Thief's Desire

by Isabo Kelly

  For some reason, though, she still felt like fidgeting under Xanthia’s steady gaze.

  “Again,” Xanthia continued after a quiet pause, “I don’t mean to pry, but you’re so young and, though I’ve no idea of your experience, I suspect that, seeing as how you’ve spent a goodly number of years masquerading as a boy, that the general is one of your first lovers. Am I right?”

  “How could you possibly guess that?” Vic’s discomfort over the conversation grew right along with the knot in her stomach. She had to work hard to keep from shuffling her feet.

  “Honey, I’ve seen more young women in the throes of their first passion than you could possibly imagine. There’s a look to it if you know what to look for.”

  Vic frowned and the woman smiled and patted her arm.

  “Don’t worry. There’s not very many of us that do know what to look for. And not a one of us would ever give your secret away. Now, the reason I bring this up is to ask if you’re trying to get pregnant or if, at this time, that would be something you’d like to avoid.”

  “Actually, I hadn’t much thought about it.” The possibility hadn’t even entered into her thinking when she’d fallen into bed with Jacob the night before. Panic started trickling into her bloodstream. “I don’t think it would be a good idea for me to get pregnant, though.” Now that Xanthia mentioned it, she was absolutely terrified by the idea. The last thing she needed in her life was a baby. She didn’t know the first thing about them. She hadn’t exactly had a maternal figure to show her the way of things. Vic’s mouth dried at the possibility that she might already have gotten herself pregnant. The implications of that kind of mistake made her palms sweat. Goddess, what had she done?

  “Honey, this isn’t a problem at all.”

  Xanthia squeezed her shoulders, forcing Vic to look her in the eyes. At the compassion she saw in Xanthia’s expression, her panic subsided, leaving room for thought again. She took a deep breath and, after a moment, nodded her head.

  The madam smiled. “There are certain things a woman can do to prevent the unexpected.” Xanthia crossed around to her desk and produced a small wooden box. “Here now. Take one of these little pills every day and you’ll have no trouble. When and if you do decide you’d like to have a child, simply stop taking the pills.”

  At her quizzical stare, the woman smiled again. “Now what kind of a business would I have if my girls kept getting pregnant on me? There’s a powder that most of us use. You mix it with water. It has the same effect, but the drink tastes a bit chalky. I can’t get my girls to swallow it regularly. The pills, though much harder to come by and a lot more expensive, are much easier on the palate.”

  Vic’s surge of panic evaporated, leaving her lightheaded with what she could only consider a near escape. “Thank you,” she said, sighing heavily, her discomfort dissolving into gratitude. “How much do I owe you?”

  “This first batch is on the house, honey.”

  “Why?”

  “Well, let’s just say I have a soft spot for anyone who can swindle more men than me. And I’m fond of the general. I can see he cares for you a great deal. So, despite my jealousy, I want to smooth the way for you both.”

  Vic felt something strange twisting in her stomach, an emotion she couldn’t quite put a name to. “Thank you very much, Madame Xanthia. This was…unexpected, but very much appreciated.”

  “Think nothing of it. Just be good to the general. And be careful with this spying business.”

  As Vic walked toward the office door, Xanthia stopped her with one last comment.

  “When you need more of those little pills, you just come by and see me. I’ve got a good supply and I’ll give you a discount.” She winked and waved goodbye.

  In the dim hallway, Vic stuck the little box inside her shirt and tied the magic charm around her neck, marveling at the madam’s generosity. Jacob had the strangest effect on people. She turned toward the common room. She wasn’t used to strangers being generous and knew that generosity sprang from her association with the King’s Own. The thought left her mildly uncomfortable, but she couldn’t say why.

  She entered the gaudy commons, still sorting through the myriad emotions churning in her gut, to see Jacob sitting on a couch, surrounded by all of the women in the room without customers. He was talking pleasantly with them, a friend among friends. The women, on the other hand, were raptly listening to his every word, giggling and commenting in all the appropriate places, each vying for his attention. She stood in the hallway, watching in stupefied awe. Her initial resurgence of jealousy was quickly quelled, replaced by mild amusement, when she noticed how oblivious he was to their fawning.

  When he looked up and noticed her, he disentangled himself from the disappointed mass of femininity to join her. “I didn’t mean to pull you away from your admirers,” she said through a crooked smile.

  “I’m sure they wanted to get back to work anyway. What did you and Madam Xanthia have to discuss?”

  She hesitated. She wasn’t comfortable enough with her own feelings on the matter to discuss the conversation with Jacob. She didn’t want to know what his reaction might be, either to her getting pregnant or to the madam’s preventative aid. She shrugged and forced her face into a mysterious smile. “Women things,” she said and headed for the front door. Jacob followed, taking her arm as they walked out into the street. She pulled up the cowl to cover her face as they turned toward the castle.

  “Well, woman,” Jacob leaned down to whisper in her ear. “What do you say we go find that velvet dress?”

