Lover Enraptured: Thieves of Aurion, Book 2

by Jodi Redford

Miracle of miracles, he found an available parking spot in the restaurant’s lot. As he hit the locks, his gaze automatically drifted to the shady corner where his captors had sent him to his knees with the electrolizer gun. In his quest to gain entrance to Rapture, he’d momentarily put his determination to bring a world of hurt down on those motherfuckers’ heads on the backburner. But he would make them pay. Not for what they’d done to him. For threatening Avi.

  The danger he’d inadvertently placed her in was a cold reminder of why he had to keep his hands off her. Because he cared for her, he had to protect her. Even from himself.

  Especially from himself.

  Clutching that determination tight, he crossed the lot and entered the restaurant. He spotted Avi at the same table she’d been parked at the fateful night his world imploded. Unlike then, there was no assclown in an atrocious orange shirt to cramp his style.

  He slid in next to her in the booth, using their need for privacy as an excuse to pull her close to his side and brush his lips near her ear. “Did I keep you waiting?”

  “Yes. You have a nasty habit of doing that.”

  He gave her a mock frown. “What the devil are you talking about? I was always punctual for every single job.”

  “Only because I made sure to sync your com with mine and send you a minute-by-minute reminder.”

  “Ah yes.” He nodded enthusiastically. “You were a pain in the ass when it came to that.”

  She pinched his thigh. Hard. Even that gesture got his cock twitching. “Speaking of jobs, we haven’t talked about this mysterious one I’m helping you with. Don’t you think we should get around to that?”

  Shit. Maybe he should have dragged her off to bed. At least it would have distracted her from this sticky topic. “I already told you I don’t have the details to give.”

  “Well at least tell me if that line you fed Madam Love was total horseshit.”

  “What, you mean my team of secret operatives?”

  She cocked an eyebrow. “I thought they were undercover operatives.”

  “That too.”

  “Gods, you’re so full of BS.”

  “It’s what makes me a damn good thief. And you, once upon a time.”

  For some reason, his words made her smile. “Is that a compliment, Jer?”

  “You know it is. Aside from my brother, you were the best partner I ever had.” Foolish as it was, his heart pinched remembering the closeness they’d shared while working a heist. He was damn glad she’d gotten out of the life, but it didn’t mean he didn’t miss her.

  She twitched her nose. “Last time I checked, Dash and I were the only partners you had. Second best doesn’t make me much of anything.”

  “I never said you were second best.”

  Her smile this go-around threatened to blind him. Her cheeks flushed with some strange happiness, she averted her gaze and took a sip of her water. “Flattering me won’t get you out of the hot seat. I still want to know more about this job. What is it that we’re really supposed to steal?”

  “You don’t believe I’m after Francesca’s art collection?”

  “No.”

  He’d suspected she wouldn’t fall for the story he’d concocted for Madam Love’s benefit, but it would have been damn easier if she had. Left with little recourse than to give her the partial truth, he filled her in on Casper Winston and the man’s missing research. He made sure to make no mention of the events that’d led to him signing on as acquisition engineer.

  “What exactly is the research you’re supposed to lift?”

  “That’s part of the detail I don’t have.”

  Avily’s expressive eyebrows dipped low. “You don’t know what it is, but you’re going to steal it anyway? That’s not like you, Jer.”

  Knowing he was walking a tricky tightrope that could topple him any moment, he gauged the answers he could give without making her too suspicious. “They offered me a deal I couldn’t refuse.”

  That at least wasn’t a lie. Her safety was worth any asking price.

  She fell into a contemplative silence. Worried she’d latch on to more questions he didn’t want to volley, he waved the waitress over and put in an order for a Ginnish with a chaser of Strasser’s Ale.

  The second the waitress departed, Avi pinned him with the full weight of her prodding stare, earning his silent groan. He should have known she wouldn’t give up that easily.

  “Did you do a background check on Casper to see what he might have been working on?”

  Painstaking research was the norm for him. Always had been. Avi had participated in far too many takes with him to fall for a lie in that department. Which meant she was attempting to call his bluff. “Yes.”

