Stealing His Heart (Shillings Agency 2)

Smiling, she hugged the stuffed animal close and turned back to Jake. He watched her with a wrinkled brow. He looked almost as if someone had pu

nched him in the stomach or something. She paused, her foot in midair. “What?”

“The cat. It’s…” He shook his head. “Never mind, it’s nothing. Are you ready to go home? Had enough fun yet?”

“But we didn’t ride the Ferris wheel,” she protested, her heart picking up speed at the thought of him doing naughty things to her like he’d promised. “Or get cotton candy.”

His own gaze darkened, but he held his hand out for her. “Fine. Let’s go.”

She slid her fingers into his, and an electric shock skittered up her arm and straight to her stomach. They walked to the Ferris wheel in silence, her mind racing a mile a minute. She should probably keep her hands to herself.

Stop trying to make him smile and laugh and—whatever else she was hoping to do. Not even she knew.

After they climbed on, the Ferris wheel took off, and they were the only ones on it. Her whole life, she’d been surrounded by people. Servants. Family. Teachers. As a kid, she’d never been alone. Now…she was always alone. It was hard to get used to.

The shaky box surged forward, and Jake cursed. Gripping the sides, he glared at her. It wasn’t until they went up that she remembered how much he hated this ride. “Oh my God. You’re still scared of heights, aren’t you?”

He glowered straight ahead. “It’s not natural to be this high in the air.”

“So if I did this”—she grinned and wiggled her butt, shaking the cart. He white-knuckled the sides even more—“you wouldn’t like it?”

“Tara.” He finally turned her way, but he seemed as if he was contemplating throwing her over the side for his own safety. “Knock it off or I’ll—”

“You’ll what?” she asked, cutting him off. She shook the cart again, and he cursed under his breath. “What will you do to me, big guy?”

He frowned at her. “The better question is what wouldn’t I do? I know you want me. Know you want to feel me moving inside of you, making you come so many times you lose count. I know you want me to dominate you. Take you. Fuck you. Own you.”

She shook her head. “I don’t—”

“Yes. You do. You want me to fuck you.” He leaned in, his hot breath on her ear. “But you’ll never find out how good that feels if you don’t knock it the hell off. Don’t shake the cart again.”

She shivered. “You’re so…so…”

“Cocky. But it’s with reason.” He moved even closer. “And trust me, you’ll lose count of how many times you come before I’m inside of you.” He paused. “But you already know what I mean, don’t you? How many times did you come that night?”

Memories of him going down on her, his hot tongue tasting and teasing and pleasing, hit her hard. Her breath came out harsh and uneven, and she pressed her thighs together. What he said was ridiculous and insane and downright dirty, but damn if it didn’t turn her on. From any other man, it would have sounded outrageous.

But from him? It was a guarantee.

She licked her lips. “You’re all empty promises and no follow-through. You say you’ll do all these things, but you haven’t even kissed me yet.”

“That’s because I haven’t been ready.” He clutched her thigh, precariously close to her core. “Don’t try to read me. Don’t try to guess my next move. You have no idea what I’m capable of anymore, sweetheart.”

When his thumb brushed against her clitoris, she barely managed to refrain from crying out. God, it felt good. And she needed more. But not at this price. He kept trying to push her around, but she wasn’t so sure she wanted to let him.

If, no when, they came together in bed, it should be on equal footing.

“You don’t know who I am anymore, either.” It took all of her self-control, but she shoved his fingers away from her. “You seem to think I’m some spineless girl who’ll swoon if you frown at me in the right way. That you’ll scare me away if you’re bossy in bed. Well, here’s a news flash. I don’t scare easily, and I won’t submit to you unless I want to. So if I give you control, then I obviously don’t mind if you take it.”

His nostrils flared. “You have no idea how demanding I am.”

They were approaching the bottom, but she slid her hand into his lap anyway. Over his pants, she squeezed his dick. Leaning in, she flicked her tongue over his lower lip, barely touching him. “You seem to be forgetting that I’ve been in your arms already. You didn’t scare me then, and you don’t scare me now.”

Pulling back, she hopped off the Ferris wheel and glanced over her shoulder at him, weighing the effect her words had had on him. He climbed off a little bit more slowly, supporting himself with his good leg. Part of her wanted to help him, but she knew instinctively that it wouldn’t mesh well with his independence. So she didn’t.

She stood there waiting, her heart racing at the look he was giving her. He watched her as if he’d like to strip her naked right here at the carnival and do bad, bad things to her. He walked right past her, grabbing her elbow and hauling her behind a deserted brick building. “What are you—?”

“Enough.” As soon as they rounded the corner, he pressed her against the wall and trapped her hands in his one. “You think you can handle me? Let me remind you exactly how ‘demanding’ I can be.”