The Arrogant Thief (Stolen Hearts Book 8) Read online

  She might be mad at him, but he was doing this for her own protection. With that thought firmly in mind, he took his duplicate keycard and slipped through the turnstile. Once he reached the elevators, everything went smoothly. He pressed the button for Vance and waved the new card over the elevator security pad. Just like that, the floor he needed lit up, and the elevator doors closed. During the ride up, he clipped the badge to his jacket lapel. This way he wouldn’t need to answer any of the receptionist’s questions. Just like yesterday, he walked in as if he belonged there.

  Thanks to the trip yesterday, he knew exactly where he was going. He walked along the corridors until he was near Brenda’s office. Taking a quick walk past, he verified that she was there and sitting behind the computer. Good. He then found the empty office he’d spotted out of the corner of his eye a few doors down. If he was with Hart, or even had access to all of his equipment, he’d be able to plant a small camera in the hallway so he could watch her at all times and know the right time to move in. Because he had limited resources at the moment, he’d have to rely on old-fashioned things like his eyeballs.

  He would leave the door open so he could see Brenda walk by. Unfortunately, this view didn’t actually have a clear view of her office. He could only hope she walked by in his direction, but he’d have no way of knowing if she went the other way.

  But there were alternative ways to keep tabs. Keeping with the low-tech theme, he pulled the hotel face mirror out of his bag and set it up on the floor. He tilted it carefully so he could see Brenda’s door, but most people walking by wouldn’t be able to see the odd little mirror on the ground. And then he angled the office chair in just the right way so he could see the mirror without being conspicuous. And then he waited.

  It took a bit of skill to do something like this. He lived in such a fast-paced world, and sometimes patience was the hardest thing. He couldn’t get distracted by anything else around him. It took a lot of focus to look at that one small mirror and wait. He couldn’t take his eyes off it. He just needed her to get up for just a little.... There she was.

  Brenda was walking out of her office while talking on her cell phone. He couldn’t hear the call from here, and he didn’t really care. She was gone, and her computer wasn’t in her hands. That was all he needed.

  He didn’t spend long in Brenda’s office. He simply stepped inside, swept up her laptop, and walked back to the office he’d borrowed. This time he pushed the door shut behind him and got to work. He flipped open Brenda’s laptop and took out the computer he’d bought yesterday and had set up for this.

  With the two laptops next to each other, he started running his program on the firewall. He’d looked up the security system last night and found out its inner workings. Because this wasn’t his first rodeo, he happened to have a software program already that could crack it. It systematically went through millions of different password combinations, all at a record pace. He knew a few companies that would be itching to have their hands on something like this, but, unfortunately for them, it wasn’t for sale. It was his special little baby, and you don’t sell your babies.

  The entire time it was running, he tapped his thumb impatiently against the desk. The office gave him a measure of security, but it also backed him into a corner. It was only a matter of time before Brenda realized her computer was missing. If he was lucky, she’d be in a meeting longer than this would take. If he was unlucky, she’d be looking for it any second now. However, he didn’t need to actually take the laptop out of the building. He could probably take the laptop back to the hotel and do the transaction there, but it would look a lot better if it was connected to the company’s internet servers while she was supposedly stealing the seventeen million dollars.

  Once he was in her laptop, the rest was easy. Every single other password that was needed was saved. As soon as he hit the banking site, he was able to transfer the amount to the account that Courtney had specified. And just like magic, it was over. He closed both laptops and tucked his away. He also put Brenda’s in the bag. Best not to be seen walking around with it. As far as he knew, all the laptops belonging to Vance looked the same, but he’d rather be safe than sorry. He didn’t know whether there were any specific features Brenda would recognize.

  He ducked out of the office, but it looked as though no panic alarms had gone off yet. He was able to slip into her office and drop off the laptop on her desk.

  He didn’t take the time to plug it in or make it look pristine. He knew he’d erased his tracks well enough that Brenda wouldn’t be able to tell what he’d done while he was in there.

