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Theo reaches out and cups my face, his thumb gliding over my cheek to brush the tears away. “Of course I love you, kid,” he says. “And I’m going to fight for you.”
For a moment, I can only stare at him. I don’t know why I’m surprised—maybe it’s because nobody has ever told me that before, or maybe it’s because the idea of it terrifies me—but hearing him say it out loud, all my feelings for him, all the thoughts I’ve been so afraid of voicing, they all come rushing back to me. “I love you too, Theo,” I whisper, and when he kisses me, I can almost forget the fact that we’re in the upstairs bathroom of a house full of people, that we’re standing in the middle of the war zone that is my new life.
I allow myself to kiss him, to take comfort in his arms, and when he pulls me away from the door, I follow willingly, not caring where he’s taking me. He guides me, my arms locking around his shoulders as he lifts me up and sets me on the marble countertop, not caring about all the bottles that fall to the floor. I can feel the unmistakable hardness of him pressing against me through his pants, and I shift my hips, grinding against him and feeling a wave of pleasure wash over me at the sound of his breath hitching in his throat. When I wrap my legs around his waist, Theo groans, pushing me back against the mirror, and I can’t help but whimper as he moves against me, his hands sliding up my skirt to grab my hips, pulling me more tightly against the evidence of his arousal.
With one hand, he reaches up to undo the clasp holding up my hair, allowing it to fall over my shoulders as he slides his other hand under my skirt. I gasp as he teases me through my panties, his thumb sliding over my clit and sending a jolt of pleasure through me. “Theo—”
But he covers my mouth with his, his fingers tangling in my hair as his lips move against mine. I close my eyes, surrendering to the kiss even as I press closer to his touch, unable to resist the way I respond to him. Tentatively, I reach down between us, tugging at his zipper and feeling an electric thrill as I pull it down. I palm him through his boxers, moaning as his hand moves faster, his fingertips flicking over my clit and flooding me with indescribable sensations. I drop my head back against the mirror, gasping for breath, and Theo shifts his hand to hook his fingers into the fabric of my panties. Holding my gaze, he drags them down my hips, taking them off and then tossing them to the floor as he pushes my skirt up my thighs.
He pauses for a moment, his eyes full of desire as he stares down at me. I bite my lip, blushing under his rapt attention, and he sucks in a breath, his hand tightening in my hair as he leans down and whispers in my ear. “Say it again,” he murmurs, his breath warm against my skin.
“I love you,” I repeat without a second thought, and he presses a kiss against my throat, his tongue teasing my skin as he pushes down his boxers and slowly enters me.
I cry out at the feeling of him filling me up, a whimper so loud and intense that it’s almost like a sob, and Theo freezes at the sound, his forehead resting against the mirror next to my head. Startled, I remember where we are, clapping a hand over my mouth to conceal my ragged breaths. Although we can still hear muffled voices from elsewhere in the house, the place is huge, and I’m grateful for that.
Slowly, Theo shifts to pull me closer, brushing my hair away from my face and kissing me again. I groan as he moves inside me, his perfect hardness stroking me in all the right spots. I can feel myself growing wetter by the moment, the pleasure building up in my body like a wave, ready to crash over me at any moment. I whimper again, my hands clutching at his shoulders as he rocks his hips against mine. His fingers dig into my hips as he continues to speed up, until the feeling finally overtakes me and I cry out, my body convulsing with pleasure. Theo follows me a second later, tensing as his release comes, and then he goes still, our rapid breaths the only sound filling the bathroom.
When we finally come back to ourselves, I force myself to pull away, tugging my skirt down and doing my best to fix my hair to avoid the scrutiny that will come if anyone suspects what’s happened here. Theo’s hand brushes over the bare skin of my thigh, and I shiver at the sensation. “You’re so fucking beautiful,” he murmurs, and despite everything that’s happened, I can’t help but blush. “I meant what I said, kid,” he adds after a long beat. “I’m going to talk to my father tomorrow morning. Catch him before Lucas can fuck this up any more.”
I nod, staring up into those beautiful gray eyes, and put my hands on either side of his face. “Be careful, Theo,” I warn him. “Promiseme you’ll be careful.”
