Read Online Thief: The Scarab Beetle Series: #1 (The Academy) by C. L. Stone - Free Book Online Page B

in a blocking motion, mimicking me. “I let you get away with that first one, but if you’re going to keep hitting me, I’ll get you right back.”
    “Bambi, Raven, cut it out.” Marc bent his knees, and climbed down off of the heater.
    “Stop calling me Bambi.”
    “You should have picked a better name,” Marc said. The corner of his mouth lifted, lighting up his blue and green eyes. “I think it’s adorable. You totally look like a little baby deer.”
    “Bambi is a boy deer,” I said.
    Raven laughed. He lunged at Marc, catching him around the neck, and swooped in, pecking him on the cheek. “‘Cause he’s got a thing for dick.”
    My heart did a flip. A tattooed hunk just kissed tough Marc on the cheek. That was actually kind of hot.
    Marc wrestled himself away from Raven. “Don’t make me sic Bambi on you.”
    The front door to the apartment opened. My tall target walked in, followed by the nerdling Corey, and the cool looking one. Now that Corey and his doppelganger were next to each other, they were clearly related. Brothers, if not twins.
    My target took one look at me, and went straight for the couch, landing his butt into the corner. He sat back, folding his arms over his chest, waiting. He wore a gray shirt that almost matched his eyes, and his jeans were dark.
    Corey’s cerulean eyes lit up as he came in. His T-shirt was black, with Mario Bros written in orange blocks. He did a small wave at me and then addressed Marc. “Where’s bossman?”
    “His door’s closed. Guess he’ll come out when he’s ready.”
    There was shuffling as the space became crowded with all the new bodies. I circled the coffee table and then got turned around as Raven tried to get past me to get to the kitchen. I backed up and Raven walked away, but another pair of hands clasped me by the waist.
    I sucked in a breath. “Sorry,” I said, trying to sidestep since I didn’t know where to stand.
    “Watch where you’re going,” said the cool-looking brother. He kept his hands on my hips, guiding me sideways until I was out of the way. He locked his sad blue eyes on me. “You’re going to get run over.”
    “You either need a bigger apartment or to get rid of this coffee table. It’s too big for the room.”
    “I like the table.” He released my hips and headed to the kitchen. He redirected his attention to the group. “We downgraded mall security,” he said. “All wallets were accounted for. Found them at the food court.”
    My insides vibrated. This was awkward enough, but he was just rattling this off as if I wasn’t standing here and didn’t have anything to do with it. I crossed my arms over my chest. “Why am I here?”
    “Right,” Marc said. “Have a seat, Bambi.”
    I wanted to stand, but my target made to scoot over for me, even though he was already in the corner. I felt obligated to sit, and did so next to him. Corey sat on the other side of me, until his brother came over, and nudged him in the leg. Corey slid down and his brother plopped down next to me.
    I stuffed my arms under my breasts, glaring at Marc. Because of how close the guys next to me were, our thighs were touching. The tall one leaned over to give some more space. The cool doppelganger kept his close. I didn’t want to look like a dork with my legs crossed. I ended up settling for leaning forward with my elbows in my lap. Somehow this made for less direct contact.
    “Bambi, this is Corey, Brandon,” he pointed to the twins. “And this is Kevin.” He motioned to the tall one. “Guys, this is Kayli.”
    “I thought you called her Bambi?” Brandon asked.
    “Yeah,” Corey said. “She told me her name was Bambi. Is that her preferred name? Is it Kayli or Bambi?”
    “It’s not Bambi,” I said, tilting my head back and glaring at the ceiling. Couldn’t blame them too much. I did lie in the first place. “It’s Kayli.”
    “Are you sure?” Brandon asked. “I don’t know. Maybe. You don’t look like a Bambi.