The Reclamation (The Club Trilogy Book 2) (12 page)

I’d really like to lie to her right now, but I can’t. Right from day one, I promised her total honesty. I sigh. “I don’t want to get you involved with Club stuff. Josh and I are formulating our strategy. We’ve got it covered.”

Josh shoots me a look that unequivocally says, “Leave me the fuck out of it.”

Sarah glances back at the kitchen table and glares at the iPhone again.

I shift my weight.

She bites her lip. She looks at Josh. He does his best to remain stone-faced, but he’s doing a terrible job of it. She glares at me.

I smile at her reassuringly. Damn, she’s adorable when her face is on fire like this.

“Sure thing.” Her voice is cool, though her face is hot. “I’ve got a bunch of stuff to do, anyway.”

Her words don’t match her body language at all.

“Can I get a ride to my place?” Her eyes drift to my laptop and then again to the iPhone on the table. Her wheels are turning. Her cheeks are red. She’s
thinking.
Her eyes are back on me now. “I’m meeting the police at my place in less than an hour. I’ve got to file a claim about the break-in.”

“Whoa, what? Hang on. I’m not sure we should get the police involved. They can’t do a damned thing, anyway, and I haven’t decided if—”

She cuts me off. “I need to file a police report in order to make a claim on my renter’s insurance. I already called my insurance company—I can get a replacement laptop through my policy, I just need to file a police report first.”

Oh, she’s going to like this. “I already bought you a replacement laptop, baby.” I grin broadly and grab it off the nearby counter. My chest is pounding. I’ve been excited all morning about giving this computer to her. It’s loaded with every bell and whistle known to modern technology.

She’s quite obviously shocked. “Oh, wow. Thank you.” She smiles at me like she pities me. “But no.”

I’m not surprised—that’s what Kat said at first, too. “Please take the computer,” I say. “Help me alleviate my guilty conscience for creating this whole mess in the first place.”

She bristles. “You didn’t create this mess, Jonas.”

“Sarah, don’t overthink this. Your computer was stolen. I’ve got one for you. End of story.”

She raises her eyebrows at me.

I probably shouldn’t have pushed my luck with that “end of story” caveman shit. “I’m just saying you need a computer and I’ve got one for you. Simple. Why not?”

“Why not? Because you’re far too generous with your money when it comes to me. There’s got to be some boundaries, especially if I’m gonna be staying here with you. If you want to take me to a fancy jungle tree house, to a place I could never afford to go on my own, okay, I’m all for it—I want to see the world with you and experience all the things you love to do. Fine. I’ll totally take you up on that. Thank you. But you absolutely cannot pay for my basic needs. It’s too much. I can’t just put my hand out every time I need something. I’m here for
you
, Jonas, not for a hand-out.”

God, I hate it when she says shit like that. It reminds me how fucked up she is. Of course, she’s not interested in me for my money, that’s undeniable. Jesus Christ. I swear to God, she’s got the biggest fucking chip on her shoulder when it comes to that. I exhale sharply in frustration. She’s not giving me the reaction I expected. Honestly, I was hoping for one of her little squeals. Or, at the very least, a gushing “thank you.”

I don’t have time or patience for this right now. I just want her to do what I tell her to do for once in her goddamned life. It’s time to pull out the trump card.

“Sarah, please. I
insist
.” That ought to do the trick.

“Oh, you
insist
, do you?” She laughs. “Well, so do I. I
insist
. So there.”

Wait, what? She’s not supposed to say that.

Josh makes a noise, suppressing a laugh.

Fuck you, Josh. Why are you here right now?

She kisses me. “Thank you so much, sweet Jonas. You always take such good care of me. But I’ve got it covered.” She looks at her watch. “Oh man, I’ve got to get to my place to meet the trusty campus police.”

“The
campus
police?” Josh laughs. “Oh, I’m sure they’ll crack the case in a jiffy.”

She laughs. “I know, right? The campus police will protect me from the baddies at The Club, for sure.”

Josh and Sarah share a laugh.

Fucking Josh.

“I’ll just report a simple break-in and computer theft—obviously, I won’t mention The Club. I mean, jeez, I worked for a frickin’ brothel.” She shakes her head. “I’m not eager to tell anyone that. I’m not even sure I’d pass the ethics review for my legal license if that ever got out.” She furrows her brow, genuine concern flashing across her face.

