In the quiet stillness of the fourth-floor library of the Allanmeyer Institute of History, the noise coming from the New Year’s Eve party at ground level had faded to nothingness, only the faintest hint of laughter emerging at the very edges of Anna Chang’s hearing. Sighing, the Chinese woman flopped back in her chair, yet another plan crumbling to dust before her eyes. After all, if she could barely hear the excited revelries of a hundred museum staff and donors four storeys below her, there was no way they’d ever hear her scream…

“You’re not too uncomfortable, I hope?” her captor’s sounded behind her, and Anna went still as the black-clad man circled around the chair to face her, an embarrassed blush spreading across her pale cheeks as she realized how flattering the fit of her red silk cheongsam was, and how the dark nylon pantyhose she wore emphasised her legs. “Are the ropes hurting you?”

“I’m fine,” Anna demurred, squirming fitfully in her restraints, raven-black hair streaming down past her shoulder blades. It was her first experience with bondage, but even her unpracticed eye could tell his thoroughness in securing her rendered slipping free an impossibility. Coils of soft white rope bound her upon one of the library’s wooden chairs, her wrists lashed to the armrests and her ankles to the front legs, while an additional length encircled her slim body beneath her breasts and kept her pinned against the backrest. There would be no getting free from this, not without a knife or pair of scissors to cut her loose, and so Anna buried her fear beneath a mask of quiet dignity lest she inadvertently provoke him to violence. “What are you going to do to me?”

“Nothing, I assure you,” her captor spoke, a note of sincerity entering his smooth, cultured voice, sending pleasurable chills down her spine. “Believe me, I’m not that sort of criminal. I would never harm or take advantage of a woman, especially a beautiful one like yourself.”

Anna’s blush deepened, and almond-brown eyes cast down to the floor, too embarrassed to meet his gaze. She was an archivist’s assistant at the Allanmeyer Institute, responsible for keeping the contents of this particular library organized and preserved, and when the memo about the Institute’s New Years Eve party reached her, she’d eagerly RSVPed, expecting an evening of joy and merriment and a chance to wear her favourite cheongsam. Instead of greeting the New Year with complimentary champagne and perhaps even a dance with a handsome man or two, she’d barely five minutes to enjoy the party before being sent off to archive old photographs for the rest of the night by Director Allanmeyer herself, and in her formalwear to boot.

It was there the intruder had snuck up upon her, the first hint of his presence his gloved hand clamping over her mouth and to smother her scream in its infancy. She had not resisted when he bound her to the chair, immediately recognizing he could easily overpower her if she refused, and there she’d remained, helpless but as yet unharmed. What does he want, though? “Do you often flirt with the women you hold prisoner?”

“Am I offending you?”

Pondering how best to respond, Anna ultimately settled for the truth. “No. But what are you even doing here? I’m guessing you didn’t break in simply to tie me up.”

“Well, I always have been a sucker for a woman in silk and nylons,” expressed the intruder, inspiring fresh blushes from the Chinese beauty. “Truth be told, I need to access the first blueprints of the city’s original sewer system.” Blue eyes cast about the many shelves and drawers, each secured behind a combination lock to prevent just such an occurrence, before turning back to the bound archivist. “You have any idea where they might be?”

“What do you want them for?”

“Research, for another heist I have planned.” Anna’s eyes widened in shock. “I’m not going to take them out of here, believe me, I just want to grab a few photographs of them,” he explained hastily, withdrawing a digital camera from the rucksack he wore over his shoulder. “I really don’t want to have to spend my time brute-forcing every random lock in this place, so if you’d just tell me where they are and the combination, I’ll get out of your hair.”

Sighing in resignation, Anna complied, and with a gentleness that bordered on reverence, the thief withdrew the blueprints, endless passages over a century old inked in minute detail onto the yellowed pages. A few quick snapshots with his camera, and then they were returned as promised, gloved hands silently sliding the drawer closed. “You’ve done this before,” said Anna. “I mean, handled rare and delicate artefacts. Were you a curator once, before you became a thief?”

“That is a long story. Regardless, thank you for your aid. Is there anything I can do to repay you?”

A mad thought suddenly took hold of Anna, and she seized the moment, giving it voice before she could come to her senses. “Well, there is one thing…”

The balaclava raised, exposing the strong line of the thief’s jaw, and Anna moaned as their lips came together, his touch electric, the pleasure only intensified by her helpless state. The kiss ended, and in her contented daze, she barely noticed the ball of knotted nylon being placed into her mouth, muffling her groan. “Don’t worry, I’ll make sure to call the police when I’m safely away,” said the thief, another wide length of nylon wrapping over her mouth to complete the gag. “If anyone asks, you were immediately bound and gagged by the handsome gentleman thief, and had no opportunity to call for help whatsoever. Your employers can hardly blame you for that, can they?”

Nodding, Anna watched as the thief silently ducked behind the nearest shelves and vanished into the shadows, heart pounding like a jackhammer from the intensity of the kiss. Happy New Year to you, wherever your path leads you next, she remarked inwardly, settling back in her chair to wait. Maybe this evening wouldn’t turn out so bad after all…