Page 26 of Tempt

“Maybe he just went to college early.” I shrugged. There were a half dozen possible explanations for a boy that age. With as brilliant as he was, I could easily see him quietly taking classes under the radar.

“It’s possible, but he had already finished at university. Well, the first time anyway. He graduated at fifteen. And when he ‘returned,’” James air quoted, “he went back and got three more degrees.”

Ava shook her head. “I like the rumors much better. Some say he was in prison for drugs.” I absolutely could not in any way picture Theo in prison. “Others say he went to live abroad with his mother, wherever she may be.” That was certainly possible. “But others say he fell in with some sort of gang and even his father didn’t know where he was all that time.”

I swallowed.That… that last one… I was willing to bet that was it. “Doesn’t sound like someone I want to get involved with… even if I did make him speechless.” I laughed, trying to throw things off.

Ava pursed her pink lips and arched an eyebrow. “Mmmhmm. Right. Gorgeous and mysterious. No one wants a piece of that.”

Another shiver raced across my skin and landed somewhere pleasant. Gorgeous and mysterious were two of my favorite things about Theo, and Ava could see it written all over my aroused face. I just hoped James and Luis didn’t see it, too. “Complicated anddamaged.” I corrected. “I have no time to pick up someone else’s pieces.”

She gave me slight nod. “Very true. Although I have a feeling he’s recovered nicely, even if he does hide from the world still. Can’t blame the poor man, really.”

I tried to play it off like I didn’t care, but I knew I was failing. No wonder he didn’t trust anyone. I wouldn’t let anyone close, either.

“So if it’s not Theo, whoareyou banging—and don’t lie to me sweetheart. I work too closely with you,” James grinned.

I scowled at him. He was so darn handsome. Why couldn’t I be attracted to him? Unfortunately he wasn’t my type. James was much more like a brother than a lover. I sighed. “Well, since I’m only here temporarily, I found myself a boy toy. It’s a recreational activity, if you will.”

James snorted. “He sure makes you smile with those dirty text messages he keeps sending.”

“How do you know he’s sending me dirty text messages?” He couldn’t see them, could he?

“At least once a day your phone vibrates. You grin wickedly, I might add. Then you turn beet red, sigh, and close your eyes. Either you’re getting the world’s best food porn delivered to your phone, or it’s dirty text messages promising to do dirty, fantastic, pleasurable things to you later. I should know, I do it to the girls I date. It’s a winner every time.”

That was right at the top of the ‘Things I Didn’t Want to Know’list. “Yes, I enjoy my dirty texts. Happy?”

I got three knowing and pleased grins pointed my way. Which made me realize just how happy I really was. Theo had sprinkled magic fairy dust over me.

Or maybe it wasdirtyfairy dust.

Chapter 11

It had been a little over a month since Theo and I began our arrangement and I’d gotten to know quite a bit about my reluctant lover. For instance, chicken salad was just one of many food quirks. He loved sandwiches in general, and as far as I could tell, Theo hadn’t met a sandwich he didn’t like. He also loved fresh food and loathed processed foods. He had a housekeeper who came twice a week during the day. The lady cleaned his flat from top to bottom (not that it needed it), restocked his fridge, and did his laundry.

He never brought work home. In fact, I wasn’t sure he had a computer anywhere in his flat. He stayed late at the office and went in early, usually before six, and two days a week he worked out of a different building altogether. I hadn’t quite figured out all of iON Innovations’ intricacies yet, but I was working on it. Either way, he didn’t work at home. Work stayed at the office, even if that meant working insane hours and only going home to sleep.

Or have sex. Now that we had an arrangement, going home now included that, too.

Theo’s love of music was all encompassing. His entire flat was equipped with some sort of stereo system that involved every single room—even the bathroom. And the quality wasamazing. I constantly caught myself listening because I was floored by how real it sounded. We might as well be at a live concert.

And his tastes were as varied as there were days in a week. Every kind of rock ’n roll under the sun, even death metal. Not to mention country, jazz, rap, R&B, and one of my new favorites—techno jazz remixes. I learned something new about music almost every time I was with Theo.

I’d also learned that music could be quite a fantastic sexual toy. One that Theo was very good at wielding. He could turn it up so that it drowned out the world, which is always nice when getting lost in a sexual fantasy, but he could also put soundtracks to our nights based on our moods.

So I was a little bit thrown that night when Martin held open the door and I stepped inside to the lights down low, Theo bent over a laptop, and classical music blasting at an almost painful level. Something was very, very wrong. And if all the clues sitting in front of me weren’t enough, the look I caught in Martin’s surprised eyes as he closed the door behind me, was the kicker.

I set my purse inside the front closet and hung up my coat, all while being assaulted by an intense strings movement so loud I could feel the vibrations in my bones. Then I slowly made my way over to Theo as if he were a frightened animal I didn’t want to spook. I ran my fingertips along the tabletop as I walked toward him, taking all of him in, one feature at a time. His dark hair was askew and his beard didn’t look like it had been trimmed. His tie was gone and his shirtsleeves were rolled to his elbows. Normally this was one of my favorite ways to find Theo, but not today. He wasn’t relaxed. He was…stressed.

The music changed, dropping into a soft but emotional movement of violins. I recognized it almost immediately, remembering quiet music lessons from my grandfather as I sat beside him in the car. Theo was listening to Adagio for Strings. It was a beautiful work of art, but also one of the saddest pieces I’d ever heard. The rise and fall of the music was perfect for getting lost in your head and Theo looked very, very lost inside his.

He looked up when I was one chair away and my heart sank into my stomach. His eyes were blank, like his mind was somewhere else entirely. “Hey stranger,” I murmured just loud enough to carry over the sweeping music.

He didn’t grin or say anything. He just closed his laptop and sat back, trying to bring himself back to present. I loved being Theo’s distraction and I took pride in how good I was at it. So I settled myself between his legs and caressed his face with one hand while pushing the anomalous laptop further away with my other.

Theo brought work home.The thought kept banging around in my head looking for somewhere to land. I didn’t know exactly what it meant, but I knew it was big.

“Thanks for coming over so late,” he said. His voice cracked a little, like he hadn’t used it in hours, but it also had that rough purr I loved so much. I’d recently come to the conclusion—after listening to a friend of Ava’s—that the accent he occasionally slipped into was a southern Scottish accent, and I liked the unexpected purr very, very much. Why he had it, and why he only slipped into it when he was around me, I still didn’t understand. But I was willing to wait for that answer.

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