Page 75 of Villainous Intent

I swallowed hard, my throat suddenly dry. I had wanted to prove a point but I think I had only succeeded in provoking him.

“Annie?” Finley’s voice broke through the static in my ears. He touched my elbow, trying to get my attention. He had asked me a question and I hadn’t heard a single word.

Before I could force an apology out of my mouth, Cipher appeared beside us. His scent rolled over me, expensive cologne and a darker, sharper masculine scent underneath.

“Hello, Annie,” he murmured. The soft Scottish burr of his civilian identity rolled over my name.

I stiffened, refusing to shrink back. “Hello, Thomas.”

He reached past me to pluck a fresh lowball glass from a passing server’s tray and as he did so, he lowered his head, his mouth hovering next to my ear. “If he touches you again, I’m going to sever his hand from his wrist.”

I scowled, jerking my head back to glare at him. His eyes were devoid of warmth. He meant it. He would snap Finley’s bones in the middle of the party and rationalize the mess later.

I turned back to Finley, forcing a smile. “I’ll be right back, Finley. I need to speak with Thomas for a moment.”

Finley looked confused, but I didn’t give him time to ask questions. Cipher placed a hand on the small of my back and steered me away from the kitchen. We navigated the crush of bodies until he backed me into a hallway leading deeper into the penthouse, blocking us from view.

“You are not going to touch Finley,” I hissed, keeping my voice low. “And you are absolutely not going to tell me who can touch my body.”

Cipher took a slow sip of his drink. “Do you really want him to fuck you?”

“That’s none of your business.”

“I can tell you now, he isn’t going to fuck you, Annie.” Cipher’s voice was a dark, mocking drawl. “He is going to be nice. He is going to be sweet. He’ll probably ask for permission to make love to you. He will be so incredibly kind and courteous, ignoring your clit while he mindlessly pumps in and out of you.”

My face burned. “You don’t know shit and you don’t know what I want.”

Cipher stepped forward, caging me against the wall without actually touching me. He raised his hand and traced the air over my forehead, down the curve of my jaw, his fingertips a hairsbreadth from my skin as he mimicked the exact path Finley’s fingers had taken.

I held still, waiting for him to close that tiny bit of distance.

Cipher leaned closer. “You got wetter from the mere suggestion of my touch than you did when he actually put his hands on you.”

I hated that he was right. I hated the throb pulsing between my thighs, and I hated him for being the one to put it there without even making physical contact.

“Go back to Finley,” Cipher murmured. “Try to get wet for him. Let him fumble around in the dark and disappoint you.”

My fingernails bit into my palms until they stung as a slow, arrogant smile curved his lips, though his eyes remained dead and cold.

“I’ll even play the gracious host, despite you trying to hook up with another man inside my home. I’ll let Finley keep both of his hands… Provided you actually get wet for him.” He tilted his head, his gaze dropping to my mouth. “The gardens on the third floor have plenty of secluded areas. Take him up there. Give him a fair chance to get you off.”

He took a deliberate step back, removing the intoxicating heat of his body from my space. The smirk stayed glued to his perfect face as he gestured toward the crowd, offering me an unobstructed path to leave.

Fine. Fucking fine.

I marched away from him and found Finley exactly where I had left him, nursing his drink.

“Do you want to get out of this crowd?” I asked, grabbing his forearm. “There’s a garden on the third floor.”

Finley blinked, his face lighting up. “Lead the way.”

We navigated up to the roof. The beauty of the space momentarily made me forget my mission. The third-floor gardens were a sprawling, open-air sanctuary right in the middle of the city. Thick fog rolled in from the dark expanse of the bay, swallowing the skyline. The neon lights of the city bled into the mist, turning the atmosphere into a glowing cloud of color.

I forced myself to pull away from the view. I wasn’t here to admire Thomas Smith’s real estate. I was here to prove a point to the monster living inside his skin.

I led Finley down a winding path until the noise of the party faded into a dull hum. We stopped in a secluded spot shielded by tall ferns.

I looked up at Finley through my lashes and waited for the spark. I waited for my heart to race, for my skin to flush, for any biological indicator that I wanted this man.