Escorts and Thieves (22 page)

A burglar!

The office was where he kept some of his priceless artifacts, including the one he’d acquired at the auction the night before. He was having a display case custom built for it, and in the meantime, it rested in his safe.

Marcus crouched down to look through the keyhole. A chair partially obstructed his view, but he could clearly make out a figure kneeling in front of his safe. Hands clad in surgical gloves turned the dial, and it appeared the person was pressing a stethoscope to the door of the safe to listen to the interior workings of the lock.

He took off his shoes and, as quietly as he could, he snuck into his bedroom and opened the top drawer of his nightstand.

The 9mm semi automatic he retrieved from it felt cool in his hand. He wasn’t a particularly good shot; in fact, he had only shot the gun once or twice when he’d purchased it. It wasn’t even loaded, but it would do as a deterrent. The ammunition was locked in a cabinet in his office and therefore out of reach.

After a few deep breaths, he turned the knob to the office and swung the door open, before pointing the gun at the intruder who instantly jumped to his feet.

Correction: to
her
feet!

Clearly, she hadn’t planned on meeting him at the restaurant. The little temptress had simply wanted him out of the way.

Dressed in figure-hugging black trousers, a tight black turtleneck sweater and black boots, it was doubtful that the Maitre d’ at Claridge’s would have admitted her to the elegant dining room. They were, after all, a bit old fashioned and stodgy there.

“Olivia,” he greeted her. “What a surprise.”

It was the understatement of the century.

Her eyes searched for an escape route, but there was none. The window behind her had bars on the outside, and Marcus blocked the only door, the gun still pointing at her.

“And what is it that you’re after, since it’s obviously not my charming company?” Marcus asked casually.

Her eyes skimmed over his body, briefly resting on his torn trousers. He followed her look.

“Lucky accident, otherwise I’d be sitting in the restaurant now, waiting for you in vain.”

Olivia finally spoke. “Lucky for you, I suppose.”

She knew she was caught, but she didn’t know what he would do. Neither did he.

Should he call the police? Have her arrested? Clearly, she was a burglar. A cunning one at that. She should be punished.

Marcus let his eyes roam over her body. He knew already that she had amazing legs. She’d shown them off to him the night before—and not by accident, he knew that now. But the tight fitting clothes she wore now accentuated her curves even more.

He’d bet a hundred quid that she didn’t wear a bra under that snug sweater of hers.

“Ever been to prison?”

He saw a quick flash of fear in her eyes.

“I’ve never gotten caught.” Her voice was silky and just as tempting as he’d found it the night before.

“There’s always a first. I never caught a thief before either. Especially not such a hot one.”

Color slowly rose to her cheeks. Good. He liked her reaction. At least, he didn’t leave her cold.

“So you caught me. What now?”

Marcus smiled. Olivia was trying to take the offensive.

“You’ll have to deal with the consequences, I’m afraid.”

Sure, there had to be consequences. He’d have to punish her. And he suddenly knew exactly how.

He took a couple of steps toward her, and instinctively, she backed away. Her eyes went to the weapon in his hand. He shrugged and placed it on his desk, then continued his approach until he stood only a foot from her. Considering that he was much taller and heavier than she, he knew she couldn’t overwhelm him even if he was unarmed. If she tried, she’d soon enough find out that he had a Black Belt in Karate.

Olivia stared at him, then back at the gun on the desk. Was she trying to figure out if she could get past him and reach for it? Turn the tables on him?

Slowly, he shook his head. “Olivia, Olivia,” he said as if talking to a naughty child.

Naughty, yes. A child, no.

How naughty was exactly what he wanted to find out.

“We won’t need a gun, and we won’t need the police. I think we can take care of this between us.”

She raised an eyebrow. “How?”

He gazed at her luscious mouth.

“A trade.”

“Name your price. I’ve put sufficient money aside for unfortunate events like these.”

Was she thinking she could buy her way out of the situation? Yes, he’d let her pay, but English pounds weren’t his currency of choice. “I’m not talking cold hard cash.”