  The heat of his breath against her ear sent a delicious shiver along the length of her spine. She pulled him into a side alley, glancing around quickly to confirm they were alone. Then she kissed him hard, loving the taste of his lips. If she understood nothing else, she understood the way he made her pulse speed, the way his mouth pressed against hers made her feel warm all over, the way the feel of him beneath her hands made her hungry for more. She understood passion. For the moment, she told herself as she reluctantly pulled away from his kiss, she could be very happy with passion. “I’ll meet you back at the castle,” she murmured, starting toward the opposite end of the alley.

  “Wait.” He took hold of her arm. “We’ll go together. I don’t want you running around the streets alone.”

  She smiled and patted his hand. “I’ve been running around the streets alone my entire life. I won’t be long.”

  “Victoria…”

  “Jacob, I told you already, my hiding places would be less than useless if I revealed where they were to just anyone.”

  “But I’m not ‘just anyone.’”

  “I’ll be back before you have time to miss me.”

  “I’ll miss you the second I can’t see you anymore.”

  “I like the way that sounds,” she said, grinning as she melted into his kiss. Then, true to her name, she slipped out of his grasp before he could tempt her further and disappeared into the shadows, knowing he wouldn’t dare shout after her.

  The hiding spot of her dress and cape was actually close to the Flaming Rose, in the basement of an abandoned housing building where she’d found a warm place to stay out of sight. No one, not even Ren, knew the location, making it her safest refuge.

  She’d recovered the dress and was starting back toward the castle when a shifting of shadows caught her curious gaze. Ducking into a doorway, she watched as three shapes emerged from an alley into the dimly lit backstreet near her abandoned nest. Two of the shapes were covered by heavy, black, hooded cloaks, but the purple flashes of clothing beneath their capes gave ample evidence of their identities.

  The third figure stopped her breath. He faced her briefly and a shock of long white hair and blazing blue eyes stood out against the black cowl of his robe. Unlike the first sorcerer she’d seen, this one had skin the color of charcoal, making the white of his hair and eyebrows a disarming contrast. His head swiveled within the cowl as he scanned the road for observers.
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br />   Instinctively, she froze in place. She barely breathed. Her cloak, already pulled tightly around her body, remained motionless. Not even a muscle in her face twitched. Her head remained down, shadowing the pale glow of her skin.

  The sorcerer didn’t stop for long. His scan complete, he moved down the street, away from Vic and her hideout, Tracker’s two men following close behind.

  Unconsciously, Vic touched the stone at her neck then closed her eyes and thanked the Goddess that the necklace had worked. For the briefest of moments, she debated whether to follow or not. A deep breath made up her mind. She pulled the sash from her waist and wrapped it around her face. Then, keeping the burgundy velvet of her dress hidden beneath the folds of her cloak and a hand pressed to the box inside her shirt, she started down the street after the three men.

  Silent feet and a quick pace kept her close behind them, completely unnoticed. Once, the sorcerer turned to scan the street again. Vic became a shadow and waited. When they resumed their trek, she followed.

  At first, she assumed they’d go to the old inn where the other sorcerer hid. But they didn’t. Instead, they moved in the opposite direction, toward the city’s eastern gate. Several blocks away from the gate, near the base of the hill, the three men stopped before a small, nondescript house.

  As one of the guards knocked a pattern on the front door, the sorcerer again turned to scan his surroundings. Vic melted into the darkness of a building. Again, he failed to sense her.

  Within seconds, the door opened and all three disappeared inside. She watched the house for another few minutes before slipping back down the street. She didn’t turn toward the castle until she was well away from the house.

  Chapter Eleven

  Vic stood in the doorway separating Jacob’s sitting room from his bedroom. She leaned casually against the frame, watching him pace before a cold fireplace. After a few moments, she said, “Waiting for someone?”

  He turned, his handsome features passing from shock to relief as he crossed the room to engulf her in a rough embrace.

  “Miss me?” she asked, enjoying the comfort and safety of his arms.

  “Why didn’t you come in through the front entrance?” he asked without loosening his hold. “They have orders to let you pass.”

  “This is more fun.”

  “What took you so long?”

  “You’d better sit.”

  He pulled back to look into her eyes. “What happened?”

  “Accidentally tripped over more of Tracker’s men with another one of those pesky sorcerers. By the way, Madam Xanthia deserves every kern she charged.” She fingered the onyx where it lay against her throat.

  Jacob led her into the sitting room and sat with her on the settee near the window, keeping his arm around her shoulders.

  “I’m lucky I had this thing on,” she continued. “They just popped out of the shadows when I was on my way back here. When the sorcerer’s first scan didn’t detect me, I decided to follow—”

  “You what?”

  “I followed. They went to a house near the eastern gate.”

  “They didn’t go to the original building?”

  “Nope.”

  “What did the house look like?”

  “Plain. White walls, red-tiled roof, blue door. Typical house for that part of town. But I can show it to you. I made sure I knew the exact one before I left. This was a different sorcerer, Jacob. I saw his face, too.” With a crooked smile, she added, “And despite scanning three different times, he didn’t hesitate once in my general vicinity. I really like this necklace.”

  He almost smiled, his lips twitched as if he wanted to, but the expression quickly turned into a deep frown. “What did you think you were doing following them?” he asked harshly.

  “My job, General.”

  A muscle along his jaw jumped as he ground his teeth together.