  “What did you find out?”

  “Nothing of interest.”

  She rolled her eyes. “Could you be any more vague?”

  “The man was some kind of human-genetics whiz. Everything he worked on had something to do with that field.”

  Avi leaned back and crossed her legs, momentarily distracting him with the delectable curve of her thigh peeking from her modest pinstriped skirt. He imagined tracing that sexy expanse of skin with his tongue, right up to her hipbone. Then he’d change course and head south, until he reached the Promised Land between her legs. He’d lick her slow and deep, tasting her sweet pussy from the inside out. Visualizing her melting like honey on his tongue, he killed a groan. On the bright side, it was too damn cramped under the table to give in to his fantasy.

  “This scientist was a human?”

  Her question ripped his thoughts from his imaginary feast. He took a quick swig from her water glass in hopes of restoring some of the moisture to his mouth. “Yes. Why?”

  “Jer, why do you suppose these people are interested in something a scientist specializing in human genetics developed?”

  He had no answer for her beyond a shrug.

  She graced him with an exasperated look. “Aren’t you the slightest bit curious?”

  The last thing he needed was her innate nosiness getting activated further. That could only spell trouble for her, and therefore him. “No. It’s a job. Nothing more. Nothing less.”

  “How can you be so indifferent? So impersonal about it?”

  He wasn’t. He fully intended to kill the assholes who’d threatened her and blackmailed him into taking on this job. That was personal. And he was personally going to enjoy bringing that world of pain on top of their spineless heads.

  “I could never distance myself from it the way you do.” She fidgeted with the hem of her skirt, absently smoothing the fabric between her fingers. “It’s why I had to get out of that life.”

  “I know.”

  “I thought I could be strong enough to stick it out. To not be affected by the seediness.”

  “You’re strong for getting out. You’ve built something better for yourself. I might not have said it before, but I’m proud of you.”

  She swallowed, her delicate throat working. “That means a lot to me.”

  For a moment she looked so lost and uncertain, he longed to take her in his arms. But doing that would lead to other longings. Longings he wasn’t sure he had the strength to resist.

  Lifting her head, she gazed at him, her eyes soft and vulnerable. “I also got out because of you.”

  The admission wasn’t a surprise to him, but it still sat heavy in his chest. “I know that too.”

  If there was any good that came out of his hurting her, it was her leaving her thieving past behind. He’d never wanted that life for her. He wished with everything inside him that he could turn back the clock and steel his heart to the desperate plea she’d waged on him fifteen years ago to mentor her. The thief’s life had been no place for an innocent girl. It was a miracle her softness, her decency, hadn’t been twisted and corrupted.

  Then there were the unsavory characters populating his world. Even now, five years after she’d thought herself free of it, the shady, criminal stink that clung to everyt
hing he touched like a rotting, foul fungus had reattached itself to Avi.

  And it was all his fault. Merely knowing him had endangered her.

  He wanted to punch his fist through the closest wall because of it and the knowledge that he couldn’t scrub the taint of him off her. It was the reason he had to stick firm to his resolve not to touch her virginity. Binding herself to him for life was a death sentence neither of them could afford. He’d do well to remember that.

  All the same, he found it a tough pill to swallow when she wrapped her arms around him and sniffled. “There were times I missed you so much, my chest felt like it was caving in.”

  Giving in to his need to comfort her, he ruffled the hair at her nape and leaning in, pressed his lips to her forehead. His sinuses were instantly filled with the sweetness of her, and he breathed deep, longing and desire fierce warriors destroying his equilibrium.

  “I don’t know if I can ever stop loving you. And it terrifies me,” Avi admitted on a heartbreaking whisper.

  His heart thundered with a multitude of emotions that scared the living crap out of him just as equally. He opened his mouth, the heaviness constricting his throat making it near impossible to speak. “Avi, I—”

  “Jerrick Hunter, you fucking son of a bitch!”

