The Thief Always Comes at Night

The Thief Always Comes at Night

PART ONE

Ten Years Earlier

I was twelve, almost a teenager. I should have been behaving like an adult, but instead I swung on the steel bars making sounds like a monkey. It was a cage and that was all there was to it.

Sure it was full of expensive things, but a cage none the less. It was dreary, with harsh lighting and no windows. Across the room a workbench was scattered with tools for delicate work and behind it big dull grey cabinets that reminded me of a bank robbery movie lined the bare brick wall at the far end. Several old wood and glass displays were littered closer to me as though they had been unceremoniously dragged from the elegant shop at the front and dumped. They looked ancient, from some past age that perhaps my dad came from.

I'd studied their contents at first, a little excited to see such nice things. Necklaces, rings, wrist watches. All gleamed with gold and tiny precious stones that dazzled in reflected light. Now I was just bored, intent on trying to pass the time while I waited.

Dad and the man he called Victor were discussing money and looking at jewellery. It wasn't very exciting when I just wanted to go and eat ice cream down at the harbour. The west coast summer was in all its glory outside and I was trapped in this dull untidy dungeon that smelt like a musty old wardrobe.

I hooked my legs between the bars and hung upside down from a crossbar letting my fingers brush on the floor.

"Dad." Almost a plead. I wanted to go.

"Dad."

"Just a minute Gracie." He replied sweetly.

I saw Victor give me a smile, his eyes lingering on me just a little too long for comfort before turning away. I didn't know why, but I didn't like this man very much.

I hauled myself upright like a gymnast and unhooked my legs before dropping lightly to the floor.

"What's this for?" I asked looking at the palm sized keypad jutting from my improvised climbing frame.

Victor wasn't the biggest man, a little weedy, but I was tiny and I felt intimidated as he stood over me, suddenly keen to engage me.

"Now pay attention. This kind of knowledge will be important one day. It needs a code to work."

I wasn't sure I was happy with the way Victor pulled me in close. I was twelve and didn't want cuddling like a child. But I was interested in the secret behind his codes. Codes were like puzzles and I loved puzzles.

"If I ignore the zero at the bottom it's a square and I need seven numbers. I always draw a Z. So one, four, seven, five, three, six nine. Or I can go across the top first, or start at the bottom. I change it around occasionally but I'll always remember it in one or two goes this way."

His hand was on my bare leg and I really didn't like that. I froze, wanting to tell him to get off. But at the same time frightened to challenge an adult.

"I'll let you into a secret. I use the same pattern on the shop alarm. But always a different start point so the two aren't the same."

His voice had grown lower until he whispered it into my ear. So close his breath blew my blonde hair and tickled my neck.

I think dad saw my discomfort.

"Come along Gracie." He said with an uncustomary sharpness.

"Victor's a busy man."

I pulled away from Victor's grip and went to my dad, grateful for the excuse to escape.

"Thanks. Now I can come back and rob you."

Victor laughed at me.

"Think your dad needs to teach you a lot more before you can do that.

She's a bright girl Bob. Think you can keep her in the family business?"

I knew dad was a crook. To me it was normal even if my friends at school might have disagreed. Not that it was something I shared with them. It'd been impressed upon me for as long as I could remember never to tell anyone. It was probably what made me a bit of a loner. I'd learnt to keep things to myself and I found it easier to say nothing rather than lie.

"We'll see. Gracie is doing well at school so hopefully she'll have a better life than me."

My future? I only cared about today. The future was away in the distance. It was a land as foreign as Europe or China.

Victor ruffled my blonde hair smiling at me, again like I was six.

"Can we go to the harbour now?"

I'd had enough of it here. It was boring and I didn't like this man touching me.

"Come on then.

Let us out Victor."

"Perhaps Gracie wants to do it?" Victor suggested.

Suddenly excited again I looked at the keypad. What had he said? A Z shape. Well starting at one was too obvious. I went for three, then to six and finally ending up at one. The lock released and I pulled it open with a sense of great satisfaction.

"See dad. I can do break in's as good as you." I grinned proudly.

"You know she'll never forget that Victor. An eidetic memory her teacher called it. She recalls everything perfectly."

