Stan frowned
when her voice broke. “I kind of thought you and Keith might be
headed in that direction too. When y’all moved in together, I
thought things were getting serious.”
“I…” She
couldn’t explain something she didn’t even understand. Passing the
large silver key to Stan, she said, “Could you give this to Keith
for me?”
Turning it
over, Stan looked at it a long time. “Don’t you think you should
give it to him yourself?”
“It’s okay, he
knows I’m leaving. We talked about it.”
Stan sighed.
“That’s a shame. Mr. Armstrong sure did seem happier since you
moved in.”
Tara knew Keith
would quickly resume the life he’d had before she invaded his home.
Beautiful women, upscale parties… She couldn’t even let herself
think about it. “Well, I’ll see you around, Stan.”
“What should I
tell Mr. Armstrong if he asks where you’ll be staying?”
“I doubt he’ll
ask.” After that night, she was certain he would be glad just to be
rid of her.
***
By the time he
swiped his access card across the box at the front door, Keith was
exhausted. He would have his work cut out for him setting things
right with Tara, but he just wanted to curl up in her arms and let
sleep calm his fear.
Stan wasn’t at
the guard desk, which meant he must be making his rounds to secure
the building. Keith was grateful. He wasn’t in the mood to make
small talk. He just wanted to hold Tara and tell her that whatever
she wanted was okay with him. He realized things had been moving
quickly, and if she needed more time to get used to the idea of
living with him, he would concede.
She could live
in her little house for a few months or a year until she was ready
to move in with him officially. Whether or not her clothes were
hanging in his closet didn’t matter because he intended to make
sure she still wanted to spend every night in his bed.
When he turned
his doorknob, he was surprised to find it locked. She was probably
still a little spooked about her ex. He fit his key into the lock
and opened the door, expecting to hear the TV. When the silence
enveloped him, he moved farther into the room, hoping to see her
curled up on the couch, fast asleep under the soft throw she loved
so much.
When he
realized she wasn’t there, the silence felt eerie. The large
apartment felt desolate, and as he moved through the rooms, praying
for a sign she was still there, reality crashed in on him.
She’d
left him.
“Damn it!” he
shouted, slamming his palm into the wall. “Where the hell are you,
Tara?” He grabbed his cell phone, selected the first name in his
directory, and waited to hear her voice. He did, but it was just
her voice mail. He forced himself to calm down, to think logically
about where she might have gone.
Brent and Ava
were staying in a luxurious hotel by the airport because they were
leaving for Fiji first thing in the morning. Maybe Ava had offered
Tara their place until she sorted things out with her uncle.
Keith cursed
himself for letting his anger get the best of him when he left her
standing in the parking lot. She probably believed his fury was
directed at her, but he had been angry with himself and Biagio… and
terrified of losing her. He should have told her how he felt
instead of forcing her to draw her own conclusions. He pocketed his
keys and stepped outside his door to go up to his brother’s
penthouse, but Stan stepped off the elevator.
“I saw you come
in on the security camera,” Stan said, looking uncomfortable.
“I’m looking
for Tara. You haven’t seen her, have you?”
“That’s why I’m
here.” After reaching into his pocket, he pulled out Keith’s key.
Handing it to him, he said, “She asked me to give you this. She
said you knew she was leaving.”
“Son of a
bitch,” Keith muttered. The cold steel dug into his palm as he
clenched his fist. “Did she say where she was going?”
“I’m afraid
not,” Stan said, running a hand over his bald head. “I asked her. I
was pretty sure you’d want to know, but she wouldn’t say.”
“So she’s not
staying at Brent and Ava’s? You’re sure about that?”
“She definitely
left the building, Mr. Armstrong.”
“Okay, thanks,
Stan.”
Keith waited
for the security guard to step onto the elevator before he sank to
the floor against his closed door. Burying his head in his hands,
Keith struggled to think clearly.
Where could she have gone?
