FIFTY-ONE
brEAKFAST WAS LAID out on carts near the windows when she emerged the following morning. Darroch was at the dining table, a laptop and other office type things laid out around him.
“Why are you over there?” she asked, going to pour coffee. “There’s a desk here.”
That the actual desk was closer to her room didn’t make it hers.
“See the stack of stuff on it.”
Yes, she did. Files, a laptop, some thick stacks of documents bound together.
“What about it?” she asked, inhaling the scent of the coffee before drinking it.
“That’s your work for today.”
“My work?” Was that some kind of joke? She didn’t even have a job. Going over to check what he could possibly… “Huddle Hope.”
Everything was related to the scheme Roxie wanted her to be a part of.
“Time to familiarize yourself.”
“Hmm.” She sat down to take a closer look. Wouldn’t hurt, right? She hadn’t signed anything, there was no commitment. “At least I’ll have something to do to pass the time.”
Somehow she couldn’t see herself vegging out in front of the TV and forgetting about the drama in her life. Work would give her a focus.
“How are you feeling this morning?”
She sipped her coffee and started to spread everything out. “Good. Considering. Any news?”
“I haven’t seen anyone this morning. But no calls, no emails. I’ve got a call with the task force at noon, if you want in on it.”
“The task force?” she asked, feeling sort of swanky while simultaneously holding in a laugh. “There’s a task force?”
“This person is pursuing you.”
“Yeah,” she said without hiding her smile. “But a person like me doesn’t get a task force. We wouldn’t even get a call back.” She edged her cup aside. “Guess that’s what money gets you.”
“Want me to disband it?”
Twisting around, she caught the back of her chair to look across the room at him. “Disband—no.”
“No problem for me, baby. I’ll live here forever with you, sounds ideal.”
Some might expect that to be snide. It wasn’t. Darroch Breckenridge couldn’t slight her if he tried. Her shoulders dropped. Except he could. Why did she have to keep reminding herself that the man she thought he was didn’t exist?
“No, you’re right. The quicker this is over, the better.”
“You sure about that? ‘Cause I could relive last night for the next fifty-something years, if you’re with me.”
Last night being locked in there together, dinner? Family…? Sex?
“Look, I’m sorry if I confused things. Maybe I had too much wine, I don’t know, it just felt okay, like it was okay to…”
“It was okay. Is okay. I’m here for whatever you need. Just like you said.”
He said it first. She wouldn’t ask if their recklessness sent mixed signals or messed with his head. Even addressing it would start a conversation they didn’t need to have.
“The coffee’s good,” she said, returning to it and her work. “It’ll take me all day to get through this.”
“Maybe all week.”
He might be willing to stick around, but she hadn’t considered it. Just how long would they be there? What if it took a month to find the guy? A year? Would they be trapped there together indefinitely? That they didn’t know was the very definition of the word. Damnit.
Okay, so she couldn’t claim hardship. They were in a luxury building, one of the most expensive stretches of real estate in the country, maybe the world. Everything was brought to her, every need catered. And, on top of that, she was able to take physical advantage of her hot roommate any time she liked. In theory. As to whether that was smart…
Being with him, crossing that final line, had been such an amazing high that she almost feared going there again. Could she get addicted? Honestly? She might be already. Once felt like nothing. It definitely wasn’t enough. They could be there for months, or they could be snatched from each other again in a second, ending their association for good. That would mean never again. She couldn’t handle never again, not yet.
Rising, without thinking too much, because that was when she got into trouble, she was drawn across the room to him.
He glanced over the top of his laptop as she rounded the head of the dining table.
“Need something?”
“Maybe,” she said, sliding her butt along the edge of the table toward him.
Without hesitation, he swept his computer and papers aside to stand, snatching her hips to yank her in front of him.
“Whatever you need.”
That growl ignited the moment, their mouths clashed and clothes were shoved aside. The seal was broken. With that release came permission for pleasure like she’d never known.
