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“Hesaidhe wants me to find a property. But we’re a long way away from signing on the dotted line.”
Theo studies my face. “You don’t think it was a real offer?”
I glance at her, impressed how quickly she’s learning.
“You tell me…how did he phrase it?”
Theo thinks it over, remembering. “He said,Maybe I should hire you…You think he was exerting dominance? Trying to create an employee-boss dynamic?”
“We caught his interest and created this nice little competitive vibe that’s got him all hot and bothered, but it only works as long as he feels like he’s got the upper hand and he’s getting what he wants.”
Which is why I have to be very, very careful when it comes to Theo…
Angus is possessive of her. The only way this will work is if he thinks he won…
There are a hundred things that could still go wrong even if I play this perfectly. And I’m not performing perfectly, not even close—my head is full of the girl sitting next to me. Even in this very moment, my eyes are dropping irresistibly to those lovely legs.
I need to get it together. Stop treating Theo like my actual girlfriend and use her for what she is: a partner in crime in a delicate operation.
I can’t protect her from Angus or Jessica, and I can’t let myself get distracted when we’re all out together. In fact, I shouldn’t be distracted right now. No holding hands, and no looking at Theo’s legs.
I fix my eyes firmly on the road.
Until about five seconds later when they slip sideways once more…
“Well…,” Theo says, giving me a surprisingly devilish look. “If you’re feeling stressed, would you like a helping hand?”
The good intentions I’ve been forming burst in an instant.
“Fuck yes,” I say, wrenching the wheel to take the very next turn.
21
THEO
Sullivan pulls in at a lookout over the water. I’m nervous, all of a sudden, even though I just asked him to do this.
He turns to look at me, his hand resting lightly on top of the wheel, his dress shirt open at the throat, his eyes dark and liquid in the moonlight. The shape of his lips is so beautiful, I can hardly believe that I’ve kissed them.
The top’s down on the car, but it still feels like we’re in our own little bubble of air. All I can hear is my heart pounding in my ears, and all I can see is Sullivan.
He grabs my face in his hands and kisses me. The kiss feels forbidden, stolen, and all the more delicious for it. Our privacy in the car, away from Angus, away from the house, feels distant from even our own promises.
All the reasons I had to protect myself, to be careful, to guard my emotions, seem to belong to another time and place. Here and now, it’s just the two of us under the stars with the surf crashing below. It’s Sullivan’s mouth on mine, his hands exploring my body…
I unbutton his shirt and slip my hand inside, touching his warm, bare chest. My fingers fumble at the waistband of his trousers. But Sullivan stops me.
“Wait.”
I’m already short of breath, panting a little like I’m running. “What’s wrong?”
“Nothing, nothing’s wrong. Only…” Sully winces slightly, like he has to do something he really doesn’t want to do. “I don’t want to hurt you, Theo.”
“Then don’t.” I kiss him again, on his mouth, the side of his neck, that slice of warm, brown skin where I opened his shirt…
“But you said?—“
“Fuck what I said. Don’t you want this?”
