Eine reizende Diebin (German Edition)

burned up the sheets, this time actually in bed rather than out of it. Marcus couldn’t get enough of the exciting woman in his arms, and the night was long. There was much more in store for her. She just didn’t know it yet.
    Her fingers lazily stroked his chest. “Does it matter?”
    “Actually, yes.”
    “Why?”
    “The punishment has to fit the crime.” Marcus smirked wickedly and brushed a strand of hair out of her face.
    She gave him a surprised look. “Don’t you think you’ve punished me enough?”
    A throaty laugh burst from his chest. “I’ve got the feeling this wasn’t any punishment for you at all.”
    “Maybe you’re not doing it right,” she dared criticize him.
    “Trust me, I’m doing it right. It was pretty hard to ignore your ecstatic screams.”
    “I don’t scream!”
    “Of course you do. Hey, I take it as a compliment.” He threw up his hands in a capitulating motion. “But to get back to my questions. What was it you wanted?”
    Olivia shrugged. “The vestal armband.”
    He whistled. “You have good taste, I give you that.”
    “It’s worth a lot of money.”
    “I’m aware of that.”
    “More than you paid for it.”
    Marcus took her chin and made her look at him. “How would you know?”
    “I know my Roman art.”
    He grinned. “Ah, an educated thief. University?”
    “Art history,” she confirmed.
    Marcus was surprised at her admission. “Have you ever thought of doing something else with your knowledge rather than stealing?”
    She huffed. “Like one could live on the salary of a lowly curator. This pays better, trust me.”
    He laughed. “So it’s all for the money, huh? And you’re not getting a kick out of it, are you?”
    A sheepish smile crossed her face. “Maybe just a little.”
    “You like the thrill, the risk. I can tell.” His hand trailed down her back to her hips, leisurely stroking the soft curves of her ass. Marcus felt his body stir again even though he’d come twice in the last hour. He smiled at the thought of how vulnerable she’d felt in his arms when he’d brought her from one orgasm to the next.
    Tough, hardened criminal; he didn’t think so. There was something decidedly soft about Olivia.
    “Have you ever seen the armband close up?”
    She shook her head. “Only on display at the auction house. Not nearly close enough. And unfortunately you interrupted me before I could open your safe.”
    “Fortunately.”
    Marcus peeled himself out of her embrace and sat up. “Don’t run off, or I’m really going to have to punish you. I’ll be back in a minute.”
    As he walked to the door and retrieved the key to unlock it, he contemplated locking her in, but a look at her sated body told him that she wasn’t going to run, at least not in the next minute or two.
    He was right. When he returned to the bedroom less than two minutes later, she still lay in bed in the same position. She’d closed her eyes, but he knew she wasn’t asleep.
    As soon as he took his place in bed again, her arms automatically curled around him, and her body molded into his side. He smiled at the intimate touch she bestowed on him. He could get used to this.
    “Open your eyes. I want you to look at something.”
    “Too tired.”
    “It’s worth it, I promise.”
    Reluctantly, Olivia opened her eyes and looked at the object in his hands. She gasped and jerked up to sit.
    “The vestal armband!”
    Marcus placed it in her hands for her to touch.
    The artifact was made of pure gold. Intricate filigree work snaked around the solid band of precious metal. The clasp was unusual in that it was constructed of two symbols: one male, one female. When closed they fit together perfectly, the same way a man’s body fit to a woman’s.
    “It’s beautiful,” she uttered, admiration and reverence in her voice.
    He understood her awe. He had felt the same when he’d first seen the ancient piece of jewelry.
    “Yes, it is.”
    He took the armband and opened the clasp. Without a word, he placed it around her bicep and closed it. It fit tightly around her bicep.
    “Seeing you with it makes me hard,” he whispered. The idea of fucking her while she wore the artifact, turned him on.
    Olivia’s eyes widened in shock. “You have to take it off me, now!” she commanded, her voice sounding panicked.
    “Why? I thought that’s what you wanted.”
    He didn’t understand why she suddenly tried to open the clasp, an action at which she failed miserably. He had