Chapter Twenty
Arianna
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I LIFTED MY HEAD FROM my book as soon as I heard his voice, feeling that flush of excitement at him being so close.
I had spent most of today trying to blend into the scenery as much as humanly possible. I wanted to be as invisible as I could be, and the best way to make it happen was to put myself everywhere, all at once, and get the staff used to seeing me kicking around the house. I had been wandering around most of the day, getting to know the ins and outs of it, hoping I would be able to make it my home for as long as I needed it.
I had started in the kitchen, finishing up another cup of coffee before I headed out into the grounds of this place; the gardens were pretty impressive, I had to admit, and seeing the parade of gardeners rushing around to keep it in check really brought home just how much money Arnold and his group must have had to their name.
And, in the cool morning sunlight, I found myself pondering on what he had said to Dean about me. About how they had managed to get me away from the Vogons, and how hard they’d had to work to pull it off. What exactly did he mean by that? How exactly did he intend to go about it? What was he trying to convince Dean of? I wondered if it was some test, a test to see if Dean was going to contradict him and give away the truth of what had happened between us. Arnold might have played the nice one, but I was sure he was as savvy as anyone who had managed to scramble to the top of the pile the way he had.
This place was impressive, and it was clear he had some serious money to his name. Somewhere, at the back of my mind, I silently congratulated myself for being able to pick out a mark who clearly had plenty to spare. If I had been smart enough to leave Dean to deal with his own shit, I would have been out of the country with a huge stack of Arnold’s money in my back pocket. I could have been in France right now, sipping on a chablis, enjoying the sunshine and maybe one of those skinny French cigarettes I liked so much...
But I wouldn’t have been able to walk away from Dean. There was something about him, right from the moment I laid eyes on him, that drew me in. I couldn’t have left him there, even if I had wanted to, even if there was some part of me that knew far, far better than to get involved with the kind of man who was in the sort of mess he was.
And now, he was here. So close to me I could practically feel him, even now, my skin prickling as I imagined his hands all over me. Hell, the thought of him even touching me once more, it sent shivers down my spine, in a way I was sure Arnold hoped I got when thinking about him.
It felt dangerous, but so exciting I wasn’t about to get away from it. I had to see this through, even if it landed me in a whole heap of trouble. Shit, I was in it now, and the only way out was through. I had to keep pushing forward, and hope I could survive.
And maybe steal a little more time with Dean to boot.
I made sure all the staff had seen me, and noticed that most of them hardly seemed to glance twice in my direction. They didn’t care I was here. They had other things to worry about. I could imagine Terrence running this place with an iron fist, making sure anyone who didn’t do as he expected got the brunt of his anger, and I didn’t blame them for keeping their heads down and bustling around instead of being caught standing and doing nothing.
Inside the house, it was a little quieter; it seemed as though everyone was busy with other things, leaving me to just wander around and get to know the place.
Any other time, I would have enjoyed a stay in a place as nice as this. But I was here against my will, and I never liked feeling stuck. It was the reason I had fled from my aunt and uncle’s place back in the day – they were good to me, and I knew I would have had a decent life with them, but the thought of living that life under the constricts of everything they wanted from me was too much to take. I was always pushing at the boundaries, finding out how far I could go before someone put their foot down.
But here, when that someone put their foot down, I wouldn’t be able to get out of it with a flutter of the lashes and a smile. I needed to play by their rules, at least for now, I needed to make sure I could convince them I was nothing more than a lovestruck young woman caught up in some chaos because of Arnold.
Even if I felt nothing for him. He wasn’t a complete jerk, which was going to make it easier for me to play my part, but still – when I looked at him, it was like there was nothing there, especially when I compared it to the chemistry I so clearly had with Dean. I was surprised Arnold hadn’t noticed it at the breakfast table. Maybe he had – maybe he was leaving me alone today to see what I got up to, in the hopes of catching me out in some game I was playing. I had to keep my head down. And yet...
I made my way down to the library, glad at least for somewhere peaceful to rest up for a while. In places like this, the library was generally just for show, and people barely used it for its intended purpose. I picked out a book – some ancient old tome on the marking of land in this area over the last few centuries – and settled down to read it. Maybe I would be able to doze off, if it was boring enough. I still felt exhausted from the night before. I had been up way too late thinking about Dean, and I was sure, since he was here, it was going to be even harder for me to pretend I wasn’t thinking about us being together again.
Because, hell, it was all I could imagine right now. The way his hands had felt on me, the touch of his skin on mine, his kiss – the way he had looked at me, as though I was the most perfect thing in the world and he couldn’t wait to touch every part of me. And now, we had come together again, and I didn’t know how we could avoid taking it further.
We would have to. If we gave away more than we already had, there would be hell to pay, and I had to hide my attraction toward him, for both of our sakes. Not to mention the fact that Arnold clearly thought he had every right to me, and I had no doubt he would turn on me in an instant if he caught the vaguest hint of an idea that I was interested in anyone else. Let alone someone who worked for him.
I was trying to stay focused on the book, when a voice outside caught my attention. Dean? I recognized it at once. My ears perked up, and I peered out the door to see who he was talking to.
“Where am I staying?” he asked the woman he was chatting with; she looked to be one of the household staff, an older woman with a brisk attitude.
“You’ll be along the top corridor, at the end,” she replied. “I’ll show you up there, if you like.”
“Thank you,” he replied. He sounded exhausted, like they hadn’t given him a moment’s peace since he arrived. I bit my lip and wondered if I should call out to him, let him know I was in here, but I knew I had to stay out of his way. At least, for now.
I turned back to my book, the words I’d just overheard running around my head, like my mind wanted to taste every part of his voice again. He was going to be in the top corridor...wasn’t that where I was staying? Were we going to be right next to each other? Oh, this could be dangerous, this could be seriously dangerous...
I tried to gather myself and focused back in on the book. But if I was to go back up to my room...well, that would be normal, wouldn’t it? It had been a crazy couple of days, and nobody would have been surprised if I’d needed some time to rest up and get some peace and quiet. If it just so happened to be right next to where Dean was, all the better.
I sat and read – or pretended to read – the book for the next twenty minutes or so, not wanting to give anyone any reason to think I was getting into anything I shouldn’t have been. And then, casually, I placed it back on the shelf and started to wander back up to my room once more.
Even though I was playing at casual, I could feel my heart slamming against my chest as I drew closer and closer to him. Damn, I wanted him so badly it hurt. My entire system was lit up with the need for him, wanting his touch, his body, the look in his eyes when he met my gaze...
I made my way up the corridor, and I could actually hear the blood pounding through my head. I couldn’t believe it. He was here again. The universe had brought us together. Not that I believed much in fate; why would I, when I had made my own? Yet, here he was. So close.
As I headed towards my room, I saw the door to another one, just next to mine, cracked open. I peered inside, and sure enough, I could see the clothes he had been wearing when I had last seen him scattered on the bed. Distantly, I could make out the sound of a shower, and I felt a flush of want as I imagined him under that warm water, his naked body shrouded with steam.