Steal: A Bad Boy Romance (2 page)

CHAPTER
2

~ J
AMES
~

The disbelief in Kat’s eyes was
obvious. She thought I was pretending to know what I was talking about.

She still doesn’t know how to
read a bluff.

It
had been years since I’d looked her in the eyes, and both of us had changed so
much. Her adolescent prettiness had matured into full-blown beauty,
a Hollywood glamour that shouldn’t even be possible in real life. I’d
always known she would be stunning when she grew up.

And she couldn’t have dreamed
that I would look like this.

I
turned away to fiddle underneath the hood, touching random components to make
it look like I was doing something. Turning to block my hands from her sight, I
pulled out her phone. I’d distracted her so she would forget I had it.

It
took only moments to send a text and delete all evidence. I slipped it back
into my pocket.

“So,
you’re director of marketing and PR at a
startup
?
That’s an impressive position for someone your age—twenty-six?”

“Twenty-five.
It’s been a dream come true, getting this position so young, but I’m worrying
I’m in over my head.” Something in her voice caught my attention, and I looked
back to catch her biting a nail.

She still does that when she’s
stressed out.

I
went back to messing around, disconnecting and reconnecting things just to have
something to do. “How did you get the position, then? If you’re so young and
inexperienced, I mean.”

“I
probably shouldn’t have,” she admitted. It was just like Kat to be more honest
and open with a stranger than she should. “I met the CEO at a mixer downtown
one night, and I’m pretty sure he only offered the position to get in my
pants.”

“Will
you let him?” I dropped the question casually, despite clenching my jaw at the
thought of her boss exploiting her.

“Hell,
no! I’m not that girl, not that I’d expect you to believe that.”

I
straightened and turned. It was a quick movement, so I caught her eyes flicking
up from where they’d been glued to my ass.

“You’re
the type of girl to go on a date to get your car fixed.”

Kat
narrowed her eyes. “You didn’t give me much choice.”

“There’s
always a choice.”

I
gave her body another long, lingering examination just to see her conflicted
expression once my gaze returned to her face, as though she was caught between
flattered and objectified. Her body had filled out as she grew up, too. The
skinny legs and arms of the girl I’d once known had grown into lithe, elegant
limbs that could make a grown man drool.

But I don’t drool. Not anymore.

Women
drooled after
me
. That was my life
now. And Kat would be one of them before too long.

Kat
cleared her throat, her face still red at my blatant objectification of her
body. “Don’t expect this to go anywhere—I don’t have time for dating. My
professional life is the only thing that matters right now. Besides, you’re the
wrong type for me.”

Ha. Does she expect me to
believe that?

She
couldn’t have told a bigger lie. I became who I was because of her.

“Wrong
type? Or exactly your type? You think I’ll jerk you around and mess with your
mind while you hang around because I can give you the best sex of your life.”

“
Wh
—no…” The flush was back with a vengeance as Kat
stammered. I let a lazy smile occupy my mouth as she tried to compose herself.
“Shouldn’t you be fixing my car?”

“Oh,
I finished the first minute I looked at it, I just wanted more time to talk
with you.”

“You’re
the worst!” she said. “I could have been halfway to work, you dick!”

She
stomped around the vehicle to the driver’s door while I shut the hood. The door
slammed hard enough that the windshield rattled.

Still impetuous.

The
engine thrummed to life as smoothly as the day it was assembled.

“Woo!”
Kat grinned, her anger at me momentarily on hold. “You did it!”

I
leaned down and rested my forearms on the window. “I did. Going to thank me?”

She
rolled her eyes. “Thank you, James. I’m grateful for the help.”

“Do
I get a kiss now?”

She
slapped my arm. “Don’t push it, mister.”

I
winked and handed her my phone. “I’ll just take your number, then.”

She
took it and punched in ten digits before thrusting it back at me. “There. Text
me later and we’ll go on your stupid date. Now get out of the window, I still
need to hoof it to get to work on time.”

“Aren’t
you forgetting something?” I asked as I slipped her phone out of my pocket and
held it up.

“Oh,
my God!” she said. “I totally forgot you had that.” She eyed me again, as
though she didn’t know what to think anymore. “Thanks for giving that back.”

“My
pleasure.”

I
pulled back and watched her drive out of the parking lot.

My
phone had a new text blinking at the top. I compared the number with the one
Kat had entered. They were different.

Fake number, Kat?

I
smiled—I hadn’t expected any different. To get under her skin enough to
be memorable, I’d needed to push her way past her comfort point. The natural
reaction was to try and avoid that discomfort in the future. That’s where
stealing her phone came into play.

The games are only about to
begin.

