Steal the Light (Thieves #1)(32)

My back sank into the mattress, Daniel’s weight pressing me down. My whole body was languid, utterly submissive to his. And I’d lost my pants. And underwear. And everything. He’d stripped me down and lost his own clothes and our bodies slid against each other, skin to skin.

“Wrap your legs around me.” Daniel rubbed his chest against mine, the hard length of his erection nestled at my core. “Fuck, Z, you’re so wet. That smells good, too. It’s like I’m surrounded by your light.”

I liked the sound of that. The whole world seemed like an erotic dream. I did as he asked, drawing my legs together with him in the center. It didn’t take much for him to twist his hips and join us together.

This was where I belonged, with Daniel inside me. I let my hands run down to his ass to cup those muscular cheeks. He was my playground. And I was inside him, too. My blood flowed through his body, keeping him alive.

“You feel so good, Z.” He sounded a little drunk, but then I felt that way, too.

I twisted my hips, trying to take him deeper. He felt so good, rocking his cock back and forth, playing in my *.

He stared straight down at me, our eyes locking as he thrust in. We were so connected. I could practically feel his pleasure, and I wanted to give him mine.

And then he was Daniel again, his lips curling up and those dimples creasing his face. “I think we’re going to like this life, Z.”

I thrust up, impaling myself on him, fire flashing through me. Yes. This was going to be an adventure.

He leaned down, and his perfect lips found mine. I could taste the faintest hint of metal and realized it was blood. I licked at his lips, and he went a little crazy. His hips set a punishing rhythm that made me moan and beg. He pressed into me, bringing me to the edge over and over. I wrapped myself around him because he was the only real thing in the world now.

Daniel groaned and ground down, hitting my clitoris and sparking heat through my body.

Sex had been good, but this was something beyond any orgasm I’d had before. This was flying on a jet, when I’d only ever been on a bus. He finally found that perfect spot and let his cock glide over it, and I took off.

I held him so close as he released his own control and let himself fall. It was all right. We were safe there together.

He held me the rest of the night, telling me over and over how much he loved me. About an hour before dawn, they came and took him away from me.

I fought and screamed and, in the end, I begged.

It didn’t matter. He was gone again, and I was left with nothing but questions.





I turned off the shower and tried to shake the memories. I shivered since the shower had gone cold a while back, but I hadn’t noticed until now. I’d been lost in the memory of the last time Daniel and I were happy. Years had passed since that moment when they hauled him from my arms, but I was still stuck there.

The thought of Dev crossed my mind. Dev was a different road, one that might not have closed yet. Was I brave enough to give it a real try?

I pushed open the door to the shower and wrapped myself in a towel. There was a clean T-shirt sitting on the countertop along with a first aid kit, and I wondered if Daniel had heard me crying. The wound in my shoulder had bled profusely but it wasn’t really deep. It didn’t need more than antibiotic cream and a square bandage. I pulled the T-shirt over my head and went about the business of drying my hair. The night weighed on me, and my earlier adrenaline rush fled a long time ago. It was only now that I wondered exactly where Daniel was planning on putting me. I knew there was only one bedroom, and if he thought I was taking the couch, he had another think coming.

I opened the door to the bedroom and indeed there was a man on the bed, but it wasn’t Daniel.

“I have chocolate chip or peanut butter.” Neil held up two bags of cookies. He was dressed in pajamas that Dick Van Dyke might have worn. They were a pale blue and I would have sworn he’d had them pressed. “Daniel called me and told me to get my ass over here. Rude, much? Anyway, he’s sleeping in a body bag in the den and I’m supposed to be making sure you don’t do anything stupid tomorrow like leave the apartment.”

So Daniel had brought in reinforcements. “You’re supposed to babysit me? I should warn you, unless you plan on tying me up, I’m leaving in the morning.”

His eyes lit up. “Cool, what are we going to do?”

I laughed as I sat on the bed. “You’re a crappy babysitter.”

“I know. It’s like letting the fox watch the chickens. I have no idea what he was thinking.” Neil’s eyes were wide with incredulity. “The whole time he was talking I was thinking about all the things we could do after we stole his credit cards.”

I found it difficult to remain morose around Neil. “We’re not stealing his credit cards. We’re going to find out who tried to kill me and deal with them. You don’t have to go with me. I really don’t need a babysitter.”

Neil thought about that for a minute, his eyes turning serious. He reached out and covered my hand with his. He’d only worked with me for a little over a year, but we’d become close. “I know I come off as superficial, and I am on most levels. Don’t try to deny it. I’m all right with it. I like pretty things and pretty people, and I like to look at myself. But there’s more to me than that. I would never let you go off like that all by yourself. I don’t have family anymore, not the blood kind. They tossed me out a long time ago. The way I see it, you and Sarah and Daniel are all I have. I like to think of you as a sister, Zoey. Anyway, what I’m trying to say is I’ve got your back. I won’t let you down, or if I do it’ll be because I died trying. Of course, I’ll look damn good while I do it.”