Rebellious Surrender by Zoe Blake

Chapter 12

Istanbul, Turkey - Three months later

Walkingfrom the cool interior of the villa into the bright sunshine, Mirage lowered her sunglasses over her eyes and scanned the pool area for Paine. The cedar wood patio felt warm beneath her feet as she made her way to the northern corner which was shaded by the dark green leaves of several hazelnut trees.

“Coffee.” Mirage handed him a warm mug before settling onto the thick cushions of the lounge chair next to him.

“Thanks, love.”

Turning her head to the side, she glimpsed at the open laptop on the small table between them.

“Still reviewing the Turkish coup files?”

“I still find it hard to believe The Syndicate was actually involved in that mess. Makes sense now why they sent you to basically gather any evidence of their involvement.”

“Told you I didn’t start the coup,” joked Mirage.

Paine smiled, leaning over to push an errant, glossy blonde curl behind her ear as he always liked to do, before returning to the computer.

Mirage stretched and tilted her head back to catch the sun’s warmth. Her thoughts wandered over the whirlwind events of the last three months. They’d been barely out of Antwerp before The Syndicate reached out to them. Mirage informed them that in the event of the death of either her or Paine, the flash drives would immediately be distributed to every major government head and corporation around the globe. The Syndicate would be completely exposed. Ruined.

The Syndicate immediately changed their tune, apologizing for the miscommunication regarding the kill contract. Stating it was the ill-advised, over-zealous efforts of a low-level employee. Whether they were a mastermind criminal organization or a big public corporation, companies were all the same. Pass the buck and deflect blame.

Once the threat of a bullet to the head was gone, Mirage went about fixing the damage she had wrought. Since they were already in Belgium, the first thing they did was break into the museum in Brussels and steal back the fake Vermeer. She then arranged to have the original stolen one, which she had tucked away in one of her flats in London, returned to Paine’s client. After that, the rest was just a matter of a well-placed word here and a little money there and Paine’s reputation was restored.

Curiously, Mirage was surprised at how much she enjoyed working with Paine. She’d always thought she had to work alone to stay in complete control. Through Paine she was learning to loosen the reins a bit, that life was more fun when you let in a little chaos. Oh, she still pushed his buttons. Still loved to make him angry. She was addicted to the adrenaline rush of pleasure and pain that came from making him chase her. The feel of his hands when he forced her down on the bed, ruthlessly pushing her legs open wide so he could drive into her. Oh yes, that part of their relationship would never change.

The harsh ring of Paine’s cell interrupted her seductive train of thought.

“Hey, Logan.”

“Hello, Logan,” chimed in Mirage.

“Mirage says hello.”

“Tell the black widow I say hello back,” Logan returned.

“What’s up?”

“Well, they’ve doubled their offer. They’re willing to split the take fifty-fifty if you and Mirage agree to do the job together.”

The Syndicate had been contacting them relentlessly over the last few months. There were few thieves who had Paine’s special skill set or Mirage’s abilities, and they were having a hard time filling the void left by their absence. As with most things, money forgave all ills. The Syndicate wanted them back in the field. In an amusingly ironic way, the fact that they had successfully broken into one of the most secure vaults in the world actually put them in higher esteem with The Syndicate, despite the fact that it was their vault Paine and Mirage had robbed.

Mirage sat up and started to nod her head. Their time at the pretty yellow stucco villa in the hills of Istanbul had been lovely, but she was anxious to get back to the excitement of planning their next heist.

Paine laughed. “Well, it looks like the answer is yes. We’ll head back to London by the end of next week.”

“Now that business is out of the way, I heard you popped the question to the black widow. Chloe wants to know if you got down on one knee like a gentleman?” asked an amused Logan.

“No. I told her she was mine, and I wanted to make it official,” responded Paine gruffly, lowering his voice and trying to turn his shoulders away from Mirage so she wouldn’t hear his response.

She heard.

Mirage hopped up. “That’s not at all the way it happened!”

Snatching the phone from Paine’s grasp, she said, “Logan? He’s lying to you. He got down on one knee. There were tears in his eyes when he told me how much he loved me!”

Her speech came in excited gasps as she was running around the pool trying to avoid Paine’s clutches. Mirage stuck her tongue out at him as she tossed the phone in the air and then jumped in the pool right as he was about to catch her.

Snatching the phone out of midair, Paine said an abrupt, “Gotta go. I have to teach a bad kitten a lesson.” He hung up the phone and tossed it aside before diving into the pool after her.

Mirage gave out a shout of frightened excitement as she tried to swim away.

Paine grabbed her around the waist, forcing her legs to straddle him as they floated in the clear blue water.

Mirage leaned back and tried to splash him. “Let me go, you villain!” she said with dramatic flourish.

“Never.” His mouth descended, capturing her lips for his own.

How the proposal really happened…

Mirage awoketo a warm breeze floating over her bare skin. The breeze ruffled the white gauze curtains which led to the balcony overlooking the Arno River in Florence. She stretched her arms above her head, smiling when she saw the crimson silk tie still wrapped around her wrist from the night before. Shifting her hips, she grimaced slightly at the soreness between her legs. No doubt she had bruises on her hips too from where his strong hands had held her down while he thrust into her from behind. She loved the ruthless violence of his lovemaking. It was so unrestrained and passionate, so unlike the rigid control of her former, now-forgotten existence.

As she moved, she felt something shift between her breasts. Sitting up, she lifted the gorgeous, princess cut pink diamond which now dangled from a silver chain around her neck. As she did so, she noticed a matching large pink diamond on her ring finger.

“Do you like them, kitten?”

Mirage looked up to see Paine leaning against the balcony door. He was dressed in only a pair of blue silk pajama bottoms. His muscular chest with its swirls of hair were on full, enticing display. So were the crescent moon bite marks she had left on his shoulder.

“The Raj Pink diamond?”

Paine stepped into the room to sit on the edge of the bed. With the back of one knuckle, he traced the slope of her breast before picking up the diamond pendant. “There was no way I was going to sell it. I decided to have it cut into a ring and necklace for you.”

Mirage held up her left hand, shifting it to and fro to catch the early morning sunlight, sending rainbows of crystal color dancing across the ring. She bit her lip. “Does this mean you…”

Paine placed a finger under her chin and forced her gaze to meet his. “You’re mine, Miranda. If I have to chase you around the world proving that fact to you, then I will, but I would much prefer to prove it to you here in bed.”

Paine pulled on her hips till she was lying flat, then placed the warm weight of his body over hers. Digging his fingers into her hair, he brushed his lips against her neck. “Who owns you?” he asked playfully as he shifted lower, scraping his teeth against her pert nipple.

Giving him a wicked grin, she said, “Bite me.”

Closing his teeth painfully on her flesh, he gladly accommodated her.

Mirage arched her hips and groaned before placing a hand along the rough stubble of his jaw, saying, “I’m yours, Paine.”

“Do you love me?” he asked.

“I do,” she responded without hesitation.

“Good. Remember those two little words because you will be saying them again soon,” he teased as he nibbled and licked the smooth skin of her neck.

“I don’t remember you actually asking me to marry you.” Mirage’s eyes sparkled with humor. She loved bantering with him.

Paine lifted up to straddle her hips. Grabbing her wrists, he stretched them above her head. Using the tie that was still around her left wrist, he secured them both to the headboard before running his hands over her breasts and down her stomach. Then placing his hands on either side of her head, he leaned down to rasp darkly against her lips, “I’m a thief. I never ask. I take what I want.”

Mirage moaned as she tilted her hips upward. “Take me, Paine.” Then, with a seductive twist to her lips, she whispered, “Make it hurt.”

The end.