Lords & Thieves: Chapter Four
The prequel arc of ✨The White City✨ — a weekly serialized urban fantasy series
Previously in The White City:
A deal was struck. A date was set.
A “date” was also requested…
The man kept his pensive gaze transfixed on everything passing by outside the window, not once bothering to glance in her direction. Which normally would be fine if he were a total stranger who just happened to sit in the train seat facing her.
Not someone who was paying her thirty thousand dollars to go on a date.
“Like what you see?” He asked without turning his head.
Actually, yes. A little too much for Elena’s comfort. Not that she ever had anything against tattoos, or neck tattoos, but usually those were dramatic roses and statement pieces wrapped in thorns and rosary beads on guys who thought way too much of themselves. The tattoos on this guy, though?
She had no clue what they were. All she knew was they looked old, some of them followed what looked like a scar, and they made him look hot.
Insanely hot.
“I’m trying to figure you out.”
That got him to finally look at her. His luscious mouth twitched upwards. “Oh, yeah?”
“Yeah.” Elena hugged her sweater around her waist, regretting leaving her bag back in her tiny apartment. Since the museums all had strict policies on bags, however, she felt it best to stick her cards in her pocket and pray her digital wallet worked. “You’re…interesting.”
“Oh?” That twitch turned into a smirk. Which turned into a silent invitation for her to keep going.
“Well, yeah. For starters, you’re this—” she stopped herself before she publicly announced you’re a mobster to the whole freaking train. “Um, guy. Who probably owns a car. And yet you wanted to take the train.”
“Disappointed I didn’t pick you up in my Maserati?”
“No.” She folded her arms and stared at his reflection in the window so it would look like she preferred watching the cityscape. “I’m more of a Ferrari kind of girl.”
He pretended to be insulted by her choice in luxury vehicles, but she caught the wink he gave her. “I promise I’ll do better next time.”
Next time. Those words made something in her stomach flutter that she instantly stamped down with a heavy dose of reality. There would be no “next time” after this.
“If you’re wondering why I prefer public transit over the convenience of custom leather seats and a sunroof, well…” He leaned back with a shrug. “There’s nothing convenient about parking.”
It was irritating how easily he made her giggle. Elena Martin was not that kind of girl to simper and giggle over gorgeous men like…like… “By the way.” Now she looked directly at him, wondering to herself how the hell he got her to go this far without filling in a few important blanks. “I just realized. I gave you my name, but you never gave me yours.”
“And I never will, ælfscíene. But you can call me Cade.”
Elena opened her mouth to point out the contradiction he just threw at her, but she didn’t quite have the right words for it. How could someone seem crazy and sane at the exact same time? So she shook her head and focused on the other puzzle at hand. “What does that even mean? ‘Elf sheen’?”
Cade slowly shook his head. “Nope. You’re asking for too many secrets.”
“Not my fault you have too many to keep.”
He began to retort with something witty wrapped in a smirk, but they were interrupted by the intercom announcing the next stop as theirs. So instead of responding, Cade motioned for her to slide out of the seat and stood behind her.
Did he—
Did he just touch her ass?!
“Move. Quickly.” Cade nudged her toward the automatic doors as if he hadn’t just rubbed his knuckles along the curve of her rear. “This is our stop.”
Elena wanted to glare at him, but he was right. And to be fair, maybe he touched her butt by accident. Hazard of traveling public trans, and all that.
They slid off the train onto the platform and waited for it to pull away before heading toward the stairs that led down to the main walkway. The museum campus was beautiful every hour of the day, but sunset painted the sky, the trees, and the architecture with a special kind of magic that would make any date romantic as all get out. It kissed the warm metal handrail under Elena’s palm as she followed Cade down and made her wish just a little that this could have been a real date.
“I need to ask you something.”
He was considerate enough to walk alongside her instead of leaving her in the dust of his much longer stride, but he didn’t offer his arm or hold her hand or anything dates normally do. “Mhm.”
“Why did you need me to come with? It’s a public museum. They’re open. You can get in no problem.”
Cade rolled a shoulder and pushed his hands into his pockets. One thing Elena definitely did not expect was for him to show up in denim jeans, a t-shirt, and one of those hoodie/leather jacket combos. The look was a far cry from the mob boss style he wore in the restaurant.
And, again, insanely hot.
