Take Me: The Complete Series (Power Play #1-4) (9 page)

He gives me an intense stare. I wonder what he could possibly be thinking right in that instant, but I’m too afraid to ask. Some things are best left unsaid, and I get the feeling that whatever is trying to claw its way across his tongue is better left for another time.

“Be safe,” he says, finally.

I grin at him.

“Thanks for the lift.”

The night is cool and crisp as I dash up the steps in front of my building. I have no idea how late it is, but I’m certain my alarm is going to be going off before too long, and I’m desperate to get as much sleep as possible. Somewhere behind me I hear the Jag’s engine roar to life as the car disappears down the road. I don’t even bother to hold back the smile that spreads on my face as I think about Isaac and everything that’s happened between us since I met him just one night earlier.

It’s incredible how something can sneak up on you when you least expect it, when you’re not looking for it at all. Hell, even when you’re trying to hide from it. That’s what Isaac has done to my life: snuck up on it.

As I get to the door of my building I’m so lost in thoughts about the Sexy Brit that I don’t notice the dark figure sneaking up on me. A hand grabs my arm from behind and spins me around, hard.

I only barely have time to belt out a scream before the dark figure descends upon me.

Huge hands wrap around me, gripping my shoulders, spinning me around. I don’t even think before I’m slamming my foot into the dark figure’s shin. The man grunts. My open palm rams up into his nose, connecting squarely. The figure releases me and staggers backwards.

Everything is happening so fast. I take a step away from him, and before I know it I have my tiny bottle of pepper spray in my hand. I raise it, ready to use it if he comes any closer.

But he doesn’t approach.

The dark figure staggers, dazed, and an unnerving sensation tingles at the back of my head—there’s something familiar about him. He’s hunched forward with both hands clasped to his nose, cursing violently.

“Declan?”

I can’t believe what I’m seeing.

“Jesus fuck, Hannah.” His eyes widen as he sees red on his fingertips. A thin line of blood seeps from his nose.

He gives me a hard look just as the front door of the apartment building bursts open and the night security guard rushes out. He’s wary as he looks between us, every muscle in his body ready to act if he needs to.

“You okay, ma’am?” His voice is deep and tight. His eyes flash, menacingly.

“It’s okay, I’m fine.”

He gives Declan a hard glare before nodding at me.

“I’ll be right inside if you need anything.”

I thank him before he heads back inside. Declan doesn’t seem to notice the guard was even there. His eyes flip between the blood on his hands and the pepper spray I’m still holding.

“Fuck that hurt, Hannah.”

“You snuck up on me, what did you think was going to happen?”

“I didn’t know you were going to pull some damned ninja shit on me.”

“Maybe you should think twice before you sneak up on a girl in the middle of the night.”

My heart is still racing in my chest, but I finally allow myself to put the pepper spray back into my purse. My hands are shaking from the adrenaline still rushing through me. I’m thankful I’m familiar with the sensation.

“Where’d you learn how to do that, anyways?”

“I’ve been teaching self defense for years.”

I’d first gotten into it at Harvard after a girl I knew had a scary encounter with a guy at a bar. But none of that seems relevant right now.

He dabs at his nose again. There’s going to be some serious swelling if he doesn’t ice it soon.

“Well, it looks like you learned a thing or two.”

“Declan, what are you doing here? It’s the middle of the night…”

His blue eyes connect with mine again. They harden.

“Where have you been all night?”

His tone is accusing and my back stiffens.

“Are you checking up on me or something?”

“I’ve been calling, texting, leaving messages… You haven’t responded to anything. And then I come over and you’re nowhere to be found.” He sounds exasperated. “Fuck, Hannah, I was about to start calling the hospitals…”

“Jesus, Declan, calm down. I don’t keep my phone attached to my hip.”

“What the hell was I supposed to think? You go on a date with some guy and then you fall off the face of the earth?”

My eyes flash and I hold up a finger.