  The angry retort didn’t spill from Avi, but the voice delivering it bore a familiarity that tore through him like a hot blade. Half convinced he was suspended in a twisted dream, he pulled away from Avi and stared over his shoulder.

  The last person he’d expected to set eyes on stood quivering in outrage at the foot of the table.

  With a good deal more calmness than he actually felt, he slipped on a cold, detached smile. “I see your endearments for me haven’t improved since our last meeting, Leena.”

  Chapter Fourteen

  Leena’s narrow stare ping-ponged between him and Avily. “What are you doing with your dirty paws all over my baby sis?”

  Before he could reply, Avi snapped out of her spell of shock and valiantly jumped into the tense fray. “Mind your tongue, Leena.”

  The elder Donahoe’s features tightened with a harshness that added several hard years to her looks. “Seems I’m not the only one who should be minding the placement of her tongue these days, sister. Is this what you’ve been doing in my absence, making chummy with my fiancé?”

  “Ex-fiancé,” Jerrick bit out. “In case it’s slipped your memory, you cheated on me and miscarried another man’s child. Way I see it, you’re entitled to no opinion on my relationship with Avi.”

  “Oh my gods, you are fucking her,” Leena screeched.

  Avi’s cheeks flamed a scarlet hue. He wasn’t sure if it was triggered by fury or embarrassment at the attention her sister’s crude outburst generated amongst the nearby diners. In that moment, he wanted nothing more than to wrap his hands around Leena’s scrawny neck. “You’ve done your damage here, Leena. I suggest you hike your ass back to your table before I do it for you.”

  Glaring, Leena stubbornly stayed planted in place. “You don’t tell me what to do.”

  He slowly unfolded his frame from the bench seat, earning a mutinous scowl from Leena. She stacked her arms over her chest, refusing to back down. “Is this what you do now? Intimidate defenseless women?”

  “I’m not going to lay a hand on you. But I will have you tossed out if you don’t step away from this table.”

  Leena flicked her ratty braid over her shoulder. “I was about to leave anyway. The element in this dive leaves a lot to be desired.” She speared Avily with an incinerating look. “We’ll discuss this further when I stop by in a few days.” Without uttering another word, she pivoted and walked rigidly to the exit.

  The moment her sister was out of sight, Avily crumpled against the seat back, her body shaking. His anger with Leena renewed, Jerrick slid next to Avily and took her into his arms. “I’m sorry.”

  She peered at him, her eyes tear-logged. “You have nothing to apologize for. She had no right to insinuate what she did.”

  He brushed a lock of hair from her face and smoothed it behind her ear. Removing his hand would have been wise, considering how much he loved stroking her. Too bad he didn’t possess the willpower. “Leena’s petty grievances mean nothing to me, Avi. Let her think what she wants. That glass house she’s living in won’t withstand all those rocks she’s throwing.”

  A fraction of Avily’s tension ebbed from her body, but her expression remained pensive.

  He took her hand and laced their fingers. “What did she mean about seeing you in a few days? I didn’t realize she’d returned to Tul’dea, much less was in contact with you.”

  “She only showed up this week. I was as surprised to see her as you were.” Avi bit her bottom lip, her fingers fidgeting beneath his. “She wants money.”

  He snuffed a growl. “I hope you’re bloody well not going to give it to her.”

  “She’s my family. I can’t turn my back on her.”

  Even though Leena turned her back on me? And you? And everyone else she professed to love? Although it about killed him, he kept the words to himself. It wasn’t his place to come between Avi and her sister. Even though deep inside he knew Leena would ruthlessly use Avi and then blithely disappear off the face of Aurion for another fifteen years—or until Leena needed something more from her family.

  He gave Avi’s shoulder a final squeeze. “Let’s get out of here.”

  She obeyed the request without a fuss. Leaving enough merca to cover the drink he hadn’t had the pleasure of partaking in, he escorted her outside and frowned as she immediately dug in her coin purse. “What are you doing?”

  “I have to call a transit cab.”

  “Avi, I’ll take you home.”

