Roman would crucify her. There wouldn’t be any way to stop him, and Connor wasn’t sure he should. He believed in very few people in the world, but Zack Hayes was one of them. He needed to look at her evidence. “I’ll go get it.”
She popped out of her chair. “You can’t do it now.”
“Why?”
“Because Freddy’s place is right next to Mrs. Sullivan, and she calls the police when she sees anyone even walking near his unit. You have to wait until after eleven when she goes to sleep.”
“I can handle her.”
He wanted to see this evidence. He could probably take it apart forty different ways and prove it was bullshit. Once he did and he had her begging his forgiveness, he would take her back and make sure that she could not target Zack Hayes again.
“Please, Connor.”
Something about the way she looked at him made him stop. Just for a second he thought she might be hiding something. He stared, but she simply looked up at him with those clear blue eyes.
“Fine. But I want to see that evidence tonight.”
“Absolutely.” She moved to his side, her hand slipping into his. “I’ll show you anything you want to see. I’ll talk you through everything and if you still have doubts, I’ll listen. I know you admire him, but I want you to see everything we’ve collected with an open mind.”
Never. But being stubborn wouldn’t get him where he needed to be. Everly and Gabe would be here soon. This was a mission, not a relationship, and it never could be a relationship if she intended to spread lies about his friends.
“Of course,” he managed to say.
“You’re angry with me.” She eased closer, pressing her body against his.
Did she think she could control him with sex? One night of orgasms and she thought she was some kind of Mata Hari?
“Make me less angry with you.” If she wanted to misdirect him with sex, he would let her. He would take everything she offered and it wouldn’t change his mind at all. He could fuck her for days and still shut down everything she loved to protect his friends.
The morning hadn’t gone the way he thought it would. He’d had a few hours of something like peace before the world reminded him that everyone had secrets and a dark side, even fairy princesses. Especially the ones willing to do whatever it took to get what they wanted.
“Connor?”
He looked down at her. “You heard what I said. Make me less mad.”
“Why are you so angry with me?”
Because it fucking hurts to know that you’re willing to step all over my friends for your own gain. Because you’re just like all the others, a sweet lie.
He couldn’t tell her any of that. “You’ve kept very important facts from me. I can’t do my job if you don’t tell me the truth. I thought you trusted me.”
“I do. I really do, Connor. I’m sorry.” She plastered herself completely against him, raising her head so she could plead with him using those blue eyes.
He almost believed her. “I have to wonder what else you’re keeping from me.”
If he hadn’t been watching her so closely, he would have missed the way her eyes tightened just slightly and she looked to her left when she replied. “Nothing.”
She was lying to him again. He’d felt guilty about deceiving her, and all the while she’d been lying to his face. He hadn’t realized she was playing the game, too.
“Connor, I don’t want to fight with you. I’m crazy about you.” She laid her head against his chest. “I didn’t know you then the way I do now. I hope that you’re getting to know me better, too.”
He wrapped his arms around her. He told himself it was all for show, but she still felt right in his embrace. Chemistry. That was all it was. It made them good together in bed. It did not necessarily make them faithful or loyal lovers. “I think I definitely know you better this morning than I did yesterday.”
“I’ll tell you everything when we have the information in our hands. I promise. After tonight we won’t have any more secrets between us.”
He wasn’t an idiot. Lara was planning something, clearly after eleven p.m. What? And why was she so specific about the timing of his so-called heist?
“All right.” He kissed her softly.
No. Her lying didn’t change their chemistry one ounce. His cock was hard and ready for her. “Kiss me.”
Her lips curled up. “I’m already kissing you.”
“Not where I want you to.”
He’d been her supplicant the night before, giving her every bit of pleasure he could—and more—like a complete idiot. He’d been atoning for sullying the pristine princess. Oh, but now he knew better, and it was time to even the score. Because if she wanted to play the game, he would show her that he was the better player. “On your knees, princess.”
Her eyes widened and he was pleased to see the slightest bit of panic there. She might lie about her plans tonight, but he couldn’t bring himself to believe she’d lied to him in bed. She really hadn’t had much experience. He’d opened a new world to her, and it was going to be his pleasure to show her some of its darker, more twisted delights.
“Here?”
“I told you I would have you wherever and whenever I wanted. I was happy earlier. Now I’m not because you lied to me.”
Yes, he saw the irony of the situation, knew he wasn’t being honest, either. But he was protecting his friends, his country, his president. She was looking to get ahead and make a buck.