  And that was that. He walked to the elevator and was alone as he descended to the lobby level. And a second later, he was on the street. He took a deep breath of fresh air but didn’t feel the normal satisfaction he got after finishing a job. He didn’t have the rush of fulfillment or the taste of victory. Looking around, he didn’t see Melissa anywhere. Hopefully she’d gone back to the hotel. She was going to be pissed. He tried to think of defense strategies ahead of time, but everything he thought of came up short. There was nothing he could say that would let her understand how important it was that she be protected.

  Waving down a cab, he directed the driver back to the Plaza. The unsettling feeling of defeat washed over him. Fine. So he was defeated at the moment. But as soon as he was out of this stupid little life-and-death game that Courtney Vance was playing, he’d get his revenge. If she thought a seventeen-million-dollar nest egg was enough to protect her from him, she was mistaken.

  In fact, he was imagining all the ways that he was going to get his revenge as he reached his room. Taking a deep breath, he finally pushed the keycard in the slot and stepped inside in anticipation for the storm that was going to come.

  But there was no storm. All he was met with was silence and darkness. He stepped farther into the room and shut the door behind him. Melissa wasn’t storming out in anger or screaming. It was only once he was farther in the room that he saw the little lump under the covers on the bed. “Mel?”

  “I still have a head,” she mumbled.

  He let out a breath he didn’t realize he was holding at the confirmation that she was okay. Now that the job was done, Courtney didn’t need her around to help him anymore. So either they would get off scot-free or they’d be taken out of the picture. That’s why getting paid for jobs was just easier. Get the cash and get out of the picture. As long as the guy (or girl) doing the job wanted to keep working, they’d keep their mouth shut.

  “I got the money transferred over. So we’re in good shape.”

  “I’m so glad,” said Melissa dryly.

  Yep. Nothing about this was good. He started over to the curtains and reached up to pull them aside to let the light in.

  “Don’t,” said Melissa. “I like it like this.”

  “You like it pitch black and depressing?”

  “I want to sleep. I want to sleep until I can wake up without this thing around my neck and without you.”

  Gage nodded. “I deserve that. Maybe instead of sitting here and feeling sorry for yourself, we can order some room service, that I’ll totally pay you back for, and celebrate a win.”

  “I think you leaving is celebration enough for me.”

  “Ouch. I’m not so sure I deserve that.”

  “Oh, you do. Trust me.”

  Gage reached over, setting his hand on her hip. Maybe it was to comfort her. Maybe it was because if he was touching her, he had a better ability to stop her from making a run for it. “You know why I did it, right?”

  “Oh yeah. I figured that out pretty soon. I’m a liability. You don’t want me to get hurt. Yada, yada, yada.”

  “Don’t yada, yada, yada me. I left you out because you did your job, perfectly by the way, and I didn’t see why you should put yourself in danger for no reason.”

  “No reason. Of course. I’m useless. I’m a liability. If it weren’t for me, you wouldn’t be in this mess. I’m the ankle to
your Achilles. I’m the weak link.”

  Gage winced. Obviously this was worse than he thought. “It sounds like you found a nice well of self-pity to fall into.”

  “Self-pity, facts—they’re all the same in my case. Let’s be honest. I don’t fit in with my family. Peter’s family. I’m not a mother. I don’t know how to be a sister. I can’t be one of you. I’m just a fake who puts people in danger.”

  “Do you really think that if you put people in danger, Toni would let you work with her? Do you think Hart would allow you to do anything that would put Toni in danger?”

  He saw the sheets wiggle as she shrugged. “They’re capable enough they can work past my ineptitude.”

  Now, that was enough. “Melissa.” He pulled the covers off her. She immediately tried to turtle back under the blankets, but he caught her arm and pulled her up. She resisted, but only a bit before she finally sat up and faced him, even though her gaze was firmly pointed down. Gripping her chin in his hand, he tilted her head up to look at him. “You know you’re being overdramatic, don’t you?”

