23. Rook
I staredat the encrypted email from Tatiana, considering if I could use this information to bribe Maxon.
Tatiana was the only person I kept in touch with from my previous life in Vegas.
Like me, Knight—my best childhood friend, my only friend—had betrayed her.
I’d saved her on the worst day of her life. Then, together we built a network of spies that brought in secrets vitally important to the Veritas. Vegas tourism was an alluring bait for important men and women all over the world, and we used high-end escorts to gather information.
This was my main source of usefulness to the Veritas, and the main reason I had a certain leeway in the society.
I was a valuable asset to them, and until I had my revenge, I used it to my advantage.
The soft swish of cloth drew my attention away from my laptop and my blood drained from my face at the sight of Summer Duvall in the doorway. The yellow roses on her cream colored Dolce and Gabbana dress brought out the golden strands in the braid in her hair, dimmed only slightly in the dull lighting of the library.
“Summer.” My voice was a low growl of warning. “What are you doing here?”
“Why didn’t you apply for me?” Her ocean blue eyes pinned me in place. There was a sadness in them, a strange wildness I’d never seen from her before. She stepped into the room. “Why?”
Mrs. Pearl, the head librarian, walked by the open doorway, a stack of books in her arms. She glanced my way, her glasses askew, her brown hair pulled back in a loose bun. She gave me a flirty wink as she passed, a small smile to her lips, before she disappeared past the doorway, a trail of young children following in her wake.
“Shut the door,” I demanded.
“Tell me first,” Summer gripped the edges of the doorway, refusing to move.
“Because. I told you, Summer. You’re not safe.”
She didn’t dispute me, as expected.
There was the soft whispering of a motherly-type voice just outside my door, then a woman appeared with two teenage-looking kids in tow—a girl, with bright purple hair and a lanky boy with a striped shirt and a large zit on his nose.
This was wrong.
So very, very wrong.
She shouldn”t be here.
And I shouldn”t be staring at her like a moth to a flame, unable to stop the attraction I felt for her.
“I won’t ask you again,” I grit out. “Shut the door.”
“You work here?” She didn’t seem condescending, just… surprised. Curious, maybe.
“I donated a large sum of money for them to redecorate, in exchange for an office space I could use.”
“Why?”
“Is that any of your business?”
“Maybe.” She let the silence settle between us. Seemed comfortable with it. Like she wasn’t going to leave. Or shut the goddamn door—why did she always have to be such a headache?
“I like books.”
“Then buy them.”
“It’s not the same?—“
“The same as what?” Placing her hand on the door knob, she tilted her head, giving me an expectant look.
I sighed, running a hand through my hair. “I wasn’t always,” I struggled for the right word, “…welcome,” the word came out warbled and strangled, “in certain places I lived. Except the library. No one cared if I was there.”
“I see.” She slowly shut the door, her expression softening. “I know what you mean.” She began to wander the room and I couldn’t stop my gaze from trailing over her. Her shock blonde hair was in a loose braid that hung over her shoulder. Her dress was sleeveless, and I studied the lines of her jaw and neck. The wave of muscle. Her smooth, golden skin. She had a small mustard stain by her collar, and I bit down on my amused smile.
The girl was hopeless.
She paused at my shelves, looking over my books and a set of chess. “I wasn’t exactly popular in school either.”
“Why is that?”
A shoulder came up. “I could never figure that out.”
“Was it boys? Or girls?”
“Mostly girls. But both.”
Jealousy, I was certain of it. Except the boys probably wanted to fuck her but were too chicken shit to approach her, so they treated her like trash because they couldn’t have her.
As for me, I was just beneath the rich, trust fund kids. “I’m sure it had nothing to do with the reason I wasn’t accepted.”
“It still hurt all the same.” She looked at me, a photo frame held in her slim fingers. Her stare bore into me, daring me to contradict her.
“Not as much as an empty belly.”
Sorrow effused through her eyes, softening them, and I stiffened, my walls coming up.
I didn’t need her pity, and I definitely didn’t need her here, fucking with my plans.
I was here for a reason — to have my revenge on Saul. I’d done everything possible for the woman—it was her choice to ignore me.
And..
Well her presence here was fucking with my control.
