Page 28 of It Takes a Thief (Ring of Thieves #2)

B onecrusher stands in front of me, his forearm pressing against Merritt’s delicate neck, and I see red. Blood-fucking-red.

The scattering crowd, the arrival of the police and all the chaos fades away. All I can see is the woman I love hanging in the air, struggling to breathe and feet flailing, as he chokes her.

I know all it takes is one quick snap to end her precious life. And I can’t let that happen. But, if I don’t stop him right now, she’s going to suffocate.

Desperate for a distraction, I send up a silent prayer. To Ma, to Angel, to whoever will listen to me. Merritt doesn’t deserve this. She’s good and pure, and whether she knows it yet or not, she’s mine.

Yes, she’s royalty and we come from two totally different worlds. But, for the first time, I realize I’m not a nobody. I’m the man who loves Merritt Fontaine. The man who will take care of her and protect her until my dying breath. And, dammit, that means something.

I’m hoping it will mean everything to her.

“Hey!” a voice yells. “Get out of there!”

Bonecrusher makes the mistake of looking over to where I’m sure a cop is now entering the cage.

The interruption comes at exactly the right moment.

While he briefly takes his focus off Merritt, I race forward at full speed, straight toward them.

By the time he realizes what’s happening, I plow into his kneecaps, driving him backwards, and an unholy crack splits the air.

He screams as bones shatter from the impact, releasing Merritt, and we slam backwards into the barbed wire fence.

Bonecrusher’s back takes the brunt of it, no doubt stabbed with the tiny razors, and he lets out an agonized howl. Instead of going in for the kill, I release him and step back. He falls forward, his broken knees hitting the dirt hard, and cries out, rolling onto his back.

“That’s what happens when you touch her,” I growl, breathing hard, fighting back the feral fierceness throbbing through my entire body. “You’re lucky you’re still breathing.”

“Linc!”

I spin around as Merritt crashes into my arms. Tightening my embrace, I pick her up and tell myself it’s okay. She’s okay.

“Mer,” I rasp, burying my face in her hair. “I’ve got you, sweetheart. You’re safe.”

“I’m so sorry I doubted you,” she cries.

“I’m just glad you’re safe.” I pull back and press a firm kiss to her lips. There’s no way I’m letting her go. Absolutely no way. As long as she’ll have an old, washed-up fighter, I’ll love her fiercely and follow her anywhere. To the damn ends of the earth, if that’s where she goes.

Several policemen are swarming inside the cage now, and an ambulance siren mercifully shuts off as it pulls up. My head is pounding.

“He needs to be checked out,” Merritt declares in her best royal voice—the one no one dares to argue with—and I can’t help but grin as the cops let us pass and exit the cage.

“Don’t go too far. We need to talk to you,” one of them says, and Mer shoos him away.

“After he’s checked over,” she reiterates, and the cop nods.

My lips twitch as I look down at her. My fierce princess came to my rescue and was ready to slay dragons for me.

Her arm is wrapped around my waist and she’s guiding me over to the ambulance’s open back door. “Thank you,” I whisper, pressing a kiss to the top of her head.

She looks up, blue eyes so big and full of worry. “For what?”

“For having my back.”

“Always,” she murmurs, helping me sit on the back ledge of the ambulance.

Her concern is touching, and even though I have some pretty good cuts and bruises, I’m absolutely fine. Bonecrusher, on the other hand, just got carried out of the cage on a stretcher. I don’t feel an ounce of sympathy. Serves him right, the cocky fucker.

For Merritt’s sake, I allow the EMT to clean me up and check for a concussion.

He claims I have a mild one and gives me a couple of Tylenol, telling me to rest and avoid any strenuous activity for the next few days.

He wants to stitch up the cut above my eyebrow, but I’ve had much deeper ones and never got stitches.

“I’m fine,” I insist, and he ends up slapping a band aid over it. Besides, didn’t someone say chicks dig scars?

There’s only one woman I want, though, and I hope she’ll have me, scars and all. If not, I don’t know what I’m going to do. I suppose I could always spirit her away and attempt to steal her heart just like she stole mine. Hell, I am a thief.

I know we need to talk first. As much as I want Merritt in my life, if I’m going to try this relationship thing, I’m not just dipping a damn toe in. I’m diving straight into the deep end, and I’ll either sink or swim.

All or nothing, baby.

Merritt fills me in on how she followed me across the ocean and then called Addie for help.

