Sloane

by V. J. Chambers

  I didn’t say anything.

  “It is,” he said. “Don’t you think it is?”

  I went back to my bagel. “I guess so. But why did you want to protect me?”

  “Because you needed it.”

  “So, you’d rush out and shoot anyone who was trying to hurt someone else?”

  He was quiet.

  I looked up at him.

  He was thinking hard. “I guess not.”

  “So, why me?”

  Axel laughed. He actually sounded a little uncomfortable. “Is this really what you want to be talking about? Shouldn’t we be planning out how we’re going to kidnap Jimmy again?”

  I wasn’t really sure why I’d asked him all those questions anyway. It was only that he was acting differently around me now. When I’d first met him, he’d been dismissive and rude, and now he was nice-ish, and I couldn’t figure out why. It bothered me, because…

  Because I couldn’t trust him. Yeah, that had to be it. I was trying to suss out his motives, because he was really shallow, and I couldn’t work with him if I thought he’d betray me.

  Wait. Work with him? When had I decided I wanted to work with him?

  I got up from the table and went over to the bed. I’d slept on top of the covers last night, so it wasn’t really all that messed up, but I started straightening the covers. “Those guys obviously work for Armstrong. They’re going to be looking for me, so I need to play this smart.”

  “What’s that mean?”

  I rearranged the pillows, trying to get them perfectly straight. “I mean that kidnapping people at gunpoint is really obvious. I need something subtler. Something that avoids putting me against a bunch of armed men.”

  “I kind of thought we did okay against the armed men.”

  I yanked on the edge of the bedspread. “What’s with this ‘we’ stuff? I said you could help me with strategy, that’s all. I never said you could do anything else.”

  Axel stood up. “I’m not sure, exactly. Honestly, kidnapping isn’t really my thing. I’m more of a lover, not a fighter. I know you said last night that I wouldn’t see you again, but… well, I don’t think I like that.” He crossed the room to me. “This morning, I woke up, and I couldn’t stop thinking about you. I never feel that way. I can’t remember the last time that I found anyone as intriguing as I find you.”

  I let go of the bedspread and straightened up. There he went again, saying stuff that made me flustered.

  He stepped closer to me, so that there were only a few inches between our bodies.

  My pulse began to thrum at my wrists and neck. He was too close.

  He reached out and brushed the back of his knuckles over my jaw. “It’s funny. When I saw you the first time, I barely noticed you. It was as if you faded into the scenery. But now, every time I see you, it’s as if you’re the only thing I can see.”

  I bit my lip. Who said things like that? And why did hearing them make me feel weak all over? “But… you’re…”

  His face tilted closer to mine. “What?”

  “Awful,” I whispered. “You’re shallow and cruel and self-centered and arrogant.”

  A small smile played on his lips. His perfect, pink lips. “That a problem?”

  I swallowed. “Yes,” I said in a small voice. “Kind of, yes.”

  He cupped my face with his palm, and we were kissing again. This time, the kiss was more forceful, more thorough, his tongue sweeping inside and exploring me right away.

  A shudder went through me, and my legs felt unsteady. Without thinking about it, I grabbed him for balance.

  He slid his arms around me, pressing the length of his body against mine, and kissed me even deeper.

  I clung to him, and I kissed back, letting the warmth of our closeness wash through me. Axel’s touch was honey—sweet and thick. I was stuck to him, transfixed.

  He stroked my back, sending tiny ripples into the center of me.

  My breath quickened.

  His fingers moved lower, worming their way under my t-shirt. His hand grazed the bare skin of my waist.

  I gasped.

  And I broke away. “What the hell are you doing?”

  He rubbed his thumb over his lower lip. His eyes were dancing. When he spoke, his voice was low and urgent. “We should fuck.”

  I took two steps back. “What?!”

  “Oh come on, you felt that, didn’t you?” He gestured back and forth between the two of us. “There’s something there. Something pretty powerful. I know you want it as badly as I do.”

