Chapter 19 #2
So, he set one hand to the wall, bowed his head, and stroked himself from root to tip, growing painfully hard as he called up the memory of his hands on Julia’s body during their shower together.
The play-by-play unfolded in his head, and he squeezed his eyes closed when an unexpected tug of emotion, totally unrelated to getting struck by a bullet, filled his chest.
He released his cock and braced both hands to the wall at the realization he was falling for this woman more than he thought, and damn it, he was going to get hurt.
“Beautiful, yes?” The man couldn’t take his eyes off Julia, and Finn didn’t blame him.
Julia was stunning no matter what she wore, but tonight she looked like an elegant movie star, her hair falling like silk over her shoulders.
The black and red fitted, knee-length dress she wore was modest, but Finn knew it had to have cost a pretty penny.
The cinched waistline was embroidered with red flowers, and while the sleeves were sheer, they went to her elbows to follow local clothing guidelines.
Gold, strappy heels made her long legs look even longer.
The neckline of the dress was also modest, but that didn’t stop Finn from thinking about how perfect her tits felt against his chest during that shower in Egypt.
And if he had the chance for a repeat, this time he’d hold them in his palms, drag his thumb over her nipple, and—
“Yes, the stables and horses are both very beautiful,” Julia answered the hotel employee who’d all but given them no choice but to take a quick pre-dinner tour after he picked them up in the golf cart ten minutes ago. “And there are over five hundred stables here?”
Finn pocketed the naughty things he wanted to do to Julia in the back of his mind in hopes he’d be able to eventually extinguish whatever flame she’d lit inside of him since he met her back in January. A flame that’d grown during the last two weeks to what felt like the point of no return.
“Yes.” The man smiled, his thick, black mustache hiding most of his lips.
“Nothing more magnificent than an Arabian horse. Their chiseled heads. Long, arched necks. A high tail carriage.” He beamed as he motioned toward one of the chestnut horses in the closest stable inside the massive, well, whatever type of room he’d said they were in.
“Equine passion is synonymous with Dubai. We care a lot for our horses.”
Finn looked straight into the creature’s big brown orbs for eyes and . . .
Jaden suddenly came back to mind.
Why now?
Why that dream?
“We have a saying,” the man went on, and Finn pulled his focus back to Julia when she gently tugged his arm for his attention, obviously noticing something was wrong.
“And what is that?” Julia asked, her voice polished and a bit haughty sounding as she played up the rich-woman act.
Hell, she was a rich woman. And if Julia hadn’t gone back to her true self and dropped the I-hate-you attitude she’d given him those two weeks in New York, he’d believe she was the woman she was pretending to be now.
Their impromptu tour guide appeared to relish Julia’s attentive gaze. She was quite the actress. “The saying we have here is ‘The devil will never dare enter a tent with an Arabian horse.’ They are a protector of people.”
Protector? Devil?
When Jaden’s face filled his mind yet again, Finn instinctively took a step back, pulling free from Julia’s touch as he looked away.
But horses were everywhere he turned.
And he felt his brother’s presence surrounding him, too.
The pills as well.
The fucking pills he should have told his parents about. Or Jaden’s agent. Hell, anyone. He should never have made his brother the promise to keep his mouth shut.
Why didn’t I make him get help for his addiction before it was too late?
How could he ever walk through that cemetery in Pasadena without God opening the heavens to strike him?
“I didn’t say anything. I should have,” he mumbled under his breath as the room began to spin.
“I think he’s hungry. Probably jet lag, too. Maybe we should get to our dinner reservations.” Julia reached for Finn’s arm and tugged him tight to her side. He sucked in a sharp breath and brought his palm to his forehead, finding it damp with sweat.
“Oh yes, let’s get you to dinner,” the man said.
“Richard. Mm. Rick?”
“Evie,” Finn whispered in response when Julia reminded him where he was and who he was supposed to be.
“Yes, I’m starving. Got a bit dizzy,” he lied and regained his focus, doing his best not to look in the eyes of any of the horses, worried he’d find his brother staring back at him instead.
Julia hooked her arm with his, and they followed the concierge, or whatever the dude’s role was, to the steakhouse.
The hostess ushered them to a special table within a minute, and once they were seated, Finn spotted the American couple with not only Kaira but Tariq as well.
Harper and Jessica had provided photos of the American targets to commit to memory before they left for dinner.
Fortunately, Harper was feeling better, but Finn figured she’d be staying in the villa for the remainder of the weekend with her touch-and-go nausea.
“They’re a few tables over,” Julia leaned in and said after their server finished discussing the specials and left them alone. Something about Argentinian meat with roasted yada yada yada.
“Yeah, I see them.”
“They don’t seem to be following the dress code,” she commented from behind the menu she held in front of her face, only her eyes visible over the top.
He glanced at the “they” she’d referred to.
Kaira was in a chic, sleeveless fitted white dress with her black hair down her back.
Tariq, on the other hand, didn’t seem to give any fucks, wearing jeans from what Finn could tell coupled with a black T-shirt.
And the Americans didn’t appear to care about clothing etiquette either.
“Maybe the rules don’t apply to the uber-rich at this resort? Does that mean we’re exempt?”
“We will be for the costume party, I suppose.”
He smirked at the memory of her chosen outfit. “Wonder Woman.”
“Not sure how Harper talked me into that. The movie is called Wonder Woman 1984, but I think it came out in 2020.”
