“I need confirmation, Jared,” she said. “If you’re nervous and distracted, it could—”
“No, I’m… I’m good. Carry on.”
“Okay. Stay here. This looks like the only office, so chances are we’ll find what we need right here. I’m going to do a quick sweep of the master bedroom just to make sure he hasn’t stashed anything in there. Be right back.”
Though she was in the room directly adjacent to the office, Jared couldn’t hear a thing—not so much as a footstep or creaking floorboard. He marveled at Arianne’s skill, and wondered—belatedly—just how many times she’d done this before, in how many brownstones and penthouses, homes and estates, all the places where people were supposed to feel safe and secure.
This isn’t right.
Jared closed his eyes to clear his thoughts, reminding himself that they weren’t here to rob the home of some unsuspecting family. They were here, in the home of a thief and possible murderer, to find evidence that would save the lives of Arianne and her sister—not to mention protect his considerable assets.
When he opened his eyes again, he nearly jumped out of his skin, catching himself on the wall behind him as he stumbled backward.
Arianne was standing right in front of him. Hell, he hadn’t even heard her breathing.
“You’re fucking dangerous,” he whispered.
Her hair was pulled back into a tight ponytail, her hazel eyes luminescent in the darkness. They glowed with a feverish intensity that made Jared’s heart beat hard and fast in his chest.
“And so fucking beautiful,” he said.
Arianne stood on her tiptoes, pressing her body to his. Instinctively his hands found her hips, the heat of her skin seeping through her nylon leggings and his black leather gloves. She always felt so right, so perfect, her body easing against his without restraint.
Damn. They were so good together in every way.
With her lips close to his ear, she whispered, “I’m just getting started, Blackwell.”
Jared was so turned on, he couldn’t even think straight. It didn’t matter that he was committing a felony. It didn’t matter that they had a job to do, that every extra moment in the brownstone increased the likelihood of them getting caught. It didn’t matter that things had gotten so tense between them since the last time they’d given in to their desires, or that they hadn’t talked about what had happened, or what that night might mean for their future—if they even had one.
Hell, at this rate, we might both end up in jail.
Jared had never been able to keep a clear head as far as Arianne was concerned, but the intensity of their present circumstances only seemed to magnify his need, his cock throbbing in his pants, his mouth hungry for a taste of her sweet juices. His eyes swept up from her lips, around her eyes, across her sleek auburn hair. He wanted to wrap his gloved hand around that ponytail, to fist her hair with a commanding grip as he fucked her hot, wet mouth…
His cock strained, his balls heavy with need.
Fuck.
With a firm grip on her hips, Jared backed Arianne against the wall, bumping into a stack of boxes. The top one dropped with a loud thud, scattering books across the hardwood floor, but Jared didn’t fucking care. They were alone in the dark, sneaking around the home of a criminal, looking for evidence of past crimes, and nothing made sense anymore. All that mattered now was her luscious lips, her soft skin, the silky feel of her hair against his cheek as he pressed his mouth to her neck and inhaled the sweet, lilac scent of her skin.
“What… what are you doing? Jared, we can’t… this isn’t…” Arianne tensed, but then relaxed, her words sliding into a soft moan as she melted beneath his touch.
She always melted beneath his touch.
Jared kissed her neck, her jaw, her cheek, working his way to her soft, pink lips. She parted them easily, sliding her tongue into his mouth. When she whispered his name against his lips, Jared slid his hands under her ass and lifted her, pushing her hard against the wall as her legs wrapped tight around his hips.
Through her thin cotton pants, Jared felt the muscles of her body tense, her heat urging him closer. She was so hot and wet for him, as ready and willing as he was. With one hand he reached for his pants, fumbling with the belt and button, finally freeing his rock-hard erection, desperate to slide into her slick, wet pussy.
With one hand under her ass, he slid his gloved fingers down the front of her leggings, seeking her warmth, gently stroking her through her panties.
“Jared,” she breathed. “Fuck.”
“Gloves on at all times,” he teased.
Arianne whimpered, her legs clenching.
“Tell me how much you want this,” he said, sliding her panties aside and touching her naked flesh. The soft leather slid easily inside, making her hotter and wetter with every stroke. “Tell me how you want to be touched.”
Clinging to him with both hands, her back pressed against the wall, Arianne sighed in Jared’s ear, a desperate breath filled with so much longing and desire it almost made him come. He stroked her faster, deeper, the leather growing slippery as Arianne writhed against the wall, rocking her hips into his hand, riding him hard.
“Close your eyes,” he said. “And empty your mind. Forget everything but this, my touch, my fingers sliding into your sweet, hot pussy.”
A cry of ecstasy escaped her mouth, and she bit down on Jared’s shoulder to muffle the sound. She was close; Jared felt her flesh tighten around his fingers as he plunged deeper inside. He slid his thumb over her clit, circling it with increasing pressure, fucking her harder and faster with his fingers.
“That’s it, gorgeous,” he whispered. The skin on her neck flushed, her breathing wild and erratic. “Just like that. Let it all out. Let me feel how much this pussy wants to be tamed.”
She screamed into his shoulder and bit down hard, her whole body trembling as she came.
