King of Thieves

by Shea Godfrey

  Casey felt the caress like a jolt of electricity, and she watched as Finn realized what she had done. Casey couldn’t help but smile, for while Finn’s expression held surprise at her own actions, there was a second reaction that showed itself quite clearly. It was desire, and there was nothing Finn could do to hide it.

  “If you apologize for that,” Casey warned her, “I’m not sure I’ll ever forgive you.”

  Finn stepped close and Casey held her ground. “I wasn’t going to.”

  Casey pulled in a breath and her head tipped back as Finn’s fingers moved within her hair at the back of her neck. Finn’s lips brushed against her mouth and their breaths mingled together for just an instant, and then she was being kissed.

  It was a kiss caught between need and tenderness, and Casey took hold of Finn’s shirt at the waist, pulling slowly but firmly at the material. Finn’s lips were full and sinfully soft, and Casey’s heart thrashed within her chest. Her pleasure flew downward and filled her thighs with a shiver of weakness as Finn’s tongue opened her mouth, delicate as she explored. Casey welcomed her, and for the sweetest of moments, everything changed into something wholly perfect and complete…and then, like a waking dream, was gone. The heat and pulse of Casey’s own desire throbbed between her legs, her flesh aching as Finn pulled back, as gentle and easy as their first kiss had just been.

  Finn’s amber eyes were dark and smoky, and Casey wondered how intense they might actually get, should they share more than just a kiss. Casey let out a slow, controlled breath and went about collecting her scattered thoughts.

  Finn smiled down at her. “Casey.”

  Casey swallowed and licked her lips. “You seem to know the city.” Her voice was a bit rough, and she cleared her throat. “Take me to your favorite place.”

  “You might get bored.”

  “Do you think so?”

  “Maybe.”

  Casey still held on to Finn’s shirt as she stood against her. She didn’t want to let go, and so she indulged the rush of warmth and stayed exactly where she was. “I don’t think I will be. I mean, could it be any worse than sitting in chairs at the salon?”

  Finn laughed, and her eyes lit up as her hand slipped along Casey’s arm. Casey let go and Finn gripped her hand with an easy confidence. She glanced down the street. “We’ll need a cab now.”

  Casey looked down at their joined hands, and it felt both strange and blissful. She couldn’t remember the last time someone had wanted to hold her hand. She took the phone from her pocket. “Easy enough, Starkweather.”

  * * *

  Casey touched the plain wood bookshelf. “What about this one?”

  Finn stepped close behind her and Casey swallowed and let out a careful breath. She wanted desperately to lean back against Finn’s body, but she held tight to her resolve.

  Finn’s left hand came forward, touched the top of a book, and tipped it toward them with just a finger. “Flannery O’Connor.”

  Casey’s head dipped to the side as she read the spines of the books beside it. “I’ve heard of her, but I’ve never read her.”

  Finn’s voice was close beside her ear. “You should. You might not like her in the end, but that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t read at least one of her books. She has a wonderful way of giving even the meanest character an odd sense of grace. She’s a good example of Southern Gothic style, a slice of Americana that appreciates the existence of people no one seems to appreciate.”

  Casey turned her head to the left. “Have you read Muriel Barbery?”

  “The Elegance of the Hedgehog?”

  Casey’s gaze found Finn’s mouth with pleasure. “Yes.”

  “Not yet. Is it good?”

  They had been exploring the Green Apple Bookstore for some time, and Casey was so far on the opposite end of the spectrum from bored, she really couldn’t describe what she was feeling. Finn stayed close to her as she had all day, but since their kiss, the closeness had taken on a new energy, one of absolute presence and sexual promise that Casey couldn’t deny, and she didn’t want to. Beyond that, however, she noticed countless little things that Finn did, and they were slowly driving her mad with a different sort of enjoyment.