I’m grateful Addie called in her favor to Laurent, because I’m pretty sure he’s the one who called the police.

He also left Dumas tied to a nearby tree with duct tape over his mouth.

On the silver tape, he’d scrawled, “Guilty,” in a black marker.

Finding Dumas is the most entertaining part of the evening.

By the time we talk to the police and share everything we know, it’s late.

And once she hears I have a concussion, even a mild one, she refuses to let me get on a plane until my symptoms subside.

Instead, we call her family’s car service to take us to her penthouse.

Much like their pilot, the national company is on call twenty-four seven when any of the Fontaines are in the United States.

I’m discovering there are quite a few perks to being a princess, and for those dating the princess.

I really hope I’m not assuming too much.

What if she can’t see our future the way I can?

What if she doesn’t want me after she finds out the truth?

That I’m nothing but a thief who grew up on the wrong side of town and ran wild.

What if that changes how she thinks about me and then she decides she doesn’t want to get tangled up with some no-class bum like me?

Stop getting in your head, Decker. The good thing is I know exactly what I want, and I’m going to fight for Mer harder than I’ve ever fought for anything in my life.

Maybe I should thank Bonecrusher for knocking some sense into me.

Because for the first time, I know this beautiful, intelligent, brave woman tucked under my arm is it.

The end all, be all. She’s the one. And if she accepts me, I’ll gladly hand her my heart and everything that comes along with it.

When we arrive in Manhattan, it’s almost one in the morning. The sedan pulls up to the front of her building and I help her out. Pulling her back against my side, marveling at how perfectly she fits beneath my arm, we head inside and take the elevator up.

“I wasn’t sure I’d ever be back here, but I didn’t have the heart to put it up for sale yet. Good thing.”

Turning, I reach up and cup her beloved face. “Do you have any idea how incredible you are?” I ask, tracing my thumb over her lower lip.

“Incredible enough to kiss?”

“You never have to ask me for a kiss, Mer. Every single one I have is reserved solely for you.”

The golden threads in her bright blue eyes sparkle. “Really?”

“You own me, Princess. Body, heart and soul. And if you want me, I’m all yours.”

“I want you, Linc,” she whispers, tears brightening her eyes. “When I thought I might lose you…”

She shudders. Before she can finish her thought, I lean down and capture her mouth in a kiss. It stings a little because my lip is cut, but I don’t care. All I care about is this amazing woman in my arms.

The elevator door slides open, and I walk her out backwards into the foyer, still kissing her. We finally pull apart and I flip on a light.

“Your lip,” she murmurs, lightly touching the corner of my mouth. “I’m sorry. That must hurt.”

“Not nearly as much as another part of me.”

She smirks, her gaze tilting down to check out my tented shorts. “Well, then I guess we should take care of that. Although the EMT said you should avoid any strenuous activity.”

“I’m fine,” I insist.

“You’re sure?”

“Yes. But I need to take a shower.” I’m still filthy from rolling around in the dirt with Bonecrusher. “You’re more than welcome to join me.”

The smile she gives me tilts my entire world. I take her hand and guide her up to the master bath where I remember a very large shower. We’d made good use of it before, and I can’t wait to do it again.

The second we reach the bathroom, we strip off our clothes without a word and step beneath the waterfall showerhead. The warm water sluices down my body, and Merritt soaps up her pink loofah and starts washing me. She’s so careful, lightly dabbing around all the bruises and scrapes.

Once we’re both clean, the grime and dust of the cage down the drain, her fingers wrap around my aching cock. My head drops back as she squeezes and caresses me from root to tip. When she drops to her knees and takes me in her mouth, I groan.

“No.” I grasp her shoulders and pull her back up. “You don’t belong on your knees. I’m the one who should bow down to you.”

“Linc, no.”

But I don’t want to hear it. I drop down, scoop her leg up and hike it over my shoulder. She lets out a little shriek, grabbing onto my shoulders to steady herself, and I look up with a wolfish grin. “Your every wish is my command, Princess. What do you want, sweetheart?”

“Kiss me,” she whispers.

“With pleasure.” I spread her pretty pink pussy lips with my thumbs and press my mouth to her center.

“Oh, God, Linc…”

I start licking and teasing, swirling my tongue around her clit until she’s bucking against my face.

Her nails dig into my shoulders when I slide a finger inside her.

She’s so wet, and it has nothing to do with the water falling down on us.

I can tell she’s on the verge, so I suck harder.

She cries out, her body jerking, and then she turns to jelly.