Chapter 9
Istayed outside for a while, putting all those thoughts of Nina in a box so I could focus on the mission. I went over everything on the tablet several times and deleted what I’d memorized already. Then I came up with several contingencies in case everything went tits up. I might not be able to control the circumstances Angelica had plunged us into, but I could take over if things went wrong.
By the time I went back inside, Nina was showered and changed, her damp hair falling in soft waves down her back as she started to braid it.
“We should leave soon.”
Nina nodded.
“You okay with the plan?” I asked, my instincts itching that something was wrong.
“Yeah.”
I waited but she offered nothing else.
My hands balled into fists and an unease was wiggling inside my chest. I wanted the playful Nina back, but I wasn’t sure what the hell I’d done. I went back over the conversation with Angelica and Trey, then between the two of us this morning.
Shit, is she mad about the menstrual cycle thing?
I rubbed my palms on my jeans, entirely unsure how to proceed.
“Are you hungry? I could grab us some lunch before we go,” I offered.
“No thanks.”
Okay, two words. That’s progress right?
We packed up and got into the car in silence. The longer it went on, the more I wanted to bust through the walls she was putting up with a sledgehammer. But something told me that would only aggravate things more. So I waited.
I kept quiet for the first bit of the drive, waiting for her to complain about the music.
She didn’t.
We past a burger place around noon, right after I heard her stomach growl. Usually, she’d be begging me to pull over and get her a greasy cheeseburger.
But she didn’t do that either.
“I didn’t look at your personal tracker if that’s what you’re angry about,” I said, finally having enough of this.
She frowned, turning to me.
“What?”
“Your cycle tracker on your phone. I didn’t snoop or anything, but it was easy to pick up on after a while. Your mood swings are fairly obvious around that time.”
“You think I’m angry because you figured out my cycle?”
“Honestly, I have no fucking idea.”
“Is that your way of asking?”
I let out an exaggerated sigh and rubbed the back of my neck where the scar tissue was starting to throb.
“Yes.”
She snorted and shook her head.
“At least that hasn’t changed.”
“What?”
“Your inability to meet emotionally difficult things head on.”
I bristled at that and my hands tightened on the wheel.
“I disagree.”
“If you want to know, ask me. Directly and sincerely and I’ll tell you.”
I swallowed, the discomfort she referenced squirming in my gut.
“Alright,” I cleared my throat, “what are you angry about?”
“I’m just a job?” Her voice was heavy with held back tears. “Just. A. Job. Do you have any idea how minimizing that is?”
“You are my job though. Protecting you—”
“First off, not anymore.”
I opened my mouth to strenuously disagree and she cut me off.
“And even if I did agree with that, I’m a person. I’m your friend, or at least, I considered you a friend.”
“I can’t properly protect you if we’re friends.”
She gaped at me.
“No, I didn’t…I mean…” I stumbled over my words, finally hearing what she was talking about.
Shit…I really stepped in it.
“What I mean,” I said, talking slowly so I could try to choose my words carefully, “is that I have to keep some kind of professional distance, even if it’s just in my own head. I have to think objectively when it comes to protecting you, not emotionally. If I’m not able to do that, then you could get hurt.”
She took a deep breath and I could tell she was trying to control her temper. Nina had a beautifully explosive temper, as long as you weren’t on the receiving end of it.
“Okay, so then you keep a mental distance,” she replied after a few moments. “Does that mean you don’t consider me a friend? Just…just a job?”
“It was how I thought of you at the beginning, yes. But…” I licked my lips trying to work moisture into my mouth. “But eventually I got to know you and I…”
I glanced over, her green eyes boring into me.
Swearing under my breath, I pulled over to the side of the road and shut the engine off. I turned my upper body to look at her and she raised her chin, shoulders back like she was bracing for something. My palms were suddenly sweating and my heart was doing double time in my chest. This wasn’t what I was used to, this nervous thrum inside of me. I was always steady, calm in the face of conflict.
But when has anything been the way it usually is when it comes to Nina?
I almost laughed but I knew that wouldn’t be well received right now. So I took a deep inhale and decided that for the first time in a long, long time, I was going to peel back a layer and let Nina see me.
“I didn’t have friends for a lot of years,” I said, my voice unsure. “It felt too risky, too…too raw. And then I took the job guarding you. And you were relentless when it came to getting what you wanted.”
