Page 39 of Hunted Temptation
A few moments later, I have a whole page of information at my fingertips, and I’m glad to see that none of it shows me where she is now. Nothing. I hope it can stay exactly that way. But I want to know who the fuck was looking for her.
Typing her father’s name into the engine, I smirk at the articles that pop up immediately.Chief Scoggins found dead with lover.
A murder-suicide.
No foul play expected.
The lover’s name is mentioned, and I write it down on a piece of notepaper. Then I see that the driver in the car is listed as the state comptroller.
What a shit show.
A lover’s spat. Three men together, two naked. The third in the car, the comptroller, shot himself in the head. He had foundthe two lovers together and ended his own life. It was clear-cut, and I made it that way.
When it came to Elodie, I saved her name in Scoggins’s phone under Nadine’s number. She knew the police would be calling, and she assured me that she would play the part. And judging by everything I’ve been able to find, it points to the fact that she is in the clear.
The estranged daughter, who was away at college, thanked the police officers but would not be returning home. Nadine played her part well, and it’s believed that Elodie, while having been a devoted daughter, is, without a doubt, free at last.
A noise in the hallway causes me to open the security cameras. There she is, wearing nothing except my undershirt, padding around on her bare feet, looking for me. Her hair is wild from my hands, and I know she’s wearing bruises from my fingerprints on various parts of her body beneath the shirt.
Closing down everything, I grab my phone off the desk and make my way toward the door. I flip the lock, open the door, and slip out, locking it behind me.
I know it’s bullshit. That I shouldn't have any locked doors. But at the same time, I need to know that I can trust her wholly and completely before I let her into every aspect of my life… And even then, I don’t know if I could let her fully into every part of me. There is a lot of darkness inside me that nobody needs to see, to feel, to consume.
Stepping out into the hallway, I look in the direction she was walking just a moment ago and smile at the sight of her back. Elodie’s blonde hair is all I can see shining in the moonlight coming in through the windows.
She stops, looks over her shoulder, and as her eyes find mine, her lips curve up into a grin. She turns to me fully, her eyes never leaving mine, her smile not wavering even for a second.
She moves toward me, closing the distance between us. I don’t move, content to watch her shuffle her feet my way. She stops in front of me and places her hand on the center of my chest. My muscles jump beneath her touch. She sinks her teeth into her bottom lip, her gaze searching mine for a long moment.
“What were you doing?” she asks, her voice hoarse and sleepy.
Without a word, I bend down, slide one arm beneath her knees and the other around her waist, then I turn around and carry her straight to bed. We lose eye contact for a moment. She wraps her arms around my shoulders as her gaze finds mine again.
“I had something for work to take care of,” I murmur. It’s not a lie as much as it is a half-truth. Continuing on my way to bed, I only release her from my grasp when we’re beside the bed.
Her feet touch the floor, her hands on my chest as she continues to look up into my eyes. “Work?” she asks. “In the middle of the night?”
I smirk as I dip my chin and touch my mouth to hers. “Work never ends, Goldie.”
“Are you done now?”
I hum, dip my chin, and touch my mouth to hers. “With office work, yeah,” I reply on a grunt.
ELODIE
The sun shines in,warming my face, then, unfortunately, my entire body, and before I even open my eyes, I throw the covers off my naked body. I let out a heavy sigh. I wish I could stay curled in the blankets all day, but I’m too damn hot, and that’s disappointing.
Turning my head, I look over to see if Vaughn is still beside me. I’m not surprised to find he’s not. Reaching out, I slide the back of my hand over the sheets on his side of the bed, and while they aren’t cold, they’re cool. He hasn’t been here in a while.
I throw my legs over the side of the bed and place my feet flat on the floor, feeling the plush carpet beneath my feet and between my toes. Slowly, I straighten my knees and let out a heavy sigh as I go in search of Vaughn’s shirt from last night.
I can’t believe I slept naked next to a man. I’ve never done that with anyone else. And I never want to either. This is the only man I want anywhere near my nakedness. I’m not sure if I’m making the right decisions, but I don’t just want to beinVaughn’s life—I want tobehis life.
All of it.
After slipping the shirt on over my head, I shuffle to the bathroom. I don’t know what it is about this carpet. It’s only in the bedrooms, but it’s so luxurious that I find myself shuffling just to feel it against my feet and between my toes.
Once I’ve finished my morning business, I run the toothbrush I found a spot for in the drawer over my teeth before I go in search of this man. I don’t know if he’s even here. He did tell me he would be working this week, and he would try to come home regularly.
