The Chameleon

by Michele Hauf

  “A little of both?”

  “Just don’t ask me to bring out the whips and chains.” He hissed as she leaned in to suck one of his tiny nipples into her mouth. It tightened and she played at it with her tongue. “Don’t bite, sweetie.”

  She paused with her teeth about his nipple, but didn’t chomp down. She would have never bitten hard, but a little nip?

  He pushed a thumb over her lower lip and shook his head admonishingly. So she lashed her tongue about his thumb and sucked that in. The man tilted back his head and groaned. He thrust his hips forward and she moved up to hug against his big Irish bull.

  “I want this.” She slid off the sofa and hugging tightly against his body, tilted a hip forward to grind against his cock.

  “Yeah?” Of a sudden he twisted her about and she caught her hands on the back of the sofa. His body melded against her backside, and a big, wide hand slipped up under her shirt. “I want this.” He squeezed her breast and then pinched the nipple. Saskia leaned her head back against his shoulder, tugging up her shirt to give him better access.

  He massaged both her breasts, and nuzzled his kisses at the crook of her neck. There was that luscious hit to her erogenous zone again. Saskia reached behind her and managed to grab his hips. Putting her feet up on the sofa, she ground her ass against his hard-on. There was only one way to go with this…and she wasn’t afraid to take control.

  Hooking her legs firmly over the back of the couch, she transferred her weight forward, taking Jack by surprise, and successfully flipping him over to land on the cushions. She straddled him. “Didn’t see that one coming, did you?”

  He pulled her down and sucked her nipple into his mouth, drawing on it, suckling, licking and rendering her speechless. The man really knew how to focus his efforts and to make her body sing. And then he said, “Didn’t see that one coming, eh?”

  “Keep it coming.” Saskia pulled the shirt off over her head and tossed it to the floor. “I will not argue your tactics.” He guided her breast back into his mouth. “Your hands have warmed up, and your mouth… This is the best way to keep warm in this crazy country, yes?”

  He mumbled an affirmative growl and licked at her nipples. She didn’t need him to talk when he was so expert at finding her sweet spots. Saskia shimmied down her leggings and kicked them off, and then she unbuttoned his trousers.

  Jack abruptly stopped his sucking and put a hand over hers. “Careful with the zipper.”

  “Right, big boy. I will be so delicate.”

  “You? Delicate?”

  She took that as a challenge and bent to carefully work the zipper down slowly. The man was going commando and as the zipper teeth parted, the head of his Irish bull rose and begged for attention. Saskia dashed her tongue across the mighty crown. His groan pleased her. And when he was completely freed, she gripped him firmly.

  Jack huffed and met her challenging gaze. “I take back what I said about you being delicate.”

  “You need a good firm hand.” She waggled a brow at him. “Yes?”

  His positive reply came out as a groan as she shifted her grip up and down his hard, solid length. He was long, but not terribly so. What was impressive was his girth. She could barely fit her fingers about him. And oh, so hot. A lash of her tongue wetted his skin and provided lubrication as she increased her speed. Her other hand she cupped about his tight sac, easing a careful but reassuring squeeze.

  She eyed the fists at his sides. His eyes were closed. His body tense. Close to release already? But she’d not had all her fun yet.

  Relaxing her grip, Saskia slid up his body and slicked her wetness over his erection, painting him with her wanting heat. Yes, there. Just the right pressure in just the right spot. The glide of him over her clit served to heighten the stirring hum in her core.

  Unable to resist, she bent to lash one of his nipples then followed with a gentle nip.

  “Saskia!” That opened his eyes. “I said no biting.”

  “I can’t help it, Jack. I want to eat you up.”

  “Eat this.” He pumped his hips so his cock nudged roughly against her folds. “But no biting. Promise me?”

  She winked at him. “You trust a thief and a grifter with a promise? Okay then, I promise.”

  She bent to take him in her mouth and the big Irish bull was reduced to a wanting, pumping, groaning mass of muscle and musk. No man could concentrate when a woman took him by the head, literally, and showed him exactly how she felt about him. And Saskia wanted him to know that she liked him, she wanted him, and…she trusted him. At least, with her naked body. Oh yes, he could have his way with her any time.

  “I’m going to come,” he managed tightly. “Come on up here, Saskia. I need to be inside you. I’ve got a condom…somewhere…”

  “No worries, Jack Angelo.” She shifted along his body and settled onto his cock, teasing at allowing him in. “I am on birth control.”

  “Good, because I think I left that condom in London. Put me inside you.”

  “You sure?” She wiggled on top of him, knowing it was torturous to his needy erection. “Maybe we fool around a bit more…”

  He gripped her by the hips and with a precise aim, the man entered her. Slowly, but oh so surely. His entrance stole away her teasing words. Saskia could but moan and enjoy every single inch that slid into her, filling her, becoming her. When he was hilted, she rode him, and was surprised when the man’s fingers found her clit and slicked that in accompaniment to her rhythm. Most men were not so aware that a woman needed such stimulation to get off. Bonus points for him!

