Chapter 16
Emma
I ran back through the gardens, getting lost a couple of times on the way. Lights shone on the paths, making it clear to see where to go, but I was so far back that I ended up on the other end of the resort, near the guests who paid to stay in the hotel portion.
With every step I ran, I warred between regret that I had to break up that hot moment with Luke and the worry that the Marchese man could find me. Once I reached the crowded areas of the hotel lobby and the connection that would lead to the VIP condos, I felt marginally calmer. Here, I could rely on the relative safety among many. If that spy—or both of them—were sent here to take me to Antonio, they’d struggle to pull it off with so many guests and tourists lingering and mingling with drinks.
The fear returned the closer I came to Krista’s condo.
“Em?” She yawned, seeming to have just come out of the shower. “What’s up?”
I shrugged, pushing into her room and praying I didn’t smell like sex. “I don’t want to be alone tonight.”
“Aw.” She pulled me to her side for a sloppy hug. “I’m sorry.”
“For what?” I pressed my hands to my face, worried that she could tell, that she could see how worked up I was.
“Well, I drank too much last night and slept damn near all day. I’m here to be with you.” She winced. “I wasn’t good company today.”
I waved her concerns away. “No worries.”
“You wanna watch something?” She yawned again, going toward the TV.
“That hangover sure hit you hard.”
She laughed. “Or maybe I’m coming down with something. You look a little rosy in the cheeks too.”
Ha. I wasn’t coming down with anything other than a case of yearning for a lot more with Luke. A lot more I wasn’t supposed to even have at all. I’d cherish the memory of him fingering me and getting me off. It was the first time I’d had an orgasm with a man, and I didn’t know what to think, how to compartmentalize it. I told Krista that I wanted to lose my virginity to someone of my own choosing, with a man who wanted me.
Luke had. Or he’d desired me enough to get me off.
Yet, as I headed toward Krista’s guestroom, I wondered why he didn’t even kiss me before I left or tell me goodbye.
I rubbed my face, feeling out of sorts. I was sticky, too. A quick shower refreshed me, but it didn’t wash away my worries that I’d screwed up somehow.
Letting Luke fool around with me didn’t feel wrong. It felt right. I flopped to the bed, naked, and climbed under the covers. Exhaustion crept in, and I wasn’t surprised. After the fear of feeling hunted, then the euphoria of coming on Luke’s fingers like that, I felt tossed and turned and twisted up inside out. Which was tiring.
With thoughts and questions about Luke on my mind, I drifted off to a mostly restful sleep.
When I woke the next morning, I saw that Krista had ordered room service. The breakfast plates were cool to touch, which told me that they’d been sitting there for a while. A note sat with the uneaten meal.
I’m going to the gym then the pool if you want to look for me. I heard about a party to check out tonight, so I want to relax before it.
I rolled my eyes. “Another party?” She gave herself one, drinking all that wine. I didn’t want to judge her, but I was nervous about her going out. After the shitty problems we had when we went to those clubs, I was surprised she wanted to risk it.
But that was Krista. She liked going out, and I felt bad that I was holding her back.
Just you wait. Soon, I won’t be available to drag you down or be a wet blanket.
I borrowed the guest robe and sat to nibble on cold, stiff toast. Thinking back to the day before, I let all the emotions cycle through me. The fear and worry of trying to hide from the Marchese spy. The bliss and pleasure of coming from Luke’s touch. It left me wrung out, and I still had to face both issues.
I could hide all day and night again, but sooner or later, those spies would find me.
And Luke? I was sure I could count on him to avoid me all day again. That seemed to be his pattern. Help me out of a bind, then tease me, and bolt.
Checking the camera footage on my phone, I felt calmer that no one trespassed in my condo last night. No one came to the door. No one broke in through a window. Nothing. With the beach surrounding us, there weren’t any trees and natural places to hide behind either.
A day of rotting on the couch was in order. I headed to my condo and did just that, napping and bingeing a show I’d had on my list for a while. I didn’t pay much attention. I couldn’t when I kept thinking back to Luke. How he kissed me. How he teased me and pushed my buttons. But the skillful way he played me so well, making me come...
I sighed and closed my eyes to fantasize about it all over again. It almost seemed like a dream or a figment of my imagination, but it wasn’t. I felt the slight ache between my legs. I recalled, with clarity, the sweet release that soothed my soul and warmed my heart. When Luke made me come, I felt it everywhere all at once. Any touch from him felt like a whole-body experience, and now I knew how explosive an orgasm with him could be.
My lazy day of hiding in my condo passed quickly. Before long, it was already nighttime. Krista checked in with me via texts, but it seemed she changed her mind about going to that party. Her period started, and she just wasn’t in the mood any longer.
I waited for a bag of popcorn to finish popping when my phone buzzed again.
I picked it up and accidentally scrolled too far back on our thread, showing texts from several hours ago.
Krista: I swear they make tampons different nowadays.
Emma: If you’re not going back to the pool, just use a pad.
Krista: I hate pads.
Emma: But if you’re just staying in, who cares?
Krista: Fuck it. I’m running to the store for some. Want anything?
Emma: No. Thx tho.
I smirked at our chat. We were more like sisters than best friends, but I was glad she wasn’t my sibling. If she was, she’d have to deal with an arranged marriage too, and I’d hate for her to endure that kind of hell.