CHAPTER
3

~ K
AT
~

“I’ll see you tomorrow!” I kept
the artificial smile in place for as long as I could hold it. My ribs shook as
I held in the emotion gnawing at my insides. The control
unraveled
as I walked across the parking lot and drew closer to Carly.

I
barely made it inside before I couldn’t take it any longer.

“Oh,
God.” I rested my head on the steering wheel. Tears welled up and spilled down
my cheeks as silent sobs wracked my body.

Stress
had mounted over the past three weeks since my first day at ARCANE. I was so
overwhelmed and didn’t know how to deal with it—I’d never felt so out of
my depth. As an outsider coming in, I had no support structure in place at
ARCANE—the people underneath me were older and resentful that a younger
woman with barely any experience had been placed above them.

They have good reason to feel
that way, too.

It
was hard to get anything done when none of the people working for you had any
respect for your ideas or strategies.

I need a break.

All
my friends were thoroughly entrenched in the tech scene—it was hard to
get away from it in San Francisco. I didn’t want to have to talk about
it—needed something to take my mind off things and let me
destress
.

James’
chiseled
jaw came to mind. He looked like he knew how
to take a woman’s mind off reality for a night. I should have given him my real
number.

Too late now. I did the right
thing. Getting involved with a bad boy like him would feel incredible—it
always does—but it would just lead to trouble later.

I
pulled my phone out to check my messages, rubbing my eyes with the back of my
hand to wipe away the tears.

There
was a text from an unknown number.

A fake number, really? I would
have thought you’d have more integrity than that. You think you’re clever,
don’t you, princess? ~James

I
stared at the phone, jaw sagging. My thumbs flashed as I tapped out a response.

How the hell did you get my
number? I knew you were a creep!

I
waited, breathless. His text had come in a few hours before, but something
within me knew that I wouldn’t have to wait long for a response.

That
something was right—James texted back almost immediately.

I had your phone for a long
time. Something told me you wouldn’t be
honorable
about this whole thing. What’s your address? I’m picking you up at six.

His
text sent a delightful chill through me. The presumption was
incredible—and a huge turn-on.

I
didn’t answer, but threw my phone down in the passenger seat and started Carly.
The engine whirred to life no problem, whatever issue that had plagued her
earlier now gone.

The
drive home barely registered as I thought about the text on my phone from the
hunky James. He didn’t care about my feelings or what I wanted—he would
probably want to pick me up for a token date before trying to take me back to
his place. I wouldn’t let that happen, but the thought of his body over mine,
his hard shoulders under my hands as he took me—it drove me to
distraction.

I
could still recall his words:
“…giving
you the best sex of your life.”
By the time I got to the Mission District,
my panties were wet from fantasizing about him.

Fuck it.

Before
I could stop myself, I entered my address into the phone and hit send.

I won't have sex with him. I
just need something to take my mind off work and clear my head.

Once
I got inside the apartment, the phone beeped again.

Wear active clothing.

That
was it.

Active clothing?

I
would have gone with my usual date wear—cute dress and low heels.

What’s up his sleeve?

It
was only an hour until he would come to pick me up, so I didn’t have much time.
A quick bite to eat and a hot shower made me more human. The heavy
responsibilities of the job still weighed behind my temples,
clamoring
for attention, but I pushed them away as best I
could.

I’d
only just finished pinning my long hair up in a ponytail when my phone beeped.
It was exactly six o’clock.

Here.

Shit.

I
rushed to the door, picking up a purse and tossing on sneakers. A low, bright
red sedan sat on the curb outside the front door—a Tesla Model S.

Huh. Expensive, bit pretentious,
but also electric. Interesting choice.
Not one I expected, based on what I knew of the man.

“You
got here right on time,” I said as I opened the door and slid into the vehicle.
“Not a minute early and not a minute late—impressive.”

He
wore a pair of jeans and a long-sleeved shirt, as well as a pair of expensive
sunglasses.

“They
teach you to be punctual in the Marines,” James said. “If you’re early then
you’re wasting your own time, and if you’re late you’re wasting everyone
else’s.”

“You
were in the military?” That explained the muscles. I gave him another look. His
posture was good—better than most. I hadn’t noticed until now. “That’s
surprising.”

“Is
it?” he asked. “You know nothing about me.”

I
had to concede the point. “That’s true. I guess you didn’t strike me as a guy who
would be so selfless.”

James
took his eyes off the road to look at me with a small quirk of his lips. “You
think you need to be selfless to enlist? It’s cute how innocent you are.”

His
condescension didn’t piss me off like it should have. It made me want to smack
him, but it also made me want to climb on top of him.