“I didn’t lie. I just didn’t tell you everything.” She wouldn’t quite meet his eyes. Fuck, she was still lying to him.
It just made what he was about to do all the more easy. Every time she manipulated him or was dishonest, he would take it out on her sweet body. After this shit, distancing himself would be simple. Oh, he still had zero plans to leave her. But instead of the stability and affection he thought she needed to be happy, maybe all she required was sex and a very firm hand. He could give her those.
“You lied by omission and I still want you. Does that tell you anything?”
“I’m sorry.” Her hand went to the fly of his jeans. “I think I understand. You want me to make it up to you.”
She didn’t get it at all, and he needed to shut his mouth. He’d all but blurted that she mattered to him. Clearly, she didn’t grasp that fact. Better for him that she didn’t. Connor certainly didn’t intend to repeat the sentiment.
“I definitely think you should make it up to me.”
Lara bit her plump lower lip. “What if I’m not good at it?”
He cupped her cheeks, forcing her to look him right in the eyes. He refused to allow her to glance away when she answered this question. He would dig the truth out of her if he had to do it with the sharp edge of his tongue. “Are you telling me you’ve never given a man a blow job?”
“I was really sheltered as a kid. I didn’t date very much. I did manage to sleep with one guy in high school, but it was really hurried. Tom and I tried it once, but my teeth scraped him and he accused me of trying to bite him so we didn’t do that again. That’s why I’m worried I’m bad at it. Also, I think I have a small jaw so I might not be able to, you know . . .”
She was drawing him back in because he utterly believed her now. She had untapped sensuality and he intended to free it.
His cock jerked in his jeans, already anticipating the softness of those lips closing around it. “He was a pansy ass and I’m going to teach you everything you need to know about how to suck my cock. By the time we’re done, you’ll be an expert.”
“So I’ll have a new talent to share with the world?” Her voice was light and teasing.
“Never.” He hated the jealous rage that threatened to take over every time she even joked about another man. “Don’t play with me.”
“I’m not. I was just teasing you. I don’t want anyone else.” She stared straight into his eyes, all open and earnest again.
No lies now. Damn, she had his head spinning. Maybe
she didn’t have an agenda of her own. Maybe Freddy had dragged her into some fake conspiracy because she was too naive to see otherwise. If so, Connor vowed to handle the situation and make sure she never got taken again. But if she was the one behind the story, crafting lies because she didn’t like Zack’s policies or some shit, then he would take care of that, too. She would learn never to cross him again.
But no matter what happened, he would keep her because he couldn’t envision a world for himself where she wasn’t in it.
“Undo my jeans.” Maybe once he felt her lips around him, his mood would improve and he could deal with his friends showing up early.
With slightly shaky hands, she undid his fly and parted it. Her hand went straight to his erection, brushing against it beneath the cotton of his boxers. “You’re so beautiful.”
He’d never once in his life been described that way. “We must have different definitions of the word. Now, very carefully, roll down my boxers and let the impatient beast free.”
He had to take a deep breath when she did as he asked and released his cock from the confines of his boxers. She worked his jeans halfway down his hips and then stared down at him.
“Tell me what to do. I want to make you feel as good as I did last night.”
“You liked it when I kissed you and sucked on you, didn’t you?” It was a test of sorts. A calculating woman would play coy, not give him too much power via her praise.
“So much. It was the best night of my life. I hate the fact that we wasted any time at all when we could have been sleeping together all along.” The note in her voice held no artifice, just honest desire.
She confused him on every level.
“Touch me. Take my cock in your hand and slowly pump up and down.” He wanted to come the minute she touched him. How long did they have before Gabe and Everly got here? He forced himself to talk, to get his mind off the pounding need to mark her again. “I got the feeling you didn’t like me very much that first day we met.”
“I was scared of you. Then I was embarrassed about Niall. I behaved very stupidly with him and I was determined not to do it again.”
He tugged her chin up. “You weren’t stupid. He was a bad guy taking advantage of you.”
“And you’re not?”
“Not in the same way. I can offer you something. It’s always an exchange, princess. Besides exchanging my body for yours, I’m willing to exchange my affection for yours, though you should know I’m not great at that.”
Her soft hand gripped him. “I don’t know. I think you’re educable.”
Maybe but she had a lot to learn, too. “I’m never going to be the guy who goes antiquing with you.”
She pumped his cock, her hand tightening to a pleasurable level. “So if I want to ditch you, I should go looking for some colonial American furniture.”