“A transfer to an offshore account then to avoid the taxman?” She offered with a knowing smile.

He moved his head closer and dropped his voice to a whisper.

His hand came up to stroke her jaw, before his fingers traced along her neck.

She shivered. He could only echo the feeling.

“You know what I want.”

“You must be joking.” Finally she was catching on to his way of thinking.

“I don’t have a sense of humor when it comes to my prized possessions.”

Olivia swallowed hard. “What kind of trade are you offering?”

He looked straight into her eyes. “Prison or my bed. The choice is yours.”

4

His bed!

Of course Olivia had suspected what he wanted. She was a woman after all, but to hear his proposal roll over his lips so smoothly made her insides tremble. She’d seen that look before. It was the same he’d given her in the foyer of the auction house. And it had made her feel queasy then. It was worse now.

Having a man like Marcus lust after her, desire her, want her in his bed, was a powerful turn-on, despite the precarious situation she found herself in. She could feel his breath on her face, the searing heat of his body bringing her cells to a fever pitch. His fingers on her neck burned like molten lava.

She couldn’t think clearly with him standing so close to her. She felt her nipples harden at the thought of his proposal. A night with a sexy man in exchange for being let off the hook? Why not take it? What did she have to lose?

But what if it was a trick?

“What guarantee do I have that you won’t go to the police anyway?”

He shrugged. “Only my word.”

She didn’t know him. Yes, she’d done her research on him, but it didn’t mean anything. She didn’t know whether his word was good or not.

She felt him move closer, his thighs brushing against hers. She inhaled sharply.

“Maybe we should seal our deal with a kiss?” Marcus suggested.

Olivia gave him a panicked look. “I haven’t accepted it.”

“Maybe not consciously, but your body . . . ” He let his eyes sweep over her breasts, focusing on the hardened nipples that pressed through her sweater.

Darn traitors!

To emphasize his point, his hand trailed down to one of the peaks and touched it, swirling his finger around it then lightly taking the little bud between his thumb and index finger, squeezing gently.

A stifled moan escaped her lips. This man would be her undoing. She felt like melting into his touch. Would it be too forward if she took his hand and guided it under her sweater to touch her naked skin? How long had it been since a man had touched her this intimately?

God, what was she thinking?

“What guarantee do I have?” she heard herself say. Was she crazy even thinking about accepting his offer? Was it any surprise that she couldn’t think clearly with his masculine scent drugging her?

“I’m going to kiss you, and if you don’t believe me after that . . . ”

He didn’t finish his sentence. Instead his mouth moved closer. His lips touched hers, very gently at first as if he was testing if she’d push him away. She had no intention of doing so. She had wanted to feel his lips on hers the moment she’d seen him in the auction hall. Had craved it in fact.

His hand rested on her breast while the other one snaked around her shoulder and moved to the back of her neck, caressing her and sending goose bumps down her spine. Instinctively she parted her lips and felt his tongue dart into her mouth.

Her resistance, if she ever had any, vanished instantly. Unable to resist his tender kiss, she sought out his tongue and twined with him, allowing him deeper access to her mouth while she put her arms around his neck.

Olivia felt her body in tumult as the heat in it rose. Her insides seemed to melt into liquid and trickled to her core, pooling between her legs. Unbearable need flared up in her. The need to feel this man, have him inside of her. As she kissed him back more fiercely and ran her hand through his thick hair, a guttural moan came from his mouth.

He pulled himself away from her. His eyes were dark and filled with desire. Out of control desire. Perfect. She could work with that.

“Prison or my bed? I need an answer now,” Marcus insisted.

“Your bed,” she answered huskily and pulled him back to her, sinking her lips onto his.

Good. Now if her traitorous body would only listen to her brain to work out a scheme of how to get her out of this mess, she’d feel even better. Or not.

Damn, the man was a fabulous kisser. And here she thought
she
was taking charge, considering that this man was guided by his desire. No. He immediately hijacked her kiss and took over. So much for the control she thought she’d have over the situation.