As her legs twitched with aftershocks, Jared held her close, giving her a moment to come back to Earth.
But suddenly she was pulling back, her body wriggling away from his touch.
“Stop,” she said. “Put me down.”
Jared set her back on the ground.
Arianne got her balance and backed away, tugging her clothes back into place. Even in the dimness he could see the heat in her skin, her cheeks red with passion, her hair coming loose from its rubber band.
She pulled her ponytail tight, then checked the security of her gloves. “Okay, so that was… but this isn’t… I’m sorry, Jared.” She closed her eyes and sighed heavily, shaking her head. “I really shouldn’t have let you do that.”
“Too late, gorgeous,” he teased, moving in for a kiss. She returned his affections, but only for a second.
With a hand on his chest, she looked up at him through those long, beautiful lashes, and said, “To be continued? Preferably not inside the home we’re currently trying to rob?”
Jared nodded, finally letting her go. His dick was rock fucking hard, his balls aching for release, but the woman had a point. Jared had gotten carried away. He was completely out of his element here—his behavior had only reinforced it.
Christ.
He cleared his throat, willing his erection to take a hike. She was right; they had work to do, and the longer they stayed, the better their chances of getting caught.
Arianne unzipped the backpack and dug out two small external hard drives and several cables, connecting everything to the laptop on the makeshift desk.
Quietly, expertly, she clicked on the computer, letting out a slow breath as the machine booted up.
“With any luck,” she said, “Errington isn’t smart enough to have a password on here.”
The desktop appeared without issue, no password required.
“Perfect,” she said. With deftness that made Jared’s game developers look like preschoolers trying to jam square pegs into round holes, Arianne navigated through the file manager, searching through everything from the man’s vacati
on photos to his rather extensive porn collection.
“Busty Bollywood Babes aside, looks like he’s marginally smarter than I’ve given him credit for,” she said. “There’s nothing professional here.”
Jared sighed. “So this trip was a waste of time?”
“Hardly.” Arianne dug into her backpack again, this time procuring a stethoscope.
Jared laughed. “I’m all for playing doctor, love. But you’ve already scolded me once for trying to distract you from the mission. Perhaps we can revisit this game later?”
“Doctor, huh?” She looped the device around her neck, eyeing him flirtatiously. “Behave yourself, and we’ll see what your future holds.”
With that, she turned toward the painting, a small, knockoff Monet hanging in a plastic frame that had been painted to look like wood. She lifted it easily and set it on the floor, revealing a wall safe.
“Really?” Jared said. “The man is a multi-million dollar black market art dealer, and he’s got a wall safe?”
Arianne shrugged. “I said he’s marginally smarter than I’d thought, not a genius by any stretch.”
Jared watched with twisted fascination as she pressed the stethoscope to the safe, her eyes closed, spinning the dial this way and that. After no more than a minute, a smile lit up her face. “Bingo.”
The safe door swung open.
Jared’s jaw hit the floor. “Did you… did you really just do that?”
Arianne shrugged. “Can’t say dear old Dad never taught me anything useful.”
“Good God, woman.” Jared’s heart pounded, his palms sweating beneath the black leather gloves. He still couldn’t shake the feeling that he was in a movie, that he was being punked, that he was creeping his way through a very long and disturbing—and slightly erotic—dream.
But it was real. All of it. The scent of Arianne on his gloves, on his skin. The sound of blood rushing in his ears. The dim glow of the flashlight. The softer, fainter white light from the neighboring brownstones, filtering in through the smudged windows. The swish of Arianne’s ponytail as she efficiently rifled through the safe. The soft sighs of possibility escaping her lips as she found whatever it was she’d been seeking.
“This is it,” she finally said, turning toward him. Her eyes danced, her energy buzzing and alive. She held a mustard-colored interoffice envelope, the kind Jared had used dozens of times every day to send staff memos. She unwound the string that had held it closed, and tipped its contents into her gloved hand, catching two flash drives, a passport, paper airline tickets, and a tight roll of cash. She set the cash on the desk, disregarding it.
Thumbing through the passport and tickets, she said, “Passport’s a forgery. It’s Davidson’s picture, but the name says Joel Irwin. The tickets are in Irwin’s name.”
“Where to?”
“São Paolo. One way, connects in Miami.”
“Do you think he’s relocating there?” Jared asked. “That could be good for you and Tasha, no?”
“Depends on his end game.” Arianne shrugged, scanning the tickets again. “He’s heading out… Monday? That soon after the heist?”
“Is that odd?” Jared asked, looking over her shoulder.
“Very.” She turned around to face him. “First of all, we’ve got a forger on the crew, so it looks like Davidson is doing this behind his back, going through Errington instead. Secondly, there’s no return ticket, and he’s leaving just two days after the robbery… but if he’s not coming back, who’s handling the payout?”
“How do you mean?”
“Normally after a big score, the crew stashes the artwork at a safe house nearby—typically in Jersey or Pennsylvania—then everyone lies low for a few weeks. After that, they use a guy like Errington to fence it, selling it on the black market to the highest bidder. Errington will either sell it piecemeal, taking a commission on each sale, or he’ll buy the whole lot for a set price and sell it off on his own time. But all the arrangements happen immediately. The boss has to be here to inventory the score, make the call on how it will be fenced, and divide up everyone’s initial payout, which can’t be determined until he knows exactly what they got, and what the street value might be.”