“Pretty sure Wonder Woman dates back to pre-2022, though,” he said with a laugh, suddenly feeling better the farther away from the horses they were. And from his memories of Jaden. “I wish you would’ve let me get my Darth Vader costume. Empire Strikes Back was in the eighties.”
“We need that handsome face of yours visible. No hiding behind a mask.”
“Handsome, eh?” He set his menu down and looked around the restaurant. “You sure it’s okay we didn’t bring our bodyguard tonight?”
“Yeah, for tonight, I think we’re clear. Tomorrow makes sense for him to come with us on the safari.”
The server approached a moment later. “Ready to order?”
Hell if Finn could remember what he’d selected from the menu not two minutes later.
And with the candles lit at the center of the table and the romantic lighting and ambiance, not to mention the soft tunes being sung from somewhere in the room—he was pretty sure it wasn’t being piped in—this was the closest thing to a real date he’d had in forever.
Aside from that dinner on the terrace in Egypt, he supposed.
“I think you’ll make a great Indiana Jones,” Julia said, returning to the conversation they’d been having before he’d grown distracted by A.J.
’s absence. Not that they were truly alone.
His guys were lurking around the hotel grounds in case any of their four targets left the restaurant and split up.
They needed all hands on deck just in case.
Julia’s brother wouldn’t arrive in Dubai until tomorrow because he couldn’t get a flight, and he was under strict orders not to show up at the resort. They’d have to find a way to meet with Michael the day after tomorrow since he and Julia would be gone all day, which her brother was going to hate.
“I’m no Harrison Ford, but I guess my inner child is happy with being Indiana.” He winked, and the smile forming on her pouty lips made his heart sing.
That organ in his chest pumped harder than it should have from the sight of her smile.
Julia thanked the server for her red wine and once again waited for the woman to leave before speaking.
Ramadan was over now, which meant they could drink and eat during the daytime in Dubai again.
And although he was working, he’d take a few sips to calm his pulse that was jockeying too fast with her blue eyes on him. “Can I ask you something?”
“Guess you’ll have to ask to find out,” he teased.
“What is it with you and horses?” That was not what he expected. “The statues outside. The stables.”
“It’s not the horses.” Finn considered how much to say.
He’d nearly shared everything with her at the mall when he heard the Bryan Adams song.
“When I nodded off on the couch while you were supposed to be in bed”—and wow, was that THIS morning?
—“I had a shit dream. I was in a sandstorm, there was a horse. I don’t know, it was pretty unsettling. ”
Julia’s shoulders fell as if disappointed he wasn’t willing to share.
It wasn’t that he didn’t want to. He was never the confessor but always the person everyone confided in. He never shared those secrets, and he certainly didn’t share his own. Aside from Roman knowing the burden Finn carried and how much it affected him, he didn’t go around talking about himself.
Finn stole a second to check their targets while he contemplated what else to say, knowing Julia wanted him to talk.
But he also knew that, for him, opening up to Julia was as good as making a commitment to her.
And while it might not be the case for most people, for Finn, it was a bigger step than sex.
Bigger than a relationship. In his head, she’d have to be the woman he planned to marry for him to share his heart and his pain like that. His guilt.
“Um, they’re dancing.” He blinked in surprise to see “Joan” and “Jack” slow dancing between tables. A musician Finn hadn’t noticed serenaded the room, singing in Arabic.
“Dance with me.” Julia stood and came around to his side of the circular table.
“What?” He tried not to draw attention with his shock. But what?
“They’ll notice us if we dance, too.” She arched a dark brow and lightly nodded the directive to take her hand, but he remained in place. “Do you trust me?”
“Shit,” he whispered in a low voice, thinking back to Elaina’s favorite Disney movie, Aladdin.
He’d watched the new version starring Will Smith how many times with her?
Emily and Liam’s eldest daughter was a radiant light.
Also, more than a bit prophetic. Or psychic.
Whatever it was called, she had it. “Another movie line. And here I am as Princess Jasmine this time.” But he smiled and took her hand.
When he rose, he took charge and slung her arms over his shoulders, then framed his hands around her waist.
He felt the eyes of the other couples there on them.
But for the moment, he was completely mesmerized by the woman in his arms. No PDA in Dubai.
Did this not count? Maybe not in a restaurant with live music?
And he also couldn’t get himself to unglue her hands, fingers interlocked behind his neck if he tried.
“You really are a movie buff like me. My niece loves Aladdin.” Julia smiled as if drawing up a memory. “My brother didn’t think he’d be able to have kids. Miracles happen.”
“They do, don’t they? Sometimes, I guess,” Finn said softly as they moved side to side to the tunes. “For some people. Not everyone.”
“I think everyone gets one miracle in their lifetime. Hopefully more.” Her blue eyes shimmered like the waters of the Arabian Gulf.
So beautiful. So full of optimism. He was pretty sure she hoped saving Oliver would be her miracle.
He wanted so many more for her. “They’re noticing,” she whispered into his ear, and her warm breath there had his dick stirring in his pants.
That would probably get him thrown in jail in Dubai if he had an erection in public.
And the team didn’t need a second person to bust out of prison.
“Kaira is going to the ladies’ room, I think,” he said while watching the woman walk behind Julia, saying something quick to Joan on her way across the room.
“I should talk to her.” Julia casually removed her arms from his shoulders. “Tip the singer. I’ll be back.”
“Jul—” He quickly stopped himself from saying her real name. “Evie.”
“I got this.” She winked. “You trust me, remember?”