As he pressed her against him, all her soft places molded into his hard ones. It was impossible not to notice his erection rubbing against her stomach. His hand went down her back, and his fingers splayed over her ass, pulling her closer into him.

Marcus released her lips for a moment. “I would have bought you dinner before taking you to bed, but I’m afraid we’ve lost our reservation by now.”

Arrogant tosser!

Had he really thought just buying her dinner would get him laid? She was about to tell him what she thought of his comment when he smothered her mouth with another passionate kiss. Damn him! Unfortunately, it felt way too good to stop.

His tongue entered her mouth as if he was planning to move in. Okay, so maybe she’d invited him. But, hell, he sure wasn’t shy about making himself at home, while at the same time he ground his hips against her, making her all too aware of what he needed.

“Oh, yes!” she heard a female voice gasp and realized it was her own.

Olivia felt his hand tunneling under her sweater, running his fingers over her heated flesh until he found her breast and cupped it.

“You feel so good,” Marcus murmured against her lips.

He pushed her sweater up, uncovering her breasts, and she could feel the suddenly-cooler air against her skin, saving her from burning up, but not for long. Seconds later, he sank his lips onto her skin. His tongue laved the already-erect nipple before his lips circled it and sucked it into his mouth.

Olivia threw her head back and let him touch her. Let him? Hell, she urged him on to give her more. His tongue, his lips, his mouth, they worked in beautiful concert on her breasts, alternating between licking, biting, and sucking until she could barely breathe.

Her hands played with his hair, holding him closer to her so he wouldn’t stop. When she felt his hands on the button of her trousers, easing it open, she didn’t stop him. Even when he pulled down the zipper and started moving her trousers over her hips, she found no words or actions to stop him.

Olivia opened her eyes and looked down to him as he knelt before her, shimmying down her trousers over her thighs, his head at her core. Her gaze drifted to the desk where he’d left the gun. It wasn’t far. Maybe she could make it. Just one leap toward it, grab the gun and point it at him. She had to try.

Or was it a trick? Why had he dropped the gun so carelessly onto his desk?

But then she felt the cool air at her sex and realized he’d pushed aside the fabric of her panties. The cool air didn’t last long and was instantly replaced by his face pressing into her. His tongue dipped between the apex of her thighs, but the tight trousers, stuck around her knees, prevented her from opening herself up to him.

The gun was instantly forgotten. Instead, she needed to figure out a way of getting him closer so she could feel his tongue inside her.

“Take me to bed,” she demanded.

5

Marcus dropped her onto his bed and pulled her boots off in the next instant. Who would have thought that the sexy woman from last night had been out to screw him? Now he was going to screw her. All night. Until she couldn’t walk anymore.

The shock of seeing her kneeling in front of his safe and realizing she was a burglar had dissipated and was replaced by the shock of how much she still turned him on. He chalked it up to the fact that this was a dangerous situation.

He tugged at the ends of her trousers and stripped her of them. When he saw her get busy taking off her surgical gloves and her sweater, he made quick work shedding his own clothes. Olivia had no inhibitions. Another thing he liked about a woman.

He had given her his word not to involve the police, and he meant it. Judging by how calmly she accepted being caught, she was likely a hardened criminal. Which made her dangerous and infinitely enticing.

And he’d always had a soft spot for women who could get him hornier than a fifteen year old boy with a stack of playboys. Because he wasn’t fifteen anymore. He was thirty-five, and getting an erection generally took more than just looking at a woman for three seconds. Not so with her. He’d been ready the moment he’d let his eyes roam over her in her tight trousers and snug sweater.

Olivia lay on the bed, her nude body stretched out and as inviting as he’d ever seen any woman. He noticed her look at him, no, not only look, admire him. Her gaze swept over his naked body as he stood in front of her. Marcus gave her ample time to look at whatever she wanted. When her eyes rested on his cock, she bit her lower lip.

“Are you going to come to bed or are you going to just stand there?” she asked.

He gave her a faint smile. “Patience. You’ll get your punishment soon enough.”