Okay so this chapter is long and it's mostly sex and if you don't like it then too bad you were warned in the description.

Chapter 6: The clock tower

Alia opened her eyes groggily as she began to wake up. As her vision cleared she saw that she was in a place she wasn't familiar with. She was on an old but comfortable bed that was offset in a corner. She flung the blankets off her and realized that she was in only her underwear and the black tank top she usually wore underneath her armor. Her thigh was neatly bandaged where she remembered getting shot by a guard. She painfully swung her legs off the bed and had to wait for her head to stop spinning. She then rose and limped across the dusty wooden floors. She emerged from the little nook to see a giant clock face that towered above her. The massive hands were kept in motion by a central network of steel gears and cogs and wooden beams that reached high above her head and descended far deeper into the floor then she could see with the dim lighting.

There were shelves filled with books and tables littered with maps and diagrams. She leafed through a few and even found a layout of every street in the city. There were crates filled with everything from arrows to food to drawing paper. She slowly made her way across the room and saw a trophy area and around the corner form that was a set of stairs that led to a loft that stood over the area she woke up in. She held her leg for support as she painfully made her way up the stairs. There was an open window, well, more like a decorative hole in the wall, covered by make shift drapes of old thick cloth. She peeked past the covering and gasped when she saw the tops of the buildings of The City sprawling far beneath her basking in the early morning light.

She looked around in wonder as she realized that she was in the clock tower of Stone Market.

One the wall she noticed an array of wanted posters. Some of them looked to be years old, and they each had the same face. She leaned against the end of a table for support, reached her hand out and gingerly traced the lines of Garret's eyes. Whoever the artist was, they definitely captured his signature scowl. She studied each one and the newest one said his capture was worth 10,000 gold. She raised her eyebrows and nodded, impressed. She put two and two together and realized that this must be where he lived, or at least where he hid out and stored his things. She took another look around and laughed to herself. Maybe her teacher was the infamous ghost that haunted the clock tower.

She winced as her leg began to ache from overuse. She decided that it was time to sit down, and turned to collapse into a chair she saw earlier. But when she turned around she was surprised to see Garrett, looking down at her, barely a foot away from her.

"AHH!" She screamed and fell backwards, taking the table down with her. Books and papers were catapulted across the room. She fell hard on her backside, her heart racing from the adrenaline that was now pumping through her. But hey, at least it was blocking out the ache in her thigh.

She looked up to see him sigh and cast his eyes to the big mess she just made. "Idiot."

"Ass." She spat while throwing papers off of her head. She carefully stood, keeping her weight on her good leg. "Is there a reason you decided to sneak up on me?"

He looked at her tiredly. "Sneaking is what I do, I'm a thief remember?"

She narrowed her eyes at him. "I've only ever seen you purposely scare Basso…" All of a sudden she could feel a knowing grin spread wide on her face. "Garrett!" She gasped. "Are we friends?!"

He spun to look at her fiercely. "Don't be stupid." He said, but the way he tensed told her otherwise.

She clapped her hands in front of her. "Aw! And we're already having our first sleepover!" She tried to hide her giggles but she was failing miserably.

"Shut up." He groaned and rolled his eyes.

"Can I paint your nails?"

"Go to hell."

"Can I do your hair?"

"No. Now clean this mess up."

"Sure thing… Friend." She laughed and reached down to try to right the table while he picked up some books off the floor. She winced as she rolled the table back on its legs, a tearing, stinging sensation crawling up her thigh. She looked down at her bare legs to see her bandages were stained bright red with fresh blood. She forgot that she was half naked and realized how dumb she must have looked laughing her ass off in her underpants in front of Garrett. "Shit." She mumbled and held her leg, trying to keep pressure on her now opening wound. Her blood escaped her bandage and began to run down her calf. The next thing she knew her feet left the floor. She yelped in surprise as Garrett swept her up and cradled her in his arms.

"Such a nuisance." He said as he floated down the stairs. Even with her extra weight he moved with the grace of a dancer.

"You're the one who brought me here." She snapped, her face inches from his.

"Oh yes let me, a wanted man, parade down the street to the South Quarter with a woman who's blitzed out of her mind on opiates, and who has an injury that suspiciously coincides with a thief that got shot earlier in a heist." He walked to the edge of the bed and dropped her. She almost bounced completely off if she hadn't caught herself.

