To Catch a Thief

by Nana Malone

  He laughed. "Well, I didn't really have any other choice. Colton sent men to my flat first. And lucky for me, I have security measures that let me know someone was breaking in."

  I swallowed. "Let me guess. Those are for Max?"

  He nodded. "Yeah. When you have a brother like mine, it's best to be prepared, and I don't like being surprised."

  I put my hand on his. "I don't need your protection. I mean, I did need saving today, so you know, thanks for coming for me. But also, do you want to explain the Elite? The girls told me a little, but I’d like to know how you’re involved.”

  He sighed. “It’s a long story. But Ben, Bridge and East are in charge of an organization of powerful men. I’m one of their new recruits. I promise you’re safe with them.”

  I blinked. Then again. “For real? Secret society type stuff.”

  He shrugged. “Yeah. I figured the girls told you a couple of things. We’re not supposed to talk about it though.”

  I frowned. “Does Max know? I can think of a million ways he’d ruin this for you.”

  “He doesn’t. But more importantly, they know about him and have come up with a few mitigation strategies. I promise that you’ll be safe from all of this shit moving forward. I’m not leaving your side.”

  I considered and then smiled. “That would prove quite awkward in the loo. How am I supposed to have any mystery?”

  “I’m being serious. Something from my past is coming back to haunt me. I will annihilate anyone who tries to hurt you.”

  Except, maybe he needs protection from you.

  "Well anyway, I still appreciate it. You saved my life."

  He shook his head. "Stop saying that. In the end it was Bridge and the others that saved us."

  "Well, if you hadn't gotten me out of there, who knows what would've happened to me."

  His gaze searched mine. “I wouldn't let anything happen to you, even though I've dragged you into this. Just know that I'm going to figure out a way to fix this and make it right. Still not sure how yet, but I will."

  I squeezed his hand. "Thanks, Ollie. But you don't owe me anything. At the end of the day, I was eavesdropping. I got myself in that van. But that's not really what I want to talk to you about."

  "All right, what's going on?"

  I licked my lips. It was now or never. "I don’t know if you remember, but I had a pendant. I used to wear it all the time.”

  He went still. “Of course I remember.”

  “Well, I think Max wanted to dick with me and sent it to me. When I got it, I thought I was losing my mind a little."

  His face went ashen when he asked, "Why?"

  "It's just—" I sighed. How did I explain this? "I don't know how else to say this, other than to just lay it out all there, I guess. For a year after I left London, everything was fine. I mean, as fine as it could be. I missed you and wanted to come back. My father was angry and refused to speak to me. But you know, I was getting over it. Finding my stride, that sort of thing. And then one day before I went to Georgetown, I could have sworn that I saw Max."

  Ollie stiffened next to me. "What do you mean you saw him?"

  "I saw him. Across the street from my house. But when I went looking for him, I didn't see anything. And it went on like that for weeks. Months. Shadows that when I turned around were nothing. Or I'd see a note or lettering that looked like his handwriting, only to find out that it likely wasn't. Because what would he be doing in DC, right? It went on for a while. Finally I told someone, and my father lost his mind and made me call the police. There are anti-stalking laws, but the more the police investigated, the more they couldn't find anything. No hint of Max."

  His brow furrowed. "What do you mean?"

  "After months of looking for a stalker that didn't appear to be there, everyone decided that I was losing my mind."

  Ollie's voice went low and gravelly when he whispered, "What the fuck?"

  "My father, horrified by any kind of bad publicity, sent me away to a very discreet hospital where they could deal with situations like mine."

  "Wait, so your father and the police determined that you were making it up?"

  "Well, maybe not deliberately making it up. But as the doctor put it, as a result of my trauma in London, my brain had manifested the idea that ‘big-bad was out to get me.’ It took nine months of therapy and oh, they did love to drug me senseless before I was finally allowed to go home. I had to sit there and try to convince my doctors that I wasn't crazy. That I was in fact seeing him. Nobody believed me."

  Ollie ran his hands through his hair. “Jesus, I didn't l know Rian."

  “Yeah, well, it’s not like I talk about it.”

