I step back so I can snake my arm around Sylus’s waist, squeezing his taut abs in solidarity. Then I glance at Koen. He’s been silent this whole time, just watching, probably mapping out the line between idiocy and loyalty.
When he finally lifts his gaze to mine, I pull out the big guns and give him my best puppy dog eyes. He stares for a beat, then his jaw ticks, and I swear I see the faintest curve at the corner of his mouth.
“Fine.” Koen leans back in his chair, exhaling through his nose. “Floor plan?”
“I love you!” Sylus shouts, launching himself out of my grip and wrapping Koen in a bear hug that Koen doesn’t return but also doesn’t stop.
Then Sylus spins, grabbing Nicholas to pull him into a hug too. “Come here, Short King.”
“Jesus, warn a man!” Nicholas sputters, holding his hand out awkwardly to protect his coffee.
Levi giggles. “We’re really doing this? Oh my God, we’re doing this!”
Ezra drops his head into his hands, but the smile in his tone gives him away. “Every time I think we’re out of trouble, you idiots drag us right back in.”
I can’t help it, I’m grinning so wide my cheeks hurt, that old familiar buzz humming under my skin.
My heart kicks up as I glance at Ace and find that dangerous little smirk I love so much tugging at the corner of his mouth.
Yeah. I’m definitely not the only one who’s missed a little thrill.
In minutes, the kitchen turns into a war room. Koen sketches routes, Ace strategizes the lift, and Sylus loads pockets with sugar packets for emotional support. By the time we pile into Ezra’s Jeep, even he looks reluctantly ready for crime.
And just like that, we’re off on our ridiculous biscotti heist.
The mission had been a whirlwind, a couple of hours of pure idiocy and unexpected competence, and now Sylus is hauling me into the villa like I’m the stolen loot. He has me slung over his shoulder, his hands gripping my thighs a little too possessively, his fingers inching up under my skirt.
I’m giggling to the point of breathlessness, the kind of high that makes my skin tingle and my heart pound as it did back in Vegas.
“Sylus, put me down!” I protest, but it’s half-hearted. His shoulder is rock hard under me, and every step bounces me against him in a way that’s… distracting.
“Not a chance, Sparkle baby. You’re my prize.” He spins us once, making me squeal.
The others pile in after us. Koen with that quiet, satisfied smirk, Ace looking windswept and dangerously alive, and Nicholas flushed and grinning like he just pulled off the parkour stunt of the century, which he did in some way.
Levi and Ezra are still outside the senior home, dealing with the fucking pigeons.
Sylus finally sets me down in the living room, but only so he can back me against the wall, his body crowding mine. His mouth crashes down on me, tasting like victory and espresso, and it makes me crave more.
More of him. More of the anticipation, the excitement.
I melt into the kiss and fist my hands into his shirt, pulling him closer.
God, the adrenaline is like fire in my veins.
“Shouldn’t we have stayed to help Levi and Ezra?” I gasp when he breaks away to nip at my jaw, his hands already sliding up my sides.
He chuckles against my skin. “They’ll wrangle their poop machines back in no time. Pigeons love drama.” His teeth graze the side of my neck before he bites hard enough to make me gasp. “You were so fucking hot out there. You’re lucky I didn’t drag you into a pantry and fuck you senseless with twenty nonnas and a priest wandering around.”
A shiver races down my spine at the thought, heat flooding every inch of me, and I arch into him. “You wouldn’t.”
“Oh, I would.” His silver eyes darken, hands gripping my hips hard enough to bruise… in the best way. “The way you slipped through that kitchen like a ghost? Picking that book right out of Bianca’s apron after Ace botched the lift? Chef’s kiss. Literally.”
“Botched?” Ace scoffs from behind him. “That was all part of the plan.”
I snort, biting back a laugh. It definitely wasn’t part of the plan for him to freeze mid-lift because he didn’t want to cop a feel of an eighty-year-old grandma.
“But Sylus’s right in one regard. You…” Ace’s fingertip trails down my arm, leaving goose bumps in its wake when his gaze locks onto mine. “The look on your face when you took control and swiped it? So damn hot. Fearless.”
