Page 54 of Love Over Time

This idea was crazy, but it was all we had. “Yesterday, when we robbed the bank—”

Henry nodded, then chuckled, shaking his head. “There’s a sentence I never thought I’d hear you say.”

I laughed, a raspy, tired laugh. “I know. But listen, when we left the bank yesterday, I noticed a security camera over the entrance to the vault.”

“Fuck, Nikki. Why didn’t you tell me?” A red blotch appeared on his cheek.

I pointed at him. “This is why. I needed you to stay calm so we could get out of there.”

“How do we fix it?” He rubbed the creases on his forehead. Thieving was really not his thing.

“We don’t. I thought about calling Dom or doing the hack myself, but now I’m thinking this is our next play. If your uncle gets wind that we took what was in Tessa’s box, he might come after it. I mean, you and I thought Tessa might’ve hidden evidence in there. Maybe your uncle does too.” I paced the room. “We left a long trail of clues at the bank. All we need to do is drop a hint and let your uncle follow the crumbs back to us.”

A deep scowl covered his forehead. “You’re using yourself as bait again?”

“No.” I took his face between my hands and smiled. “I’m using us as bait.”

“What will this buy us? Other than put you in danger again.” He didn’t like the idea, but he was listening. That was progress.

I scoured my mind for ideas, but we had so little to go on. “He’ll come here looking for Tessa’s things. We can let him take our loot and then follow him. If he’s helping your mom—”

“See? This is the part I don’t get. If he killed my dad, why is he helping Mom?”

“I don’t know.”

“What if Jonathan doesn’t take the bait? What if he doesn’t come here looking for Mom’s things?”

My pulse spiked at the realization that this plan didn’t have much of a shot, but I couldn’t let Henry lose hope. “Oh, he will come for her things. Trust me. I’m a thief.”

Chapter Twenty

Take Her to Paris

Henry

I woke up with Nikki’s long leg wrapped around my thighs, her head resting on my shoulder, my arm tucked in the dip of her waist. A tightness pressed against my chest and made me smile. I wanted this, this peace, this happiness. Was Nikki right in thinking the only way to get what we wanted was to risk it all, to use ourselves as bait? Her idea was, at best, a really long shot. But it was all we had.

“I keep waking up, expecting you to be gone.” Nikki stirred next to me.

“I told you. I’m not going anywhere.” Squeezing her tight, I kissed the top of her head. I still couldn’t believe that after all this time, we were finally together. Nikki was everything I’d thought she’d be and then some.

She rubbed her hip against me, her cheek sliding across my chest. “I’m never going to stop wanting you.”

“Me neither.” I dug my head into the pillow and let my want for her work its way down to my toes. My heart drummed in my throat as she adjusted her weight to get on top of me. Yeah. I wanted this too.

“What are we doing today?” I kneaded her breast.

“Don’t you have to go to work?” She slid farther down, her mouth on my stomach, navel, and then my cock. My breath hitched, and she laughed, a throaty, sexy laugh. “I’ll take that as a no.”

I brushed her hair out of the way to see her face. Meeting my gaze, she flashed me a smile, before she pressed her lips on the tip of my erection and let it slip in slowly. The warmth of her mouth made me forget about the world outside. “Christ, I want you.” I sat up and drew her up for a kiss.

She straddled my legs with an innocent look on her face. “Won’t they fire you?”

I grabbed a condom from the bedside table and rolled it on. “I’ll be quick.” While I waited for her to concede, I ignored how good her hot skin felt against mine. Or at least, I tried to. After what felt like hours, she nodded. I lifted her and set her right on top of me.

She smiled at the ceiling, and I was treated to a spectacular view of her breasts and the dimples between the muscles around her flat stomach. Her hips rocked slowly against mine for several beats before she leaned forward to kiss my cheek and neck.

I wrapped my arms around her waist, wishing we could stay like this all day. Maybe one day soon, being with Nikki would make me feel like she was here to stay. Maybe one day we’d get to be who we wanted to be. She squeezed her legs just as her walls tightened around my erection. Her planes and valleys, hot and silky, dragged me to the edge along with her.

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