Stealing His Heart (9 page)

“Tell me the truth.” His thumb drummed on the wheel. “Are you holding back on me?”

She forced a smile. “I assure you I’m not so desperate for your company that I’d play dumb to stick around.”

There. Take that, Jake.

He snorted, not looking the slightest bit upset. “I wasn’t implying you were. Last night was a distraction that really shouldn’t happen again. The important thing between us is our work.”

Of course. A distraction. That’s all. She’d do well to remember that from now on. He might have blown her figurative socks off several times in a row, but it had only been a release of sorts. “Obviously.”

Without another word, she stared out the window.

How long could she pretend not to remember the code? How long could she get away with playing dumb before she got found out? Not long, she’d bet. Jake was no fool. He’d be onto her soon…if he wasn’t already.

After a few minutes of tense silence between them, he turned into a parking lot. An office building with big windows sat at the end, and he parked directly in front of it. Shutting off the engine, he turned to her. “I’m not kidding around, Tara. You better not be playing me. This is my career we’re talking about—and your freedom.”

She shook her head and did her best to keep her facial muscles relaxed, but her heart sped up. And the guilt…it choked her. She wanted to help him. She really did. But helping him came at a cost, and she wasn’t sure she could pay it. “I don’t remember.”

She followed him inside. They rode the elevator up to the third floor, and after a few awkward introductions, she was seated behind his desk. His office had a wooden door and two windows. One overlooked the outside world, and the other showed the interior of the office building, and had those vertical blinds that could be closed if you wanted privacy. A bunch of men hustled about, but there were no signs of any women.

She’d spent a few minutes checking out his space, taking in all the details, but her examination hadn’t lasted long. While spacious, the room was barer in terms of personal effects than his house was. As he leaned over and opened the correct file, their arms brushed, and his chest pressed against her back.

The spicy scent of his familiar cologne teased her senses, and she inhaled deeply. Her stomach clenched tight, half from desire and half from fear. Shit was getting real—and she needed to make a choice.

Help Jake…or go to jail.

“Okay. Here it is. Study it, and see if something comes to you. Maybe we’ll luck out after all, and avoid a trip to the site,” he said.

She nodded and grabbed the mouse. She had to at least seem like she was trying, but she didn’t have to do it with him staring at her. He’d see through her act.

“Can you go get us some coffee?” she asked, grimacing and pressing two fingers to her temple. “I can’t work with this headache.”

Shifting his weight to his good leg, he glanced at the door, then back at her, with a furrowed brow. “You’ll stay here?”

“Yes.” She held her wrist out and sighed impatiently. “Would you like to cuff me to the desk to make sure I don’t run?”

He touched her wrist, lingering over her racing pulse. “That won’t be necessary.” He started for the door and glanced over his shoulder. “They’d stop you before you hit the door anyway.”

“A bunch of rental security dudes?” She rolled her eyes and scrolled down the page. This code was so simple it hurt her to study it. “I think I could take them.”

Scoffing, he shook his head. “This company consists of military men who have been trained to take down targets without blinking. I wouldn’t be so sure of that.”

He shut the door behind him, and she was alone.

She watched through the interior window as he walked to the closest desk. He said something and gestured toward her, and a brown-haired man turned her way. Though he was a good distance away, she could make out the fact that he had deep brown eyes, was extremely muscular, and had tattoos all up his arms.

He screamed military.

As a matter of fact, a quick scan of the agency building showed a bunch of former service members. They all held themselves in the same way. Tall and strong, and they carried themselves with pride.

Turning her attention back to the computer, she studied the simple code. Within seconds, she found the spot where he’d gone wrong. Tapping her fingers on the desk, she glanced over her shoulder. After opening an internet browser, the first thing that popped up was a picture of her at her parent’s funeral. She wore all black and had her head lowered from view. She’d been crying, of course.

He’d been researching her. Her heart wrenched, and she closed the page. She didn’t need to be reminded of all she lost. Didn’t need to remember that day. After going broke in a Ponzi scheme, her parents had managed to pull their lives together. Their love for each other had never died. Not until a drunken senator had crashed into them, killing them both instantly.

The senator had gotten off on a legal technicality. More than likely, he’d greased a few palms to escape scot-free.
He
was the reason she did what she did. He was the reason she refused to help Jake. She wouldn’t protect men like him, who took what they wanted and walked away. Wouldn’t help them do more wrong in a world full of wrongs.

Wouldn’t be one of them.