  Finn would touch the small of her back, not as a guide or a representation of her own will, but as support or an acceptance of Casey’s wishes. This row of books, not that one. She was being given the lead, and not as part of some elaborate seduction. It was almost protective in nature, but in the best sort of way. She had sought out that discreet shelter of strength in the past, but she had always abandoned the search. She had come to the conclusion that it wasn’t possible for a top to hold her close and let her go at the same time, and yet surprisingly, at least for now, here it was.

  Their hands would brush together, and Finn’s fingertips would skate with warmth on the underside of hers, just barely touching her skin, a light but intimate caress that sent shivers along Casey’s arm. The tickle of contact went beyond her skin, and she felt her arousal low within her abdomen. An honest, undeniable roll of physical pleasure that had flipped her equilibrium on its head and left her at the not so subtle mercy of her desire.

  Finn’s lips were full and ever so slightly wet, as if at any moment Finn might kiss her. Her scent was understated and unknown to Casey. Finn’s cologne was fresh and refined, and yet it held a nostalgia within it that made Casey think of the past, a distant past which she had played no part in, where soldiers came home from the war and there were four shades of lipstick, all of them red.

  “I think it might have suffered a bit in the English translation. I liked it,” Casey said as her eyes still followed the small movements of Finn’s mouth. “She seemed to take the same route, in a way, an appreciation for characters who are usually castoffs in the narrative. I’m not sure I agreed with her philosophy on some things, but I liked it.”

  Finn smiled. “A tangent, perhaps, but I held a hedgehog once.”

  “You didn’t.”

  “I did. It was very small and strange, like an alien creature with eyes that knew exactly what was happening, as if he was doing tiny math calculations about the angle of impact, should you turn out to be stupid and drop him.”

  Casey laughed softly and met Finn’s gaze. Oh…oh my God.

  “I love the sound of your laugh,” Finn confessed with a grin. “Cassandra Marinos.”

  “I love your favorite place,” Casey whispered, each breath she took a bit shallower than the last. Finn seemed closer with each one of those breaths, and Casey knew she had endured as much as she could take. “But if you don’t kiss me again, Finnegan, I’m going to be supremely disappointed in what—”

  Finn heard the words and her adrenaline gave a hard push. She ached for another kiss, even though she knew it might be the worst mistake she could make. She hadn’t meant to touch her earlier, but she had taken hold of Pandora’s box regardless, and she had yet to let go. There would be no plagues unleashed upon the world if she threw it open now, but a broken heart would be just as devastating, and Finn knew it.

  Finn had accepted a long time ago that she was on a collision course with many things that were not of her choosing, but she had always thought her heart would be hers to give. When she had looked through that scope all those months ago and discovered the real Cassandra Marinos on the other side of it, that quaint idea had been refuted rather easily. One way or another, Casey was standing at the end of Finn’s road, and what she chose to do with Finn’s heart would be entirely up to her.

  “—has otherwise been the best afternoon of—”

  Finn’s hand slipped beneath Casey’s cashmere coat and turned her at the waist.

  Casey pulled in a breath at the same time, and Finn drew her close without hesitation. Casey’s dark brown eyes were filled with anticipation and welcome in equal measure, and Finn grabbed at the emotions before Casey might rein them in.

  Something warm and soft broke within Finn’s chest and spilled free in a weighty manner. It was lu
minous and molten and it filled her to the brim as she kissed her, Casey’s lips supple and eager. Finn tasted the faint flavor of vanilla as their mouths joined, and she was careful at first, a sliver of fear the only logic that hadn’t jumped ship. The scent of Casey’s skin filled her nose, and Casey took hold of her jacket, holding tight to the leather. Her body leaned against Finn’s and Finn opened Casey’s lips with her tongue, in search of more.

  Casey let her in, Finn’s arms going about her as she leaned down. Finn heard a startled but pleasing sound and it filled her mouth as the collar of her coat pulled hard against the back of her neck.

