She stood before him, gloriously naked except for her shoes and the strand of pearls at her throat.
“Lie on the bed. Legs wide. Keep the heels.” She obeyed, taking her bottom lip between her teeth. A flush crawled up her chest and cheeks. So gorgeous. The color of her nipples deepened as they hardened. The short-cropped, dark curls at her sex glistened with arousal.
Slowly, Justus removed his tie and then unbuttoned his shirt. He never took his gaze off her delectable body. Under his scrutiny, she shuddered several times, but she kept her legs open, her heels planted against the mattress, the spikes digging into the sheet.
He shrugged out of his shirt, kicking off his shoes at the same time. His movements were more hurried as he divested himself of the rest of his clothes and then crawled up the bed to nestle himself between her legs. “Do you mind if I’m bare inside you again?” he asked as he met her gaze, stroking a lock of hair from her forehead.
“No.” The word was breathy. She grabbed his biceps. “Please, Justus. I’m about to come without you touching me.”
He smiled. “That was the plan.”
“You succeeded. Don’t make me wait any longer.”
When she lifted her hips, he thrust into her, never losing her gaze.
She gasped, her mouth falling open as her eyes rolled back. “God, yes.”
He visualized slowly making love to her, easing in and out until her nails dug into his arms. But she surprised him when she arched her head back and held her breath for less than a second before her orgasm washed through her.
My God. So beautiful. One thrust. Nothing but the contact of the base of his cock against her swollen clit.
Her body shook as the waves washed through her. His heart seized as he realized he’d fallen for her. Too deep. How the hell would he ever extricate himself from her? The idea of walking away in a few days was impossible to grasp. And yet, he would have to find a way. She’d made it clear she didn’t want to continue this relationship any more than he did.
When she resumed breathing, he pulled almost out and thrust back in. Her lips were still parted, her eyes glazed. And her nails indeed dug into his biceps. She was the entire package.
She was everything.
Justus awoke before Arianna again and spent several minutes staring at her profile as she lay on her belly, her head turned toward him. Her hair was smooth and thick, draped over one shoulder. He wanted to brush a lock from her cheek, but decided to watch her sleep instead, afraid he might wake her.
God, she was gorgeous. He’d gone to sleep knowing she was more than a fling, and now that he was awake, that realization burrowed itself deeper under his skin.
He had a serious problem on his hands and not a clue what to do about it. Leaving her didn’t feel like an option. And yet it was the only option.
Suddenly, he felt restless. He needed to get out of this hotel room. Go for a run. Think. He needed oxygen to help clear his head.
He slid quietly from the bed without disturbing her and grabbed running shorts and a T-shirt from his suitcase. When he had his shoes on, he returned to her side, knowing he couldn’t leave her without at least saying something.
His chest tightened as he stroked a finger down her cheek and then leaned in to kiss her neck. She sighed as she rolled toward him, her small hand snaking out to settle on top of his. “Mmm. Why are you up?” she murmured, blinking her eyes open.
“Going for a run,” he whispered. “You can go back to sleep.” He kissed her cheek and then nuzzled her neck. She smelled so good. Like Arianna. Like his future. Like a future he’d sworn would never be his.
He needed to get out of this room before he ended up saying things he wasn’t certain about.
She smiled as she snuggled back into the pillow. “’Kay.”
He let his eyes close as he inhaled her scent one more time, and then he hurried from the room. He took the stairs to the ground floor, impatient to get on the street, too restless to wait for the elevator.
Finally, he was free of the building, jogging away, breathing deeply. He picked up his pace and forced himself to concentrate on putting one foot in front of the other. Breathe, he reminded himself over and over. Somehow there still wasn’t enough oxygen outside either.
He was haunted by visuals of Arianna. Her smile. The tinkle of her laugh. The way her mouth fell open when she came. The soft moan she made. The way her eyes glazed over when he stroked her nipples.
God.
