Chapter 10
Our little scene at the fountain attracts quite an audience. Either Denham has a thing for PDAs or he really doesn’t give a shit what people think. He kisses my breath away and I have to bring myself back to earth and remember where we are before he helps me out of the fountain.
We walk into the hotel, holding hands and dripping fountain water onto the very highly polished marble floors, but Denham ignores the staff trying to catch his eye as he passes. I love that he has no interest in anything or anyone else but me.
I hear fast, heavy footsteps get closer as we reach the elevator and I jump when a person approaches us from behind and shouts, “Where the fuck have you been?”
We both spin in the direction of the sharp voice and I relax when I see that it’s only Spike.
Denham, however, does not relax at all. He drops my hand and I see tension ticking through his jaw and the muscles in his neck bunching up.
He pulls back his shoulders, instantly making him look taller and more menacing, then narrows his eyes before pushing Spikes shoulder, making him take a step back to regain his balance.
“Apologize,” he barks forcefully.
“What the fuck, D?”
“Apologize to the lady. One, for scaring the shit out of her, and two, for speaking with such disrespect.”
“I’m sorry D, but—”
“Don’t apologize to me. Apologize to Arianna.”
I watch him jigging around impatiently, trying to get out what’s bothering him and clearly frustrated at being stopped by Denham.
“Arianna, I’m sorry, I really am. I didn’t think.
But D, I’ve been trying to call you … what happened to you guys anyway?
” The urgency in his features is momentarily replaced by confusion as he takes in our dripping wet state.
Denham casts a look over his shoulder toward me and a cute grin breaks the hard lines that were set along his face.
He turns back to Spike and speaks through gritted teeth.
“I told you, I didn’t want to be called.
I don’t want to know unless the place is burning down and I don’t see a fucking fire. ”
Spike runs a hand through his unruly dark hair. “It’s important. Gimme a couple of minutes?”
Denham looks back to me and I give him a gentle nod before he grips Spike’s elbow and takes him to one side.
I can’t hear what they are saying, but Spikes face is deadly serious.
Denham’s shirt is stuck tight to him, the water making it hold onto every curve of every muscle in his back.
A flush creeps across my chest and up my neck at the mere sight of him.
I sigh in appreciation, and any awkwardness I was feeling about standing here in dripping wet clothes dissolves when I look at his fine form.
I see Spike nod at something Denham says and he glances over at me, giving me a tight smile before jogging off in the opposite direction to us.
Denham walks back to me, taking my hand and threading his fingers through mine as he leads me into the elevator. His face is a mask of unease, and the tension is radiating off him in waves.
“Is everything okay?” I ask cautiously. I know it’s a stupid question. If everything were okay he wouldn’t be giving off such an uneasy feeling.
He punches in the code and the elevator starts to move. After a few very tense minutes, he takes a deep breath before turning to me. “Arianna, you said you trusted me. Do you?”
I nod. “Yes,” I say with as much sincerity as I possibly can.
He walks me backwards, pinning me to the mirrored wall of the elevator.
One hand holds me in place by my hip as the other tucks a stray hair behind my ear.
I shudder as his fingertip traces my lobe and the air is sucked from this small space.
His dark eyes are locked on mine and I watch as his lips part and he draws a ragged breath.
I thought I knew the rhythm of my heartbeat. The only reason it has ever wavered from the continual steady pulse is to accelerate through fear, driving adrenaline around my body to pull me through. No one has ever made my heart race with passion.
Until now.
Now it’s beating faster, making my head spin with sensation and my body react with desire.
Denham slides his hand across the wall and turns the key, halting the elevator with a jolt which makes me gasp.
I don’t care that there may be people waiting for the elevator that will have to take the stairs.
I don’t care that the world could be falling down around us.
I don’t care that this might be the man that takes down every carefully constructed brick that has been my heart’s shield for as long as I can remember.