  “Maybe,” she muttered. “But I can be melodramatic and right, can’t I?”

  “None of this feeling sorry for yourself. You have a bomb around your neck, babe. You can feel sorry about that. Nothing else.”

  “No, you can’t prove me wrong. I’m a liability, aren’t I? That’s why you don’t want me around.”

  He closed his eyes and tried to think of how to make her realize what she actually meant to him. “All right, I’ll admit it. You’re a liability.” Her eyes widened in surprise that he actually said it, but he continued quickly before she could be too upset at him. “Imagine I was the richest man in the world. That I had an entire basement filled to the brim with gold coins. So if someone wanted me to do something, they could threaten those gold coins and I’d have to listen because those gold coins are the best thing in my life. Are they a liability? Sure, but they’re also my most prized possession. You’re my gold, Melissa. Do you understand?”

  She took a deep swallow. “I’m not your possession,” she breathed.

  “One of my greatest regrets.”

  That finally had her looking up and meeting his eyes. “Please don’t say anything you don’t mean. I don’t think I can take it.”

  “Fine. Then I’m not going to say anything.” And then he kissed her.

  And just like that, Melissa was snapped out of her depressed funk and snapped back into the real world. Wait a moment—Gage was kissing her. This couldn’t be the real world. This had to be some alternate reality she found herself in somehow.

  She took in a deep breath before she really kissed him back, gently moving her lips over his and tilting her head, silently giving him permission to go further. She knew this was a mistake. Too many life-or-death situations leading to this moment for things to work out. But right now, Gage felt so... good. And good was exactly what she wanted to feel right now.

  Her arms came up and around his neck, and just like that, everything seemed to go off like a firecracker.

  As soon as her arms went around him, he pulled her in close. So close that she could feel all of his muscles even through the fabric of his suit. She closed her eyes so she could take it in. His warm breath against her face and even his rapid pulse against her hand when she touched his neck. Oh God, was this really happening? Was she really here, making out with Gage?

  Any doubts she had were quickly swept away as his hands gripped her hips, and he pulled her tightly against him. This wasn’t right. She wasn’t at the right angle, he wasn’t between her legs, and they definitely weren’t both naked. This had to be rectified.

  She tugged his jacket and took her time feeling the muscles in his shoulders and biceps as the jacket fell to the ground. How many times had she seen him wearing the sweat-soaked T-shirts while he worked out? How much time had she spent imagining touching him like this? Now that they were here, she wasn’t going to let this chance slip away.

  As the jacket hit the floor, she started working on his shirt buttons, one by one. As each button popped free, she bent forward to press a series of kisses to his chest. Some with a little tongue, some with a little nip. When she bit him particularly hard, he let out a little groan and she could tell he liked it.

  This was her dream. Being able to have Gage, do whatever she wanted with him. Making him happy, making him groan in pleasure.

  This might be her only chance, and she wasn’t going to let it go to waste. As she reached the final button, she changed tactics and pivoted around him until he was the one lying down on the bed, and she was the one with her feet on the floor.

  She looked him up and down, appreciating the view of his splayed-out shirt and his amazing chest. Unable to talk, she ran her fingers up and down his abs, appreciating every little nook and cranny. But this wasn’t nearly enough for her. There was a lot more to see and discover.

  When she reached for his belt, he raised himself up on his elbows to look at her. “Do you want to take this slow?”

  “No.” As soon as his belt was undone, she popped the button of his fly and pulled down the zipper. “I think we’ve been going too slow for too long.”

  “I want this to be about you,” he said in a husky voice. He might want this to be about her, but he sure as hell didn’t want to stop her either.

  “Oh, this is about me.” She then pulled at his boxers, and he readily lifted his hips so she could pull them down his thighs, freeing his rock-hard erection that sprang up at the freedom. She then looked up at him through her eyelashes and coyly said, “Trust me.”

