Cassie fixed the last pin into her hair. Somehow, Mia had pulled off a miracle. She’d moved all the plans for the missed ball to tonight.
It wasn’t ideal. The last thing she felt like doing was standing on her feet for hours with every single member of Paragons of Hope. Not to mention, Aidan hated the idea. After Mia had announced it earlier this morning, she’d found about five messages on her phone from the man. But the ball wasn’t at the compound and she’d be taking her own car, so everything would be okay. It had to be. Plus, she had no doubt Aidan and his team would surround the place and listen in.
The more she thought about it, the more she realized it wasn’t really much of a surprise that the ball had been rescheduled on such short notice. Elijah had a lot of people working for him, so a lot of resources and manpower. Just one of the things that made him so dangerous.
Her mind flicked to the message from Dean. He’d asked if she knew where Damien was and when she’d told him what was going on. He’d been so worried.
Poor Dean. The man loved Damien so much.
Tonight. She needed to get to the bottom of where he was tonight.
She blew out a breath as she ran her fingers down the satin ball gown. As always, it was long-sleeved and high-necked, allowing very little skin to show. But unlike most clothing items she’d worn over the last couple of years, she liked this one, because Mia had chosen it for her, claiming the green shade made her jade eyes pop. And when could she ever say no to her little sister?
At the thought of Mia, her belly did a little dip. Her sister had been in and out of the house most of the day, setting things up for the party. She’d gone back and forth on whether to tell Mia everything. Ultimately, she knew she couldn’t. Not right now. Her sister was too indoctrinated. By Sampson. Elijah. It made her sick to her stomach.
She lifted her mascara wand and applied a final coat.
There was a knock on the bathroom door.
“You’re due to leave in ten minutes,” Mrs. Alder called.
Cassie rolled her eyes. The woman had been worse than usual since her return. Cassie had barely gotten a second to herself with Mrs. Alder’s obsessive need to check in on every little thing she was doing. Between Mrs. Alder and Sampson in his car on the street and the new security system… Yeah, Elijah was making sure she wasn’t going anywhere.
“Thank you. I’ll be out soon.”
A moment passed, then she heard the heavy footsteps of her keeper moving away. Good. When she saw the back of that woman, it wouldn’t be soon enough.
She closed her eyes. Please, Olive, be okay for tomorrow. This all depends on you.
When she opened her eyes, it was to see the back of a dark figure in the small bathroom as he closed the door. She opened her mouth to scream, but before a word came out, he turned.
The air rushed out of her.
Aidan.
Her lips separated to ask what he was doing here, but he quickly stepped behind her and covered her mouth, his lips brushing her ear. “Mrs. Alder is close by, so we have to be quiet.”
His hand shifted.
“What about the cameras? And Sampson?” she asked quietly, her gaze shooting to the door and back.
“Callum hacked the system and set up a loop for the cameras while I’m in here. And Sampson’s downstairs talking to Mia.”
A loop? He could do that?
Aidan’s mouth lowered to her neck. Her eyes closed again, but this time for a completely different reason.
“I like your dress,” his voice rumbled, his hands skimming her hips.
“Thank you,” she breathed.
Those hands rose to her ribs. Her heart skipped a beat as they shifted dangerously close to her breasts.
“I don’t like the thought of other people seeing you in it, though. It’s very figure-hugging.”
Finally, he cupped her breasts. She leaned against him, and his thumbs found her hard nipples through the material. A quiet whimper slipped from her lips.
She watched in the mirror as he stood behind her, dwarfing her, his fingers on her breasts. Even his hands were sexy and muscular.
A dull ache began to throb in her core. “Aidan…” she whispered.
His thumbs alternated between thrumming her nipple and circular swipes. It was causing her belly to do strange little somersaults.
“I don’t want anyone touching you tonight,” he said quietly.
“No one’s going to touch me.”
A soft growl sounded from his chest. Did he not believe the men at the ball would keep their hands to themselves?
“My team and I will be close. You’ll be heavily protected.”
She wasn’t worried about her safety tonight. Not in a roomful of people. She didn’t plan to drink or eat anything. She was smarter than that.
She lifted her hands and set them on top of his. She intended to stop him. Halt the torturous fingers on her hard peaks. Or at least, she was pretty sure she meant to. But instead, her hands stilled as he continued to play with her nipples.
He suckled her neck. “I missed you last night.”
A groan tried to slip from her throat, but she swallowed it. “I missed you too.” She’d craved him. Wanted his arms around her. His front curled around her back. When she’d finally fallen asleep, he’d been all she could dream about. It had caused her to wake up and feel guilty as hell, because she shouldn’t be thinking about that now. She should be worried about Damien’s well-being. She should be focused on getting Elijah arrested.
A hand left her breast. He skirted down her ribs, then her thigh, when a knock came at the door.
She barely stifled a gasp.
“Cassie?” Mia called.
Aidan’s lips went back to her ear. The whispered words were so low, she knew they’d only reach her ears. “Calm, Cassie.”
“Yes, Mia?” Her voice was steady. Good.
“Just checking that you’re okay? You’ve been in there for a while.”