While she tried to right herself she felt hands on her hips as Garrett drug her so that her butt was at the edge of the bed. He then pulled up a chair and sat, and draped her bleeding leg across his lap. She wasn't sure when he removed his hood but he did. His hair was dark like his eyes and kept short and messy. He had a threaded suture needle held in his teeth while he tore her useless bandages away. She hissed through her teeth as he cut her old stitches and pulled the old thread through her skin. "Could you at least try to be a little more gentle?" She said as she lay on her back and stared at the ceiling, the rising sun let thin lines of light filter through the planks above her.

He gripped her leg tightly as he began to thread new stitches in her bleeding wound. "Nothing about me is gentle." He said with an icy glance her way. "You should know that by now."

She scoffed. "I've seen the way you pick locks and find secret switches and rooms and disarm traps." She raised her head to look at him. "You can be gentle when you want to be."

He met her eyes curiously. He licked his lips in thought and then continued to work on her thigh, but this time his slender fingers worked tenderly to sew her leg back together. She lay her head back and smiled. "See that wasn't so hard, was it?" She closed her eyes and tried to relax as a needle was being prodded in and out of the meat of her upper leg. She couldn't help but let out a small gasp when she felt his lips and the tickle of his stubble on her as he cut the end of her last stitch with his teeth.

"How's that feel?" He asked quietly as he wiped away the blood with a wet rag.

"Sore…" She said honestly, trying to keep her voice even.

Then she felt his warm hands on her cool skin glide up her thigh almost to her backside and back down to her knee; only applying a slight pressure that did wonders to relax her injured muscle. "How about that?" He asked, a slight strain in his voice.

She felt a shiver run up her spine and small warmth began to rise between her legs. "Good." She whimpered. She was oddly comfortable with him touching her the way he was. Hell, she had daydreamed about it more than once. But her nerves were still on edge. If one thing led to another, well, she certainly wouldn't deny him. But it was also improper for students to sleep with their teachers. She laughed quietly at her own thoughts. Since when does a thief worry about what's proper or not?

"What's so funny?" He asked with a smirk.

"Is it a cliché if I say that you're good with your hands?" She shifted her legs and offered her other one onto his lap. He smiled and began to massage it as well.

"You have no idea how good I am with my hands." He purred. His hand drifted over her hip and up her waist, only to slither back down to her knee. Her heart pounded in her ears. Surely he wouldn't touch her like this if his intentions were pure, and Alia's thoughts were anything but. She didn't just find him physically attractive, he stirred her in ways like no one ever before. Even though he was absolutely indifferent about anything besides his job or his money. She guessed that the old adage was true, women were drawn to the bad boy.

The next thing she knew the bed creaked softly as he rose from the chair to lean over her, his face dangerously close.

"Is this a bad idea?" She asked quietly, making sure not to break his steady gaze.

"Probably." He said simply, his eyes wondering from her eyes to her lips and back again.

"Do you care?" She could feel her face getting hot as one of his hands slipped beneath her shirt, his thumb running over the sensitive flesh on her ribs.

"Not really. Do you?"

"Not right this moment, no." She answered him honestly. Okay, she thought. Her boldness had paid off for her before when it came to Garrett, maybe it would work here, too. She gingerly took his face in her hands and brought her lips to his. The kiss was gentle at first, then he slipped his tongue in her mouth and she could feel the eagerness growing between both of them. She was happy to taste him and not opiates this time. While she tried to scoot herself back onto the bed the right way she pulled the ties of his gloves and tossed them over her head. Out of sight out of mind. His now bare hands slid her more securely onto the bed as he leaned back on his knees and started undoing his belt.

Alia sat up and began to frantically undo the laces and buckles of his harness. When he slipped his belt off his hips he claimed her lips again hungrily. As she pulled the last chord and threw it aside he began to peel off the top half of his armor. She broke the kiss to inspect him and he took the opportunity to bury his face in the crook of her neck. She couldn't stifle a groan, but she didn't know if it was from the feverish kisses on her shoulder or seeing Garrett with no shirt on. Every inch of him was covered in lean, cut muscle. She ran her hands down his chest and stomach, thanking whoever it was that had the sex that made him.

