Mrs Potts backs out of the room on an accepting nod, closing the door softly behind her. ‘Do you think he knows?’ I have to ask. The man paid a cool fifty million for a lump of marble that Becker lovingly crafted and unlawfully authenticated. If he finds out, the shit will hit the fan and splatter as far as Rome. Why else would he be calling Becker now?
Becker stops by one of the gold ladders and glances across the room at me. ‘Knows what?’
I don’t manage to retract my look of incredulity. How can he be so obtuse? ‘About the fake Head of a Faun? The one he paid fifty million for?’
I’m even more stunned when he scoffs, laughing at my perfectly reasonable concern. ‘I’m not worried about that.’
Okay, now I’m just plain confused. ‘Then why are you acting like you’re preparing for war?’
Now he really laughs, but it’s forced. It’s a condescending laugh, and his fingertips slip under his glasses and rub at his sockets. ‘Probably because I am,’ he mutters.
‘What do you mean?’ I’m lost. And then suddenly . . . ‘Wait, you really do think it’s him who broke into my apartment, don’t you?’
Becker pulls off his glasses aggressively, giving himself better access to his eyes so he can go at them like he could be digging for gold. ‘Yes. No. I don’t know.’
‘Okay, forget that. Why is he calling you now? He’s got the sculpture. He’s won. What else could he possibly want from you?’
Becker casts a really? look my way.
‘Me?’ I laugh. That’s ridiculous. ‘The man makes my skin crawl.’
‘That man will do whatever he can to get one up on me, and now I have a sweet weak spot.’ He glares at me accusingly. ‘That’s you, in case you were wondering.’
‘I wasn’t wondering,’ I say tiredly. ‘And has it ever crossed your mind that, actually, he might just want me because I’m me, and not because I’m yours?’ The cheeky fucker.
He twitches, like he could be shaking something off his shoulders, and scowls to himself. ‘Of course he wants you because you’re you. The fact you’re mine is a bonus. For fuck’s sake,’ He shoves his glasses back on and stomps towards the door.
He’s leaving? ‘Becker?’ I call, but I’m ignored, prompting me to go after him. He’s not walking away from me. No way. I catch his arm, just as he pulls the door open, and throw my palm into the wood to push it shut, hindering his escape. ‘Don’t walk away from me.’
I’m taken by surprise when the tables turn and it’s no longer me holding Becker, but him holding me. He moves fast, whirling me around and pushing my front to the door. I gasp, my chest splatting against the heavily carved wood, some protruding parts pressing into the soft curves of my tummy.
‘Shhhh.’ His husky tone penetrates my hearing and his hips lock my lower body in place. He’s aroused. Hard. Sharp. A quick hand grabs the hem of my dress and yanks it up to my waist. I cry out, caught in a confusing mix of guardedness and uncontrollable want. My cheek is squished on the wood, my hands either side of my head, and the quiet instruction in my mind that’s telling me to fight him is being ignored. One finger traces the crease of my arse over my knickers, teasing, stroking, driving me crazy.
The soft bristle on his cheek rubs against mine, and my eyes close, feeling his hot breath spread across my face. ‘Hmmmm,’ he hums, turning his mouth onto my skin and licking a long, wet trail up to my temple.
My muscles lock down, tensing, my knotted mind taking pleasure from the anticipation of his touch. I’m flooded between my thighs, wet and begging, and it’s all beyond my control. ‘Is this your way of marking your territory?’ I ask my darkness.
‘Shut the fuck up, Eleanor,’ he warns, taking the top of my knickers and shoving them down to my thighs. A few blissful moments are spent caressing my still tender skin before he slips his hand between my legs and finds my condition. ‘You want me, baby?’
I groan, fighting the urge to scream my desperation.
‘You want me to plunge deep and hard?’
My hands ball into frustrated fists, ready to pound the wood. The small collection of nerves in the tip of my clitoris are twitching, vibrating, screaming for contact.
‘Or do you want me to lick you here?’ He sinks two