She might not be able to bring Senator Forkes to justice, but she could help others get justice. And stealing from men like him felt
good
. They deserved it, each and every one. She double-checked and triple-checked all her facts before she entered their homes, no matter what Jake thought of her. She
never
stole from the good guys.

But he didn’t believe her.

He thought she hadn’t changed.

Opening a new page, she peeked out the glass window to make sure Jake wasn’t coming back yet. He wasn’t. Her fingers flew over the keyboard as she worked. She scrambled for his phone number, but easily discovered it in his contact file. Heck, she found his email address, too. He had a few photos of himself on the laptop.

It was like taking candy from a baby…

No sooner had she hit the confirm button than Jake reappeared outside his office, stopping to chat with the same brown-haired guy he’d spoken to earlier. He carried two mugs of steaming coffee. As she watched Jake, he turned her way and stared. He had a weird look on his face.
Crap
, he knew she was full of shit.

And now she was going to go to jail.

Chapter Nine

Jake watched Tara through the window in his office. Her fingers moved over the keyboard constantly, and she smirked as she worked. She looked every inch the unpredictable troublemaker she was. This morning, she’d been a little restrained. Quiet.

It was nice to see her looking more alive…even if she was more than likely causing one form of mischief or another.

“She’s up to no good in there,” Gordon said. “You can see it.”

Jake tightened his grip on the mugs. “She always is.”

Gordon laughed. The man was built like a fucking beast and practically lived in the gym, but he’d always been quick to laugh and chat. Jake didn’t really know a whole lot about him, history-wise, but he knew the usual. He’d fought in Iraq. Come home with PTSD. Gotten out. No wife. No kids. No one at all besides himself.

They were all kind of like that at Shillings.

“Need any help with her?” Gordon asked, focused on Tara. “I could use a distraction right around now.”

Jake tensed. No way in hell he was letting Gordon anywhere near Tara. The man had a way of walking up to a woman, saying two words, and next thing you knew? She’d have her panties on the floor within seconds. “Nah, I’m good.”

“Suit yourself.” Gordon grabbed his mouse again. “I’m studying my next case anyway.”

“What is it?”

“The princess.” Gordon clicked the mouse and turned the laptop Jake’s way. A blond woman with green eyes stared back at him, not a hint of a smile on her lips. She seemed untouchably regal, and drop-dead gorgeous. “She’s nothing but a spoiled…well, princess, who’s used to getting her way on
everything
. Should be a fun assignment.”

Jake laughed and started for his office door. “Yeah. Good luck with that one.”

“Thanks, man. Back atcha.”

Jake took a steadying breath and elbowed the door open. Tara sat at his desk, her lower lip caught between her teeth. The furious typing had stopped. She looked as if she was concentrating, but he knew she was bullshitting him. She was perfectly aware of exactly what to do to save his ass—and hers.

But she didn’t want to tell him.

He might need to force it out of her. His other methods were obviously failing. Bullying. Cajoling. Befriending. Hell, he’d seduced her last night, not that that had been all about the job. He’d wanted her, plain and simple. But giving in to the urge had been a huge mistake. He had nothing to offer her.

Not anymore.

The thought of never seeing her again sent a knife through his chest. No matter what she did, she would be leaving him. He felt nauseous just thinking about that.

Maybe he didn’t have anything to offer her, certainly not a future. But he didn’t want her to throw her life away in prison. Deep down she was a good person. Look at the way she’d gotten him to laugh. He couldn’t remember the last time that happened. And if he were honest, he felt protective of her.

That hadn’t changed in all the years they’d been apart.

Yeah. But he was fucking altruistic. Beyond the job that had to be done, there was the sex. Mind-blowing—no, mind-
fucking
great sex. Even now, when he was angry at her for lying to him, he had a hard time keeping his hands off her.

One taste wasn’t enough for him.

He set the coffee on the desk and came around behind her. She had the code open, and her fingers rested on the mouse. His phone dinged in his pocket, but he ignored it. “Did anything in particular stand out to you? Some part that doesn’t seem right?”

She picked up the coffee, pressing her soft lips to the rim and blowing. He wished he was the mug. That’s how bad he had it. “No, not really. I don’t know why this case is fighting me. Usually, I can remember what I did without any issues.”

He leaned on the desk and crossed his ankles, massaging his thigh. His leg was hurting like a bitch today, probably because of last night. It had been the first time he’d had sex since his injury, so he might have pushed himself a little too hard. “Maybe you’ll remember once we go to the site.”

