Loving Vin (Barretti Security Series, #1) (7 page)

She stiffened when he grazed his hand over her breast. “And it’s going to take a hell of a lot more than a couple of ridiculously inexperienced kisses.”

Fear skittered through her and she tried to shove his hand away. But he grabbed both her wrists and pinned them next to her head.

“Please,” she whispered though she didn’t really know what she was asking for because something strange was happening inside of her. The rough treatment was scaring her but it was doing something else too. Heat had pooled in her belly and her skin felt like it was on fire where he was touching it. Worse yet, her vagina clenched in anticipation as Vin’s eyes settled on her mouth. God, how could she want him to kiss her and release her at the same time? Or did she really want both?

“Fuck,” he suddenly muttered and then his mouth was sliding over hers and she got no warning when his tongue slipped between her parted lips. The kiss was nothing like the others and within seconds she was squirming desperately in an attempt to get her hands free. But not because she wanted to escape him. No, God forgive her, but she wanted to drag him closer. To feel him beneath her palms. His harsh treatment was clearly meant to punish but it was having the opposite effect. So when she kissed him back, he froze for the briefest of moments before he suddenly wrapped his arms around the backs of her thighs and lifted her.

***

S
hit, this wasn’t supposed to happen like this. Hearing Mia’s comments about how much he was worth had ripped something open inside of him. The level of betrayal he’d felt was completely unexpected and overwhelming. He’d let her sneak under his radar. Yes, she’d had a crappy life at the hands of her father but it hadn’t taken her long to do what all the other women in his life had done – expect what they thought was their due. It was his own fault for lighting the flame by buying her clothes, letting her stay at his place. She was like a beautiful weed that had started cracking at his foundation from the moment he’d laid eyes on her. His mother had done the same thing to his father and it had destroyed their family. Elise had done it too and ended up stealing away the one thing he’d ever truly wanted because he’d fallen for her act.

His rough treatment and cruel words were supposed to send Mia running. She sure as hell wasn’t supposed to kiss him back. But she was doing just that and it proved to be his undoing. All thoughts of punishment fled as he grabbed her beneath her slim thighs and lifted her off her feet and thrust his thigh between her legs to support her. When he’d released her hands to grab her legs, they hadn’t shoved him away or rained down blows on his back – no, they’d wound through his hair in an effort to drag him even closer. And as he settled her flush against the door, her hips were grinding against his to match the rhythm her tongue had set as it stroked in and out of his mouth.

Vin dragged his mouth free so he could kiss and lick his way down her throat. The kerchief got in his way but a quick yank had it falling away. He let her all her weight sink down on his thigh and then used both hands to rip open her blouse, the buttons skittering across the floor. Mia stiffened against him but his mouth on hers gave him the few seconds of distraction he needed to get his hands on her breasts. She gasped at the contact and when he rolled one nipple between his fingers, her eyes slid shut and she moaned as her head hit the door. A quick tug and he was able to pull the fabric of her bra down enough so that his mouth could replace his fingers. Her hands tightened painfully in his hair and he looked up with just his eyes to see that she was watching him intently, her eyes glazing over as he continued to lick and suck on the turgid flesh.

His whole body ached with need as he reached under her skirt with his free hand and began fondling her clit through her panties. Her lips parted in wonder as he worked her and then she was thrashing against him violently as her orgasm built. It was too fast but he didn’t care and he latched on to her breast and gave it a hard tug as his fingers pressed down and rotated firmly on her clit. She cried out as wave after wave of pleasure crashed through her and he bit back his own painful need as her legs wrapped around his waist to hold him closer. He continued to stroke her through her release and then reached between them for the button on his pants. He hoped to God he had a condom in his wallet because there was no way he’d make it up to the bedroom before he buried himself deep within her slick channel. And coming inside her without protection definitely wasn’t an option. It wasn’t until he lowered his zipper that he realized Mia was no longer relaxed in his arms. In fact, the second she heard the sound of the metal teeth grinding against one another, she began fighting him.