“Which was?” she whispered.
“Everything, it seemed. Including getting to know me. I thought it was just a rich girl being annoying to the hired help for a while. But then the night of Chrissy’s birthday happened and I saw you differently.”
She closed her eyes and I knew what she was seeing.
Chrissy had been slipped something at the party and she had a terrible reaction to it. Everyone else was panicking while Chrissy convulsed and eventually stopped breathing. I was trying to corral a dozen drunk rich kids and keep them back, while also trying to call for help. But without missing a beat, Nina started CPR so I could dial 911. When the EMTs finally arrived, the douche who’d spiked her drink showed up in the crowd taking video with his phone.
I was seconds away from ripping the phone out of his hands, when once again Nina swooped in. She not only crushed his phone under her Prada heels, she kicked him in the balls and punched him, spraining her wrist. Chrissy recovered because of Nina’s quick thinking and not giving a shit what anyone there thought of her taking control.
“You went back to being who you were before in front of everyone else,” I continued, not able to meet her gaze anymore for fear of revealing too much. “But I knew after that just how much of a mask it was. I saw you differently, more completely.”
We started having Jeopardy and Junk Food nights a few weeks after. I began to answer her when she asked me what I’d been reading, or if I wanted anything from the coffee stand. It was foolish, I knew it then and I knew it now. It was the first crack in my fortress, the first opening she had to wiggle her way into my life.
Now here she was, my beloved parasite, eating away at all the reasons why I should be alone for the rest of my life, and I didn’t want to rip her out. I wanted to hold her close and let her destroy me.
“You realize,” her voice held a kernel of playfulness that made me look up, “that this and last night is probably the most you’ve ever said to me in one conversation.”
She was biting the plump bottom lip and I swallowed, trying to hide my sudden arousal with a shrug and a grunt.
“It’s nice,” she said hurriedly. “I like not having to guess what’s going on in there.”
She tapped my head softly and I wanted to grab her hand and kiss it.
“You’re not just a job.” I sounded harsh but it was the effort of holding back what I really wanted to say. “I’m sorry I said that. I just…I can’t let anything happen to you this time.”
Because losing you again would kill me.
She was everything.
My reason to get up in the morning, to keep breathing. She was the thing that could ruin me, or save me. She could break me into pieces, and she would when she left. But even knowing that I couldn’t walk away. I’d done some dangerous shit in my life, had my life on the line, seconds from getting snuffed out forever. But loving Nina? That was hands down the most terrifying thing I’d ever experienced.
“Friends then?” she asked, and held out her hand.
No…I don’t want to fuck my friends the way I want to fuck you. Dirty, like a beast.
I may have opened up my heart in this conversation but I wasn’t about to admit that.
So I took her dainty hand in mine, suppressed the shiver and moan that the touch elicited, and shook it.
“Friends.”
The rest of the drive was quite pleasant. She chattered about this song or that one, sometimes asking me about certain things she’d missed while she was gone. We pretended that it wasn’t a horrible thing that had dragged her away from the world, talked around it like it was just a blip in our lives. But I could see the distress when something was mentioned on the radio or on a billboard that she had no reference for, and it made my hands itch to hurt someone for what they’d taken from her. With any luck, I’d get my chance.
We didn’t arrive at the cabin until close to dinner time, and my back and legs ached from being cramped in the car for so long. I got out before Nina and opened the door for her as I did a quick visual sweep of the area. Nothing but trees, birds, the smell of the water nearby and wood smoke.
She chuckled and I frowned down at her.
“You don’t need to open my door anymore. I might be rich but I definitely don’t feel like an heiress anymore.”
“It’s not that, it’s more for protection. I can shield you better if I open your door.”
“And I do suppose it’s something a boyfriend would do,” she said, with her hand on her hip, head cocked to the side.
A lump formed in my throat as I realized just how much the lines were blurring with this cover.
“Nina, we didn’t talk about this on the way, we should’ve.”
“Okay, make it quick because I’m pretty sure we’re being watched.”
I cleared my throat and tried very hard not to grab her and just run away from this entire situation.
“What are the boundaries for the cover? I mean, what are you and aren’t you okay with?”
