Thief: A Bad Boy Romance (18 page)

T
he late train
from North Station to Shelter Harbor is mostly empty. A few drunks, the odd late-shift waiter or bartender.

I get some strange looks at the black and sequined cocktail dress I’m still wearing, but I don’t care. I’m tired, I’m drained, and inside my head, I’m closing the Blaine chapter of my life with a satisfied click.

Because I’m going back to an earlier one - a better one.

I’m going home, and right now, I just want my husband.

I need my lighthouse.

The cab driver I get at the Shelter Harbor train station gives me s strong look when I have him drop me off at the docks, but I pay it no mind. I slip off my high heels and walk barefoot down the pier, listening to the sound of the tide washing again the underside of the wooden docks.

His houseboat is dark, but I know he’s there.

I climb over the side and slowly open the door to the cabin. I watch him for a moment as he sleeps, his bare chest rising and falling in the glow of the moon. The dress slips from my shoulders, pooling on the floor before I slip my panties down my legs to join it there.

There are no words, I just slide into bed with him, smiling as I find him as naked as I am under the thin sheet draped across his lower body. He stirs as my hands slide across his skin, turning to blink at me in surprise before I silence whatever he’s about to say with a kiss.

I pull away slowly to see him grinning at me with a curious look on his face.

“You’re back.”

I nod, and his brow suddenly knits.

“What’s wrong?”

I smile. “Nothing.” I lean into him again, kissing his lips.

“Nothing is wrong.”

“How’d it go?”

I roll my eyes. “What if we saved the talking until tomorrow.”

“I think I can work with that.”

And then there really are no words.

He pulls me into him, kissing me deeply as his hands trace down the small of my back. I melt into him, feeling his skin hot against mine in the humid summer evening air and feeling the throbbing hardness of his cock against my thigh.

His hands slide to my ass, pulling me hard against him, making me shiver as I feel him pulse there between my legs. Fingers slide across my ass, down further and deeper between my thighs. I lift one leg up and over his hip as his fingers trace across the dripping wet heat of my pussy, making me moan into his mouth.

We roll over as he pulls me on top of him. And before I can do anything, those strong, powerful and demanding hands of his are pulling me up his hard, inked body towards his lips and his tongue..

I whimper as he settles me onto his mouth, and when his tongue slides deep inside of me, I cry out. His hands hold me by the hips, pulling me tightly to his mouth as he slowly licks me - teasing me, tasting me, making me gasp as his tongue finds my clit. My hands slide up my own body, teasing over my breasts and pulling at my nipples before sliding up to my hair.

I toss my head back, letting my eyes close and letting him rock my hips against his mouth, letting myself melt as he fucks me with his tongue. He moves faster and faster, his tongue swirling around my clit sending lightening through my body. His hands slide around to my ass, gripping at the curves there, holding me to his mouth. He spreads me wide, and I whimper as I feel his finger tease around my ass as his tongue curls around my clit.

And when I come, it’s like a storm crashing against the shore. I cry out sharply, my hips bucking against his face and my body shattering as his tongue and his fingers drive me over the edge.

I’m still shaking - still gasping for air - when he rolls us over. He starts to reach for his bedside table, but I stop him, bringing him down to kiss him fiercely instead.

“Just you,” I whisper, feeling insane and crazy, and drink off my desire for him.

“I want to feel you like we did that time.”

“That time” being the time frantic and panting making out in the cab of his truck led to clothes being pulled from sweaty bodies, only to realize there wasn’t a condom to be found.

The time I rode him bare - skin to skin and the notion of how risky it was only making it all the hotter.

I stroke his face as he hovers above me, my legs spread for him.

“I just want to feel
you
inside of me,” I say quietly, arching my hips up towards him and gasping as I feel the throbbing head of his cock slip across my opening.

His eyes flash at me as he leans down to kiss me hard. He pulls back, sitting up as his hands slide down my legs from my ankles to my thighs, spreading them wide and pushing them up and over his shoulder. He eases against me, his thick head slipping between my slick folds and making us both moan.

Slowly, he drives inside, filling me up with every thick, throbbing inch of him as I cry out. He leans down again, capturing my mouth with his as he eases out, leaving just the head inside before he pushes back in to the hilt.

Oh God yes.

I can feel him bare inside of me, my pussy clutching at his shaft and feeling him throb so deep and so hot inside of me. Silas groans into my lips as he starts to fuck me like that, his hands holding me by the backs of the knees as he pumps in and out with deep, even strokes. He sits up, his hand sliding to my ankles and holding them up in the air as his hips pound into mine again and again.