  Rather than her usual arguing maneuver, she peered up at him with gratefulness shining in her eyes. “Thanks. I really don’t want to be alone right now.”

  He hadn’t planned on staying. With her in this vulnerable state, he didn’t trust having the necessary control to keep his hands to himself. He wisely refrained from filling her in on that bit of news while he led her to the Air Racer.

  The remaining dregs of her melancholy dispersed to the wind the instant she spotted the vehicle. “This can’t be the same ole hunk of junk you used to tool around in.”

  “One and only. She’s in considerably better shape than the last time you saw her.” Restoring the vintage cruiser had given him a more productive outlet than getting himself into trouble he didn’t need. He waited for Avi to plop down into the passenger seat before shutting her door and striding to the driver’s side.

  While he buckled himself behind the wheel, she stroked the fine leather grain of the dashboard. “I’ve always had a serious crush on this Racer.”

  “So I notice.” And truth be told, he was getting a little jealous of the loving pets she was lavishing on his vehicle. Damn lucky hunk of junk.

  The engine started with a rumbling purr that vibrated through the interior. Hell yeah. That was how a real vehicle sounded, not those sorry modern monstrosities that made no peep and couldn’t even keep up with a grandma on a racetrack.

  Avily remained quiet for the first leg of their journey into downtown Tul’dea. Just when he figured she’d fallen asleep with her eyes open, she peeked at him. “Are there times when you wish things could have been different? That you might have a different life?”

  His thoughts immediately traveled to his recent private musings. Leave it to Avi to somehow zone in on the same thread. “How do you mean?” he asked cautiously.

  “What if Leena hadn’t turned out to be so self-centered? You could be married to her right now. Maybe even have a rug rat or two.”

  No matter how hard he tried to visualize it, the picture wouldn’t take shape. It wasn’t until he superimposed Avi’s face with Leena’s that the image became vibrant and clear. He immediately shook it off. “No, I don’t waste my energy on what-could-have-beens.”

  She must have picked up on
the flatness in his tone because she darted another look in his direction, her expression sad. “I’m sorry she hurt you.”

  “It’s in the past, Avi.”

  “Is it?”

  He tore his attention from the road and glanced at her. “Why would you ask that? I’m not hung up on Leena, if that’s what you’re trying to get at.”

  “Not necessarily. But you’re also not with anyone. Far as I know, there hasn’t been anyone since her.”

  “I’m not a damn monk. There’ve been women.”

  A pink glow crept across her cheeks. “Sex doesn’t always equate with love.”

  “And thank the gods for it. I’ve tried the love angle, and we know how fucking fantastic that turned out for me.”

  A tense silence enveloped them again after that surly, albeit brutally honest retort from him. It remained an unbudging presence right up until he parked in the alley behind her shop. Pocketing his keys, he trailed her to The Fairest Rose’s rear doorway. Avi started to reach for the knob, but he stalled her the instant he noticed the door was already slightly ajar. He inspected the lock, adrenaline revving into high gear when he took note of the thin scratches etched into the metal. A sloppy pick job. “Get back in the Racer and lock yourself inside.”

  “But—”

  “Do it and don’t argue. Stay put until I come get you.”

  Avily looked like she wanted to balk, but miracle of miracles, she trudged to the vehicle and did as told. Confident she was safe, he cautiously nudged open the shop door and eyed the shadows ringing the small vestibule, on guard for suspicious movement.

  Grabbing a pole that he assumed to be a light bulb changer, he prowled past the threshold, his attention riveted to the main hallway leading into the store. His boot heels making no sound on the tile, he inched closer to the wall, ensuring no sneak attack from behind. He reached the end of the hall. Other than the muted street noise and chatter of passing pedestrians, the main artery of the store was shrouded in eerie stillness.

  His instincts warning him not to be lulled by the illusion of normalcy, he abandoned the hall and approached the first aisle, the makeshift weapon of the pole ready to bash a skull in if necessary. He cleared that section and rounded the next, working with steady precision until he’d swept the entire room and ascertained no one was skulking in a convenient hiding spot.