Steal the Light (Thieves #1)(101)

Surrounded by warring angels and demons, the greatest threat may come from one of her own. Torn between her Fae lover and the vampire who has always held her heart, Zoey finds that she and Dev are trapped in Daniel’s web of secrets, and it may be Zoey who has to pay the ultimate price.





Chapter One


I stretched as I rolled out of bed, trying not to wake the man next to me. I caught sight of Devinshea Quinn and couldn’t help but stare. His tan skin made a stark contrast to the white sheets. His dark hair was mussed from our activities, and though his face was relaxed, there was no way to soften that perfectly shaped jawline. The sheet was around his waist leaving most of his lean, muscular body on display. Everything about Dev Quinn was perfect, from his washboard abs to his cut chest, to those ridiculously sensual lips. I felt a smile cross my face as I sat there and just watched him sleep.

He shifted, rolling over in bed, and I decided it was time to go. As much as I liked to look at him, I really didn’t want the argument that was sure to come when he realized where I was going.

I stood up and was finally able to get out of the Christian Louboutin’s Dev had gifted me with earlier in the evening. I flexed my feet. The shoes were ridiculously gorgeous. My eyes had widened when I opened the box, and my heart had fluttered. It hadn’t taken Dev long before he had me in the shoes and nothing else. Those shoes were exciting and sexy, and just the slightest bit uncomfortable. They were a little like my relationship with Dev. The sex was incredible, and while I was in bed with Dev, I didn’t think about anything but him. The minute I rolled out of bed, I wanted to get out of those shoes and put on a pair of Converse. That was our problem.

Well, that and my husband.

I walked through the grotto, collecting stray clothes along the way. Dev’s apartment was at the top of a building he owned in the middle of downtown Dallas. The bottom of the building housed his club, Ether, the hottest club of its kind. But it wasn’t the kind of club that showed up on the “Best of Dallas” lists since I’m one of the only humans to be permitted entrance.

Ether was the place where the supernaturals of the world went to mix and mingle and do a little business. It was an official place of peace, despite my last year’s best effort to burn it down. I hadn’t meant to, but then I never do. Trouble just follows me. That had been my first date with Dev. At the time, I wasn’t married. It didn’t take me long to remedy that.

I slowed, unable to rush through. Dev’s “condo” took up the whole top floor of the building and was the most decadent space I’d ever seen. The first time Dev had taken me up the private elevator from his office in Ether to his penthouse, the doors had opened and I’d gasped. I called the whole place “the grotto.” It was something like an indoor forest, complete with a brook that ran through the various rooms of the apartment. When the sun was out, the whole place was lit with soft, natural light. In the dead of night, moonbeams streamed through the overhead windows, shining down and making the room seem magical.

It’s odd for a faery to live year round in the city. They don’t like the feeling of being enclosed. It goes against their nature, but Dev was mortal. He was the only one of his mother’s children who had not taken after her, and because of his mortality, he’d chosen to leave the sithein and cut off ties to his family. Since the day we’d met, I could remember two conversations we’d had about his family.

This place made me think he missed them.

I walked into the bathroom and turned on the shower. The bathroom was bigger than my entire living room. The splendor of Dev’s home put in stark contrast our relative differences. Dev had money and a lot of it. I had recently finished a job that gave me enough money to buy a little fixer-upper in the country, but I was starting to hurt for cash. My account was down to the low four digits, and I didn’t have more money coming in.

I would have given up all the money I had made on my last job if I could have changed the outcome of it. Some jobs aren’t worth the payday.

I tossed my clothes on the sink and stepped under the rainfall of deliciously hot water. The water stroked over my skin, and I stretched again. Sex with Dev was inventive and exciting, and required a certain level of flexibility. I could see yoga classes in my future.

Suddenly two big hands came from behind and cupped my breasts. I sighed for two reasons—one because it felt so good, and two because there would be no getting out of a fight. I let my head fall back against his chest, his body nestling against mine. If we were going to fight, I might as well enjoy the first part.

“Zoey,” Dev breathed in my ear, his voice the sweetest of seductions. “I sincerely apologize. I have treated you poorly.”

I smiled because I knew what was coming next. “I disagree, Dev. I was treated incredibly well. At least three times.”

One hand stayed at my breast, plucking at my nipple, pinching and lighting it up. Another clever hand made its way lower. His fingers slid over my clit, and that was all it took. I was warm and wet again. “If I had done my job properly, you would have passed out. The fact that you can move means I have more work to do. I didn’t even get to the part where I tie you up and we play.”

Dev liked to play. He liked to play with handcuffs and toys. He had a whole closet full of naughty little devices, like an FAO Schwarz for kink. With a low growl, he shifted, turning me toward him. His mouth took mine in a deep, luxurious kiss. This was what Dev and I did best.