Bossy Burglar: A Hero Club Novel

by A. J. Norris

  Lincoln resituated himself as I did. “Sometimes. And sometimes not enough. What is this movie about?”

  “It depends on your perspective. I say it’s about a woman who never takes chances, especially on love. And unbeknownst to her or her new boyfriend, her dad is friends with him. The dad thinks the boyfriend is a player.”

  “This is your take. The female perspective of the movie. So, what’s it really about?”

  “A middle-aged man whose wife wants a divorce. He asks this guy with some serious swagger for help picking up women. It’s a great movie.”

  “So, you wanna watch it?”

  “Yeah, I mean, we don’t have to.” I giggled. “I’ve seen it about a hundred times. And don’t think I didn’t see what you did there. You let little things about yourself fly then change the subject. Did you really want to know what this movie was about?”

  “I don’t know what you’re talking about.” He feigned innocence, his smirk giving him away.

  I rolled my eyes. “Whatever. Why do you sometimes think too much and others not enough?”

  He took a deep breath and rubbed the back of his neck.

  * * *

  Lincoln

  Okay, I wanted to be real with her, even though she was lying about her name. As an undercover cop, I assumed a different identity. However, if you didn’t give a suspect some genuine truths about yourself, the danger was forgetting what you told them. “I’m not sure if I think too much or if my thoughts just race through my head all night. I wish there was an off-switch.”

  “So, it’s not one specific thing?”

  “Not really. But a lot of what-ifs. What if I had driven Jennifer to work? What if I hadn’t made her late, would she have been at that intersection at the exact time the other car ran a red light? What if she called in sick like she wanted to, but had a meeting that couldn’t wait? What if...?”

  “I understand what you mean. The what-ifs can drive you insane.” Melanie sounded distant, her voice level as she stared straight ahead. Clearly, she was remembering her own what-ifs.

  “And here’s the real kicker: What if she and I never met? I probably wouldn’t be sitting here talking about my dead fiancée. And I’d be able to get a decent night’s rest.” Leaning my elbows on my knees, I ran my fingers through my hair. “I don’t regret knowing her at all. I dunno—it’s—I’m tired of the constant ache in my chest.”

  She rubbed my back in slow circles. The gesture, her touch, was probably the only response I could tolerate. Somehow, she got it. She got me. Pivoting toward her, I captured her hand—not because I wanted her to stop; I wanted to hold her hand more. Bringing her hand to my lips, I kissed her palm. “What about you? What makes you say that you think too much?”

  “Remember when you said that I probably have things in my past that I’d rather not talk about?”

  “You’d rather your past stay in the past?”

  “Yeah,” she said on a hard swallow. “It’s hard to talk about.”

  “You don’t have to tell me,” I told her, even though a uni was running a search on her for me. However, this wasn’t the why of it. I only wanted to know if she had a record. If I could keep her out of prison, her lack of criminal record could garner her a plea deal from the DA.

  “I want to.” It seemed like she was going to continue, then stalled out. “I’m sorry.”

  “For what?”

  “For you sharing about your Jennifer while I can’t find my words.”

  “Sounds like whatever it is left you traumatized.”

  “For life.”

  And then her brother passed away. After both her parents were already gone.

  Emma and Ryan’s characters were browsing through a record store when I glanced up at the TV. I stared at the screen, not paying particularly close attention to the dialogue. Emma reminded me of Melanie.

  She laughed throatily at the movie. I must’ve been staring at her because she looked at me and blushed. “What? This movie is hilarious.”

  I shook my head. “If you say so.” Leaning forward, she picked up the remote and muted the volume on the flatscreen. For the first time, I realized that I still held her other hand. “We can watch the rest of the movie.”

  “I know. But I can see you’re bored.”

  “Uh-uh. If you want to watch—” She cut me off with a kiss. “Seriously, we can watch the—”

  “Do you want to watch the movie or do something we’ll both enjoy?”

  Standing, she tugged me to my feet and led me to the bed.

