Page 3 of To Catch a Sub

Colette reached over and picked up the 50 carat blue diamond. “I’m here because I think the Saudi prince might want this back.”

* * *

Landon knew he should be moving—grabbing cuffs to arrest her, picking up the phone to alert security they had a problem. Except he couldn’t stop staring at her mouth. Colette had gorgeous, full lips that were perpetually turned up at the corners, as if she always hovered on the edge of a smile.

It was disarming and charming, the smile of a beautiful woman who didn’t take herself too seriously.

It was also a lie. A lie he’d fallen for once before, and was apparently poised to fall for again. Anger sizzled through him.

Her words finally penetrated, and snapped him back to reality. Saudi prince?

Landon reached one hand behind his back, the other stretched out, palm up, for the sapphire.

Colette extended her hand, wrist twisting to drop the gem into his palm. He waited until the last second, then grabbed her, fingers closing around her hand, encasing it in his much larger one. Her bones felt thin and fragile.

He pulled cuffs from the pouch on the back of his belt and snapped them around her wrist.

They both looked down. He was now cradling her hand, the large sapphire trapped between their fingers, the empty cuff swaying below their joined hands.

Neither of them noticed the reduction in chatter or the way the atmosphere in the bullpen changed.

“What is it you say in English? Kinky?” Colette arched a brow, one corner of her mouth pulling up.

He wanted to kiss that mouth then bend her over the desk and spank that tight ass.

Fuck. He’d been thinking about Club Alibi, and it was messing with his head. The entire Club Alibi project had blurred a line he’d previously kept crisp and defined.

“I haven’t given you any reason to arrest me.” She looked disappointed and shook her head softly.

“You walked into Interpol with a stolen sapphire.” He sounded defensive even to his own ears, and wrestled his tone under control. His next words came out as a growl. “What did you think was going to happen?”

“I thought you’d be grateful that I brought you a fifty-carat blue diamond.” She stressed the last word.

“That’s a diamond?” It was a pale blue but distinctly blue, which was why he’d assumed it was a sapphire. His second guess would have been topaz, followed by aquamarine.

“A very large diamond.” She twisted her hand and the gem caught the light.

He reached for her other arm and Colette pulled away, tucking her hand back into her pocket while simultaneously holding up the diamond like a shield.

“This is a fifty-carat blue diamond. Only one in—” She tipped her head side to side, lips pursed in consideration, as she took a tiny step in retreat. “—ten thousand or so diamonds have this blue color. And to find one of this size is extraordinary.” Her smile turned sly as she continued to inch away. “A fifty-carat blue diamond was stolen from a Saudi prince in the early nineties.”

He knew exactly what she was talking about, and it only raised more questions. Questions he would ask once he had her safely in custody.

She’d cleared the corner of his desk in her retreat, and was less than a meter from a thick, square support column in the middle of the large bullpen.

“When did you steal it?” he asked casually.

“Who said I stole it?” Colette’s smile was almost coy, one brow arched.

“I’m saying it. You’re a thief.” A world-class thief.

“I bring you a present and you make?—”

Colette’s words broke off with a shocked gasp as he lunged forward. Landon grabbed her shoulders and forced her back until her body fetched up against the column. Her eyes were wide with shock that morphed to something else as he leaned in, pinning her in place.

He couldn’t stop the grin of satisfaction at having her trapped and under his control. He’d taken her by surprise, and that felt like a victory, since she was usually four steps ahead of him.

He could feel her breasts against his chest as he leaned into her, and each inhale brought him a complex, citrusy scent. Perfume, and probably expensive perfume at that. Landon pressed his hips to hers and slid his hands down her arms. Her wide eyed-gaze met and held his, as his hands reached her wrists, gripping them tight. There was a small “plonk” sound as she dropped the diamond and it hit the flat, industrial carpet.