Strange as it seemed, this had been my first lesson in crime. Soon dad would teach me how to pick locks, open safes, disable or fool alarms and avoid camera systems. Most kids my age were playing on their Xbox or spending time with friends. While some of the girls at school began to discover makeup and boys, I obsessed over Chubb locks and how to cut glass without breaking it.

I found the gaming world too fake and shied away from activities involving other people. For me a lock became a puzzle every bit as challenging as any computer game.

Whenever I visited the shop Victor would show me jewellery, explain about gold weights and how to tell natural and synthetic gemstones apart. I absorbed it all, wanting to help my dad with his work. Morally I knew it was wrong, but at the same time it fascinated me and bonded us together. He was my dad, and my only friend.

Victor was a different ball game altogether. Knowledgable, helpful, but always with the touchy feely hands. I think dad knew Victor was partial to young girls. Or maybe it was just me. Either way dad would discretely step in when he got too close or tried to sit me in his lap.

Within a year or two I'd matured enough to know what was right and wrong. I learnt quickly how to keep Victor at arms length. I also developed the skill of teasing just enough to get what I wanted without risking my dignity. A skill that would serve me well when events conspired to intrinsically link my future survival to Victor.

I didn't know it as I left the shop then, but I was only a few years away from that day. Cancer was an awful thing. It appeared from nowhere and took those special to us. He wasn't just my dad, he was my best friend. The only person I trusted implicitly to keep me safe and I was just a few short steps from having him torn from me forever by that cruel disease. Just three years and I would be alone in the world, and reliant on Victor.

But not today. I was still carefree.

"Can we go for ice cream."

I squinted against the bright sun that warmed my skin. Dad took my hand and started down main street towards the harbour.

"Ice cream it is.

Pistachio?"

I loved the Bay Area. The sound of the ocean, gulls squawking, and the general mill of carefree people. If you listened closely you could even hear the creak of wood from the tied up boats as they bobbed in cool water while simultaneously heating in the sun.

For as long as I could remember this place had been part of my life. The sounds, the smell of burgers and fish mixed with the salt carried on the breeze. Nowhere else had this atmosphere. Even just a few miles inland where we lived and it was a different world.

I just loved it here. But recently my visits had brought new confused thoughts to my head. The boys that hung around the diners had caught my attention. Loud, full of energy and so good looking in their tight denims and tee shirts. This was what attracted the other girls at school and I was finding it hard to dismiss their obsessions as the same feelings invaded me like a virus occupied a host cell.

Compared to those girls I suffered a disadvantage though. I didn't mix so well. Always a daddies girl who wouldn't talk easily, or join in the games, I had a self imposed barrier. At school I was the one in the corner with a book while my contemporaries mastered the magic of eyeshadow and challenged the rules by seeing how short their skirts could be before mom got a phone-call from the Principle.

"Over there."

Dad had been talking but I hadn't been listening. I looked where he pointed.

"What?"

"See the cut of her clothes, how she carries herself. She stands out. Tells you those earrings will be real gold. Her husband, he has the same confidence. I can tell you from here his watch will be a Rolex or a Cartier."

In a flash my mind zoomed in on the couple, focusing on the deportment that marked them out from the others. It wasn't that they were more attractive than anyone else, or that their clothes flashed designer labels. It was in their poise, and clothes that just seemed to hang a little better. There was a quiet certainty about them that wasn't present in most people.

"Good breeding?" I asked using words my dad would use.

"Exactly. They'll drive a European car and live in one of the big houses out to the north of the county. They're the sort of people who put the food on our table."

"The kind you steal from." I said it for what it was.

"They don't want for money Gracie. Jewellery, just possessions to them. Easily replaced by an insurance check."

I took a bite from my ice cream and let it melt in my mouth. It was cooling, sweet and slightly nutty. I watched the couple walk by hand in hand. As a child it was hard to guess their age, everyone grown up seemed old. But I went for thirties. The man was slightly plump. The woman slimmer, toned as though she spent time running or in a gym.

"Wouldn't it be easier to rob a shop. Like Victors?"

In my mind I saw the keypad again and imagined how easy it would be.

"Take a few thousand dollars worth from a wealthy dentist and the police file a report. If you break into a shop you'll come away with a hundred thousand and they hunt you down.

Better to be a small time nobody that doesn't get noticed."

