Chapter Ten
Steele
I sat at the pub, nursing a beer. It wasn’t my preferred drink, but choices were limited. After I’d left Ashlynn’s room, I’d pulled on a shirt and jacket and then stormed out of my house, with no idea where I was going, and my feet just led me to the nearest bar within walking distance.
Empty glasses were stacked on the tables, and the floor was littered with cigarette butts and sticky with the residue of spilled drinks. It was empty, of course, given that it was a random Tuesday night at one o’clock in the morning.
My phone rang, and I pressed the button to decline the call. I was too deep into my foul mood to talk to anyone. When the bartender asked what I wanted, I just pointed and stared at the mirrored wall behind him.
I couldn’t believe I hadn’t killed her right then and there. She had a knife to my throat, and, instead of ending her life, I’d kissed her. And kissed her. It was different in a way that shook me to my very core. I’d never felt such excitement before. It had to be the fact that she was my prisoner. There was an air of forbiddenness about it as well. She was my enemy’s daughter. The second she was out of my life, I would never think about her again. And yet—I couldn’t get that vision of her out of my mind—topless and in my sweatpants, and kissing me with such passion, even though I was the man holding her prisoner and trying to murder her father. It made me feel like so much more of a man, knowing that she wanted me despite who I was.
After beer number three, the barstool next to me creaked and another man sat down.
I didn’t even turn my head. I knew it was Cooper. “How did you find me?”
“Quincy,” Cooper said, motioning to the bartender that he would have the same beer I was having. “He said you stormed out on foot. You live in a posh part of London, there are only a few bars I knew you’d frequent.”
I sighed, taking another sip of beer, my eyes still focused straight ahead.
The bartender returned with Cooper’s drink, and we sat there drinking in silence.
“I warned you this was a bad idea,” Cooper finally said.
I turned to face him. “What was a bad idea?”
“Don’t play the fool, Steele. You know exactly what I mean. You took a hostage, and it backfired. I know you haven’t made a deal with Phillips yet, or you wouldn’t be down here licking your wounds.”
I slammed my beer down a little too hard. “I’ll smoke him out.”
“Hopefully soon. She did a number on me back at her flat. I can’t work out or lift anything without pulling my stitches.”
“Like it didn’t turn you on,” I responded sarcastically.
Cooper flashed a smile, the corner of his lip pulled up. “How is the little she-devil?”
“Better than you,” I said, and I struggled to keep the pride out of my voice. Twice now she’d pulled a knife out on me or my men.
“Quincy looked pretty banged up,” Cooper said, eyes focused on a busty blonde entering the bar. I ignored her, knowing that anyone hanging around this late wasn’t worth the trouble. Besides, I had enough trouble back at my place.
“She managed to trip him.”
“Damn, Steele. Did this girl go to a military academy or something?”
Before I could answer, the blonde approached. Cooper smiled at her appreciatively, and I turned back to my beer, finished it, and paid the tab for mine and Cooper’s drinks. I had no desire to watch him flirt. Not when I was hard up from the make-out session I’d had. We’d been each other”s wingmen for a long time, and I knew what was about to happen.
I left the bar, and Cooper was so wrapped up in his next conquest that he didn’t even notice.
I walked in the cool air, letting the nighttime silence clear my head. By the time I got back to my home, I’d convinced myself that Ashlynn was just forbidden fruit, and that I’d imagined her beauty and overestimated her hold over me. Tomorrow, I’d go to a club and pick up a sexy woman, and that would be that.
At least, that’s what I was counting on.
My eyes focused on the Matisse painting hanging above the fireplace in my study. It was the first piece of art I’d ever stolen, and one that I’d actually stolen twice. At the time, I’d sold it to a famous kingpin, needing the money to survive and support myself during my studies. Once I’d become more established, I managed to take it back. It was a trophy to me, the physical manifestation of rebuilding the life I was meant to have; it was symbolic of my struggle, and then my perseverance.
Seeing the painting above the mantle made me wonder if my attraction to Ashlynn was the same. Was it simply to assuage my wounded ego, to best her father by possessing his daughter? She was the trophy.
It would explain why I wanted her.
I clenched my jaw as I thought about our kiss. It came out of nowhere, and it surprised us both. Thinking about our kiss made me curious about her. I expected her to be up to some trouble by now, but I hadn’t heard anything from my hostage all day. To be on the safe side, I’d conducted some business from home, not trusting Ashlynn enough that I felt I could leave my townhome. I was tired of being in London, but until Phillips contacted me again, I was stuck.
I detested the feeling.
Rubbing my eyes, I stood up, stretching my arms and back. I’d spent way too much time cooped up in my office lately.
I left the room, wanting to know how Ashlynn was passing her time. I walked up the stairs, and then crept towards the guest room, not wanting to give her any warning.
