Chapter 29
TARA
Iwoke up with a start, my mouth immediately flooding with a bitter taste as I swiped my tongue along my lips. Something happened last night. The smell of sex permeated the air around me, and this fucking taste.
The skin on my face and on my belly felt itchy. Just as my fingers brushed along the skin on my waist, I flew out of my bed and ran to the bathroom.
Quickly, I pulled up my T-shirt.
Streaks of dried cum stuck to my skin. It didn’t look like my face had anything but the moment I splashed hot water on it, the slightly sticky feel on my scarred side had my fingers shaking.
When I looked in the mirror, I found a threateningly aroused smile on my face.
My body didn’t seem to understand the concept of consent and safety.
It wasn’t fear that had my fingers shaking, but excitement.
The adrenaline. That darkness inside me, that was chained and caged and shoved somewhere in the deepest recesses of my mind, thrashed and burned and fucking sang at the delightful unknown. It thrived under the feeling of danger.
For the first time, I looked at myself in the mirror and caressed my scarred side with arousal. With the thought of Knox fucking Steele’s fingers spreading his cum on my face.
I glided my fingers along my scarred cheek and gathered the lingering stickiness on the tip. Staring straight into my eyes in the mirror, I sucked the tip of my finger, tasting Knox Steele on my tongue.
My cheeks flushed. My heart raced. I pushed the same hand that had touched his cum into my panties, spreading my lips. My spine arched as I bent over the sink, my fingers rubbing at my opening, drenching in my arousal.
The thought of Knox stroking himself while standing over my sleeping form, the mental image of his cold blue eyes burning with heat as he pleasured himself at the sight of me, had me dripping in my panties.
I was so fucking turned on, just rubbing my pussy had me teetering on the edge of maddening euphoria.
But call it a will of iron or bullheaded stubbornness, I pulled my hands out of my panties.
Knox had issued the challenge. If he was going to play with me, I damn well was going to play with him.
With my pussy soaking with arousal, I freshened up and walked out into the dining and kitchen area, only to find my midnight stalker preparing breakfast. Shirtless. In gray sweatpants.
Was this how he came into my room and stroked himself? And I fucking missed the view?
My first task today was to install cameras in my room.
The moment his eyes fell on me, an almost predatory smile stretched over his face. “Good morning,” he said, pouring me a coffee.
So he was gonna play it like that.
When he extended his hand to give me the cup and the beautiful rose, I deliberately brushed my fingers over his as I plucked the flower from his hand, feeling that sparking electric warmth that spread through my veins at the contact.
Keeping my gaze trained on him, I licked my bottom lip, giving it a soft bite. “Good morning, indeed.”
His nostrils flared. His eyes burned me.
Yet he refused to acknowledge what he did last night. I nonchalantly added a hefty amount of cream and two spoonfuls of sugar into my coffee. His eyes tracked my every movement, twitching at the addition of the cream and sugar.
Shadow quietly circled near me and lay down at my feet as we had breakfast, Knox’s palm firmly circling my arm.
It was surprising how well the rest of my day went when someone fed me a freshly prepared breakfast while giving me the heavy dose of attention and touch my body craved.
Do not get used to it. The same someone was a stalker, a madman, a psychopath who might just put me in prison if he changed his mind.
Once I swallowed the bite of the veggie omelet, I met Knox’s eyes. “So who else knows that you’re a psychopath?”
He smiled. “My mom, my brother, and you.”
“That’s it?”
He shrugged. “Nobody else needs to know. You think I can work as a detective if my team, my captain, finds out about it?”
That shut me up. “What about friends?”
He looked at me with a weird sort of delight.
Like it pleased him that I wanted to know him.
He simply shrugged before swallowing his bite.
“As a kid, my mother tried to make me befriend other boys. I hated it. In high school and grad school, everything about people, about boys, their ridiculous little goals, their simplistic minds, all of it bored me to tears. I networked with people to keep up appearances. But I didn’t really find anybody I could tolerate for more than fifteen minutes. ”
My mouth was like a gaping fish. “So you’ve never hung out at a café just to chitchat? Never went to the movies with a group of friends? Never had inside jokes with friends?”
