Page 71 of Their Reckless Thief (The Below #1)

The words sank into me, a balm against the burn of betrayal. In a strange way, his loyalty stung. He’d always been quick to give it, even in the face of doubt. And here he was, standing by me, believing me when the one person who should’ve had my back was the one who’d put me in here.

“Thanks.” The word came out rougher than I’d intended. Gratitude was something I gave sparingly, and it felt foreign on my tongue. Right now, it was all I had.

Dorian leaned in, his voice dropping to a whisper. “Look, Vincenzo’s pissed about losing two million, but he’ll cool down.” He paused, his gaze flashing with something almost hopeful. “He’s got to know that you’d never do this. He always sees sense eventually.”

I gave him a short nod, though the hollow ache in my heart remained.

Part of me wanted to believe him, to think that Vincenzo would realize his mistake.

Another part, the part that still bore the scars of my family’s betrayal, knew better than to hold onto hope.

Because sometimes, no amount of loyalty was enough to erase suspicion.

Hours slipped by, each one heavier and darker than the last, as I was left with nothing but my thoughts. I sat back against the cold, unforgiving stone, my mind gnawing over every detail of how things had spiraled into this miserable mess.

Then, like a twinkle of light in that endless dark, I felt her before I saw her.

Celeste. She was bathed in the dim glow of a single, stuttering bulb.

Her silhouette was both soft and piercing, her blonde hair pulled back, stray strands framing a face that was the closest thing to calm I’d felt since I’d been thrown in here.

The sight of her—a figure in delicate silk, wrapped in something so insubstantial it nearly angered me—tightened something deep inside.

She was all wrong in this place, and yet there she was.

I didn’t move. She reached her hand through the bars, palm open, her slender fingers beckoning me.

She didn’t speak, but the quiet look in her eyes was louder than any words.

For a heartbeat, I resisted, wanting to ignore her as much as I wanted to draw closer.

The iron in her gaze shattered that resolve.

I slid my fingers into hers, her warmth grounding me, pulling me from the storm brewing in my mind.

Her gaze locked onto mine, a current of something in them. Pity, maybe?

“Don’t look at me like that,” I snapped. Pity was the last thing I wanted. Especially now. Especially from her.

A small tremor passed through her, barely perceptible, but then she raised her other hand, slipping it through the bars to rest on the back of my neck, her fingers weaving through my hair.

It was intimate, almost painfully so, and instinctively, I pulled back, retreating from the touch as though it burned.

Her hand dropped, and the glimmer of hurt in her expression stung far deeper than I wanted to admit.

“You won’t even let me comfort you?” she asked.

“I don’t want your comfort.” The words came out sharp, biting, but I held firm, keeping the line between us as hard as steel.

Her comfort was the most dangerous thing I could accept, something that would slip under my guard and twist the knife already lodged deep.

She didn’t understand—couldn’t understand. That was how it had to stay.

For a moment, her face was still, her eyes searching mine, and I wished like hell that she’d look away. A tear slipped down her cheek, and the sight of it nearly unraveled me. The urge to reach through the bars, to pull her close, was so powerful it frightened me.

“Celeste, why are you crying?” The question came out softly, almost tender, before I could stop myself.

She drew a shaky breath, brushing the tear away. “Because…” she hesitated, guilt clouding her expression. “Because this is all my fault.”

I blinked, caught off guard. “What are you talking about? This isn’t your fault. How could it be?”

“You don’t understand.” Her voice wavered, each word laced with regret.

“That night, I couldn’t sleep, before I came to talk to you…

” She looked away, shoulders tense, and I felt my heart stutter.

“Before I went to see you, I saw Vincenzo’s computer was on.

The banking website was open. I saw the balance in his account, Luca, and it was more money than I could fathom.

And all I could think about were the women, Roberto’s dolls, the ones who had lost everything because of me. ”

Each word of her confession tightened around me like a noose. “Celeste, what did you do?” My voice sounded alien, strained, as if coming from someone else.

“I thought he wouldn’t notice if a little was gone.

” She let out a shaky breath. “Two million. Just a drop in the ocean for him. So, I transferred it, wiped the transaction with Vivian’s help, and we divided it up, put it into the accounts of the women who’d lost their livelihood after Roberto died.

” Her voice broke, but she continued. “I know Vincenzo’s going to kill me, but I had to tell you.

I couldn’t let you pay for something I did. ”

Anger, disbelief, and an intensity that made my fists clench swirled inside me.

Every fiber of my being was taut with emotions I couldn’t comprehend.

This woman. This maddening, infuriating woman who continually tore down my walls and planted herself in the wreckage without a second thought.

She was breaking everything I’d spent years protecting, tearing apart every line I’d drawn to keep the world out.

“Do you have any idea what you’re doing, Celeste?” I said finally, my voice shaking. “What you’re doing to me?”

Her brow furrowed in confusion. “What…?”

“You’re breaking me,” I hissed. “Every damn time I think I’ve kept you out, drawn the line…

there you are, doing something—something so selfless, something good.

And you don’t even see it. I’m not supposed to care.

I’m not supposed to feel like this.” I laughed, but it was hollow and bitter.

“But you’re making it fucking impossible. ”

Her eyes softened, something raw shimmering there. “Maybe you don’t have to keep pushing me away, Luca.”