What the fuck was he going to do. How the hell was he going to leave her and return to life as if this vacation had never happened? It didn’t seem possible.
Arianna couldn’t fall back asleep after Justus left the room. Something about his departure felt off. He’d seemed different. Not his usual self. It shouldn’t surprise her that he wanted to go for a run. After all, in his normal life he worked out nearly every day, and so far he hadn’t left her side for a week to do anything physical.
Not that they didn’t work out hard between the sheets every day more than once. She smiled and stared at the ceiling. No way could she go back to sleep now, so she slid from the bed and padded to the bathroom.
A half hour later she was dressed and ready to start the day. She assumed Justus would return soon. How far did the man intend to run? She sat in the chair next to the desk and picked up her phone. Almost immediately, it rang in her hand. The call was unknown, but she answered it anyway. “Hello?”
“Hey. It’s me.” He sounded out of breath.
“Did you get lost?” she teased.
“Nope. But I went farther than I intended. I’m heading back now, but it will take me a while. Or I could grab a cab.”
A knock sounded at the door, making Arianna jump. “Hang on a second. Someone’s at the door.” She set the phone on the desk next to her purse and crossed to the door. Without thought, she opened it, expecting to see housekeeping.
The man standing in the hallway was not there to clean the room. “Chris?” She smiled at him. “What are you doing here?”
He rocked back and forth on his feet, his fingers tucked into his pockets. “I’m heading to Sydney today. Thought I’d see if you guys wanted to grab breakfast or coffee before I leave.” He leaned on the doorjamb.
Arianna nearly laughed out loud. Justus had probably been right. If Chris somehow managed to get them to pay for breakfast, the bet, such as it was, was over. But they had the money, so who cared if she bought this guy breakfast. “Come on in. I was just about to go downstairs and grab breakfast in the hotel. Let me get my purse.”
Chris stepped inside and glanced around. “Where’s Justus?”
“He went for a run. He can meet us in the restaurant when he gets back.” As she spun around to grab her purse from the desk, her mind was on the bet she had with Justus. Her brain was going through different scenarios, wondering what would happen when the bill came if she didn’t readily offer to pay.
She reached for her purse, suddenly remembering she’d left Justus on the phone. As she reached for it, intending to apologize to him and fill him in on the breakfast plan, she came up short.
Chris wrapped his fingers around her forearm, too tightly. He also stepped closer to her than necessary. His voice was low and filled with menace when he spoke, his tone totally wrong, not resembling anything she’d ever heard from him before. “Do you have any idea how frustrating it’s been waiting for you to be alone without that giant Neanderthal attached to your hip?” He pressed his chest into her back.
She gasped. “What are you talking about?” she asked, her hands shaking as she stared at the desk where her phone rested, praying the line remained open, grateful she’d left it face down. Something was very, very wrong.
He released her to step to her side, his hands on his hips, and rolled his eyes. “Don’t play coy with me. Let’s go.”
“Go?” What the hell? “Go where?”
“To the bank, you stupid bitch. You got yourself a windfall, and I need that money.”
> Her eyes bugged out. How could he know about the reward money? “What money?”
Chris, or whoever he was, narrowed his gaze and gritted his teeth. “Grab your purse. We’re going to take a nice little trip to the bank. If you withdraw the money like a good girl, I’ll let you live. If you give me any trouble, your fuckbuddy will never find your body.” He turned toward the door. “Let’s go.”
Chris pulled a long knife out of a sheath beneath his shirt and held it up for her to see. “It’s sharp. If you want me to, I can kill you now, take your bank information myself, and withdraw the money without you. It won’t be as tidy, but I’ll do it. You won’t be the first stupid, gullible bitch I’ve killed.”
She swallowed, shaking her head. “Put the knife away. I’ll go with you. I don’t care about the money. If you need it so badly, it’s yours.”
He chuckled. Sardonically. His voice was all wrong. He was a good actor.
Justus had been right. All along.
