Anything I say will sound like begging, so I just breathe in ragged gasps, waiting for the next move. His hips continue to roll against me, and I feel the slick wetness running down my thighs.
“I’ve given you all the clues you need at this point.” He frees my other shoulder, and his powerful hand now moves behind my back until it hooks around the clasp of my bra. “Each one left on purpose for you. Only for you.”
“Why?” My voice trembles.
“Because I knew you’d come looking.”
With a single, practiced flick, he undoes the clasp. Fingers slip under the restraint for a moment before they move up, and dance across my collarbone until he seizes it by the center between the cups.
A broken noise escapes my throat.
“Is that why you gave me back the earrings?” I ask. “Because you want me to find you?”
“Have you?”
He gives the bra just a little tug, not enough to free my breasts but enough to show me his intention. My thigh squeezes involuntarily, giving my clit a hint of the friction that it desperately needs.
“No,” I confess through clenched teeth.
Between his constant surveillance, the constant break-ins, and the earth-shattering orgasm, I’m no closer to finding out about him other than a few flashes here and there.
I want to say it’s because he hasn’t given me a whole lot of time to look for him.
But maybe, the truth is that I’m scared that if I everdofind him, I won’t ever want to leave.
“I’m disappointed, little viper.” Inch by agonizing inch, he pulls my bra down until I stand bare-chested in front of him. “I expected you to do better than that.”
His eyes are hungry but he doesn’t leer. Instead, he lets the silence stretch, as if he wants me to dwell on his disappointment. And I do. God help me, I do.
When I don’t move, he slides his hands to my waist, fingers curling around the fabric and pulls me in.
Slow.
Inescapable.
“You like this.” He leans in until his mouth is at my ear again. “The chase. The danger.”
My throat tightens. Rage and arousal alternating so violently I can’t tell them apart anymore. His words fit like a key in a lock, turning something I mean to keep sealed.
Then, he suddenly pulls away, and cool air rushes in between us. His lips quirk up at one side, and he steps back a breath. Just enough for me to miss him with my whole body.
From his back pocket, he produces an evidence bag.
And when I see what’s in it, it’s as if he somehow manages to reach into my chest to close his hand around my heart and crush it.
My sister’s earrings.
“You’ve had your share of questions, little viper,” he growls as he holds them up to my face. “Now it’s my turn.”
18
GISELLE
“Why these earrings?”Fingers from his other hand trace the lobe of my ear where the earring should sit, before they slide to the back of my neck and hold me firmly in place.
Not to hurt, but to control.
“I've figured out everything else about you, little viper. You're not someone who collects pretty things. Everything about you is rough, bitter, and angry." He takes a slow, shuddering breath, as if he's savoring the taste of my anger and arousal. “Everything but these. Why?”