“So maybe this trip is Davidson’s way of lying low?” Jared suggested.
“No. Something isn’t adding up here,” Arianne said. “I don’t think Davidson’s planning to pay out. He wouldn’t leave that kind of detail to anyone else.”
“You think he’s double-crossing the crew?”
Arianne tapped the passport and tickets against her gloved fingers. “Looks that way. Well, we wanted evidence. It’s a start.”
She retrieved a small digital camera from the backpack and snapped a few shots of the tickets and passport, then slid them back into the envelope.
“Let’s check the files.” She plugged the first flash drive into the laptop, navigating back to the directory and clicking through the drive’s folders. “Okay. The good news is that the drive itself isn’t encrypted. Bad news is the files are.”
“Ha!” Jared said, finally feeling useful. For the first time since he’d crossed the threshold into this place, he actually had something to offer—something she needed. “I can crack them.”
Arianne turned to him, wary. “So not only are you a video game nerd, you’re a closet hacker? Since when?”
Jared offered a guilty smile. “Since University.”
“I thought college was all about drinking and getting laid.”
“Not for nerds it isn’t. We’ve got a special track.”
“Well, well, well.” Arianne grinned. “After all this time… I can’t believe you’re a hacker. I’m impressed, Blackwell.”
Jared raised an eyebrow. “Offering me a spot on the crew, are you?”
“At this rate, we might be able to start our own.”
“Yes, assuming we stay out of jail tonight.”
Arianne nodded and got back to work. She dragged the contents of the flash drive to the icon for the external device, then did the same thing with the second flash drive. After confirming that everything had copied properly, she disconnected the external devices and erased all evidence of her activity, clearing the cache and file menus, leaving everything exactly as she’d found it.
While Jared packed up their gear, Arianne repacked and closed the safe, hanging the fake Monet back in place. They repacked the box of books, did a final sweep of the room to confirm they’d left nothing behind, and then they were on their way.
Arianne stood in the upstairs hallway, a wide grin spreading across her face. “Congratulations, Mr. Blackwell. You’ve just completed your first robbery.”
“That was almost too easy,” Jared said, slipping his arm around her waist.
Arianne gave him a playful shove. “Great. Now you’ve certainly jinxed us.”
“I doubt that,” he said, pulling her close again. “You’ve got a bag full of evidence. Thanks to my money, Evan’s probably got Errington eating out his palm right about now. We’ve got plenty of time.”
After a moment she seemed to catch his meaning, her eyes narrowing.
“To be continued,” he reminded her. “You promised.”
“You’re a naughty boy,” she said, turning toward the stairs.
“Don’t tell me you’re suddenly taking issue with shagging in public places,” Jared said. “As I recall, that’s precisely how we met.”
“Okay, and then what happens?”
Jared laughed. “Shall I draw you a sketch, then?”
“You know that’s not what I meant.” Arianne watched him closely, her eyes guarded, and Jared knew her reluctance wasn’t just about a fear of getting caught. It was about what happened after this was all over. He’d said he’d never wanted to see her again, but Jared knew they were well past that now. Still, they hadn’t talked about it again. He hadn’t confirmed or denied it when Evan told her that Jared was in love with her. And now, one hand on the banister, her hazel eyes shining in the
dim hallway, she was giving him an opening, a chance to tell her—in just three short words—how he really felt.
He wanted to say it. He opened his mouth to say it. But instead of speaking, he leaned into her, capturing her mouth in a kiss.
It only lasted a moment before she pulled away again.
“I’m vibrating,” she said.
“Me too, love,” he whispered. Jared leaned forward, desperate to taste her again, but Arianne put a hand on his chest.
“No, it’s me. My phone. Someone’s texting me.”
He was so fucking hard for her, so hot, he didn’t care who was on the phone, where they were, how much danger they were in. He wanted her. He fucking needed her. And he couldn’t wait another moment.
“Leave it,” he said, nibbling her earlobe.
Arianne sighed, pulling back to put some distance between them. “It might be Davidson. Just… hold on.”
Jared clenched his teeth, but she was right. This late in the game, they couldn’t risk missing a text from her boss. For four more days, they’d have to keep playing the game.
And then what?
There was that question again, blinking behind his eyes like a damn neon sign. But Jared didn’t have time to ponder it. A gasp escaped Ari’s lips, and when he looked up again to meet her eyes, he saw only one thing, dark and primal.
Fear.
“My sister’s in trouble,” she said.
Chapter Twenty-Four
Ari’s hands were shaking, the messages glowing up at her from the phone screen.
“Where is she?” Jared demanded.
“Perk.”
“Let’s go,” he said. Without another thought, they headed down the stairs, Jared digging in his pocket for Evan’s car keys. “The bridge is our best bet. We can hit Houston on the other side and—”
“No,” Ari said. “I’ll take the train. It’s right there. You take the car and meet—”
Bared to the Billionaire: The Complete Series Page 37