He realized the problem with his statement and that he was caught in a trap of his own damn making. “First, don’t ever try to ditch me. I won’t take it well. Second, yes, I would go with you. Let me amend. I’m never going to be the guy who pretends to enjoy antiquing.”
“So no romantic weekend getaways are in my future? No date nights? Just sex.”
Yep, he was caught. “I didn’t say that. Once the danger has passed, if you want to go somewhere, I’ll take you. If you want to see a movie or eat out, I’ll go with you. I’m just saying don’t expect all the romantic stuff.”
“I know you have way more experience than me when it comes to sex, but I know more about relationships than you do and you aren’t so different from other men, Connor.” Her hand kept up the hard grind while she rose to her toes and pressed her lips to his. “They’ll pretend they like the stuff you do to get you into bed, but once you’re there, they totally give up. No man likes antiquing, but one who thinks I’m important will go with me anyway. That is incredibly romantic.”
Maybe she wasn’t really lying to him. Maybe what he’d perceived as a falsehood was simply her guilt for asking him to break into Freddy’s place. Hell, he didn’t know anything except that her touch was making his head cloudy again and he was looking for any way to believe she wasn’t a mercenary bitch who intended to sell Zack out.
Fuck. What was wrong with him? He was a guilty-until-proven-otherwise kind of a guy. He did not sit around and hope someone was innocent.
“Get on your knees, Lara. I need to feel your mouth on me.”
She dropped down without a single protest and she wrapped her lips around him in an instant. She pressed kisses on the head of his cock while her hand moved over the stalk.
“Use your tongue. Get my cock wet.”
Again, she didn’t tease or try to make him beg. She simply tackled the task with an enthusiasm that made all the damn-near-professional blow jobs he’d ever gotten disappear from his memory. None of those women had her artless ardor, her boundless joy. He watched as the head of his dick disappeared into that sexy mouth of hers. This was how he would deal with her in the future. When she argued with him, he’d just give her mouth something better to do. He would kiss her or fuck her so hard she couldn’t say anything but his name.
“Take more. Suck me harder.” He pushed his hips out, his cock sliding deeper into her mouth.
He shoved his hands in her hair, pulling it out of the bun she’d wrapped it in. He wanted to feel all that softness in his hands. He definitely wanted a better grip. Her mouth was so small, so heated and perfect. Her tongue whirled around his flesh and he could feel himself pulsing. So good. She felt so right. Why did this woman do it for him?
He forced her to take more. Lara braced her hands on his hips. For a brief moment he thought she was going to push him away, to tell him he was being too rough. She was so fragile. But then she eased her grip around to the cheeks of his ass. Her nails sank lightly into his flesh and he couldn’t stop the wave of molten heat that engulfed him.
“Princess, I’m going to come. You might want to let go.”
She shook her head without releasing him from the hot vise of her mouth. She dragged her lips up his length, finally letting go with a soft pop, before looking up at him. “I want to taste you. I want to swallow you down.”
Fuck. His hands tightened on her hair and he gave up. She could take what he dished out. Her fragility was only an illusion. She wanted it and so did he, so he fucked her mouth, thrusting in and dragging out and yes, he felt the bare edge of her teeth scrape against him. That just made him fuck her harder.
He held himself hard against her mouth as he bellowed out her name and came in a dizzying rush. She didn’t stop, her tongue working him the whole time. She drank him down as he gave up everything he had. He hadn’t thought after the night before or the shower this morning that he had an ounce of semen left, but his body seemed to produce an endless supply for her.
Only her.
She licked him clean from head to base, like she couldn’t get enough of his taste.
He let his head fall forward as he dragged oxygen into his lungs and stared down at her. Through the thick fringe of her dark lashes, he watched as she smiled up at him, the adoring expression in her glittering blue eyes making his heart kick around in his chest.
Who the hell was she? Innocent do-gooder taken in by a crazy asshole? Or a calculating seductress determined to take him down?
Either way, she was his and he would deal. Tonight he would learn all her secrets and then she would find out just who was running this show.
NINE
Lara offered Everly Parker a cup of tea. She had a complete set her mother had given her for Christmas a few years before but she so rarely had the chance to use it. Kiki was more of a wine person and Tom wondered why she would spend so much time making something that only required boiling water and a store-bought bag.
Connor didn’t seem like the type who appreciated a nice oolong. Her whole body warmed at the thought of what he did appreciate. And it didn’t matter that he wouldn’t enjoy it. He would still escort her, and she couldn
’t believe for a second that he would ruin her enjoyment by showing his displeasure. He’d already proven he could be indulgent.