“Look at me, Tam,” he breathed. “I want to watch you come for me.”
She couldn't resist him, didn't bother trying. Her eyes opened and she met his intense blue gaze. His face was flushed, beads of sweat slipping down his temples. A muscle ticked in his jaw and she knew he struggled to suppress his groans. He pistoned in and out of her, pressing her hard into the wall. His swift movements pushed her onward, made her sex clench. So close. So very close. He slammed deep, rolling his hips to grind himself against her clit.
It was more than enough to send her over the edge.
She gritted her teeth to hold back her scream, her claws digging into his shoulders. Every muscle in her body locked tight as orgasm throbbed through her. He continued to power into her pussy, his hips slapping against hers. Another wave crashed over her, and her sex fisted on his cock. Again and again, dragging sensations out of her until she couldn't breathe, couldn't think, until there was nothing else in the world but him.
Talons bit into her hips as he buried his dick within her. The low sound he made as he came inside her sent a shiver racing through her. His breath rushed against her shoulder, and she could hear the way his heart raced. So did hers.
It took her long moments to gather her scattered wits enough to speak again. She didn't want to say the words, but she had to. “You need to go before Stefan or Leland come to check on me.”
And they would. Even knowing she'd never leave without Sophie, they didn't trust her to stay.
“Leland?”
“Stefan's right-hand man and general troubleshooter.” Literally. As in, if anyone was trouble, he shot them. She shuddered for entirely unpleasant reasons. Another of Stefan's goons had come to replace the one they'd left behind in New Chicago, so that they easily outnumbered her and could always have someone watching. “There's Nichols, too. He just got here.”
Sighing, Breck slipped his softening cock out of her body, leaving damp emptiness behind him. She hated sending him away, had missed him so damn much, but that was her reality. Locking her knees, she forced herself to remain upright when he pulled away from her.
“I'll see you soon.” He brushed a kiss over her mouth. “Whether you believe it or not, I'm on your side. I want to help you out of this . . . situation with Stefan.”
She shook her head, unable to find words to say to him. Her throat closed. Deus, when was the last time anyone had offered her support without demanding something in return? She couldn't trust it. There was no man who gave without some benefit for himself. She just didn't know what Breck's help would cost her, or if the price was higher than she could afford to pay.
3
C
an you meet me in the lobby in 10 minutes?
Breck frowned at the message that popped up on his palmtop. Tam wanted to meet him. . . . Was this something Stefan was orchestrating, or was she doing something behind the man's back? Did it matter? He was going to meet her regardless. Keying an affirmative response into his palmtop, he sent the reply and went to pull clothes out of his 'fresher.
His mind dwelled on the Tam problem as he dressed. Then again, where else had his mind been in the last couple of months? He needed to figure out what it was Stefan had stolen from Tam and why the hell it was so valuable to her that she'd risk her life to try to get it back. What could she want that Breck couldn't buy her? Hell, that she couldn't convince someone to give her? A rare artifact of some kind? Something with personal meaning to her?
The damnable problem was, he had very little information to go on. Of course he'd looked into Tam's background the moment he'd realized she was his mate, which was why he'd known she was a grifter who seduced men out of their money. But outside of that? He had no idea. She'd been playing him the entire time, so the particulars she'd given about her life were probably lies, and the details the investigators could dig up about her were thin.
He'd had Gea put together a file on Stefan, but other than the crimes he'd committedâor was
suspected
of committingâthere wasn't much information there either. The list of criminal activity was impressive, though. The man had had a long and sordid career. He liked the finer things in lifeâexpensive clothes, food, and hotelsâthought he was smarter than anyone else, and people who got close to him had a tendency to end up dead. That Tam was anywhere near him sent a chill down Breck's spine. He wanted her away from him. Now, if not sooner; but unless she came with him willingly, he knew he'd never be able to keep her.
He had to bide his time, get her to trust him, to admit she wanted to spend her life with him. Forcing her to do anything would put him in the same league as Stefan in her mind. Breck had to figure out how to outwit them both. No small task.
Shrugging into a jacket, he slipped his slim palmtop into the inside pocket before he walked out the door and took the lift down to the ground level.
Tam stood near the exit, staring out a wide window that overlooked the street. As he walked up behind her, he scanned the lobby of the hotel, checking for signs of Stefan. He was so focused on finding his enemy that he almost overlooked Hunter Avery.
“Shit,” he breathed.