“Let go!” she shouted as her palms pushed hard against his shoulders. The fear in her voice was undeniable and he quickly lowered her to her feet and stepped back. Whatever pleasure had been in her eyes before was gone and all he saw was horror. He’d like to say it was just part of her act but the shimmer of tears had him second guessing himself.

“Mia,” he whispered as the reality of what he’d just done hit him.

“Don’t touch me,” she snapped as she yanked the edges of her blouse together and pushed past him and hurried up the stairs.

“Shit,” he muttered as he pulled his zipper up and fastened the button. He was still harder than a rock but his need to make sure Mia was okay overrode everything else and he raced up the stairs after her. He should have had more sense but things had gotten way out of hand before he even realized it.

By the time he reached her room, he heard the shower going in her bathroom. He guessed what her plan was and the fact that she was so quick to want to wash away his touch irritated him. She hadn’t put the doors back on any of their hinges yet so it took only moments to get to her bathroom.

“Asshole!” he heard the damn bird yell from behind him. Little fucker was actually right for once – he was an asshole. No woman deserved the shit he’d just pulled on Mia.

He’d prepared himself for the sight of her stripping in preparation for her shower but to his surprise he found her staring at herself in the mirror, her fingers trailing gently over her lips – her puffy, well-kissed lips. If it hadn’t been for the tears slipping down her cheeks, he would have been pleased with himself for the look of wonderment in her features. But there
were
tears and even though she looked awe-struck, she looked hurt as well. Which was a brutal reminder that no matter what, she really was an innocent. Even if she’d had a plan to worm her way into his life for his money, it was clear that the orgasm she’d just experienced was her first.

Her eyes caught his in the mirror and she dropped her hand. But she didn’t rail at him like he expected. It was far worse when she simply asked, “Why?”

“I was trying to make a point,” he said lamely. “It went too far. I’m sorry.”

“You did this because I said you have so much to offer?” she asked in confusion.

“Look, the proposal I made to help you start over with your own place and school was legit but that’s as far as it goes. I’d only give you enough to get on your feet.”

Mia shook her head, a genuinely confused look crossing her features. “This was some kind of lesson?” she managed to get out. “Because you think I want your money?”

He didn’t answer which was answer enough because her tears stopped and she suddenly pushed past him. She disappeared into the closet and within a minute she was back out, the ugly yellow dress back on her gaunt frame. God, he had really hoped she had burned that dress. It wasn’t until she was out of the room that it registered what the dress meant and he hurried after her.

“Are we really doing this again?” he yelled as she ran down the stairs. He managed to reach her before she was able to open the door and he kept his hand pinned on the heavy wood to keep it closed. She yelled in frustration and then turned on him like he would have expected. But she stilled almost as quickly in his grip and his shameful body reacted once again to having her in such close proximity.

“I don’t give a crap about your money,” she snapped. “I thought you were a good, decent guy who deserved to have someone in his life besides just his dogs,” she muttered.

He searched her features for deception but there was no hint of it. Elise had been a good liar too, he reminded himself. But it was pathetic because he really wanted to believe her. That was just his dick talking, he convinced himself. His still hard dick.

But if he let her go, she’d take off and he couldn’t allow that. So he settled for just enough of the truth.

“You hit a nerve,” he admitted.

There was no change in her demeanor but he supposed the fact that she was still standing there was a good sign.

“I haven’t exactly been successful in my past relationships. Most of them turned about to be less about wanting me and more about wanting what I had to offer,” he explained. Her eyes widened at his deliberate use of the word “offer.” Just to make sure she really got it he said, “The last one took a lot more from me than all the rest...a hell of a lot more.”

He could see she wanted to ask the obvious question about what had been taken but he was glad when she didn’t. Not that he would have told her. He realized he was still holding on to her and forced himself to open his hands. She stepped back instantly and he felt a strange loss go through him.