  She could feel him step toward the edge. His muscles tightened as if leather straps. His body trembled. The fingers at her hips gripped firmly. And when his other fingers squeezed her clit…just so, Saskia hit the peak and exploded along with him. He jammed himself into her, hips rising from the sofa. And she let out her held breath and a flutter of laughter as the orgasm won.

  * * * *

  Later, snuggled in the blanket on the sofa, their naked bodies entwined, Jack edged close to sleep. Or maybe he was slipping out of a light nap? Didn’t matter. His mind had just been blown. That sex had rocked him left, right, up and down. The woman was incredible.

  And she felt like a warm length of flames that he wanted to never let go of. Especially since the chill air in the room had already cooled the top of his head. Any part of him not covered by the blanket, which included his left foot, was not happy. Everything else? A bit of all right.

  Something had happened here tonight. This wasn’t the first time they’d done it. But it was the first time he’d known and wanted the woman in his arms. And it didn’t feel like just another fuck. It had felt so good. And right. Even though he knew he’d only be working with her another few days, then hasta la vista, bye-bye baby, on to a new life.

  A life he couldn’t imagine right now without someone like Saskia riding along with him. Wasn’t that crazy? He never fell for women so hard. And he was not going to trip into such a fall this time. He was just lingering in the feel-good following sex. Yeah, that was it. He wasn’t turning into a softie.

  Although, his dick was. It had gotten a workout.

  What he did know was that it was going to be hard to walk away from Saskia after the bank job. Did he have to? Could they keep this going? If life played out over the next few days the way he’d planned, she would be difficult to insert into that timeline.

  But he could make room for her later. Hmm…

  Maybe it was best not to think about it too much. It would only bring up anxiety and put him off his game for the job. So he cuddled her a little firmer and kissed the crown of her head, and surrendered to the sleep that captured them both until morning.

  Chapter 11

  The next morning Saskia left early to pick up some supplies. She’d need to present Clive with some semblance of a poison. And it had to be co
nvincing. The drug store had provided what she’d needed. Now, she returned to the flat and was greeted with the lush scents of oregano and tomatoes. Bless Jack’s nonna.

  The scent was almost better than the sex they’d had last night. Almost, but—no, who was she kidding? What they’d done last night could never compare to a good meal, warm or not.

  “You are a regular housewife,” she called as she headed to the bedroom to grab the blanket and wrap it around her shoulders.

  Returning to the kitchen, she sat on a stool and pulled the small bag of supplies from her pocket. She could tell him what she was going to do, but that would then require further explanation.

  Yet she had to tell him everything. Because if she did, he could get that information to the right people. People she wasn’t able to contact because she was in deep right now. And they needed to know.

  It was her best move. She would make it.

  “Jack, I have to tell you something.”

  He looked up from the pot of pasta that she figured was as much a heat source to him as it fulfilled his weird need to cook. “Shoot.”

  “Come over here and sit for a minute, if you can.”

  He replaced the pot lid, tossed aside the pot holder and sat on a stool next to her. She leaned over to kiss him and he responded with a long and lush kiss. The man could be as focused on her mouth as he was on his pasta. Mmm, she liked kissing him. And sharing skin with him—she had to focus.

  “What do you want to tell me?”

  “I’ve been thinking about what you asked me. About what the take for this job will be.”

  “The five hundred thousand we were each promised.”

  “Right. Shows up in our bank accounts the moment Clive sends the text that the job is complete. That’s how the man works.”

  “You didn’t seem overly interested in my concerns when we discussed this before. What’s changed?”

  “You did do research on the previous heist Clive headed, didn’t you?”

  “As much as I could.” He shrugged. “The Belgian heist, right? It didn’t make any major news outlets, but I did find a brief police report online. Something about breaking in and not taking a damned thing. But I figured the report got it wrong. You had to have taken something. Isn’t worth the risk of prison otherwise.”

  “That’s just it. The reports were true. We didn’t take anything on that heist. Not unless Clive took something so small we didn’t remark it.”

  “Then why even break in? I don’t understand.”

  “I didn’t either. But I’m beginning to wonder if maybe we break in to leave something behind.”

  “I’m not following you.”

  And she was having a hard time, herself, with this theory. But it made weird sense to her. “I’m pretty sure we’re going to walk out empty-handed tomorrow night. No bills, no gold, not even booty from the safe deposit boxes.”

  “Then why are we bloody putting ourselves out to do this?”

  “The payoff?”

  He shook his head. “Clive must know something we don’t.”

  “That’s what I’m starting to think. And while it shouldn’t bother me and I shouldn’t ask questions…” She paused and Jack lifted a brow. He was listening, which is exactly what she needed from him. “What if Clive is serving someone other than himself and us?”

  “Go on.”

  “He’s not the man on top. I think he’s working for someone else. Maybe. I don’t know. I’ve not seen proof of it. It’s conjecture. Listen, tomorrow’s heist is the same setup as the last one. We go in. I break into the vault. Clive breaks into the safe deposit box room. Whoever gets in first, that’s the vault we rob. Last time I made the vault in forty minutes, and as soon as I opened the door, Clive appeared and said we were finished.”

  “Had he broken into the safe deposit room? What did he take?”

