Page 58 of A Devious Arrangement
She takes a deep breath, steadying herself. She stands taller, chin higher, elbows pinned back. There’s a fierce look to her like she’s going into battle. If she were with anyone else, she’d have every reason to be agitated, but so long as she’s with me, not a soul would dare to touch her.
“I’m ready.” She nods and starts up the stairs to the entrance ahead of me.
I follow her, looking bored as usual, a little disappointed that she didn’t say anything about my own uniform.
She’d taken one glance, eyes rounding, then shut her expression down.
I huff, and she glances back at me as we walk in. I shake my head, and she turns forward, walking confidently toward the cattle gate–style security door, swiping her pass like she’s done this a million times before.
There’s a long pause, and I start to wonder if Larry fucked me over, but the light turns green, and she steps through. I didn’t bother stealing a pass, just using my own instead. The disguise is for the people who see me passing by; there’s no reason seeingmy swipe log would raise any suspicion. Technically, I’m part owner of this building, after all.
I’m several steps behind Stasia as she walks down the hall to the right of the front desk. I’d drawn her a crude map for her to memorize so she wouldn’t be dependent on me if anything were to happen. She’d studied it rigorously, taking her time to fold it into a small square before tucking it into her pocket.
There are several workers still here, even though it’s well into the night. None of them pay any attention as we walk by. Just like I hoped, Stasia’s invisible to them.
I shift up to walk beside her as we travel down the hallway. The building is newly decorated with modern wood and steel elements.
A man walks toward us and slows to look at Stasia. She turns her face away, not slowing her steps. I position myself between them and say, “Long night?”
Any suspicion he had is washed away by the universal love of bitching. Stasia uses the opportunity to escape down the hall, not bothering to wait for me.
“Yeah, you know it. They work us like dogs.”
“Right.” I shrug. “Who knows, maybe you’ll get a bonus this year.”
He huffs a breath through his nose. “Like I stand a chance of having an Everette notice me.”
I smirk. “You might be surprised. Anyway, I better be off. This place doesn’t clean itself.”
“Yeah, I should get back. Have a good one.”
I wave him off and catch up to Stasia. She’s pale as a ghost under the fluorescent lights. No, it’s more than that. Her breathing’s coming out fast and shallow, and there’s a slight tremble in her arms when I grab hold of her. Fuck, my chest tightens as guilt rides me. There’s no reason she had to feel like this. I could have easily grabbed the code on my own. It’s myown selfishness that thought it would be fun to sneak in here with her. I’d listened to the part of me that saw the glint of excitement in her eyes at the thought of sneaking in. Even now, I’m not convinced I misread her.
I cup the back of her neck in my palm and slowly stroke her nape with my thumb. When she calms down, I tease. “Don’t tell me you’re more afraid of being caught here than when you broke into the Vault.”
Her laugh is light. “In my defense, my disguise was better, and it was dark.”
I choke on a snort. “It wasn’t that good.”
“It fooled you.”
“Not for very long.”
Her head tilts to the side as she studies my reaction. “Why did you follow me into the Vault that day? I could have sworn I stayed covered.”
“Stasia, even dressed as your brother, you’re fascinating. There was no way I was leaving without figuring out what you were up to.” I entwine my fingers with hers. It’s risky, considering our location, but I’ve never been good at telling myself no. “Plus, it was a nice surprise when I found you. Wasn’t it?”
There’s that blush again. Fuck, she looks pretty like that.
I lead the way toward the office. It’s down a long corridor that’s isolated from the rest of the building. There’s an atrium at the end; the windows look over a park, but it’s too dark to make anything out, the light pollution blocking out the stars from the sky. Suddenly, I want to take her far from here. Somewhere secluded where I can lay her down with nothing over us but the constellations.
Jesus fucking Christ. If my brothers knew what I was thinking, they’d never let me live it down.
I’m supposed to be the irresponsible baby Everette, not some lovesick puppy. I squeeze my fingers with Stasia’s, ignoring the way my hand engulfs hers.
I can feel myself dipped deeper than just possession, and there’s a hint of fear lingering around my chest.The overwhelming feeling that this girl is mine. I’m going to have to apologize to my brothers for giving them so much shit. Everything they did to get their wives seems completely justifiable now.
Stasia stays close to me, our arms brushing against each other with each step. Unable to resist, I move into her, forcing her to step back until her shoulder blades are pressed into the wall. My mouth hovers over hers, each of her breaths dusting over my lips. I could take her right here, devour her until she’s breathless, but I want her to be the one chasing me.