This is a dangerous mood to be
in.

I
hadn’t so much as thought about sex for the past three weeks, and the pent-up
desires were going to get me into trouble.

A
change in topic was the safest path forward. “Where are we going for this
date?”

“It’s
a surprise,” he said. “I hope you don’t mind wind.”

“I'll
find out soon enough,” I pointed out. He was keeping me in the dark just to
piss me off. It was working.

I
watched the street signs, trying to figure out what his final destination was.

“So,
you were in the Marines? Where were you deployed—did you do any crazy
missions?”

He
sported that cocky grin again. “I’m afraid that’s classified information.
Civilians aren’t allowed to know what I’ve spent the last four years
doing.”

Trying
to extract information from him was like talking to a brick wall. A sassy,
unrepentant brick wall.

“What
do you do now, then? This is a fancy car for ex-military, isn’t it?”

“I
work for a large international bank, doing something you wouldn’t understand.
They pay me a lot for what I do, and it comes with perks, including traveling
around the world for meetings, luxurious accommodations and nice cars.”

Again
with the condescension. “You don’t think I'd understand what you do? Why don’t
you try me?”

“The
main goal is to optimize exposure to collateralized debt obligations in such a
way that returns are outsized relative to the risk assumed by the bank, and
that comes by having more detailed information than anyone else is working
with.”

Damn. What the hell does that
even mean?

“Sounds
lame,” I said, unable to think of anything else.

He
laughed, a hearty chuckle that filled the car’s cabin. “It is lame, but it pays
well.”

He
exited the I-280 for John Daly Boulevard and I felt confident enough to make a
guess at our destination, given his clue about wind earlier. “You’re taking me
to Fort Funston, aren’t you?”

“Wow,”
he said, glancing over at me as he turned onto the boulevard, “I’m impressed.
Have you been there?”

“Only
once. It’s so close, but there are so many other cool things to do around the
city that I’ve never made it back.”

“Today’s
your lucky day, then.”

The
park was only a short drive off the highway, a gorgeous windswept stretch of
beach and cliff that used to be a military installation. James parked and we
headed up the main trail.

Wind
blew in a constant stream around us, making conversation difficult.

“Do
you come here often?” I asked.

“A
fair amount,” he replied. “It’s got some of the best winds in the country.”

Before
long, we got to the observation deck at the top of the cliff. The ocean
stretched out for miles into the distance, waves rolling in from across the
vast expanse. A handful of other people leaned on the railing and watched a
parade of hang gliders soar back and forth along the cliffs.

I
leaned against the railing, and James stood close to me, putting his hand on my
lower back. His palm felt impossibly hot—the contact was like a jolt to
my system, and half my attention diverted to how near he was. The parts of my
body facing him felt warm, as if he was a second sun.

I
looked up at him out of the corner of my eye. He gazed out over the ocean. If
he was as aware of me the way I was of him, he hid it well.

Come on, Kat. Don’t let yourself
get caught up in this guy. You know it will just end badly for you.

“They
look so peaceful,” I said, nodding toward the gliders. “It must look incredible
up above everything, flying like a bird.”

“It
does,” James said. His voice was low and rumbly, near my ear. It made the hairs
on the back of my neck rise, and tingles ran down my body.

“You’ve
done it?”

He
nodded. “It’s one of my passions. I became addicted to being in the air in the
Marines—from the first time I jumped out of a plane, I was hooked and
knew I wanted to chase that feeling for the rest of my life.”

“Wow.
I can’t even imagine working up the guts to do that. I’ve always wanted to, but
I’ve never mustered up the courage.”

“Do
you want to try?”

“What?”
I turned to face him. With the way his hand rested on my lower back, the
movement pulled me closer to him, almost into an embrace. I looked only inches
up into his face. “You can’t be serious.”

“I
wouldn’t lie to you.” His mouth said one thing, but the glint in his eyes said
another.

He’s insane! I can’t just go hang
gliding with him.

Hot,
visceral fear welled in my belly, but adrenaline also flooded my system and
gave me a rush. His presence was like a drug, inhibiting clear thought and
giving me ideas I shouldn’t have entertained.

“You’d
keep me safe?”

I
couldn’t prevent my eyes from darting between his lips and his eyes. He was so
close.

“Always.”

I
bit my lip. It was crazy to even think about saying yes. James was a complete
stranger I’d only met that morning, and here he was asking me to trust him
enough to go hang gliding.

People die doing that!

There
was something about him. Despite his cocky attitude and condescending manner, a
part of me wanted to trust him, like he was a close friend.

My
fear settled, leaving only the tingles over my skin from the decision I’d made.

“Let’s
do it, then.”