  She nodded. “I didn’t think to ask him about it at the time. Or rather, I didn’t want to. Just trying to keep my head down and do the job, you know? But now I’m more suspicious after his request for the poison. He said it wasn’t related to the heist. But how can it not be related?”

  “You never got the poison though, so…?” He tugged out his phone.

  “What are you checking?”

  “Huh? Oh, nothing, thought I felt it buzz.” He set the phone aside, screen down.

  But Saskia knew he’d been checking his texts. Had he looked into the results from yesterday’s fouled exchange? She hoped he had.

  “So you think Clive is putting poison in…a safe deposit box?” Jack prompted.

  “It’s one option. I briefly wondered if he was planning to release the toxin, and leave us behind, choking and fighting for our lives. But that doesn’t make sense. If he didn’t need us along, they why not do the job himself? Or…”

  “Or?”

  “What if he’s got a hit list?”

  “Of bank executives?”

  “I don’t think so. That would require he leave the poison in a desk or an office. It is a possibility. I’m thinking off the cuff here. What if it’s someone who has a safe deposit box there?”

  “Did you supply him poison for the last job?”

  “No. But that was my first job with Clive. He could have had it made previously. I just think… If there was a way to check who owned safe deposit boxes in the Belgian bank that we hit weeks ago. Then to check that list and see if anyone, well…died. From poison exposure.”

  She waited as Jack moved the information around in his brain. She couldn’t get any more obvious than by stating what needed to be done.

  “It’s an idea,” he offered. “But how will knowing that help us tomorrow?”

  “It won’t. And we don’t need help. I just would like to know exactly what the man is up to. And if I’m providing poison, I don’t want to be involved in anyone’s death.”

  “Poison generally leads to death. The client who was supposed to sell it to you? You think he’s still alive? And if not, do you think you’re innocent of that death?”

  “Don’t put it like that, Jack. I’ve never killed anyone. And I never will. Not unless my survival depends on it. Besides, I don’t have the poison Clive asked for. But I have to give him something.” She tapped the paper bag. “I picked up some ingredients this morning.”

  “You’re going to make a poison?”

  “I’m going to make a fake poison. Something that will look like what he thinks he’s getting and it will give off a noxious odor that will keep him from inhaling. It should come off as the real thing.”

  “That could work. But what if your theory is correct? If someone doesn’t drop dead—then he’ll know you tricked him.”

  “Right, but depending on who he is targeting—if that is what is going on—it could be days or even weeks before that person returns to the box and comes in contact with the”—she made air quotes—“poison. By then, we’ll be long gone.”

  “But I’ll never know what Clive—” Jack swiped a palm over his jaw and nodded. “Right. A fake poison. That should work.”

  “I gotta think about this. Make sure I’m making the right move.” She got up and wandered over to the window.

  And behind her, she heard Jack flip over his phone and type in a long text. The man was easy. Thank goodness.

  * * * *

  A new twist had been added to his assignment. Or maybe it was the solution. Putting poison into a safe deposit box in hopes of murdering someone was a clever feat. But not out of the realm of possibility. And if Clive were involved in more than mere bank robbery, it could be a means to take out someone in a roundabout manner.

  Jack texted Kierce Quinn at headquarters and told him he had some information to talk to him about and he’d call in five minutes.

  Slipping on his coat and gloves, he paused at the door when Saskia asked where he w
as headed. “Across the street to the grocery. I forgot to pick up garlic for the bread. Will you stir the pasta in five minutes?”

  “Sure. Pick up some of the cinnamon buns, will you? I know I’ll be craving those for breakfast tomorrow morning. Gotta start the day with carbs.”

  “Be right back,” he said.

  Trundling down the stairs and across the street, he turned before entering the grocery store and waved to Saskia, who watched from the window. She waved back.

  She was a good one. He wouldn’t mind taking her along with him on his adventure off the grid. Seriously.

  And what was that about? He couldn’t risk having her along with him when he left Helsinki. She’d be in the way. And would draw more attention to him than he needed.

  Jack shook his head as he aimed toward the produce aisle and pulled out his cell phone. The store was quiet, and the section at the back where the onions and garlic were displayed was ill-lit. Here, he could talk in reasonable tones without anyone overhearing.

  When Kierce answered, Jack picked up a bulb of garlic and tossed it up and down as he told him everything about Saskia’s suspicions.

  “That’s an interesting theory,” Quinn said. “I can access the list of safe deposit box owners with ease. I’ll search the names and get back to you if I come up with anything. When’s the heist due to go down?”

  “Tomorrow night. I’ll keep you updated.”

  “Any problems? Have you learned what the goal is?”

  “Beyond the suspicions about poison, there seems to be no actual goal.”

  “More credence that the poison angle could be it. How’s it going for you working with the crew?”

  Jack set the garlic in his shopping basket. “That’s an odd question to ask. You want to know if I’m getting along with the crew? Or one person in particular?”

  “It’s standard psychological screening,” Quinn replied, but Jack sensed the nervousness in his tone. “Forget I asked.”

  “Forgotten.” But not really.

  “Right. Stay warm, Angelo. And I’ll see you back in Paris soon, yes?”