21. Arson
Arson
T he warehouse security system beeps as I enter the entry code, hyperaware of Lilian’s presence behind me. Aries sits in his cell while his stepsister follows me into my private space.
I never considered that I’d have both of them under my roof at the same time. It just doubles the chances of this all going to shit.
“This way.” I lead her through the converted living area, watching her catalog everything with those too-observant eyes. “Touch nothing without permission.”
“Quite the setup,” she comments, trailing her fingers along my kitchen counter like I didn’t just warn her not to touch anything.”Very... domestic for a psychopath.”
I twist around and grab her wrist, squeezing just shy of pain. “I know your ears work so don’t play games with me. I told you not to touch anything, so don’t.”
Challenge fills her eyes. “Going to punish me already?”
Yes. No. Maybe. I don’t fucking know.
What I do know is that I need to focus. I need to stay on top of things. I release her and move into the bedroom. She follows me like a curious cat. The space feels different with her in it—smaller, charged with energy.
“This drawer is yours.” I empty one of my dresser drawers methodically, trying to ignore the way she explores my space, making it hers. “Bathroom is through there.” I point to the left. “And the security system will alert me if a door opens.”
She runs her hand along my bookshelf, examining the titles, blatantly ignoring my previous warning. “Quite the collection. Advanced Security Systems , Chemical Restraint Methods , Corporate Espionage ...just a little light reading?”
“Lilian.” My voice carries a warning.
“Oh yes, sorry. Just getting to know my new ... roommate? Or should I call you captor? I guess we never really established what to call this little arrangement.”
I need to draw the line, make her understand that while I don’t want them to hurt her, that doesn’t mean I won’t do whatever the hell I want with her. I stalk toward her, and instinct makes her walk backward.
She doesn’t look away, not even when she becomes trapped between the bookcases. “We’re calling nothing. I’m the only thing standing between you and death, so behave, and stop touching my shit.”
Annoyance coats each word I speak, but she does as I tell her, and underneath that annoyance something else grows. Watching her insert herself into my carefully ordered space makes my chest ache and my stomach turn upside down.
It makes me all warm and fucking fuzzy. Great . Her clothes are in my drawer. Her toiletries are in my bathroom. Her scent is mixing with mine.
It’s like watching a predator mark her territory—except I’m not sure which of us is the predator anymore.
“There.” She closes the drawer with a satisfied smile. “All moved in. Now what?”
The question hangs dangerously in the air between us. Now what indeed?
“Ground rules.” I move to block her path as she starts toward my computer setup. “The security room is off-limits. The holding area is off-limits. Try to access either, and I’ll make sure you regret it.”
“Holding area?” Her smile is too innocent. “Is that what we’re calling Aries’s cell?”
“Don’t.” My voice comes out harder than intended. “Aries is off-limits, and I won’t discuss it any further.”
“He’s my stepbrother.” She presses closer, invading my space. “I should at least be able to see him, talk to him?—”
If she thinks I brought her here so she can rescue him she’s going to be dissatisfied. I pinch her chin between two fingers as I force her to look at me, to truly hear what I’m saying to her. “Let me be very clear. You’re here because those men made you a liability. That doesn’t give you privileges. It doesn’t make you part of this.” I gesture in the direction of the cell.
“I’m already part of this.” Her hand comes up to wrap around my wrist, not pulling away but holding on. “Can I see him? Please? Just for a minute.”
“No.” I growl, but even I can feel my resolve crumbling.
“Why not?” She inches a little closer, her chest brushing against my shirt. She’s going to make me snap, make me lose control again. At some point a man breaks completely. “Afraid we’ll conspire against you? Plan an escape?” The way she wiggles her eyebrows would be adorable if what she just said wasn’t actually a worry eating at the back of my mind.
Jealousy and rage slice through me at the same time.
“I’m not afraid of you conspiring against me. I’m afraid of you complicating things that are already far too complicated.”
Like both Aries and I both falling for you, wanting you, claiming you.
“And how would I do that?” She tilts her head to the side.
“By existing, by tempting me, making me lose control.” I speak the words through gritted teeth, my blood burning with need.
Why do I deny myself? Why not take her right now?
Leverage. Remember the task at hand. Remember why you brought her here.
“I know you want me. You don’t have to deny it. Don’t have to pretend.”
“I was never pretending, and I told you that. I’ve made it known that I want your tight cunt pulsing around my cock since the very beginning.”
She thinks I don’t notice the way she flinches ever so slightly at my crude language, but I know it hurts her to be thought of as a mere hole that I’m willing to fuck and toss aside…but what does she expect?
“Then why haven’t you fucked me yet?” she questions, defiance in her eyes.
“Careful.” I grip her hip with my free hand, holding her still. “You’re not as clever as you think you are.”
“No?Then why is your heart racing? Why are you touching me like you can’t decide between hurting me and?—”
“Enough.” I step back abruptly, putting space between us. “Aries is off-limits. The security systems are off-limits. Break either rule and I’ll show you exactly what kind of monster they created in that institution.”
Her smile is knowing, dangerous. “Promise?”
God help me, she’s going to be the death of everything I’ve planned. This girl who plays with monsters like they’re house pets. Who pushes and pushes until something breaks.
I move toward the door. “Stay in this room. Don’t touch anything.”