He didn’t know if her uncle’s house was vacant. If not, she would
have checked into a cheap motel. The smart thing to do would be to
wait until tomorrow to try to track her down, but he couldn’t wait.
He needed to see her.
***
Tara folded the
scratchy comforter over, pushing it away from her body. She’d
watched those TV programs highlighting how filthy even the high-end
hotels were. She couldn’t imagine what they might find in a place
like this. It wasn’t a dive… exactly. But it was a far cry from the
five-stars she’d seen on TV.
Her pulse
pounded when someone thumped on her door. She was staying on the
ground floor of a motel, so her room was at least twenty feet from
the main office. Would the pimply faced kid at the front desk hear
her scream? Would he even think she was in trouble or would he
chock it up to guests having wild sex? Before she could decide what
to do, she heard a familiar voice.
“Tara, open
this goddamn door before I break it down.”
Keith.
She leapt out of bed, cursing when she stubbed her toe on the edge
of a table. Pulling the door open, she asked, “What are you—”
“Don’t ever do
that to me again.” He kicked the door closed with his heel as he
backed her up toward the bed. “Don’t leave me.” Then his mouth was
on hers, his hands fisted in her hair.
Whimpering into
his mouth, she slid her hands under his blazer, desperate to feel
his bare skin. Pulling at his shirt, she slid her hands up his back
as he tore at the panties beneath her over-sized T-shirt.
Tossing the
scrap of lace across the room, his lips found the sensitive curve
of her neck. “You scared the hell out of me when I went home and
found you gone.”
“Sorry.” She
couldn’t think straight when his hand slid up her ribcage to cup
her breast. Pulling her shirt over her head, her only thought was
how long it would take them to get naked. “I thought you wanted me
gone.”
Cupping her
chin, he forced her to look him in the eye. “Don’t ever say that
again. I want you with me. Always.”
Her heart
twisted as she forced herself to say the words she’d been holding
back. “I love you… so much.”
He closed his
eyes and let his forehead rest against hers. “I can’t lose you. I
won’t
lose you.”
“You’re not
going to lose me. I promise.” Kissing him hungrily to seal her vow,
she tore at his clothes like a woman possessed. He chuckled at her
eagerness, but she was already too lost to care. As she kissed him
and bared his skin to her roving eyes, a million questions raced
through her mind.
What happened at the police station? How had
Biagio found me?
But none of that mattered as much as feeling
him inside of her again. He would silence her doubts and proved to
the antagonist inside her head that he really was all hers.
He grabbed his
wallet and took out protection under her watchful eye.
“Do you keep
that… just in case?” That he may have been thinking of another
woman when he stowed the condom in his wallet made her sick.
Raising an
eyebrow, he handed the condom to her. “I slipped that in there this
morning. I was hoping I could lure you out to the limo when no one
was watching.”
Laughing with
relief, she rolled the condom over his hard shaft. Her eyes
darkened with desire, and she licked her lips as she moved in to
kiss him. “I’m sure I could have been persuaded.”
“Now you tell
me.”
She kissed him,
savoring every second, because minutes ago she’d convinced herself
she would never again have the pleasure of kissing the man she
loved. Keith tore the comforter off the bed, and Tara giggled. He’d
obviously had the same thought she had.
“What’s so
funny?” he asked, laying down and pulling her down on top of
him.
Her laughter
died as she straddled him. Guiding him inside of her, she watched
his eyes drift closed and his jaw tighten.
“Yes…” She
groaned.
Linking their
hands, she rolled her hips and got lost in the wonder of what his
body could do to hers. She felt as though he knew all of her
secrets. He could turn her on and turn her inside out without
breaking a sweat.
“Open your
eyes,” he whispered. He clasped her hands tighter as he thrust into
her, his eyes never leaving hers. “I love you so goddamn much I
can’t stand it sometimes. I wanted to tell you every time I laid
eyes on you, but it killed me every time I said it and you couldn’t
say it back.”