“Yeah.” She glanced down at his thigh, taking another sip. “Maybe.”

His phone buzzed again, and he took it out of his pocket. As he skimmed the message, his shoulders tensed. He had apparently gotten signed up for some bullshit dating website, and he had a love match. Wait…a
male
love match. Did hackers have nothing better to do with their time than fuck with other people’s lives?

“What the—?” Another email lit his screen. “Fucking brilliant.”

Tara set her mug down. “Is there a problem?”

“No.” He shoved his phone into his pocket, but it buzzed again before he released it. Another match, no doubt. “It’s nothing.”

Her lips twitched, and she lowered her head quickly. “Okay.”

He watched her, not missing the amusement that was clear in her voice. Had she…? No. She had only been alone in his office for five minutes, tops. How would she have gotten all his relevant information so fast?

“Tara.” He crossed his arms and frowned at her. “Look at me.”

She stared at him, her expression innocent.
Too
innocent. “Yeah?”

“Is there something you’d like to tell me?”

She didn’t blink. “About?”

“Did you sign me up for a gay dating site?” His phone buzzed again. Fucking A. “Was it you?”

She burst into laughter, clutching her stomach. “Yes.”

First his house. Then his car. Now his office.

Was nothing sacred to her?

He lowered his brows, torn between being amused and annoyed as hell. Amusement was winning. Especially when his phone buzzed again. His Tara was so delightfully unpredictable. “Why did you do that?”

She stood and pushed his chair back. Tilting her head, she shrugged. Actually shrugged. She was too much. “I was bored. And you weren’t here.”

His swallowed a laugh, trying his damn best to appear serious and on the mark. He probably failed, because this was Tara. She never let him get away with that. “You sound like a child. ‘I was bored.’ How old are you? Twelve?”

“Almost twenty-six.” She ran her finger down his chest, trailing lower until she hit his waistband. He gritted his teeth. “But you already knew that.”

He captured her fingers and squeezed. “When we get home, I’m going to toss you on my bed and—” His phone went off again, and she let out a trill of laughter. A smile played at his lips, and for once? He let it. “
Tara
. Fix this.”

When his phone went off again, she choked on another laugh. “Okay, okay. I’ll make it stop.”

She sat down and pulled up the dating website. Despite himself, he checked out what she’d put under his profile description. There was a shirtless picture of him that he didn’t remember having in the first place. And on top of that, she wrote that he liked to give foot rubs, take long, meaningful walks on the beach, and talk about his feelings all night long.

His fucking
feelings
.

Smiling despite himself, he shook his head. Where had she been all these years? He’d missed her, even if he hadn’t known it at the time.

“Delete it. Now.”

Tara opened one of his matches. He was a blond firefighter. Or at least he was posed like a firefighter—shirtless and all. “
Oh
. He looks nice.” She skimmed the description. “Too bad he’s gay.” Tara hit the hide button, and moved on to the next one. Equally attractive and equally gay. “Wow. All the good ones really are all gay or taken, aren’t they?”

The smile faded away, and he frowned. Feeling jealous was ridiculous, since they were all obviously batting for the other team, but he didn’t like standing here watching her drool all over these men. Didn’t like her drooling over anyone but him…

Whatever the fuck that meant.

She was
his
, and he didn’t fucking share.

“Delete. The. Account,” he said between his clenched teeth. “Now.”

She closed all the other matches, including the one she’d been checking out, and deleted his account with a couple of clicks. “There. It’s gone. Happy now?”

No. He was jealous.

“Are you ready to go on-site?” he asked, his voice hard. He needed to stop feeling all these stupid emotions she was bringing out in him, and start focusing on getting the job done. As much as he wanted her, it was best if they parted ways soon. “Or do you need to create another account for me behind my back?”

“I’m done for now,” she said. “Let’s go.”

“After you.”

They headed into the main office, and she stopped at Gordon’s desk. “Hey.”

“Uh,” Gordon studied her, his gaze dipping down her body. “Hi.”

“I saw you earlier, and I wanted to tell you how much I love your ink.”

Gordon’s arms flexed, and he grinned. “Thanks. Do you have any—?”

“We’re leaving now to go on-site,” Jake interrupted. The ridiculous jealousy struck again, seconds after he told himself to knock it off. She’d never said a word about
his
ink. Not one word. “Can you let Cooper know for me?”

After Gordon nodded, Jake led Tara to the elevator and pushed the button, frustration at his own reactions to this woman making him itchy and irritable.