“Darroch,” she whispered, her head falling back as the lust became unquenched satisfaction. “Fuck me, Darroch.”
Already seated on the table, she dug her knees into him until his hand between them took control and filled her with the gratification she craved.
“Yes,” she whispered on a rush of breath grabbing him for stability and pushing into every thrust. “Oh, God, yes…”
“Feel good, baby?”
“Mmm…” she moaned, her teeth finding her lip, dragging it free. “Incredible.”
“Any time you want it, it’s all yours.”
The words reminding him this wasn’t about them may have flitted across her mind. May have. That link of their bodies, the friction building, the buzz of a rise that she knew would end in an explosion of pleasure just like the previous night, was way more important.
The flood ascended through her gut, it squeezed her heart, speckled in her eyes. Sex had never been like this. Never even close to the high of him. Snatching his shirt in her fist, she yanked him closer though his hips kept on working. With a strong forearm locked behind her waist, he supported her as she leaned back, raising the gradient of her hips to perfectly feel his—
“Yes, yes. Yes!” Her calls didn’t stop there, didn’t quiet. She released all her need, pushing, pulling, begging, pleading. “Darroch. Darroch.”
Her pant matched the moment her body again caved into orgasm with his landing right on time.
The heave of their bodies continued. Catching her breath wasn’t possible, her chest hurt. The sharp snap of pain wouldn’t subside. How did she…?
He pushed back just enough to meet her eye. And there it was. The cure for the ache that—no, she shouldn’t—except when she tried to push him away, he caught her jaw, tipping her head back to consume her mouth.
Their hello was as potent as what had to be goodbye. And there was that pain again. Grabbing for his shoulders, she sucked air in through her nose and gave back. Not just gave, she forced him to feel her pain, her anger, her fear. What this man had always been was—
“No.” The word burst from her mouth onto his. When she shoved again, he still stayed put. “Move, Darroch, or I’ll—”
“What? Scream?”
“Don’t mock me.” He hadn’t minded her volume a second ago. “Let me go.”
“That’s one thing I’ll never do, Cherry.”
After another few jabs at his shoulder with the heel of her hand, he acquiesced and backed away enough for her to slither off the table onto her feet.
“Cherry—”
“Please don’t call me that,” she said, shimmying down her skirt and righting her shirt as he put himself back together too.
Kinda.
No amount of smoothing clothes would hide the creases of what they’d done.
When she tried to walk away, he grabbed her arm to pull her back. Rather than say anything, his eyes stayed matched to hers as he touched the gem in the nook of her throat.
“Astrid told me to wear it.”
“It’s your security pass, I know. I didn’t just give it to you because it was pretty.” Wait, what did that…? “Your safety, and your ability to access safety have always been my primary concern.”
“I don’t want to talk about this.”
So why couldn’t she look away? He might have her arm, but that didn’t explain why she couldn’t tear her eyes from his.
“I know what safety means to you. You’ve never had security or someone to look after you, to put you first. And what you went through that night at the store—”
“Stop it,” she said, yanking on her arm without freeing it. “Darroch!”
“I am that person, Savanna Mayden. And I will always be that person whether you want me to be or not.”
“I don’t want to talk about this.”
“There is nothing I wouldn’t give you.” His fingers bit deeper and he stooped lower. “Nothing I wouldn’t do to keep you safe.”
And suddenly the walls felt less than luxury. No one could get in without clearance. Did that count for out too?
A knock on the door didn’t break their stare. Neither did it opening.
“What’s going on?”
“Nothing,” she said, recognizing Caber’s voice though it was behind her. On the next jerk, her arm was liberated. “We’re finished.”
“Yeah, looks that way.”
It wasn’t her job to address the brother’s concern, so she went back to work.
“Coming next door for the—”
“Yeah,” Darroch said, cutting Caber off. “Sav, if you—”
“Go, play with your brothers.” She didn’t even look up. “Why would I care?”
He muttered something and a few seconds later, the door closed.
On an exhale, her head fell into her hands. What the hell was she doing?