  He shook his head. “No. Fuck, I’m sorry. I sent you the pendant.”

  My eyes went wide. “I’m sorry, what?”

  Ollie stood and started pacing. “After you left, I saw it in Max’s things when he went away. I remembered you wearing it all the time.” He ran his hands through his hair. “After I fucked up and sent you away the day you came over to take care of me, I thought… Fuck, I don’t know. I thought I could give it to you as a peace offering. I didn’t know about all this shit that happened to you after you left. I never would have sent it. Didn’t you get the note that came with it?”

  It took me several moments to process what he was saying. “Note?”

  “Yes. It said I was sorry. I just thought…” his voice trailed. “I had no idea. Fucking hell.”

  I shook where I sat on the edge of the bed. It hadn’t been Max? “I knew we were shitty communicators, but damn.”

  He sat next to me and took my hands. “I’m so sorry. I didn't know it would backfire like that.”

  "I know you didn't. There's no way you could have known. I just, I saw it and then I freaked out. That whole time I was in the hospital, I maintained that I was not losing it, that I was not crazy. Even knowing that I had to lie and pretend that I thought I was going crazy if I ever wanted to be released, I kept saying that I knew what was happening, I knew what was real. And then when I got the pendant after I returned to London, part of me still believed Max was fucking with me."

  Ollie's gaze met mine. "It's entirely possible.”

  "Knowing the trouble Max has gotten you into now and the fact that I probably did see him at that event, I know I wasn't making him up. At any rate. When I got let out of the hospital, my father was too embarrassed to have a daughter who had ‘episodes,’ so he made me change my name. Beaumont was my mother's maiden name. He agreed to pay for school and look after me financially, but he wouldn't engage with me in any way. I no longer appear in his campaigns. He just basically cut me off and pretended I didn't exist. Exorcized me from his life."

  "He's a twat. What kind of man wouldn't want you in their life? He's your father. He should have treated you better than that. Especially since you were telling the truth."

  "All we can do is speculate. But I want you to know, the pendant thing… You didn't do anything wrong. You were trying to say you're sorry and—"

  Ollie's arms wrapped around me quickly, and he held me tight, tucking my head under his chin. "Hey, you don't apologize. I fucked up all over the place. I should've just talked to you. It would have saved us a lot of grief. If you don’t mind, I have someone who I think can look into whether or not Max was in the States back then."

  "You don't have to do that."

  "I want to. If I can give you peace of mind at the very least, I want to be able to do that."

  I reached up to touch his face. "What did I do to deserve you?"

  "You must have been a very good girl in a previous life, because you're practically a saint in this one."

  I had to smile at that. "I don't know about a saint. I did send you dicks in the mail."

  He chuckled low. "I knew it was you. I'm still mad about that, actually. I vowed revenge on you."

  "Oh yeah? Just how were you planning on getting me back?"

  His gaze roamed over my face. "You know what? Th
is is one of those things I'm better off showing you than telling you. But how about if you let me hold you for a minute first?”

  She nodded. “I could use that right about now.”

  Ollie

  I snuggled into the warmth at my side. God, she smelled like fucking heaven, and I relished in it. Sweet, warm, soft woman. The scents of jasmine and vanilla met me as I snuggled into her hair. Rian.

  Mate, this is a dream.

  Fuck that. Dream or not, I'd enjoy it while it lasted.

  Kissing the top of her head, I held her tighter, certain the amazingly solid mirage would dissipate if I held on to the thread of realness for too long. But then soft lips pressed to my nipple, sending a pure electric jolt to my cock. Fuck.

  She did it again, and my brain tried to make sense of what was happening. While my brain might still think I was asleep, my body tipped me into the land of the wakeful and horny. Very horny.

  My erect cock nudged her cleft, and she groaned, sliding her leg higher onto my thigh.

  That did it. My senses snapped to attention, and I blinked my eyes open. In a second, I knew where I was and that there was no immediate danger. Unless I counted Rian pressing her hot center into my cock, practically begging me to dry hump her on the couch.