“Hold on right there. It wasn’t a
date
, it was a
business dinner
. And he’s not
some guy
, he’s the business partner that
you
introduced me to.”

“I didn’t want you going in the first place.” His face darkens as he takes a step forward. “I just thought it would be nice if you were there to see the deal go through, I didn’t know he was going to start coming onto you in front of everyone.”

My insides still. How much did he really notice at that meeting?

“It wasn’t a date,” I repeat, though my voice is seriously lacking conviction, this time.

Declan moves closer to me. His blue eyes soften as he does.

“I have a question, and I want you to tell me the truth.”

I nod that I will. He gives me an intent look as he brings his hand up to push back my brown hair on one side. The touch of his hand sends a tingling buzz through my body.

“Did he make a move on you?”

My lips pinch together as my breath catches in my throat. I don’t want to lie to him, but I don’t want to tell him the truth, either. My silence is all the answer that he needs.

Those blue eyes harden and I can feel the muscles in his arm tense as his hand cups the side of my head.

“Tell me everything that happened.”

I shake my head.

“It doesn’t matter.”

“It matters to me.” His voice is intense.

“It was harmless.”

“I want to know everything.”

His hand begins to shake against me. I can feel waves of heat coming off of his body.

“It’s none of your business, Declan,” I say, finally. “All you need to know is that he’s going to have his people look over the contract, and then he’ll get back to us.”

“It
is
my business if it involves you.”

I step away from him, giving him a hard look.

“Do you think I’m your property or something? That you can choose what I do with my life?”

His brow knits together as he shakes his head.

“No, that’s not what I meant…”

I give him a look.

“What I choose to do with my life is my own thing. Obviously you mean a lot to me for all you’ve done, but I’m still my own person.”

He gives me a somber look. He’s silent while he considers me.

“Hannah, I just worry about you. It’s not something I can turn on and off.”

“Well, as you can see, I’m more than capable of taking care of myself.”

A tiny smile spreads across his face as he dabs at his nose again.

“It would seem that way.”

“You should put some ice on that. It’s not going to look very good tomorrow.”

He frowns, and then nods.

“Good work tonight,” he says. Then adds, “With the Europe thing, I mean. We really need that to come through for us.”

“It’s getting late. I’m going to head up to my place.”

His gaze lingers on me a moment longer, as though there’s something he wants to say that he’s holding back.

“Should I walk you up?”

I shake my head. “I’ll be fine.”

As I leave him there and make my way through the lobby, I can feel his eyes on me all the way to the elevator bay. My heart is still pounding hard in my chest. I’m not sure if it’s still the adrenaline or if it’s because of the way he had looked at me.

Every muscle in my legs tense and shake as I feel the orgasm blossoming deep inside of me. My hands claw at the pillows above my head and my back arches farther than I thought possible. In any second I’m going to explode, and it’s all because of one man.

Isaac senses it.

He growls hungrily into my spread center as his tongue buries itself deeper inside of me. His strong hands caress my breasts as his nose rubs against my clit. His fingertips tease my erect nipples with only the barest of touches, sending ripples of delight throughout my body.

It’s too much for me to handle.

My breath sucks in as the orgasm unfolds in a rush. My body shakes violently and my eyes roll into the back of my head. Isaac’s hungry tongue delves all around, lapping up everything.

My hands clutch at the back of his head as my legs tighten around his face. I’m so sensitive that every little movement overloads me. It takes all of my strength to hold him still long enough for me to form a competent thought.

His bright gray eyes are looking up at me, thin creases at their sides belie the smile that’s buried deep in my center.

“You can’t keep doing that,” I manage.

He pulls back and licks my juices from his lips.

“Your body seems to think otherwise.”

Isaac’s hot breath washes over me. I quiver again as a tiny aftershock ripples through me.

“You’re going to wear me out.”

He gives me a fierce grin.

“I told you I would make you sleep like a kitten.”

I return the smile.

My emotions get all tangled up when he says things like that, and I have a hard time telling up from down. I’m not even supposed to be here tonight. I promised myself I would stay away. But when he called and told me to come over, every one of my reservations seemed inconsequential.

