Gentleman Sinner(31)

I nod, wholeheartedly agreeing. Never before has a man’s touch comforted me. His hand squeezes mine and he pulls me from the table, heading for the door. As he guides me from the dining room, my feet work fast to keep up with him, my heart going wild. We pass the waiter, who immediately steps back, out of our path.

‘We’re finished,’ Theo tells him, curt and short and without looking at him as he continues to lead me through the extensive suite. I focus on the warmth of his strong hand surrounding mine, fighting back unwelcome memories. Worryingly, it’s very easy. Or is it a worry at all?

Theo opens another door and pulls me through, shutting it with more care than I expected. We’re in a bedroom. A huge, lavish bedroom with a showpiece of a bed that’s probably the biggest I’ve ever seen. Theo gently tugs my hand, takes me to the bed, and sits me on the end before dropping to his knees and holding my hands. It occurs to me that he’s trying to ease me by being at equal eye level to me, and there’s something a little submissive about him being on his knees at my feet. It’s a measured move, but it’s making me worry about what he’s going to say. I swallow and brace myself.

‘Since you’ve been honest with me, it feels only fair that I offer you the same courtesy. I’m going to tell you how it will be between us.’

Butterflies explode in my tummy. ‘You’ll tell me?’

He smiles, his thumbs drawing small circles on the backs of my hands. ‘I need something from you, Izzy.’

My muscles twitch with the need to tense. ‘What?’ Something about the way he’s looking at me, unsure and hesitant, is telling me I might not like it.

Theo rests back on his haunches, his arms suspended between us as he keeps hold of my hands. ‘I need compliance. Total surrender.’ Dark, cobalt eyes sear my skin, his face becoming alive with want. ‘I will treat you like a queen and fuck you like a whore.’ My mouth drops open. He just said that? ‘And I promise you,’ he goes on, ignoring my shock, taking my hand and placing it on his chest, pushing it into the muscle, ‘you will never be in danger. You will never be afraid again.’

It’s beyond me, but I just disintegrated. He’s told me he would fuck me like a whore, but he rounded all of that off with a promise. A promise I can’t ignore but wish I could. ‘I’m afraid of you,’ I admit. ‘Afraid of how you make me feel.’

‘How do I make you feel?’

The word safe dances on the end of my tongue, but I swallow my confession, looking away. ‘Consumed.’ I’m not lying.

‘I’m with you.’ He pushes my hand harder against his chest. ‘I can give you what you need, Izzy. And I’m hoping you will naturally give me what I need.’

‘Want,’ I correct mindlessly. ‘What you want.’

His smile stretches, bright and gorgeous. ‘Trust me, Izzy. I need it.’ He gives a little tug of my hand, and I fall to his lap with a tiny gasp. He encases my whole face in his big palms, so tender, but equally possessive. ‘The first time I touched you, you had me. I’ll never be able to explain how it felt. How it feels now.’ His eyes scan my face, his thumbs stroking gently over my cheeks. ‘My skin on yours, I crave it. But I need controlled environments.’

‘Why?’ I ask, accepting his soft kiss on my lips.

‘You need to trust me.’

I don’t ask for more than that. Just like he hasn’t asked why I need to feel safe, or who has hurt me in my past. I trust him. ‘Okay,’ I agree. I feel like I’m dancing too close to the sun, and, bizarrely, I can’t wait to be burned.

‘Whatever you’ve run away from, Izzy, it can’t touch you as long as I’m here.’

I don’t appreciate the reminder. ‘I said okay.’

‘I heard you.’

‘Then please just take me to bed.’ I’m done with talking. Wants and needs have been established, and now I just need Theo to own me. To quench the insatiable thirst he’s unearthed. To give me something I’ve never had. Pleasure.





Chapter 7

‘I’m not just taking you to bed.’ Theo holds me under my armpits and hauls me up so I’m standing over him while he remains on the floor at my feet. He reaches forward, looking up at me, and curls his palm around my ankle. I jolt violently, fire shooting up my legs and detonating in my chest. Explosions already. I need to grab his shoulders, I need support, but as I lift my arms to reach for them, Theo’s hands fly up and catch my wrists. He looks at my confused face as he gently takes my palms up to his shoulders for me. ‘Let me,’ he whispers, releasing my hands and allowing them to rest on his massive shoulders, closing his eyes as my touch meets his shirt.

The realization sucker-punches me in the gut. Oh my God. He doesn’t like being touched. I think about the way the members of his staff shift from Theo’s path when he’s near, and I remember every time I’ve gone to touch him myself. He’s caught me and controlled the touch. He’s seen my intention and taken charge of it. Callum giving me a wide berth all those times had nothing to do with me. It’s natural for Theo’s driver/friend/bodyguard to give people space because he does it all the time for Theo. And the butler, Jefferson. He told me to keep my distance. He wasn’t warning me to stay away. He was warning me not to touch Theo. All of Theo’s stealthy, quick moves, the times someone has gone to touch him. He’s expertly avoided them all.