Page 49 of Control's Undoing

Colum muttered something that sounded like, “I heard you the first time,” before grunting his assent and standing, slowly drifting over to the window.“It’s dark outside,” he said with a tone of surprise, as if he truly didn’t realize how long they’d been working.

Annie followed him, standing slightly behind him as she peered out at the night sky.She was a New Yorker born and bred, but even she could appreciate how beautiful the Brooklyn Bridge was, the lights from it reflecting on the East River.In the background, the cityscape was awash in colorful lights set against a black sky.

Colum ran a hand through his hair, clearly frustrated.“There’s no sign of where we should go next.”

Annie reached around his waist, tucking her chest to his back to hug him from behind.Tilting her head, she directed his gaze to what she’d just been looking at.“It’s a beautiful night, Irish.Focus on that for a little while and put the rest of this out of your mind.We figured out the skull clue and found the next section, didn’t we?We’re smart people.We’ll do it again.But driving ourselves to the brink of exhaustion isn’t going to help.”

“Someone else is looking for it too,” Colum countered.“And not just asking about it on the dark web.”

“Someone else is watching,” she corrected.“Us.They aren’t going to beat us to the next piece because we currently hold all the cards.They’re waiting for us to lead them to it, which means we’re going to have to get better at watching our backs, covering our tracks.”

“Put it away for now,” Xavier urged.“Both of you.”

Colum’s shoulders slumped as he blew out a long, slow breath, his hands covering hers, clasped them against his chest, holding them so she couldn’t let go.“It is pretty here.”

Xavier stepped next to them, however, he wasn’t focused on the view but instead on the two of them.“I’m hungry,” he said suggestively, his smoldering gaze making it obvious he wasn’t thinking about food.“Starving, in fact.”

Screw the walk, she decided.

There were much better ways to stretch stiff muscles.

“Mmm…” she hummed.“You know, sex is a great way to kill time, relax, work up an appetite, and settle the mind.When you think about it, it would be in the best interest of the investigation if we fucked.”

Colum released Annie’s hands, turning to face the two of them.She couldn’t help but notice he also took a step away, his back pressed against the window.“Flirting?”he asked, almost hopefully.

“Nope,” she replied.

“I never finished punishing my bad girl,” Xavier purred.

Colum looked alarmed, but he wasn’t looking at Xavier.He stared at Annie.“You’re not going to hurt him, are you?”

Annie laughed loudly, equally amused and touched by Colum’s concern and how it was now for Xavier and not her.“Not this time.I’ll reserve that for a time when he really pisses me off.And given his cockiness, I think we all know it won’t be a long wait.”

Xavier reached for her, tugging her against his chest, letting her feel just how cocky he was at the moment.She ran her fingers over his pecs and stomach, not stopping until she was cupping him.

“Is all that for me?”Annie looked up at Xavier through lowered lashes.She’d enjoyed playing this little game of cat and mouse the past few days, but she was equally ready for the cat to catch the damn mouse.

Xavier leaned closer.“As much as I enjoyed bending you over that couch, I think the three of us would be more comfortable if we continued this in the bedroom.”

“Er…three of us?”

She and Xavier turned their attention to Colum.There was no denying the Irishman was interested, but Annie also got a sense he was holding back.Once again, she found herself questioning his sexual experience.

Despite spending days together, there was still too much she didn’t know about these men, things she craved to learn about them.What were their childhoods like?What made them follow their chosen career paths?Had they ever been in love?Had their hearts broken?What brought them true joy or helped them find inner peace?She wanted to know…everything.

Xavier must have noticed Colum’s unease as well.“Why don’t you watch us?Let us show you how good rough sex can be.”

Colum was nodding before Xavier finished making the offer.“Aye.I want to see.”

Xavier reached for Annie’s hand, leading her to the bedroom as Colum followed in their wake.Glancing over her shoulder, she saw that Colum had stopped just inside the room, leaning against the wall next to the door.

“So far away,” she complained.

“Less temptation,” Colum murmured.

“All the more reason you should come closer,” she urged.

Colum crossed his arms, his only response the single shake of his head.

---