  At some point in the middle of the night, she'd climbed onto me, hooking her leg over mine and splaying those long limbs across me. Good thing the couch was so deep. It fit the two of us easily.

  Again, she nuzzled my chest and kissed my nipple, this time licking the skin with her tongue. My cock throbbed, and there was no mistaking that I was hard, ready, and wanting. "Rian?"

  "Hmm?"

  Well, at least she was awake enough to respond. I'd have had to stop her if she wasn't coherent, and that would have been a crying shame. "Want to tell me what you're doing?"

  "Seeing how you taste."

  She licked me again, and I clamped my teeth together in an attempt to stave off the wave of lust rolling through me. Oh fuck. She was going to kill me with words alone. She was going to put me under and pile dirt right on top of me because… reasons. "Yeah, I can feel that." My voice was gruff, almost pained. "Anywhere else you want to taste? I'm sort of in an obliging mood. I'm eager for you to kiss me where you'd like."

  Lifting her head, she peeked up at me with a sly smile. "Is that so? I never figured you for a toe person."

  Even when she was driving me crazy, she could make me laugh. "We can start there if you'd like, but I have to warn you, I've got big feet."

  "Yeah, I'm noticing that," she said as she wiggled her hips.

  She hissed, and I groaned. Fuck this. Enough torture. I scooped her up easily and carried her over to the bed, only aided by the moonlight streaming in from the window.

  Rolling us both over until I lay on top of her, I grinned. "Seems like somebody's in the mood to misbehave."

  She blinked up at me and shrugged. "I might be."

  I lowered my head and for once stopped thinking, stopped rationalizing, stopped editing, and let myself feel. Let myself do the things I'd been imagining doing since I first saw her.

  Taking over the kiss, I fully threw myself into it. Her lips opened in a surprised gasp, and I took full advantage, delving deep with my tongue. Tentatively she met my tongue with hers, sliding it against mine. Beneath me, her hips moved in time with the strokes of our tongues, my cock nestling right against her. She’d worn the tiniest shorts I'd ever seen to bed. Hell, I wasn't entirely sure they weren't underwear.

  So hot. So sweet. The roar of blood between my ears deafened me to any warning bells that were clanging. I wanted her too much, so I silenced the caution. Silenced the doubt and just felt. She rocked her hips up to meet mine, and I scooped a hand down under her arse to hold her in place as I dragged my cock along her heat. Jesus fuck, that was so good . She bucked beneath me and threw her head back, giving me perfect access to her slender neck. I nipped and teased and licked. Rian dug her fingers into my hair and tugged me close. "God, right there. Yes."

  As I sucked on her petal-soft skin, I rubbed my cock against her over and over. The pressure building to near pain.

  When I dragged my lips down, she panted heavily, her breasts rising and falling with each shallow breath. "I don't think you need this right now."

  I tugged her tank top down and my breath caught. Jesus. She was so full, but not too full. Her taut nipples caught my full, undivided attention. My mouth watered with the desire to lick, to taste, to devour. Take it easy, Wexler. I dragged a deep breath to steady myself. I wasn't going to rush this. I was going to take my time and savor this moment.

  Sliding my lips over her skin, I smiled to myself as she arched her back, practically offering herself up to me. When my lips grazed a nipple, she moaned deeply. "Ollie."

  "Yeah, love?" I watched in fascination as her skin puckered around the tip. "So damn pretty."

  When I wrapped my lips around her nipple, she bucked in my arms, and the tingles started low in my spine. I didn't even have her naked yet, and I was getting ready to come.

  Forcing myself to relax, I slowed the pace, wanting her soft and pliant. I wanted to take my time, enjoy myself, not rush anything. Not like the blur of lips and heat we experienced the other day.

  Or at least that was the plan. With her hands in my hair, her hips rocking beneath me, and my tongue on her nipple, I was having a hard time remembering to take my time. Then I slid my hand into her shorts. Shit.

  All night she'd been sleeping next to me with no fucking underwear on. My finger encountered soft, dewy female, and all focus went to the finger grazing her tight entrance. She was so wet, and I wanted a taste, but I wanted to feel her for just a minute.