Once inside the elevator, he backed her into the corner, one hand on either side of her head. His fingers flexed. “I know that you were trying to make me jealous back there. Talking about hot men being taken, and sexy ink.”

She let out a breath in a
whoosh
, her wide eyes on him the whole time. “What? I was just talking. Why—?”

He smashed his mouth to hers, needing to claim her. Dominate her. Make her his.

She didn’t pretend to not want it, or him. Hell no. She didn’t hesitate to entwine her tongue with his, moaning into his mouth. He wanted to drop to his knees at her feet and worship her properly. He let out his own guttural sound, positioning himself between her legs where he wanted to be.

Where he
needed
to be.

“You like fucking with me?” he asked, thrusting his hips into her. “You like pissing me off? Well, lucky for you, I like making you pay.”

“But I didn’t—ah, screw it.”

“Exactly.” He tugged on her hair. “Good girl.”

She squirmed against his hard cock. “Please don’t stop this time,” she begged, her nails digging into his shoulders. “Don’t stop, Jake. I’m yours.
All yours
.”

Something inside him shifted, and he kissed her again. Though he’d planned to kiss her and warn her not to test him again, he didn’t want to stop anymore. She’d asked nicely—and he wanted to give her what she wanted. Everything she wanted.

The elevator doors opened, and he stepped back from her. After capturing her hand, he dragged her to the storage closet at the end of the downstairs hallway. He knew for a fact it wouldn’t be used till this afternoon—and it had a lock on it.

Fucking perfect.

Stopping in front of it, he glanced over his shoulder, then opened the door. She went inside willingly, and he closed them in. The lock clicked in the silence of the small room. Darkness descended, but he had no problem finding her.

Hauling her close, he kissed her with all the pent-up frustration he’d been suffering from since she first barged back into his life. She fisted his shirt and urged him closer, lifting her leg to let him inside her thighs. She wore those thigh high-pantyhose, so the only things stopping him from fucking her were her flimsy panties and his own pants. He rubbed his thumb over her clit and pressed his upper body into hers, crushing her against the wall in the process.

She groaned and threaded her fingers in his hair, her nails digging into his scalp. “Jake, please,” she pleaded, tugging on his hair.

He growled. “You asked so nicely.”

“I know, so please take me.” She pulled again, harder. “
Now
.”

He thrust the panties aside and slid two fingers inside. They came back wet, and he groaned. She wanted him, and he fucking needed her. Withdrawing his fingers, he pressed her into the corner of the walls and undid his zipper.

When he freed himself, he took a condom out of his pocket and slid it on. The whole time he took care of the safety aspect of what he was about to do, his mouth worked over hers. “You taste like fucking heaven.”

She jerked on his collar. “Hurry
up
.”

“Say please,” he said, his hold on her ass tight. She wasn’t playing by his rules, and he was dangerously close to not giving a fuck. “You need to beg me, damn it.”

“Please. Please, please,
please
.”

He spread her thighs wide and positioned himself at her entry, touching the wet heat of her pussy with the tip of his dick. Christ, she was so fucking ready to envelope him. He thrust inside her with one hard movement, not bothering to work his way in slowly.

When she screamed out his name and threw her head back, holding on to his shoulders with a firm clasp, he groaned out her name. Biting down on her neck, he drove even deeper. “I should stop now. Make you wait.” He thrust again. “I should leave you hanging all fucking day because of what you did.”

“Jake,” she moaned, her hands moving all over his body. “No. Please. Don’t stop.”

The fact that she still wore all of her clothes, including those sexy-ass heels she’d put on, only turned him on more. Not like he needed much help in that area. He closed his palms over her breasts, squeezing hard and rolling his thumbs over her hard nipples.

She clamped down on him, and he knew she was close to coming. He angled his hips and claimed her mouth again, swallowing her cries as she grew louder. More frantic. Her nails scraped everywhere she could reach, but that didn’t seem to satisfy her. She kept scratching, her teeth digging into his lip as she kissed him back.

When she grabbed his vest and hauled him deeper, her pussy gripping his cock as she came, he groaned and drove inside of her one last time, all the way. He broke the kiss and buried his face in her neck, taking a shuddering breath, and the world imploded around them.

Shit, had he really just fucked her in a closet? Because she’d complimented Gordon’s tattoos? He was losing control
fast.
The hold she had over him was frightening. Once he calmed down enough to speak, he rasped, “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have…I get jealous.”