Page 42 of Strange Seduction
And with that, he grabbed my forearm and led me out the door.
?????
The drive back was quiet, but not cold.
Theo’s hand stayed on my thigh the entire ride. His thumb moved in slow movements, back and forth, which made my brain scatter and reform on a loop.
It wasn’t just the possessiveness that did it for me.
It was the way he poured all his focus into how he was gonna claim me. I could see the wheels turning in his head as he thought of all the ways he would remind me who I came to Italy for. He planned to remind me that we weren’t just bodies orbiting each other—we were tethered.
Mind, body, and fucking soul.
By the time we got to the hotel, the sky had dipped into a hazy golden hour.
He let us in, holding the door open as I stepped inside. I kicked off my heels, and he locked the door behind us.
Still silent. Still tension. He loosened his tie, tossed it on the armrest, and looked at me.
Not at my body.At me.
“I don’t want to fight with you,” he said.
I nodded. “We’re not fighting.”
Something in him eased—just a little.
“Good,” he murmured. “Because I can’t keep missing you like this. Not when you’re standing right in front of me.”
My breath hitched. “Then show me who I belong to, Theodore.”
That was all it took.
He crossed the room in three strides, his hands finding my hips. His mouth found mine again—less desperate than earlier, more intentional.
I missed you.It spoke.I’m here. I’m not going anywhere.
His hands slid under my dress, fingers skimming the curve of my thighs like he needed to memorize me all over again.
“Don’t wear shit like this around my employees again,” he demanded, lips grazing my neck.
I laughed into his shoulder. “You sound jealous.”
“I am,” he growled, nipping just below my ear. “I want every man who looked at you today to know—this?” He cupped my ass, pulling me into a deeper kiss. “This is mine.”
I didn’t answer. I couldn’t.
Not when his mouth was on me like that. Not when he was walking me backward toward the bedroom, fingers already tugging at the zipper on my dress.
“Theo—”
“Get on the bed,” he said, voice low and rough.
I blinked, tilting my head with a soft hum. “Hm?”
He kissed me again. Then, against my lips, he repeated, “Bed. Now. And take off the dress.”
I raised a brow. “I think you’re forgetting how this works, Theodore. You want me on the bed? Put me there.”
