Chapter 60

I run the comb through my hair, blow-drying simultaneously. Still in my towel, with nothing but my underwear underneath. I blow-dry and comb, ridding my hair of webs of knots. The treatment I used before I showered already worked nicely to soften the texture of my hair. Now I only use hair food to nourish. After, I bind my hair in a ballerina ball and I leave the en-suite. I stagger in the doorway. Torin sits coolly on the edge of my bed. He spreads his legs wide and leans forward to plant his forearms on his thighs.

"What are you doing here?"

He gives me a silent, long, lingering look.

"You think just because you gave me a piece of land, I'll just give you a piece of ass?"

He releases a humoured breath from his nostrils. "That mouth of yours."

I narrow my eyes at him. "What, want me to shut it?"

"No." He straightens and leans back to rest his elbows on the bed. "I want it wide open."

Nerves kick at my heart, sending it into a gallop. I mask it with indifference.

I turn around to go back to the bathroom.

"Wait."

I indulge him, and I turn back around, still in a knee-high towel.

"I came here to tell you that I'm putting the plan in motion. I procured the intelligence I wanted, and got the specs, layout, security. I sent a scouting team on a reconnaissance mission, and they just grounded. Once they apprise me, we'll be taking an aircraft, flying in dark. We already got a false manifest to—"

"Whoa." I take a dangerous step forward. "What plan? You didn't even tell me what you're going to do, or steal, by the sounds of it."

"It doesn't include you," he snaps. "You're going to stay here, and stay safe."

Worry manifests into anger. "And why are you running point on this?"

"A true king leads his troops at the forefront," he says with princely charm. "Besides, if you want something done right, you do it yourself. I want to make sure everything goes the way it's supposed to, leaving a gap for the inevitability of unpredictability."

I cross my arms, suddenly too close to anger. "And what if you get hurt or worse?"

"Don't worry." He stands up with that maddening, obnoxious smile. "If I die, there is a procedure set in place. You will have everything I promised you and more. You will be safe, as well as your nerdy little brother."

"It's not about that," I exclaim, blurting it out. "I mean... It's not safe. You want to run an assault against Santos whilst he's hunting us down?"

He blows out an amused breath. "It makes it that much sweeter. Santos is on the attack, not defence. He's targeting Orian, but he wants you, too. He's not expecting an outright attack. Everyone presumes me weak and resourceless without big brother. I want them to think that."

"It's still dangerous."

"Why do you care, when you get what you need either way? Better if I'm dead, right?"

My thoughts stutter. "What—no—"

He seals the space between us, towering over me. "Why do you care?"

"I don't."

"You do."

"Then you're delusional," I argue back. "Insane like your plan."

He smiles, entertained. "Stop evading and stop lying. You can admit that you've fallen for the better brother."

I scoff, my gaze slips to dodge his gaze. "I just got out of the devil's clutches. You think I'll just walk into yours? Make no mistake, if I could be anywhere but here I would be."

"You talk a lot of shit."

"I've been called worse."

I pivot but he seizes my wrist—I break free, whipping around to push him back, but he latches onto my wrist again, dragging me back with him. He lands back on the edge of the bed with my one knee next to his hip, half straddling his lap. His eyes flick up, brimming with danger, unbridled lust and a challenge burning deep. He takes me by the jaw and draws my face close to his, sending a tumult inside me, tightening into a keening ache. His lips crash on mine and he fixes me on his lap, feeling the growing bulge between his legs as his tongue plunders my mouth, kissing me with boundless desire and animal-like ferocity that's all too familiar.

I pull back abruptly, crawling onto the bed to sit at the centre, sitting slouched against the headboard, gripping onto the towel. Torin remains seated and shifts to look back at me, a muscle poking through his jaw, regret fresh in his eyes.

"I'm sorry, I shouldn't have done that."

I look back at him and do something I never imagined I'd ever do.

I open the towel, unravelling it, and he watches dazedly, his Adam's apple bobbing. I pitch the towel on the floor, looking back at him expectantly. He rises and undoes his shirt with excruciating slowness, slipping it off and chucking it on the ground. He goes for his belt buckle, his sure fingers sliding the leather from the loops. His fingers graze the rigid line in his slacks.

"Are you going to come here, or am I going to have to take you?"

