Page 40 of Tempt

And Theo was the only reason he’d ever been caught. “Theo? What is it he really wants?” I was still so stupidly fixated on finding a solution that I completely failed to see the bigger picture.

Theo didn’t answer me for a long time. So long the silence started to feel like it was a third person standing in the room beside us. “Allison, there are rules in that kind of life. Rules you do not break and walk away from.”

He stopped pacing and cleared his throat before looking at me. “I’m a traitor. And the one thing you don’t do, is turn on your brothers.”

I was finally starting to understand what I was missing in all of this. There was only one form of compensation for betrayal—only one possible outcome. Toni was going to torture Theo, then kill him—maximum suffering for the traitor. The stalking was as much a part of the game as it was a chance to learn everything about Theo and force him to bring his circle in close. Toni was forcing Theo’s hand, and would continue to do so until he was ready.

“What are you going to do?” I couldn’t imagine he was planning on letting Toni kill him.

“I have a plan, but it takes time to do it right.”

Which brought us to the point of this entire nightlong conversation. Theo’s life wasn’t just complicated—it was dangerous. And being with him would inevitably bring some of that danger into my life. Being with Theo would mean living with the reality that someone wanted Theo dead—and they had the capability to do it.

“How much time?”

He cocked his eyebrow. “More than a few days, or even a few weeks. It could be months to do this properly.”

It had already been months.

I walked over to where Theo was standing. I couldn’t take the distance between us any longer. I grabbed a fistful of his shirt in each of my hands, demanding his attention and enjoying how it felt to be so close. “So where does that leaveus?”

He was stiff, resisting the inevitable. Resisting me. “If we have any shot at being together, I need you to understand what you’ve signed on for, and that it will get worse before it gets better. And that…” his voice dropped away and his hands started up a kneading pattern on my hips. “That we might not be able to be together at all.”

“I understand.” I tugged on his shirt so he’d look at me. “I do.”

He frowned, then took my face in his hands, kissing me lightly on the lips. “Darlin’, you have no fucking idea.”

That was probably true. I knew I didn’t fully understand the threat from Toni, but I’d also come to realize something else. Theo was already fifteen steps down the road, and all of them were worst-case scenarios. There was only one reason he would do that. And that one reason was the most important one in deciding if this was worth it.

“I think you’re jumping to conclusions about the future because you’re scared of how much you feel about me.” I looked into his eyes in time to see my answer.

Oh yes. Theo cared about me a great deal.

And that realization made my pulse skyrocket.

“Yes,” he whispered, meeting my gaze. “I think you’re right about that, but planning ahead is precisely what I do so well.” He slid his hands up to rest on my waist.

The connection between us was electric. I could feel every movement of his fingers, every beat of his pulse. “You can’t plan me, Theo.”

He froze. “Fuck, woman. You’ll be the death of me if you keep looking at me like that.” His fingers dug into my skin.

It sent a little thrill through me to see how much he reacted to every little thing I did.

“Better me, than Toni.”

A slow smile pulled at the corners of his lips. “Oh darlin’. Trust me, you’ll get your chance long before Toni ever will. I can guarantee that. I’m not going anywhere.”

Chapter 15

“C’mon! One drink. Don’t be a prude.” James was trying to convince me to get drinks after work. The only problem was that I was dead on my feet. Between my marathon night of confessions with Theo and two endless days of meetings (that involved more bickering than I knew intelligent adults could muster) I was exhausted and craving my bed.

I checked my phone. No messages from Theo, not that I expected any. We’d agreed to spend the rest of the week apart to clear our heads. It was all very responsible (and we wouldn’t have had time to see each other anyway) but it left me feeling empty. We had unfinished business and I didn’t like being adrift.

I was developing very intense feelings for someone who may or may not be healthy for me in the long run. I wanted to figure things outnow. In bed. Maybe if we fucked each other’s brains out we’d finally start to see things clearly. If what we had was only physical, then at some point we’d run out of steam. We’d get sick of each other. His habits would wear on me and I’d annoy him. We’d naturally realize that what we wanted was what we started with: hot sex and nothing else.

But Theo didn’t agree with my logic, the brilliant bastard. He insisted we spend the rest of the week apart and not talk about any of it until we saw each other again. He didn’t want me to make a decision I’d regret—which I understood and appreciated—but I wasn’t a patient person. I liked action and resolution. This limbo stuff was unsettling.

Maybe a drink with my friends would help.

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