Page 33 of The Caress

“I’ll give you a thousand euros to turn around and go on with your night as if you hadn’t seen anything.” I brandish the money clip in my pocket.

The desk clerk flushes, looking angry, and pulls herself up. “I’ll be back in two minutes. You had better be gone.”

Ella pulls her coat on and completely covers herself. She’s angry, I can tell.

“Keir…” she hisses as soon as the clerk is gone. “You got us caught!”

I wave a dismissive hand. “Like this is the first time she’s ever chased off amorous guests.”

“Oh, you are just… so damned spoiled.” She pushes pasts me, looking both ways before making break to the bank of elevators. She presses the button, fuming.

I follow her, smirking and straightening my shirt. “That’s not very nice.”

The elevator door opens and Ella slips in, mumbling under her breath. I follow her in, putting my arm around her. At first Ella’s body is stiff. But once the doors close, she relents and allows me to drop a kiss in her hair.

CHAPTERFOURTEEN

KEIR

We’ve been in Gstaad for a little over a week, and I’m starting to chafe at the feeling of being confined in the tiny town. No amount of skiing, dancing, or fucking can make up for the ability to come and go and live my life as I please without looking over my shoulder every five minutes.

Today I even jumped at the chance to take Ella shopping, just so I’d have something to occupy my time.

"What do you think of this one?" she asks, stepping out of the fitting room to model a knee-length pink dress. "Too girly?"

I laugh. "It’s a dress. Isn’t it supposed to be girly?"

She rolls her eyes. "You know what I mean."

"I have no idea what you mean, unfortunately."

"Is it too pink? Too long? Too short? Too puffy at the waist where it flares out?"

I blink, then shrug. "I like it. You look beautiful in it. Does that help?"

"No," she says as she examines herself in the mirror, then smiles sympathetically at me. "But thank you. I know this isn’t what you’d planned on doing this afternoon, but I was seriously out of clothes to wear."

"I didn’t have any plans at all this afternoon. That’s part of the problem."

She stops on her way back into the fitting room, then turns and frowns. "Problem? What do you mean? Are you getting tired of Gstaad already?"

I have to smirk because she knows me too well. "Honestly? Yes. I like being here with you and Isla, but I hate feeling like we’re hiding, like we’re fugitives, when the actual criminal is out there running free."

This isn’t really the time or place to have a serious conversation about our safety or our living situation, but what do I care if a few Swiss shop clerks hear us?

"I’m surprised you’ve lasted this long without holding a meeting or doing whatever it is you do at work," she says, finally stepping back into the fitting room but leaving the door propped open just enough for us to continue talking. "Good to know the company can carry on for a week without you, though," she says. "Maybe you’ll be able to take some time off more often now that you know everything won’t fall apart when you leave the office."

"I still don’t know that for sure," I grumble, but it’s hard to concentrate or be too annoyed when I have a perfect view of Ella while she changes clothes. Her body is exquisite. I’ll never get tired of looking at her. "I like that outfit best," I say when she’s down to just her panties and bra.

"You’re impossible," she laughs, slipping on another dress as she casts a self-conscious look in my direction. "But I appreciate the compliment."

"If we had a little more privacy, I’d give you more than just compliments," I say, dropping my voice low enough so she’s the only one who can hear me. "Another reason why we need to get out of this little town."

"I’m not sure that reason really counts. But anyway, where do you want to go from here? Back to Scotland?"

That’s the question I’ve been wrestling with in my head for the past couple of days. I still haven’t made a decision, though.

"What about going back to Malta?" I ask, anticipating her reaction even before I see the frown spread across her face. "Hear me out, okay? We'll have completely new security. Twice as much as before. I’ve also looked into renting the villa next door to give us even more privacy and twice as much beach access."

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