Chapter 16
Chapter sixteen
Barrett
Sage didn’t exactly fight me when I dragged her out to my car, but her body was tense and every step she took hit heavy against the ground.
Before getting behind the wheel, I sent a message to Fain, asking him to get Sage’s car back to her home.
She’s on edge and I don’t trust her to go off on her own right now.
Bradbury was a trusted name and face under Campbell. Tonight is a test. We want to see how Morrison and Campbell handle this together. We’re expecting them to cover it up.
But what Sage, or anyone else would see by this assassination is a good man getting killed for no reason.
She’s in for a wake-up call. Whatever decent bone that man had in his body at one point in his life had decayed and rotted a long time ago.
The more we dug into him, the more we discovered he was worse than Campbell.
“Where are we going?” Her voice is tight and she rushes every syllable into a single breath.
I don’t answer her. I doubt she wants to know I’m taking her to my home where she can’t run.
Not that I expect her to, but I’m waiting for the shock to settle in her system.
She may have hired me to kill her brother-in-law, but she had a reason, and she didn’t witness it.
As much as a dark streak I see in her, I know she’s never witnessed death before, let alone a single shot to the head.
A kill that sounds mundane and simple, but it has an impact on one’s mortality with how fast your life can vanish.
“Barrett?”
I glance over with a side eye, keeping my gaze mostly on the empty road.
“Where’s my car?”
“Back at your house by now.” Whether Fain picked up her car himself or sent someone else for it.
“We’re not going in that direction.” It isn’t a question.
“No, we’re not.”
Her breathing picks up as she studies everything we pass. We approach the locked gate leading to mine, Rafe’s, and Fain’s homes. Her hand grips the door hard enough to turn her knuckles white. “Let me out.”
“I’m not doing that, pet.”
“Now. Let me go.” Her anger rises with her tone.
I ignore her as the gate opens and I drive through. She tries the door handle. When it doesn’t give, she searches the door for a lock button, but it doesn’t work and the gate is closing behind us. “Did you plan to tuck and roll while the car is still moving?”
“Seems like a better option.”
“Than what?”
She pinches her lips shut.
My house is the last one up the winding lane with trees blocking the view of each house until we turn a corner.
Parking in my driveway, I turn to her before shutting the car off.
“Before we get out, you need to know some things. The entire property is gated, has high grade security and surveillance. No one in those other two houses will help you. The point is, pet, don’t run.
” I shut off the car and get out, surprised when she stays in her seat.
Opening her door, I hold out my hand. Sage stares at it, eyes narrowing.
Thoughts cross her features, but they aren’t easy to decipher, aside from anger.
She stands without taking my hand and I don’t like the lack of contact.
I’d gotten used to it in our interactions.
There’s more than one reason I brought her here.
The days since walking away from her closed bedroom door have been torture.
But this job is taking up most of our time.
Rafe wouldn’t have been able to do this alone. There’s too much that could go wrong.
Tonight, for example. Getting past their lock box wasn’t an issue, but I wanted an easy job to tick off her debt.
In hindsight, I shouldn’t have involved Sage in this job past the gala.
Her boss is as guilty as Campbell and the man I just killed.
She’s too close to the target, even though indirectly.
“Inside.”
“I’d rather not.”
“Sage, you’re going inside. You can take yourself in there or I can carry you.” I’m hoping for an opportunity to put my hands on her. Anything she’ll give me. A fight or an invite, it doesn’t matter to me.
Sadly, she chooses the former and stomps her way toward the front door. I find it cute, but keep that thought to myself.
She jumps when I shut the door behind me, spinning to face me. “Why did you kill him?”
“I’m not going over this again, pet. You’re judging a book by its cover.”
“I want out.” She doesn’t mean out of my house. She means out of the deal.
“Too bad.”
“You don’t need me. You could have gotten into the gala without my invitation. You could have gotten through that lock without me.”
“You’re right, but you’re forgetting you put yourself in this position.”
She grinds her teeth together, her lips twitching with a sneer.
“So why are you really upset? Why did you follow me into that house? Are you upset you’re involved?
” I start closing the distance between us, pleased as she tries to back away.
But my steps are bigger and hers are driven by an instinct.
“Are you upset with what I am? You came to me because of what I am.”
Her anger shifts. I trap her wide eyes in mine. This anger is a reaction to what she saw and her own apprehension of her choices. She followed me, challenged me, because she’s curious. The same reason she let me touch her the other night and why she obeyed by making herself come.