“Well,” she flushed but kept her tone serious, “you can touch me, put your arm around me, hug me, hold my hand that sort of thing. I think that we should probably, um…kiss a few times just to sell it.”
“Of course,” I nodded, keeping my voice neutral.
“We’ll probably be sharing a bedroom and I think that, uh, well, I’m not opposed to sharing a bed. I mean, what I’m trying to say is, I trust you not to take advantage.”
I nodded again, knowing that there was absolutely no way I was going to be able to sleep next to her.
“What about you?” she asked. “Any boundaries?”
“No, I think…I think we keep it true to ourselves.”
She gave me a crooked grin.
“Meaning I’m the nice approachable one and you’re the gruff distant one that makes everyone piss themselves?”
I chuckled.
“Something like that.”
“Okay,” she nodded.
And then she let her fingers trail up my stomach to my pecs, drawing little circles on one. It immediately got my dick hard and I couldn’t help putting my hand on her hip. Her curves filled my hands and I dug my fingers in to brand a small part of me onto her pale skin.
“I think they’re definitely watching,” she whispered, “so we say we had a fight and now we’re making up.”
“That’s a good idea,” I rasped, lowering my head. “I would probably kiss you if we’d made up.”
“Oh, definitely.”
I took her mouth, slowly this time, trying so hard to hold back and not let my true feelings out. But it was pointless. The moment her little tongue ran along the seam of my lips, I opened and let her dart in, adorably testing the boundaries.
I grabbed her braid at the base of her neck and pulled her head back to give me deeper access. Then I plundered her mouth, letting my one tusk scrape along her skin and reveling in the knowledge that we were about to walk in there and everyone would see my mark on her.
When I pulled back, Nina was clinging to me, her eyes opened with a dazed glint. Her lush mouth was red and puffy. I ran my thumb along the scratch that ran from the top curve of her upper lip to the top of her chin.
“Did I hurt you?” I asked, my voice breathy, raw.
“No,” she whispered.
If she kept gazing at me I’d be completely unable to stop from kissing her again and while this was obviously going to be the first of many such moments while we were with this group, I wasn’t about to take advantage.
“Come on, I think we should go in and meet the criminals.”
She laughed but let me pull her along behind me.
The safe house was an enormous A-frame cabin out in the middle of nowhere. The wrap around porch was littered with rocking chairs, Adirondack’s and tables. Smoke curled up from the chimney and the lights shining from inside were warm, inviting. All in all, it looked like some millionaire’s mountain get away. Completely normal and idyllic.
When Angelica answered the door, the faint aroma of cooked meat floated to me. My stomach rumbled, as did Nina’s, and Angelica gave me a wry smile.
“Just in time for dinner.” She stepped back so we could enter, as if this were a dinner party and not an illegal operation.
The entry way had a stool and shoe rack, hooks for coats and such, and we both took our shoes off before following her. The bottom floor of the cabin was an open floor plan with a sunken living room on the far side, where a cheerful fire crackled. A large flat screen was mounted on the wall to the left of the fireplace, and floor to ceiling windows were to the right, facing the water, creating a stunning view. It was a nightmare in terms of keeping Nina safe. A sniper would have an easy time hitting her.
My frown deepened when I took in the windows in the dining room to my direct left, across from a huge kitchen with more windows.
How the fuck is this house safe with this much exposure?
“Welcome to my little mountain retreat,” Angelica said fondly. “I spared no expense on the perimeter security, so relax, both of you.”
That comment was clearly for me since I hadn’t let go of Nina since we entered.
“He’s always clingy after a fight, aren’t you?” She gave me a playful smirk.
I didn’t return it, instead taking in the space a bit more.
“Talkative as always,” said Trey from the kitchen.
He was in a black apron chopping vegetables while meat sizzled in the pan behind him.
“Do the wards stop bullets?” I asked.
“Yes,” said a voice I didn’t recognize.
I spun around to a tall willowy black woman with hundreds of dark braids and a pink nose piercing sauntering toward me, the timeless look of a Fae on her face. Her dark brown eyes took me in like she was attempting to know all my darkest secrets, and her lips quirked up in amusement.
I’d put my glamour on the moment we pulled up to the cabin, unsure if other Supernaturals would be here. Sometimes Mundanes were skittish of us, even if they did know about Supernaturals. So seeing her pointed ears and the light gold tattooing of her Fae family line peeking out from under the sleeves of her shirt, I let my glamour fall.
