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He blew out a laugh. “Worth it.” He dipped his head again, capturing her mouth, kissing her until she was breathless, kissing her until something rearranged inside of her, something permanent. Inevitable. Until her heart became a thing that only beat his name.

Kissing Theo was like drowning and being rescued all at once. She couldn’t breathe. She couldn’t think. But stopping was impossible. She clung to him and he to her; ten years of wanting building to a fever pitch.

“Fee,” he whispered against the delicate skin of her neck and she nearly purred. “I should go.”

Phoebe’s thoughts and libido skidded to an abrupt halt. Go?

“What?”

Theo pulled away. “We need to find Lena. I said I would help and … Rafe is counting on me.”

“Rafe? This is about Rafe?”

Theo backed up, already heading for the door.

“We said we would help, Fee, and instead we’ve just been fucking around.”

“Fucking around? We drove all over looking for her!” Sure, she knew it would be fruitless but still.

“And we found nothing! People have been killed … and … we still don’t know where Lena is.” He wouldn’t meet her eye, and that morning after the last fight with his brothers, the morning of broken promises, flashed through her mind. He couldn’t look at her then, either.

“Theo.”

His back was against the door now and Fee closed in on him.

“Fee, please.” His voice was gruff, broken, like he was warring with himself instead of her for a change. “I don’t know what to do.”

“Well, I do.” Her body was flush against his so she could feel every ragged breath, and the low growl that rumbled through him. His pupils were blown wide, the green swallowed up by black.

“We will find Knox tomorrow. We’ll leave first thing,” she promised, and she meant it. She’d done her best, played her part. “Tell Ryder you’re not coming. Tonight, I want you to do to me all the things you’ve dreamed of for the past ten years.”

“Fee.” Her name was nothing more than a puff of air as Theo leaned his forehead against hers. “What if this is more than we can handle? What if this is bigger than we want to admit?”

She knew what he was talking about; she always knew. And she waited, her breath caught in her throat, wondering if he would say it. If he would claim her as his once and for all and put them both out of their misery.

Her heart thundered in her chest, and she didn’t know if she craved it or feared it. Like everything else with Theo, she felt like she was being torn in two directions.

He didn’t say it, didn’t utter the word that always hovered between them. He just held her in his gaze, and she stayed there, frozen, like prey.

But she didn’t want to fight anymore. Not tonight. Tonight, she wanted to pretend everything could work between them. She wanted to pretend that they were the same, that they fit together, that for one night they could belong fully to each other.

Never mind that she had ulterior motives to keep him here. She wanted Theo more than anything. She always had. So, she only felt a little guilty for what happened next, for what she did to keep him here. To waylay him, to bring this search to a sudden yet temporary halt.

It was only a half-lie, a partial truth.

She stepped back, holding Theo’s gaze. She pulled her sweater over her head and tossed it aside. His posture stiffened, no longer slouching in the doorway. She took off the tank top underneath. She rarely bothered with a bra, her tits were too small to ever require it, but Theo’s sharp intake of breath told her that they were more than adequate at the moment.

She stood in front of him, goosebumps breaking out across her bare skin. The tension radiated off of him, hot and dangerous, but he hadn’t moved from his spot.

“Hand me your phone.”

He held it out.

She sent a text to Ryder declining his offer and tossed the phone onto the couch.

Fee pulled the jeans down over her hips and legs and kicked them to the side, straightening just in time to see Theo flex his hands at his sides. Clench and release. Clench and release. Like he needed to grab something. Like he needed to grab her.

She’d been practically naked in front of him before, but this time felt different. There was no going back after this. She knew it in her bones. Her heart raced and her body trembled just slightly as her underwear followed the same path as her pants.