hide inside on the off chance this loser is following me around with a camera.”
“I don’t want you to hide—”
“Are you sure about that?” I pursed my lips and cocked my head. “Are you really worried for my safety, or that a certain someone is going to get that photo emailed to him?”
“That’s insulting.”
“But true, right? We both know King would go apeshit if he found out that I was nailing his ex.”
“Lovely, Theo. And for King to go apeshit, he’d actually have to care. Something he hasn’t done for me in a long while.”
I rolled my eyes. “Bullshit. The problem with King is he cares too damn much, for all of us. But you, you’re a different case altogether.
Just because you two aren’t fucking anymore doesn’t mean he doesn’t still hold you in the highest of regards.
No one would ever be good enough for you, according to him, especially not me. ”
Okay, where the hell had that all come from?
Shep sat there for a second, no doubt trying to process the insane shit that had just flown out of my mouth. But when it was no clearer to him why I was talking as though we were a couple hiding from our boss, instead of a casual fuck, he just…moved on.
Thank God.
“Let’s focus on the actual problem at hand, okay?”
Fine by me. “Okay, let’s.”
“I think you should cancel your upcoming appearance until we touch base with Alessio and see if any other correspondence made it back to them.”
“In other words, find out if this fucker is merely threatening me, or if the rest of our brothers are currently wondering which one of us is coming out on top.”
Shep arched a brow. “Be serious.”
“You don’t think they’d wonder?”
“I mean about the threat, Theo. You need to cancel the soccer game.”
“No.”
“There will be a stadium full of people there—”
“And I’ll have you to protect me.”
Shep’s jaw clenched and began to twitch. “There’s only so much I can do.”
“Good thing I’m not a wilting flower, then.”
Shep rubbed at his brow as though he was getting a headache—which he probably was.
“Can I have my phone back?”
He sighed and handed it over, and I glanced down to check the last text that had come through—the one that had caught Shep’s attention before I could look at it—and sucked in a breath.
The first photo that had been sent was a fun kiss to Shep’s neck, an unexpected, impulsive move that had caught him off guard.
But this second one was somehow even more intimate than the first. Not because we were touching—there was no physical contact in this shot.
But my resident stalker had caught a moment where Shep and I were standing facing one another, me looking up at him and laughing at something he’d said, and Shep’s eyes were twinkling with a joy that had been long absent.
There was no faking that kind of enjoyment in one another. That kind of chemistry. No way to brush off the emotions on both our faces, and had a tabloid editor or one of our brothers seen it, they would’ve known in an instant something was going on.
We looked like a…couple. A very happy couple.
Putain.
“How long until we land?” I said, suddenly needing to get up and away from the man next to me.
“Three hours.”
“Good.” I unbuckled my belt and got to my feet. “That’s just enough time for another nap.”
“Seriously?” Shep said as I stepped past him and headed toward the back of the plane. “You’re going to sleep now?”
I glanced back over my shoulder. “Oui, unless you want to join me.”
Shep let his eyes trail down over me, and then, just as I’d suspected, he shook his head. “I don’t think so.”
There was nothing like a cold, hard reality check to remind you that shit was getting out of control, and this thing between us had ignited into something neither of us had expected or knew what to do with.
So for now I’d go and take my nap…alone.