  CHAPTER 20

  Melanie

  Lincoln stood behind me at the foot of the bed. His hands gripped my hips, his lips pressed to the side of my neck. I shivered as he kissed and suckled on the cords of my throat, his velvet tongue flicking back and forth. “I want in you so badly,” he breathed in my ear.

  Air escaped my lungs with a gasp. I covered his hands with my own. He squeezed harder, grinding against me, my ass cradling his hard length. Feeling how much he wanted me meant more than his words ever could. “I want you there, too.”

  He grasped the hem of my tank top and slid his warm rough hands under the fabric. My stomach quivered as he passed over my navel and with one smooth stroke tunneled into my jeans and panties. His fingers penetrated me. Heat surged between my legs, making me even wetter. Easing his hand up, he glided over my clit with my own essence. Squirming from the direct contact, my knees weakened, throwing me off balance.

  I fell to the mattress, taking him with me. Rolling to his back, he continued the massage. As I writhed and bucked, he held me around the waist with his other arm. I fisted the covers. The intensity of the pleasure so powerful, I screamed. My breath tore in and out of my lungs, burning the back of my throat.

  He yanked my tank up, exposing my breasts—my top didn’t require a bra. He palmed one breast, squeezing and tugging at the nipple. “Come for me. I wanna hear you scream.”

  Arching my back, another scream ripped out of me.

  “That’s it, baby.”

  My orgasm hit me like waves crashing the shore during a storm. The hot pulses ebbed, then gained strength and momentum before surging through my core again and again. This man did things to me I’d never thought possible. My toes curled. My body went boneless. Tears sprung from my eyes, blurring my vision. I imagined my jeans were soaked through. And oh, god, I wanted them off and if he ripped them, so be it. I had more pairs.

  Lincoln shifted out from underneath me. He stood and undid my pants. He yanked my jeans and panties off, shoving them to the floor. My tank top was next to go. I was naked and exposed yet not feeling vulnerable because he stripped down to nothing, too. I sat up on the edge of the mattress, helping him with his zipper while he took care of his shirt. He kicked his jeans away and dropped to his knees. “Lie back,” he demanded, and I did. Cranking my legs apart, he put his mouth where his fingers had been. I gasped as he licked and suckled and fucked me with his tongue.

  I felt a sudden pang in my heart of, god, I didn’t know what. Guilt or sorrow? Regret? Whatever the emotion was threatened to take me out of the moment. I pushed it to the back of my mind to deal with later. Except I found myself grasping at his hair. Pulling. He stopped and looked at me.

  “Is this—are you okay?” he asked.

  “Yeah,” I whispered, unable to make my voice any louder. A tear leaked from my eye then another until I was crying. My emotions were overwhelming me even though I had no clue what I was feeling or why. I swiped at my face.

  “What’s wrong?” He sat next to me and took my hand.

  “Nothing.” Everything. I wanted to tell him something. But I didn’t know what. Putting an arm around me, he pulled me into a hug. I took a shuddering breath. We lay back on the bed. He kissed my forehead. Although the gesture might have been merely his lack of knowing what else to do, it soothed me. I breathed deeply and closed my eyes.

  “For the record, I don’t believe nothing is wrong. But I do believe, whatever it is, i
t’s too painful to talk about it,” he said.

  I opened my eyes. Our faces were only inches apart. With only the glow from the TV across the room, I couldn’t see his eyes well, but knew they were focused on me. “Why is emotional pain much worse than physical?”

  “It just is.”

  “And it hits at all the wrong times, too,” I said. “You’ll be enjoying the moment, then out of the blue, you realize your life sucks and you’ve been alone so long you forgot what it feels like to be happy.” Safe and secure in someone’s arms. His arms. “And then there’s the part where I ask myself if we should be doing this.” Or if this is real. “I mean, you said it was a colossal mistake.”

  “I said colossally bad idea, not a mistake. And not because of what you might think.”

  “What do you think I think?”

  “That I’m using you,” he answered.

  “I let you.”

