I stole from the wrong man

Maya's POV

A dull ache pulsed behind my eyes, making me squeeze them shut again before I dared open them. My tongue felt dry, my head was heavy, and for one second, I convinced myself I was lying in my tiny apartment with Luna yelling at me for oversleeping.

Then my fingers brushed against silk sheets…Silk.

I frowned. We definitely couldn't afford silk. My eyes fluttered open. A crystal chandelier shimmered overhead, scattering the morning light across a ceiling so high it made my apartment look like a storage closet.

I pushed myself up slowly, immediately regretting it when my head throbbed harder.

"What happened?" I pressed the heel of my palm against my forehead and shut my eyes again. Come on... think.

The harder I tried, the more the memories slipped through my fingers.

I remembered pushing through the doors of a crowded bar, annoyed at the world and determined to forget it for one night. I remembered spotting him sitting alone. I should've walked away but I'd smiled.

"Mind if I keep you company?"

I remembered his deep voice, his laugh, our glasses clinking and then...His mouth on mine.

My eyes flew open. "Oh, you've got to be kidding me."

I turned my head and my breath caught. He was beside me…. still asleep.

One arm was thrown carelessly across the bed, the sheets hanging low enough to reveal a chest that looked like it had never missed a day in the gym. The arm draped over the mattress was covered in a sleeve tattoo…a dark, intricate blackwork that climbed from shoulder to wrist in a pattern of interlocking keys, thorned olive branches, and a half-hidden pocket watch.

His face was turned slightly toward me.

God...he was unfairly good-looking.

He had the kind of looks that'd make a woman ignore every red flag waving in front of her.

I studied him for a moment. He had no wedding ring…good, a ridiculously expensive watch sat on the nightstand beside him, his designer suit jacket was tossed over a chair.

He definitely had money and lots of it.

"Well..." I breathed, rubbing a hand over my face. "I may have just hit the jackpot.”

I eased myself off the bed, holding my breath when the mattress dipped beneath my weight.

My dress was lying in the middle of the room like someone had thrown it there in a hurry. Which, judging by the fog in my head…was probably exactly what had happened.

One of my heels sat beside the minibar while the other...I spotted it under a chair. "Fantastic."

I padded across the room, the floor was freezing against my feet. I winced as one of the boards let out the tiniest creek and instinctively looked back at the bed.

I finally found the missing heel hiding beneath the armchair. I hooked a finger through both straps, scooping up my dress.

I reached for my phone, only then noticing it half-hidden beneath the pile of clothes.

The screen lit up as soon as I pressed the power button.

Luna ❤️

Five missed calls and three voice notes.

Where are you? You promised you'd come home….I'm worried….Please text me.

The headache pounding behind my eyes suddenly didn't seem so important.

That kid…She was probably pacing our apartment by now. I'd told her not to wait up for me, but Luna had never been very good at listening when it came to me.

A smile tugged at my lips despite myself. "You're going to kill me," I murmured, already imagining the lecture waiting for me.

I slipped my phone into my bag and looked around the room for the rest of my things.

That's when I saw it…A thick leather wallet sitting beside his watch on the nightstand.

I crossed the room before I could talk myself out of it, picked it up, and flipped it open with practiced fingers.

Inside were neat stacks of crisp bills.

A quiet laugh escaped me. "Sorry, gorgeous," I murmured, glancing toward the sleeping stranger. "My sister's school fees won't pay themselves." I thumbed through the bills, took what I needed, and slipped the wallet back exactly where I'd found it.

The watch was harder to ignore. The face glinted against the dark wood of the nightstand, expensive enough that even I knew it belonged in one of those stores with security guards at the door.

I picked it up, weighing it in my palm. "Guess you won't miss this either.” I also grabbed the cufflinks beside it.

I dropped them into my purse and pulled the zip closed.

Behind me, the mattress shifted. My head snapped around. He moved onto his back, his hand dragging lazily across the empty space where I'd been a minute ago.

I stood still, watching him. Come on...go back to sleep.

He exhaled, turned onto his side, and settled again.

Only then did I realize I'd been tightly clutching the strap of my purse.

I hooked my heels over two of my fingers and reached for the door. Just before I reached the door, I looked back. He hadn't moved, one arm was still stretched across the side of the bed I'd climbed out of, like he'd reached for me in his sleep and never realized I'd gone.

Weird…I wasn't usually curious about the men I left behind. Their names, their jobs, whether they woke up angry or embarrassed, has never been my business. I took what I needed, they got a story they'd probably laugh about over drinks with their friends, and life went on.

That was the thing about being a con artist. You learned not to get attached to the marks.

This one...for some reason, I hoped he wouldn't be too annoyed.

The thought earned a quiet scoff from me. "Get a grip, Maya." I pulled the door open and slipped into the hallway.

The elevator doors slid shut with a soft chime. As the numbers counted down, I finally slipped my heels back on.

The bundle of cash had started to peek out of my purse, so I shoved it deeper. Luna was going to lose her mind when I paid her school fees without borrowing money from anybody….Worth it.

The elevator hummed softly as it carried me down to the lobby.

I had no idea that, by this time tomorrow…I'd be wishing I'd walked out of that room empty-handed.