“Wanda,” she said, extending her hand and letting her gaze trail over my Orc form appreciatively.
“Darius,” I returned, “and this is Nina.”
Wanda’s eyes flickered over to Nina but then went straight back to me with a seductive grin. I could feel Nina tense next to me but I ran my thumb over the backs of her knuckles, hoping to soothe her. Yes, this was just a cover, but I had no intention of getting mixed up with anyone. Even a beautiful Fae female.
“Well, I can see why Angelica insisted on including you,” Wanda said. “You’ll scare the piss out of those Fae guards.”
“I’m staying by Nina’s side, so if scaring them is part of this, I’m more than happy to make them lose the ability to hold their bowels.”
“Ah, yes.” Now Wanda looked at Nina. “The Witch. Metallic kinesis, right?”
“Yes, and your abilities are…?”
The bitchy tone was something I’d heard plenty of times before from Nina. But this was the first time it was in a room of dangerous thieves that we needed to get on our side fast. Still, I couldn’t reprimand her either. She had to establish her place with them or they’d never trust or respect her as part of the team.
So what happened next would be vital to how this plan would proceed. I held my breath, waiting for Wanda’s response.
“I know the vault layout and security, I worked there not that long ago. You see, the vault is run by Fae and only Fae are employed.”
“So you’re a member of the Gold Fae clan?” I asked.
They were a very large clan within the earth Fae, but stupidly pointless fights had kept half of them at each other’s throats for centuries. The Gold clan was so large and influential at different parts in history, that however they leaned when it came to politics or fashion, so did the rest of the earth Fae.
I wondered briefly why a member of the Gold clan, who obviously ran the vault we were robbing, would need or want to be in on something like this. But really, it could be something as simple as being bored. As long as she didn’t do anything to hurt Nina, I didn’t really care.
“I am, the Devino branch,” she said, as if that should tell me everything.
It told me fuck all, but I nodded like I understood.
“Wait,” Nina said next to me, “not Devino, as in the designers of those incredible shoes at the Met Gala three years ago?”
Wanda grinned.
“The same.”
“Honey!” Nina smacked my chest excitedly. “These are the designers I told you about! Their shoes are transcendent! I knew there had to be some kind of magic, they were just too gorgeous for Mundane abilities.”
Wanda was practically glowing now, so I started to relax a bit. I should’ve trusted Nina to know how to navigate Wanda perfectly. There really wasn’t that much difference between the Fae and just about every other mean-society woman that Nina had been forced to make nice with her entire life.
“Well, nice of you to say so,” Wanda said. “You know, if you do well on this job, I may be able to get you the pair that we made for Blake Lively. They were only on loan, my second cousin has them in his family’s vault.”
Nina gasped and clapped her hands together.
“That would be amazing!”
Wanda just grinned at her, gave me another seductive look and then swayed toward the extensive wine rack near the kitchen.
“Why don’t I show you to your room before dinner so you can freshen up if you want,” Angelica offered.
We followed her up a wide stair case that effectively divided the kitchen and dining area from the living room. Upstairs were half a dozen bedrooms on either side of a hallway, with a pair of French doors at the end.
“That’s my room,” she gestured to the French doors. “Jack and April, the other two on this little team, have the ones on either side, and then Trey and Wanda. Each room is stocked with linens and there’s an attached bath, which is spelled to produce your favorite products, just think it and it appears.”
She opened a door near the end of the hall, furthest from her room, and ushered us inside.
“Nina, if you would?”
Nina muttered something under her breath and the familiar pressure of a silencing charm appeared around the room.
“Okay, so that was Wanda,” Angelica said with chuckle, “she’s really quite fun once you get past all the Fae pride.”
“I’ll wear her down,” Nina said with a smile. “This is not what I expected honestly.”
“What, you thought we’d be hidden in a condemned building with all the windows blacked out?”
Nina laughed.
“A bit yeah.”
“I think you’ll find that those within this particular specialty are more the ‘gentleman thief’ type.”
“Who are the others?” I asked.