“I’m no art expert.” He stole a quick glance her way. “You are. I’m guessing you’d be able to tell the difference between astrolabes, yes?”
Now it was her turn to shrug. “Yeah, I guess.”
“You also said you have a pass.”
“To the museums. Because I’m a student.”
“You seem a little old to be a student.”
Elena gasped indignantly. “Excuse me?”
“You know what I meant,” he chuckled. “You’re young, just not…you know. ‘Fresh outta high school’ young.”
“Mhm. Right. Well, if you must know, I dropped out my first year of college a few years ago. Took some time off. So yeah, I might be a little older than the traditional students, but I’m not old.”
“How come?”
The question was made so simply, so non-judgmentally, it caught her off-guard. “What?”
Cade gently nudged her arm with his. “How come you dropped out?”
Nope. That was hitting too close to the personal shit she kept locked up and buried deep, deep down in her past. “Some things came up. Stuff happened. So I went back home.”
“Like what?”
“You’re asking for too many secrets.”
He didn’t have anything to say to that. Nor did he try to find something to respond with. Cade simply walked beside her, taking in the scenery like any other normal tourist. It was, after all, a pleasant early evening.
“There’s also the part where I can’t actually touch the thing,” he suddenly said.
Elena scrunched her brow. “What?”
“The compass. Astrolabe. Whatever. I won’t be able to touch it, so I need you to grab it for me when we find it.”
“Hold up.” She stepped in front of him to stop him in his tracks and pressed a hand to his chest without thinking. Whoa. He felt…good. Really good. She quickly removed her hand and focused on being all business. “You didn’t say anything about taking it.”
Amusement made his silver eyes twinkle in the golden glow of the sunset. “Didn’t I? I was pretty sure you’d eavesdropped that part.”
Another gasp. “I do not eavesdrop!”
“I’m also pretty sure you’re about to tell me you never lie, either.”
Elena snapped her mouth shut. She didn’t look away, no matter how badly she wanted to, because that would be admitting defeat in the face of the last guy she wanted to show any sort of submission to. “Fine. Maybe I didn’t think you meant it.”
The sunlight was suddenly blocked from view, his broad shoulders filling her view right before his hand cupped the side of her face and his fingers threaded through her hair.
“Oh, my ælfscíene, I mean every word I say.”
It took every ounce of effort to swallow back the moan that bubbled in her throat. It had been so long since anyone kissed her…or touched her…that even now, in this sensual show of dominance, it was enough to light her skin on fire and make her core beg for everything she’d been denying it.
Especially when his mouth, his sinful, sexy mouth, lowered to hers.
“Yes,” Cade breathed across her lips. “You are coming with me. And we are stealing that astrolabe.”
The smack of cold air came most unwelcome, his hand no longer holding her where he wanted her and the man himself suddenly several paces ahead.
The hell…?
Neither one breathed a word to the other the whole rest of the walk. It was too awkward, or too embarrassing, or too…something. Cade kept his hands to himself, jammed firmly inside his jacket pockets, and didn’t bother to slow his pace enough for her to keep up with him and his stupid long legs on his stupid tall body.
Elena cursed herself for falling into his stupid trap. He wasn’t here for her. He wasn’t even here with her, technically.
She was his employee. Contractor. Whatever he wanted to call it, this was a gig she was getting paid for and he was simply the man writing the check.
By the time they reached the bottom steps of the observatory, Elena felt determined to get in, find the astrolabe, and get the hell out. If he couldn’t touch it for whatever reason—probably something to do with leaving fingerprints—that was his problem. Not hers.
They stood in line to get in, the crowd fairly extensive since this was the one night per week the place would be open late for starlight shows. Elena made a quick mental note of the last show’s time just in case she’d be able to slip away and catch a seat; it would be super cool to “tour” the constellations above Chicago’s skyscrapers.
“That’ll be thirty-five dollars.”
Elena did her best not to bug-eye the cashier. Shit.
No, wait, she had a pass! “Hang on, I—”
“It’s both of us, actually.” Cade stepped up close behind her, resting a warm hand on her waist and kissing the top of her head. “Full admission.”
“Do you want the moon series show?” The cashier blinked at him with all the enthusiasm of a drugged sloth. “Or the star show?”
“Is the star one down in the lower level? By the old planetarium?”
“That’s the one.”
“Great. We’ll do that one.”