  “I’m not using you,” he whispered against my mouth before kissing me. I melted into him, grateful for the barely-there lighting in the room as my tears started flowing again. I wanted to believe everything he told me, but how could I when he didn’t know what I had done or who I was?

  “What is this between us, then?” I asked him. This was going hurt when it ended, and it would end.

  “I don’t know. It feels good, though. You’re the first person since Jennifer that I can’t stop thinking about.”

  “You like me?”

  “Yeah, I do, and I think that means we should be doing this.”

  “I wish we’d met under different circumstances.”

  “Me too.”

  “I wish I was different.”

  “I don’t.”

  “How can you say that? I mean, who has a crying jag in the middle of sex for no reason?”

  “I’m sure it’s not for no reason.”

  “Sure. Like you don’t think I’m a blubbering idiot now. A boat with holes in it.”

  He chuckled. “You’re not a boat.”

  “I’m so messed up.”

  “That makes two of us, but that doesn’t mean I don’t want you.”

  “I’m sorry.”

  “For what?”

  “Putting you in this situation.”

  “What situation is that?”

  “Crying on your shoulder.”

  “Hey, it’s not the first time someone has cried on my shoulder. I’m just glad it’s not me doing the crying this time.”

  I smiled. “Yeah, right.”

  “It’s true. Now let’s forget about our pasts for a while.” He lifted my chin with his finger and pressed his lips to mine.

  “What do you suggest?”

  “You know earlier, when I said I wanted in you? I still do.”

  I smiled. “I’m on board with that plan.”

  * * *

  Lincoln

  “This time, I’m on top,” Melanie said. My dick jumped at the prospect. Although I liked taking charge, I wanted to know what she would feel like straddling me.

  “There’s condoms in the nightstand.” I lay on my back with my hands behind my head in the middle of the bed. She put the edge of the foil wrapper between her lips and crawled toward me, the mattress depressing under her knees. As she swung her leg over my thighs, her breasts swayed. “Put the condom on for me,” I said, holding my shaft upright.

  She opened the wrapper and rolled the condom down my rock-hard cock. I closed my eyes and moaned. Without hesitation, she rose onto her knees and guided me inside her warm and wet. Placing her hands on my chest, she began rocking her hips. I grabbed her smooth thighs. She played with her tits, thumbing her nipples. “Let me do that,” I said, pushing her upper body forward with my knee. I captured one of her breasts with my mouth, swirling my tongue around the tip.

  Melanie gasped and moaned. My hands left her thighs and found her spectacular ass, helping with the friction side of things. Up and down, back and forth, I ground her on my erection. My harsh breathing forced me to release her other nipple. She sat up and I ran my hands over her full breasts. She tilted her head and arched her back, pushing her breasts in the air, the rosy tips a beautiful sight highlighted by the bluish glow from the TV.

  My cell phone rang. Fuck me. Reaching out, I patted the nightstand for the fucking thing. Although she continued riding me, she slowed. “You’re answering that now?” she asked incredulously.

  “Might be the Cowboy.”

  “I hate that bastard right now.”

  I brought the screen into view with one hand and squeezed her ass with the other. However, the interruption wasn’t Flynn. The number was one of the back lines at the department. No doubt the uni calling with the information I requested for Melanie Hughes. Not now. I hit the decline button and tossed the phone on the nightstand. Or, more like threw the cellular interruptus at the side table. The iPhone bounced off the wood top and landed on the hardwood floor. I only knew this from the sound it made. “Shit.”

  “Uh-oh, did it break?” she asked, then swirled her hips.

  “Uh. I don’t think...so.” I’d dropped the damn thing numerous times and the case always protected it. A moment later, the phone chimed with a voicemail alert. I focused my eyes to the right where I thought the phone ended up. Melanie circled her hips again, regaining my full attention. Grabbing her around the waist, I flipped her over.

  She yelped and giggled. Well, that was until I put her legs over my shoulders and penetrated her deeply. Now, she cried out, gripping my biceps tightly. Her nails dug into my skin.

