Her body bowed up and her gasp echoed through the room. Her sex fluttered and tightened around him, another orgasm slamming into her.
And that was all it took for him to topple over. The explosion of pleasure rocked through him, blacking out everything except her.
He was breathing hard several minutes later when his brain clicked back on and everything came into focus. Genevieve had collapsed onto the table beneath him, but she was staring up at him with a sleepy, satisfied expression.
Her hair was messy and her necklace was twisted sideways.
“You look like you just had sex.”
A wry grimace pulled at her mouth. “Go figure.”
Pulling away, Finn grasped her hands to pull her up. “I’ve already said it, I don’t care what anyone else thinks of us. And I don’t mind them knowing we just had sex. But I know you do. So, stay here. I’ll go find something to clean us both up.”
Quickly working the fly of his pants, Finn strode out into the hallway, but didn’t get very far.
His feet faltered halfway past the doorway to the office. It would only take a few moments to do a little reconnaissance.
Genevieve would never know.
* * *
Genevieve had no idea how long she stayed in the room. It probably wasn’t more than five minutes, but it felt like forever. She was rumpled and clearly sexed up. If anyone walked in right now...
Looking around, Genevieve was hoping to find a mirror hanging on one of the walls that she could at least use to repair her hair. No such luck.
A few more minutes had an anxious sensation pulling at the muscles between her shoulder blades. Maybe Finn had been caught by someone in the hallway and he was attempting to extricate himself from a conversation so he could return to her.
Either way, she was tired of waiting. Surely there was a bathroom somewhere close.
Returning to the hallway, she began moving down, peeking into each room she passed. One door was partially closed so she started to ignore it, but halfway past a noise from the inside caught her attention.
Something made her turn. When she pushed against the door, it didn’t even creak as the well-oiled hinges gave way, revealing a large room with an imposing desk prominently displayed.
The piece was massive and intricate. She didn’t have to touch it to know it would be heavy. The wood gleamed with the patina of age and the color reminded her of the tobacco leaves she’d once seen on a documentary about Southern plantations.
This room didn’t benefit from a massive wall of windows overlooking the back of the estate. The natural light from the few high panes of glass weren’t enough to beat back the gloom of darkness that shrouded the edges of the room.
She wasn’t supposed to be there.
Genevieve might have backed out, except a movement off to her right caught the corner of her eye. It took her several seconds to register the shape of a man in the shadows, but the minute her eyes picked out the image, the hair at the back of her neck stood on edge.
And not because she was scared.
She didn’t need to see clearly to recognize Finn. She’d know the lithe, controlled way he moved anywhere.
Genevieve watched him as he ran his hands along the large frame of a painting mounted on the wall. When that one revealed nothing, he moved to another. The muffled sound of triumph that fell from his lips as he found the catch made her throat ache. The frame swung away from the wall revealing the huge face of an inset safe.
Finn didn’t hesitate, but quickly pulled a set of tools out of the pocket of his jacket. How the hell had she missed those? She’d had her hands all over him tonight and hadn’t felt them.
He’d brought her here for cover.
Hell, sneaking off to have sex with her had no doubt been another layer to that subterfuge.
He’d used her. And she’d blindly let him.
But she was done accepting that kind of behavior—from him and herself.
The plush carpet silenced her heels as she crossed the room. But something must have tipped him off because he spun around just steps before she could reach him.
“Genevieve,” he said, the single word as grim as his expression.
His gaze skipped up and down her body, settling squarely on her face. No doubt she looked like she was pissed. Because she was.
“This isn’t what it looks like.”
“Oh, you didn’t use me so you could break into Hunt’s estate and rob him blind?”
“No.”
“Bullshit.”
“I mean, yes, I am here to rob him, but you weren’t cover for that.”
Genevieve’s head threatened to explode. “I wasn’t cover? So I’m just an accomplice instead? Sure, much better. This way our son can lose both his parents when they go to jail.”
“Neither one of us is going to jail.”
“Because you’re going to put—” Genevieve waved her hand toward the tools still clutched in his hands “—whatever those are away, lock the painting back over that safe and we’re going to walk out of this room together.”
The expression on Finn’s face went even grimmer. “I can’t do that.”
“Oh, yes, you can. If you want to be part of my life, you can.”
Closing his eyes, Finn pulled in a deep breath, held it for several seconds and then let out a soul-deep sigh.
“I’m working for Stone.”
Seriously, he kept saying things like the words were supposed to make things better, but they just didn’t. “I don’t care if the queen of England hired you to rob Hunt blind. I won’t let you do it.”
“The queen of England didn’t hire me to rob him, but Hunt did.”
Genevieve blinked once. And then again. “Excuse me?”
“Well, technically, he hired Stone Surveillance, but since I’m one-third owner and the resident expert on relieving people of their unprotected valuables, this assignment fell to me.”
