The Arrogant Thief

by Mallory Crowe

  “Where are you going?” called Gage.

  She didn’t answer. She was already in the hallway and headed for the elevator. She heard him curse behind her as his heavy footsteps echoed through the apartment. She was just about to reach the elevator when he grabbed her arm to stop her. Melissa yanked her arm back to free herself from him, but Gage’s grip was iron hard and unrelenting. “I’m going for a walk,” she bit out.

  “I don’t think that’s a good idea.”

  “It’s the perfect idea. I need to clear my head. Obviously Courtney doesn’t care what I’m doing as long as I show up when she demands. We’ve been doing it for days, and she tracked us down with no problem and she gave absolutely zero shits that we weren’t where she left us. I have enough freedom that I can go for a walk if I want to.”

  “Okay. Then I’ll go with you.”

  She yanked her arm once more, but he still wouldn’t let go.

  “Maybe I just need to be away from you for a little bit, okay? Maybe you’re half the reason I feel this way.”

  “Now hold up. I haven’t done a goddamn thing to you.”

  She let out a laugh. “That’s rich. Trust me, Gage. You’ve done plenty of things to me.”

  “Nothing you didn’t enjoy,” he hissed.

  She slapped him. As though her body and rage had melded together and took over any logical thought. She didn’t know why she was so mad about it. Probably because it was true. She expected rage, but all she got was his icy-cold blue gaze staring down at her.

  “Never. Do. That. Again. Understand me?”

  She honestly felt bad. She knew it was a stupid move, but she was still pissed off. His orders struck a chord within her. “Or what? Are you going to put a bomb around my neck and try to control me too?”

  He moved as fast as a bolt of lightning. All of a sudden, his hands wrapped around her throat, pushing her body back until she slammed into the elevator. The wall was cold and uncomfortable against her back while his hand was hot against her neck. He wasn’t squeezing or hurting her in any way, but the threat was evident. “What do you think I’m going to do?” he asked softly, his breath brushing against her ear. “Do you have any idea of the things I’ve done? People I’ve hurt? Do you have any idea what I’m capable of?”

  Melisa took a nervous gulp. She knew exactly what he was capable of and what he’d done.

  “Do you?” he demanded again, apparently unsatisfied with her non-answer.

  Even though his grip on her throat was loose, she found herself incapable of speech. All she could do was nod at his demand.

  “And yet, through all that, you know I’d never hurt you. Keeping you safe is the only thing that matters to me. Do you understand? Can you finally trust me?”

  But she couldn’t this time. This time she defiantly shook her head. “I don’t trust you. I’m so sick and tired of you asking me to trust you when you’re just gonna leave in the end.”

  “I’ll keep you safe in the meantime.”

  “What does it matter if I’m safe if you’re gonna break my heart?” This time when she hit his hand away, he moved it, effectively freeing her, even if she found herself unable to move away from the elevator. “I know exactly how stupid I am to feel this way about you. Loving you is like putting a bomb around my own neck voluntarily. It’s just a matter of time until it goes off and destroys everything about me. But I can’t help how I feel.”

  “You don’t love me.” He shook his head. “You don’t know the first thing about loving me.”

  “All right. Keep telling me how I feel. You’re such a son of a bitch, you can’t even give me the benefit of having my own feelings, can you?”

  “You don’t love me,” he repeated. “Say you don’t love me.”

  “No,” she said defiantly. She’d give him a lot, but she wouldn’t give him that.

  “Say you don’t love me,” he demanded again, this time shouting in her face.

  She shoved him in the chest, unable to take his demands anymore. This was the one thing she wouldn’t give him.

  But her plan backfired. The second her hands were on his chest, he caught her wrists in his hand and pushed her back in the elevator, this time pinning her there with his body. “Tell me you don’t love me,” he demanded once more, this time quieter and right in her face.

  She jutted her chin out and looked him in the eyes. “I have a better idea. You tell me you don’t love me. Right now, right here, and you better make me believe it.”

