Romance of a Robbery: Thieves of Desire Book 5, page 20
The smile that lit Annabelle’s face was actually worth him giving in to Hargreaves, something he had never thought possible. She took his arm and practically dragged him out of the room, especially when the chains that had been around his feet and ankles fell to the floor, and they hurried out before the warden gave any thought to just how they had miraculously fallen away.
They walked back through the dank corridors, their footsteps fast even as they were sloshing through the mud. If nothing else, Arie enjoyed the thought of Hargreaves having to spend any amount of time in here, although he was sure he would be hearing about this for the rest of his life.
When they neared the entrance, the warden stopped them before they ventured out through the night.
“Don’t go far, Hondros,” he said, “You may be under the protection of a duke for now, but that doesn’t mean that you won’t be back.”
Arie had enough control not to turn around and say anything, although his entire body was nearly shaking in anger. He wished he knew the warden’s identity, for he would like to show the man just what happened when a man crossed Arie Hondros.
“Do not even think about it,” Hargreaves said, as he practically pushed Arie down the stairs. As soon as they were out into the street, Wade, Xander, Juliet, and Damien appeared from the shadows, seemingly not surprised to see them all together.
“Did you know about this?” Arie growled, and Wade grinned at him, well aware how annoyed Arie would be that Hargreaves had been the one to rescue him.
“We had another escape attempt planned, but we saw Hargreaves go in and thought we would wait it out and see what happened,” Wade said. “I don’t think we’re ever going to forget this one.”
“No, we most certainly will not,” the duke said in clipped tones, his head inclining ever so slightly toward Arie, although he didn’t completely look at him. “You are lucky that I love your sister as much as I do.”
“I told Pine to relay the message that you were not to come for me,” Arie said as the duke’s carriage pulled up in front of the prison.
“We never received such a message,” the duke said, looking Arie up and down before turning his head to the carriage. “Nor would it have mattered.”
“We can take a hack,” Annabelle offered, obviously equally aware that the duke would have no wish to have them in his carriage, as filthy as they were.
“No.” The duke sighed. “You best all get in.”
While Hargreaves had one of the most spacious carriages in all of London, it was certainly a tight squeeze by the time they all piled in, especially with Damien’s broad shoulders taking up half of one seat. As they tried to fit, Annabelle had finally stood up and sat down right in Arie’s lap. It had been natural to wrap his arms around her waist, and, in the darkness, close his eyes and rest his head against her back, breathing her in, grateful for the very fact that she was here, and they were together again.
Even if he had no idea for how long that would be.
* * *
Annabelle couldn’t stop touching him.
She hadn’t known if she would ever see Arie again, and here he was, sitting next to her – not in his usual solitary chair from where he reigned and she could only sit in the chair next to him, but here on the sofa, of all places.
When they had walked into the sitting room of his house, Diana, Grace, and Calli had rushed toward them, full of questions.
Arie had held up his hands, insisting that they give him some space and then they would share everything, to which Diana said she would make tea. Annabelle had begun to walk toward the chair that had become hers for these family gatherings, but Arie had stopped her.
He had wrapped his arm around her shoulders and pulled her toward the sofa. The entire family had matching looks of surprise on their faces, but no one said anything, all apparently understanding that to do so would only cause Arie to reconsider, and from what Annabelle could tell, they appreciated his recent touch of humanity.
Annabelle had done her best to answer everything asked, as neither Arie nor the duke seemed particularly interested in providing the answers. Apparently, the fact that the two of them had worked together was not, in their minds, worthy of celebration.
She had just finished when there was a knock on the door and they all stiffened as Diana went to answer it, opening the door a crack.
Her shoulders sagged in some relief when she saw who it was, and she opened it to allow the solicitor, Mr. Pine, to come inside. He was certainly an attractive man with obvious fine breeding, but Annabelle now only had eyes for one man.
“Pine,” Arie said with a nod.
“Good to see you somewhere besides Newgate,” he said as he walked into the room, taking Arie’s throne–chair. “I’m glad to see you out, and that you accepted help from your brother-in-law here.”
Annabelle nearly laughed when Arie only grunted his response.
“You could still be charged if the trustees of the museum board hold you responsible for the theft,” Pine said, sobering. “They have quite a bit of weight on their side, the most coming from the Duke of Breckenridge. Perhaps, Your Grace, if you are able to talk to him—”
“No,” Arie said, shaking his head, and Annabelle could have smacked him. Fortunately, Calli stepped in first.
“Arie, you need to pull your head out of your ass,” his youngest sister said, causing her husband to sit up straight and eye her with a bit of trepidation, but Annabelle could have sworn there was also some heat in his eyes. “If it wasn’t for you, we would all be out on the streets somewhere, if we were even still alive. Sure, there have been times when we have been less than pleased with you as you always seem to be determined to annoy us to the best of your ability, but, at the end of the day, we know that you love us, even if you won’t actually say so.”
Annabelle could see the uncertainty playing in his eyes as he looked up at Calli, his fingers splayed against each other in his lap.