Because I feel it. Not just physically. The emotional connection of two lost souls finding one another. I feel every part of the man who might just be the one to save me from my self-imposed emotional isolation.
Denham’s lips skim my neck, nipping at my throat and causing soft moans to escape from my body.
He lifts me up until I’m resting on the handrail.
My hips are level with his and I wrap my legs around him, pulling him in to me as close as I can, but it’s not close enough.
There are too many clothes between us. I want him.
Skin on skin.
My fingers work to undo his belt but his hand halts me. He rests his forehead against mine, his breaths ragged and uneven. “Not yet, Arianna, and not here,” he says regretfully, kissing my cheek. “Not the first time. After that, definitely here.”
I groan, knowing he’s right, knowing I got caught up in the moment, but also knowing that I want this more than anything. I just need to convince him that my head is in the same space as his.
He starts the elevator again and we ascend to our floor.
He looks visibly more relaxed now, but I’m worried about what had him so agitated.
I’m not going to pry, though. If he wants to share, he will.
He walks us to my door and opens it to let me in, and I watch as he scans the apartment, walking to the balcony doors and then to the bedroom.
“Denham, what are you doing?”
“Just checking.”
“Checking for what?” I laugh, but the thought that he has to check my room makes me nervous.
“It’s my job to make sure you’re safe.” He walks back to me and pulls me toward him.
“Is there likely to be anyone hiding in here?” Now I’m starting to panic.
“Relax, Arianna. I just wanted to make sure that room service wasn’t here making your bed or cleaning the bathroom.”
“Oh, okay,” I say, confused and not in the least bit convinced about his answer.
“But also, if there were anyone else here I wouldn’t be able to do this …” He supports the back of my head and dips me backwards like they do in the movies for a long hard kiss. When he brings me upright, he runs a hand down over the curve of my waist and squeezes my ass, groaning into my mouth.
“I could get lost in you, Ari,” he murmurs against my lips.
“You’re fucking beautiful, you know that?
” My already pink cheeks heat even further and I look away, but his hand comes up to cup my chin, “Arianna, don’t be shy, not around me, not ever.
You. Are. Beautiful. And I will tell you every day, ten times a day so you believe me. ”
My heart doesn’t stand a chance. It’s exposed and bare for Denham to do with it what he will. I smile shyly at him, and he strokes my cheek gently with his thumb, kissing me softly on the lips.
“And as much as I would love to stay here and kiss every inch of your beautiful skin, I have some things I need to see to.”
“Sure,” I say softly. It’ll give me time to get my head out of the spin that it’s in and think straight. Not that I think I will feel any differently. It’s a feeling I could get very used to. But so many things have happened that I just need time to process it and put it all in order.
“I’ll be two hours, max.”
He makes for the door, my hand slipping from his and letting go of my fingertips at the last minute.
“Denham,” I call after him. “I think you may want to get changed into some dry clothes first.” I giggle.
He gives me a wink and a flash of that cute dimple I’m becoming very fond of, before leaving me standing here feeling like a schoolgirl with a grin on my face the size of the ocean.
Time on my own is good. I love to have the freedom and space to do as I please. As much as I enjoy Denham’s company, I need to keep my head and build my independence once again. I’ve spent a long time being stamped down and overruled.
Life as it was three days ago is finished.
I feel a jumble of emotions, and I’m not sure which one to deal with first. I’m devastated.
I didn’t want it to be over like this. I feel guilty.
Not because he came here looking for me.
No, I feel guilty for being relieved. I’m so damn relieved that I can put 'Natalie Jamesson' to bed and move on from that part of my life. And the guilt for feeling that way is making me sick. I also still have no information about how Aaron is doing. I can’t cope with it. I can’t deal with it right now.
I flick on some music as a distraction. I need all the answers and I need closure on everything before I can undo the jumble, but I don’t have the capacity to do that right now, so I strip out of my wet clothes and take a quick shower before dressing in a robe and sitting in the middle of the huge bed.