  For a minute they stood there, neither moving nor saying anything, each waiting for the other one to give in.

  Melissa honestly couldn’t say who made the first move, but they went from staring at each other down to frantically kissing. He’d released her hands, and she gripped the back of his neck and pulled him closer while his body pushed her ever tighter against the door. One of her legs went up and around his waist as she rubbed herself against him, and he immediately responded, pushing his cock as close as possible to her, pressing her even harder against the elevator. Through his jeans and her pants, she could feel the bulge of his erection and could only wish there were less clothes between them.

  Melissa savored every inch of him. For all she knew, this was their last time together. Hell, this wasn’t even supposed to happen. He told her in no uncertain terms that he was done with her, but here she was, in this wonderful bonus moment with Gage. And she wasn’t going to let a second of it go to waste.

  Every inhale, she savored his sent. Her hands ran over every part of him she could reach. The rough stubble along his jaw, the muscles of his shoulders and back, sliding underneath his shirt so she could relish the warmth of his skin.

  She wanted to commit every second of this to memory so at least she’d always have some part of Gage with her. But he seemed every bit as frantic to devour each inch of her as well.

  Gripping the back of her neck, Gage angled her better for his kisses, running his hands down the front of her collarbone, cupping her breasts, and lower to the hem of her shirt. He wasn’t content to just touch her skin. He pulled her shirt off in one fierce motion before immediately going to work on her pants. She wantonly wiggled to help him. As soon as he pushed her pants and panties over her hips, she moved her legs to get the fabric off her body as quick as possible. As soon as her pants were off, he had her pinned right back against the door. It was no longer cold, the metal now warm from their body heat. He was back to kissing her, taking control. His tongue pushing, invading, while his hand slid down her stomach, into the center of her thighs. And then his thumb found her clit as he pushed two fingers inside. Melissa rested her head against the door. She let out a moan as the sensations took her higher and higher.

  Her fingers bit into the fabric of his sweater as he teased her body right to the edge of orgasm and she went falling over. As the waves ebbed through her, she forced her eyes open to look at Gage. He stared right back, his breaths coming almost as quickly as hers.

  She was about to ask him where they went from there, but he answered without words as he reached down to undo the top button of his fly. Melissa bit her lip as her hand ran down his body until she could take his hard, hot cock in her hand. She could feel it pulsing with desire as she and Gage never stopped staring at each other.

  And when she started to run her hand up and down his shaft, his breath started to shake, and his pulse quickened.

  Before long, he was pushing her back against the door and lifting her against him until her legs were instinctively wrapped around his waist. He was holding her up just above the head of his cock, and then he let gravity do the work, impaling her deeper and deeper on his cock.

  Once he was fully seated in her, Melissa squeezed her eyes shut and rested her forehead against his shoulder. She clung to him as he moved within her. He moved slowly, as though he were savoring the moment. But soon enough, he was taking over. Her fingers bit into the muscles of his shoulders and back as she held on tight. Time slipped away from her. They could’ve be
en like that for ages or even just a few minutes, but when they came, they did it together.

  She held Gage tight the entire time, not wanting to let him go. She just wanted to stay like this forever, and thankfully Gage didn’t make a move to leave. It was only as she he started to lift her up that it hit her. She slammed her hand against Gage’s chest in excitement.

  “Ouch. What’s wrong?” asked Gage.

  “Nothing’s wrong. I know what Courtney wants. I know why she’s doing this to us.”

  So this was it. The last time she was supposed to dress up all fancy for Courtney Vance. She was becoming fairly experienced shopping for herself these days.

  Her first instinct had been to go for a black dress. Something simple and classic. But black didn’t seem right for this. Instead, she’d been drawn to a deep red. Something to show her anger at being forced to do things she didn’t want to do. Something to show Courtney that she wasn’t going to simply fall into the background and behave.

  The dress was floor length and had a slit that went up her thigh. The neckline was fairly modest, going up high and cutting off straight along her collarbones, while the back of the dress went shockingly low, with only a few delicate straps to keep it in place.