Shit. I hadn’t even thought about that. Could this whole thing with The Club torpedo her law career if it ever got out? I’m sure Sarah’s freaking out about that. I didn’t even consider that angle. I’ve definitely got to handle this whole situation with kid gloves.

“I’ll just let them make a quick report and then I’ll have what I need for my insurance claim.” The anxiety that flashed across her face a second ago is gone. She’s all business now—my little badass. “I’ve got contracts class right after that, and then I’ve got to study in the library.” She gasps. “Oh, dang it, and I’ve got to clean up the mess at my place, too—”

“I’ve arranged a cleaning service to help you with that.” She’s got to let me do
something
here.

“Oh, Jonas,” she sighs. Her entire body melts. She presses her body into mine and moans softly. “You’re amazing, you know that? So sweet.” She puts her lips right up to my ear. “You just made me wet.”

My cock springs to life.

She continues at full voice again. “But my renter’s insurance includes a one-time cleaning service, too, for incidents such as this. I already checked.” She smiles at me. “So I’m all good.”

What the fuck?

“Well . . .” I begin. I’m flustered. I’m turned on. I can’t think straight. I’m pissed she’s not doing what I want her to do. “I don’t think I can return the computer,” I babble.

She laughs. “Of course you can. That’s just plain silly.”

“Maybe not.”

“Oh, Jonas.” She kisses my neck softly.

My erection is growing. My skin is tingling under her soft lips.

“I guess you’ll just have to donate it to a school, then. Or my mom’s charity. Or, hey, give it to Trey—I bet he’d be thrilled.” Her mouth moves to my lips. “Thank you for being so thoughtful.” She kisses me and runs her hand through my hair. She leans into my ear. “Yep, definitely wet.”

I’m rock hard.

Why does this woman turn me on like this?

And why does she have to make everything so damned difficult?

She kisses my neck again.

I tilt her face up and kiss her mouth.

Josh gets up from the table and wordlessly leaves the room.

I want her. Now. On the kitchen table. Right now.

She pulls back from me. “So, how about that ride to my place, big boy? I’ve suddenly figured out the next item on my
addendum
.” She smiles wickedly and winks. “Let’s see if we can beat the campus fuzz to my place and let them catch us
in flagrante delicto
, shall we?”

Chapter 10

Sarah

I settle into my seat in the big lecture hall. It’s about five minutes before the start of my contracts class. And since it’s Take Your Boyfriend to Class Day (or so Jonas Faraday has unilaterally decreed), Jonas takes the seat right next to mine. Weird.

I love spending time with Jonas, of course, more than anything, but sitting here in my law school class with him when he should be tending to his brand new chain of indoor rock climbing gyms or acquiring yet another new company or doing whatever mogul-y thing he should be doing right now seems like a waste of his valuable time and resources, not to mention a bizarre case of “two worlds colliding” for me. How long is he planning to put his life on hold to babysit me? It’s not realistic. Not to mention slightly awkward. And, frankly, I’m not even convinced it’s necessary. I’d never say it to him (because, holy hell, I saw how he reacted when he thought Josh wasn’t on board with his Mission to Save Sarah), but I think Jonas might be overreacting just a teensy-weensy bit here.

I was shocked and scared and freaking out yesterday when we first discovered the break-in at my apartment, and, yes, I lost my mind with worry when we found out Kat’s apartment had suffered the same fate as mine, but after the initial shock wore off, I got to thinking about the situation, and I’m not sure The Club poses a genuine threat to me, at least not a physical one. If these guys were violent criminals, then why’d they even bother breaking into my apartment? It would have made a lot more sense to lie in wait for me and take care of things more definitively. My hunch is they were merely gathering information by taking my computer and then decided to trash the place as an afterthought. They’re just cyber-pimps, after all. Who’s ever heard of a violent cyber-pimp?

I’ve definitely got to tell Jonas what I think about all this. But this morning just didn’t seem like the time to do it—especially after the way he reacted to Josh last night. I figure I’ll tackle that issue with him tomorrow—ever so gently—and, in the meantime, I’ll just tackle
him.
Whenever I get the chance, that is, because this morning certainly didn’t work out as planned.