Seriously. “Are you speaking English?”
“Apparently, Hunt isn’t just a longtime friend of your grandfather’s. He’s known Stone all of his life and been in business with Anderson Steel for years. He approached Stone about beefing up his security, but when Stone made several suggestions, he didn’t see the value. They made an agreement, allowing me to break in to take whatever I could.”
Genevieve’s mind spun with the information. “Why didn’t you tell me you’d taken an assignment with Stone? Or that you’re part owner in the company?”
“Because until a few days ago I wasn’t. Stone’s been trying for months to get me to join the team, but I really didn’t want to do it.”
“Why not?”
“Because I thought it would be boring. I already own a company and don’t enjoy being involved with it. Why would I want to take on the responsibility of another? Especially one that needs to be built from the ground up?”
After meeting him, something told her Anderson Stone would have no problems building the business into whatever he wanted it to become.
“What changed?”
“You did.”
For the second time tonight Genevieve found herself asking, “Excuse me?”
“I needed Gray’s expertise and Stone’s resources in order to get the security at your studio and house upgraded quickly. Stone drives a hard bargain.”
“You agreed to something you didn’t want to do, something you’ve been telling your closest friends no about for months, in order to protect me and our son?”
“Of course.”
How could she go from wanting to strangle the man to wanting to jump his bones in the space of five minutes? One thing was for sure, Finn DeLuca definitely made her react.
But he wasn’t finished shocking her.
“I had every intention of just being a silent partner, in name only.” Suddenly, Fin
n shifted, running an agitated hand through his hair. For the first time since she’d caught him, he began to look guilty. “I’ll be honest, I’ve loved spending the last few weeks with you and Noah. But I was starting to get restless, chafe at the normal. I went to talk to Stone and he suggested I take this job. Use my skills in a way that might scratch the itch without jeopardizing everything.”
Genevieve watched him, trepidation churning sickly through her belly. She had to ask the question, but she really wasn’t sure she wanted to know the answer.
“And?”
A smile tugged at the edges of his mouth. “I thought knowing it was legit would take the edge off, but it didn’t. Or at least, there was enough left to make the experience an interesting challenge.”
That’s what Finn needed and why he did the things he did. Not because he wanted the things he stole. But because he wanted to feel alive. Needed to feel alive.
In a way that wouldn’t cost someone else their life, like Sawyer.
God, what was she going to do with him?
Shaking her head, Genevieve was at a loss. She believed him. Maybe she was stupid to, but she did.
Before she could regret it, she grumbled, “Hurry up. I have your come dripping down my thighs and would really like to go home.”
The shocked laughter that burst from Finn was totally worth it.
Thirteen
The last few days had been a whirlwind of activity. Genevieve had been in the studio all hours of the day and night working on the finishing touches of her collection. Finn had taken to staying at her place, spending time with Noah so she could do what she needed. Aside from playing with his son, the best part of his day was when Genevieve walked through the back door.
He’d finished up his work for Hunt, submitted his report and eventually returned the items he’d taken from the safe. It had actually been more gratifying than he’d anticipated to help design the system and protocols Stone and Gray were implementing to protect the estate.
Tonight, he’d convinced Genevieve that she needed a break. He’d pressured her to leave the studio early. After running by to see Stone, he’d stopped by his place to pick up a few things.
Finn wondered how long it would be before he could convince Genevieve to move in with him. Her place was nice enough, but it was small. His had more room, although he’d need her help to baby-proof it for sure.
He was halfway back to Genevieve’s when an alert went off on his phone. He pulled over to the side of the road, looked at the screen and swore beneath his breath.
An alarm was going off at her studio.
Swiping to open the app, Finn pulled up the video feed. Flipping through the cameras, it took him several minutes to find the shadowy figure creeping through the office and into Genevieve’s work area.
No doubt Stone was on it, but he punched in his friend’s number, anyway.
Stone didn’t bother with a greeting when he answered. “Yeah, man. I see it.”
“I’m three minutes away,” Finn answered, pulling a U-turn in the middle of the road and heading back in that direction. “I can get there faster than anyone else.”
Stone’s voice was grim when he said, “I’m calling in reinforcements.”
“Thanks,” Finn responded, ending the call and tossing his phone onto the seat beside him. He wasn’t going to call Genevieve until he knew exactly what they were dealing with. No reason to upset her just yet.
Rushing into the back lot, he parked sideways in front of the back door.
“Dammit,” he muttered when he realized it was hanging open several inches.
He was not going to let this happen. Genevieve had worked too hard.
But he also didn’t want to alert whoever was inside that they’d been caught. Easing the door open, he slipped inside the studio. The place was pitch-black so he stood for several seconds, letting his eyes adjust to the darkness.