  And of course, because she couldn’t wear a bra with that back, it added a whole other element of sexy. This dress wasn’t made to blend into backgrounds. This dress was made to stand out. But she never thought for a second that all eyes would be on her. Gage had also gotten dressed for the occasion. Although Melissa thought all-black made her blend in, Gage’s all-black ensemble accomplished the opposite. Black suit, black shirt, and a black, silky tie. He was a complete head-turner. Somehow she’d thought that a blond like him wouldn’t be able to pull off the all-black look, but she’d been wrong. So wrong.

  “Are you ready to do this?” Gage took her arm.

  Melissa craned her neck to get a better view of Vance Tower. Her third time here and hopefully the last. She took a deep swallow of anticipation. Through the course of this whole adventure, her nerves had been getting better, but they were rearing their ugly head again tonight. Tonight they were going to go head-on with Courtney. If they made one wrong move, everything could blow up in their faces. More accurately, her face would blow up. “Have you heard from Toni yet?”

  “She’s on her way. Don’t worry.”

  As if things weren’t stressful enough already, Toni was stuck in the infamous New York traffic. She finally thought she had a way to get this collar off, but she hadn’t made it to Sarah’s in time. She promised she would make it into the party somehow to get the job done, and Melissa kept on hoping it was sooner rather than later.

  “You’re worrying,” said Gage in her ear.

  “Shouldn’t I be worried? It’s my neck at stake.”

  “Our timeline is up to us. We don’t have to go in there and do this right away. We have time.”

  “Time is relative,” she muttered. Sitting out here being terrified wasn’t going to get them anywhere. She tightened her arm around Gage’s and gave a little squeeze. “I guess we should go in. Time to get this party started.”

  Gage held Melissa’s arm impossibly tight. He was trying to keep it together and stay calm and rational, but calm and rational weren’t his specialties when she was around. Usually hotheaded, horny, and pissed off were the feelings that Melissa most inspired in him. But this was going to work out. They had a good plan, and they had backup. This wasn’t going to be like the first time Courtney had brought them in.

  But if any of this was going to work out, they were going to have to get into the party first. Courtney had provided nothing to help them get inside, so they were on their own. But all invitations were sent out digitally, so it hadn’t been hard for Gage to get his hands on an invite out of an email from one of the larger Vance investors. And thanks to a few special emails Gage sent to all of the investor’s contacts, he’d ensured the man would regretfully be unable to make it tonight.

  The party was at one of the upper floors of Vance Tower. It wasn’t usual for these types of parties to be hosted at an office building, but Vance had specifically had this building built so the upper levels could be recreation space and restaurants. The man did have an eye for real estate. It was a shame that the man who was the force behind the reason for this anniversary party was too sick to see it.

  Gage led Melissa to the bank of elevators. Security wasn’t an issue at this point. They were letting everyone in the elevators that were set to go right up to the party. If he wanted to go anywhere else, he’d need access granted by a guard up front.

  But he wouldn’t need that. To pull off Courtney’s plan, all he had to do was get close enough to Dawson Vance and initiate the bank transfer to go into his account. That way, if he did question the activity, the transfer could be traced back to his location, making it all the harder to disprove that he was behind it.

  They had to share the elevator with another couple clearly dressed for the party, so Gage was quiet on the ride up. He had an arm wrapped possessively around Melissa’s waist as he held her close to him. This was only the first couple who he would be able to show off how smoking-hot Melissa was in that sexy-as-hell dress. On one hand, he was incredibly turned on at the idea that she’d dress like that for him. On the other, he wanted to shield her from everyone’s view. How would any man, or woman for that matter, be able to resist her siren call?

  The elevator opened, and he saw where the real security was. This group of men in khaki pants and sport coats had an earbud in one ear, and the way they held their arms was indicative of shoulder holsters. He would bet money that building security didn’t carry side arms. This had to be private security hired by Vance.

