Page 19 of A Midnight Romance

River

I slam the door to my office in frustration.

Lux Levinson has my heart in a vise and my self-control is becoming harder to contain.

I became infatuated with Lux the moment I met her, and I’ve craved to know everything about her since then.

And with how familiar she seems with my world, it’s making things more confusing.

I wasn’t expecting her to handle herself so well during Rich’s killing only caused to send my feelings into a deeper plunge.

I sit on the leather couch, facing the wall of screens, my focus fixating on the screen that shows the bedroom she’s staying in.

She’s made it back to the room and is now pacing.

Lux’s energy reaches into me in ways I haven’t experienced before, and I want to open up more to her, but there’s something holding me back.

Maybe it’s because I’ve never had a woman I’ve wanted to share my darkness with.

Or it could be because I lost my parents when I was young and have difficulty trusting people outside my controlled circle of confidants.

Suddenly, she throws the blankets off the bed and crawls in. Lying on her back, she leaves the comforter off and slides her pants down, exposing her panties before they’re completely off. I lean in to get a better look when I see her drag something over her stomach.

What is she doing ?

Unable to peel my focus away, I stare into the screen as she slips a hand over her stomach and a toy into the heat between her legs.

“That’s it, Lux,” I growl under my breath while my dick twitches at the sight. Pulling out my phone, I swipe up on my house app and set the alarm to my office, locking everyone out.

My eyes snap back to Lux as her head tilts back and a delicious moan escapes from her pretty lips.

Fuck, I wish it was my fingers.

My cock painfully rubs the inside of my pants and I readjust myself, attempting to dull the mounting discomfort so I can focus on watching her every movement, but it’s difficult.

Mesmerized, I watch Lux sliding the toy in and out of her pussy, each time her back arches and another delicious sound hits my ears. Watching her play with herself, my cock swells, and I can’t hold myself back any longer so I unzip my pants and whip it out.

Consumed by her movements, my eyes rake along her hips and curves. The arch of her back draws me in, captivating my entire being, and a soft groan slips from her pursed lips.

With a quick spit in my palm, I run it along the length of my shaft and squeeze tightly at the base. Keeping my eyes locked on Lux, I pump myself slowly, then quickly pick up speed. The sounds of her delicate panting sends me reeling.

“Oh, River.”

I freeze. Did she say my name? Holy fuck.

“I’m right here,” I grunt, even though she can’t hear me.

“Yes, River,” she moans, her head tipping back again.

I grip myself harder, stroking in rhythm with the twitching of her legs while my mind imagines what it would feel like if I sank into her, and how her body would invite me into the warmth of it .

“Come for me,” I whisper, increasing speed. Then with one more hard tug, I lose it all right as her back lifts off the bed with sweet relief.

Out of breath and shocked at what happened, I chuckle to myself.

She was thinking of me .

I watch her toss and turn in the bed, searching for a comfortable spot while I tuck myself and my shirt back into my pants.

Thoughts of experiencing that once again flood my mind as I capture a quick glance at the clock and note to myself that in a few brief hours I’ll get to be in the same room with her again. But then I’m interrupted by a call I’m expecting from Christian.

The secure landline on my desk rings, breaking my thought. While walking over from the leather couch, I take a deep breath then answer the phone.

“Hey.” Christian’s tone is steady.

Sliding into my office chair, I lean back, eager to hear what he has to say. “What do you have for me?”

“The broker has a trip planned to Portland this weekend. I’ll send all the information over to you.”

I wonder if this has anything to do with what happened to Rich and they’ve figured out. Maybe he’s weary because of the text Sebastian sent the guys from Rich’s phone about calling off his weekend.

“Apparently it’s his grandmother’s funeral.”

“Thanks, man.” I tuck the phone between my shoulder and ear while Christian’s encrypted message comes through on my burner phone. We use it for any details related to what we do. “Got it.”

Turning to my computer, I type the location into one of our TI systems. Out of all my father’s early technological advancements, this software is by far the one I use the most. It’s able to provide aerial views of locations and property information as well as storing the data for later use.

“Great. When will you head over there?” Christian asks.

“We’ll send a few men out tomorrow morning to scope out the location, then Sebastian and I will take the jet by the evening,” I say.

“Let me know if you need anything else.”

We never do, but I appreciate the sentiment.

“Will do.”

“Oh, and River?”

