Page 9 of It Takes a Thief (Ring of Thieves #2)

K eep your hands, your lips and your dick to yourself.

I keep repeating the mantra in my head as I swig down an entire bottle of water, hoping it’ll help cool me off. Shocker, it doesn’t. Hell, I don’t even think an ice bath would help. After adjusting myself, I crush the plastic bottle and lean a hip against the kitchen counter.

Merritt is a princess, royally out of my league—pun intended—and taking advantage of our forced proximity isn’t going to happen.

At least that’s what I keep telling myself. But things are getting hotter every single moment I’m with her. How am I supposed to ignore her come hither looks? At this point, I think my dick is sporting a permanent indentation from my zipper.

Because the truth is, I’m so attracted to her, it’s getting harder and harder to ignore.

But the whole situation is impossible. I have no business being with someone so exquisite, so beyond lovely, as Princess Merritt Fontaine.

She’s more than out of my league—she’s light years from my meager existence.

Fuck me . I’m lusting after my client who’s goddamn royalty. This is bad. Really, really bad.

Two weeks , I remind myself. That’s all I have left. Then she returns home, and I can go back to Denver. Other than my work and team, though, nothing waits for me there. That used to be fine, but now loneliness tightens my heart in its grip. I sigh, feeling caught between a rock and hard place.

A loud scream pierces through my thoughts, and my reaction is instantaneous.

Instinct propels me out of the kitchen and straight up the stairs. Racing down the hall, I pull my gun from the holster at my back, and skid to a halt just inside the doorway to Merritt’s bedroom.

Merritt staggers a few steps toward me, her beautiful face whiter than the pristine comforter on her bed. Catching her in my arms, I pull her close, angling my body to shield hers as my gaze scans the room. I quickly zero in on the knife embedded in her fluffy pillow.

Fuck.

There’s a note, too. Where the fuck did it come from? Because it sure as hell wasn’t there when we were here earlier. And while I want to know what the fucking thing says, first I need to comfort the woman shaking in my arms.

“I’ve got you. You’re okay.” She buries her face against my chest as I stroke a hand down her soft hair and back.

Why does having her in my arms feel so right?

“Mer,” I say, keeping my voice gentle, “I need to search the apartment.”

She pulls back, eyes widening in alarm. “You think someone might still be in here?”

“I don’t know, sweetheart. But I’m going to check this place from top to bottom.”

She nods, reluctantly releasing me. I do a quick sweep of the ensuite and walk-in closet. Even look under the bed. This place is huge, though, and the sooner I check the rest of it, the better I’ll feel.

“I’ll be back,” I tell her. “I need you to stay in here, lock the door and don’t touch anything.”

“No! I-I don’t want to be alone with…that. Please, let me come with you.”

“Of course,” I relent, hating the fear in her voice. Turning toward the bed, gun still in hand, I reach for her with my opposite hand, threading my fingers through hers. Then I walk over to read the note.

“Sorry I missed you, Princess.”

The words make my nostrils flare and my grip on her hand reflexively tightens. Whoever did this is going down. Every single cell in my body vows to find the fucker and end him.

Nobody threatens her. Not on my watch.

“Let’s check the rest of your place out. Then I’m calling the cops and my team.”

After thoroughly searching Merritt’s apartment, it’s clear the intruder is long gone. The police arrive and I explain the situation, including the attempted kidnapping on her two weeks earlier. They bag the knife as evidence, ask a bunch of standard questions and assure us they’ll be in touch.

I hate to think it, but now we have confirmation the earlier attack wasn’t an isolated incident. Something more sinister is at work here, and I’m going to find out what.

After the cops leave, I sit down on the couch beside Merritt. She’s huddled against the edge, arms wrapped around a throw pillow, and obviously distraught.

“Everything will be alright,” I tell her, hating how scared she looks. “I promise I won’t let anything happen to you.”

I’m in full-on bodyguard mode as I call Addie, putting the phone on speaker.

“How’s it going, Linc?” Addie says in greeting.

“Not great.” I tell her about the break-in and the calling card the asshole left sticking out of Merritt’s pillow.

“And the alarm was set?” she asks.

“Of course. I’d planned to install some upgrades, but it’s not a terrible setup. It should’ve done its job.”

“So, how did someone get in?”

“I don’t know, but Merritt and I are about to have a long talk.” I send her a pointed look.

“I’ll call The Man and update him. Keep me posted.”

“Copy.”

After disconnecting the call, I turn to face Merritt. Before I can start grilling her about every person in her life and who has access to this place, she asks, “Who’s The Man?”

Good question . None of us, including Addie, really knows.

He’s just this mysterious person who often has jobs for us and provides high level intel, including codes and exclusive party invites, and safehouses where we stay.

We’ve never seen his face, and whenever we speak, he’s in the shadows, face scrambled.

Angel, Addie’s mom, told us to trust him, and so far, he hasn’t given us a reason not to.

“You know how Charlie had his angels? Well, The Man has us.”

“You work for him?”

“No, I work for Addie’s company, A-Squared. But The Man sometimes provides us with work. Your case, for example.”

“Me?”