  Pulling the printed copies of the stolen invitations out of his pocket, he and Melissa moved to the back of the line to get in. Originally he’d been unconcerned about getting in because he’d never needed more than an invitation in the past.

  But as the security agent taking invitations went through the line, his concerns ticked up. Each of the invitations had a QR code on them, but Gage hadn’t thought much of it. Probably to make sure an invitation wasn’t used more than once and more efficient than physically checking someone’s name off a list.

  As they got closer, Gage focused on the man doing the scanning. His glasses weren’t the best reflection, but it was better than nothing. Soon enough he confirmed his suspicions. The invitations were attached to a picture. Mother fucker.

  He wanted to give Melissa some warning, but there were too many people around to overhear. Besides, she’d already been nervous. It would be easiest for her to keep calm if she didn’t have to worry about anything.

  So he kept silent as they reached the front of the line and he handed over the invitation. Technically, she didn’t have much to worry about. The invitation was for the one specific investor and a plus one.

  She was the plus one, so there was no verification needed on her part. He, on the other hand....

  The security agent held a hand out expectantly, waiting for the invitation. Gage handed it over easily. His hopes of this going smoothly quickly went under as the man looked at Gage and back to the computer. Back to Gage and then back to the computer. “Do you have any ID on you, sir?” asked the man. A question he’d never asked any of the other guests in line.

  Melissa gave him a worried glance, but before he had a chance to even try to BS his way out of this one, a man appeared behind the security guard. “Don’t worry about it, Keith,” he said casually. “They’re with me.”

  The security agent, Keith, looked skeptical, but didn’t ask any more questions as he moved on to the guests behind Gage and Melissa. Gage was happy for the reprieve, but he was exactly the sort to look a gift horse in the mouth. The man who had mysteriously vouched for them walked into the main ballroom, and Gage lengthened his strides to follow him, holding Melissa’s hand to make sure she kept up.

  “Hey!” he called out. He was about to yell aga
in when the man stopped and turned to face him. He was a big guy, probably imposing to people who weren’t in Gage’s line of work. With dark hair and a beard that was too manicured to be considered rough-looking, Gage could tell with one look that this guy was from money.

  “Don’t hey me, okay? I’m not the kind you can hey.”

  “Sorry I didn’t have the decency to page you,” shot back Gage dryly.

  “We’re just grateful,” said Melissa, ever more diplomatic than he was.

  Thanking him wasn’t exactly number one on Gage’s priority list. He wanted to make sure this wasn’t some plant from Courtney.

  “I’m doing my sister a favor, okay? I got you in. Now, I don’t know what you’re involved in, but I don’t need your shit dragging me down. Got it?” With that, he turned and walked away as though nothing had happened.

  “Well, I guess we know who he is now,” muttered Melissa. “Think he’s annoyed that he got dragged into Sarah’s drama or he’s upset because he knows you slept with her?”

  Unsurprisingly, Gage didn’t respond to that. Instead, he firmly seemed to snap into work mode. His eyes scanned over the crowd, and she could only wonder at all the information he was taking in. She looked over all the well-dressed elite of New York City. She recognized very few of them, but Dawson and Courtney Vance were easy enough to spot considering each had a crowd of well-wishers around them.

  “Should we get things started?” asked Melissa.

  “Soon.” He took his phone out of his pocket and glanced down at it. “Toni is on her way here.”

  “How is she going to get through the security?”

  “It’s Toni. She’ll figure out a way. Why don’t you go over to the bar? That way she’ll be sure to find you easily.”

  “Wait. Aren’t you going to come with me?”

  “We don’t need Courtney to realize that she doesn’t have leverage anymore. I don’t want her to overact in a....” He seemed to look for the right word. “Negative way.”

  She snorted at that. She figured a girl like Courtney rarely didn’t get her way. But at least this time she didn’t see any of Courtney’s hired guns at her side. So if things went the way they wanted tonight, things couldn’t be too bad, right? And as soon as this collar was off her neck, they could destroy Courtney six ways from Sunday.