I heard the words but I'd noticed something more important. A lad my age sneaking a peak in my direction from amongst his group of friends. His eyes locked on mine and he flashed a cheeky smile. I felt butterflies take flight in my belly and a tingle that raced over my skin. Feelings I didn't fully understand. Then almost as quickly my self preservation instincts kicked in. I looked away.

To an observer I would be classed as shy. I wasn't. Far from it. I was just aware that when people engaged with me I became a risk to my dad.

"There's a whole world out there Gracie. The biggest mistake is to get greedy. Best to just be contented with your little part. Live comfortably. Not as a king, or princess in your case."

He hadn't noticed my wandering eye and seemed to be staring contentedly out at the curving horizon. I followed his gaze to where blue ocean met the dome of a blue sky and watched a boat as it slid off the end of the world. A tiny dot almost unnoticed and dwarfed by its surroundings. Just like me.

Ten Years Later

Life was hard alone. I'd been alone since I was fifteen. Mum vanished well before I remember and dad had taken care of me until he'd died. That'd been heartbreaking. I'd looked after him in the last few months as cancer took hold from nowhere. With hindsight I think he'd known a while and just kept it from me until he couldn't any longer. I realised now why he'd introduced me to Victor and taught me so much about his work so quickly.

Since then I'd found my own way. Ducking school and scratching a living the only way I knew how. The way he'd taught me. A small trust fund originally intended to put me through college had kept me afloat initially and now at twenty two I'd carved out a comfortable life with a nice apartment. I was doing okay. Few people my age could boast that they had a comfortable home so early in life's journey.

The one thing dad had impressed on me above all else was self reliance. I trusted almost no one to help me through and relied only on the skills he'd given me. Just the slightly unpleasant Victor I'd first met ten years earlier knew my secret. And only because he'd been a key part of dads equally dubious life. Now he was part of mine. I'd have preferred otherwise but life was what it was. I had to trust him because I needed him.

Of course being so reticent to accept others into my world had its downside. I was young and acutely aware of how pretty I was, but I'd never had a boyfriend. Sure I wasn't completely innocent. I'd fucked a couple of lads. Literally a couple. Not nearly as much as I would have liked. Just one offs and only in lust, never love. I had commitment problems, but for different reasons to the usual.

What it did mean was that I had to satisfy my urges in other ways. And that was what I was about to do right now. If I could look down on myself I would look silly, perhaps sad. But I was alone. No one could see me, no one would know what I did to get off. I didn't care how it appeared, only that the over whelming desire to cum would be satisfied.

I stroked my hands over my naked body, revelling in the brush of fingers over my modest tits, down around my vulva and back up over my belly. Such smooth flesh, reacting to my own tender touch.

It'd started as it always had, distracted by sexy thoughts intruding my mind from nowhere. At first crossing my legs had subdued the physical ache that accompanied my racing mind. A few moments later it had taken a rub of my hand over my pussy, then fingers sliding into damp, slick, silky meat. But finally the primal intrusion in my head had consumed me.

Next had come the hormones, the curse of youth, flooding my bloodstream. Without willing it my body had ached for release from an un-scratch-able itch. Like a hunger or the need to pee, a desire that grew in my pussy, reaching up into my belly where a thousand butterflies would flutter. Only answering the call could ever ease it.

I widened my knees on the bedroom rug and kneaded the insides of my thighs with my fingers, letting my pussy burn with desire until it became a furnace.

"Mmm."

I took a shuddering breath and leant forward onto my hands.

Rocking back I let out a sigh as the latex sex toy rubbed against my already damp pussy. It was realistically shaped and held in place against my wall mirror by its secure suction cup. In my mind it was the cock of some movie star, of a fit young man who wanted my sweet sex.

"Oh yes."

I pivoted my butt up and down letting it's tip rub along my crack before pushing back gently. I savoured the parting of my tender lips and the first pressure at the neck of my love tunnel.

"Aw fuck."

Balancing on one hand I reached up to squeeze a small tit where it sat firmly against my rib cage, easing its ache.

"Uhh."

Another gasp escaped as my nipple was pinched between closing fingers. A small shudder went through me and weakened thighs let myself slide back along the fake cock.

"Oh that's so fucking beautiful."

I held it deep for a moment, just enjoying the relieving sensation of being filled. Balancing on one hand I circled my figures just above where it entered me. A few seconds and it was no longer enough.