His eyebrows scrunched. “Am I missing out? Those things don’t really sound all that appealing if it’s with anyone who isn’t you.”
My stomach swooped low in my belly, my heart kicking up a gleeful storm.
He, then, quickly added, “Also, I do have my brother. We catch a movie sometimes. Grab a beer together. He’s the only friend I have, I guess, who understands me, and who I tolerate.”
“I’m glad you have him.”
“But I don’t need him anymore. I have you now.”
I scoffed. “That’s not how it works. You can’t simply discard people just because you found new ones. Especially your brother.”
He shrugged. “I won’t discard him. But I have you now to do all these things a person does with their friend. Movie. Chitchatting. Inside jokes.”
That didn’t sound bad. But was he trying to friend-zone me? “Is that what you want? To be my friend?”
He rolled his eyes, as if I was completely missing the point. His gaze turned sharper, more determined as he trained his eyes on me. “We’ve crossed too many boundaries to be just friends, Tara. And we’re going to cross many more.”
My body heated at that—the feel of his cum on my face, my stomach, still very fresh in my mind. For now, all I could do was nod and soak up the warmth of his fingers around my arm.
“Lena, Sloane, and I have put together a detailed plan,” I said, trying to tone down the simmering tension between us. “We need to go downstairs soon so they can brief you and the rest of the Wildcats.”
His eyebrows twitched. “How many Wildcats are there?”
“You’ll see.”
“Alright. I’m ready when you are.”
I took a quick shower after breakfast and walked out of my bedroom with my mask firmly in place.
As soon as I stepped into the hallway, Knox’s growl had me freezing.
My eyes snapped to him, only to find him glaring daggers at my face. “Lose the fucking mask.”
I scowled. “No. Too many people out of my comfort zone are upstairs. The mask stays.”
His jaw clenched. “Fine. I don’t like it though.”
I put my hair in a ponytail. “Didn’t ask. Don’t care.”
We stepped out of the apartment, me leading the way, with Shadow and Knox following closely.
We took the emergency staircase down three stories and walked into the headquarters to find most of the Wildcats already seated in the open brainstorming space.
Three rows of chairs were arranged, almost all of them occupied.
Every single lady was sans mask. I guess Lena and Naomi had decided to put their trust in Knox. I was guessing it was because of our little conversation yesterday.
Knox, to his credit, only paused for a second in his stride, scanning the faces of everyone around him. He gave Lena and Naomi a nod of acknowledgment.
Shadow ran and jumped on Lena, giving her a playful lick.
While he ran around, greeting his favorite people, Knox placed his large palm at the back of my waist and pushed me along to the front row.
He sat in one of the empty chairs toward the center, pulling me next to him.
Samaira sat on my other side, whereas Naomi sat beside Knox.
Lena and Sloane stood in front of us, with a large whiteboard covered with photos and maps behind them.
Once everyone was seated, Lena took the lead of the briefing.
“Tonight, Sloane will be going undercover for the recon mission to find the three main leaders in charge of the Russian mob’s women trafficking operations in our city.
The faces of all three are currently unknown.
Lieutenant Knox Steele kidnapped one of the operation's lackeys, who will be his informant going forward.
He will kidnap Sloane and get back in with Leader one, Vadim Orlov.
From there, she will be taken to Leader two, Maxim Orlov, where she will be held captive until Leader three, Ruslan Karpov, finds a buyer for her.
“Tara will stay in contact with Sloane. While Sloane is held captive, we will work on the outside to track the leaders, locate the hideouts, and arrange for a buyer. Any questions so far?”
Ruby cleared her throat. “What about our other missions?”
Lena looked at Knox. “Knox will cover for Sloane for the time being. He has enough experience in tracking vehicles, escaping, stalking, and taking out targets. Isn’t that right, Lieutenant?”
Knox’s lip twitched as he folded his arms. “That’s correct. Happy to fill in for Ms. Sloane.”
