“You don’t have a choice, London. If I see a chance to get you out of there, I’m gonna take it.”
“No.” Joseph was more stubborn than I was. When he put his mind to something, he never changed it. “We aren’t doing that. We’ll figure something else out. I just need a little more time with him, and I can make things happen.”
“There’s no way to know if he’ll go that soft. I honestly don’t think he ever will. He has too much pride. This is our only choice.”
“Joseph, no. If you come for me, I won’t cooperate.”
“I’ll make you cooperate. You’re all the family I have left, London. I’m not letting that piece of shit touch you any longer.”
I couldn’t let this happen. “If this plan backfires and you die, then I would have spent six months with this man for no reason. All my time would have been wasted. That can’t be an option.”
“London, this is all we have. This is our one shot, and I’m willing to take a gamble on this guy.”
I wanted to scream. “You took a gamble on him the first time, and look where we ended up.”
Joseph didn’t have a comeback for that.
“And when someone crosses him, he doesn’t sweep it under the rug. He’ll never forget it. I don’t think we can rely on his compassion for this. Our best hope is for me to talk to him when I think he’s ready.”
Joseph was quiet over the line as he considered what he said. “You’re aren’t risking anything. I’m getting you out of there. End of story.”
“Joseph—”
“I’ll see you on Saturday.”
“Joseph!”
He hung up.
When the line went dead against my ear, I knew he was gone. The blood drained from my face when I realized the mess I’d gotten myself into. I never should have called him. I should have known he would risk his life to get me away from Crewe. I underestimated him.
Crewe walked into the courtyard at that moment, announcing the end of my ten minutes.
I pretended my brother was still on the line. “Well, I have to go. I’ll talk to you later.”
Crewe sat on the bench beside me and draped his arm over the back of the chair.
“Love you too.” I pulled the phone from my ear and acted like I hit the end button. Now I had to pretend that I didn’t just get myself into a nightmare. Joseph was organizing his own plan to sneak me out of the opening, but I wasn’t sure if Crewe was as soft as I hoped he was. If he did feel something for me, he might be ticked that I was taken away. I really had no idea.
I handed the phone back. “Thanks for letting me call him.”
“Yeah.” He dropped it into his pocket. “Didn’t see the harm.”
There was a lot of harm in it, actually.
“I might let you call him again sometime.”
“That would be nice.”
“What did you guys talk about?”
Nothing I could share. “He told me he had a date the other night. Said he liked her, but it could never go anywhere…because of what he does. It was the first time we’ve ever spoken and he was honest with me. Kinda feels like I’m talking to another person.”
Crewe nodded like he understood. “It must be a drastic change.”
“Insurance salesman…” I shook my head. “I should have known that was bogus. Too boring for a guy like him.”
“I don’t know about that,” he said. “If someone wants to hide something, they will.”
“So what exactly happened with the two of you?” I knew the basics, not the specifics.
“He crossed me,” he said coldly. “That’s about it.”
“What intelligence did he want?”
“He wanted to know more about the leader of Austria. He never told me why.”
I couldn’t wrap my mind around that. Joseph was involved in criminal affairs. He bought intelligence for millions of dollars and used it in horrible ways. It was like I didn’t know my brother at all.
“We made the deal. He brought the money, and my men brought the paperwork. I didn’t check the money because I think it’s rude to assume you’re making a deal with a crook. But an hour later, I realized the bills were fake. And that’s when I launched my attack.” He stared across the courtyard and into the darkness up ahead. The lights from the castle allowed us to see the stone walkways and flowers. “I can’t let people get away with stuff like that. People talk. Everyone in my universe knows I’ve taken you as payment. Now no one else will fuck with me.”
I shook my head. “What did he think was gonna happen? That you weren’t gonna notice?”
He shrugged. “Possibly thought I wouldn’t notice for a day or two. And he assumed he would be off the radar so I couldn’t find him again. Ironically, I was never planning on going after him. I’m a man who finds information, and it didn’t take long for me to find out about you. Stupid mistake on his part.” His hand returned to the back of my hair, and he massaged my scalp with his fingertips. “But I think I came out ahead in the deal. You’re worth more than four million dollars.”
It was a sweet thing to say in a very twisted way.
He turned my face in his direction and leaned in to kiss me. It was full of affection and kindness rather than possession. That was how he always kissed me, with gentleness. “Ready for dinner?”
It took a second for me to answer the question because that kiss was still heavy in my mind. “Yeah…” I leaned in farther and kissed him again, wanting more of that affection he lavished me with. Letting me call my brother was a compassionate thing to do, especially since my intentions were anything but innocent. I felt a twinge of guilt for what I had done, especially since Joseph was moving forward with a plan I never agreed to.
Crewe kissed me back with the same passion, his hand gliding up my neck until his thumb rested just behind my ear. “You wanna skip dinner?”
“No, I’m starving. But let’s postpone it.”
He smiled against my mouth. “Sounds good to me.”
I crawled on my hands and knees on the bed and looked at him over my shoulder.
He moved on top of me and pressed his chest to my back, his skin warm and his physique powerful. His lips moved down my neck until they found my mouth. He kissed me hard as he rubbed his cock between my ass cheeks.
My pussy was soaked, and I was eager for him to be inside me. I loved his kisses and his caresses, but the foreplay had gone on long enough. I didn’t need much to get my engine revving, not when it came to Crewe.
He grabbed my shoulder, rolled me to my back, and moved between my legs. His hands pinned mine to the mattress on either side of my head, and his hips separated my knees.
I’d assumed he wanted my ass in his face, but he quickly changed the dynamic.
He read the question in my eyes. “I love watching you come.” He wrapped my legs around his hips and made my ankles lock together. His body returned to mine, and he slid his cock inside me without opposition, my channel slick and wet, but also tight.