Page 51 of Hunted Temptation
Her fingers squeeze mine, and I shift my attention over to Lucille’s before I return it to meet Nadine’s. I don’t know what to say about any of this. There is something about being accepted, about being heard and seen. I have never felt this way before.
So that’s when my next words come out, and the moment they do, I wish I could stuff them back into my mouth.
“I love him, and he isn’t going to want to keep me.”
Silence.
Chapter Twenty
ELODIE
Lucille’s smiletakes over her entire face. Her eyes stay connected to mine, searching. She doesn’t say anything immediately, but I can tell she has something on the tip of her tongue.
Silence passes between us as we stand in the middle of the room, staring at one another, but I don’t know what to say. I think I’ve said plenty, so it’s time I keep my mouth shut. I do just that, but Nadine doesn’t stay quiet. Her lips curve up into an even bigger smile.
“Let’s teach these bastards a lesson they’ll never forget,” she murmurs.
“But I don’t think we should. What about Vaughn?” I ask.
Lucille’s lips twitch, but they don’t falter at all. Something is working behind her gaze, and I have to admit it’s a little scary to see. This woman is without a doubt unhinged, and now I’m wondering what I’ve gotten into here. Maybe I should have pretended I was still sleeping in Vaughn’s office because I havea feeling that whatever is about to happen, Vaughn isn’t going to like.
“He’ll be fine. Vaughn knows the score,” she quips.
My eyes are wide as I shift my gaze from Lucille to Nadine, who is also staring at me with big eyes. Both of us look like deer caught in headlights. But before a plan of any kind can be hatched, I hear Vaughn call out my name from behind me.
Lucille releases her grasp on my hands, and I turn around slowly to face him. I expect to see his lips curved up a little bit, a small smile playing on them at the fact that I’m standing here with two women he loves and respects, but instead, I’m met with a murderous gaze, and my entire body stiffens at the sight.
“Vaughn?” I ask in a whisper.
He grunts, and I don’t know why, but I don’t expect him to say anything. He looks like he might want to haul me away and lock me back up in his minuscule office. I’m not opposed to it at this point. I think that maybe I shouldn’t have come out here, not if it was going to upset him this much.
I start to open my mouth to apologize for stepping out of the space where he told me to stay put. But he starts talking before I can say anything. And only then does my body begin to relax, right before all of my muscles tighten again.
“There’s a private investigator here from California,” he states, and I swear, I swoon.
My entire body swoons. My knees almost give out on me, and if it weren’t for my tight muscles, I would probably collapse onto the floor right this second. As it is, I tremble to the point of almost vibrating.
“What does that mean?” I am finally able to ask, although it comes out in a whisper. “What does he want?”
“If I had to guess, it’s to avenge some sick pervert,” Lucille says with a snort.
Vaughn grunts. “Pretty much. The state comptroller’s brother doesn’t believe the story, and he’s followed us here from California.”
“What does this mean?” I ask.
Vaughn shrugs a shoulder. “Not much of anything. The brother can’t place you there. The PI can’t either, not unless he knows of something illicit happening, and that would negate the whole thing, because it’s not like he can go to the police or a judge with that information.”
I want to believe those words, but then I start to think about the fact that it’s not really me who needs to worry. I didn’t do anything. It’s Vaughn. I can’t look away from him. My gaze focuses on his, completely connected. I know there are other people in this room, but I can’t see them.
They don’t exist.
It’s only Vaughn.
“I’m not worried about me,” I whisper. “I’m worried about you.”
The moment I say those words, his entire demeanor changes. His face smooths out, his lips curve up into a small smile, and even his eyes relax. Those little changes allow me to finally relax as well.
My feet move toward him. Without even thinking about it, I wrap my arms around his waist and rest my chin against his chest, closing my eyes and letting out a long exhale as I do. This is where I am comfortable, here, with him. When his arms curl around my body, holding me against him, I feel like the weight of this situation instantly vanishes.
