Page 22 of The Rook
Instead of backing down, he smirked and took a step toward me. "Are you sure I can't make you?"
Heat ballooned in my belly, spreading outward, coiling and uncoiling into every nook and cranny of my body, making my nerve endings hum. "The last time I checked, you're not supposed to handle the merchandise."
"If it means your safety, I am. Now put on the goddamn shirt."
I didn't do as I was told because he was threatening me. I did as I was told because, well, I was cold. And to my chagrin, one of the bartenders came around the corner and tossed a T-shirt to Westin, which he caught with one hand and then threw it on. The T-shirt was clearly made for someone smaller because it looked like he was trying to bust out the seams like the Hulk. But still, he put it on and grinned at me. "I'm so glad we're in agreement. And now, you can enjoy the evening with your mates."
"I loathe you."
"You've said so before. Maybe try and say something different next time. It's getting boring."
And as he marched back to his position at the end of the bar, every female gaze followed him. I didn't know what I was going to do yet, but one way or another, I was getting rid of him.
6
Westin
After the bar, I knew Nissa was going to be a problem. Especially with her tits pointing at me like that.
Going to the pub was an exercise in torture. Sure, there were the usual concerns of crowd control, covering the exits, lines of sight, all that. But there was also the fact that all eyes had been on her the moment she walked in. It was all made worse by the fact that she didn't even know. She was completely oblivious to the attention she was getting, the leering hungry eyes on her.
The beer was an accident. And had I known what was going to happen, no way I would have allowed her to wear that white tank. Not with that bra anyway. Because the moment I'd seen her pert nipples peeking out behind lace and cotton all blood had rushed straight to my dick. It had taken a full thirty seconds for all my brain cells to come back online.
She was an issue that I was going to have to find a way to resolve, one way or another. I had told Gabe that I could handle this. That she wasn't going to be a problem. That I could do my job, find out about the ledger, and be out of there before anyone was the wiser. The problem was, I had a feeling that was complete and utter bullshit.
If Montgomery had Igno’s cipher, or even the ledger itself, I needed to get access to the house to get it, and obviously, he and I had a trust problem. Without Nissa in tow, I’d have no excuse to get back into that house. Once in the house, I had my ways. But getting there was going to be the issue. And right now, Nissa had zero interest in going anywhere with me. If I knew her well, she was working on a plan to get rid of me right now.
I needed her to forgive me. I needed her on my side; and quickly.
My cock had an idea of how to do that. But I knew from history that his way wasn't going to solve our problem. The only way to get her to trust me and forgive me was the truth. But neither of us was ready for that yet. Especially now that I'd seen the tips of her pert dark nipples peeking out at me.
Fucking hell. What business did she have wearing a bra like that?
Why does her bra matter?
I knew I was being irrational. Fuck. Why did I think I could do this?
My dick had an opinion on that.
You can't. Let's go fuck her now.
Yeah, that was his solution to everything. But that was not happening. Not Nissa. Too many buried feelings under that bridge. She hated me, but the feeling wasn't exactly mutual. But wanting her pissed me off. I'd been tortured by her for longer than I cared to admit. I wanted no more of it. I just wanted freedom.
After a cold shower and with a still-hard dick, I shoved on sweatpants and towel-dried my hair as I picked up my phone and typed in my code.
It was a combination of my codename and my fake birthday. The year was correct, but the birthdate was actually my initiation into Rogues date. Within thirty seconds, Lachlan called me. "All right, mate?"
"Yeah, I'm fine. I'm still on the secondary target."
"Anything with the primary target yet?"
I sighed in frustration. "No, not since he forced her to accept my assignment. Other than that, he's been quiet."
"All right, well, stay on him. How are you?"
"I'm fine, mate."
Lachlan's sigh said a lot. We had been in the same training class, and unfortunately, he could read me like a book. Just like when we were sparring. And while he couldn't see me, I could still feel the weight of his judgment.