While he resheathed the knife, she swept her phone into her purse and then picked up the strap and settled it over her shoulder. God, please tell me Justus is still on the line and can hear everything.
It was her only hope. She truly didn’t care about the damn money, but would Chris leave her alive after he had his hands on it, or would he kill her anyway?
She was shaking as she stepped into the hallway with him, and she gasped when he grabbed her arm roughly and yanked her toward the exit sign where the stairs were located. Of course he wouldn’t risk the elevator.
He kept her close to his side, hissing words into her ear through gritted teeth. “You would be wise to pretend we’re a couple and do as I say. Got it?”
“Yes,” she muttered. Justus, are you listening? Their conversation would be muffled in her purse. She crossed her arms under her chest and tried to hold her purse open slightly with her fingers. “Where are we going?”
“There’s a branch of your bank nearby.”
“How did you know about the money?” she asked as they took the stairs at a rapid pace. “I never mentioned it.”
He chuckled again, that deep, grating sound that would haunt her for the rest of her life, if she lived. “I was in the station in Sydney when you came to collect.”
She jerked her gaze to his, her eyes wide. “What? How?”
He shrugged, his fingers digging into her arm as he continued to manhandle her down the next flight of stairs. “Got picked up for drugs that night. Watched the entire play-by-play between you and that old lady with the diamond. It was kind of you to leave an itinerary on the officer’s desk.”
Arianna realized Chris’s accent had changed. It no longer had the same distinctive lilt. He wasn’t from New Zealand at all. He was Australian. Obviously, he also didn’t have a fiancée who left him at the altar, nor was he on his honeymoon. God, she was dense. If she somehow got out of this mess, she would never doubt Justus’s instincts again.
She nearly sobbed.
“I’d give almost anything to see the look on that asshole’s face when he finds you missing from the room. Your boyfriend never leaves you alone for a second.” He glanced up and down her body as he shoved the door open to the outside, smirking. “Though I can’t say as I blame him. You are one hot chick. No wonder he keeps a close eye on you.”
She suddenly had an idea that might come in handy. “He’s not my boyfriend.”
Chris furrowed his brow, his grip on her arm having eased as they stepped outside and headed down the sidewalk. “What the fuck are you talking about?”
“You weren’t the only one who lied.” She leaned closer to him. “I don’t even know for sure if Justus is his real name. I just met him the day you saw us.”
Chris stopped walking and turned to face her. “What the fuck?” he repeated.
She shrugged, trying to remain calm. “It’s true. Do I look like I would have any more money than you do? I saw him at a bar the day before you saw us and laid on the flirting until he picked me up. It was too easy to take advantage of him.” She tried to sound casual. “Hot, sexy man traveling alone from the States. I didn’t figure I would get more out of it than amazing sex and a nice vacation, but then we got that money. Win-win. I pretended I was Julia Roberts in Pretty Woman.” She forced herself to giggle, but God, it was hard.
Chris slowly smirked. “Fuck me.”
“You might have noticed I wasn’t the one who actually found the ring or deserved the reward, but I was the only one who had a bank account. That sucker didn’t even mind if I deposited it. I guess he’s rich or something.” She stared directly into Chris’s eyes, hoping she was convincing. Making up a giant lie was not her thing, but her life depended on it.
He chuckled. “I’m losing my touch.”
You’re losing way more than your touch, buddy. “That money wasn’t even mine to begin with. How about if we withdraw it and you take me with you? I’m kind of tired of the brooding Justus anyway.”
Chris sobered and narrowed his gaze. “I don’t need a woman with me.”
“Whatever. Doesn’t matter to me. If you’ll give me half, I’ll get lost.”
He stared at her a moment and then turned to drag her down the sidewalk again. “We’ll see.”
Chapter 18
Justus was out of his mind. He was also kicking himself in the ass as he ran down the beach as fast as he could until he reached a spot where he could jump onto the sidewalk. He should have linked their phones on the first day so he could track her now. He was a fucking Navy SEAL for God’s sake. Why the hell had he taken this kind of risk? This was Arianna Gallo. Tony’s sister.