He smirks and strips until his briefs and crawls onto his bed, moving so I'm between his thighs. His hands roam up my legs until he yanks me down so I'm lying flat on my back. Next thing I know, he traps me under his long, muscular body, the sculpted shape of him forbidding and enticing all the same. He looms over me with one hand braced against the headboard.

He finally takes his eyes off my body, his eyes on me, full of allure, want and worry.

"Are you sure?"

I take his free hand to my mouth, holding his gaze as I part my lips and take his thumb into my mouth. He lets out a soft groan, pupils dilating as my tongue swipes around his finger, sucking softly. Never surrendering his gaze, I free his hand slowly, looking up at him through my eyelashes in a way that claims his breaths.

"Dammit Hadassah."

He dives in and my lips catch his as his tongue swirls in my mouth, dancing with my own. My hands rake his back, trying to press him impossibly closer to me. Our forms entwined, throbbing with bone-aching want. So lost in the throes of passion, we only now hear the knocks pounding on the door. Torin tears himself off me, breathless.

"What?" he barks.

"It's an emergency, boss!"

He grunts, then pushes me back down, pinning me with a firm grip around my breast.

"To be continued."

He takes a kiss to go, then climbs off the bed. He goes to put on his clothes back on with efficient ease and I hurry to pull out new ones from the wardrobe. By the time I have a bra on, he's long gone. I throw on a outfit and lace up my shoes. When I'm done, I leave the room, and that's when I hear the shouting.

Further down, a door zips open, and a guard drags out Calum by the bicep.

"Calum."

I race to him and I take his hand in mine, interlocking our fingers.

"What's going on?"

"Perimeter breach," the guard says, then signals us forward.

We dash downstairs to join Torin and a gauntlet of guards in a heated discussion about an extraction strategy. By the sound of it, our location has been compromised. One of them in full, all-black tactical gear sends three off.

"ETA on the chopper?" Torin demands.

"Less than seven minutes out. They already have the building surrounded. But we have rooftop access to—"

"So do they," Torin points out. "Until that chopper arrives, they'll mow us down. We can't wait up there, there's no cover, we'll just be fish in a barrel. But here, we hold the fort and establish a defence."

Torin leads everyone back down a corridor on the ground floor. The door opens automatically to a home office. He goes to the mahogany desk and presses something under it. The bookcase behind him splits in half to reveal a stainless steel vault. The men march inside, a percussion of stomping boots, snatching weapons and hollering military terminology I don't know. I enter the vault last, which is actually an armoury with enough ammunition and military-grade weaponry to equip a small army. And one of them starts dispensing earpieces, and the rest of them collect on their way out. I go to a rack of semi-automatic, fully assembled rifles and I take one. Calum gawks at the entrance, ogling the room like he just stepped into a James Bond movie.

"Put the gun down, Miss Moor."

Torin takes two pistols and loads the magazine of each one. "Take wide-eyed behind me and secure yourselves in your room. I'll come for you when the chopper arrives."

"We both know that's not happening."

I march out of the vault, grabbing Calum on my way out. "Go to your room and barricade yourself."

"I'm not leaving you," he says in a fevered rush.

"We both know you can't fight for shit. Go back."

He looks past me. Torin levels one gun at him and points to the door with it.

"Wait... I hacked into the interior circuit. I still have operational control over the building's mainframe. I have unimpeded access to their entire system."

Torin goes back around the desk, places one gun on top to yank out a draw. He takes out two more earpieces and gestures to them pointedly. Calum activates them both and hands one to me as we both put them on.

"Okay, you're our eyes. You keep that elevator up so we can pop them off as they come in from the stairwell. Then, when the chopper arrives, we can ride it to the roof."

Calum nods and darts out of the door.

"Hey."

I look back at him, and he stares back at me intensively.

"I know," I murmur.

"You better have my back out there, Miss Moor."

I give an indecisive shrug. "I'll probably be the one shooting it."

He smirks. "Asshole."

He moves in for a swift kiss as he passes, dashing out, and I'm right behind him. The guards are already in formation, upturning furniture, using the long couches as cover. Some are situated behind the marble island counter, corners, all strategically scattered to cover all points. I take a sniper's position at the top of the staircase with my barrel aimed at the door beside the private elevator that leads to the stairwell, with God knows how many thugs are going to barge through it.