The Game. Vanessa Fewings
looked amused.
My heart pounded against my rib cage as I steadied my nerves. “Mr. Wilder?” I arched a persuasive brow.
He walked toward the desk and reached for St. Joan and lifted her with ease. He carried the painting across the room and returned her to the wall.
Scraping my teeth across my bottom lip, I willed him to be fair at least, to see reason, to remember we’d shared a passionate love affair. We’d been a couple; once.
Seeing him again was destroying me.
When he turned to face me it was with a deliberate authority and I cursed his waft of heady cologne seeping into my senses.
“Mr. Wilder?” Maria asked for confirmation.
He gave a nod. “Maria, may I introduce Ms. Zara Leighton, art investigator extraordinaire.” He turned to the guard. “Well done, Anton, keep up the good work.”
The guard looked relieved. “So this was a drill, sir?”
Tobias folded his arms across his chest. “Ms. Leighton, how did you find our sensitized marble floor tiles?”
I narrowed my gaze on him. “Looks good to me.”
“Invisible lasers?” He smirked.
“Invisible.”
If Maria was finding any of this suspicious she had every right to.
“Ceiling entry points?” he asked.
“Next on my agenda.” I waved it off.
“Mr. Wilder.” Maria looked worried. “Doesn’t this painting belong to Christie’s?”
He considered her question. “It’s very good isn’t it. Very convincing.”
Her gaze shot to it. “It’s a fake?”
“We can’t have Ms. Leighton walking out with an original, now can we? Imagine what would happen if I had to tackle her to the ground.” He waggled his eyebrows at her. “It’s either that or I’m Icon. What do you say, Maria?”
She chuckled. “Silly.”
Tobias gave a confident nod. “Thank you, Anton, Maria, I can take Ms. Leighton from here.”
A rush of relief came flooding in and I went from ice-cold to flushed at the thought of being left alone with him.
Tobias waited until the door shut behind them.
He turned to face me. “How’s the weather in London?”
Wrapping my arms around myself, I ignored his stupid question.
“How are you finding LA?” he added.
“I like the palm trees.”
He walked over to me until he was looming dangerously close. “Jade.”
Snapping me back to reality as I remembered he had an invisible artificial intelligence that followed him everywhere, his home, car and apparently here at The Wilder.
“Deactivate camera in this office,” he ordered.
Had I tipped my chin up I could have pressed my lips to his and felt his mouth upon mine.
“Jade, confirm please.” His breath was minty.
An automated sultry female voice perked up, “Camera off.”
His lips lightly brushed mine.
I stuttered a nervous breath. “She’s talking now?”
“An easy tweak.”
“That’s very clever.”
“I like to please.”
Oh, God.
Now was a bad time for my nipples to bead because he was pressing his chest against mine and he’d feel them.
It wasn’t merely his expression that had softened from moments ago, it was a familiar look of affection in those gorgeous green eyes I’d loved staring into back in London, when we’d shared an unmatched intimacy. Those memories came flooding back, making my body shiver against his as I recalled moving beyond the veil of friendship with this incredible lover. I marveled still at his strength that could control my body just so, fuck me into blissful oblivion from every angle and leave me quivering for more, manipulate me into endless positions of vulnerability, and all for my heightened pleasure. The way his mouth had once glided over my tender flesh as though worshiping every inch of my body, the way his kisses trailed lower still, bestowing an endless array of sensations with his tongue.
My cheeks flushed as my rambling thoughts ran off.
“I’m not going to kiss you,” I stuttered.
His eyes closed for a second. “I understand.”
Why did he have to say it like that? Why couldn’t he just return to the standoffish Tobias I’d first met?
Make this easier.
Because he’s Tobias Wilder, came my dark musing, and he’s got you right where he wants you.
“You came alone?” he said. “Impressive.”
“You ignored my calls?”
“I can reassure you I received all your cat GIFs. They did the trick. Forced me out of hiding, as you can see.”
I refused to smile. “You know why I’m here.”
He broke my gaze and let out a deep sigh.
“You can’t continue with this way of life.”
“My respect for art?”
“When we last spoke you confessed everything to me.”
He looked vague. “Confessed I love you.”
“You’re Icon.”
“To be honest I’m flattered.”
“I saw the evidence in your Oxfordshire home.”
“Fakes removed from the market.”
“Don’t.”
“Are we still discussing my need to kiss you? Or have we moved on?”
“Listen to me, you’re putting yourself in terrible danger. You’ll lose all this.”
“I’ve lost you, Zara, that’s all I care about.”
“Come with me to the police. Admit everything before it’s too late.”
“Where’s the fun in that?”
Shaking my head, I refused to be seduced further. “I’m going to submit my report this afternoon.”
“Report?”
“It’s ready to email over to Huntly Pierre. It details everything.”
He arched a brow seductively. “Everything?”
“Pertaining to my case, yes.”
“You and I had nothing to do with any of it,” he said, sounding serious. “I need you to believe this.”
“I’ll never know.” I gazed past him. “Jade, turn the camera back on.”
“I’ve reversed your access to her.” He smiled. “I love that color on you. Blue brings out your eyes.”
“I saw the paintings, Tobias. I know who you are.”
He gave a sympathetic smile. “Apparently, while I was away you found a Tibetan singing bowl and returned the stolen item to its rightful owner? Bravo.”
“You mean the one you placed on my kitchen table? And now my fingerprints are all over it. Because you put me in an impossible position.”
Those