“Stupid,” Dani muttered to herself. She’d been looking over her shoulder every few minutes for the past two hours, all because she’d planted the seed in Rand’s mind that she would be out tonight and open to him finding her. When, in fact, nothing should be further from the truth. Tonight her focus needed to be on Lou’s work. She had plenty of time to deal with Rand’s nonsense after this job was done.
She strolled easily down the alley, wishing she’d had time to walk this neighborhood more thoroughly at this hour. As it was, she’d only been through it during daylight. Still, Lou’s information had been good. The brownstone was one in a string of several that were more or less unoccupied in the dead of winter, their owners rich enough to get the hell out of Boston for these dark days. The houses that were occupied were lit up in the front like Christmas trees, but nothing stirred in the empty alleyways behind the grand dames.
She’d almost reached the house in question when an arm snaked out, a hand grabbing her from the shadows.
Instantly, Dani threw an elbow, only to find her move parried, hard. Her attacker lunged for her but she slid out of his hold, her movements quick and practiced. She shoved away from him and turned, ready to flee, when a familiar voice stopped her cold. “Which house?”
She pivoted on her toes, emotions and adrenaline flooding through her. “Get lost, Rand,” she hissed. All of her grand ideas of impressing him with her nighttime skills now vanished in a puff of smoke. This was beyond stupid; Lou would have her head. And to know that she was so easily followed wasn’t cool either. Maybe she should get out of this line of work if she’d become so lax that she couldn’t tell she was being followed by Versace Stealth.
“Which house?” Rand asked again. Even his face was elegant in the shadows, pale and perfect above his black, tech-knit ninja suit. “I ask because I know these buildings—some of them, anyway. Friends of the family. It would be poor form for me to allow you to burgle these, even if you could get past security.” When she didn’t speak, his voice grew a little more predatory. “And if I learn that their valuables have gone missing, well, then, I might be able to aid in the subsequent investigation, might I not?” His voice firmed as she hissed out a curse. “Which house, Dani?”
“Third from the end,” she said. The game was done. Lou would be pissed, but the situation was compromised now, and it was her own damned fault. To her surprise, however, Rand blew out a long breath.
“Third from the end is the Morrissey’s brownstone,” he said. Perfect teeth flashed in the darkness. “He’s a prick. This will be good.”
Her gaze sharpened. “You can’t be serious.”
“How were you planning to get in? You have the codes?”
“Maybe.” Dani hedged. Rand didn’t need to know—
“What am I saying? You won’t need codes.” He shook his head. “Morrissey’s the cheapest bastard in Boston and assumes that because all his neighbors pay for security systems and light up their houses like they’re on a parade route, that he doesn’t have to do anything to protect himself. He’s also out of town for a week, but of course you already know that.”
“And how do you know it?”
“Like I said, friend of the family’s. When I was informed you were casing this neighborhood, I did a little research of my own. I didn’t expect Morrissey, though. Kind of cheap in his jewelry selection.”
Dani shrugged. “Apparently, whatever he’s got, he’s got a lot of it.”
“And will be unlikely, therefore, to miss it. Fair enough. Let’s go, then.” He took off down the street, forcing Dani to catch up with his long stride. He was dressed all in black, his head protected by a dark skullcap like hers, his parka a sleek number that looked several times warmer than her thin layer of down.
“How’d you know I would be here?” she asked.
“I had you followed,” he said, without embarrassment. “You visited this neighborhood earlier today, and when it became clear you were heading back here tonight, I took over. But don’t let me stop you from doing your thing. Besides”—he flashed a grin at her—“now that I’m here, at least one of us is definitely following through on your plan.”
Dani stilled. “What are you talking about?”
“Someone needs to steal from the Morrisseys. If you aren’t going to get it done, I will. And then you’ll have to find someplace else to hit that isn’t nearly so easy. That doesn’t make any sense, does it? It’s not efficient.” He spread his hands. “I promise I’ll do everything you ask—you don’t even have to ask nicely.”
Dani cursed, but time seemed to press down on her. The best hour to knock over a house wasn’t at two in the morning, at least not in Boston. Too many people slept light and woke up in the middle of the night, expecting bad things to happen. But now, at eleven P.M., it was the perfect window of opportunity, and it was closing fast. “Promise me you’ll stay quiet,” she said. “Have you even done this before?”
Apparently, his smile was the only answer she was going to get, but it was enough. She took off down the street and he followed behind, seeming to know exactly how near he should stick to her without crowding too close. He stood at the edge of the alley as she sidled up to the back of the brownstone, keying in the driveway door code. As it lifted, Rand exhaled in a puff of surprise. “That’s what you meant by codes.”
“Dry cleaning,” Dani said as they entered the empty bay. “Which does present a risk of being discovered, but only if the theft is uncovered quickly.” The door shut behind them, and she looked at Rand. “You feel pretty sure your information on their alarm system is solid? That it’s not hooked to any paid service?” She didn’t know why she asked. She trusted Lou, but for some reason, having someone else with her on a job changed things. Made her more aware. More nervous.
Or maybe that was just Rand.