She went to let her hands go down further but a strong hand pushed her down onto her back. "Relax…" He said, his breath hot on her skin. He pulled her shirt up almost to her neck and took her breast in his mouth. A strange, primal sound slipped past her lips as he licked and sucked her nipple to a hard point while his hand slid under the thin material of her underwear and began stroking between her legs.

She had watched him uncover a secret switch beneath the frame of a painting before, and as she observed his skilled fingers sliding behind the smooth wood she wondered if that might be the same way he touched a woman, using his knowing touch until he found that sweet spot and then claim the prize. Now that she was getting a first-hand experience she knew it to be true. She felt him grin against the tender flesh of her throat when he found her spot and dug in mercilessly.

"Such a good girl…" He groaned while she writhed on the bed, the coil deep inside her tightening at an incredible pace. His fingers reached deep inside her while his thumb circled her clit, and the next thing she knew she was clinging to his strong shoulders as she shuddered, her breath catching in her throat. He then wasted no time curling his fingers around her panties and pulling them down her legs, being mindful of her wound. He sat back on his knees, a dark and hungry look in his eyes.

"Lose the shirt." He commanded. His voice was tight, like he was trying to restrain himself. She obeyed, shivering as the cool air hit her bare back. Garrett then slid his trousers down and off his hips, smirking as he saw her looking at his erection. He crawled back up her body, leaving his pants behind and settling himself between her legs and kissed her deeply, his tongue coating hers.

She broke the kiss suddenly. "Wait." She breathed. Garrett looked at her, confused. "When did you take your shoes off?" She asked, looking down his naked body curiously.

He shook his head and chuckled. "Just shut up." He covered her mouth with kisses as his he grabbed a handful of her backside with an almost painful squeeze. He raised her hips to meet his as he worked his way into her, her teeth biting into his shoulder at the sharp pain of her insides stretching to accommodate him. He moaned as his full length touched the back of her walls and he started rolling himself against her in a slow and steady rhythm.

As her body adjusted Alia released her grip on Garrett's shoulders and relaxed into the sheets, arching her back as the pain melted into a delicious pleasure. She moaned along with every thrust of his hips and creak of the bed. His breath was ragged in her ear as he began to pick up the pace and increase the force of his movements in and out of her as he found her weakness and proceeded to exploit it. She couldn't keep her breathing steady as her body once again began the process of climax. She turned her head away only to have him snatch her face and force her to look at him.

"I want to watch." He moaned, his dark brown eyes boring into hers. He grit his teeth as she cried out, the spasm hit her body like a steam engine. She dug her nails frantically into his arms, arching her back to ride the waves of ecstasy that rolled over her, causing her body to shudder beneath him.

Garrett grinned sadistically, having witnessed every twitch and twist of her face as she released. He released her face and kissed her, Alia could almost taste the desperation in his lips. His thrusting became even faster and more erratic as he hooked his elbow under her knee on her good leg and set it at a sharper angle, giving him even more access to her. She watched his eyelids flutter as his eyes started to roll in his head. She could feel him stiffen inside her as he clawed at her flesh. He moaned weakly in her ear as he came, his muscles twitching beneath his skin.

She bit her lip and couldn't contain the grin that spread on her face as she panted to catch her breath. Hearing him whimper in her ear made her realize that even Garrett, the Master Thief, when stripped down to his core was still just a man. That something as basic as sex still had just a strong a hold on him as it did anyone else. It made him seem so much more human and not this magical enigma she had made him out to be in her mind. Although it diminished some of the mysticism, it reminded her that she had him right here in her arms in reality.

Alia was most surprised when he kissed her again; this time with no tongue or lust. It was sweet. He was showing her genuine affection. A warm sensation started at her breastbone and fanned out throughout her shoulders, as if she just felt her heart beating for the first time. She took his face in her hands and kissed him back before he got off of her and they situated themselves beside each other on the bed. She lay on her stomach to try to bend her leg out and get it comfortable. She had no idea how she didn't tear her stitches but she wasn't about to complain. Garrett laid on his side next to her, resting one of his long arms over her waist as he settled his head into a pillow.