He was a scant meter away from Tam, so she heard him. Her shoulders went rigid and she turned to look at him, worry pinching her lovely face. “What?”
Then her eyes went round as she followed his nod and saw what Breck had seen. Hunter Avery was from New Chicago, like Breck, a friendly rival in business whom he'd always respected. The man had recently mated with Delilah Chase, a woman who used to be a thief and also happened to be the sister of a notorious technobrothel owner. The newsvids had had a field day when that naughty Cinderella story had gone public. Breck would be forever grateful that his family was nowhere near as wealthy as the Averys. Last time anyone checked, the Averys were the most moneyed people on the planet. Breck was rich enough, but not so rich his life ended up entertaining the masses on the newsvids.
“Tam, Breck. What a surprise.” Avery's sharp gaze took them in, while his wife appeared at his side.
“Tam.” Delilah grinned, her short blond hair a stark contrast to Tam's darkness as the two women embraced.
Breck startled when Avery hauled him in for a hug. The other man was known for his reclusive ways, and while the two had always gotten along well enough in business, they were hardly friends.
Avery's words were a mere breath in his ear. “Are the two of you in trouble? Do you need help?”
Ah. He was . . . touched by the concern. Surprised, but touched. He wouldn't have expected it from Avery, but the man had changed quite a bit since he'd found his mate. Then again, so had Breck. A year before, he'd never have imagined abandoning his work to chase after a woman. He whispered back to Avery, “Only the help a psychologist would be qualified to give. The rest I can work out on my own.”
He hoped.
The other man dropped his arms, chuckling. “Good to see you again.”
“And you.” He slid his hands in his pockets. Of all the times to run into each other, this seemed a little too coincidental. There was a tug of suspicion that Gea might have mentioned Breck would be here and was in over his head. Gea and Delilah's sister had each mated to gray wolf cousins, and that family connection meant it wasn't unfeasible that Gea might have talked to Delilah and Hunter. “What brings the two of you to London?”
“I'm breaking into the palace,” Delilah replied with a saucy grin, “to steal the personal jewel collection of the royal family.”
Tam's eyes widened. “You're going after the Queen's Jewels?”
Chortling, Delilah held up a staying hand. “Don't worry, they're paying me to do it.”
That was right. Avery's mate had gone from thief to hired security consultant who could be called upon to test a system's ability to keep out thieves. Or former thieves, in her case. Breck arched an eyebrow at her. “So, good old Vicky the Third wants you to pretend to rob her?”
“Deus save the queen,” Tam drawled, her English accent thickening.
“Indeed.” Avery quirked a brow.
“Although I imagine she's hoping for a show with a pretty thief in her house.” Tam's tone went tart. “She does tend to enjoy the ladies.”
“The newsvids think Victoria III is going to be the end of her line.” Delilah rocked back on her heels, an irreverent grin on her face. “She's got that German woman scientist they call her âspecial friend and confidante.' I'm guessing those two are bumping clits.”
Breck choked at the expression, trying not to laugh.
Tam shrugged. “She can always marry some appropriate male and keep her scientist on the side. It wouldn't be the first time in the royal family. One does what one must.”
“I doubt it.” The blond woman lifted her hands. “Golden eagles mate for life. It's unfortunate for the monarchy that the queen happened to be born a mating species of shifter.”
A golden eagle. Just like Breck. He watched suspicion flash through Tam's gaze, and he knew the moment denial kicked in. He sighed. “
If
that's what the German woman is. A mate is a mate, so that would be all there is to it. Unless we're talking artificial insemination, but I'm not sure the Brits would go for an heir that came out of a Petri dish.”
“Should be interesting.” Delilah's green eyes twinkled and she rubbed her hands together. “Maybe I'll catch the two of them going at it like rabbits when I break in. I'll let you know.”
Avery shook his head at his mate. “I doubt they'd risk keeping the queen in the palace when you have your break-in scheduled. She'll be off on a diplomatic visit or vacationing up north.”
“But if I'm going to test the real strength of the system, it has to be on a day they don't expect to be robbed. I'm going in a day early.” She grinned. “Come on, I need to scout the place out, so you get to play tourist with me and take lots of holopics.”
“Wonderful,” Avery grumbled, but he followed along behind her gamely enough.
Tam looked stricken as they walked away. Breck set his hand on her shoulder. “What is it?”
“She seems . . . happy.”
“I'm sure she is.” He shrugged. “What's more impressive is that
he
seems happy. It's not a word I would have associated with Avery a year ago. Or ever.”