Isaac curls onto the bed next to me. His finger traces little lines through my brown hair and his gray eyes study me like they’ve never seen me before.
 

“Declan is paranoid about us.” The words come blurting out without any real thought.

“It’s not paranoia if it’s true.”

I frown up at him.

“We can’t keep doing this.”

“Because of Declan?”

“Because it isn’t right.”

His hand slides down the length of my body until it rests on the flat of my stomach.

“I think this is the best thing I’ve ever done.”

His palm presses gently into my stomach, sending warmth down into my core. The thoughts in my head melt away as he does until I can’t remember what I was going to say. How does he keep doing this to me? I’ve never been this helpless and out of control with a guy before.

I push his hand off and sit up against the headboard. He still has that amused smile on his face, even though I’m trying to be serious.

“We can’t keep doing this because it can’t go anywhere.”

His cheek tugs up again, showing off one of his little dimples.

“I don’t want to go anywhere. I want to stay right here with you.”

“That’s not what I mean.”

His fingers reach up and slide through my hair again. Seriously, he needs to stop doing that when I’m trying to have a meaningful conversation with him. I can’t focus when he’s touching me like that.

“Then tell me what you mean.”

I move his hand away. His eyes are still focused on me like he doesn’t even notice.

“We don’t even really know each other.”

Undeterred, he scoots even closer to me, dipping his head to kiss my neck. I stifle a tiny gasp when I feel his tongue trace little circles on my flesh.

“I’m getting to know every inch of you,” he breathes.

He kisses me again, sending another shiver through me. I can feel his excitement pressing against my leg—he hasn’t let me pleasure him all night, and the thought of doing so right now is driving me wild.

It takes a while, but finally I’m able to clear my head enough to push him off of me. His eyes gaze down at my breasts, hungrily, until I pull his scruffy chin up with my finger.

“But you don’t
really
know me,” I say. “We have fun, but that’s all it is—that’s all it
can
be. Nothing can really come of it.”

His hands reach up and his fingers fold around my outstretched hand. His hands are large enough to make mine disappear into them. Slowly he kisses each of the fingers that were just lifting his chin, all of his attention devoted to each of them, one at a time.

“Who says we have to make it anything?” he asks, between those tiny kisses.

My insides twist around on themselves, and not just because of the sensations spidering down my arm as he sucks on my fingertips. For so long I’ve tried to keep my emotions locked away. I never let myself get wrapped up in relationships before because I always told myself that I had more important things going on.

But Isaac seems to be able to move past all my barriers as though he has a key to all of their locks. And he’s coming through whether I want him to or not.

“I suppose you’re right…”

Isaac frowns up at me as he lowers my hand from his mouth.

“You’re a fickle little girl, aren’t you?” He taps me on the nose as he says it. A giggle escapes me, despite my attempts to hold it in.

“I’ve never been called fickle a day in my life.”

“That’s because no one can see just how fickle you are through that Bitch Shield of yours.”

My jaw drops open. Did he really just say that to me?

“My
Bitch Shield
?”

“That’s right,” he says, a little smirk turning up his lip. “Yesterday morning you insisted that life as you knew it would come to an end if you didn’t get as far away from me as possible. That was your
Bitch Shield
turning on.”

“I wasn’t trying to get away from you, I was trying to get to work. That’s a big difference.”

His head cocks to the side ever so slightly as he holds that secretive smirk. It drives me crazy.

“You were running scared, and you know it.”

Damn him.

“That’s ridiculous. What in the world makes you think that you could ever scare me?”

His gaze grows more intent as it pierces straight through me.

“Because you’re worried your
Bitch Shield
won’t keep me away.”

My insides churn and curdle into themselves. How am I so obvious to him? Emotions that I’m not ready to deal with are bubbling to the surface. Emotions that I’m not
capable
of dealing with. I’d better change the subject before I start thinking things I’ll regret.