  “I do not.”

  He chuckled. “You’re really never honest, are you?”

  “Get out of my room. Go away. I never want to see you again.”

  He took my hand. “Sloane,” he murmured. “You’re trembling.”

  I shook him off. “Because I’m so angry with you. I have people to rescue, you know. You’re… distracting me. Now, get out.”

  “Listen—”

  “Get out, get out, get out!”

  He backed away, hands up in surrender. “Okay, okay.” He paused as he opened the door. “I’ll call you.”

  And then he was gone.

  * * *

  “Any good strategies yet?” said Axel’s voice over the phone. The sound of it reached inside me, coating everything like dark chocolate. I hated that he could do that to me. I hated that I’d answered the phone. He’d barely been gone for four hours, and I’d spent most of that time trying to calm myself down after what had happened between us.

  The truth was, I had felt something powerful when he was kissing me. It was possibly the most powerful kiss of my entire life. But I couldn’t be sure about that, because I hadn’t been kissed in a while, and maybe I’d just forgotten how good kissing was.

  But I didn’t think so.

  I didn’t want Axel kissing me. He was completely the wrong kind of guy, in every single way. He was a player. He always had those strippers from his club draped all over him. If he wanted to have sex with me, then he’d probably take what he wanted and leave me all alone, and I had more respect for myself than to let that happen. Axel Whitman was not going to play me for a fool. I had better sense than to fall for his charms.

  I knew that. I was sure of that.

  I wasn’t sure why I’d picked up the phone.

  “I don’t want to talk to you,” I said.

  “I see,” he said. “Well, then hang up.”

  I didn’t hang up.

  “Look,” he said, “I’m sorry I distracted you from trying to rescue Leigh and your brother. And even that Griffin guy. If Leigh liked him enough to marry him, he can’t be all that bad. I know that’s the most important thing right now.”

  He was apologizing? Well, that was kind of sweet. He wasn’t the kind of guy who apologized very often.

  “So,” he continued, “I left you alone so that you could think of a plan. What’d you come up with?”

  “Nothing,” I said. “Fucking nothing.”

  “That sucks,” he said.

  “It’s your fault.”

  “Why?”

  “Because of… what you did.”

  “Be more specific, Sloane. There’s a lot of things I did.” He just wanted me to say it out loud, didn’t he? Fine.

  “Because you kissed me. It made me all… flustered, and I couldn’t think.”

  His soft laughter echoed through the speaker. “Like I said, I’m sorry.”

  I clutched my phone tightly. He wanted me to be honest, did he? Maybe I would be. “I don’t want you kissing me.”

  “That’s what you say,” he said. “But I don’t believe you.”

  “Well, maybe a part of me wants you to kiss me. But that part of me is stupid, and my brain knows better.”

  “I don’t understand that. You want me. I want you. We both know it.”

  “You don’t want me, though,” I said. “You just want to use me. You want to get in my pants, and then you’ll get bored with me and move onto some othe
r girl.”

  “You don’t know that.”

  “It’s the kind of person you are.” I took a deep breath. I was going to blurt this out, even if it embarrassed me. Holding it in was making me nuts. “You don’t care about other people. You use them. You use girls. I watched my brother Silas do the same thing. There was a different girl in his bed every night of the week. But I would never be one of those girls. Because I know that if I get involved with someone, then I’ll care about him. But you won’t care about me at all.”

  He was quiet for a minute. “So, you’re afraid you’ll fall madly in love with me, and I’ll break your heart?”

  “What? No. I could never fall madly in love with you.”

  He laughed again. “See? That’s what I thought. So, there’s no problem, Sloane. I’m awful, remember? I’m arrogant and shallow and all those other things you said. You could never care about me.”

  My head hurt. Was he really saying that I should have casual sex with him, because I hated him? “No more kissing, Axel.”