“I’m sure.” He looked at the wall panel, peering at it in the gloom. “It doesn’t even read ‘Disarmed.’ It reads ‘Error.’ ”
“Good enough for me. Stay close and don’t touch anything.”
They moved through the house, and Dani scanned each room with a practiced eye. In the dining room, she hesitated at the bureau, but eventually moved on. Lou had said the only thing he wanted was jewelry, and she wasn’t about to argue with that.
The master bedroom was on the third level of the brownstone, an enormous remodeled affair. True to Lou’s word, the second drawer she opened in the main chest yielded pay dirt.
“The pearls are fake,” Rand said at her side. “I told you, he’s cheap. The only thing that’ll really be valuable is gold. I wouldn’t even trust the diamonds in his wife’s wedding ring.”
“Some friends you have,” Dani muttered. She picked up several strands of gold-link necklaces from the jumble, then eyed a Rolex. “Knockoff?”
“Doubtful, but probably something he’d miss. If you find one for the wife, though, that’s probably safe enough.”
The entire run took less than twenty minutes. Dani didn’t want to risk an exit through the back, however, as the sound of the garage door going up and down twice might be noticed. As they moved through the front parlor, lights swept across the enormous bay windows, and they froze. The car drove on, but Dani didn’t shift for a moment, willing herself to stay stock-still as the vehicle’s brake lights flared.
Rand was right behind her.
“Why have you stopped?”
“That car’s coming back,” she said, and she was right. The lights swung around, and flared bright white against the windows. They were safe; she knew they were safe. The position of the car wasn’t right for trying to spy into the windows, and yet—if someone wanted to look in, they could, given the Morrissey’s utter lack of curtains. She stood half-hidden behind an ornamental fig, dazzled by the light. The car wouldn’t stay like that forever, of course. There was no way that they’d found street parking on a late night in Boston. More likely, they were sitting in a driveway or no-parking zone, or even double-parked. The couple inside were talking, or some guy was on his phone. It was just bad luck that she was pinned—she could shift back even now, she supposed, but she didn’t want to risk it. She just needed the guy to move along and she could exit as planned.
“You’re breathing heavily,” Rand said at her ear. She felt him press up against her, his arousal clear through her thick tights. “I like that.”
“Rand, stop right there,” Dani said, her eyes still on the car outside. “I’m serious, you’ll be seen.”
“Not exactly true.” His breath fanned against the back of her neck, his lips grazing her shoulders. “You can’t move, certainly. But I’m not in the line of sight. That still leaves me with a lot of room to maneuver.”
She felt his hands at her waist, moving along the band of her tights. “Now see, these pants make things a lot easier, too.” He pulled her tights down in a ruthlessly quick move, baring her to the cold air.
“Rand!” Her eyes practically crossed as he cupped his hot palms against her ass.
“I really like working with you, Dani,” he said. “You know that?”
Rand barely got his own pants down over his straining cock, his blood pounding so loud in his temples that he was pretty sure even the lunatics sitting out in their car could hear him. Living where he did, whether at the family home or in his penthouse apartment, he didn’t ever think about having to deal with car lights streaming into his living room. Then again, he also couldn’t imagine having a living room whose blinds were not drawn on a regular basis. The Morrisseys leaving this room open to the world was just another example of their unbelievable hubris. He was surprised they didn’t have lights flicker on and off at odd intervals, just to give passersby a glimpse into their gaudy home. Then again, the guy really was cheap.
Either way, now he was taking advantage of those wide, uncovered windows, as he rubbed his cock against Dani’s ass, smiling to hear her sharp intake of breath. Her legs parted easily at his insistence, and he slid his shaft between her thighs, grinning hard when he encountered her wet heat. “Someone isn’t too upset about this turn of events.”
“Rand, you have to stop right now,” Dani said, her voice low and tight. “I have no idea what this looks like from outside, but if they can see us—”
“They won’t see us,” he said, easing his cock up and back, up and back. “You just lean a little bit more forward, and—ahh. There you go.”
Without any further warning, he slipped his shaft into her, reveling in the feel of her tightening around him. She moaned as he buried himself more deeply, and the sound of her soft exhale ratcheted him up about six degrees higher than he really needed to go right now. He didn’t want to end things here, just get them nicely started. He needed something to distract himself. “Keep very still, Dani,” he said, and he reached around—
“Do not even think about it,” Dani said, and he chuckled, but obligingly moved his hands back to her hips, contenting himself with curving up into her as he felt her legs adjust, her body going up on her toes even as she fought to keep her head and torso perfectly still. A line of perspiration glistened at the bottom hem of her winter-weight shirt, and he stroked it away, rubbing the salty moisture between his thumb and finger. As her body subtly arched before him, though, his gaze fell to the perfect curve of her ass…and he got another idea.
“Remember, Dani, you can’t move.” Reaching down, he slid his forefinger hard along her spine, into the soft cleft at the base of her back. She clenched around his shaft so tightly at the unexpected move that he took his own deep breath, but that didn’t stop him from drawing his finger between the curves of her rounded ass cheeks, down, down—
“Rand!” Dani hissed, and he took that as all the encouragement he needed, pressing his finger into her as she cursed and arched, her breathing heavy with strain as her gaze stayed riveted on the scene outside. He timed the pulsing of his finger with the movement of his cock, and he could practically see her composure shatter bit by bit. Her mouth must be practically hanging open now, if the sound of her breathing was any indication, and her hair was soaked beneath her tight cap, but all he could focus on was the feel of entering her with dual thrusts, pulling back, then burying himself again.