My big idea this morning was to lure Jonas into “oh no, maybe someone will see us!” sex at my apartment—a safe and seemingly easy way to invoke the spectator-hotness from last night’s sizzling dream. I planned to attack Jonas at my place before the campus police arrived, leaving the front door open a crack for Campus Johnny Law to enter. I imagined Jonas and me going at it, hot and heavy in my ransacked bedroom, maybe even with my bedroom door slightly ajar, both of us on the verge of pure ecstasy, until we—gasp!—heard the men in blue stomping around my living room. I imagined the police calling out to me from the other side of my bedroom wall, perhaps concerned for my safety, given the disarray of my apartment.

“Miss Cruz?” they’d say. “It’s the police!”

At which point Jonas and I would jolt apart, just in time to avoid being caught by the fuzz with our pants down (literally). The whole idea gets me going like crazy, just thinking about it.

Unfortunately, though, my “Oh no, maybe someone will see us!” fantasy just wasn’t in the cards. When Jonas and I arrived at my apartment, the trusty campus police were already waiting inside—the superintendent had let them in, worried something had happened to me—and by the time the police left (after having written out a quick and meaningless report, as predicted), it was time to hightail it over to my contracts class.

I look at my watch. We’ve still got a few minutes before class starts.

Jonas places the laptop he bought for me on my desktop. He’s had it with him in a small carrying case since we left his house, but I thought he’d brought it with him so he could return it.

“This is yours,” Jonas says, his voice soft but commanding. “I got it for you because I want to take care of you in every conceivable way.”

Before I can respond, he continues.

“If and when you get a replacement laptop through your insurance, you can give that one to your mom or donate it to a school or do whatever the fuck you want with it. But this one is yours, and only yours, Sarah, because
I
got it for you.”

He looks exactly like he did when he tied those matching friendship bracelets around our wrists in Belize. I can’t help but look down at the multi-colored bracelet around my wrist and then at its match on Jonas’ wrist. And just like that, my heart melts like an ice cube on a hot skillet.

“Thank you,” I say softly, leaning over to kiss him.

His relief is palpable as he greets my lips with his own.

When his tongue enters my mouth, my body bursts into flames. And when he brings his hands to my face and caresses my cheeks with his thumbs, my heart races and my breathing halts. I’m blazing hot right now, not surprisingly—I’ve been sexed up like a banshee all morning long, sense memories of last night’s intimate festivities (especially my unexpected transformation into Orgasma the All-Powerful) floating through my head (and several other parts of my anatomy, too). Holy hot dam, I’m on fire, ready to go off at the slightest touch.

“Miss Cruz?” My professor’s voice rings out into the large lecture hall.

I jerk away from Jonas and wipe my mouth with the back of my hand. Every eyeball in the entire class, including my professor’s, is trained on me. I can feel my cheeks blazing crimson.

“Who’s our guest?” my professor asks, not a trace of amusement on her face.

“I’m sorry, Professor Martin. This is Jonas,” I say. “He’s going to sit in on class today, if that’s okay with you.”

“Well, hello there,
Jonas
,” my professor says, her voice softening as she takes in the glorious sight of him—she is a woman, after all. “You have a deep and abiding interest in contracts, I take it?”

I’m expecting Jonas to be mortified by Professor Martin’s attention, but he surprises me by being smooth as silk.

“As a matter of fact, I do,” he replies. “I’d be grateful if you’d allow me to sit in today.”

“All right,” my professor says, her entire demeanor warming and melting before my eyes. “We go by last names here,” she says. “What shall we call you, sir?’

“Mr. Faraday,” he responds, charisma oozing out his pores.

Instant recognition flashes in her eyes. “Jonas Faraday—of Faraday & Sons?”

Jonas nods. “That’s right.”

“What a nice surprise for us, Mr. Faraday. Welcome.”

“Thank you.”

“You could
teach
this class, I’m sure. You’ve negotiated a contract or two in your lifetime, yes?”

Jonas smiles and his eyes twinkle at her. “Maybe once or twice.”

She addresses the entire lecture hall, her face suddenly beaming. “If Mr. Faraday is willing, this would be an excellent opportunity for you to learn about how contracts work in the real world.” She directs her stare at Jonas again, smiling. “Would you be so kind as to answer a few questions for us today, Mr. Faraday?”