Read Online Always a Thief by Kay Hooper - Free Book Online Page A

changes.”
    “Morgan—”
    “I'm a big girl, Alex, all grown up and everything. I think I can make decisions about my life. And who to let into it. I think that's what being a grown-up is all about.”
    “Morgan, I'm a
thief
. I break the law. I do bad things. Remember? I am not the sort of man you should let into your life.”
    She lifted an eyebrow at him. “Alex, you can't expect me to believe you're an evil ogre when you won't even let yourself be decently seduced. Any genuine villain would have been in my bed like a shot. Especially a boob man. Which we both know you are.”
    Quinn bowed his head and muttered a string of soft but heartfelt oaths.
    Perfectly aware that he was trying hard not to laugh and trying equally hard to be serious about this, Morgan said gravely, “Look, I'm not an idiot. Yes, you've broken the law, frequently and with a certain amount of panache. Being a law-abiding person myself, I find that hard to understand, much less excuse. I can't even console myself by believing that some tragedy led you into a life of crime in the best melodramatic tradition. You enjoyed your past, and you're enjoying this dangerous shell game now.
    “I've told myself all that. I've been very rational about the situation. And if I were looking for
a happily-ever-after ending, this conversation wouldn't be taking place. Because I know damned well any woman who gets involved with you is asking for trouble. She's also asking for heartache—not because you're an evil man, but because you aren't.”
    Quinn raised his head and stared at her.
    Her amusement gone, Morgan smiled a bit ruefully. “I've tried. I have tried. But I can't seem to do much about this. You'd be damnably easy to love, Alex. Rogues always are, and you're certainly that. But I'm not fool enough to believe I could catch the wind in my hands, so you don't have to worry about me clinging. I don't want golden rings or bedroom promises. Just . . . an adventure. And I won't make it difficult for you. I won't even ask you to say good-bye when it's over.”
    “Dammit, would you stop—”
    “Being noble?” she interrupted, her dry voice cutting through his rough one. “Isn't that what you've been doing?”
    After a moment, he said, “I don't want to hurt you.”
    “I know. And you certainly get nine out of ten for effort.”
    The light comment didn't alter his grim expression. “Ten out of ten, because it stops here.” Each word was bitten off sharply with the sound of finality. “If you want to play in the danger zone, pick some other rogue to show you how.”
    Morgan gazed at the spot where he'd stood long after he was gone. Then, gradually, she began smiling. Things were, she decided cheerfully, definitely looking up.
     
     
    It was nearly midnight as Jared stood restlessly at the window of his hotel room. His suit jacket and tie had long since been discarded, but he still wore his big automatic in its accustomed shoulder holster, and he needed only to pull on a light jacket if he had to leave in a hurry. Which is what he more or less expected.
    It was an unusually clear night for the moment, affording an excellent view of the colorful city lights, but he knew fog was forecast and that it would probably be of the pea-soup variety. Not that the view interested him anyway; his work demanded all the caution of walking a knife's edge, and he had taught himself long ago to focus his concentration. Too often, keeping his mind on business had been a simple matter of life or death.
    When the phone finally rang, he turned instantly from the window and picked up the receiver. “Hello?”
    “I hear things are a little tense between you and Wolfe.”
    Jared relaxed, but only slightly. “And have you also heard that Morgan talks too much?”
    “Yes, I have heard that—but how do you know it was Morgan? It might have been Storm.”
    “I know Storm. She'll talk to Wolfe about me, but she wouldn't talk to you, Max—not about undercurrents.”
    Max