Page 75 of Tempt

I was his and he was mine. I’d never felt this connected to anyone before and I knew without a shadow of a doubt Theo had never felt this way about another woman.

“I’m thinking,” he said as he stroked my hair.

“I can see that. You get this crazy look in your eyes when you’re thinking really hard.”

“I look crazy?”

I nodded.

“I guess it’s a good thing I hide in my office or come in here and play when I think. I’d have an entirely new reputation if I went out like this.”

I smiled. “I suppose reclusive genius is preferable to crazy rich guy.”

He chuckled and switched to massaging my temple and that spot between my eyebrows. “I just want to make sure I have every move covered. Every possibility.”

“I don’t think anyone could ever out-think you, Theo.”

His thumb paused its gentle circle over my skin. “I also want to make sure I don’t let him get to me. Emotional responses tend to throw all plans out the window.”

Iwas his emotional response. I was his weakness. Even if Toni didn’t realize it, I could cause Theo problems just by loving him. That scared me. A lot.

“You like Pearl Jam?”

His question pulled me out of my thoughts, and based on the look in his eyes, Theo had done that on purpose. “Yes, but I don’t really know any of their songs.”

Theo laughed. “What does that even mean?”

“Well, I like them. I know I like them. But it’s more of a passing interest. It’s not like I have them on my iPod or one of their CD’s on a shelf back home.”

“Gotcha. I like them. A lot. Their lyrics speak to me and their music hits all the right chords.” He ran his hand down my hair one last time and twirled the end around his finger. “You need to sleep, darlin’. So I’m going to play you one more song and you’re going to close your eyes.”

“Whatcha gonna play for me?” I yawned, almost as if he’d commanded me to.

“A lullaby.”

Then Theo sang—without missing a single note—a song I knew well. I don’t think I ever would have known it was Pearl Jam if Theo hadn’t just mentioned them, but the moment he started singing, I connected the dots.

This was a song he knew well. He didn’t miss a single note and sang with his eyes closed. I got the impression this was a song he’d been feeling for a long, long time.

I didn’t miss the way he sang, “Stay with me” or the way I felt when he said it. This timehewas the one saying it, and I realized how scary it sounded. Would I have the courage to stay if everything fell apart?

But then he sang, “Did I tell you that I love you?” and I let those doubts slide away. There was no sense in worrying about the future when I had a gorgeous man singing me a beautiful lullaby. I squeezed his knee and whispered, “I love you, Theo,” before I fell back to sleep.

* * *

The later it got,the more worried I felt. I knew not to stay up, but I couldn’t sleep knowing what Theo was doing. My life and future were out there, possibly in danger, and there was nothing I could do but sit and wait.

I hated being helpless.

I just hoped it was all worth it.

So when I heard the sounds of the door opening, I about fell on my face scrambling to get up. My hands didn’t work and my feet moved faster than my mind. Somehow I got the bedroom door open and down the hallway without killing myself.

But then I saw Martin helping Theo into a chair at the dining room table and my heart stopped beating. He looked like hell. A cut over his eye, a welt on his chin, and knuckles far bloodier than they had been that day in Keswick. Theo had been in one helluva fight.

He tried to give me a smile, but then groaned. “Sorry, darlin’.”

Martin shook his head and opened the bag he’d placed on the table. He withdrew an ice pack and a medical kit. “Mr. Sutherland will require a couple of stitches before I leave. Should I give you two a moment before I begin?”