  Tension gathered in my balls. I was so close. I quickened my thrusts, drilling her hard. An urge to kiss her came over me, but I couldn’t stop or change positions at that point. She whimpered and, at the intoxicating sweet sound, I grunted and came hard. So hard my hands slipped on the sheets and I collapsed on top of her. For a moment I worried I might have hurt her until she laughed.

  Propping myself on my elbows, I kissed her. “I don’t know about you, but I don’t remember anything about anything right now.”

  She smiled and held my jaw between her palms. “Nope. My mind’s a complete blank.”

  “Who knew a good fucking was all it took?”

  “I know, right? Do you think other people know about this amazing secret?”

  I laughed. “I think we are the first to discover it. Fuck. Slate. Clean.”

  “You’re so ridiculous.”

  I placed my hand over my heart and nodded. “I know. Thank you.”

  “Mm, sarcasm. Maybe you should take a bow.”

  “I would, but I don’t think my legs would cooperate right now.”

  A smile spread across her face. “I did that.”

  “Yeah, you did.”

  Melanie was the complete opposite of my late fiancée. Jennifer had zero baggage. She knew what she wanted out of life. She had decided on her career path as a teenager and made it happen. She wore business attire and pencil skirts. Her hair was always sleek and smooth. Her words chosen wisely. Her speech precise.

  The woman whose legs I was between carried the bags of her past around like a noose. She wore skinny jeans and sexy tank tops. Her wavy hair wild yet oh, man, so fucking soft, complementing her hazel eyes framed by long lashes.

  I pulled out and lay on my side next to her. She turned to me and I gave her a kiss on the mouth. Ironically, I wished she trusted me enough to tell me her story. Although the stuff I told her about my past was all true, she didn’t know I led a double life as an undercover cop. Would she leave me when she found out? Of course she would. How the hell did I think this was going to end?

  And the worst part of everything? I was falling for her. Hard.

  CHAPTER 21

  Melanie

  I didn’t know what the hell time it was when I heard Lincoln talking outside the apartment. After I used the bathroom, I walked past an open window in the kitchen area. As I moved to the partially opened window, the floorboards creaked. The sky was lightening as I looked through the blind slats. I
couldn’t see him, but his voice was near, so he must’ve been standing beside the window, maybe leaning against the building. Who is he talking to at the crack of dawn?

  What was I doing? If he wanted me to hear his conversation, he wouldn’t have gone outside. Annoyed with myself, I took a step away from the window. I heard him say my name and stopped. What was this, now?

  “No, Bandit, Nora doesn’t suspect a thing.”

  Huh?

  “I think the place to lay low would be in Somoa.” Lincoln fell silent for a few moments. “That’s right, no extradition. It’s perfect.”

  Although I’d heard of Somoa, I had no idea where the country was located on the map. A wave of nausea hit my stomach. What is he planning? I leaned in closer to the window and nearly lost my balance. Catching myself from falling, my hand hit the wall with a soft thud. I held my breath, relaxing when Lincoln continued his phone conversation.

  “When we change vehicles at the drop-off point, that’s when we make our move.”

  What move?

  “I don’t know man, that’s risky.”

  What? Oh my god, what?

  “I’m not going to kill her...I know, we’ll take her with us.”

  I smothered a gasp with my hand as a spike of fear burned through my stomach lining.

  I’m not going anywhere with you. If he wanted to be an idiot, that was on him. In my fantasies, I dreamed the two of us would slip away together, leave this life in the rearview mirror. Start over. We both certainly needed a reset button. But not with the money from J-Zen. And not before calling the Feds. The more I learned about Lincoln, the more I couldn’t imagine leaving him behind to serve a prison sentence because of me. He’d already suffered so much. But now this? Last night he had seemed so genuine. I sniffed back tears.

  “I think she’ll go for splitting the money three ways.”

  No. I didn’t want any of the money. It wasn’t ours.

  “Yeah, you’re right. Fifty-fifty split between you and me. I’m going to miss her, though.”