I unlocked the door to find her reading by the window. Her face was relaxed, but the second I entered the room, her features morphed into panic, and she seemed to curl inwards for a split second.
“I’m not going to hurt you,” I said, offended at her reaction.
“I can take care of myself,” she threatened, that look of hostility rising within her as soon as she was in my company. But at that moment, watching her resolve to fight me, I desired nothing more in this world than her submission. I wanted her to kneel on the floor, beg me to free her, and then kiss me in gratitude. I wanted to break her, bend her to my will. Like a wild stallion, I wanted her broken to my saddle. I wanted to force her to obey me in all things, since I couldn’t make her asshole father submit to my simple demands.
But that was alright. Instead, I’d have his daughter begging on her knees. Not the worst plan I’d ever had.
“Well, it seems to me that I still managed to kidnap you. And you’re still here. If you’re so competent, I’ll have to assume the reason for your continued presence in my home is that you want to stay here with me.”
If looks could kill, I’d be ten feet underground right now, weeds sprouting at the base of my headstone.
“I was outnumbered. And I still managed to stab one of your men. Is he dead?”
I was surprised to see the slight glimmer of hope in her eyes. She would have killed Cooper if she could have, and it didn’t look like she’d have an ounce of remorse. So why couldn’t she slit my throat last night?
At any rate, I ignored her question, crossing the room to sit on the couch. It was dainty and not made for my large frame, and even though I sat on the opposite side of her, we were practically touching.
She flinched, moving even farther along the couch to get away from the brief touch of my thigh against hers. She was wearing my shirt and sweats, but her hair was fresh and clean. Her toes were tucked underneath her, but I could just make out the purple polish on them.
“What are you reading?” It was a dumb question, but I was momentarily at a loss for words. I didn’t give a damn what she was reading, but I wasn’t sure what brought me into her room and what compelled me to sit next to her on the sofa.
“Crime and Punishment,” she answered, not even glancing up from the page. She instantly dismissed my presence, probably hoping I’d leave her alone.
I moved closer to her, my eyes scanning the book to see which part she was reading. But the second I approached her, she squirmed and put the book on the side table.
“Why are you here? I thought you’d leave me alone after I tried to kill you.”
“You won’t ever get the best of me, Love. So just stop trying. It’s cute, I admit it, but eventually you’re just going to get yourself hurt.” I stretched my arms behind my head, casually glancing at her.
“Don’t call me Love. And get out.”
“My house. My rules,” I retorted.
She sighed deeply. “What do you want?”
“Everything,” I said, my cocky attitude getting the better of me. “I want what I want, when I want it. And that includes you.”
Her eyes bulged and she sputtered, but I saw it. Just a tiny dilation of her pupil, the tiniest exhale from her chest.
She wanted me.
She was aroused by my statement. Hate me as she may, our passionate kiss had awoken something within her. If she’d just let me, I could show her how amazing a physical relationship with me could be. And in the process, it would be like fucking over Topher again and again.
“Do you have a boyfriend clamoring to get you back?” I asked, wondering if I’d have to contend with some self-righteous prick, or if she was exclusive in her affair with Edward. A boyfriend could be trouble, or more accurately, just annoying, but Edward wouldn’t cross me. He’d prefer to have a bidding war for his little toy and settle it like gentlemen. With money.
“Why? Are you offering?” She wrinkled her nose in disgust and then rolled her eyes at me. Again, I fought the urge to grab her by the neck and strangle her until she acquiesced and gave me the kind of respect I’d earned in my world.
“To have you? To show you just what you’ve been missing from life? I would make you feel things you never thought possible, make you come so hard—”
Before I could even finish my sentence, she raised her hands and smacked me across the side of my head with the copy of Crime and Punishment, catching me by surprise.
Goddamn, what the hell was wrong with this woman? Could she go twenty-four hours without assaulting someone? And why the hell did it turn me on?
I tore the book from her hands and threw it across the room. It hit the wall with a satisfying thud. I was angrier that she’d made my dick twitch than my head throb.
“If you don’t behave, I”ll take away every single book in here.”
“Fine. I’ll just die of boredom. Have fun explaining that to my father. I’m sure he’s on his way to kick your ass right now.”
The second she mentioned Topher, I felt my rage bubble up to the surface like a hydrothermal vent hiding on the ocean floor. I was pissed that I hadn’t heard from her father, and even more irritated that Cooper thought this plan was doomed to fail. I hated it when he was right. It didn’t happen often, but his gloating attitude always annoyed me. He was far too confident for someone so young.
I grabbed her chin, forcing her eyes on me. She tried to look down, but I kept lifting her face towards me until she had no choice but to see the determination in my expression.
“You better be worth all of this fucking trouble,” I growled, before releasing her jaw and storming out of the room.