I can feel my pulse racing, the breath hitching in my lungs as he fills me again and again, his eyes never leaving mine as he fucks me closer and closer to another orgasm.

He reaches for my hand, bringing it to his mouth and sucking on my finger as I moan for him. He brings it down, placing my hand on the place where we join and letting me feel the slickness there as his cock pumps in and out of me. I start to rub my clit, my breath coming faster and shorter as my body starts to fall.

“Oh,
fuck
, Silas-”

But my words shatter before I can even tell him. I claw at the sheet beneath me, crying out as the climax roars through me.

Silas groans as he fucks me through my orgasm, before suddenly he pulls out and grips his slippery cock firmly in his hand. He pumps himself twice before suddenly he roars as he paints my soft belly and breasts with his sticky cum.

We both gasp as he rolls next to me, gathering me in his arms as I shake against him.

“Holy shit, did you actually get
better
at that somehow?”

I can feel him grin into the top of my head.

“Hang on.”

He slips from the bed and pads to the bathroom, where I hear water running. He returns a second later, a washcloth in his hand as he gently cleans my skin.

He grins sheepishly at me. “I wasn’t sure if you-”

“I’m on the pill.”

He arches a wicked brow at me, his lips curling at the corners. “Oh?”

I nod as he tosses the washcloth away and crawls over me, easing down to kiss me.

“Well in that case, I’m thinking maybe we should do that again,” he murmurs against my lips before dropping his mouth to my ear and nipping at the lobe with his teeth.

“And this time, I don’t think I should pull out until I fill you up with every drop of my cum.”

I whimper at his words, shivering as I feel his cock start to grow again against my thigh.

“Now?”

He grins as he pulls back from my neck. “Got somewhere better to be?”

I shake my head. “Not in the slightest.”

My hand slides up into his hair as I pull him down to kiss me, melting against him.

I have
nowhere
I’d rather be than right here in bed with him, and as I roll on top of him and feel his hardness pulse between my thighs, I’m pretty sure neither of us is leaving here until we make up for a
lot
of lost time.

I
t’s a light grey outside
, barely morning, when the phone buzzing across my nightstand wakes me.

I blink in the misty dawn, momentarily stopping to grin at the face sleeping against my chest, her blonde hair teasing and tickling my nose.

But the phone goes again, and reluctantly, I reach for it, frowning at the local number I don’t recognize.

“Silas?”

Her voice is broken and delicate sounding - hushed and scared.

I frown. “Stephanie?”

There’s a soft sobbing sound that comes hitching through the phone, and I sit up slightly, alertness flooding into me.

“Steph, what’s wrong?”

Ivy stirs against my chest, her eyelids fluttering against my skin before she slowly raises a sleepy face my way.

“Silas, can you-” Stephanie’s voice hitches again over the phone. “Your uncle, he-”

For one horrible, fucked-up and excited second, I think maybe he’s dead.

She sobs. “He’s been drinking and, and-”

Her voice breaks.

“Steph, you need to tell me what happened.”

“He didn’t mean it, Silas,” she says quietly. “I know that.”

My eyes narrow as I sit up fully then. “Steph, what. Happened.”

“He just, he just- I don’t know what I did, Silas. I don’t
know
what I did to make him so angry.”

My blood runs cold, the anger flaring up inside of me.

“Steph, did he hit you?”

Ivy’s awake now, her own brow wrinkled as she looks at me.

“Can you just come over,” Steph says, her voice a whisper again. “I think he just needs some one here to- I- I don’t-”

“Steph, I’m on my way.”

I toss the phone to the side as I start to swing my legs out of bed.

Ivy chews on her bottom lip, looking at me worriedly. “Everything okay?”

“It will be,” I growl, yanking pants and a shirt on. “Look, stay here. I’ll be back soon.”

* * *

T
he front door
to Declan’s house is half open. But whatever sense of nagging dread I feel walking up to the place turns to ice in my veins at the sound of a scream as I step inside.

I dash into the living room to see Stephanie on the floor with my uncle standing above her with his fist raised.

“Declan!” I roar, grabbing his arm and twisting it behind his back before he can strike her again. I yank him away from her and slam him against the wall as he bellows at me.

“Oh
fuck off,
you little cunt!”

I slam him back against the wall by the shoulders, rattling framed pictures and shelves of china he’s never used.

“You
keep
your hands off her!” I bellow in his face, knocking him against the wall again.

He reeks of whiskey, his face red and puffy and his eyes wild. But he stops fighting me. His eyes narrow as he sneers out a grin.