The new notification that popped up wasn’t from her, though.
An unidentified number had texted me, and I furrowed my brow as I opened the message. A video was attached.
Krista! All this time, I thought she was right next door, being lazy on the rag. This short video was proof that she wasn’t. Lying slumped on a couch I didn’t recognize, she slept away. My first thought was to dismiss this as a prank or rude joke. With all those AI programs altering any digital file, it could be fake.
Those thin tan lines over her shoulders were definitely not fake. She got it just a few days ago when be both fell asleep under the sun. This video was new, recent as of tonight.
In the short video, I saw that she was breathing. Just out of it.
Was she drugged? Drunk again? Knocked out? I hurried to get over the surprise that Krista wasn’t where I thought she’d be. She clearly wasn’t next door.
Unknown Number: If you want to come get your friend, you can find her at the boss’s house.
Unknown Number: Antonio will be glad to see you stop by.
“Fuck!” He had her. The damn Marchese men took her. She must have gotten bored and headed out to stop in at that party after all. I assumed they saw her and moved her, and it had to have happened after she was already drunk or high.
She knew better than to go to a party hosted by the Marcheses. While she enjoyed hitting on Justin, the one guards she called her favorite eye candy, she didn’t get close with anyone from their organization. Looking at Justin from afar was one thing. But willingly showing up at a Marchese party? Hell no. She wouldn’t.
Is that why those spies were here yesterday? Trying to get to me and when they couldn’t, they resorted to taking her and using her to lure me out?
It had to be a trap. A ploy to get me out there.
But I’d be damned if I fell for it. I paced, thinking this through while doing my best not to cave to the anger swarming within me from their sneaky maneuver. How dare they take her? How dare they try to ruin my life before I was stuck with them?
I couldn’t leave her there. It killed me to consider going to any Marchese property, but this was different. I refused to abandon my best friend.
But...maybe I don’t need to go there alone?
Luke’s scowling face came to mind, and I didn’t waste another moment of debating.
He had to help. He’d helped me before. I felt bad to rely on him like this, but he’d proven many times now that he couldn’t stay away when I needed backup.
Until now, I hadn’t asked him to be there for me. But I hoped he’d budge and give me the time of the day now.
I found him out by the beach, striding toward that uglier building the staff frequently stopped in at.
“Not again,” he groaned.
“I need—”
He held his hand up. “No.”
“Listen to me. Please.”
Something in my expression must have conveyed the seriousness of what I had to ask for. He sighed and hung his head. Shaking it slightly, he seemed to mumble to himself. When he lifted his face, he scowled a bit. “Now what?”
“I need your help picking up my friend.”
He furrowed his brow. “The brunette who laughs too loud?”
“Yeah—” I smirked. “She doesn’t laugh too loud.”
“Why do you need my help?”
“Because she’s at a place I don’t want to go alone.” He’d expect more answers, and I was prepared to give him as many as I could to ensure he’d come with me.
“Why?” He shook his head. “Why don’t you want to go there alone?”
“Because those men from yesterday might be there.”
There was no might about it. I looked up that address, and it was a party house Antonio liked to stop at.
He looked away and strode on. “I don’t want to get involved, Emma.”
I rushed after him. “I know you don’t, but—”
“I’m just getting off now. I’ve got other stuff to deal with tonight and now this?”
“It won’t take long. Just an in-and-out sort of thing.”
He frowned at me walking alongside him.
“I know I don’t have any right to ask you for anything. I hate that I do.”
“That’s right.” He glanced at me coolly. “I thought you never wanted to be indebted to anyone.”
“I don’t.” I already felt like I “owed” him a payback for him making me come. “But I can’t leave her. I have to make sure she’s safe.”
“You don’t think she’d be safe there?”
I shook my head. “Please, Luke.”
I braced myself for the inevitable question he’d spring on me in reply. The one where he’d ask me what was in it for him if he did this.
“Fine.”
I smiled.
“But I have something to take care of first.”
“An errand?”
He rolled his eyes at me. “At midnight?”
I shrugged. “Then what is it?” If he announced that he had a date...
“Another job.”
Huh. I wasn’t expecting that. He was always here, working long hours. I hadn’t considered that he’d moonlight as something else, too. With how tired he looked, I bet he’d pulled a double shift doing security here, being here morning, afternoon, evening, and finally getting off after the night shift.
“It won’t take long,” he added. “It’s just an, uh, assignment to handle.”
“Okay. Well, if it’s easier, I can ride along with you until you’re done with it. Then we can go get Krista right after.” If he said it wouldn’t take long, then fine. It was urgent to get Krista away from the Marchese men, but I didn’t want to piss Luke off any further by insisting he stop and drop all his plans to accommodate what I needed. I felt weird asking him for anything to begin with.
He huffed a little incredulous laugh. “You sure?”
I nodded, but that felt like a lie. With Luke, I wasn’t sure what to expect.
But I was glad I could count on him to agree with this.
Just like I kind pf predicted he would. Having a man care about me was a fluke, an experiment that would fizzle out. He was so annoyed with me half the time, and I bet he’d tire of me completely sooner than later.
While it lasted, though, I’d bask in the warm glow of thinking I mattered to him. Even a little, teeny bit.