I eased forward feeling the tender, soft velvet of my hole ride over the ridges of the toy until it almost left me. Then back onto it again.

"Uhhh."

In my head I pictured my imaginary lover. Athletic, slightly muscular with a dark mop of hair. Masculine. His face as always was a blur, just out of focus, but I knew it was tender and kind, almost feminine in his manner.

Without realising it I'd begun a determined slow back and forth rock. The implement of my desire massaging internal muscles while just brushing over a heating clit.

"Mmm.

That's fucking good."

Hard working thighs gyrated my butt on the implement.

"Fuck yes."

I lived alone. The walls and floors well insulated to deaden sound. No one could hear me. My fantasy was mine to enjoy with as much gusto as I wanted.

I started banging back onto the cock with purpose, letting my arse smack into the mirror and latex balls slap against the tops of my thighs. It felt good, almost real behind my closed eyes.

"Yes.

Yes.

Fuck me.

Harder."

I glanced back seeing my body stretching away behind me. My own blue eyes staring back and the tremor of slightly parted lips gasping for breath. The admiration for my own naked beauty drove me on and my rocking became ferocious. I saw the side of my tit jiggling with each movement and the pinkness of an arse cheek as I came away, sliding almost to the tip of the source of my pleasure.

"Oh yes.

Fuck me good."

I turned forward again and concentrated. I banged back harder, oblivious to the risk of breaking the mirror as a heat rose in my belly. Juices lubricating my movement. A slight arch of my back brought my clit into sharp contact with the ribbed dildo. I wanted to attack it, rub it with my fingers but it took all my strength to hold myself in place on all fours.

"Christ yes.

Uhh-Ah."

I was sweating now and the joyous sensation in my pussy was spreading throughout my body.

"God yes.

Do me."

I pummelled back onto the glass as hard as I could, sinking latex that felt so real deep inside my tunnel.

"Fucking do me.

Fu...u...ck.

Ahhh"

A final cry that became a scream before my body pleasured itself with the rush of orgasm.

The French have an expression for the next moment. 'Le Petite Mort'. The little death. A brief loss of consciousness as the wave of pleasure scrambled my thoughts and my thighs wobbled with a sudden weakness.

I gave a final push and twist of my butt hard against the toy before falling forward onto my face. I spread across the rug and hardwood with a hand under me, flicking my bean to prize the last vestiges of enjoyment from overwrought nerves. I squirmed and writhed as the final waves of pleasure travelled the highway of nerves from toes to fingers.

"Mmm

Yes. So good."

At last I eased, released from the grip of the primeval throbbing demand I could never deny. I lay gasping for breath with my legs parted to cool myself as I just staring into the distance. My bed lay in my line of vision with a low wooden chest just forward of it at the base, but I saw neither as the euphoria subsided in me.

After satisfying myself I always felt a deep happiness and a renewed energy that would carry me through the next few hours. Sometimes I wished it was from a partner, but I had too many secrets to share my life. Better this way. Polishing the pearl with my fingers or riding toys couldn't lead me to betrayal. And it'd proved far more satisfying than my dabbles with the real thing.

Slowly my strength returned and I rolled before sitting up. There in front of me was my intimate friend. Still firmly attached by its cup, pointing out towards me as if begging to enter me again. Flesh coloured and life like, with the glisten of my juices still coating it.

"Sorry my darling. I'm done."

Here was the moment it really was superior to any man. No need to say 'l love you' or make small talk. No need to cuddle or offer breakfast. Just a quick wash off and back in my secret box of tricks under the bed. I had other toys in there for when I needed... Well... Other added excitement to my fantasies. I wasn't against a little self bondage on occasions. One day, maybe, someone would share my life and I would have to drop that box in the bay rather than admit the games I played alone.

I spun around and sat cross legged for a moment, looking into my camera phone lens, blowing it a kiss before whispering myself a little message.

"Now wasn't that better than watching Fox News."

I gave a little childish giggle and reached out to turn it off. I had another nice little video of myself to enjoy later. The trouble with entertaining yourself is that you constantly had to think of new ways to keep it exciting. Always pushing boundaries. Making little movies of myself was just my latest way. And I had to admit. I looked gorgeous on film. The naked female form was quite glorious, even to my eyes.