“Oh,
now
he’s interested in family going-ons.”

“This isn’t a family ‘going-on’, you prick, this is you beating on your fucking wife.”

His eyes narrow again as his lip curls.

“She call you?”

Steph sobs quietly behind me.

“Did she?”

I shake my head. “You’ve been drinking, Declan.”

He sneers at her over my shoulder

“You suck his dick too you little whore?”

“That’s
enough!
” I shove him into the wall again. “Dec, I’m warning you.”

“You’re warning me
what
, kid.”

I glare at him.

“You need to calm down.”

He bares his teeth for a second like a cornered dog, looking like he might try and fight me again before he goes still under my hands.

He breathes.

“I’m going to let you go,” I say steadily.

“Goddamn right you are.”

“Declan.”

He glares at me.

“Fine.”

I slowly drop my hands from his shoulders, my stance still ready to pounce.

“What’s this about, Dec.”

He laughs bitterly. “Jesus Christ kid, you want nothing to do with me and now you’re interested. Shit, if you’re feeling that curious, I’ve still got that job I could tell you about.”

“You’re still stuck on that, huh?”

His lip curls again. “Yeah, kid, I’m still stuck on the
twenty million
that’ll be sitting in the strong box in the North Shore Shipping manager’s office after their big fundraising hoopla.”

I stare at him. “You’re talking about the ‘Carry On’ fundraiser.”

He nods, and I cringe.

“The fundraiser for
fallen firefighters?
” I shake my head, staring at him with a new level of disgust. “You’re fucking unbelievable, Declan.”

“Oh fuck off, kid. It’s twenty mil, and those firefighters have fucking life insurance and union pensions. The fuck do they need that kind of money for?”

“
They
don’t, Declan. It’s for their
families
you asshole.”

He shrugs. “Not my fucking problem. All work has risk. They knew theirs, I know mine.” He jabs a finger at my chest. “Don’t pretend that fucking the Reverend’s daughter again suddenly gave you a fucking conscious.”

I growl low in my throat, but he wags a finger at me. “Your cut would be
five million
, kid. Put that in your pipe and smoke it.”

“I told you, I’m not interested.”

“Jesus Christ, what fuckin
happened
to you, kid.”

Declan pushes me way as he stumbles for the bar cart in the corner of the room and grabs a bottle of Jameson.

I frown as he pours himself a glass.

“Dec-”

“Fuck off, you’re not my Ma.”

There’s a sniffling sound behind me, and I turn back to Stephanie, still cowering in the corner of the room.

“Steph, maybe you should go.”

She blinks, like she’s not really hearing me. Declan pokes me in the back with a boney finger.

“I need you for this job, kid.”

“I’m not doing it. Not in a million fucking years, Dec.”

He sways on his feet, whiskey sloshing. “It’s too much to walk away from, and you damn well know it.”

“Dec, I can only say no so many fucking times.”

He looks at me silently, nodding.

“Alright,” he mutters, his eyes narrowing at me. “Fine, you want to play that game?”

“I don’t want to play games, Declan, I just-”

“You’re doing it.”

I sigh. “I don’t think you’re hearing me-”

“Did you know car accidents are the number
four
killer in this country? Number
four
, kid.” He shakes his head as he takes a drink. “You know, it’d be a damn shame if that family had
another
crash disrupt their lives.”

I go still.

“Accidents happen all the time, kid.” He chuckles, sipping his whiskey. “But shit, you already knew that, didn’t you?”

“You wouldn’t,” I growl, my muscles tightening and my hands clenching into solid fists.

“Wouldn’t I?” He grins. “It’s
twenty mil
, you prick. There ain’t a whole lot I
wouldn’t
do for that.”

I bare my teeth as I take a step towards him, fists raised. “You don’t go near that family,” I growl.

“And I won’t.” He shrugs. “If you do the job.”

“I could kill you right here instead.”

He laughs. “No, you couldn’t.” He chuckles through another drink. “Trust me, kid, I know killers, and you
ain’t
one.”

“I’m warning you, Dec.” I grab his shirt, my fists raise.

He grins.

“You gonna hit me, kid? Go ahead, hit me.”

I can feel the punch. I can imagine my fist knocking that smug, sleepy grin off his face right here in his own house.

But I don’t.

He shrugs, like he knew I wouldn’t.

“Or don’t, your call. But I swear to God you’ll do this job, or my threat holds.”

He knocks my hand from his shirt and straightens it before stumbling into the other room with his drink.

I turn back to Steph, who’s on her feet now in the far corner of the room staring at me with big, wide, tear-stained eyes.