I nod. “He connected us to your friend, Rose, and mentioned a princess in need of a bodyguard. We assumed it was her, but then it turned out to be you.”

She listens carefully, soaking it all in. “I didn’t think I really needed a bodyguard. Until now. If you hadn’t been here…if we hadn’t gone to get pizza…”

A visible tremor racks her slim body.

“Don’t go there.” I slide closer. “I’m here, and no one is going to hurt you.”

“Thank you, Linc,” she whispers.

“We should call your parents. Fill them in on the latest.”

“Oh, no, please. I don’t want them to worry. And if they know what happened, they’ll demand I return straight home.”

“Maybe that would be safest.”

“I feel safest with you,” she says quickly.

Going back to Arcadia might be the best alternative, but the selfish bastard in me wants to keep her here, within my sight and under my protection. If she went home, I’d be relieved of my bodyguard duties, and she’d promptly be put under royal guard.

But what if that isn’t enough? What if this is an inside job?

No, the best thing is to remain with her. The palace may have guards, but they won’t watch her like I will. From this point forward, Merritt isn’t leaving my sight.

“For now, we’ll stay in New York,” I tell her, “but I need to know more about your life. Let’s start with a list of your friends, family and every ex.”

“Ex?” she echoes.

“Ex-boyfriends,” I clarify, opening the notes section in my phone. I really don’t want to hear the endless list, but it’s part of the job. A job I don’t think either of us was taking very seriously until tonight. “I assume Jeffrey is at the top.”

“I never dated Jeffrey. He’s just a family friend.”

Good . I put his name under the friend’s column where it belongs. Hell, I don’t even like it there. Merritt mentions Charity, her best friend here, but that’s it.

“Who else?” I ask.

“Um, well there’s Rose. And, um, Leo and Chef Louis…Elsa.”

“Who’s Elsa?”

“She works in the kitchen back home. They’ve been with my family forever. They’re like my second grandparents.”

I nod, deciding they probably aren’t high on the suspect list.

“Princess Rose has her own kingdom, so I’m not overly concerned about her,” I say. “And the others are hired help. I’m talking friends . People you hang out with.”

“Except for Charity, I don’t have any other close friends,” she admits quietly. “Pathetic, I know.”

For the first time, it hits me why she’s happier here.

There’s freedom, opportunities and possibilities.

Being stuck on an island in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea doesn’t provide many options when it comes to expanding her social circle.

And the fact that she’s royalty probably makes her an intimidating figure.

Not exactly someone you’d call up to go out and party and do questionable things when she brings along a royal guard who reports back to the king.

“What about family?” I ask gently.

“It’s just me, my mom and my dad.”

“Tell me more about Arcadia. How long has your family ruled?”

“For hundreds of years. Technically, it’s the Principality of Arcadia. We’re closely linked to France but, at the same time, completely independent.”

“How does the whole royal thing work?”

“What do you mean?” she asks.

“What if you marry a commoner? Does he become a prince?” I’m looking for motives.

Her mouth edges up. “No. Marrying into the royal family doesn’t put you in the line of succession. Whoever becomes my husband would be known as the Prince Consort.”

“That kind of sounds like the same thing to me,” I say. Especially if some asshole is eager to get his hands on that kind of prestige and all the perks that come with marrying into royalty. “Does your family have any known enemies?”

“No.”

I run a hand through my cropped hair. Time to return to the dreaded list of her exes. “Okay, back to ex-boyfriends.”

When she doesn’t say anything, I look up.

“Mer?” I press.

“You can just put a little ‘N/A’ in that column,” she murmurs, cheeks turning an adorable shade of pink.

For a moment, I think I heard her wrong. How is that even possible? She’s stunning in every possible way from her looks to her personality. Sure, she’s a bit strong headed, but I like that she doesn’t let anyone push her around. She’s not afraid to speak up, and I can respect that.

And I can’t pull my eyes off her. She’s truly lovely, something my dick noticed on day one.

But now, other parts of me are noticing it, too.

How insanely graceful and ladylike she always is.

How glamorous and well put-together she is, even when she’s only wearing leggings.

This woman doesn’t need to be wearing a fancy ball gown and dripping with jewels to make her shine.

She has an inner light that makes her brighter than any gem.

A rare and lovely woman with more sparkle than her damn diamond crown.

“Stop looking at me like that.” She groans, covering her face with her hands. “It’s so embarrassing.”

“Mer, look at me.”

“No,” she grumbles, then finally parts her fingers and peeks out.

With a chuckle, I tug her hands away, wrapping my fingers around hers. “Do you have any idea how adorable you are?”

“Yeah, right,” she grumbles. “That’s why you ran away earlier when I tried to kiss you.”

Yeah, about that…

“I wanted to kiss you.” My voice comes out dangerously husky.

She doesn’t look convinced. Suddenly, I hate myself for pushing her away. Regret it with every fiber of my being.

Time to make amends.

Even though I know I shouldn’t do what I’m about to, I don’t give a shit anymore. I just want to see that pretty smile light up her face. Because her smile? It’s like a constellation.

“I wanted to kiss you,” I tell her again in a low growl. “Still do.”

Before I can change my mind, I close the distance between us, and my mouth covers hers.