If I started breaking my rules now, I would break her.
And she was too young and naive, almost a former version of me.
“Why are you here, Summer?”
”I need to know that you won”t hurt me,” she said, ”If I choose you.”
Not for the first time, I cursed her father for not exposing her to the realities of our world. He”d been too soft-hearted to crush her innocence, but it was going to get her killed.
“Who says I want you?”
“I do.”
“And Tucker?” I responded, giving her a cool look. “He’s handsome.”
”True,” she held up the frame, showing me what I already knew to be the only personal picture I had in the room. ”Is this your girlfriend?”
”Something like that.” I didn”t mention that, even though Tatiana and I had fucked several times, it had only been a matter of convenience. We’d been friends, close even, if you could call us that, and nothing more. We”d never loved each other like that.
That was a long time ago.
She tilted her head to study me. ”I don”t believe you.”
I shrugged, not answering.
”If that were true,” she continued as she slowly made her way towards me, stopping to look at the Rodin statue on my desk, lovers mid-kiss, ”you wouldn”t have kissed me.” She picked up the statue and gestured with it. “That’s if you’re faithful to her.”
“And who says I am?” At the swipe of my finger, my computer went black and I shut it. I deliberately locked it in my drawer, then leaned back in my chair to study her. “Or,” I said, “maybe she doesn”t mind if I play with others.” Which had been true, except Tatiana and I weren”t fucking anymore. Her husband would kill me, first. Literally.
”No,” Placing the statue back down, she suddenly made her way towards me, her determination clear in her gaze. She needed to learn how to hide her feelings better. She was desperate for this, and I wondered what made her change her mind about Tucker. Or if my warning to him had actually worked. ”I don”t believe it. You”re single.”
”And why do you think you know me so well?”
She sat on the desk and I ignored the temptation to lean forward and touch her. To run my finger over her cheek. Brush her hair from her eyes. To grip her hips and pull her to me.
She”s barely eighteen, I reminded myself. Douglass’ daughter. I promised to protect her, not corrupt her. And we were in a library, for fucks sake. There were families, children, right outside my door.
”Because,” she stared into my eyes, the color bright and so alluring. It was like staring into the clear blue ocean looking into those eyes. So fucking pure. So fucking innocent. I wanted to mar them with the same darkness that had been meted out to me when I was her age.
I wanted to destroy it—that sweet, sweet, seductive innocence.
She was playing a dangerous game and it was going to fucking eat her alive.
”Because,” she finally answered, a smirk to her lips. ”You”re too disciplined. You work too much to have a girlfriend. You need organization in your life, and… side pieces are too messy.”
I frowned in frustration. She might be innocent, but she wasn”t stupid.
I gave in to the temptation and leaned forward. Gripping her hips, I hauled her up and into my lap so she was straddling me.
A soft gasp, her eyes widened in surprise but her hands landed on my shoulders, steadying herself.
She didn”t try to get off.
”You”re playing with fire, little darling, but I”m the one who”s going to burn you alive.”
”I”m not little,” she frowned. ”I may be young, but I’m responsible for things now.”
”You are a girl. Young. Naive. Stupid. You have no idea what trouble you”ve gotten yourself in.”
“I know exactly what I’m doing,” she growled with a fierce expression.
“And you already turned down each of my offers. What makes you think I would make the same offer twice?”
”Because,” she shifted, her dress riding up her thighs, making me stiffen.
I could feel her softness burning through the pants of my suit. Could I make her come like this? Would she be quiet, or scream so loud the whole library could hear?
I bit down on a groan and tried to think of Mrs. Pearl. She was a more suitable option if I needed to fuck. She was my age, more mature to the world, and, best of all, married. There would be no attachments or delusions of commitment.
Unfortunately for me, I didn’t want Mrs. Pearl.
I wanted a sweet bunny, sitting so innocently in my lap.
”You might be a controlling workaholic,” she said, “but you”re not evil.”
”How do you know?”
”I can sense it.”
“Then you sense it wrong. I’m as morally corrupt as they come.”
”Well, if that”s true, then why haven”t you already taken advantage of me?”
”Not everything is about you,” I lied, and in an instant, I could see the hurt in her gaze. Poor little bunny lived with her heart on her sleeve. I reached forward, tracing her braid. ”If I took you, what would I get out of it?”