Her lips twisted. “I don't think I've ever looked that happy.”
Bringing her fingers to his lips, he brushed a kiss over her knuckles. “I could make you that happy if you let me.”
“If you knew half the things I've done, you wouldn't be that interested. You know I'm a villain, Breck.” She shook her head, tugging her hand away from him. “You shouldn't even be here. You should go, and never look back.”
“We've been over this. I'm not leaving.” Frustration flared to life within him, and he tamped it down. Today he was already much closer to his goals than he had been even a week ago. He was here, with Tam, and she needed his help for the foreseeable future. She wanted him with her.
Wrapping her arms protectively around herself, she turned back to face the window. Her voice pitched low. “I don't understand you at all, Breck. I conned you, and even if you knew and were playing me from the start, I'm still a thief, a con artist, a grifter. I'm a terrible person forâ”
“You're my mate.”
“No!”
He laughed, but there was no humor in the sound. “My reaction exactly. But it's the truth, nonetheless.” He hadn't been opposed to mating, but realizing the woman he was destined to mate with was a criminal hadn't been pleasant. How did he know what was truth and what was lie? He loved her and he thought she loved him in return, but she made her living getting rich men to love her, shower her in jewels, clothes, anything she wanted. Her running away to hook up with Stefan had opened the gulf between them even wider. Breck didn't know how to bridge that gap, only that he had to try. He sighed again, rubbing at the tight muscles at the nape of his neck, weary frustration and anger weighing down on him. “So, you see. I have no choice. I'm here because I have to be.”
“I'm sorry,” she whispered. “I wouldn't wish a mate like me on anyone, let alone an upstanding citizen like you.”
“Ah, Tam. Don't.” The backs of his knuckles slid up and down the side of her arm, and gooseflesh erupted in the wake of that simple touch.
He loved how she reacted to him. When she went wild for him it was the only time he knew he had the real Tam in his arms, and not whatever act she was putting on. Pretending to be the woman she thought he wanted instead of the real one. He stepped up behind her, running his hands up her arms to cup her shoulders. It went beyond any kind of physical craving, this need to touch her. It satisfied something deep and primal within him.
Perhaps because they were mates.
The feel of her soft skin against his was sweet. How he'd missed her, craved her, longed for her. A part of him had hated how dependent he'd become on this bond between them, but the long hours alone had burned away the anger and just left him with cold, hard determination to get her back and keep her. He'd do whatever it took.
And he was a man used to getting what he wanted.
Â
Tam didn't know whether to laugh or be appalled as that revelation sank in. Mates. She had a mate.
What a time to find this out, right when she expected Stefan to make sure her life of freedom came to a rather permanent end. Panic closed her throat, threatened to bring her to her knees. She couldn't handle this, not on top of everything else. Stefan. Sophie. And now Breck.
She dragged a slow breath into her lungs, focusing on the view of the small courtyard that made up the front of the hotel. Sophie played out there, running in gleeful circles around a small fountain, a wide smile on her face. Tears smarted Tam's eyes. No matter what happened to her, she couldn't let harm come to one of the tiny patches of joy still left in this ugly world.
Breck rested his chin on top of her head. “Where's Stefan and his goons?”
“Stefan is out. Where, I'm not sure. He hardly confides in me.” She shrugged. “Leland is outside with Stefan's other man, Nichols, watching us through the window.”
And watching Sophie, but Tam didn't say that. As long as Leland and Nichols could see both Tam and Sophie, and be certain they weren't going anywhere, the goons didn't care about much else. Stefan left instructions that they were to be watched, and that was what would happen. Leland preferred that Sophie never be in a position where Tam could grab the girl and run, which was the only reason he'd agreed to let her stay inside to speak with Breck.
They were right to worry about that. If they let their guard down for even a moment, Tam would disappear with Sophie so fast they wouldn't even have time to blink. She watched for such an opportunity as closely as they watched her to make sure it didn't happen.
Breck's hands ran up her arms. “Everyone has a weakness. What's Stefan's? How can we use it to get back what he took from you?”
The unspoken question there was that he wanted to know
what
Stefan had taken from her. She had to tell him. If he was going to be helping her and planned to stay near her, he was bound to see the girl and wonder about her. “Stefan has a daughter. Sophie.”
An irritated growl issued from the eagle-shifter. “What does he have on
you?
Is it blackmail, proof that you did something illegal? How is he making you do what he wants? Why haven't you escaped yet?”