Richie's mouth is filthy, Kate quickly discovers. It's a nice complement to his nimble fingers when they're alone in a cheap motel or one of their rooms at Jacknife Jed's, but a dangerous distraction on a job.

Not that the bastard gives a damn.

It's never been their favorite tactic, but occasionally they require a "hostage" to facilitate an escape. Kate comes in handy in more than one instance. And Richie takes full advantage, grasping her firmly against his chest every time, curving down to her ear to whisper things that make her face flush and her thighs clench.

"You have no idea what you do to me, Kate," he murmurs in a bank lobby in the middle of Arkansas one day, his breath hot against the side of her throat. "You have no idea what I'm going to do to you when we get home."

There's cops outside with guns that'll be aimed straight at us the second we set foot outside, so can you control yourself for five fucking minutes, she wants to hiss back, despite the heat flooding her. The bank employees are looking at them and they think Kate—who they know as Erica—is just an unfortunate victim chosen by this particular Gecko brother to torment.

If only.

"Do you want me to tell you what I'm going to do, Kate?" Richie continues, voice low and husky. "Where I'm going to start?"

"Please," Kate whimpers.

"Please what?" Richie breathes out, and she can practically feel the smirk on his lovely mouth.

Almost too late, Kate remembers that they're in the middle of a heist.

"Please stop," she begs. "Please… don't hurt me."

Richie chuckles, soft and dark.

"Do you really want me to stop, Kate?" He adjusts his grip on her shoulder, subtly pressing his hips against her back. He's hard, not that she's surprised in the least. "I can smell how wet you are, sweetheart. Are you wet for me?"

"Please—" she starts to whine, because she is. She's practically dripping.

"Richard," comes Seth's disapproving voice, and Kate knows it's not entirely an act. He's returned from the vault, branch manager in tow. "Stop bothering the hostages. You're up." He shoves the manager to the floor, giving his brother a dirty look.

Kate feels Richie's shoulders tense behind her and hears him take one long, slow inhale in her hair before he releases her, taking the opportunity to brush his lips across her ear as he does so. She shakily sinks to her knees, then lets herself collapse to her belly on the floor as she tries not to think about how glazed over she's sure she looks.

"Erica," Spencer whispers from beside her. "Are you okay? What did that weirdo want?"

Kate has to almost physically bite her tongue to keep from defending Richie out of reflex before she answers, praying Spencer will take her trembling voice as the fear it should be rather than arousal that it is.

"N-Nothing," she whispers back. "He was just—"

"Quiet down front," Seth barks. He really is good at his job, and thank God for it, because Kate's scrambled brain can't seem to come up with a lie. Her mouth snaps shut with a click just as Seth squats in front of them, gun pointed vaguely in Spencer's direction. "Do I need to remind you of the consequences of talking, princess?" he demands.

Kate keeps staring at the floor, just as Richie and Seth had told her to do, and shakes her head.

"Good girl," he says cheekily, giving her head a quick pat. He stands up, gun still pointed at the floor. "Now, folks, we are so close to done here I can practically taste it. As soon as my brother clears the vault out, we are gonna waltz on outta here like it's a fuckin' cotillion."

His arrogance would be infuriating if it wasn't such a comfort.

The bank's landline phone rings while Richie is in the vault creating his art, which Seth ignores. She knows it's the police, wanting to negotiate with them for the hostages' safety. She can still hear the sneer in Seth's voice when he'd explained it after it happened during a different job.

She listens to the steady sound of his pacing as she lays still, trying not to roll her eyes or huff out of boredom.

"Pssst," Spencer hisses. He actually enunciates the whole thing. God is Seth gonna laugh hearing that when she tells him later. If she times it right, she can probably get beer to come out of his nose.

Kate shushes Spencer softly.

"I'm gonna get up and take that guy down while the other one is gone," he breathes.

"No!" Kate says, sharp and quiet, shaking her head frantically. "You know our policy says that we should comply with demands." She says it almost automatically, genuinely fearful for Spencer's safety. Seth won't shoot the kid unless he absolutely has to, but he'll have no qualms whatsoever about punching him a few times.

Then three things happen in quick, blurred succession:

The first is that Spencer climbs quickly to his feet and begins to dash toward Seth.

The second is that Richard chooses that moment to reenter the lobby of the bank, carrying two duffel bags, which he quickly drops in favor of his beloved pearl-handled pistol.

The third is Kate scrambling to her feet as fast as she can after Spencer.

Then there are a few beats of time, punctuated by Spencer reaching Seth, getting hit in the face, and falling on his ass. Another beat and Richie has Kate in his arms, gun aimed at a squalling Spencer.

"Brother, the bags," Richie says.

"You broke my nose!" Spencer groans. His voice is nasally. She can see blood dripping from his hands where they gingerly cup his injury.

"Try that shit again and I'll break the rest of your face," Seth snarls back. Kate watches, frustrated, as he tucks his gun away in the waistband of his pants and trots to the bags with their loot. "Cops called while you were working, Richard. They're here."

"That means you're coming with us, sweetheart," Richie says. There's no mistaking the satisfaction in his tone as he pulls her tighter against him. He's still hard.

Of course he is, she thinks.

"Walk, sweetheart," he orders, pressing her forward.

Her poor coworkers. She hadn't been planning on coming back anyway, but now they're going to think it's because she's been abducted by degenerate thieves. She feels a little bad knowing she's going to be worrying them; she is fond of most of them.

Her hands raise to their by now familiar spot clutching Richie's sleeve, just like she had the first time he'd used her as a hostage—a real one that time—to get away from the cops.

Oh, how times change.

Richie lets her go once they're out of view. Seth is hot on their heels, pausing only to tell everyone to close their eyes and count to sixty before getting up, but he still cups her chin in one hand and kisses her.

"Be a good little hostage and you'll get rewarded," he promises.

"God," Kate moans, brushing the back of her hand teasingly against his erection.

"Nope, just me," Richie replies, one side of his wicked mouth curling up smugly. His intense blue eyes pierce her as he adds, "But you can still worship me later."

"Let's get a move on, folks," Seth deadpans as he sweeps by them, burdened with their loot and equipment. He steps aside at the back door, raising an eyebrow at his brother as he waits impatiently for him to open it. Richie's smirk doesn't falter as he takes his time pulling the car keys out of his pocket and jingling them in Seth's face.

Kate resumes her place against Richie with an eye roll.

"Everybody ready?" she asks. The boys nod at her. She fixes her face into a mask of fear and turns the knob.

"Drop your weapons or I'll kill her!" Richie shouts as they exit the building. It's an utterly empty threat—his gun isn't even aimed at her; it's pointed toward them—but the cops don't need to know that. He doesn't hesitate, pressing the button for the trunk and striding briskly to the car.

Seth throws the trunk lid all the way open, hurls the bags inside, and takes the keys from Richie to climb in the driver's seat.

"The seats are popped for you, just wait a little while before you come out," Richie tells her. "I'll make it up to you later."

"You better, Richard," she answers before settling into the trunk. The last thing she sees before the lid closes on her is his apologetic blue eyes.

"Only the best for you, Kate."


Later, after they've abandoned Seth—or has he abandoned them for some tall, leggy brunette?—they sneak back to their motel room.

"Only the best for you, Kate," he echoes his vow from earlier, adding, "Especially rewards."

And when he descends on her, hands and tongue and that delicious, filthy mouth, it is a fine reward indeed.