Page 211 of Dare To Live

She pulls her hands free from my grip and touches my face, strokes her fingers over my lips, along my nose, and my jaw.

“Green.” The word comes out a little choked, but it’s clear.

I smile against her fingers. “Good girl.”

***

The alarm goes off on my cell, and I hit the stop button before it disturbs Arabella. Her body is wrapped around mine and it takes me a while to ease out of her embrace. I don’t want to wake her because I know if she opens her eyes, everything I said in the dark won’t matter. I won’t be able to walk away.

She doesn’t stir when I finally extract myself, and I dress quickly and move the suitcases I packed the day before out into the hallway before returning to the room.

There’s a Churchill Bradley notepad on the desk and a pen, so I pull it toward me and leave her a note.

Ari,

You have my number. Call me when you are ready. I’ll come to you. We’ll work it out.

I love you.

Eli

With one last lingering look at the woman in the bed, I step out of the door and pull my cases down to Bret’s room. A single quiet tap is all it takes for the door to swing open, and he casts a critical glance over me.

“Are you ready?”

I nod. “Let’s do this.”

The same redhead is in the room when I enter.

“Gloria, you met Eli the other night.”

She tosses me a smile but doesn’t move her attention from the laptop in front of her.

“Are you sure this is going to work?”

“He didn’t try anything last night, so he must be waiting for you to leave. There’s no way he broke out of jail just to taste freedom. That’s not how he thinks. And from the information Kevin gave us, he’s got this all planned out.” He glances at his wristwatch. “Okay, let’s get this done. Take off your shoes.”

Chapter 123

Arabella

The second my groping hand doesn’t find Eli’s solid, warm body beside me on the bed, my eyes snap open. I lift my head. The suitcases he’d had beside the door are missing. There’s a note on the pillow beside mine. I snatch it up and read it.

Ari,

You have my number. Call me when you are ready. I’ll come to you. We’ll work it out.

I love you.

Eli

I don’t need to think about it. I’m ready now. I love him. I’ve always loved him.

What the fuck am I doing?

I let this place suck me back into my old insecurities and fears. Eli is what I want. A future with him. Us together like it’s supposed to be because he’s the only man I’ve ever loved. The burning urge to confess everything drives me out of bed. I promised him I would wait and think, but I don’t need to.

I’ve never been surer of anything in my life.

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