Page 34 of Playing Dirty (Leighton U #4)

I lead my guys down the pathway toward Falcon Hall, my senses heightened in the darkness.

Pushing open the door to the main lecture hall, I usher Phoenix, Cooper, and Sawyer through, then let it gently fall closed behind us. Our shoes squeak over the tile floor, the sound echoing through the empty, dimly-lit hallways in a way that has goosebumps prickling across my skin.

My hand finds the walkie-talkie hooked on my jeans, and I quickly call our position through to the rest of the guys.

“Team Greyson has entered Falcon Hall. Over.”

“Copy that. Over,” Wyatt calls through a few moments later.

My attention moves to the guys, and I murmur, “Text if you run into problems. Or if you happen to find the damn thing.”

“Sounds good.” Phoenix nods, as do the other two.

With that, I motion for the three of them to spread out, having already gone over my game plan with them before we broke off from the larger group.

Each of us will take a floor; me starting on the first before heading up to the second and helping Cooper. Phoenix will do the same, starting on four before going down to meet up with Sawyer on three. Once all of us are done, we meet back at doors and call in to Wyatt .

Their footsteps fade as they head up the stairwell, and I immediately dip into the bathrooms near the entry. Once that’s clear, I set to work on the six lecture halls on the ground floor.

I’m about halfway through the first when static, followed by one of my teammates speaking through the walkie, almost makes me jump out of my own skin.

“For fuck’s sake,” I mutter while I spin the volume dial on the walkie almost all the way down. The last thing I need is one of the janitorial staff or campus security hearing it and coming to investigate.

With nothing to be found in the first room, I make my way slowly through the second, all the while scanning my flashlight over every inch of the place.

The walls, the lectern or tables in front, on the back of whiteboards; any possible place a five-foot-long pennant could be hanging, I check, only to come up empty-handed.

The likelihood of Madden hiding it in one of the busiest buildings on campus is extremely low, so I’m not surprised or disappointed when the third and fourth rooms deliver the same result as the two prior.

I let the door of hall number four slowly fall closed behind me, ready to finish up the remaining two so I can help Cooper upstairs with some of the classrooms. Who knows, the sooner we get out of here, and I might be able to—

“Well, what do we have here?” a low, menacing voice says from directly behind me.

My brain doesn’t even process it before fingers wrap around my wrist, the unexpected contact causing me to release my flashlight.

It clatters to the floor while I’m pulled around the corner, only for my back to slam against the wall.

Both of my wrists end up pinned above my head in his grip, and the rough impact of my bones against cement momentarily steals my breath and my thoughts.

I don’t have time to regain either before his other palm covers my mouth.

Panic zaps through my veins like lightning. There’s no chance any of my teammates will hear me if I shout for help, and with my phone and walkie well out of reach…I’m on my own.

I feel my assailant step closer, kicking my feet apart so he can wedge a knee between mine. His face is cloaked in darkness beneath a hood, making it impossible for me to make out a single feature, even when it’s only inches away.

“So this is why you cancelled on me, huh?” he whispers, his breath hot against my cheek. “I’ll have to remember that next time you’re begging me to let you come.”

It takes a second for my brain to register the voice, let alone the words being spoken, but the second I do…

“ Madden ?”

My voice comes out muffled behind his palm, but it’s clear enough for him to hum softly in confirmation.

“Unless there’s someone else who you let tease you to the edge of sanity that I don’t know about?”

His grip on my wrists loosens before disappearing entirely, allowing my arms to fall back to my sides. He presses his forearm against the wall beside my shoulder before his other palm leaves my mouth, clearly wanting to keep me in place but trusting me enough not to shout or scream anymore.

I don’t know why he’d worry about it, though. I can barely think as his fingers skate over my jaw before his thumb traces a line down my throat.

My Adam’s apple bobs beneath his touch when I swallow, and I feel equally panicked and aroused when I reach up to push the hood off his head. And the feeling only intensifies the moment his hazel eyes come into view, barely illuminated by the dim lights scattered around the halls.

“Fucking Christ. Are you trying to give me a heart attack?”

He chuckles, the dark, seductive cadence making it impossible to calm my racing heart.

“You’re the one who should be worried about giving some poor, unsuspecting member of the janitorial staff a fright. Especially looking like this.”

His hand at my throat drops down slightly before latching on to the zipper near my collar.

The sound of the teeth sliding apart as he pulls it down may as well be a sonic boom in the dead silence of the hallway, and he makes no signs of stopping until the two sides of my jacket fall apart at my waist.

Every inch of my body is attuned to his; hyperaware of each atom of air disappearing between us as he leans in again. His nose grazes along my jaw, and that first brush of his skin on mine is electric, making my hair stand on end and cock stir to life.

“What could you possibly be doing all the way on this side of town…at night…dressed in all black?”

The heat of his breath sends a shiver down my spine when he speaks, replacing the panic from earlier with white-hot lust. To the point where my cock is stiff—aching behind my jeans—from nothing more than his proximity and a few feather-light touches.

“Not gonna answer, huh?” he murmurs when I remain silent, and I can hear the smile in his voice when he continues. “You know, the responsible thing would be for me to call campus security. Because from where I’m standing, you look like you’re up to no good.”

A zing rushes through my chest at the threat.

“You wouldn’t,” I whisper, not quite believing the words as they leave my lips.

He must be able to tell too, if his amused chuckles are anything to go by.

“Yeah, baby? You willing to bet on that?”

I do my best to ignore the way that term of endearment has warmth flooding to all my extremities—my cock especially—and answer his question with one of my own.

“How did you even know where I was? Because I’m starting to think you’ve taken up stalking as an elective this year.”

