He stopped and turned to look at me, amused at my disbelief. Seems like I’d forgotten to walk again.
“Poor kids,” I grumbled and walked on.
“Poorkids? You mean the half-witted, hormone-filled morons that practiced the art of whining like it’s part of the curriculum?” He scoffed.“Ihad to grade their papers. It was excruciating,” he breathed as if in pain.
I rolled my eyes at him as I passed him. “You are very dramatic.”
It was his turn to gape atme. “One kid handed in an assignment that was about three hundred pages thick.”
“That’s impressive.”
“Yeah, I thought so too. But when I opened it, it was a flip doodle of him crashing into the sun and burning up.”
I laughed. “So, you failed the poor guy.”
“No. I gave him a B.” Grayson shrugged. “There was an astronomical element, and the drawing was factually correct. The kid was toast.”
I snickered. “Then I take it back. You were a great professor.”
Grayson grinned mischievously. “Yeah, but I’m a better thief.”
“I wouldn’t brag about that.” I pulled my face as if embarrassed for him, which had him throwing his head back, laughing.
It should be illegal for a man to be that sexy. I looked away, in hopes of regaining my sanity. Gods, I couldn’t be thinking of him like that.
My walking stick caught on a root as I was about to lean on it for stability, and I lost my balance. I could do nothing but close my eyes and brace for impact. But I never hit the ground. Grayson had caught me in one arm, pulling me up against him. His body was warm and firm where it pressed against mine. I looked up to see him grinning down at me, his face closer than I expected. He didn’t move away or let go of my waist. He reached up and brushed the hair from my eyes. “You good, Princess?”
I stared back at him, a little dazed, a little breathless. “Yes, thank you.”
His eyes drifted to my lips and my stomach made flip-flops.
I cleared my throat and pushed away from him, only to stumble again, to which Grayson caught me. It was impossible for my cheeks to get any redder.
He seemed to enjoy how flustered I was. And he had no intention of stepping back out of my personal space.
“Don’t look at me like that,” I grumbled, pushing away from him.
“Why not?” His hands hovered over me until he was sure I was steady.
My stomach was still making flip-flops. “You look at me like…” I couldn’t even say it. What the hell was happening? “You were so awful to me, and now… This feels weird. It’s…” I ran out of words for how messed up this was.
“Twisted? Sick? Absolutely perverted?” Grayson offered with a smirk, tugging a strand of loose hair behind my ear. He stepped back, clearing his throat. “We’re almost at the cabin. Not much further.” His voice was rough. It sent sparks up and down my spine.
I nodded, not trusting my own voice, and walked on. He was quiet, deep in thought, and I wondered if his thoughts were about me. When I couldn’t stand the silence anymore, I asked, “So… stole anything interesting lately?”
He looked up at me, a bit dazed, as if he had forgotten I was there. So maybe he wasn’t thinking about me. “Mmm…” He thought about it. “There’s a Van Gogh in the cabin.”
I was gobsmacked. It was the famous sunflower one. I had seen it hanging next to the bookcase, but I thought it was a copy. A fake. Like most normal people had who admired a famous artist’s work. “If you’re serious, which I’m having my doubts, isn’t it supposed to be in special conditions to preserve it or something?”
“We store it in a special case when we’re not there. But it’s supposed to be admired. Isn’t that one of the fundamentals of art?”
“What else have you stolen? How long have you been doing it?” I was flabbergasted. I didn’t expect them to steal such high value, famous pieces. It struck me that I knew nothing about Grayson and his friends. Even with all the things he had revealed to me, I still knew nothing. There was afucking Van Gogh hanging in their cabin, as if it meant nothing. Just part of the décor, I guess.
“I’d rather not tell youallmy secrets, Princess.”
I scoffed. “You do seem to have a lot of them.” I chewed on my cheek. “Then tell me what’s your net worth. As a thief, I mean.”
He gave me a wicked smile. “Oh, I’d say a few billion, not counting the priceless items.” He brought his finger up to his lips, playfully signalling for me to keep it quiet, a secret.