“All we are asking is that you let someone else help you for a change,” Calli continued, warmed to her topic now. “Yes, Jonathan is doing this for me, that’s a fact, but I need you to accept this, Arie, for I love you and I cannot allow anything to happen to you. I hope you know that. We all need you here with us. We cannot lose you.”
Arie was silent for a moment as the weight of Calli’s words descended around the room. He reached out and grasped Annabelle’s hand, squeezing it as he surveyed the rest of them, finishing with a leveled gaze at the Duke of Hargreaves.
“Very well,” he said, his voice almost gravelly as he choked out the words. “If you can put a word in, Hargraves, I’d appreciate it.” He paused, the rest coming slowly. “You all put yourselves at great risk in your bid to help me, and I appreciate it more than you could ever know. Thank you for that.”
“Of course,” Xander said, his grin somewhat cheeky. “Besides, you always compensate us quite fairly.”
“Xander!” Juliet hissed, but Xander laughed and before long they were all wearing smiles as they chuckled, the stress of all that had led up to this, of the theft itself and, finally, of Arie’s arrest, breaking. Annabelle’s smile slowly faded, and her eyes widened when she realized that even Arie was wearing a smile, as slight as it was.
“One more thing,” Xander said, lifting a finger. “In the meantime, we, ah, have provided some fair credit to Burns’ assistant. All should soon know that she had a hand in his writings and discoveries.”
“I’m glad to hear it,” Arie said with a grin, even though he realized that he didn’t really care about the retribution any longer, although he did enjoy seeing the wrongs righted. “Now, if you’ll excuse me, I need to go wash off Newgate Prison,” Arie said, standing but not letting go of Annabelle’s hand. “And I’m going to take Annabelle with me.”
There were hoots and hollers and whistles, causing heat to rise in Annabelle’s face, which she knew must be completely crimson. But she didn’t care.
She had Arie, and that was all that mattered.
CHAPTER 29
Arie went to work filling the bath himself. Annabelle helped him, even when he told her to sit down, that she had done more than enough.
But she insisted, and soon enough the water was steaming hot.
He stripped out of his clothes, tossing them straight into the fireplace, for he never wanted to see them again.
He didn’t miss Annabelle watching him with wide eyes, and he managed a smug smile for her as he dipped himself into the water, closing his eyes and letting his head fall back against the side with a sigh as he did.
When he opened his eyes, it was to find Annabelle busy preparing other clothes for him to wear afterward – but he wasn’t going to need those anytime soon.
“Annabelle,” he said, his voice firm and she lifted her head to him.
“Yes?”
“There’s room for one more.” He widened his legs, showing her the space between, just enough for her to fit into.
“Are you sure?” she asked, her voice just above a whisper, and he nodded.
“I’ve never been more sure of anything.”
He wasn’t just talking about the bath, something she seemed to realize as well.
She hastily removed her own clothing, Arie watching her carefully the entire time. She let her layers fall to the floor, shivering as she stepped over to him and then into the bathtub, taking his offered hand. She sat facing him, her jaw set, and Arie waited patiently as he knew she had something to say.
“Arie, I–I don’t know how to thank you,” she said from below full lashes, her gaze directed somewhere around the top of his chest.
“Whatever for?”
Her eyes lifted to his now, and he nearly lost himself in their blue depths.
“For sacrificing yourself for me. I could have easily gone to prison in your place and would likely have been set free, but the fact you were determined to go instead… that says something, Arie, and I wanted you to know how much I appreciate it. And there’s something else. Something that I need you to know, even if you don’t want to hear it.” Her jaw set stubbornly, tugging at his heart. “I love you. I love every stubborn part of you, and even if you have no desire to be with me, I’m going to be ready, waiting for you to realize that we are better together than apart. To know the other one is out there, walking around the world, would be more painful if we were to ever lose one another. Do you understand me?”
No matter how hard he tried, Arie couldn’t help the smile that tugged on his lips, as it stretched out until an all–encompassing grin covered his face.
“Arie!” she gasped. “You’re—you’re smiling.”
He lifted his hands to her face. “Indeed I am, Annabelle,” he said, wrapping his legs tightly around her hips, pulling her in toward him. “Because I realized something as I sat there in that cell, believing that I was about to lose my life.”
“What was that?”
“That I love you. And as much as that scared me – it still does – I find that I no longer have it within me to let you go, even if I want to. I honestly do not know what you see in me, but I’ve realized that I need to stop trying to understand it and just accept it. I cannot tell you what is waiting for us for the future, but I can promise you this. You will come above everything, and if that means we need to give up this life, then so be it.”
Annabelle was breathing hard now, her eyes wide as she stared at him, her fingers around his neck, playing with the hairs on the back of it and causing him to shiver as the water lapped against his chest and her breasts.
“It’s not that I am not happy to hear it, Arie, but I have to know… what changed?”
He cleared his throat. It wasn’t easy sharing this all with her, saying it aloud or hearing the words, but she deserved to know.