It was difficult to wait, especially when he heard a loud scrape of metal against metal coming from deep inside Genevieve’s workroom.
Dread and white-hot anger curled through his stomach.
Slipping into the room, he expected to find some asshole standing in front of the open safe, rummaging through the drawers of jewels.
He was partially right. The doors to Genevieve’s vault hung wide open. Several of the drawers were pulled out. But they weren’t empty. Pieces spilled haphazardly over the lip of the drawers. A few jewels winked from the floor, scattered like a rainbow crumb trail across the room toward the front door.
Maybe he hadn’t been as quiet as he’d thought and had startled the thief.
The good news was several of Genevieve’s pieces were still there. The bad news was that the few jewels on the floor were by themselves, which meant they’d been broken apart from the rest of the design.
A string of curse words blasted across Finn’s brain.
Torn between wanting to catch whoever was ransacking Genevieve’s hard work and not wanting to let something valuable sit vulnerable on the floor, Finn dashed across the room.
But he scooped up the pieces on the floor as he went, stuffing them into the pockets of his slacks.
Bursting into the front room, the sound of sirens in the distance finally registered. Stone must have called the police along with the private team he employed.
He hated that Genevieve was about to spend her night talking with officers. Again. But that process would be easier and better if he could hand them a suspect.
Unfortunately, when Finn reached the front room, no one was there and the door leading onto the sidewalk was standing wide open.
A handful of police cruisers peeled up to the front of the building at the same time he raced out onto the sidewalk. Red-and-blue lights flashed right in his face, making him squint. Finn spun, first to the left and then to the right. The asshole couldn’t have gotten far.
But no one was there.
“On the ground,” one of the officers shouted.
Finn turned his attention back to the front of the store. Four or five cars were parked in an arch around the building, blocking off the street. A handful of cops had positioned themselves behind the open doors, guns drawn and pointed straight at him.
Well, that was enough to give any man pause.
“On the ground,” one of the officers shouted again.
Realizing he didn’t have much choice until he could explain the situation, Finn slowly raised his hands up over his head. Folding, he knelt onto the sidewalk.
“Let me explain.”
One of the cops holstered his weapon and walked behind him. “You’ll have plenty of time to explain.”
Finn ignored what they were doing as the officer grabbed his wrists, pulling them behind his back. His words were fast, trying to talk before the cuffs came out.
“The thief is getting away. I work for Stone Surveillance. We got an alert on our security system for Genevieve’s Designs. I was close so came to investigate. The back door was wide open. I chased someone through the building, but they slipped out the front door before I could catch them.”
Cold metal kissed his skin. The snap around his wrists was a sensation he’d promised himself he’d never experience again.
“The only person we saw in front of the building was you.”
Finn turned his head, looking again in both directions. He didn’t understand and couldn’t explain how that was true. The thief couldn’t have moved that quickly. How had they just disappeared?
Urging him up onto his feet, the officer led him over to one of the cruisers. “I’m going to search you now. Anything I need to know about? Weapons? Needles? Anything sharp?”
What the hell did the man take him for? “No. I did scoop up some of the jewels the thief had scattered across the floor. They’re in my pockets.”
A skeptical expression crossed the
officer’s face. “Jewels, huh?”
“Look, I knew they weren’t safe just sitting on the floor. I needed to secure them.”
“Sure, you were just securing them.”
Frustration bubbled through him, eating at his patience like battery acid. “Call Anderson Stone. He’ll corroborate my story.”
“Oh, I’m certain he would. Being a convicted murderer.”
“He killed his fiancée’s rapist,” Finn growled.
The cop shrugged. “Doesn’t change the facts. But if what you say is true, we’ll sort things out soon enough. Until then, you’re being detained for questioning.”
How had the night gone so terribly sideways?
He’d planned to spend it at home with Genevieve and Noah. Listening to the belly-deep giggle his son made when he tickled him. Watching the light in Genevieve’s eyes when she looked at Noah. Making love to her until they were both exhausted.
Instead, he found himself ducking into the back of a cruiser for the second time in his life.
The worst part was looking through the chaos to find Genevieve standing on the sidewalk, once again watching him as he was carted away.
Pain and devastation stamped across every feature of her face.
* * *
How could this be happening again?
Genevieve watched as the officer pulled several gems out of Finn’s pockets and placed them inside an evidence bag. She’d gotten a call from Nick saying an alert had come up on the security system.
In between loading up Noah, she’d desperately tried to get in touch with Finn. But he hadn’t answered any of her calls.
Now she understood why.
Scenes from the last several weeks flashed through her mind. Conversations they’d had. Moments they’d shared.
Pain and hope twisted inside her. This couldn’t be right. She didn’t want to believe he could have done this. There had to be another explanation.
Like at Hunt’s.
But the evidence before her was hard to refute.
The Devil's Bargain Page 14