“Afraid I’ll find something I shouldn’t?”
Her shiver isn’t from fear and that’s what makes me want her so damn much.
I check the security feeds on my phone to district myself. Aries’s cell camera shows him pacing—he’s due for his evening meal. The perimeter sensors show no unusual activity.
Everything is under control. Well, everything except the girl who is currently making herself at home in my bedroom.
“Your bed is comfortable,” Lilian says, and my head snaps up.
She’s sprawled across the black sheets, golden blond hair fanned out on the pillow, making it look like she has a halo. She looks like she belongs there, and the sight of her, does things to my control.
“Get up,” I order.
“Why?” She stretches, her shirt riding up to reveal a strip of pale skin. “Isn’t this where I’m sleeping?”
Images flash through my mind—her tangled in my sheets, breathless under my hands, marked as mine in every way possible. I shove them down hard.
“You’re sleeping on the couch.”
“Am I?” She rolls onto her stomach, watching me with knowing eyes. “Seems inefficient. Bed’s plenty big enough for two.”
“Lilian.” It’s a warning growl.
“Arson.” Perfect mimicry of my tone. “Are you afraid to sleep next to me? Afraid of what might happen in the dark?”
I stalk toward the bed, looming over her. “I’m on to whatever game it is you think you’re playing.”
She rises to her knees on the mattress, bringing us eye to eye. “Are you? Because I’m not playing any games. I just want to know why you’re fighting whatever this is between us all of a sudden.” Her hand reaches for my chest. I catch her wrist before she can touch me.
I squeeze until I feel her pulse racing. “This isn’t some romantic arrangement. You’re here because it’s safer than letting them kill you.”
“Then why are you looking at me like you want to devour me?”
“Because I do. Because I’m a male with a penis, and you’re beautiful, with a warm cunt.”
I want to take her right here, mark her as mine, show her exactly what she’s playing with but I can’t.
It’s too soon. “I need to check on our guest.” My voice drops lower. “While I’m gone, remember the rules. Stay in this room. Touch nothing. No computers, no security systems, no attempting to contact Aries.”
“You’re no fun.” She pouts.
“One hour,” I say, moving toward the door. “When I come back, I expect you to be exactly where I leave you. Disobey, and I’ll have to get creative with your punishment.”
“Creative how?” She sits on my bed again, deliberately provocative.
“Guess you’ll have to find out.” My threat lacks heat. We’re past the point of Lilian being afraid of me. That should make me angry. Should make me want to prove how dangerous I can be. Instead, it makes me want...other things.
“One hour,” I repeat, forcing myself to walk to the door before I do something we’ll both regret.
Her laugh follows me out. “I’ll be here. In your bed. Waiting.”
The image burns in my mind as I head toward Aries’s cell. Two siblings under my roof—one I need to keep captive with force, the other choosing her cage willingly.
I’m no longer sure which one is more dangerous to my plans—or to my control.
Her things scattered across my space should infuriate me. Designer clothes mixed with my tactical gear. Expensive perfume lingering in my bathroom. A delicate silver hairbrush beside my combat knife on the nightstand.
Instead, something primitive in me purrs at the marking of territory. At her deliberate insertion into my carefully ordered world. Her smile follows me out, making my skin prickle with warning. Aries needs handling, and I need space from her intoxicating presence.
Aries is standing at the glass when I arrive at his cell. His gaze is hooded in darkness as I give him a quick assessment. Does he seem stronger than he did a week ago? Did seeing Lilian change something?
“Brought you dinner, Brother.” I keep my voice deliberately casual as I slide the tray through the slot. “Hope you don’t mind. I borrowed some stuff from your room at the Mill House. Seems I’ve acquired a new roommate.”
“You brought her here? Why?”
I laugh, enjoying how he flinches at the sound. “Because I can. Because I want to. She’s currently making herself quite comfortable in my bed.”
“She’s trying to play you.” The words come out through gritted teeth.
“Is she?” I lean against the wall, studying his reaction. “Or is she finally getting what you were too afraid to give her? Someone who isn’t afraid of wanting her?”
I watch as his hands clench into fists.
“You’re obsessed. She sees through you.”
“Does she?” I smile, knowing it’ll push him further. “Funny, she didn’t seem to mind when I kissed her. When I touched her. When I?—”
“Stop.” Raw pain edges his voice. Perfect.
“Afraid to hear how responsive your precious stepsister is? How she arches into my hands? How she begs for?—”
“I’ll kill you.” He lunges at the glass.
“No.” I step closer to the window, dropping my voice lower. “You’ll sit in this cell and imagine everything I’m doing to her. Everything she’s letting me do. Everything you were too cowardly to do yourself.”
A small gasp from behind me makes me freeze. I turn to find Lilian standing down the hall from the observation window, fury in her features. Her presence here means she’s disobeyed my direct orders.
“I told you to stay upstairs.” My voice comes out deadly quiet.
“And I chose not to listen.” Her chin lifts defiantly as she closes the distance between us.” Guess you’ll have to punish me.”
Behind me, Aries makes a sound of protest. In front of me, Lilian stands her ground, daring me to follow through on my threat.
Two siblings. Two forms of defiance. And my control is hanging on by a thread.
Time to show them both exactly who’s in charge here.