Heartless Hero (Crowne Point 1)

“You’re not my bodyguard anymore.”

“Hmm… tyrant? Tormentor?”

“Nope,” I said.

“No?” He leaned over, biting my neck. “Best friend?”

“Closer…” A smile twerked my lips.

Theo engulfed me. His muscular arms on either side of me, his green-eyed stare digging into me, his big hands on the sink, finishing the cage. My space, my air, everything.

“Husband, then?”

Warmth filled my gut almost as much at the word, as the way his lips soothed his bite. Husband. Theo Hound was my husband.

“Shouldn’t you be in class?” I all but breathed.

I wasn’t the only one pursuing their dream. Theo was finally getting his degree in social work so he could help children like himself.

“I have a surprise for you,” Theo said, voice gravelly. He pulled back, eyes dark in the way I loved. The way that said he was about to fuck me in a bathroom, and I was going to let him.

But then he stepped away.

He grinned at my face, tracing his knuckles along my jaw. “If we don’t go now, you’ll miss your next class.”

I seriously contemplated it, but in the end, I let him lead me out of the bathroom.

After a short taxi ride, we arrived at a tall, jutting skyscraper in the middle of Manhattan. After the doorman opened one of the gilded double doors, I followed Theo, confused and a little wary, into a polished foyer.

“Are we meeting someone?” I asked.

He looked at me with a small smile. “I’m not ruining the surprise.”

We rode the elevator to the top floor. The doors opened on an empty, vaulted ceiling apartment sweeping what appeared to be the entire floor. It had views stretching all the way to Central Park.

After the doors nearly closed on me, Theo dragged me to the center.

“I would’ve asked if we were burgling, but…” I gestured at the lack of furniture, the barren hardwood. “What is this place?”

Theo watched me softly. “Every hero needs a lair.”

“This isn’t a lair, it’s—wait, this is your place?”

He came to me. “Our. It’ll be nice not living with my mom.”

My palm pressed to his cheek. “I don’t mind.”

“I’d like to fuck you anytime, anywhere,” he practically growled. “I don’t need to feel like a teenager, waiting to fuck you in my bedroom when my mom is gone.”

I smiled, remembering the past two months.

“I like fucking you in secret.”

Then his lips were on my neck. Theo never stopped touching me now, like he’s making up for years he could’ve been. Sometimes it was an innocent touch, a hand on the back of my neck, a kiss on my forehead. Sometimes it was ravenous, wild, teeth and tongue and bruising hands.

And… yeah… it’s a little uncomfortable when you’re living with his mom.

“Not to mention…” He gripped my hand, dragging me out of the main room to the only decorated room.