  Finn had never wanted to kiss anyone so deeply before and, though she knew she should temper her desire for discretion’s sake, she opened Casey’s mouth further. They had taken a step farther into the row of books, and Finn’s hand found the back of Casey’s neck, her fingers opening within the thickness of her hair and taking hold. Casey went on her toes and Finn’s arm tightened and lifted her closer, and even through their clothes, Finn could feel the insane heat of Casey’s body. It was close to overwhelming, and her body reacted, a heady wave of arousal pulsing painfully between her legs, profound and without relief.

  Finn hadn’t known that a kiss could hold such promise, such a ripe and delicious pledge of want and need, but then she had wanted Casey for such a very long time. The disparity between what lived at the heart of Finn’s desire and what Casey may or may not have been feeling struck her, and she pulled back slowly, easing away from the haven she had found. Her hand opened within the curls that she held and she let her touch float along the soft skin of Casey’s neck until she held her face, her thumb touching the side of Casey’s lips as she finally pulled free.

  Casey’s face was flushed and her lips were parted as she met Finn’s eyes.

  Finn held tight to her words as the reality of their situation rushed back to her.

  “Don’t,” Casey whispered.

  “Don’t what?”

  “Don’t you dare say you’re sorry…I can see it.”

  “No, it’s not that. I’m not sorry.”

  Casey’s eyes sharpened their focus and Finn let out a small breath as Casey touched her cheek. “Then what is it?”

  Finn didn’t know how to answer her. Be careful, Finn, remember?

  Casey’s smile was slow and filled with such a clear invitation that it threatened to break her completely. That was it. That was all it took. Just a smile. “You should just tell me what this is all about, Finnegan Starkweather, and then you can take me back to my hotel. The room service is second to none…and their breakfast menu is quite good.”

  Finn’s heart was beating much too fast and she knew it, and the pressure within her head threatened to drown out the sound of Casey’s voice.

  “Is there someone else, then?”

  Finn blinked in shock at Casey’s question and leaned back.

  Casey laughed quietly in response, and she took hold of Finn’s jacket with both hands once more. It put an end to her retreat. “Of course not, I’m sorry I asked that.”

  The vibration of a phone startled both of them, and by the fourth buzz, Casey reached inside Finn’s jacket. She pulled the phone from Finn’s inner pocket, glanced at it, and then held it out to her. “Saved by the bell, so to speak.”

  Chapter Eleven

  Casey sipped at her wine and watched the traffic as it moved along Montgomery Street. The corner room had cost her, but the view at night was worth it, and she would’ve paid double if she’d had to. She had showered, and the thick hotel robe was soft and cool against her skin.

  The ’47 Cheval tasted just as spectacular now as the night it had been opened, and she savored it, letting the flavor sit in her mouth before she swallowed. It held an essence that she had never tasted before, and no doubt, it was one she would never taste again. It was a beautiful gift on several levels, but the true mystery behind it was the message Finn was trying to give her. After spending time with her, Casey had no doubt that some hidden part of Finnegan Starkweather was trying to speak up, whether the rest of Finn knew it or not.

  The phone call had been a relief, in retrospect; and now that she was alone, away from Finn’s immediate presence, she could admit that to herself.

  She needed to catch her breath. She needed to step back and consider all that was happening with a dispassionate eye. Her amusement at that thought was significant, as she tried to catalog the rush of emotions that threatened to swamp her.

  Their kiss in the bookstore had been beyond compare, and she remembered the feel of Finn’s tongue against hers, gentle at first, and then not so much, as she demanded everything that Casey might want to give. It had been more than just desire and Casey knew it, and she had returned the sentiment quite willingly.

  Finn had brought her back to the hotel, and before Casey had gotten out of the cab, she’d been unable to resist a kiss good night. A part of her had done it on a dare, to prove to herself what had happened, what she’d been feeling for almost three days now, was nothing more than lust. A hunger that had not been satisfied in a very long time, that needed to be shut down again and locked away. Either that, or indulged until it was sated and out of her system.

  But Finn had destroyed her all over again, and rather easily at that.

  The taste and heat of her mouth, and the scent of her skin. The strength of her hands, and that hair. Casey had yet to bury her hands in the crazy goodness that was Finn’s hair, and she was suddenly annoyed at the omission.