Contrary to the crazy tale she was feeding Chris, she was the most important person in Justus’s life. He would never be able to forgive himself if anything happened to her. Not on his watch. Not on anyone’s watch. Not ever.
His chest pounded as he ran as hard as he could, paying no attention to anyone in the vicinity. He somehow managed to hold the phone close to his ear to catch her conversation all the while. However, he needed to lower it a few inches and switch screens so he could find every branch of her bank in the area. If he chose wrong, she might pay with her life.
He typed in her bank and then watched as pins fell all over the screen. “Fuck,” he muttered, nearly knocking into a woman with a stroller. He ignored her glare and kept jogging. There were several branches of that bank. He zoomed in to figure out which one was closest to the hotel.
Luckily, that paid off. “Bingo.” He dashed catty-corner to jaywalk across the street, aiming for the branch he hoped Chris was taking Arianna to.
Holding the phone to his ear again, he tried to grasp anything Arianna might say. She obviously knew the phone line was open, and she was trying to slow things down.
And then his woman got even smarter. “Mulgrave Road? My bank isn’t on Mulgrave Road. We’re going the wrong way.”
Chris laughed. “There are a several branches. The Lake Street branch is too small.”
“Good job, baby,” he whispered to himself, picking up the pace. Shit. He was ten minutes away if he ran hard. Thank God he was wearing tennis shoes and track shorts.
This was the first time he’d left Arianna during the entire trip. Now, he could kick himself for leaving her for even an hour. He’d known Chris Metz was bad news. He’d known it from the moment the man approached them. He’d also had the suspicion that he’d seen him somewhere before. And apparently he was right. The fucking police station in Sydney. This asshole had been following them from that moment forward.
Hell, he hadn’t needed to follow them. The fucker had picked up their itinerary and tracked them from place to place. It had been too easy.
Meanwhile, Justus had been so consumed with Arianna that he hadn’t paid close enough attention to his surroundings. He was a fucking SEAL. People didn’t usually get the jump on him.
Of course he’d also never been in a situation like this where he was so consumed with another human being that he let his guard do
wn. Run faster.
Voices filled the open line, indicating to Justus they’d probably entered the bank. He glanced at the GPS. It said he was still seven minutes away on foot. Except Justus wasn’t walking, nor was he following straight lines. He could do it in three minutes. No way could anything happen to Arianna in three minutes inside a bank, right?
“Yes. Hi. I’d like to make a withdraw from my account.”
Silence. Justus wondered how much money she’d put down and how shocked the teller might be.
“A withdraw you say, ma’am?”
“Yes. Please.”
Please, baby. Please tell me your winking at that woman or giving her a sign of some sort. Please.
“No problem. I’ll just need to grab some paperwork for you to fill out for a sum that large. I’ll be right back.”
“Thank you.”
Blessed angels. Paperwork, my ass. The woman knew.
Justus rounded the last corner. He could see the bank a few blocks in front of him. He picked up the pace. If he was lucky, a police car would arrive soon too. If not, he prayed this fucker didn’t have a gun. In either case, Justus was about to fuck up his day.
“If you’ll just come with me, ma’am,” the teller stated. “You can have a seat in the first office on the right while someone handles the transaction for you.”
“Thank you so much,” Arianna said.
First office on the right… Justus jumped over the last curb and took the stairs leading to the front door of the bank three at a time. He flew through the door just as he noticed flashing lights in his peripheral vision. Good.
The moment he stepped inside the open lobby area, he scanned the offices on both sides. He spotted Arianna immediately. But Chris also lifted his gaze at that moment. The man jumped to his feet, grabbed Arianna by the arm, and hauled her to standing.
Arianna screamed as Justus closed the distance.
Chris put her in front of him, pulled a knife out of his waistband, and pressed it against her neck.
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