Elena resisted the urge to step on his foot, but it was tempting. The man was about to cost her a week’s worth of lattes and she needed those. “Um, Cade? Can we—”
“Here you go.” Cade calmly whipped out a credit card, slid it through the cashier’s slot, and tucked Elena closer to his side. “This’ll be fun, won’t it?”
Dude wasn’t just playing First Date Couple. He was going for full-throttle, Deeply-In-Love Couple.
“I can pay for myself,” she whispered behind her best rendition of a besotted, simpering smile.
“I don’t care,” was all he whispered back.
Before pecking her on the lips.
Electricity shot straight to her toes. Then back up through her fingertips, to her scalp, and surged straight into her heart.
If Cade felt anything like that on his end, he didn’t let her know. He simply smiled, took his card back from the bored cashier along with the tickets, listened patiently to the show times, and thanked the woman for the information. His arm remained around Elena as they made their way into the museum, not once flinching or attempting to pull away until they reached the first main room of exhibits.
“So…” She tried to remain calm, casual. Smooth. Not at all flustered or tingly or distracted by how surprisingly soft his lips were. “Where do we go from here?”
Ugh. Phrasing.
Cade flashed her an impish smile that quickly grew into a grin. Oh, he knew what he did. He knew exactly what he did and there was no going back from it. “We kill some time. Look around. Enjoy the museum. And, eventually…” He sidled up to her, filling her space with his chiseled body and her nostrils with his cologne.
Was that his cologne?
Or was that just…him?
He dipped his head low to murmur in her ear. No, to murmur along her neck. Like he was going to just share a whisper and now he wanted something more. “We’ll go downstairs, find the compass, and get the hell outta here.”
Don’t shiver.
Don’t moan.
Just don’t. Move.
“Hungry?”
“Yesss…”
Elena instantly flushed bright red and took a step back. Oh, dear Lord, she did not just sigh in his ear. “I mean,” she cleared her throat and quickly angled herself away from the temptation-on-legs, “yeah, I could go for a bite. I think there’s a café down that hall.”
Which she utilized as the perfect excuse to distance herself a good few paces in front of his stupid grinning face so she could clear her head.
Focus. Pull yourself together and focus.
After a surprisingly uneventful—meaning, normal—supper in the museum cafeteria, the pair decided to wander through the display of planets and star charts before heading down to the bottom floor where, most likely, the compasses would be located.
Part of the planetary zone was a children’s interactive playground, which was loud and boisterous and filled with squeals of laughter. Elena glanced over at her companion with slight curiosity. Was he a Big Baddie who secretly held a soft spot for little ones? But when she saw the way Cade’s face scrunched into a disgusted frown, she quickly steered him in the opposite direction lest they inadvertently insult a parent.
“I overheard you telling that one guy you hate kids,” she said once they were out of earshot of any overprotective families.
Cade sighed. “It’s not that. I don’t…I don’t hate children. I just prefer not to be anywhere near them.”
Clearly. “Is that why you don’t have any of your own?”
His eyes narrowed. The corner of his mouth twitched. “Is this you offering?”
Holy shit. This guy knew exactly how to go from zero to sixty in a parking zone and slam all her buttons at once. Mostly the good ones that had no business lighting up. Elena couldn’t hold back the shocked scoff. “I beg your pardon?”
“Invasive, isn’t it?” He tilted his head to one side. “Makes you feel wildly uncomfortable, yeah? Starting to wish I’d stop asking personal questions?”
“You know what?” Elena resisted the incredibly strong urge to stomp her foot like a petulant child—on his foot—and opted to take a deep breath, pressed her hands together, and forced a gentle smile. “You’re right. I’m sorry.” Another deep breath. “Okay. Let’s just get back on track and go find this thing. I’ll cover the east wing, you can cover the west, and we’ll meet in the middle by the old planet dome thingie.”
“‘The old planet dome thingie’. NASA should hire you.”
Now it was Elena’s turn to peer at him through narrowed slits. “Let’s meet in ten. Okay?”
Instead of reminding her who the actual commander of this mission was, he gave her a mock salute and turned on his heels to head down the west wing of the museum. “Whatever you say, ælfscíene.”
She wanted to slap him.
She wanted to take the opportunity to run out the nearest exit and pretend like none of this ever happened.
Worst of all, she wanted to throw herself into his arms and find out what he really tasted like.
Damn him.
This episode of Lords & Thieves may be over, but the story continues.
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