  She sucked in a breath and raised a brow, waiting for the explosion.

  “I was worried,” he said finally and his frown softened. “I suppose I should know better than to worry about a thief carrying six knives and a magic ward.”

  She released her breath on a short laugh. “That’s okay, General. I kind of like that you were worried. That’s new to me.” She relaxed against his side and nestled her head beneath his chin.

  “I don’t know if I can do this, Victoria. It goes against my instincts to let you take the risks while I wait here. I’d rather take the risks myself.”

  “That makes two of us. I’m almost too eager to take chances. At least, that’s what my boss keeps telling me. But I shudder at letting others take those same chances if I can help.”

  His chuckle ruffled through her hair.

  “We’re quite a pair, aren’t we, little thief?”

  She bit her lip, keeping her face hidden as she did. A pair? She’d never been part of a pair before. Somehow, it made every risk she took seem more significant. Now, she actually had something to lose. She chose not to think about the fact that she’d probably lose this someday, anyway. Enjoy it while you can, Flash. Enjoy being part of a pair.

  “What are you thinking about, Victoria?”

  “I’m thinking that I need to use your washroom.” She stood. “I’ll be right back.”

  In the washroom, she shed her black clothing, removed each of her knives and donned the velvet dress. Using one of Jacob’s combs, she brushed out her hair, leaving it down. Glancing into his small mirror, she deemed herself presentable. After a brief hesitation, she swallowed one of the pills Xanthia had given her, then set the box on top of the folded bundle of her clothes.

  Jacob was lighting a fire when she sauntered back into the room. She cleared her throat to gain his attention.

  “Goddess,” he breathed, “Victoria, you look beautiful in that dress.” He walked toward her slowly, his gaze traveling the length of her body.

  Her heart started to thump harder. As he took her into his arms, she smiled up at him. “Thank you,” she whispered, blood already surging through her veins. All he had to do was look at her, and she was lost. She breathed in his musky scent and held his gaze.

  “I’m surprised you were able to collect it. After—”

  She placed a finger over his lips. “I never back out on a bet.”

  His hands caressed the whole of her back, and for a long time, he simply stared at her. She never looked away from his face as she moved her hands over his chest and across his shoulders. The feel of his silk shirt tantalized her sensitive fingertips.

  “Tonight,” she whispered, lacing her fingers behind his neck, “we won’t worry about risks or danger.” I won’t worry about consequences or the future. “Tonight, we’ll concentrate only on making each other happy.”

  He answered with a knee-melting kiss.

  Vic awoke the next morning still circled in his arms. He was studying her fingers when she opened her eyes. “Good morning,” she mumbled, through a yawn.

  “Good morning, love. Did you sleep well?”

  “Um hum, wonderful, thank you. And you?”

  “Very happily.”

  “What’s so interesting?” She wriggled the fingers of the hand he was inspecting.

  “I’m just marveling that these delicate little fingers can do so many different things.” He kissed one fingertip. “They can cheat veteran gamblers. They can pull a knife out of thin air. They can scale walls. They can lift money pouches. And they can set every nerve in my body on fire.”

  She smiled and pressed her face against his chest. “Jacob Marin, you are a rogue. What will you do today?”

  “I have to meet with the king this morning about that second sorcerer. And I promised to visit with Tiya, Kevin and Arlana sometime today.”

  “Lady Tiya, hmm?”

  “You’re not still concerned over my feelings for her, are you, little thief?”

  “I suppose not.” She was, but she wasn’t about to admit it. Two years of being in love with someone could hardly be forgotten in a fe
w days.

  He tilted her chin and kissed her. “You don’t need to worry, Victoria.”

  “I’ll try to remember that.” She scurried for a new topic quickly. “Who’s Arlana?”

  “Their daughter.”

  “Pretty name. You’ll be busy all day then?”

  “Yes. Why?” A wicked glint lit his eyes. “What’d you have in mind?”

  “Wipe that smirk off your face, General. I’ll have to get into the streets early, and I wanted to know if you’d be around before I left. But you won’t, so…”

  “Why do you have to go into the city?”

  “I still have work to do, remember?” She reluctantly sat up.

  He kept his arm around her waist and wouldn’t let go of her hand. “Tonight?”

  “Yes.”

  “Will you come here when you’ve finished?”

  “Not tonight. I have to keep a watch on that building through the night and tomorrow during the day. I’ll go in tomorrow night. Unless something happens.”

  “What could happen?”

  “You never know with this sort of a game.”

  “I don’t want to let you go,” he mumbled, staring at her hand.

  She leaned down and kissed his forehead. “I’ll be fine. You worry about those goblins still running the city streets.” She kissed his cheek, then allowed herself to be bundled once more into his warm embrace. After a long and languorous kiss, she sighed, broke away and got out of bed.

  “You’re leaving now?”

  “Well, I thought I’d get dressed first.”

  “Stay and have breakfast.”

  “You have things to do.”

  “We both need to eat. You could come see Arlana with me.”

  She stopped at the door to his washroom. “Why?”

  “Tiya is curious about you. So is Kevin.”

  Through narrowed eyes, she asked, “What have you told them?”