  “Okay,” he said. “Maybe we could just get in on without actually kissing. No intimacy, just our bodies against each other—pure sensation, pure passion.”

  “I’m hanging up.” But I didn’t.

  “Maybe you’re not having any good ideas about how to save the others because you’re thinking too hard about it. Maybe you need a distraction.”

  “No,” I said. “The reason I haven’t figured it out is because I’ve been distracted.”

  “Let’s go out,” he said.

  “Axel, do you understand that my brother is being held against his will?”

  “Yeah, but for days, right? What’s another night going to matter? Besides, it’s not like you have a plan.”

  “I’m not going out.”

  “Why not?”

  “I just told you why not.”

  “I’m downstairs,” he said. “I have a car outside, with a driver. A change of scenery will help you think. Come out with me.”

  “It’s like you don’t understand the word ‘no.’”

  “Come out with me, Sloane. I want to see you.” There was an longing rasp to his voice, and it make my stomach turn over.

  “No,” I said, but my voice was a whisper.

  CHAPTER NINE

  “What are you wearing?” Axel made a face.

  I was still in the same jeans and t-shirt that I’d been wearing earlier. Axel was wearing a periwinkle blue jacket over navy blue pants. He had a matching navy bow tie. I gave him a nasty look. “What are you wearing?”

  “I wouldn’t be caught dead with you in that outfit,” he said. “You can’t go out wearing that.”

  “Fine,” I said. “I’ll go back to my room then.” I turned to go.

  He caught me by the elbow and tugged me back against him. “Not so fast, love,” he purred.

  I shoved him. “Keep your hands off me.”

  “I’m going to have to take you shopping,” he said.

  My jaw dropped.

  “What? Don’t you like shopping?”

  “You are so, so rude,” I said.

  He put his arm around me and steered me out of the lobby. “So are you. I’m going to buy you clothes, and you aren’t even grateful.”

  * * *

  “It’s orange,” I said from the other side of the dressing room.

  Axel’s voice floated through like silk. “It complements my ensemble. Besides, it’s not orange. It’s rust.”

  The dress had a V-neck and no sleeves. The bodice was fitted, but it had a flowing skirt that hung in lots of layered pieces of various lengths. It would probably hit me about mid-calf. I almost never wore dresses. Putting one on just to go out made me feel as if I was getting way too dressed up.

  “Sloane?” said Axel. “You okay in there? You need me to help you undress?”

  “Shut up,” I told him. Actually, it was kind of cool that he was being so attentive. I tugged my shirt over my head. “So, do you do this for all the girls you kiss?”

  “No,” he said. “I’ve never kissed a girl who was as clueless about fashion as you are. Generally speaking, it’s a prerequisite.”

  I rolled my eyes as I unbuttoned my jeans.

  “You’ll need shoes,” he said. “I’ll speak to someone.”

  “You don’t know my size,” I said.

  “I remember it from the shoes I got you for the benefit,” he said.

  I took the orange dress off the hanger and stepped into it. I reached back to get the zipper, but I could only get it halfway up.

  I contorted my body in all kinds of strange ways for several minutes, until I heard Axel’s voice again.

  “She’s bringing shoes,” he said. “Don’t you have the dress on yet?”

  My voice was strained. “I can’t get the zipper.”

  “Open the door.”

  “No,” I said.

  “Sloane, open the door.”

  I sighed and opened the dressing room door.

  Axel spun me around so that my back was to him and then zipped me up. He pushed me forward so that we could both see me in the mirror.

  I had to admit the sight of both of us there was stunning. Axel was right. The navy blue and rust color were very nice together. The dress fit me perfectly. It hugged my torso, molding to my breasts and the dip of my waist. I stared at the two people in the mirror, and they looked like some kind of power couple, like two very important, very attractive people. Was it possible that I was one of them?

  Axel nuzzled my neck. “I like the dress.”

  Tingles traveled down my neck and up my skull. I sighed. “Don’t do that.”

