“Can you teach me to do it?” she asked, curiously. “Not that I’m interested in living a life of crime when we get out of here, but it might be a useful talent to have.”
“I can try—if you really want to learn.” He nodded and plucked one of the half-sticks out of her hand. He put it in his own right hip pocket and then made a “come on” gesture with his fingers.
Penny walked towards him, trying not to look at the pocket the stick was in. She was just minding her own business, she told herself. Just in a hurry to get from point A to point B.
As she passed V’rex, she bumped him on the shoulder and reached for his pocket at the same time, all while muttering, “Excuse me.” She had the stick in her fingers when a big hand caught her by the wrist.
“Hey, little lady,” V’rex growled down at her. “What do you think you’re doing?”
He lifted her hand, displaying the half a flavor stick and glared at her until Penny felt like she really had been caught stealing.
“I…I don’t…” she began uncertainly.
“I felt your fingers,” V’rex said, abruptly dropping the menacing growl. “Or I wouldn’t have stopped you. Tell me—what do you do now?”
“Now?” Penny looked at him blankly. “You mean after you caught me?”
“Uh-huh.” He nodded. “What do you do now?”
“I…I’m not sure what you mean.” Penny shook her head.
“Think about it,” he said patiently. “You’re too small to fight me so what can you do?”
“Um…” Penny was still at a loss.
“Either make a scene—start screaming that I’m the one attacking you. Or start crying,” V’rex advised. “Anything that draws attention will make a regular guy feel uncomfortable. Chances are he’ll let you go and then you can make a break for it.”
Penny frowned.
“That seems like an awfully cynical way of thinking.”
V’rex shrugged.
“It’s a way of surviving, sweetheart. You use what you’ve got. Now try it again.”
They practiced until Penny could successfully get the flavor stick out of his pocket without V’rex feeling her fingers, both approaching from the front and standing behind him. The big Hybrid praised her skill and Penny had to admit, it wasn’t one she would have thought of acquiring before now. Not that she really had any use for it.
“Okay, you’ve got it,” V’rex said, when they’d been working on it for a while. “If you ever decide to ‘lead a life of crime,’ as you put it, you’re all set, sweetheart. Just remember, the two techniques I taught you mostly work in big, busy, crowded places. Tram stations are the best because there are always lots of tourists loaded down with luggage and not paying attention to their valuables. That’s the best kind of environment for a clean pick.”
“A clean pick?” Penny raised her eyebrows.
“Meaning your mark never suspects a thing and you can get away quickly into the crowd without them ever seeing your face,” V’rex clarified.
Penny nodded thoughtfully.
“Okay, but what if you wanted to steal something from somebody who wasn’t distracted?” she asked. “Could you do that? I mean, what if you were the only other person in the room and you had no reason to bump into them?”
“That’s doable.” V’rex nodded. “But you have to get a little more personal. Here…” He handed Penny one of the flavor sticks. “Put it in your pocket.”
Penny did and then stood there, staring at him, waiting…wondering what was coming next.
Fifty-Nine
Suddenly, a change came over the big Hybrid’s demeanor. His pale gold eyes went half-lidded and he came to stand much nearer, so their bodies were almost but not-quite touching.
“Hey there,” he murmured, looking down and catching Penny’s eyes. “Been watchin’ you all night.”
“You…you have?” Despite knowing they were just playing-acting, Penny felt her heart begin to speed up as his eyes captured hers.
“Uh-huh…” V’rex leaned a little closer. “Couldn’t help myself. You’re fuckin’ gorgeous—you know that?”
“Oh, uh…” She felt her cheeks getting hot from the way he was looking at her and found she had to look away from his intense gold gaze.
“I hope I’m not making you uncomfortable,” V’rex continued. Lifting one big hand, he brushed her hot cheek with his knuckles, very gently. “You’re just so beautiful I can’t help myself.”
“V’rex…” Penny began uncertainly. “I don’t…”
“Okay, now where’s the stick?” he interrupted, grinning at her.
Penny felt in her pocket and found the stick was gone.
“But I only felt you touch my face,” she protested.
“Because that was all I wanted you to feel,” he emphasized. “When you use the flirt-pick, you keep the mark’s attention where you want it. In that case, I kept it on your face, where I was touching you—not on your pocket, which I was picking.”
He held up the half flavor stick to prove his point.
“I wasn’t kidding though, you know,” he added. “When I said you’re gorgeous.”
Penny bit her lip, uncertain of what to say. She was still half-frightened of the big Hybrid and more than half convinced that any attraction he felt to her must be coming from the ubiquitous Spice in the air. Yet the way he was looking at her made her pulse race. If only he didn’t smell so damn good, she couldn’t help thinking. His dark, spicy scent seemed to draw her to him like a magnet.
“V’rex…” she began, not sure what to say.
“Your turn,” he said. When Penny looked at him in surprise, he put the stick in his right hip pocket and made that “come on” gesture with his hand again. “Okay, sweetheart—I’m your mark. Pick me.”
Heart thumping, Penny came to stand in his space, just as he had come to stand in hers. She didn’t actually have a whole lot of practice flirting. She’d always been a serious academic—never a party girl. Still, she’d had friends who were party girls and she’d seen how they operated at a bar when they wanted a guy to buy them a drink.
“Hi,” she murmured, looking up at the big
