Page 16 of Their Reckless Thief
This woman just kept getting hotter. I poured her drink, the whiskey sloshing loudly in the quiet room.
I turned and walked over to where she stood, towering above her as she glared up at me. What a tiny thing she was.
I set down the drink and grabbed Celeste by the arm, dragging her to the couch. I shoved her onto the cushions, pressing against her shoulder to keep her in place.
She grunted but didn’t fight back. I grabbed our glasses from the table, handing hers to her like the gentleman I was.
I dropped into the chair across from her, swirling the blood cocktail in my glass. “Let’s get one thing straight,Celeste,” I said, my voice low and dangerous. “You’re in my world now. So, you can either cooperate and tell me what the hell you were doing in my mansion, or I’ll make sure youwishyou had.”
She crossed her arms, leaning back into the couch with a defiant smirk. “Fuck. You.”
The challenge in her voice made my blood run hot. This would not be easy. But damn if I didn’t enjoy a good game of cat-and-mouse.
I grinned as I leaned back and lit my cigar, taking a slow drag.
Celeste, unexpectedly and without permission, stood up and sauntered over to me, the sway of her hips deliberate as she perched on the arm of my chair. I heard Luca’s disapproving sigh in the background, but I kept my attention on her. She leaned down, her fingers lightly brushing up the side of my neck, her lips hovering close to my ear.
“Surely we can work something out,” she whispered, her voice sultry as her fingers moved in slow, teasing circles.
Her breath was warm on my skin, but I didn’t move. Intrigued? Maybe. Impressed? Not in the least.
There was something utterly amusing about a woman who didn’t know her place, one who thought she could just waltz into my world, pull a stunt like that, and then use her body to get out of it.
I let her get close, closer than most people dared, before I shifted in my seat and stood with the speed only a vampire possessed. In the blink of an eye, I had her pressed up against the wall, my hips grinding against hers with deliberate pressure. Her sharp inhale gave her away. She might’ve been a professional, but she wasn’t immune to me. I pressed my hand against her neck, my fingers tightening just enough to be restrictive but not cutting off her airway yet.
“You really think you could handle me,dolcezza?” I whispered, my lips brushing the shell of her ear, feeling her pulse spike beneath my fingertips. “You shouldn’t ask for things you’re not ready for.”
Celeste’s eyes darkened slightly. Her breathing quickened, the tension between us palpable. True to form, she didn’t back down. She tried to shove me back, though she had to know the force meant nothing to me.
I stepped back, giving her just enough space to collect herself, but the grin that curled on my lips never wavered. I wasn’t going to make this easy for her. She’d walked into my home, eavesdropped on a meeting that could end entire factions, and now she thought she could flirt her way out of it?
Cute.
I released her neck and started pacing, keeping my eyes locked on her, the hunger in me barely veiled. “Whatdid you hear?”
Celeste pressed her back harder against the wall, crossing her arms in a feigned display of nonchalance. “I didn’t hear anything,” she said a little too casually.
Wrong answer.
I closed the distance between us again, snatching a blade from my belt and pressing the cold steel right to her throat. Her eyes widened ever so slightly, but she didn’t flinch.
“I’m not fucking playing,dolcezza,” I growled, pressing the blade hard enough to nick her skin, just a drop of blood spilling. My senses sharpened immediately—the scent of her blood, the rush of her pulse. Before I could stop myself, I leaned in and flicked my tongue over it. The taste was electric, shooting through my veins like a drug I hadn’t had in centuries. I moaned quietly, barely audible, but I could feel her tense under me, her heart rate spiking.
Fuck.
I took her in—the rise and fall of her chest, the heat radiating off her skin. I could feel the way her body responded to me, the flush in her cheeks, the way her breath hitched. She wanted to pretend she was unaffected, but I could smell her arousal.
My gaze dropped to her breasts pressed against her tight leather jacket, and my jaw clenched.Motherfucker.
“I’ll ask you again,” I said slowly, savoring each word. “What did you hear?”
She licked her lips, swallowing hard but not saying anything.
“Vincenzo, she’s a fucking thief.” Luca’s low voice cut through the tension. He and Dorian had quietly moved behind me, their gazes trained on Celeste.
Dorian, ever the joker, smirked. “Yeah, ahot as fuckthief,” he added. “I bet I know what else she’s good at.”
I glared at him, a silent warning to shut the fuck up, though I could see his smirk linger in my peripheral vision. Luca, of course, said nothing more, but he was watching her closely.