She blanched, clearly not expecting that question.
“Eh, little bunny? What do you have to offer me that I couldn’t get from someone else?”
”I thought I was going to do, like, chores or some--”
”I have a maid. A cook. Are you telling me you can cook better than my five Michelin starred chef?”
”I”m pretty good at boxed macaroni and cheese,” she gave me a cheeky grin.
I laughed.
It stumbled out of me so quickly, I didn’t even realize it was happening until it had escaped my mouth. It took effort to stifle it but I managed, shaking my head. “That road leads to a heart attack at the age of forty.”
“So?” She raised a shoulder, and my eyes landed on the fine line of her collar. I wanted to taste the skin there. See if it tasted like silken honey. ”At least you”d have some good laughs along the way.”
The simpleness of her words astounded me. Once again, she”d read me too accurately. I never laughed anymore.
I couldn”t remember the last time I”d had a genuine one. Over the last couple of decades, I’d been too busy living with a constant need for revenge. That required money and information, then power. Now that I had all three, it was within my grasp.
”And you think you could make me laugh?”
”It wouldn”t be that hard.”
”If it”s so easy, do it now.”
“Now?” she fiddled with the V-neck of her dress, exposing the plump swell of her breasts, making it that much harder to keep my need under control. I wanted to bite it.
Did she know what she was doing? I couldn”t tell.
“I just did.”
“Do it again. You said it would be easy.”
”But I--” she sputtered, ”I don”t know--”
I leaned upwards to purr in her ear, ”Too scared little bunny? Afraid of the big, bad wolf?” I shifted my hips and her eyes widened as she felt my size. Because yes, I was hard as granite. ”You think it would be easier living with me? Being my slave? You think I”m a better man than Tucker?”
Clutching her tight, I stood. I wanted to throw her on my desk, rip off whatever panties she was wearing, and show her exactly what kind of wolf I was.
I wanted to taste her, see if her cream was just as sweet as her spirit.
Eighteen. She”s only eighteen. We’re in the library.
In my haste to get her away from me, I slammed her onto the desk, and she inhaled a sharp breath in surprise.
”If you think that I”m any better than Tucker, little bunny, then you”re as naive as you look.” I took a step back needing some space between us, forcing myself not to rip off that fucking dress and fuck her right here. ”You need to leave. Find another way to take care of your sister, if you won’t accept my offer to buy your home.”
Her hands gripped the edge of my desk. ”No.”
”Excuse me?”
“I grew up in this world. I’m not naive. I know men, and I know you, maybe better than you know yourself. You won”t hurt me.”
I stared at her speechlessly for a moment. The girl had no fucking clue.
”You have no idea what kind of man I am. What kind of tastes I have.” I clenched my teeth until my jaw ached. “I would destroy you.”
“And?” Her expression was fierce now, her chin tilting upward. ”I can handle it.”
I gripped her chin, forcing her not to look away, my eyes landing on plump, pouty lips. ”Tell me why I should believe you.”
“You know what school I went to, don”t you?”
My eyebrows furrowed. ”What does that have to do with anything?”
”It”s a strict school.”
”And?” I wanted to bite those damn full lips. Pull them into my mouth. Taste them. Once hadn’t been enough.
”And, I had a teacher once. Mr. Fletcher.”
”Did he hurt you?” Protective instinct roared inside me. If he”d hurt her, I was going to kill him.
”No. Well, not really. But he used to smack my hands with a ruler if I disobeyed the rules.”
”I”ll kill him,” I said immediately. How dare he harm her, even if it was only a ruler. Even though I had something worse in my kit that I wanted to use on her.
”It wasn”t that hard but I..” she paused, not looking at me now. I tightened my hold over her chin, forcing her to look back at me.
”You what?” Anticipation made me still, listening very closely.
”I may have…” she glanced away again, shifting uncomfortably.
“Summer. You might have what?” Fucking get it out already.
”I might have liked it.” She spoke the words so quietly, I could barely hear them.
”Liked him?”
”No.” She shook her head. ”I didn”t like him. But I liked...”
I sighed impatiently. “Speak woman. Get it out.”