“It was when I realized that I no longer cared about what happened to the statues, as long as you were all right. That the thought of never seeing you again made my life not worth living any longer. When I finally – as Calli would say – got my head out of my ass and realized that I was the only thing that was in the way of living the best life I could ever imagine, which would be one with you.”
She sniffed, and a tear began to fall from her eye, and Arie groaned aloud. “Aw, hell.”
She both laughed and cried, then, as she drew him in closer to her. “I love you, Arie.”
“I love you too, Annabelle,” he said. “And I have something to ask you.”
“Yes?”
“Would you be my wife? In truth this time?”
“Oh, Arie,” she said against his lips. “Of course.”
He sighed into her, his hands sliding down from her shoulders, over her back and into the water, until they settled beneath her bottom and pulled her up against his rapidly growing erection.
“Good. I suppose we should make a trip out to see your parents first, make it all official and what not.”
“I would love that,” Annabelle breathed.
“I was also thinking…”
“Yes?”
“You wore the necklace home, did you not?”
“I did,” she said, considering how one piece of jewellery had caused so much to go both right and wrong.
“I was thinking we could maybe take it apart, melt down the gold, and create a ring out of the lapis. A reminder of what brought us together, but how it also changed into something that is perhaps not better or worse but just… different.”
“That’s perfect,” Annabelle said, loving the idea. As he spoke, designs were already flying through her head. “I love it.”
“Good,” he growled. “I think that’s enough talking now. Time for me to show you how much I love you.”
He reached a hand between them, stroking her as he leaned his head down and took her lips with his. The kiss was sweet but also held a touch of urgency and desperation as his lips moved over hers, in time with his thumb on the center of her. He slipped one finger in her, then two, before he placed his hands on her hips and lifted her up and on top of him, so that she was settled above him.
Unsatisfied with the lack of space in the bathtub, Arie brought his hands beneath her and in one smooth motion that sent a flood of water to the floor, lifted her from the tub, stepping out and depositing her on the bed. She shivered, although whether it was from cold or anticipation, he wasn’t sure. He wrapped a blanket around her shoulders anyway before he lay down overtop of her, still held tight within her, and began to move.
He meant to be slow, steady, loving, but he couldn’t get enough of her, and he began to thrust into her without any reserve, allowing himself to be as free as he had finally allowed his love for her.
When she began to clench tightly around him, he rode the waves before coming along with her, spilling his seed deep inside of her as he clutched her close, never wanting to let her go.
They lay there for a moment before she whispered, her breath tickling his ear, “Arie?”
“Yes.”
“It seems a shame to waste hot water, doesn’t it?”
He laughed at the practical woman. “Yes, I believe it does.”
He helped her back into the water, sinking into it with her.
“There’s something else.”
“Yes?” she said, her eyes widening as if wondering what more there could be.
He lifted his hands, cradling her face. “I need you to know that even if I sometimes don’t say it like I should, I do appreciate you, Annabelle. You’ve done more for me than I could ever have asked for, and it… well, it means a lot.”
“Thank you, Arie,” she said, her lips curling. “There’s only one other thing I need from you.”
“Anything.”
“Don’t ever get arrested again.”
She held up a finger with such seriousness on her face that he couldn’t help but laugh.
And oh, did it ever feel good.
EPILOGUE
The sun spilt through the clouds, casting its beams through the windows to rest on the statues that surrounded them.
The figures, which had lived thousands of years and had crossed the ocean from Greece to England and back again, were home.
The entirety of the Hondros family wandered the room, taking it in, enjoying the moment together after their host had left them.
He hadn’t said anything – had simply showed the tourists around – but it was there, unspoken in his eyes. He knew who they were. What they had done. And when he nodded at them and shook Arie’s hand, there was a thank you in his eyes, one that meant more to Arie than he could ever properly explain.
“They are incredible,” Annabelle said, looking around the room, her eyes finally coming to rest on Arie.
They were, it was true. Here, back in Greece where they belonged, the statues seemed at peace. They had not been placed in their original home as there had been too much destruction and they would have been at too much risk. But they, along with other pieces that had been salvaged from the wreckage, had been homed in a museum nearby, the room constructed just for them with rock from their original temple.
It was perfect.
Even the duke seemed impressed, although he vowed that if anyone asked, he had never set foot in this room, had nothing to do with these statues or their whereabouts.
“I’d like to thank all of you,” Arie said, looking out on his family, his voice, just slightly raised, causing the rest of them to drop whatever conversation they had been a part of and listen. “None of this would ever have been possible without you, that much is certain.”
Between the good word Hargreaves had put in for him with the Duke of Breckenridge and the case Pine had built for him, in addition to Arie actively preventing any evidence from surfacing that could tie him to the theft, Arie had managed to avoid any further prosecution. The magistrate had told him that he was watching him, but Arie was slowly managing to get the man on his side, providing him with a few favors here and there.
“There is something I have come to realize, however,” he said, scratching his temple, feeling quite uncomfortable in sharing this, but aware of how much it would mean to his family to do so. “As much pleasure as it gives me to see these statues here, what is even more important is all of the people in this room. I know I didn’t exactly make it easy for most of you to be together…”