He kisses me in response, soft and slow, and I can tell he intends to. He understands what this means just as well as I do. These are the kinds of plays that get you killed in this business, and if this goes down badly, there’s no knowing what Victor will do.
ChapterFifteen
The only saving grace I have is that I’m off the next day, which turns outnotto be such a saving grace, because I end up spending the entire morning freaking out. I haven’t been this nervous since the day Theo came back shot, and knowing he’s trying to find a way out of marrying Violet just makes this ten times worse. I know I have to trust him—he knows his business better than I do—but I still can’t shake the feeling that it’s all about to come crashing down around us. It’s been radio silence from Lucas since he begged off the family dinner. Theo’s theory about him trying to poison his relationship with Victor only makes me worried that the damage is already done, that the best we can hope for is an orderly retreat. It’s all so tenuous that I can’t even think ahead to what him getting out of marrying Violet will mean for the two of us—more stolen kisses and trysts in the bathroom? Throwing caution to the wind and making the whole thing public? Either way, this is not the sort of situation where you can think beyond simple survival.
The sound of a knock at the apartment door at eleven AM makes me jump, and I rush to answer it, bracing myself for him to walk in injured, or fired, or in handcuffs, or any of the other horrible scenarios that keep running through my head. But Theo looks as fresh-faced as he did when we woke up this morning, tangled up together in my bed, and he sweeps me into his arms the second he’s in the door.
“Are you okay?” I ask breathlessly, pulling back to touch his face. “Did you talk to your dad? What happened?”
“It... could have gone better,” Theo acknowledges, but seeing my expression, adds, “but it could have gone a lot worse, too. And I’m alive. That’s what counts.”
“What do you mean?” I ask, the first pangs of alarm going through me.
Theo nods to the kitchen table, and we sit down, side by side, as I try to contain my worry. “We talked,” Theo says in a measured voice. “I tried to convince him that marrying Violet would be a mistake, but he was pretty adamant.” He gives a dry chuckle. “He still seems to think he’s holding all the cards. And there was something he said towards the end...” He frowns, like he’s trying to figure something out.
“What?” I ask, gripping his hand and leaning forward. “What did he say?”
“It was odd,” Theo says. “I mentioned you. I was ready to really put my foot down. I guess I expected that to be the biggest sticking point, considering you’re not just married already, but married to Lucas.” His expression darkens at the mention of his brother, but he shakes his head and continues. “But he didn’t seem bothered by it. He gave me this little laugh, like... I don’t even know how to describe it. Like he was mocking me, almost. And then he said, ‘Why am I not surprised?’“ He raises his gaze to meet mine. “After that, he just sort of... waved me off and left the room. Like it was all some big joke.” His free hand clenches against his knee.
“That...” I swallow, trying to make sense of it. Am I missing something? Is Theo? “Why would he be so unbothered?” I ask, that distant sense of alarm deepening. “Do you think he’s talking to my father?” My eyes go wide. “Theo, what if he’s dissolving the alliance?”
“I don’t know,” Theo replies, his expression solemn. “I’ve never seen him have a reaction quite like that. Back when I was younger, our fights were explosive. They turned into shouting matches every time. Now, though...”
“Do you think he’s just cooled off?” I venture, not holding out much hope.
Theo thinks for a moment, and then says, “No. I know my father, kid. And something about the way he was looking at me back there... It wasn’t right.”
“So what do we do?” I ask. “Should I talk to my father? Try to get him to come around?”
“I’m going to put some feelers out,” Theo replies. “See what my men can dig up. Between this and the second-guessing he’s been doing about my leadership, it’s almost like—”
But at that moment, the sound of keys in the lock of the apartment door stops him in mid-sentence. Theo and I exchange a confused glance, and I manage, “Did you bring one of your men with you?”
“No.”
Theo springs from his chair, his expression dark with concern, but he’s not quick enough. Before it even registers that something is very, very wrong, the door swings open, and Lucas is standing in the entryway. His broken nose is still blue and purple with bruises, his lower lip swollen where Theo’s punch split it, but his movements are quick and self-satisfied as he stalks into the room, shoulders hunched in anger and determination.