Suddenly, alarmingly, the lights of the car went off and Dani sagged forward, the shift of movement almost enough to cause Rand to explode. Instead, he slipped out of her and reached down, pulling up her pants. She slapped his hands away, but her entire body was quivering now, fraught with adrenaline and need. “I swear to God, if I lose it trying to run out of here, I am going to kill you,” she muttered, and Rand palmed her ass through her tights even as they both watched the window. The idiots in the car weren’t getting out. Instead, they were still talking. Are they looking in the window? Will the lights come on again?
“You think they’re watching?” he asked. He wanted nothing more than to run his fingers beneath her clothes again.
“I don’t think so. They seem to be making out. At least I hope they’re making out.” Dani eased back a little, her body fitting naturally against Rand’s. “I figure if we move together, both at the same time, we can slide into the shadows and get the hell out of here. Looks like we’ll have to risk the garage door again.”
“I can do that,” he said. He slipped his gloves on, then slid his arms around her, holding her close, the move feeling strangely affectionate after the stark physical experience they’d just shared. Dani molded herself to him and they shifted back a step, their focus still on the scene outside. To the lovers in the sedan, they might as well be invisible.
With one step, then another, they moved back across the room until their bodies merged with the shadows. And then, just as easily, Dani turned in Rand’s arms, stretching up on her tiptoes. He bent down to her and kissed her full on the lips, neither of them pushing, neither of them testing, just the energy and excitement of the moment fusing into an almost electric need. She pulled her head back and grinned up at him, and he held her a moment longer in his arms.
“Garage door’s going to be loud,” she said, looking down the hallway. “Really bothers me.”
“Could we try a side door?”
“Lovebirds would notice that for sure. Too risky.”
“Window?”
She frowned and glanced up at him again. “Maybe. If we can pull it back down. And if it’s close enough to ground level that it’s—”
Rand looked up, considering, his gaze naturally going to the enormous bay windows once more. Then he froze. “Dani, didn’t you say that the Morriseys were gone for the week?” he whispered.
She also went completely still. “I did. Why?”
“Because unless I am very much mistaken, Mrs. Morrisey is getting out of the car that just blinded us. The car which is now pulling out from its spot.”
“Mr. Morrisey?”
“Unknown. But the wife is heading for the front door.”
“Okay.” To his surprise, Dani didn’t panic, didn’t freak. Didn’t even react for a moment, just stared at him with her wide, dark eyes, as if she could read their future in his face. “First room off the main hall—some sort of parlor thing. It’s opposite this room, but the door is farther up, past the bathroom. We go there. Now.”
She turned and moved with a stealthy grace, expecting—trusting—him to follow behind. He passed the half bath, and what he suspected was a closet, seeing the rightness of her decision. A bathroom might be used, a coat closet, too, on a night like tonight. But a formal parlor—no. As he exited the hallway, Dani pulled him into the room, flattening him against the near wall at her side. They held their breath.
“Yes, dear, I know.” The sound of Janet Morissey’s voice was like nails on a chalkboard, but he heard her open the door then swing it shut behind her. “I took a cab from the airport, no problem whatsoever. Of course I understand.” They heard the sound of keys and a purse hitting the table, and Rand shared a startled look with Dani. She clearly expected him to understand what was happening here, but he just shrugged.
The voice faded down the hallway, heading toward the back of the brownstone. “I love you, too, sweetheart,” Mrs. Morrisey cooed. A moment later, the grinding noise of the garage door sounded, and Dani’s eyes went wide, then calculating. Instantly, he knew what she was going to do. While Morrissey was opening the garage door for whomever had given her a ride home, he and Dani could let themselves out the front door.
Without another word, Dani moved. She glided out in front of him, striding into the hallway and up to the front door, opening it easily. Mrs. Morrissey hadn’t secured the door beyond simply closing it, not even locking it yet, so it was a simple thing for them to slip out and onto the stoop, with Rand closing it quietly behind him.
Then they ran down the steps as if they were teenagers, dashing down the street, one, two, three brownstones away, until they could slip between the tall buildings. They stepped into the back alleyway in time to see the Morisseys’ garage door closing the last few inches, then their eyes met again. Dani was grinning, and the sight of it arced through Rand, her expression filled with simple, open pleasure—and glee.
“It appears that Gene Morissey is having more stolen from him than a few necklaces this evening,” Rand said.
Dani huffed a sharp laugh, her eyes crackling with pleasure.
“I like working with you, too,” she said. “In fact, I’m willing to start the clock now, if you’re up for it. Dani Michaels, reporting for duty.”
Another wave of triumph surged through Rand. He pulled Dani close, drawing her into a hard kiss. She returned it just as fiercely, her mouth almost bruising in its intensity. A moment later she broke away, but he caught her arm, holding her still—and smiled.