Page 16 of Hunted Temptation
My lips part, and I shake my head. There’s nothing here I want. “This whole house could ignite, and I wouldn’t give a single shit if I ever saw anything again.”
“Sounds good,” he says with a grunt. His eyes scan the room before he jerks his chin. “Change outta that shit and pack a bag. Hurry.”
My body finally moves. I jump. I don’t know what it is about the way he tells me what to do, but I scramble off the bed and sprint to my room. After changing out of the ugly-as-hell dress, I grab a pair of sweats and a tank top, then throw some panties and clothes from my drawers into my backpack that I used for school. Anything else I’m going to have to figure out later.
The man is standing in the doorway, his eyes on me for a moment. Those blue eyes hold me completely and totally frozen. Rendering me absolutely useless. He moves toward me, standing so close to me that my breath hitches. He smells amazing, of ocean breeze and sandalwood. I didn’t think those could mix, but they do… and well.
When he reaches forward, I hold my breath, unsure of what he’s going to do next, but he surprises me by extending his arm and grabbing my bag, tugging it out of my hands.
“Come,” he demands.
I watch as he spins on his heels and walks out of my bedroom. I follow behind him. I’m not sure why, but it seems like a much better idea than staying here. I don’t think staying is going to do me any favors… it never has.
Chapter Six
VAUGHN
I did not dothat job the way I should have. It was messy, emotional, and unorganized. But I also didn’t see another way around it, because no way in fuck could I have let this motherfucker touch Elodie.
The pull I feel toward her, from the moment I laid eyes on just her picture, is otherworldly. I can’t explain it. I don’t think I ever could.
She follows behind me, and I can hear her flip-flops clacking. Click-clack. And I can’t help but grin. Never would I have imagined myself with a woman who wears flip-flops. I enjoy everything expensive, including the finest money can buy, personal shoppers, food delivery, and high-end clothes and shoes.
I lived a life of poverty and was abused by the hands of powerful men. I swore I would never be vulnerable ever again. I choose to kill in an effort to keep my own monsters at bay. It is the only way I can contain the beast within me, the reward being the money and security I crave.
As we walk across the street, I chuckle at the sound of the clickity-clack of her shoes as they echo throughout the night air. It should not make me smile, but it does. It’s a bit of comic relief in a very serious situation.
Walking into the Airbnb, I stand to the side to allow her to pass. She stops at the front porch, tilting her head back, her eyes finding mine. “You were at the window.”
Elodie’s voice is filled with wonder and awe. She slips into the house, only stopping just inside. I do the same and close the door behind me. She doesn’t turn the lights on, which I’m grateful for. I don’t need them on. I’m waiting for a phone call.
I’ve already sent the license plate number to Boden. I’m not sure that anything will come of it, though. It’s probably owned under a fucking shell company. Probably Pointe Industries or some shit.
“What happens now?” Elodie’s voice calls out from across the room.
I didn’t even realize she’d moved to the other side of the room. I was so lost inside my own head that I wasn’t paying attention. This is the way people fucking die. Although there are three bodies across the street, I think I’m safe here at least for a few hours.
“Now I make sure that scene is set the right way.”
“How?”
As much as I want to tell her, I don’t. I can’t trust her. Just because I saved her, just because my cock craves her, that doesn’t mean I know her. And I’m not sure I need to know more than what she feels like when I’m inside her.
“Don’t worry about it. I have it handled.”
And I do.
It might have been messy, but that doesn’t mean I didn’t set the scene the way it needed to be for an open-and-shut murder-suicide case. I was more than ready to do that shit the day Ishowed up here, before Elodie… watching her, taking her in, figuring out her story.
Now that I know, there was no way in fuck I was able to leave her there alone. I’m taking her with me. I’m not sure how this story is going to end, but it’s going to begin with her walking away from that fucking hellhole.
The rest is up to her, up to the fucking universe.
“How?” she asks again.
Closing the distance between us, I move toward her. I want to take her in my arms, kiss her, and show her that whatever the fuck has been happening to her, that’s not the way it’s supposed to feel.
I don’t do that, though.
