A Thief In The Night

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Izabella

I backed away from him and his all too seductive smile. I had the coin, and it had to be enough. I wasn't willing to fight Bill for the artifact, especially now that I knew what it was and what it could possibly do. He was right, adding more shifters to the world was not the brightest idea.

The coin disappeared into my pocket and I closed the vault behind me. I removed my equipment, and sealed Bill inside. He got in there on his own so I was certain he could get out again.

My clothes shifted to a translucent liquid as it mimicked my skin pigmentation. I all but disappeared from my surroundings. The vent right above the vault door maintained the room temperature for the thermal cameras, but the weakness it presented was easy for me to exploit. I stretched the four feet above me, removed the small vent, shoved my small bag of tools ahead of me, then worked my way inside.

Once I was out of the building, I tripped the bypass on the cameras and let the loop return to normal. The bypass was designed to melt once it was stopped and then evaporate into a chemical vapor. It was expensive magic, but worth it when jobs like these kept me comfortable for several years at a time.

What happened next had me believe in miracles. My contact accepted the coin as if it was exactly what they expected. If Bill could target someone sight unseen, it meant he had a lot of power, magic or both. Whatever it was, that combination was dangerous. I liked to use magic, but I didn't want to be on the receiving end of it if I could help it. Maybe if I followed through with the date, that would be the end of it. He would give me answers as we'd go our separate ways.

That evening, I dressed to entice answers out of him. I wore a spaghetti strap red dress, with a fitted bodice, and a flared skirt, with shoes that matched. I approached Bill's door at eight sharp. He answered before I even had a chance to knock.

"Well, hello. I'm glad you made it."

"Are you?" I tried to hold my nerves in check. Maybe he had already started tracking me somehow. Dawn would be livid if that was the case.

"Well, yes, though it was possible you'd stand me up. I would have been disappointed, but not surprised." He opened the door and waved his hand in the direction of the living room which had lit candles and two glasses of wine waiting on the coffee table. He closed the door and followed me.

"Do a lot of people do that to you?" I asked as I took a seat on the couch and picked up a glass of wine. It was mostly a gesture since drinking it out of the glass he had poured it was an obstacle I didn't want to attempt at the moment.

"No, not recently. I used to date a Biologist. His research eventually took him to another university. He'd spend hours focused on something in his lab and I'd often have to pack up dinner and take it to him." He sat next to me and picked up his glass.

It made sense that a professor would date another professor. It made me curious about his relationship though, and why it ended. I knew from my surveillance that it had been a year since he dated. If he'd brought his partner lunch, it must have been somewhat serious.

"Why didn't you go with him?"

"After a few years, I decided to tell him I was a demon. I had thought we were at a point that it wouldn't have mattered. I was wrong." He took a large swallow of wine, as if to chase the memory away.

"So, Professor, do you go speed dating often?" I asked.

"No, no. That was Shelby's idea. She and I have worked in the same department for years and she knew about Nathan." He paused for a moment. "This is not the conversation I'd thought we'd be having."

"Me either. Shall I change the topic?" I set my glass down.

"Please."

"How did you wipe my employer's memory without affecting me?"

"Ah, now that's a topic I expected," He looked amused. "You, being a thief, having come in contact with me, a demon with an affinity for theft, now have a certain immunity. I knew you wouldn't be affected, so I had no problem giving you the coin. When your employer touched it, the spell was triggered. They won't come looking for the artifact again, if they even remember it. The spell will be triggered every time someone touches the coin and thinks about the artifact."

"Is that artifact the only dangerous thing you are keeping in that vault?" I was surprised more people hadn't come after him, especially if there were more than one item that could be snatched from that location. My guess is that after I broke in he moved everything. That would have been the smart thing to do. It's what I would have done.

"I decline to answer that." His answer made me think I was right about my speculation.

"Am I the only thief that has managed to break into your vault?"

"I decline to answer that too." Oh now I wondered if it was a point of professional pride, since he was a demon of thieves and all.

I shook my head slightly and gave him my best disarming smile. "You are as infuriating as much as you are exceedingly handsome." Annoyed, I stopped my line of questioning.

"Was that an odd way of calling me ugly?" Clearly he didn't think he was all that frustrating. He took another drink of his wine and seemed relaxed when I was anything but relaxed about the situation.

"No. More to point out that you are a paradox. A delightful, frustrating, paradox."

"Oh, well, I could take care of the frustrating part at least." He set down his glass and leaned toward me. My lips found his, and before he could pull away, I deepened the kiss, instantly hungry for the intimacy.

It burned in the best way possible. I felt my frustration melt and desire grow for this odd person that clearly got past my defenses and my own better judgement. For the first time, I felt like someone understood me on a deeper level. He knew what I was and I knew what he was and both of us seemed alright with it. More than alright given how much he seemed to enjoy kissing me. The feeling was mutual.

I shifted on the couch which prompted him to move off the couch and onto his knees in front of me. All the while, he still managed to engage in our heavy lip-lock. His hands drifted up under my dress and I realized, much to my delight, that his palms were dry. My legs wouldn't show the usual skin burns from sweaty palms.

I felt his hands wrap around to my ass. Then he pulled me toward him. The move forced my legs open wider and let him press into me from shoulder to groin.

We were on the verge of more when a buzzer sounded. We kissed a few more times as the stove rang out with another angry bee noise.

"Damn," He pulled back and his hazel eyes were dark with desire as he warred with himself over the responsibility of dealing with the angry buzzing. "I need to see to that, or dinner will be burnt."

"Go, I'm not leaving." I gave him another kiss right before he moved with some alacrity to rescue dinner.