Lena gave a nod to everyone. “That’s settled.
We’ll move our regular briefing times to the evening to accommodate Lieutenant Knox.
For today’s operation of getting Sloane to the first leader, Knox and Tara will lead the mission.
Knox’s detectives will get his informant, while Tara and Knox will reach the rendezvous point with Sloane at ten p.m.”
She turned to Samaira. “Samaira and Arya will follow closely for backup. The rest of us can stay here and be in touch with them.”
Lena looked at Knox. “Lieutenant, how do you intend to stay in touch with your informant?”
Knox crossed his arms, his face dead serious. “He will pick up his phone whenever I call. One missed call, and I will visit his family. I also have a GPS tracker inserted under his skin. If he removes it, no bail for him.”
His aura oozed danger. I fucking loved it.
By the small twitch of his lips, he knew it too.
“Alright, briefing adjourned. Get your training in. Finish your recon missions by tonight. Get me the reports on our next three missions where the lieutenant is replacing Sloane by the end of the day.”
The wooden legs of the chairs scraped loudly across the floor as everyone dispersed. Knox stood as well while I stayed rooted in my seat. He bent over me, his lips brushing my ear. “Walk me out, Tara.”
“Must I?”
“Unless you want me to stay put.”
I jumped out of my seat immediately, his loud bark of laughter giving me a pause. He looked dangerously striking and fucking irresistible when he laughed. He spread his wide palm along my lower back once again, giving me a slight nudge.
We walked to the front door of the headquarters and out into the lobby.
He turned me around to face him as soon as I pressed the button for the elevator. “Be good while I’m gone.”
His little midnight challenge flashed through my mind. “I’m always good. It’s only when others are naughty that I have to step up and punish them.”
“Is that right?”
His delicious woodsy musk scent infused all my senses. “You’ll soon find out, won’t you?”
Right then, the elevator pinged open. Before I could brace my heart, his hand clutched the nape of my neck and pulled me closer to his chest. His lips pressed the softest kiss to my forehead before they grazed my ear. “Can’t wait, my little criminal.”
The moment I walked back into the headquarters, every one of the ladies had a ridiculous smile on their faces. “What is it?” I asked, walking to the large evidence board and ignoring everybody’s eyes.
Sloane leaned against the board, her lips stretched wide with excitement. “Now don’t be like that, Tara. That man looks obsessed.”
“And cold,” Sami added.
“I still don’t trust him fully.” Lena came with the truth.
I turned around to face her. “I’m kinda starting to. I know he won’t arrest any of us. For some reason, he’s kinda into me.”
Sloane squealed, pulling me into her arms and swaying me with a ridiculous giggle. “Tell me you’re into him.”
I rolled my eyes, but I couldn’t, for the life of me, hide my smile. “Have you seen him?”
“You gotta give me all your relationship updates when I’m in that hideout.”
My heart panged in my chest, the fear of something happening to Sloane almost bringing me to my knees. “Of course, I will. What else are we gonna talk about?”
Sami pulled Sloane into her arms. “You will not take any unnecessary risks there. You’ll keep your cool. No fighting with the men in there.”
Sloane gave her a teasing smile. “Babe, I’m the one going undercover, not you.”
Sami scowled. “You know I’m scared fucking shitless for you.”
“I know. I’ll be totally fine.”
Naomi walked to her next with a determined set of eyes. “I’m going to teach you some basic first-aid treatments.”
Naomi had given all of us basic first-aid lessons countless times. Yet Sloane pulled her in for a hug. “Alright.”
A tear clung to Lena’s eyes as she walked into our huddle. “If you get yourself harmed, Sloane, I’m going to kick your fucking ass.”
Sloane, in her typical fashion, pouted. “Aw, that’s so rude.”
“Shut up.” Sami’s voice was hoarse with unshed tears as she pulled all of us into a group hug.
“We’re all gonna be okay. You’ll see. It’s going to be the most kick-ass mission.” Sloane might be the optimistic queen, but like Sami, I was scared fucking shitless.