  “Break it down,” she said aloud, before she enjoyed the last swallow in her glass.

  Finn kept a loft in San Francisco, which was no mean feat in any metropolitan city, but San Francisco especially. Was this her home, or was it just a base of operations?

  Eric Werner had held at least ten of his last fifteen auctions in San Francisco, and so Finn’s presence might’ve been a coincidence, though she couldn’t be certain of that. Perhaps it was nothing but highly convenient for Finnegan Starkweather to find her prey in her own backyard. Perhaps it was something more. Perhaps she was a hired gun after all, as Jack had suggested. Perhaps what she wanted from Finn, at this point in their relationship, was far different than what Finn wanted in return. Relationship…for the love of God, Casey, get a grip.

  She couldn’t deny, however, that her every instinct was on high alert. Her gut told her she was suddenly caught up in something far bigger than she’d expected, and she’d expected quite a lot in the first place.

  Her phone rang and she stepped about the table and grabbed it. The number was blessedly familiar. “Colin, my lovely genius. What do you have for me?”

  “Where did you get that number?”

  “Never mind where, whose is it?”

  “Agent Thomas Hanson, National Security Agency.”

  Casey let out a harsh breath, truly shocked.

  “Listen,” Colin said, “I’m shutting down here, and I’m moving to a secondary site. I’ll have a new setup. If you don’t hear from me by Sunday, look for a Paris package with my new specs. If there’s no package, assume I’ve been grabbed.”

  “What is there, I mean…” Casey tried to process the possibilities of Colin’s information, only she had no idea what those possibilities might be. “What do you have on this guy?”

  “He works for the National Security Agency,” Colin said, emphasizing each word. “That’s what I have on him. Listen, Casey, these guys don’t fuck around, not after Snowden. I think I tripped a door finding him, so I’m setting up fresh. Sunday, okay? By noon, your time. If I can’t reach you, I’ll call Jack.”

  “Did you get a location?”

  “Yeah, he’s in San Francisco. I sent Jack everything I could find on her partner, Malik Kaseem—that’s all I’ve got for now. I’ve still got a few hacks running on Starkweather. I’ll send whatever I might get. Get rid of your burner phone. Do it now. I’ll reset the app, which will take about an hour. It’ll wipe your iPhone, so snag any information you might need.
Good luck.”

  Casey started to speak, but he was already gone. “Fuck.”

  She dialed Jack and he picked up on the second ring. “Yeah, I’m on my way.”

  “Maybe you were right, Jack.”

  “I’ll let you decide that,” he replied. “I never took her for a spook, and I still don’t. You’ve got a second tail tonight, Malik Kaseem. He’s in the lobby, actually. One of the clerks is keeping an eye on him for me. Take the stairs on the south end down to the third floor, and then take the service elevator to the basement. It’s in the maintenance room behind the vending. I’ll meet you there in thirty minutes. Can you make that?”

  “I’ll be there.”

  Casey hung up and moved toward her suitcases when the phone rang once more, and the number stopped her cold. Her adrenaline was high, but her thoughts were catching up. She took the call. “Are you having second thoughts, Starkweather?”

  Finnegan’s surprised laughter on the other end of the call slapped her upside the brain, and she stepped to the bed and sat down.

  “I’m sorry about that call. It was…”

  Casey was careful with her tone. “It was what?”

  “It was really bad timing, and totally unexpected. It was also something that I thought was over with, almost two years ago, I guess.”

  Casey could hear a hard edge of nervousness in Finn’s voice, a sharpness that Casey had definitely not heard from her before. It was damn close to fear, and that was a surprise. She didn’t know much, but she knew Finn didn’t scare very easily. “Are you okay?”

  “Yeah, I just…it’s just a life I used to live, and I don’t live there anymore.”

  Casey wished that she could see Finn’s expression. She had already learned there wasn’t much Finn could hide that wouldn’t find its way into her eyes rather quickly. “What exactly does that mean, Finn?”