Steal the Day (Thieves #2)(70)

The elevator opened and Roman entered, but I grabbed Daniel’s hand. His eyes were downcast, his mouth a tight line. I looked around and, sure enough, there were at least ten pairs of eyes looking at us. Three women looked at me with great sympathy.

I could be angry with Daniel, but I wasn’t letting anyone pity me for being married to him. I smiled and with great tenderness, lifted my lips to his. There was no mad lust in my intent. This was affection and caring, and Daniel responded in kind. His lips touched mine, sweetly saying so much more than passion could. I laid my head on his shoulder, and he wrapped me in a protective circle. We stayed there for a moment and then entered the elevator. I watched as they gawked at us. Daniel leaned down and set his chin on the top of my head, watching the lobby as well.

“Thank you, Z,” he said quietly.

“They don’t know you, Danny.” If they did, they would think I was lucky. At that moment, I was thinking I was insane. I’d just left the arms of one man I loved and promptly found myself wrapped up in another. And my heart was just as content here.

“Maybe you don’t know me,” he said, pulling away.

I rolled my eyes. “Is this your ‘rail against fate’ time or are you brooding? And what the hell is a Nex Apparatus?”

Roman piped up. “It means Death Machine. Daniel Donovan is the Council’s Death Machine.”

Daniel looked down again with a sort of shame that made my heart ache.

Still, I snorted. I couldn’t help it. “That is the worst super villain name I ever heard. No one knows what Nex Apparatus means. What’s up with all the Latin? When you show up to kill someone and give them your name, they’re supposed to quake in fear, baby, not ask you for a translation.”

Daniel laughed, and I was happy to get that look off his face. I didn’t blame him for anything he’d done while working for the Council. He’d done it to survive. “I’ll try to come up with something more suitable for you, Z.”

“Good.” I looked back down at that lobby. I would have to face those people soon enough. “And I’ll try to find you some spandex.”

“Neil will be thrilled,” Daniel admitted, and he squeezed my hand. I got the feeling we’d be doing a lot of hand holding in the next couple of hours.

Whether I was ready or not, Dev was right. This game was on.





Chapter Eighteen





When I stepped out of the shower, Daniel was sitting on the bed, slacks on, shirt off. I stopped, my feet planted to the ground. Intimacy. Even at home, we’d been careful of not catching each other in moments like this. Moments that felt like before, when it would have been perfectly normal for him to see me wrapped in a fluffy robe.

We were stuck in this suite together, pretending to be lovers for days. What would it feel like when Dev was here, too? When we were all thrown together, forced into a fake intimacy?

“Zoey, I’m sorry.” His hands were shaking slightly, evidence of his need. “We should get this over with.”

“All right,” I said, loosening the belt of my robe. “Where do you want me?”

It was awkward. I was thinking about the fight we’d had and all the horrible things we’d said to each other. And I was thinking about the good times, too. I was thinking that we’d always talked about getting married in Vegas and avoiding a big wedding because it seemed silly when my father was our only family.

Of course, our little elopement wouldn’t have included an entourage and a fabulous suite, and those fangs in Daniel’s mouth.

They gleamed, primitive and ferocious in the low light. I’d never been afraid of them because they were a part of Daniel, but the minute he noticed me looking, he closed his lips, hiding that part of himself.

“Sit in my lap, Z. It’s the easiest way.”

I settled onto his lap, his arm curving around my waist and pulling me close. I could smell the soap from his shower and feel the smoothness of his skin as I wrapped my arm around his waist. I looked up and his eyes had bled to a gorgeous, surreal blue, the white disappearing.

“Zoey, please let me pull you in. I don’t want to hurt you.” Pulling me in was his code for using his powers of persuasion to make the bite orgasmic. I’d had it both ways and firmly came down on the side of pleasure. “I won’t take advantage.”

I nodded, not trusting myself to speak. He wouldn’t take advantage. Daniel had proven to have excellent control when it came to denying himself. It had cost us years. I sat on his lap, the world narrowing to him. There was no worry in this place. There was no king or queen or Council. There was only pleasure and joy.

“I can hear your heartbeat, baby,” Daniel said, his voice a deep, rich seduction. His free hand stroked my throat, tracing the veins he found there. “I can hear the blood rushing through every vein. It’s like music, and when I listen close enough, my whole body responds until we’re in harmony. I never feel my heartbeat unless I’m with you.”

My head fell back and I shivered as the warmth of Daniel’s mouth enveloped me. He kissed my neck, his tongue laving affection, getting me to the perfect place where I wanted one thing. I wanted his bite more than my next breath. Every part of my body responded. My nipples peaked. My skin sang. I would swear I could feel every inch of my body opening wide to welcome him.