AVERY
Itake her elbow and lead her back through the greenhouse and to the table where my golden orchid belongs. “Put it down.”
She looks up at me, then glances at the door.
“You can try to run for it, but I promise you, I’ll catch you, little thief. You might not like what happens after that, but I will.” I stare down at her wide eyes. The thought of chasing her down sends a jolt of heat through me. I should be raging. She’s here to steal my prize orchid–though she’s clearly not a professional by any stretch of the imagination. Instead, I’m somewhat amused.
She swallows hard. “I’ll just, um, yep, I’ll just put it right here. I was taking it outside to dust it off. It’s got all this … dirt on it, you see. It needs a cleaning.”
“Just there.” I point to the spot where the sensor is.
“Okay. Yep. Good. I’m glad we sorted that out.” She puts the pot down, then hitches a thumb over her shoulder. “I should be going, then. There’s a greenhouse out here somewhere that needs a good cleaning.”
“At night?”
She purses her lips, then nods. “Yes. The plants are … sleeping at night. That way they won’t be, you know, scared when I show up and start cleaning. Quietly, of course. Very quietly.” She’s edging away from me.
I follow her into the larger greenhouse. “Plants sleep?”
“Sure.” She backs away. “They need their beauty rest. Don’t worry. I don’t think I disturbed your plants.” She drops her voice to a whisper. “They’re fine. So, like I said, I should go.”
I arch a brow. She’s genuinely adorable with all her lies. “Without my golden orchid? Isn’t that why you’re here, little thief?”
“Thief?” She waves a hand. “Pfft. I’m not a thief.”
“You’ve managed to injure yourself during the job, left your DNA all over the place, didn’t check the security system, and didn’t ensure you had more than one option for an exit. A thief? Yes. But a good one? No.”
Her eyes narrow. “You don’t have to be like that about it. I’ll have you know I’m plenty good at being a thief.” She slaps a hand over her mouth.
“Is that so?” I advance on her, some animal part of me stalking her and toying with her.
“No! Of course not.” She clears her throat. “I wouldn’t take anything. I just clean things. Rich people things. That’s all.”
“I’m afraid I don’t believe you, little thief.”
“Well, you should.” She makes it to the greenhouse door, but it’s shut and latched.
I tower over her and move quickly, grabbing the handle behind her so she can’t open it. I catch her scent, something floral and maybe citrus. Sweet. Almost intoxicating.
“Who sent you?”
“The cleaning service,” she retorts.
“What’s the name of the service?”
She shrugs. “Um, The Cleaning People.”
A half smile curves my lips. “That’s the best you can come up with?”
Heirloom hops onto the table beside us, his eyes on the beautiful little thief I’ve caught in my snare.
“I’d best be going.” She reaches behind her for the door handle. When she touches my hand, I move even closer, pinning her against the door. Her breath hitches. My body wakes up, my cock getting hard as I breathe her in.
“You aren’t going anywhere.” I take her wrist in my grip and open the door.
She stumbles backward, but I keep her upright, then turn her around and march her in front of me. With an admirable effort, she tries to wrench her arm free, but I pull it up behind her.
“Hey!” she yells.