“How's married life?” he asks when I walk into his office.
“Complicated.” I drop into a chair. “But you remember what that’s like, yeah?”
He chuckles. “Is she falling for you yet?”
I think about last night's kiss, the way she responded before pulling away. “Getting there.”
“Good. Because we need to accelerate the timeline. The longer that USB is out of our hands, the more at risk we are.” He pours himself a scotch even though it's barely past noon. “Our sources in Dublin are getting nervous. They say Declan Blake seems antsy about something. Desperate, almost. They keep watching but they’re not getting much else. And I don’t like desperation.It makes people do stupid shit. Desperate is dangerous, and I don’t want to be caught in the middle of whatever the hell he’s involved with.”
I sweep a hand through my hair, a deep sigh heaving from my chest. “I'm working on it.”
“Work faster.” Kingston's voice thunders between the walls with that edge that makes smart men nervous. “I don't care if you have to fuck her into submission. Get her to pressure her father for that USB.”
“She doesn't trust me enough yet to make that call. She’s still deciding whether or not she hates me.”
“Then make sure she decides fast that she doesn’t. Get her to trust you. Use the brother if you have to. What the fuck ever."
The suggestion twists my gut, but I nod anyway. “Connor's here now. That should help.”
“It better. We took him in for Declan. Fuck, we’re in this up to our eyeballs because of him and Declan.” He shoots the liquor and slams the glass on the top of his desk. “And you know what happens if she can't deliver her father's cooperation..."
Kingston lets the threat hang in the air.
I know what he's not saying. If Tierney can't deliver, she becomes expendable. Connor, too.
And that really lands like a lead weight.
“I'll handle it,” I say.
“You bet your fucking ass you will.”
By the time I get back to the penthouse, it's past eight. Tierney's in the kitchen, reheating what looks like Chinese takeout.
“Connor wanted to explore the neighborhood,” she sayswithout looking up. “I told him to be back by ten. A couple of the security guys are tailing him around, just in case.”
“Good. We need to talk.”
“About what?” Her voice is flat. She doesn’t bother to turn around, and it spikes a fire in my chest.
I slide myself up against her back, resting my hands on either side of her body. “About why you're fighting this so hard.”
“Fighting what?” Her shoulders square, spine tensing.
“This.” I press closer, letting her feel every inch of me pressed into her. “Us.”
Her hands freeze on the takeout containers. “There is no us.”
“Tell that to the way you kissed me last night.”
“You kissed me and I wasn’t into it.”
“Oh yeah?” My mouth finds the spot where her neck meets her shoulder, and I feel her shudder at my breath hitting her skin. “Because it felt like you were pretty fucking into it.”
She tries to turn around but I keep her trapped against the counter. “Let me go,” she rasps.
“Not until you admit what's happening between us. I know you feel it, too. Stop trying to deny it.”
“Nothing's happening?—"