“Yes, I do,” I ground out, my voice hoarse, desperate. “You think you want this? That you can handle me ? I have nothing to offer you but pain, Celeste. Nothing.”

Her gaze never wavered, as though she could see every cracked, broken part of me. “Maybe I like pain.” Her words were soft but unyielding, a challenge that cut straight to the core.

I clenched my fists, fighting the urge to reach for her, to close the space between us, and let her see the parts of myself I’d buried for so long. But I couldn’t. I wouldn’t. “Celeste, you need to stay away from me. If you knew who I really was…”

“Then show me, Luca.” She leaned closer, her fingers brushing mine through the bars, her touch both grounding and electric. “Show me the real you.”

Her words held a challenge that terrified me as much as it thrilled me. The real me?

I’d fucking show her the real me. “Get on your knees.”

She held onto the cell bars with both hands as she obediently slid down onto her knees, looking up at me with those fucking green eyes that made my breath hitch. “Now what?”

I gripped the edge of the cell, my heart hammering in my chest as I watched her. My cock, already hard from her words, strained against my pants. I unzipped them and pulled my cock out into the open air.

“Open your mouth,” I ordered.

She parted her lips, still looking up at me with that bold challenge in her eyes.

I couldn’t resist anymore. I stepped forward and pressed my hips against the bars, grinding my aching flesh against the cold metal.

Her breath hitched as she saw how much she affected me.

“Take it,” I commanded, pushing my cock through the iron bars toward her.

The head of my dick brushed against her lips, and she didn’t pull away. With a shaky hand, she reached out to touch it tentatively. Her fingers grazed over the sensitive skin at the tip. A low moan escaped me as she traced small circles around it, teasing me mercilessly.

“Taste me,” I growled, offering one last chance for her to back out. But she didn’t budge. Instead, she leaned forward and tentatively closed her lips around me, taking me into her mouth in one slow slide.

The sensation was too much for me to handle.

I groaned loudly as pleasure coursed through me like an electric shock.

It felt so right having her there, so close yet so far away from truly claiming what I wanted to be mine.

She sucked gently at first, then started bobbing her head up and down on my length with increasing vigor.

My hands gripped the bars tightly as I watched this woman, who challenged me every step of the way, take control of my pleasure like no one else could have imagined doing within these walls of confinement.

The world around us seemed to fade away, leaving only the intoxicating dance of her mouth and the iron bars pressing against my hips.

The soft whimpers that escaped her lips only fueled my desire.

She licked at the sensitive skin beneath the head of my cock before taking me deeper into her mouth.

With each passing moment, she grew bolder, sucking harder and moaning louder.

Her eyes were closed now as if she was lost in the sensation of tasting me, savoring every drop of my essence.

Her fingers slid over the muscles of my abs before reaching up to grasp the bars above her head, holding onto them tightly as she let me fuck her mouth.

Her nails dug slightly into her palms with each thrust of her tongue against me, sending jolts of pleasure straight to my core.

I groaned loudly, biting back a curse as she took me deeper still.

Her warmth encircled me like a velvet glove, milking my cock with an expertise that left me panting for more.

The scent of fear mixed with desire wafted off Celeste in waves, an intoxicating aphrodisiac that made me lose myself even more.

Every time our skin touched through the cold metal barrier, heat rippled through my body.

My release threatened to break free under her skilled tongue and eager hands.

My hips bucked involuntarily against the bars as I tried to get closer to her but couldn’t quite reach.

Celeste suddenly stopped and pulled away. The abrupt change of temperature on my cock made me shudder.

“Why the fuck did you stop?”

She stared up at me as she reached into the cell, sliding her hands up and down my stomach and chest. “I figured you might have further instructions for me.”

A deep, low growl escaped my throat. Of course I had more fucking instructions for her. “I want you to take me as deep as you can. Relax your throat because I’m about to fuck your face until I come. I want you to take it all. I want you to swallow down every drop. Do you understand?”

Celeste nodded, her lips curling into a naughty smirk. “I understand.”

She leaned forward and took my cock into her mouth again, this time sliding it deeper than before.

Her throat worked around me as she gagged slightly, but she didn’t stop.

She relaxed her throat muscles and started bobbing her head up and down on my shaft once more, sucking hard at the same time.

The sensation was indescribable... The cool touch of iron and the contrast of her warm mouth sent tremors through every cell in my body.

Her tongue danced around the veins that ran along my shaft, flicking them teasingly. “Fuck, Celeste!”

She groaned, the sound vibrating against my cock as she took me deeper still, almost choking herself on me. Her plump lips stretched to accommodate every inch of me, and I could feel myself getting closer to the edge with each passing moment.

She sucked and flicked her tongue like she was trying to draw out every last drop of desire from me. My hips pumped in time with the movement of her mouth, unable to control myself as I sought out more contact with her body. It was like a live wire connected us despite the metal bars.

Celeste slid a hand over my balls and squeezed, and that was fucking it. I couldn’t hold back any longer. With one final deep thrust, I came violently into her throat. She didn’t stop. She kept swirling her tongue around the tip of my cock and sucking every last drop from me.

When it was over, she pulled away and swallowed hard, wiping her mouth with the back of her hand.

Without further commentary or giving me time to tell her how well she’d taken my cock, she stood and walked away, stopping before she reached the door.

“Don’t ever fucking underestimate me again, Luca. ”