“We should go.”

She blinks. “Go?”

I step across the room and take her arm. “Yes, go. I’m taking you out of here, Steph.”

She frowns. “But I
live here
, Silas.”

I stare at her. “Stephanie, he hit you.”

“I- I know,” she says quietly.

She looks down at her feet, picking at her cuticles.

“He’s just drunk, Silas. He didn’t mean nothing.”

I blink. “Stephanie-”

“Thank you, Silas.” She looks up, smiling crookedly. “For coming over, I mean.”

She reaches out and squeezes my arm. “You’re one of the good ones, you know.”

“Steph, I can’t just leave you-”

“I’m fine, Silas.” She smiles again, blinking as she’s reaches up and brushes a tear from her eyes. “I’m really fine.”

I’m starting the truck up in the driveway when Declan comes stumbling out of his house. He leans against the door of my truck, pointing at me through the open window.

“Family first, kid. I need you for this job, and you
will
fucking do it.”

“The hell I am.” I start to put the truck into reverse, but he grabs my shirt.

“Tell me I won’t’ do it, kid,” he growls, his whiskey breath sour as he leers close to me.

“Tell me I won’t and see how wrong you are.” His brows knit. “Five million, kid. One last job. Shit, you don’t even have to tell her.”

His lips curl into that evil smile.

“Think about it. You could start that little side business I know you’ve been sniffing around about, and you could give that Hammond girl everything she’s always wanted. You could have it all, Silas - live the fucking dream. And all it takes is
one
easy job. Shit, we’re not even bringing
guns
on it, it’s
that
easy.”

I stare straight ahead, pretending like I’m ignoring him.

But I’m not.

Slowly, my hand moves the gearshift into park before I even know what I’m doing.

I grew up taking what I wanted, and what I needed. Consequences and morals be damned, the lure of the take that
high
you get from the rush of it was like a drug to me even back then. And now? Now it’s like I’ve gone straight and someone’s offering me one last hit. I’m sober, and someone’s dragging the edge of a needle across my skin, or letting me smell the sweet acrid aroma of alcohol.

I’m a junky, and this is what falling off that horse feels like.

I suck in a breath of air, staring straight ahead, but unable to ignore the devil on my shoulder - Declan, offering me the promise of finally going legit in this world. He’s offering me the life I want for one last sliver of my soul.

And it’s getting harder to say no.

But then all of a sudden, the dream and the fantasy of that life within my grasp goes drifting away like harbor mist, replaced by something new. Something better.

Ivy.

The fuck am I thinking?

I
have
the life I want, or at least, I’m on the path to get that life. And this time, I’m doing it honestly. I’m doing it like a man.

And I’ll be damned if I fuck that up again.
Ever.

I tighten my hands on the wheel as I turn to my uncle.

“I’m going to say this one last time, Declan.” I narrow my eyes at him. “The answer is no. And I swear to God, if you try and hurt Ivy, or go anywhere fucking
near
her, I
will
bury you in the ground.”

Declan just grins.

“Oh, her?” He shakes his head, swirling the whiskey around his glass. “Shit, kid, you think I’d ever hurt poor little Ivy Hammond? What kind of monster do you think I am?”

I’m opening my mouth to tell him exactly what kind of monster I think he is when he continues.

“I ain’t going to hurt her, kid,” he grins at me.

“I’m going to hurt the
rest
of them. The little sister maybe? The kid who’s leg you fucked up?” His eyes narrow at me as he smiles horribly. “How about that little one? The kid with the dad that ran off?”

I roar as I start to shove open the truck door, but Declan stops it, shoving it shut again.

“I’ll hurt every single fucking one of them
but
her, you little shit,” he hisses out, his face red and his eyes wild. “And I’ll make damn sure her and all the rest of them know
exactly
why. And she’ll
hate you
for it.”

He jabs a finger at me through the open car window.

“And when the light goes out of her eyes, and that little puppy-dog love bullshit you think you’ve got turns to ash around you?”

He straightens up, his face pinched as he stares at me.

“Then you’ll know
exactly
the kind of monster I am, kid,” he says quietly.

The fight goes out of me like a snuffed out candle, and I blink as I sit back in the seat, feeling my heart racing.

“When.”

I say it with zero emotion, my heart sinking through my feet.

Declan grins as he looks up at the grey early morning sky. “Bout three hours.”

I whirl at him. “
What?
”

“You heard me.”

I can feel my pulse skipping, the horrible sinking feeling spreading through me like a disease as I stare straight ahead through the windshield.