  Tight, so tight, but also soft and willing, her thighs fell apart, and I forced myself to take it easy. "Do you have any idea how soft you are? All I want to do right now is sink into you and lose myself." I might never leave. Gently, I retreated my finger an inch before sliding back in. Rian lifted her hips with every slide. I suckled her gently while finger fucking her, then teased her with a graze of my teeth as I prepared her. My finger slid and retreated. Then I added another. She slid her hands from my hair onto my shoulders, and I could feel the imprint her nails were leaving.

  "Shhhh," I whispered against her breast. "Easy does it. I'm not going to hurt you. I would never hurt you."

  "Ollie, oh God, oh my God."

  "You want more, Rian?"

  Her answer was a moan. And I stopped moving altogether. "I don't understand, Rian. Tell me, do you like it?"

  She nodded vehemently. "Ye-yes. God, don't stop."

  It didn't matter to me that the demons of lust were roaring through my blood, I wanted this from her, needed this from her. Her soft sounds were more than enough to make me want to thump my chest and yell, She's mine.

  I adjusted my hand position as I crawled back up to claim her mouth. I timed the thrust of my tongue with every glide of my fingers. Rian clawed at my back, and I hissed at the mix of pleasure and pain.

  My thumb circled her clit on every retreat, dragging out her response, and she whimpered and rocked her hips, trying to chase my withdrawing fingers. She was so electric. So damn pretty, open for me like this. She held nothing back from me.

  "Rian, look at me."

  She fluttered her lids open, and her dark eyes met mine. "I want to see you when you come for me."

  "Ollie, I don't think I can." She sucked in her bottom lip and grazed it with her teeth.

  "It's just us, Rian. All you have to do is let go."

  "I don't know if I can."

  "Oh, you can." I kissed her softly as my thumb slid over her clit, up and down, over and over. No rush, just a slow, gentle glide in time with my other fingers. I wanted her on the edge of control as long as I could keep her there. I wanted her to know exactly who was making her feel this good. Who was making her scream with pleasure.

  Then I felt it, the quiver of her velvety soft walls around my fingers.

  Rian's ey
es went wide, and she gasped my name. I felt the electricity winding its way around my spine as I fought for control. This wasn't about me or what I needed. This was about Rian.

  The moment she let go, her whole body bowed and she quaked as the orgasm sent aftershock after aftershock. I didn't wait. I shoved off the blanket and slid down her body as I tugged those useless shorts down her toned legs and spread her wide. "I've been dying to taste you since I saw you dance."

  "Ollie—"

  Anything else she might have said was cut off when I slid my tongue from cleft to slit. Hell, yes, she tasted like heaven. So sweet. I splayed her legs wide and licked, sucked, and fucked her with my tongue. Taking my time to explore her. With her legs shaking, I crawled up her body to kiss her again. Snatching my wallet off of the nightstand, I grabbed a condom. I yanked off my shorts and T-shirt with a swift efficiency before rolling on the condom inch by inch. Rian watched me with wide eyes, a smile teasing her lips.

  "Look at me, baby. You want my cock?"

  Rian dragged her eyes up to meet mine. "All of it Ollie. All of it."

  I teased her entrance with my throbbing erection, so desperate for release. Inch by inch I eased in. Rian held on tight to my forearms.

  My body trembled and I dropped my forehead to hers. "Do you have any idea how incredible you feel?"

  She tensed beneath me and she pulsed around my cock. I knew she was close again. "Oh wow…"

  "Look at me, beautiful. I want—"

  But the words failed me at that point. When her body rocked against mine and she bowed her back, I muffled her scream with a kiss. Rian locked her arms around me, and I couldn't think of a single place I'd rather be. With another grinding stroke, then another, I followed her into oblivion.

  Twenty-Five

  Oliver

  The sound of the buzzing phone on the nightstand next to me woke me up. Rian moved in my arms, her smooth skin molding against mine, making my brain shift to more important things like getting her under me again.

  But the phone kept insistently buzzing. Jesus, if it was important or urgent, Ben or Bridge or East would've just knocked on the door, right?