Page 41 of Strange Seduction (Strange #2)

Did I Hit A Nerve?

Day Twelve.

He wasn’t in his office when I passed by, and he skipped the Monday exec check-in—a first for him. But I knew he’d show his face eventually.

Vince was too proud to hide for long.

And I wasn’t the one who should’ve been hiding.

The morning had been challenging enough, having to drag Carmen off the yacht.

I was tempted to just pay for another day on it so that she could enjoy her time more.

But I definitely needed to get back to work, and my anxiety would not allow me to breathe knowing she was on a boat in the middle of a body of water without me.

So I dropped her off at the hotel and came to work.

Maybe I could make it up to her tonight.

He finally came into the boardroom for our strategy session, calm like nothing had happened.

“Glad you could join us,” I said coolly, flipping through the files in front of me.

He didn’t even look at me. “Traffic.”

Bullshit.

I’d call him out on his behavior soon; I just needed to get through this meeting and forty-five minutes later, I was fucking relieved.

He fought me on everything. Client proposals, new project ideas, and even the location of our next office, which had nothing to do with him.

I let the others file out before I said it.

“Stay back.”

He paused mid-step, shoulders tensing. Then turned. “What?”

“Close the door.”

A pause. Then he did. Slowly.

I leaned against the edge of the table, arms folded. Calm. Controlled. Barely.

“I’m gonna try my very best to stay calm, Vince.” I started, “I really am. But I need to understand your line of thinking before I completely crash out. So please, explain yourself and make it make sense for me.”

“I’m assuming this is about Carmen?”

My jaw tensed, they even had the same smart ass mouth, but I was less entertained by him than her. “You continue to overstep, Vince.”

His lip twitched. “Cause I told her the truth?”

“You told her your version of the truth.” My voice sharpened. “You knew exactly what you were doing when you told her. And to talk to her after I made it clear I don’t want you anywhere near her—”

“She deserved to know,” he cut me off. “I did the right thing.”

“Yeah,” I stepped closer. “But you did it for selfish reasons. You wanted her to walk away from me.”

He didn’t deny it.

Just stood there, hands in his pockets, lips pressed into a hard line.

“You crossed a line,” I said, low now. “And for what? A little moral superiority?”

“No,” he said finally. “ Perché mi importa di lei. ”

Silence.

“Excuse me?”

He met my gaze now. “ I care about her, Theodore . And not just because she’s your girlfriend. You’ve been fucking this up since the day she landed. You take her for granted, and you lie.”

“It’s not your—”

“You had that girl in your bed, man.” His voice rose now. “Maybe nothing happened, but you know exactly how that looked . And instead of owning it like a man, you tried to spin it.”

“Don’t act like you’re doing this for Carmen.” I stepped into his space now, chest to chest. A small crowd gathered beyond the glass window, and I knew I wouldn’t get away with beating the fuck out of him without any witnesses. So I dropped my voice a few decibels.

“You want her. That’s what this is.”

He didn’t flinch.

“Yeah,” he said, unapologetically. “I do.”

I stared at him, blood pounding in my ears. If he’d swung, I would’ve killed him. If he’d looked smug, I might’ve thrown him through the glass wall.

But he just stood there. Vince didn’t budge. His voice was cold, unshaken.

“Look. I don’t regret what I did. I’d do it again. Because you don’t deserve her.”

I nodded slowly.

“I know, I don’t.” My eyes stayed locked on his. “But she’s mine, nonetheless.”

His jaw flexed.

“She shouldn’t be. We should be together. But she’s too scared to end things with you. When I told her how I felt the night of the ball, she became guarded, as if she was scared of you. It’s like you got mind control over her, and she can’t see when there is a better option for her.”

I tilted my head, the words rolling around in my mind like glass marbles.

He told her he had feelings for her the night of the ball. Interesting.

“You think I’m holding her back… from you?”

Vince’s stare hardened.

“Don’t act dense.”

A slow smile spread across my face, and that turned into a full-blown laugh. All that bullshit about Carmen only being with me because she’d settled now turns into she’s with me ‘cause I got mind control over her?

I got control all right, just not the kind he’s thinking.

But don’t worry, I’ll show him.

“How about this?” I said calmly. “I’ll go home tonight and talk to Carmen. If she decides she’d rather be with you… I’ll let her call you from my phone.”

That got his attention. He squinted, suspicious.

“No bullshit?”

“None.” I stepped back, my voice calm. “I care about Carmen’s happiness at the end of the day. If being with you makes her happy, I won’t stand in the way.”