“You’ll meet them at dinner, but Jack is a Mundane and the tech guru, or so he claims. He’ll get everyone the gear they need for the job, including some neutralizers for the artifacts. April the one I told you about who will be training you, as well as the getaway driver. Both of them are rich in their own right, and generally do this for the adrenaline rush more than a real need for the money. At least, as far as I can tell.”
“You’ve done your homework, haven’t you?” Nina teased.
“Of course. I’ll admit, I’m also planning on asking them to join the Archive instead of going to jail, so it helps to know as much as I can. Now, the room is also spelled with the ability to create basic clothing for you both. For the party, you’ll both be outfitted with something a bit more appropriate. Freshen up for dinner and just keep doing what you did out there and everything should be fine.”
We both nodded and watched her leave.
“Do you want the shower?” Nina asked.
My muscles were tight and sore. I was pretty sure I did stink and the thought of soaking in hot water for a few minutes was incredibly tempting. But first, I had to secure my weapons.
I took the sling bag from her shoulder and started to unload them.
A gun went under the mattress. I taped another under the bed, another behind the night stand. Then one behind the dresser, another in the bathroom under the vanity and then behind the toilet.
When I was done I stood up, and stretched my aching back, cursing that damn car. That’s when I noticed Nina hiding a grin behind her hand.
“What?” I asked.
“Do you always hide that many guns?”
“Actually I’d like to have a few spares but these will have to do.”
She let out a full on chortle and then shook her head.
“Relax, I don’t think these guys are going to try anything.”
“You don’t know that, and it’s my job—”
She cleared her throat and gave me a glare.
“I mean, in terms of being the most experienced,” I clarified, “I need to feel secure, that’s all.”
“Okay, I get that. Where should we hide the passports?”
They were in a sealed, waterproof bag but the water tank for the toilet felt too obvious. Between the mattresses also wasn’t the best place. And then it hit me, and I grinned.
“What?” she asked.
“I’ll show you.”
I took the bag with the passports and walked to the window. Carefully, I took the screen off and then leaned out. The boards were smooth, perfectly placed with no gaps. But just above our window was a ledge from a section of the roof.
“In my bag is a small ball of gray putty, get it for me?”
She found it quickly and handed it to me.
“The putty is waterproof,” I explained as I smeared it on the bag. “And it will stick to absolutely anything. But this ledge also has a small opening between the wall and itself.”
“So you wedge it in there and secure it with the putty.”
“Exactly.”
“Where did you get that idea?”
I finished and came back inside.
“The foundling home I grew up in. We weren’t allowed food in our rooms, so I hid my contraband out my window.”
She laughed, a full, throaty sound that made my smile widen as I replaced the screen.
“What kind of junk food did you hide?”
“Mostly Jawbreakers and bubble gum.”
“And you give me shit about my gummy worms.”
I chuckled.
“Thank you, by the way,” she said.
“For what?”
“For packing some for me. For the blanket and the sound machine and all the little things to help me feel safe and comfortable.”
I ducked my head, running my hand over my shaved skull.
“It was nothing.”
“No, it was a lot. Accept the compliment.”
I huffed a laugh and nodded.
“Okay.”
We stood there smiling at one another, the air between us getting more and more charged. I glanced down at where she was biting her bottom lip and remembered how I’d made it so red and swollen. The scrape of my tusk was still evident, though faint now. I reached out and touched it lightly, making her shiver.
“The blanket is gone now,” she murmured as my finger fell from her chin, “so I guess you’ll have to be my blanket.”
“Nina, that’s…that’s dangerous. I’m dangerous, we can’t cross that line.”
“I’m not asking you to fuck me, Darius, I’m just saying…well, maybe a cuddle? Just until I fall asleep?”
Fuck, did she really not know how I was hanging onto my self-control by a goddamn thread? Cuddling? I couldn’t cuddle her without my mind drifting immediately to her round ass and how it would feel in my hands while she bounced up and down on my cock.
I gave her what I hoped was a relaxed half smile and nodded.
“Yeah, sure, that would be okay. I’m, uh, gonna just…you know, shower.”
“Absolutely, yeah, you…um…shower.”
She turned away, face red, and practically ran to the walk-in closet while I darted into the bathroom.
I barely had the door closed before my dick was in my hand and I was clenching my jaw to keep from making any noise while I got off to the thought of Nina under me, moaning my name.