”I liked the pain.” Her throat bobbed with the admission, and I held myself very, very still so I wouldn”t react to her words. Show her what I really wanted to do, which was to find out exactly what kind of pain she liked, and how she liked it.
To test her limits, to see if she would match my own penchant for giving it.
”What do you mean? How did it make you feel?”
She finally met my gaze, defiance in them. ”It made me horny. Is that what you want to hear?”
I let go of her chin. “There”s nothing wrong with that,” I tried to be gentle. She shouldn”t feel shame for liking it. ”There are plenty of people--”
”I told you, I”m not a child. You don”t have to explain this to me.”
”You”re right, Summer. You”re not a child. You”re right on the precipice of your womanhood, with a sharp mind and the body of a siren. And yet, you have no clue how you affect men. How much money they would pay to stain a woman like you. Wicked, evil men.”
Her chest rose with a sharp inhaled breath. ”You think I’m beautiful?”
I cursed, shaking my head, then kneeled in front of her so she could look at me without having to look up. I was losing all my restraint.
She was too sweet. Too goddamn innocent. And too goddamned young. I needed to remember that. To keep my head. This was Douglass’ daughter.
“Summer Duvall, you are one of the most beautiful women I”ve ever met.”
“More beautiful than the woman in that picture?”
“Tatiana is beautiful, but I never felt that way about her.”
”So you never had sex with her?”
”I didn”t say that,” I let out a dark chuckle.
”So if you like how I look, why won’t you put in an application for me?” She reached forward, running her hand through my hair and I closed my eyes at the wonderful sensation of warmth washing over me. It had been so long since I”d felt like this.
She almost made me feel like a child again, back when I actually felt things like happiness.
”Is my body not nice enough?”
I grit my teeth, wanting to show her exactly how much I could appreciate her body.
Fuck. How did I end up in this situation? On my knees, before the most beautiful and stunning woman I”d ever seen.
I knew why she was doing this.
It wasn”t for power or even money. It was for her sister. For her parents, trying to preserve the memory and legacy they”d given her.
Too goddamned good.
I pulled her closer, burying my head in her stomach. ”You have no idea how badly I want you, little bunny. No fucking clue.”
”Then please,” she ran her hand through my hair again, massaging my head. ”Please do this for me. We don”t even....” she paused, inhaling a breath, ”we don”t even have to have sex. We could just be friends or--”
I jerked back, standing on my feet, snarling. ”If I do this for you, I”m getting all of the benefits that come with it.”
”Fine,” she growled out, jumping to her feet, her own fierceness coming out. ”Then do whatever you want to me. I just need this from you.”
”Why now? What made you change your mind?”
“Because I want to.”
“You’re a child.”
“I’m old enough.”
“Still. A child.”
“You could take me, right here, right now, and you wouldn”t get in trouble with the police.”
I snapped, losing all control. My hand went to her throat, and I shoved her back onto the desk. ”I”m not worried about the police. I”m trying to protect you.”
”Then you needn’t bother.” There was a fire in her gaze, a determination.
”Show me,” I demanded.
”Wha--at?”
”Show me. You said I don”t need to protect you. Prove it.”
”H--how?”
”You tell me.”
She stilled, staring into my eyes, and I could see her gather her fierceness to her. She put her hand to mine on her throat. But, instead of pulling it away, like I expected, she closed over it, tightening it.
”Hurt me.” A blush spread across perfect cheeks, red and stunningly beautiful. ”Hurt me and I”ll tell you if I like it.”
I stared at her for a long moment, trying to keep my control. Trying not to impale her on my cock right here and now.
At my dark expression, her thighs at my waist tightened. Trying to trap me.
I studied her fingers, clasping mine on her neck.
The eager inhale and exhale of her breath.
The flutter of her pulse at her throat.
She was a little bit scared, but more excited.
The perfect line where I lived to exist.
”Please, Rook,” her voice sweet like pouring honey. ”I want you to teach me.”
A sound roared in my ears and all control fell away. I wanted to teach her.
All the things I could show her.
I tightened my hold over her throat, enough to make it uncomfortable. She swallowed but, otherwise, didn”t move. I took in a deep breath, making a choice.
“Loosen your hair.”