  And then she took him into her mouth. He tasted raw, with just the tiniest bit of pre-cum on the tip of his cock. She wasn’t sure she’d actually thought what he would taste like, but it was definitely better than anything she could’ve imagined.

  She wanted to make him go crazy. She had him to herself for the first time ever and wanted to make sure this was a night that he’d never forget.

  At first she went slow, just exploring the ridge under his head and the long, smooth shaft with her tongue. She would tighten her lips and loosen them as she went on, testing the waters to see what he liked more. He reached down, his hand tightening in her hair. It was as if he wanted to tell her what to do, but didn’t.

  So she changed to a fast, hard pace, imagining his cock going inside other parts of her as she took him in deeper. Finally, he let out a deep groan. The hand in her hair tightened, and he pulled her off him. She was just about to ask why when he leapt forward, gripping her under the armpits, and twisted her onto the bed. She ended up breathless and on her back as Gage pushed off his pants and immediately moved to cover her with his body.

  “Why did you stop me? Weren’t you enjoying it?”

  He ran his fingers over the side of her face and then down her neck before carefully splaying his fingers out along the vulnerable skin. He didn’t squeeze, but just held her there, holding her down. “Oh yeah, I enjoyed it,” he said with a bitter laugh. “I think you know exactly how much I enjoyed it.”

  “Not enough to let me keep going.”

  “You think you’re the only one who gets to be the torturer tonight?”

  “I didn’t realize torture was what it was.”

  “Oh, yes. The sweetest kind of torture. And now, it’s my turn.”

  She sucked in a breath, his threat sending moisture right to her core. Gage’s hand went to her waist. To the little strip of skin bared between the hem of her tank top and her panties. His finger just moved alongside that vulnerable strip before he started to lift her tank top up. She wanted to sit up so it could easily be taken off her, but his other hand was still at her throat, holding her down.

  “You do what I say,” he warned as he raised the tank top high enough to bare her breasts. She was very still for a moment as he looked down and seemed to consider her. He’d never seen her topless before. What was he going to think? Gage had been with so many women who probably had plenty more... assets tha
n she did, be it natural or implanted. How was she supposed to live up to that?

  Apparently, that wasn’t something she needed to worry about. He bent down and gingerly took the tip of one peak in his mouth and sucked deeply. She felt as if he were sucking a part of her out as well as she arched off the bed.

  He spent a few moments there, alternating between which breast he was playing with. For the first time, she really did understand how it was torture. How it could feel so good and leave her wanting so much more at the same time.

  He kept at it until she was squirming, wiggling, and moaning against him. And then when he finally stopped... that was the real torture. How could he leave her? How could he leave her wanting and needing more?

  But he wasn’t leaving her. Instead, he was kissing his way down her stomach, closer and closer to where she really needed him. Except right when he was about to get to her moist heat, he skipped right over it, instead placing a kiss to her thigh.

  She was about to vent her frustration to him when he turned his head and pressed a, hot kiss against her inner thigh. Her heart leapt in her throat as he hooked his fingers in her panties and started to pull them down.

  She raised herself up to give him easier access as he slowly, agonizingly slowly, pulled her panties down her legs, over her calves, and past her ankles to drop on the floor.

  And then she was naked and totally vulnerable. Now that there were no barriers in his way, he wasted no time as he rose up and buried his head between her thighs. The sudden onslaught of sensations was too much for her.

  He was licking her all over and inserting fingers. She bumped and rode against him, and right when she thought the assault was too much, one of his free hands reached up to tease her breasts. The orgasm hit her hard and fast. Her head reared back, and the scream that escaped was probably loud enough to alert the entire floor to what was happening in here.

  She didn’t have any time to come down from the orgasm because Gage was climbing over her body. The sudden weight of him over her, the strength of his erection against her opening, was so.... Unexpected? Overwhelming? She didn’t even know anymore. She forced herself to open her eyes and confirm that this was really happening. This wasn’t all a figment of her imagination. When her eyes opened, Gage was over her.