It’s uncanny at this point, how he manages to end up every single place I am. And I’m far past believing it’s merely a coincidence.

Too bad there’s no chance for him to respond thanks to the sound of static filling the air around us, only for Wyatt’s voice to call out, “Greyson, update me. Over.”

Shit. I thought I turned the sound down more than that.

My cock instantly deflates, the reminder of what I’m here to do acting as a bucket of ice water and bringing me back to reality. To what I’m supposed to be doing.

A grin tugs at Madden’s lips, the sound of Wyatt’s voice confirming the suspicion he already knew to be correct, before he slowly pulls the walkie from where it’s clipped to my belt.

Then, with hazel eyes locked on mine, he raises it to his mouth and speaks clearly into the receiver.

“All clear. Over,” he calls, only for the statement to echo through the empty hallway a second later.

What the hell?

Wyatt’s response comes almost immediately. “Ten-four. Admin is clear. Over.”

There’s no weird echo this time, but I don’t have the chance to focus on it. I’m too busy glaring at the jackass in front of me while he clips the walkie back in place. Even when his hand lingers there, anchoring on my hip, I’m still irritated by his audacity.

“Why’d you tell him we’re clear when we haven’t finished checking the building?”

“Because what you’re looking for isn’t here.” He pauses, cocking his head a little before adding, “Or anywhere else your teammates are searching, for that matter.”

I arch a brow. “Forgive me if I don’t take your word for it.”

There’s a beat of silence before his smirk grows into a full-blown grin, popping the dimple in the apple of his left cheek. “Suit yourself. It’s your own time you’re wasting. Especially when you could be doing something so much more… stimulating .”

As if trying to prove his point, his fingers slip beneath the hem of my shirt. I draw in a sharp breath the moment their icy pads land on my skin, and God, I want to kiss that smug look off his face so fucking badly.

I just don’t want to give him the satisfaction of me caving to my desire.

Not after he just caught me, red-handed, raiding his campus.

“If it’s not here, then why am I still being detained?”

Another lush laugh leaves him as his thumb skates over the skin above my waistband, and the combination may as well be a shot of heroin straight to my bloodstream.

“This isn’t me detaining you. But if I had something to restrain you with?

You can bet your sweet little ass I’d have you on your knees right here.

” His words are dripping with filthy promises, oozing with lust when he murmurs, “Makes me wonder what all your friends would think about finding you with my cock down your throat.”

Fucking hell .

I don’t know how he’s managed it, but I’m hard as a rock again, even with how infuriating he is.

But with the picture he’s painting for me right now, I can’t help it.

Despite how dangerous it would be—succumbing to this dark desire when the worst possible people could find us—it only makes me want him more.

Madden’s seduction is an art form; one proving nearly impossible to resist.

To the point where I consider it, if only for a moment.

“Fuck,” he curses, the sound coming out with a bit of grit and growl. “The way you look at me…”

“You’re one to talk,” I counter.

He hums, scraping his teeth over his bottom lip before shaking his head. “You’re in so much trouble the next time I get my hands on you. I hope you know that.”

“I’m looking forward to it.”

My eyes lock with his, those two, tiny mirrors reflecting every bit of the longing and desire I know I’m projecting.

I’m fully aware I’m goading him at this point, pushing his buttons along with that iron-clad composure of his. But there’s something addictive about seeing that spark ignite in his eyes, quickly turning into a burning flame he can’t control.

I’ve got him right there, on the edge of it now.

His fingers dig into my skin as he squeezes my waist, barely hanging on to the last threads of his willpower. But just when I think he’s going to cave, he pushes off the wall and releases me.

“Get out of here, Theo. Before I change my mind and push you to your knees, consequences be damned.”

It takes me a moment to peel myself from where I’ve melted into the wall and do as he says, quickly grabbing my flashlight from the floor and booking it down the hall.

I can feel his gaze as I head toward the staircase to find Cooper, and the second I hit the bottom stair, I can’t stop myself from turning around.

He’s still there, in the same spot I’d left him. Watching me.

But then, like a bandit in the night, he disappears into the shadows.

Swallowing down the lump in my throat, I take the stairs two at a time, only to run directly into Cooper on the second-floor landing.

He lets out a soft yelp when he sees me, slamming his hand to his chest.

“There you are. I thought you were meeting me on two?”

“Took longer downstairs than I thought,” I whisper back just in time for Phoenix and Sawyer to join us in the stairwell too.

“Why weren’t you answering your texts?” Phoenix hisses, keeping his voice low.

Shit.

Sure enough, when I pull my phone out, there are seven missed texts in a new group chat between the four of us—three of which are asking me for an update or my location.

“My bad, guys. I didn’t feel it vibrate.”

Probably because I was too busy trying not to fold like a cheap lawn chair beneath Madden’s seduction, though I keep that part to myself for obvious reasons.

“Guess the walkies aren’t such a bad idea after all,” Sawyer supplies, already starting down the stairs. “All our floors were clear, so we can head out.”

With our group reunited, the four of us slip out of the building and head back in the direction of the vehicles. Two cars are already gone when we get there, their groups having already searched their buildings and calling in that they came up empty-handed as well.

“Wyatt’s gonna be pissed if we went to all this effort and still don’t find the damn thing tonight,” Phoenix mutters as we all pile into his vehicle.

We head back to Leighton, a defeated silence blanketing the vehicle’s interior, where it remains well after Phoenix drops off Coop and Sawyer at their cars. I hardly notice, though. My mind is still back in that hallway, pressed between Madden and the wall, replaying every illicit moment on repeat.

And it’s not until Phoenix and I pull up to the townhouse that I realize…Madden never said how he knew where to find me.