***

M
ia wished the tingling under her skin would stop. After-effects of her orgasm, she guessed, since her anger at Vin had lessened somewhat. She had seen a flash of pain go through him at the mention of whatever woman who’d done a number on him in the past. It wasn’t an excuse for his harsh treatment of her but part of her fury had been built on the humiliation that had coursed through as she realized how quickly and easily she’d come apart at his touch. She’d touched herself before but the end result had been nothing like what Vin had done to her.

If the encounter had been based on something other than the lesson he’d intended it to be, she had no doubt that she would have let him take her completely. Even now part of her craved to feel his mouth on hers again. And the feel of him licking her nipple while his fingers played with her...

It had been like being set on fire. And the fear of something inside of her winding almost unbearably tighter and tighter had nearly consumed her enough to beg him to stop, but then suddenly she’d been flying. Her whole body had stopped being her own and had belonged to Vin in that moment. He’d owned her. And the whole thing had lasted less than five minutes.

She knew her options were limited when it came to leaving the safety of Vin’s house. The sensible thing to do would be to accept his offer to pay for an apartment, but now more than ever, that left a sour taste in her mouth. The next best thing to do would be to ask Dom if she could stay with him and Logan, but for reasons she couldn’t explain – and didn’t want to think too much on – she’d rather be here.

The cool, dominant man across from her was messing with her head and her heart but at this moment her heart was winning out. Damn it, she liked him. Even after the things he’d said to her, deep down she felt comfortable around him – at least in the few moments when he didn’t have her wound up tight with desire. And the information he’d shared about his past relationships, while minimal, was enough to prove that he didn’t want her to take off. She knew that was more because he was concerned about her safety rather than from a desire to have her close, but it reminded her that he was a good man. He could have tossed her and the animals out on day one but he hadn’t. But how the hell was she supposed to proceed?

“You can’t kiss me again,” she finally said.

He seemed taken aback by her demand but he nodded. It was a stupid thing to insist on since Vin Barretti struck her as someone who would take what he wanted when he wanted it, but since she couldn’t trust herself not to give in to even the slightest touch, it would have to do. After all, so far all he’d done was kiss her out of anger or in an attempt to punish – what the hell would happen if he actually did those things because he really wanted her?

***

T
hey were back exactly where they started. Avoiding each other. Even a week of commuting for more than an hour in the car each day had done nothing to mend the rift he had caused with his spiteful reaction to an ill-perceived comment. Even he had to admit the truth – Mia had truly been curious about his lack of a relationship because she thought he was a good guy. And he’d fucked it up.

“Hey,” he heard Dom say from his office doorway. He glanced up from the sandwich he’d been staring at on his desk – the one
she’d
made him for lunch along with her own – and motioned for his brother to come in. He’d never, ever taken lunch to work with him but for some reason Mia had made him a turkey sandwich every morning for the past week and left it next to his empty travel mug on the kitchen counter near the coffee pot. She’d even stuck a couple of pieces of fruit in the bag.

“We’ve got a problem,” Dom said as he dropped a folder down on his desk. The dead serious tone in his brother’s voice had Vin sitting straight up and reaching for the folder. He glanced at the contents and sighed when he saw the computer gibberish.

“You know I can’t read this shit,” he muttered as he flipped through the few pages.

“Our servers have been hacked,” Dom said.

Vin froze. “What?”

“Desi found it this morning,” he muttered. “It happened more than a week ago.”

Vin cursed. Their company’s reputation was built on protecting their customers, both their information and their bodies – something like this could destroy them.

“What’d they get?”

Dom’s hesitation had Vin looking up from the papers. From the look on Dom’s face, he knew it was really bad.

“They went after our personal servers, not the company’s,” Dom said. “It looks like they got information on Mia.”

Vin was standing before he even realized it. “What the hell are you talking about?”

“Emails between myself and her doctors at the hospital before she was committed to the psych ward.”