“Yeah?”

“I heard you’re working with Lux Levinson,” he says.

I’m gonna kill Sebastian when I see him.

“I’m just keeping her safe until we dismantle this group since she was one of their targets,” I explain.

He chuckles. “What about you and her?”

“I’m helping her out. That’s all.”

“Well, whatever she needs, I’m here for her as well.”

“We’ll talk soon.”

I end the call and immediately text Sebastian.

Me: Meet me in my office.

Sebastian: Be right there.

A few minutes later, my cousin lets himself into my office.

“What’s up?” he hurriedly asks.

“You seem in a rush. Am I interrupting something?”

He slumps onto the leather couch. “I was in the middle of a team meeting with the night crew.”

I lean on the edge of my desk, my arms crossed over my chest. “I got off the phone with Christian,” I say, and then relay what I learned .

He straightens. “So he’s skipping his weekend?”

“It appears so. We’ll be flying to Portland tomorrow night.”

Sebastian nods, and I can already see him working out the logistics. “We could use a run-down motel?”

“Find a location downtown that rents by the hour and takes cash.” I push off the desk and round the corner to the front of my computer.

Sebastian pops up on his feet. “When should I send our men to stake it out?”

“The sooner the better.”

“You got it,” he says before leaving my office to get to work. I decide not to bring up Sebastian telling Christian about Lux, because I already know he’s not fully on board with her.

I’ve just finished planning with Ben about the menu for next week when I notice it’s almost midnight. I head for the East Wing gardens to meet Lux and discuss plans for the next kill.

By the time I get outside, Lux is sitting on the bench under the arch of roses bushes. The moonlight provides enough brightness to highlight each of the features of her face.

Damn, she’s beautiful.

“Right on time.” She glances at her watch.

The corner of my mouth quirks up. “I’m always on time.”

Lux’s head tilts as her eyes squint with playfulness. “Oh, really?”

“You seem to be extra happy.”

Lux’s face flushes. “What’s that supposed to mean? ”

I sit beside her on the bench and lean back, crossing one leg over the other. “Nothing.”

It’s hard not to tease her about what I saw on the camera.

“So do you have more information?”

“I got off a call with my FBI contact and he mentioned Nolen, the broker, has this weekend off.”

Lux’s forehead furrows. “Why? What happened?”

My eyes find hers, wide and concerned. “He’s going to be in Portland to attend his grandmother’s funeral.”

She raises to her feet. “What? So we aren’t doing it this weekend?” Pacing back and forth, her nervous energy bleeds into the space between us. “I only watched last time. I need the chance to have a larger role. This is supposed to be his weekend.”

A larger role?

I raise, clasping her delicate hands in mine. “Look at me.”

“I can’t live like this anymore. I don’t want to wait.”

“Lux.” I cup her face with a gentle firmness, forcing eye contact. “Don’t worry. We’re still going to get him.”

The sharp rise and fall of her chest slows. “Are you sure?”

“Yes,” I reply with confidence. Her eyes bounce between mine, pleading and desperate.

Her lips rub together, and I can’t stop my focus from dropping to them. They’re light pink and slightly glassy from an unshed tear.

“What’s the plan now?”

My palms are still on her cheeks. and I can’t help myself from enjoying the softness of her skin. How long can I continue touching her before it becomes inappropriate ?

“I promised we’d do this together—and we will. Sebastian and the night crew are finalizing the plan now, but we’ll be leaving tomorrow on the jet to head to Portland.”

Her eyes widen. “Jet?”

“Yes, my private plane. It will be easier to stay off the radar that way.”

Her eyelids flutter. “Okay. And then what?”

“We’ll take him to a rented motel and take care of him there.”

She lets out a small chuckle. “The ones people rent by the hour?”

I smile. “Yes.”

“All right,” she whispers.

I should probably let her go, but I can’t find it in me to do so. For some reason, I like touching her. It brings me warmth.

Lost in my own thoughts, I don’t hear what she says.

“I said, you can let me go now.”

“What?”

“You can let me go now.”

“Oh, right,” I breathe out, dropping my hands to my side as heat creeps up my throat. I rub the back of my neck and take a step back, creating a safe distance between us. “Good night, Lux. Be ready to go tomorrow night by seven.”

Before she responds, I leave the garden.

I’m a confident man, but no woman has made me feel shy like she continuously does.