Authors: Valerie Douglas
She saw them, the stooges. Looking from one to the other, she was aware of their attention. She knew who their prey was.
Her.
It showed in every line of her body.
They closed in as Matt opened up his stride, trying to stay in the shadows so they wouldn’t see him.
A second before he would’ve shouted, she broke and ran, right towards him. It was the only direction she had left to go. A single step took him into the cover of a set of steps shadowed from the streetlight by the thick leaves of a tree. She hadn’t seen him yet, either, didn’t even as he stepped out to intercept her. She ran right into him. He caught her quickly, clapped a hand over her mouth so she wouldn’t cry out, crushed that soft, slender body close against him and pulled her quickly into the nearest alley.
She struggled, fought, surprisingly strong for such a small woman. Surprise was also a factor. There had barely been time for her to gasp before he had her in the shadows of the alley.
Then suddenly she stopped struggling.
He removed his hand.
“Matthew?” Ariel said in disbelief.
Somehow she still remembered the scent of him, the feel of his body.
Too frightened to question much, she was simply grateful for his presence. Any port in a storm, the more immediate fear overriding any other. She knew she was safe with him. His hand in hers was reassuring.
A finger to her lips to hush her, that instant of awareness of her eyes, wide and startled, before Matt led her quickly down the alleyway. Matt would give her credit for quickness, too. She hadn’t asked any questions, she just came. Her small hand fit neatly into his larger one.
The looming shadow of a man blocking the light at the end of the alley behind them wasn’t good. Matt’s dark clothes blended into the darkness but Ariel was like a beacon in her white polo shirt and short khaki skirt. It was simple and neat, unremarkable under other circumstances but it didn’t lend itself well to skulking about in the shadows.
Stepping out of the alley at the far end, he glanced up the street and saw the one he’d dubbed Curly coming down it, looking around. He hadn’t seen them. Yet. He must have run up the street to try to cut them off. One he could handle easily but not with another coming up the alley, especially since he didn’t know where the third was. It was too risky with Ariel.
Matt tugged her hand. She was quick, following where he led. He didn’t doubt she was frightened but she hadn’t panicked and he didn’t think she would. So far she hadn’t been the panicking type.
They ran, staying in the shadows before Matt drew her down another alley, back to the dark roads beyond the Square. It was a chance but he thought they wouldn’t expect that they would have doubled back. He didn’t think the men had spotted them. Not yet. He led her quickly across the green to where the horse drawn carriages waited. It would be visible as all hell. The stooges wouldn’t expect that, either.
They wouldn’t dare move so openly, either, he hoped, but he wasn’t going to take the chance. He wanted witnesses.
“Take us for a ride?” he asked a driver.
Wrapping his hands around Ariel’s waist, he was surprised to find out how light she was as he set her in the carriage. For the first time he was aware of how small she was, coming only to his shoulder. Small and fragile.
Ariel was shocked. It was as if she weighed nothing. Matt had lifted her effortlessly into the carriage. His strength wasn’t that surprising, Ariel had already felt some of it but she hadn’t realized quite how strong he was. No one had ever picked her up so easily, not that many people had tried.
“Sure, sure,” the carriage driver said, as Matt swung up to sit beside her.
Money was quickly exchanged.
His voice a steady drone, the carriage driver clucked up his horse and began his spiel.
In any other circumstances, Ariel thought, it would have been fascinating and romantic. Not now. Her heart pounded from fear of more than one kind. What did those men want? What was Matt doing here? His closeness wasn’t helping, she was intensely aware of him. That was almost as frightening as those men. Her attraction to him was so shattering, so dangerous to her.
The best way to hide, Matt thought, was in plain sight. He draped his arm casually around Ariel’s shoulders as if they were any other tourist couple taking a romantic carriage ride. He drew her close. That nearness was distracting, though. It seemed as if every inch of him was aware of her, of the warmth of her body next to his, even on such a warm night. Caught by the breeze, a strand of her hair brushed his cheek. He could feel the soft pressure of the side of her breast against his chest.
Then he spotted Moe and Larry scanning the crowds along the sidewalk. He didn’t think they’d seen them, yet, or gotten a good enough look to know for certain that Ariel wasn’t alone. They might recognize him, though. Someone had a picture of him, that was how they’d spotted him in Birmingham. If they put Ariel together with him, she’d be in even more danger.
Why were the stooges after her anyway? What did they want? Had they linked them together already? Either way, they’d be easy to follow in the carriage, unless the stooges didn’t see their faces. If there wasn’t anything to see, there wouldn’t be anything to pursue.
Turning his head, Matt looked down at Ariel just as she lifted her chin to look back up at him. So close, all he had to do was lower his head a little. Just a little, his mouth settling over hers. It was nothing more than what he’d wanted to do anyway. The feel of her pliant mouth under his, the softness of her lips beneath his. For a moment she stiffened, her hands going to his chest to push him away. He slanted his mouth across hers, fit his to hers neatly, perfectly. With a soft flick of his tongue he traced her upper lip, then her lower lip. He felt her tremble and surrender. Delicately, he flicked his tongue across the seam between her lips. A taste, that’s all he wanted.