No, she wasn’t okay. Her breasts were on fire and her body ached for more. More touches. Grazes. More tiny little kisses across her neck.
She swallowed. “Of course. I’m just putting on the last of my makeup.”
“Okay. Great. The car’s here. I’ll wait for you downstairs.”
Car? She’d thought she was driving…
Before she could respond, she heard the light pitter-patter of Mia’s footsteps as she walked away. Cassie blew out a breath.
Aidan turned her to face him. She was still burning for him, but she pushed it down. She needed to focus. “I need to go. And so do you.”
He reached down to his thigh and grabbed…a gun? He silently set the small weapon on the counter. Next, he unbuckled the holster from his thigh, then bent to one knee. His hands slid under her dress, touched her ankle, then slowly grazed up her leg, lifting the dress as he went. Her skin tingled, and her breath caught at the intimate touch.
He stopped midthigh, where he strapped the holster around her leg. “This is a holster designed to be worn under a dress and to keep the weapon concealed.”
He reached for the gun and slipped it in, the slight weight settling on the inside of her thigh.
“You remember how to shoot?” he asked quietly.
Her mind was in overdrive. “Yes.”
Slowly, he rose and cupped her face. “Good. Like I said, we’ll be close, so I don’t think you’ll need it, but I want to be prepared for anything.”
She opened her mouth to question him, but his mouth crashed onto hers, and the words disintegrated in her head as she melted into him.
His tongue slipped between her lips. Jesus, he tasted good. Of deep spice and all man. She clung to him, trying to anchor herself. His hands grazed along her back, warm and strong.
When he started to pull away, she latched onto his jacket. She didn’t want him to go. That’s when she realized what she’d missed until now.
He was wearing a tux.
“Why are you wearing that?”
A ghost of a smile played at his lips. “Remember, I’m close. And I’ll always be listening.”
“Wait—”
He bent down for one final kiss. Then he left, leaving the room as quickly as he’d entered.
Dammit. That man…
“Cassie?”
At Mia’s shout from downstairs, she shook her head and left the bathroom. Once she slipped on her lacy heels, she grabbed her clutch and left the bedroom. The gun and holster rubbed occasionally on her opposite thigh, but she ignored it.
Mia stood near the door. She wore a simple red dress with long sleeves but an open neck. Beautiful. Her sister looked beautiful. But then, she was a natural beauty.
Mia’s chest expanded on her inhale, and she rushed over to the bottom of the stairs. “Oh my gosh, Cassie. You look gorgeous!”
Cassie reached the bottom and took her sister’s hands. “Me? That dress looks sexy as hell, Mia. Sampson must have had a heart attack when he saw it. Where is he?”
Mia’s laugh floated through the air and her cheeks heated. “Thank you. He did seem quite taken by it. I can’t wait to dance with the man. He’s waiting in his car. He’s going to follow us to the ball.”
She gave her sister a little smile. She hoped Sampson was in the dark about what was really going on at the compound…for her sister’s sake.
Cassie lifted her brows. “Ready?”
“Hang on. You’re missing one thing.”
Mia opened her own clutch and pulled out a small tube of lipstick. When she opened it, Cassie admired the deep red.
“This is your thirtieth birthday celebration,” Mia said as she stepped forward and applied it to Cassie’s lips. “I know your actual birthday wasn’t the best.” Mia’s mouth turned down momentarily, but she quickly recovered. “We’re going to make the most of tonight and really celebrate. Elijah’s gone all out on this one.”
“Do you know why?” Cassie asked before she could stop herself.
Mia pulled her arm back. “What do you mean?”
“Jenny Albot turned thirty last month, and she didn’t get a grand ball.”
The smile returned to Mia’s mouth, and she did one more swipe of lipstick before capping the tube. “Jenny Albot is annoying. And not nearly as deserving as you.”
The woman was annoying. But it didn’t answer Cassie’s question.
“You’re special, Cass. Elijah’s always told me he thinks you’re special.”
Cassie frowned. Her sister had never mentioned that before. It took her back in time to when their mother had said the same thing. “Why am I so special?”
She probably shouldn’t be asking. Not with the cameras. But she couldn’t stop herself.
Mia lifted a shoulder. “He said something once about a dream. That God came to him and told him you were important.”
The fine hairs on Cassie’s arms stood on end. She wanted to ask her sister more, but Mia dropped the lipstick back into her purse and tugged her toward the door. “And you are special. So, let’s go celebrate your birthday!”
She linked her arm through Cassie’s just as the doorbell rang.
Mia squealed. “That’s our driver!”
“Our driver?”
“Yep. No boring old car for us tonight. I ordered a limo.”
Oh, jeez.
Mia tugged the door open, and Cassie frowned. The guy looked familiar. He had a mustache and a bit of a belly, but he was tall and looked muscular beneath the tux…
She stared at him for a full second before recognition hit. It was Callum. He’d padded his clothes and wore fake facial hair and contacts.
Callum smiled at them. “Good evening, ladies. My name’s Tony and I’ll be your driver tonight.”
Aidan. What are you doing?
