Page 51 of Their Reckless Thief
“Don’t mention it.” I shoved my hands in my pockets, watching her carefully. The tension in the room was almost tangible, and I had to fight the urge to close the distance between us. “Are you doing all right?”
She didn’t answer right away as she stared down at the vial she’d pulled from the case. “I don’t know. I thought I’d feel better once I was home, but...”
“You don’t.”
She bit her lip and shook her head. “I just don’t know what to do anymore. Who I am.”
My heart ached at the vulnerability in her voice, and before I could stop myself, I reached out and brushed a lock of hair behind her ear. “You’re stronger than you think, Celeste.”
She looked up at me, her eyes searching mine for something. “Am I?”
I nodded, my thumb grazing her cheek. “Yeah, you are.”
Her breath hitched, and for a moment, the world seemed to stand still. But then she blinked, and the spell broke.
I flopped down onto Celeste’s bed with a dramatic sigh and folded my hands behind my head. “So,” I drawled, glancing over at the shitty old TV perched on a barely stable dresser. “What are we watching?”
Celeste shot me a deadpan look, one eyebrow arched like she wasn’t impressed, though the corner of her mouth twitched. “Make yourself at home, why don’t you?”
“Oh, I have.” I grinned as I took in her room. It wasn’t much: bare walls, no personal photos or decorations, a few odds and ends on a nightstand, and a lamp. The TV was old and a little staticky, playing what looked like a true-crime documentary. Her space was as simple as she was complicated, and that intrigued me even more.
No photos. No clutter. No, this was simply a space where she existed.
Celeste sat on the edge of the bed, twirling the vial of Phantomine between her fingers. Inhaling deeply, she put it to her lips and drank it down. I couldn’t take my eyes off her. Everything this woman did was sexy as fuck—her lips parting around the vial, the slow exhale of her breath, the movement of her throat as she swallowed.
Our eyes locked as she lowered the vial, and a jolt of electricity shot through me.
Fuck.
I shouldn’t be here. I shouldn’t want her so much.
But I did.
I wanted her in every possible way. I cleared my throat, trying to shake the thought, but before I could say anything,she lay down next to me and pulled a blanket up over herself, a satisfied sigh falling from her lips.
We watched the TV in silence, but all I could focus on was her scent. It was sweet and intoxicating, like the faintest hint of vanilla with something darker underneath, something like desire. Her presence was overwhelming, like the entire world shrank to the space between us.
“So,” I said, trying to act casual, though my heart was pounding harder than it should’ve been. “I missed you.”
She glanced toward me, her expression unreadable. She didn’t say anything, but she snuggled deeper into the blanket. I didn’t push it. Her silence wasn’t a rejection. She was thinking. Processing.
I turned my attention back to the TV, though it was impossible to focus on the murder being dissected on screen. Every time I inhaled, I breathed her in. Every time I shifted, my leg brushed against hers. It was absolute torture, but it was the best kind of torture.
“What are you gonna do now that you’re free?”
Celeste let out a bitter laugh. “I’m never really free. Not as long as Vincenzo is keeping tabs on me, ready to pull me back to The Below whenever he wants to. And not as long as Roberto has a say.”
I bolted upright and turned to face her. “Who the fuck is Roberto?” A pang of jealousy shot through me. Did she have a boyfriend?
Celeste sighed and scooted up, picking at the edge of the blanket. “He’s kind of a father figure, I guess? He took me in off the streets when I was a kid and trained me to be the thief I am today. He practically owns me.”
I raised an eyebrow. “Practically?”
“He finds the jobs and assigns them to me or one of his otherdolls. We pull off the heists, he gets the money, and we get a cut.I’m indebted to him for all he’s done for me. He’s the reason I broke into Vincenzo’s mansion. He didn’t send me, I was there because I thought… I thought if I could pull off a big job on my own, then I could be free of him. Viv and Will could be free of him. I’m tired of him controlling our lives.”
The asshole was using Celeste and making her life hell. My wolf stirred inside me, and a low growl rumbled in the back of my mind. The urge to protect her, to tear the bastard apart, was almost overwhelming.
“He’s sent you out on these heists even after your time in The Below?” I asked, trying to keep my tone neutral. I couldn’t quite hide the edge in my voice. If I ever got my hands on him…