Ariel’s heart pounded but not with fear this time. It raced at the feel of his mouth on hers, at that little brush of his tongue across her lips. Requesting entry but not demanding it. That yearning, that longing she wanted so badly to deny rushed through her. As if of their own volition, her lips parted. His tongue slipped between them, just between them, teasingly. He claimed her lower lip, drew it in, sucking on it a little before nibbling lightly. Need, want and fear battled within her. She wanted him, she wanted this, the touch and the tenderness, the passion and that fragile joy. His mouth possessed hers but his hand against her cheek was gentle. He tasted so good, he felt so good.
Without realizing it she combed her fingers through his hair. Longing rushed up, her throat grew tight as her heart twisted. It thrilled her and terrified her at the same time. She didn’t want him to stop and wasn’t certain what would happen if he didn’t.
That small sound curled in her throat but then her lips parted and Matt’s tongue slipped between them.
Warmth rushed through him as his heart beat strong and hard. She tasted as good as he remembered. He cupped her cheek in the curve of his palm, relished the softness of her skin beneath his hand.
Tentatively, her tongue responded, swirled around his. His body tightened. He wanted her, wanted more of her. Ariel, the sprite, had enchanted him. He could’ve kissed her for hours but not with the stooges wandering who knew where. With their faces still close, he glanced around cautiously.
There was no sign of their pursuers.
Reluctantly, he drew away.
“Where are you staying?” he asked.
It was shattering when he stopped. All thought was gone, it was as if Ariel’s mind had gone blank. The man could kiss, there was no doubt about that. She couldn’t remember when she’d been kissed so thoroughly or so well. It was as if she’d never been kissed before. It was exhilarating and it was terrifying.
Her mind didn’t seem to function right, frantically backpedaling, trying to find someplace safe.
She gave him the name of her hotel. Her voice sounded unsteady even to her own ears.
“Stop here?” Matt asked the driver.
They were about as close to it as they would get in the carriage.
Leaning forward he handed the driver money before swinging down and reaching a hand up to give her a hand her down.
She looked a little dazed before she laid her hand in his offered grasp. Her blue eyes were wide and a little frightened. Her lips were parted, a little swollen from the kiss. He looked around for the stooges as he put an arm around her waist, turning them in the direction of the hotel. He didn’t intend to let her out of his sight until he was certain she was safe.
“What room?” he asked, as they walked into the lobby.
Panic set in. She had to stop this. It was too dangerous, too frightening. She couldn’t let herself care and she didn’t want to need. It terrified her. What she wanted was to bottle these terrifying emotions up again. The memory of the pain, the price you paid for caring too much, made her heart ache.
“314,” she said, “Matthew, you don’t have to do this. I’m safe enough here in the hotel.”
He looked down into her dark-lashed blue eyes and saw the shadows there.
“I’m not letting you out of my sight until I see you safe.”
It was probably at least partly his fault she wasn’t.
The elevator doors closed in front of them. It was as safe and as private as he would get.
“I need to ask. Are you going to the police?” he said.
They would definitely have a few questions for him, once they checked him out, though, they would probably have a few more. Questions he couldn’t answer, not yet. Word about him would get out. If the people at Marathon got wind of it whatever evidence there was would disappear. He couldn’t afford that.
Bewildered, torn, Ariel looked up at him and said, gesturing helplessly. She hadn’t had time to think about it. “I don’t know. What would I tell them, anyway? That three men followed me in a menacing manner? It’s not as if they actually did anything.”
She was tempted to tell him about what had happened the previous night but decided it was better if she didn’t.
“If you do decide to, I need to ask you not to tell them about me.”
She looked up at him, confused. “Matthew, I don’t understand. Why not?”
Taking a slow deep breath, he met her eyes. “It’s important. There isn’t enough time to tell you the whole story and it’s probably better if you don’t know. I’m asking you not to tell them about me.”
His green eyes were intent, insistent.
What had those men actually done? Nothing. Yet. Less than the other men had done. Then again, she might have been making more out of it than she knew. She blew out a breath in frustration, her nerves trembling, still jangling. Matthew’s presence didn’t help, it only seemed to make it worse. She needed time, she need to be alone, to think everything through and put some distance on it.
Matt looked down into her brilliant blue eyes. “Ariel, I’m sorry, I know it’s hard and you have no real reason to but I need to ask you to trust me.”
With a sigh, she met his look as the elevator doors slid open. “For some reason, somehow I think I already do.”
That was dangerous enough in itself.
Unlocking the door to her room, Ariel opened it a little, blocking entrance to it with her body. She turned to look at him. He was so close. She’d dreamed about him, dreamed about him standing so close, this close and she’d pulled him even closer in her dreams. The thought of that frightened her nearly out of her mind.
“You don’t have to stay…” she began, torn between wanting him to and the fear of what might happen if he did.
As she gazed up at him with those incredibly blue eyes, Matt was reminded of the soft feel of her cheek against his hand and the taste of her mouth under his.
The shadows were moving in her eyes again, the ghosts of some emotion he couldn’t name but she hadn’t moved away. Not yet.
Matt slid his fingers into the thick dark waves of her hair and claimed her mouth again. For all her courage in some things, he knew he had to move carefully here. He brushed her lips gently with his, touched his tongue to her bottom lip, tracing it.
As his mouth settled against hers, despite the fear a traitorous part of her wanted it, yearned for the taste of him. It was intoxicating, the feel of his mouth on hers, the want and need of him. The tenderness of the kiss was shattering. She didn’t want him to stop, she wanted him to keep kissing her. His long body was hard and warm against hers, strong. It had been so long since she’d been touched like this. Deep in her belly she felt the warm tug of desire, of want and need.