“Are you angry at yourself for what you’ve done? Hired a hit.” I’m close enough to reach her. Lifting a hand, I grip her chin and hold it high so I can tower over her. My cock hardens. “Or are you upset by what I didn’t do to you the night of the gala? Or that you obeyed?”
“All of it! Okay?” she explodes, trying to pull herself free, but I squeeze and add my other hand to her back, blocking her escape. “I’m upset by all of it. I’m not sorry Adam is dead. I’m not sorry I came to you, but I wasn’t prepared for any of this.”
I soften my hold. “No, pet. You weren’t. But you’re here now.”
“Why am I here?” She tilts her head slightly to indicate the house.
“I can give several reasons, but they’re really excuses.”
“What are you talking about?”
“You’re here because I want to do this.” Bending my head, I claim her lips.
She’s here because I didn’t trust her to leave on her own after what she saw.
She’s here because she’s too close to the target.
She’s here because she was angry and in shock.
She’s here because I fucking want her and I deprived myself the night of the gala.
I let my hand slide along her jaw and to the side of her neck.
She’s stiff, but I take my time to ease her, rubbing small circles with my thumb under her ear.
Slowly, I bunch her sweatshirt in my fist at her back until I can pull it up and slip my hand beneath the fabric.
I lick and nip her lips, layering mine over top of hers, begging her to open for me.
After hovering in the air between us, her hands finally land on my chest. It’s a start.
I break the kiss, setting my forehead to hers. “Let me in, pet.”
“Is that an order?” I can hear the fight in her voice, but it isn’t directed at me. She’s holding herself back.
I smirk. “It can be.”
She drops her head, letting out slow, shallow breaths. “Why didn’t you,” she hesitates, “the other night after the gala? Why didn’t you?”
“Like you said. You weren’t prepared.”
“Am I now?”
“Not at all.” I slip my hand under the waist of her sweats, revelling in the smooth skin of her bare ass. “But that isn’t going to stop me this time.”
“Then make it an order.” She isn’t looking at me, and I refuse to accept a statement like that without looking directly into her eyes.
Moving my hand into her hair, I pull hard, eliciting a delicious gasp from her lips. Her body instantly softens. Each muscle starting from her shoulders down to her toes loosens, letting go of the tension she held onto so fiercely. “Say that again.”
“Make it an order,” she whispers
“Say, ‘Please Daddy.’”
She isn’t as quick to reply, but it escapes with a trembling sigh. “Please, Daddy.”
“Perfect. You’re gorgeous when you beg.”
I almost don’t hear her whimper over my own thumping heartbeat, but that small sound is enough to feed the heat building between us. Her anger lowers to a simmer and she relaxes in my hold. Ready or not, I’m not holding back.
I’ve wanted her in this situation the moment she leaned against the railing at the club. This little warrior caught me with her bravery and determination to protect. And now, I intend to trap her.
Letting her go, I take a single step back. “Strip, pet.”
She stares back at me, uncertainty in her gaze now. I cross my arms over my chest and wait. No threats and no pressure. I want her to want to obey.
Her lips move silently, but I can’t make out what she’s saying to herself. Pulling in one slow breath, Sage closes her eyes and fists the bottom of her sweatshirt.
I soak in every inch she bares, desperate to claim her, mark her. Soft skin covers her body. Curves dip in all the right places. She’s a delectable treat waiting for me. And only me.
She pushes her pants down and they rush to the floor as soon as they’re past her hips. I’m trapped, staring at her, taking in every part of her I need to taste.
“Barrett?” My name snaps my attention up. I’m quick to close the distance and lift her chin. Raising a brow, I wait for her to correct herself. “Daddy?”
Possessiveness floods me. Fuck, I love hearing her say that. “Good girl. Turn around and start walking down the hall.” I drop my hand, allowing her to move.
Sage pauses after a few steps, looking over her shoulder. “Why do you want me to call you that?”
I stop beside her, pressing my body to hers and letting my hand rest on her ass. “I don’t question what makes my cock hard. Do you question what makes you wet?”
She scoffs. “I have been lately.”
Lifting my hand, I connect it hard with the plump flesh of her ass. “Don’t. You’ll drive yourself insane questioning everything I’m going to do to you. Don’t waste your energy. Let me in.”
“That’s asking a lot.” She leans into me and I dig my heels into the floor so as not to upset our balance.
“It is. And you’re going to do it. For Daddy.”