Page 46 of Mile High Heist

"Good job, mouse,” he said, patting my head like a monkey who’d performed a neat trick.

Actually, scratch that. His confidence was completely fucking irritating.

Grinding my teeth, I escorted him to Lucille in the galley.

She gave him a long, skeptical look that he endured with his usual bored expression. Julie was far less subtle, her eyes widening, pupils fully dilating. Marcus choked on his tongue.

“You work in IT?” Lucille asked, pursing her lips.

“Yes,” Madoc said drily.

“I see.” She clearly didn’t believe him. With his tattoos, scars, and overall stabby vibes, she probably assumed he learned to fix computers in prison.

For all I knew, he probably did.

“Well,” Lucille stressed, clearly out of options. “I suppose we have no choice. I’ll escort you. Come along.”

When I made to follow, Lucille spun back around with a hawkish look. “Where do you think you’re going?”

I glanced at Madoc, who gave me nothing. Helpful, as usual. “Um,” I said. “I am going with you?”

“No, you are not,” Lucille said firmly. “We are overrun as it is. You will stay with Marcus.” Quieter, she said: “Make sure the fool doesn’t start tap dancing.”

“But—” I started.

Madoc snapped his fingers. “I’ll need an assistant,” he said with a sardonic smile. “Someone with steady hands.”

I sighed in relief. I was running out of clever ways to get what I wanted.

But, of course, nothing was ever simple with Madoc.

His green eyes flicked over me, a smirk curling his wicked mouth. Then he lifted his finger and pointed. “I want you.”

Julie flushed a bright red.

My mouth dropped in outrage. Was he serious?

Madoc didn’t even spare me a second look as he turned and headed toward the cockpit, a furious Lucille on his heels. I was still stammering like an idiot when Julie brushed up against me. “Do you know him?”

“No,” I bit out, wishing it was true. Life used to be so much simpler without Madoc’s brand of mind fuckery.

“Sooo…you won’t mind if I ask for his number?”

“What?” I whirled on her with an incredulous look. “You want to date that guy?”

“Date him? No.” Julie straightened her uniform, then grimaced at her big blue stain. “I want to jump his bones. He is stupid hot. And intense. Can you imagine a guy like that in bed?”

God, no. I couldn’t.

I wouldn’t.

Oh no. I was.

Madoc leaning over me, whispering his cruel taunts in my ear like he always did. I imagined him peeling away my layers, exposing me like a raw nerve. Then he was driving his hips forward like a punishment, like he knew exactly where to make it hurt…and where to make it euphoric…

Madoc would absolutely talk you through it, if just to remind you exactly what you did to deserve it.

“Okay, wish me luck,” Julie said, thankfully releasing me from whatever fit of insanity had overcome my brain. I had to unstick my tongue from the roof of my mouth to respond.