He studied me like he couldn’t tell if I was bluffing.

“Right.”

“ Grande ! Just keep your phone close by, I don’t want you to miss the call.”

And with that, I turned and walked out of the boardroom.

˙???˙

After work, I felt strangely calm.

The kind of calm that made no damn sense. Maybe because I’d already decided—whatever happened next, I wasn’t losing sleep over it. I knew exactly how I’d handle this. Now it was Carmen’s move.

I basically floated home with the cocky grin on my face of a man who’d already won.

When I got to the bedroom, she was in the bathroom, wrapping her freshly blow-dried hair with a million bobby-pins, barefoot in one of her moomoos.

That little domestic vision would’ve wrecked a lesser man.

“Hey, baby,” she greeted without looking away, arms still fighting with her thick, long hair to be smoothed. “How was work?”

I didn’t answer.

Just walked straight in, took the Bobby pins gently out of her hands, and set them aside. She looked up at me, confused, brows drawn tight, but I stepped in close until her back hit the counter, and she had nowhere to look but up.

“Theo…” she murmured, eyes narrowing slightly. “What’s wrong?”

“You’re in trouble.”

“In trouble?” She tilted her head, her voice laced with curiosity. “For what?”

I leaned in until my mouth brushed her ear. “Why didn’t you tell me Vince said he wanted you at the investment ball?”

She blinked. “It slipped my mind.”

I pulled back just enough to see her face.

“Slipped your mind, huh?” I echoed, brow raised.

She swallowed. “Yes. Sorry.”

I turned her gently, guiding her to brace herself against the cool marble of the counter. My hands skimmed down her thighs as I leaned in behind her.

“Do you have any idea how upset I was?” I whispered against the back of her neck. “Thinking of him, picturing you in that dress. That dress you wore for me…”

She shivered, but didn’t move away. Her fingers curled against the countertop.

“I said I was sorry,” she whispered.

“Shh. You’re about to make it up to me.”

Her breath hitched as I yanked her moomoo up, dragging it over her waist.

No panties . Of course not. Fucking menace.

She braced herself against the counter, her thighs trembling, untamed, flyaway hair falling wildly down her back. She was gonna have to wrap her hair all over again.

I didn’t give her time to catch up to me. I was already hard, already pulsing. There wasn’t gonna be anything gentle about this.

I gripped her hips and slammed into her, rough and unapologetic, watching the way her body jolted with every thrust. She gasped, already breathless, her cheek pressed against the mirror, fog blooming across the glass.

“Look,” I growled.

She lifted her head, pupils blown wide, lips parted, her reflection as ruined as she felt. I leaned over her, chest to her back, hand snaking around her throat—not choking, just holding her in place.

“You thinking about him?” I muttered into her ear.

“No,” she whimpered.

“You sure?” Another brutal thrust that made her cry out. “‘Cause I could call him right now. Let him hear you like this.”

She opened her mouth, but nothing came out—just a broken whimper and a shudder. She was close. I could feel it.

So I reached for my phone. Unlocked the screen. Tapped his name.

She made a sound—protest, panic, maybe arousal. I didn’t care. I was past the point of mercy.

The line rang once. Then twice. Finally, Vince answered.

I hit speaker and dropped the phone on the counter.

“Carmen?”

I drove into her harder. Her voice caught in her throat.

“Who do you belong to?” I hissed.

“You, Teddy—”

“Say it right!”

“Theodore Clayton,” she sobbed. “I belong to Theodore Clayton.”

I yanked her up by the waist, pressing her body flush against the mirror so she could see herself unraveling.

I didn’t stop.

“Theo?” Vince said again, confused. “Hello—”

“You leaving me?” I demanded, right against her ear.

She shook her head violently. “No, Teddy. Never.”

“Let him hear it,” I said.

“I’m not leaving you!”

“Who do you belong to?”

“Teddy, please—”

“Tell him.”

“I’m yours!” she cried, louder now, voice cracking. “I’m fucking yours!”

I caught her just as she came—legs buckling, nails digging into the sink, her moans echoing off the marble and glass.

Vince was silent on the line.

I grinned, pulled the phone back, and ended the call.

Yeah, let that be a message, motherfucker.

I kissed the sweat-slicked skin of her neck and eased out of her, my voice low and sure as I wrapped an arm around her waist.

“You ain’t leaving me. Understand?” I told her. “You stay the fuck away from Vince. Last time.”

She looked back at me through the mirror, still shaking.

“I understand Teddy,” she whispered.

And that was all I needed to hear.