Read Online Steal the Light (Thieves) by Lexi Blake - Free Book Online

“Especially once you toned it down slightly.”
    The valet pulled up in Dev’s black Audi A8. I walked to the passenger side, but Dev raced in front of me.
    “Please, let me,” he said as he opened the door. “I’m going to take you to one of my favorite places in the world. You’re going to love it.”
    I got into the car as gracefully as my dress would allow, and Dev shut the door with care. In a moment, we were driving into the night.
    “I’m really glad you knew the trick with the clothes,” he said, returning to our previous discussion. “I don’t know what would have happened if you hadn’t.”
    “I can guess what might have happened.” Daniel might have found his piece of iron and shoved it in a couple of creative places. Faeries are sensitive to iron, and given Daniel’s own “sensitivities,” I thought he might have been a bit more diplomatic. Daniel forced me to sell a lovely set of silverware because the sight of it disturbed him. Now I wished I’d at least kept the steak knives.
    Dev turned, and his eyes were wide with questions. “Yeah, what was up with the big scary vampire? Is he your brother or something?”
    “I just work with him,” I muttered, not wanting to go into it. “Don’t worry about him. He’s not very friendly. I’m really sorry I had to hit you with all those people. I didn’t mean to have a greeting committee with me. They just sort of showed up.”
    “It’s all right. I think it’s great you have a bunch of people who care about you. Trust me. It’s better than the alternative.”
    “The alternative being?” I asked out of curiosity.
    “The alternative being completely cut off from your family and friends because they don’t approve of your lifestyle choices.” His mouth was set in a firm line as he made a right turn.
    “Did that happen to you?” I was surprised. The Fae tended to bond strongly. Their relationships were passionate and family units were close.
    The lights of downtown danced all around us. Though there were hundreds of people on the road and walking around the city streets, I felt like Dev and I were the only ones who mattered. There was a sweet intimacy to being next to him and talking about his past.
    His hands tightened on the steering wheel. “I should just get that out on the table to start with. I’m the black sheep of my family. My mother no longer speaks to me. My father died a long time ago. My brother does what Mother tells him to. I am formally an outcast, so if you’re interested in Fae life, there’s not a lot I can do for you. The only ones of my kind who still speak with me are Ingrid and her husband.”
    “Wow, did you burn a forest down or something?” I asked, thinking of the worst crime a faery could commit.
    “No, it’s much worse. I chose to leave the sithein and move to the city.”
    “You live here permanently?” Faeries usually can’t stand to be surrounded by concrete and steel. It bothers them on a fundamental level. They can visit if they need to, but they never stay for long.
    “I have a great condo.” He glanced my way, a sad smile on his face. “My father was human. I always seemed to be more attuned to my human half than my brother. I was more…fragile. You should have seen my mother’s face when she realized she had given birth to a mortal. My brother takes after her, you see.”
    “That must have been hard.” Most halflings took after their Fae relations from what I understood. Dev should have been looking at a long life, but those pesky human genes had screwed him.
    Dev pulled the car into a downtown parking garage. “I left five years ago, and I haven’t looked back. I rarely rely on magic. I prefer to use my human talents. Especially since my human talents don’t get me into the kind of trouble I got into earlier.”
    “So why did you use them tonight? I mean, not to inflate your ego, but you really don’t need glamour.”
    He pulled the car into a slot next to the elevator. He shut