“I’m so sorry.”
She knew her lack of a response hurt him, but she had no idea how
much. “I was afraid to let myself fall in love with you.” He
continued his sweet torture, and she was torn between surrendering
and trying to make the feeling last forever. “I didn’t want to be
another woman crying herself to sleep every night because I
couldn’t have you.”
“I don’t ever
want to make you cry, baby.” He pulled her down on top of him,
holding her tight as they found the tempo that united their bodies.
“I swear to you, I’ll never hurt you. Please… just trust me. I need
you to trust me.”
Tara was so
close to climaxing she couldn’t think straight, but she knew he was
waiting for her to say something. “I do… trust… you,” she panted,
digging her nails into his shoulders as she sunk further into the
pleasure he offered.
“Baby, whatever
you want, whatever you need… It’s yours.” His fingertips dug into
her hips, and she knew he was struggling as hard as she was to hold
on. “Let go…”
She couldn’t
last another second. Tara abandoned control as Keith did the same.
Pulsating around him, giving herself over to the intense
sensations, she buried her face in his neck to store that moment in
her memory forever.
Keith held her
tighter, sliding his hands up and down her back, as he kissed her
shoulder. “You’re so perfect,” he said.
Tara smiled,
and Keith rolled her off of him so he could make his way to the
bathroom. Burrowing deeper under the thin sheet, she longed to be
back at his place and under his delicious duvet. “How’d you find
me?” she asked.
“I had my limo
driver hit every cheap motel in town until I spotted your car.
Thank God for those vanity plates.”
She grinned.
“How’d you know this was my room?” When he slid into bed next to
her, she waited for him to get comfortable before she curled into
his side.
“Your car is
parked in the spot right in front of your door. I took my chances.”
Chuckling, he said, “I would’ve banged on every damn door in the
place until they threatened to throw my ass in jail.”
“Speaking of
jail, how did it go with Biagio?” She didn’t want to talk or think
about him, but she couldn’t bury her head and pretend it wasn’t
happening either. The police would certainly want to interview her,
perhaps even ask her to testify when Biagio’s case went to trial,
so she might as well face it.
“They’ve got
him. He’s not getting away with this.”
“Good to know.”
Kissing his chest, Tara felt his heart pounding and knew there was
more he wasn’t saying. “Is there anything else you need to tell me…
or ask me?”
“Not about
that. I was uh… just wondering what you planned to do about the
house. Are you going to take your uncle up on his offer?”
Tara didn’t
want to fight with Keith, but she wanted to know if he respected
her right to make her own decisions. “I’d like to.”
The hand
tracing circles on her back stopped moving. “Okay.”
“Really?” Tara
asked, almost afraid to breathe. “You wouldn’t mind?”
“Honey, it’s
your decision where you want to live. As long as you’re committed
to building a life with me, I’m willing to wait as long as it takes
for you to feel ready to take the next step.”
Tara loved him
even more for not pressuring her. “I’ve always wanted my own little
home. Something I could fix up the way I want to. Maybe have a
little flower garden and…” She blushed when she realized how small
her dreams must sound to someone like him.
“Sounds like a
fun project,” Keith said, sliding his hand through her hair. “I
could help you with it.”
“You?” She
tried not to laugh, but imagining her filthy rich boyfriend under
her kitchen sink wearing his Armani suit was a funny picture.
“What’s so
funny?”
Tara could hear
the humor in his voice. “You don’t seem like a do-it-yourself kind
of guy.”
“I used to help
my old man fix things around the house. It was kind of fun.”
Kissing the top of her head, he said, “I want your first house to
be everything you want it to be, sweetheart. Whatever I can do to
help, I will.”
Tara saw the
sincerity in his eyes, and she asked the question running through
her mind. “How’d I get so lucky?”
He linked their
hands and said, “Just goes to show—sometimes it pays to take a
risk.”
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