Page 31 of Prettiest Little Thief (Band of Thieves #1)

Fucking Frankie. I would have beat the shit out of him if Monroe hadn’t stopped me.

He’d forced himself between me and my wife on our wedding night.

Whether Monroe knew it or not, my feelings for her had grown over the weeks.

My shriveled heart had pumped full of her to the point where I caught myself trying to catch glimpses of her throughout the day, thoughts often wandering back to her even in times when I was busy.

Her scent, God, her scent, made my dick hard within seconds. And last night, I was finally going to claim her as mine. Mark her. Ruin her for anyone who might try to take her from my side. She was a breath of fresh fucking air compared to the suffocating staleness of my daily routine.

I was halfway through my workout, music at a reasonable volume, when Monroe’s figure caught my attention in the mirror.

Still dressed in just my T-shirt that almost met her knees.

My cock twitched in my shorts at the sight of her bare legs, knowing she likely only had on a pair of sheer panties beneath. Or if I was really lucky, nothing.

Monroe strode toward me until she was at my side, making me drop my weights. I wiped the sweat from my brow.

“Last night— ”

“Was not your fault,” I jumped in.

“I’m sorry. I just needed time to sort my thoughts.” She bit her bottom lip.

I ran my thumb along her jawline and tilted her face up to mine.

Her eyes fluttered closed. “Look at me, Monroe.” She obeyed instantly; her caramel eyes focused on me.

“I understand that Frankie was a huge part of your life. I understand that you needed time to figure things out.” I leaned down and placed a quick kiss on her pouty mouth. “You don’t need to apologize.”

“Are you real?” she whispered.

I chuckled, stepping into her space. My erection pressed into her belly and her eyes widened. “Very real.”

“Oh.” Her voice was huskier now, and a flush ran across her cheeks.

“It doesn’t mean I didn’t want to kill him for being in my wife’s room. The only thing that stopped me was you.”

“I thought we shared a room now.” She arched a dark brow.

“We do, but you still have a lot of your belongings in there. Which you will be moving into our room today. Fox will be here soon to help. I’d help you myself, but I have some meetings today that I’ve put off for the last couple of weeks.”

“Because of me?” Her gaze ran down my bare torso.

“You are my priority. Don’t feel guilty about taking my attention away from work. I have assistants for a reason.”

Monroe’s eyes flitted back up to mine. “When are we going to search for the remaining half of Anastasia’s Keepsake ?” she asked.

“It’s already in the works. Eyes and ears out everywhere in search of the chest. Once we get solid evidence of its whereabouts, we will be on the first flight out.” I tucked a strand of her hair behind her ear .

She nodded. “Okay.” On tiptoes, Monroe kissed my cheek before she backed away toward the door.

“Where are you going?” I asked.

“To shower.”

“Do you want company?”

“Naw, maybe next time,” she threw back over her shoulder before disappearing.

I groaned in frustration and adjusted myself in my shorts.

Fucking Frankie.