"This doesn't change anything." He mumbled drowsily. "I'm not going to cut you any slack when you're ready to start working again just because you're good in bed." She turned to see a cocky grin on his face.

"Oh darn. You've foiled my plans yet again." She giggled, rolling her eyes.

He coiled his fingers in her hair. "Well, one thing changes I suppose…"

"What's that?"

"Now you can expect me to be sneaking in your window for business and pleasure." He purred.

She felt the blood rush to her face. "Wait, what?"

He opened his eyes, a curious look in them. "Well what did you think was going to happen? You don't find a place you like to eat and only go there once. You become a regular."

She could feel herself blush but she didn't say anything. She just laid her head down and let herself fall asleep to the slow breathing of the man next to her.

LATER

When she woke up the sun had already set but the oranges and reds still lingered slightly in the clouds. She sat up and stretched, the muscle in her leg ached but it felt better than it did earlier. She groaned as she reached her arms above her head and arched herself. She sighed when she felt Garrett's fingers touch her skin, tracing the faint lines that she knew laced her back.

"When did this happen?" He asked curiously.

"A long time ago…" She said, shutting down further conversation. She didn't like talking about those scars.

"Fair enough." He said simply. His hand reached around her and groped her chest, pulling her back down onto the bed. He wasted no time in kissing her neck and fondling her body.

She moaned as his hands instantly ignited the heat within her. "Don't you have to see Basso?"

"There's no rush." He said, placing himself between her legs. "I have plenty of time…" He trailed off while he nibbled at her earlobe. He wasted no time and slowly slid his cock into her. He kept his body hovered closely over her, taking his time and moving torturously slow. She moaned and bent her knees and rolled her hips with his, kissing his neck and letting her hands roam across his chest and shoulders.

She pouted when he pulled out completely, leaving a shiver in her body. He then sat with his back against the headboard and took her hands in his. He pulled her to him, kissing her deeply while urging her to straddle him. She complied with a grin, tossing her hair out of the way; he licked her breasts as she lowered herself onto him. She bit her lip as she took all of him and settled herself comfortably in his lap. His arms held her waist tightly as she rocked on top of him slowly. She adjusted her angle so that she felt his hard length rubbing her in just the right way. She gasped as he bit her just above her nipple, the sharp pain molding with her rising pleasure beautifully. His hands gripped her hips tightly and he forced her to roll her hips back and forth on top of him. She moaned loudly, throwing her head back and gripping his shoulders as the motion caused his shaft to rub against her clit while also giving him the pleasure of a full, strong stroke.

"Yes…" He moaned. "Just like that…" He reached a hand around her waist and grabbed a handful of her hair, keeping her head pulled back as he sucked on her breast, the moan in his throat vibrating and tickling her devilishly. She began to rub herself faster against him, feeling her insides begin to flutter around him. With one hand in her hair and the other gripping her backside he forced her thrusts to become more violent and desperate. She groaned roughly and shuddered against him as she went over the edge. Her nails dug into his shoulders as the waves crashed against her, numbing her brain and making spots appear before her eyes.

He didn't allow her to stop riding him though, and he let go of her hair to use his hand to steady himself on the bed so he could thrust up into her from beneath her. Somewhere between a whimper and a moan she cried out, the depth that he was reaching was borderline painful. He took her mouth and clawed her back as he gripped her tight and reached his climax. As the shudders left his body he let his shoulders slump and his head lay back against the headboard. His strong chest rose and fell rapidly as he panted to catch his breath.

Alia slid off his lap and collapsed on the bed, curling up under the blankets. With the sun completely gone the air around them was nipping her skin. Garrett stood, scratching his head absentmindedly as he collected his clothes and tossed hers on the bed as he went.

"I'll help you get home before I see Basso." He said as he jumped into his trousers.

"I can get myself home, Garrett. Chauvinism is wasted on you." She shot him a sideways grin.

"I have the lower levels of this place booby trapped. You will lose a limb if I don't help you."

"I stand corrected." She said, her eyes wide. "It would be a pleasure for you to see me home, good sir." She mockingly bowed her head and he responded by throwing a pillow at her.

"Come on, let's go. We're wasting moonlight."