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Instead of letting that angry energy lash out, though, I tap into it in a different way by stepping closer to him, curling my fingers into the lapels of his jacket, and tapping into my charm. “Help me help you. I want to be useful. Please stop denying me.”
Bae sighs deeply and rubs the back of his neck all the while his cock unapologetically nudges my lower stomach.
While the fingers on one hand release his lapel in order to pinch the zipper tab and slowly unhinge each metal tooth, my other hand palms every inch of his chest as the slowly opening leather panel exposes it.
About a quarter of the way down, my fingertips bump into something firm — the folder inside his breast pocket. Our eyes meet. “When do you give everyone their assignments?” I ask quietly, needing to verify what I hope is my first accurate lead.
“Lace,” he warns with a low groan.
“Bae,” I whisper with the special inflection that he loves, pushing the jacket off his shoulders, making sure to keep my palms on his skin, following the hills and valleys of his biceps and forearms.
A tingle forms in the sensitive skin at my palms and moves right up my arms, down my torso, and straight to between my legs. “Give me something. Please.”
Anything.
A distraction, at least.
I tried a saltwater cleansing.
I tried to plan my early escape.
I tried pills.
Nothing is working, and taking on a job this big feels impossible with the scramble going on inside my mind and body.
The jacket falls to the pavement at our feet, and his eyes close as he attempts to steel himself. Bae is sworn to secrecy. They all are. No matter how “involved” I am with them. No matter if it has to do with me or not.
When those amazing, bright copper eyes open again, they darken into an old, antiquated rust — one that brings with it all the memories between us. Good, happy ones dating back to when we were just teenagers passing each other in the hallways at our high school.
Heart thundering out of fear of pushing him too far, but having my hands tied and absolutely nothing else to go off of, I can think of no other step to take other than this one. After all, what else do I have to lose in this present situation? Bae is not the one threatening my future and sister, Kal is.
I try again, this time with a more simple, closed yes or no question: “Were all the appointments assigned before you and Vee went to pick up groceries?”
Bae rolls his shoulders, setting a steely determination, and his golden-auburn eyebrows flatten. He grips my jaw, pinching it firmly between his fingers and thumb.
Realizing defeat, I go slack under his touch, succumbing my body to whatever punishment is in store. Tensing beneath a strong, angry man only ever makes it so much worse.
He tugs down my lip with the rough pad of his thumb, and his mouth presses against mine. My eyes spring open wide just as his light eyelashes fall shut.
Last time Bae kissed me was the night of his initiation, nearly as long ago as the last time Kal kissed me. Bae is generally all tease and no show, mostly because until this dynamic change with my contract, all he was permitted to do was tease. After making sure I absolutely had to do something to remedy how bad he made me throb with his dirty words and hungry eyes, he would disappear to get off on his own somewhere — or with someone — else.
Bae turns me around and brings his teeth to my neck to give the sensitive skin a firm nip. “God, you make me hurt. Do you have any idea how many times I have to fuck my own hand when we come down here every rally?”
Even though I do have a pretty good idea, I shake my head. “I would have assumed you had enough options inside — or outside of — Tit for Tat to take care of that for you.”
“For as smart as you are, you sure say some naive things sometimes.”
I lengthen my neck for him and wrap my arms across my stomach, resting them atop his. “Speaking of which… Was that kiss a positive answer to my question?” I swallow hard and suck in a slow, anticipatory breath.
Again his mouth comes to my skin — that little nook under my ear this time. “Gorgeous and so fucking smart. A wet dream in the flesh,” he mutters.
My pulse rockets. Okay, so we are playing a game then — a game where he provides me with physical answers, but only if I ask the right questions. Shocked that he is allowing me this much instead of admonishing me for being overly curious, my mind wars with what to say next.
Finally given the opportunity to actually be heard by one of these men, the first thing that stutters through my lips is a pathetic, breathy, “Thank you.”
Bae separates our bodies slightly, his hands returning to the knot we had tied at the center of my back. He loosens it but does nothing more than lightly brush his fingers along the curve of my back again.
For the record, there is no way he hurts as much as I do right now. No way is it comparable. But the thing that is revving me up more than anything else is that I know he wants me. I know he needs a release just as bad as I do. And to get that, if he plays by his own rules, means he wants me to ask the right questions. He wants me to unravel the mystery.