  “I like you in the dress,” he growled. “You look amazing.”

  “Stop it.” My voice wasn’t strong.

  He kissed my earlobe.

  I gasped.

  LEIGH

  They shoved Griffin back inside the room, and I’d never been so happy to see him in my life. I ran to him, throwing my arms around him and kissing any part of him I could get my lips on. “You’re okay, you’re okay.”

  He held onto me, brushing my hair out of my face. “Doll.” He kissed me long and deep.

  Behind us, Silas cleared his throat.

  We stopped kissing, but we didn’t stop touching each other. He kept his arm around me, and I held onto him. I pressed my face into his shoulder. He stroked my hair.

  “Knox is dead,” said Griffin.

  “What?” said Silas.

  “I saw him,” said Griffin. “They had him strapped up to a table and his neck was cut. He was just lying there like a slab of meat.”

  Silas paled.

  I squeezed Griffin tighter. “What did they do to you?”

  “That’s just the thing.” He kissed my forehead. “I don’t…” He shook his head. “I can’t remember. I remember that they brought me into this room, and that there were examining tables in there. Knox was on one of them, and they made me get on another. I struggled. I tried to get away from them, but they shot me in the head. I went dark. And when I woke back up, there was a man standing over me. He was wearing a white lab coat, and he had a huge syringe with a big needle. He plunged it into my arm and then… everything’s kind of fuzzy after that. I remember voices. A woman… There was…” He let go of me.

  I went after him.

  He dragged his hand over his face. “The next clear memory I have, they were taking me back here.”

  I put my hand on his shoulder. “Oh my God. They’re going to kill us.”

  Griffin grabbed me again, holding me tight. “No, I won’t let that happen.”

  We were all quiet.

  Suddenly, Silas spoke up. “I’m digging a tunnel.”

  I broke away from Griffin. “What?”

  Silas pointed at the bathroom stall, where he’d been spending most of his time. “I’m using one of the spoons. There’s some water damage back there. The concrete’s kind of crumbly.”

  “The spoons are plastic.”


  “Yeah, well…” Silas shrugged.

  That was never going to work. I gaped at Silas, who turned and went back into the bathroom stall.

  I watched him go. What was happening to us?

  Griffin rubbed the top of his head.

  I put my fingers to my lips. We had to get out of here.

  CHAPTER TEN

  I crossed my legs on the bar stool and leaned over the martini that Axel had bought me. I had to admit that I felt very elegant in my expensive orange dress. I’d tried to buy it myself. After all, it wasn’t as if I didn’t have my own money. But Axel wanted to buy it, and maybe I didn’t argue as hard as I could have. It wasn’t so much that I liked having men buy things for me…

  Honestly, I wasn’t really sure if any man had ever bought anything for me. I hadn’t really done much actual dating. Most of my experience with guys had been in the form of hook-ups at parties and things. And afterward, we’d spent the remainder of our time together hanging out at each other’s houses and watching movies.

  Anyway, regardless, Axel had this old-school charm going on for him. With the suits and the insisting on buying things, he kind of made me feel like I was in a Jane Austen novel. Although, I guessed he was basically Willoughby or Churchill or Wickham, and all of those guys turned out to be royal jerks in the end. I knew that Axel wasn’t ever going to be Mr. Darcy, but that didn’t mean it wasn’t kind of fun to have him pay attention to me anyway.

  He was doing that. Paying attention. He’d been staring at me and only me since the minute he’d picked me up earlier. Even when he ordered our drinks, he watched me while he talked to the bartender.

  Something about it took my breath away.

  “I never wear dresses.” I toyed with the stirrer in my drink.

  “No?” he said. “Why not?”

  I shrugged. “I guess I always thought they were uncomfortable, but I’m not sure anymore. It’s kind of nice letting my legs breathe.”

  He grinned. He put his hand on my knee and slid his fingers under my skirt.

  I giggled. “I told you not to do that.”