Page 36

R iley’s heart slammed against her breastbone, still pounding since she’d read Ethan’s text in the cab about her house having hidden cameras.

How long had someone been watching her? Disgust crept over her skin with the force of a million bugs.

She opened her purse and pulled out her keys as she climbed the porch steps.

She fit the key into the lock and shoved the door open with her hip. The old wood always swelled in the summer. Darkness closed in on her, she blinked her eyes to adjust. She pressed her hand against the solid wood and closed the door behind her.

Long fingers curled around her mouth. Her breath sucked in as an arm closed around her waist and pulled her back against a hard body. Fear lodged in the back of her throat like vomit.

No, no, no.

He had caught her. A cry tore from her throat, muffled beneath his moist palm. Her fingernails dug into his wrists and her body went rigid. His warm, heady scent filled her nostrils, turning her bones lax with relief.

Ethan.

His huge, muscular body should have given him away, but terror had frozen her neurons.

“Shh. It’s me,” he breathed against her ear.

Her body slumped in his arms as if she were a balloon deflating. Her breath was warm beneath his palm. “I didn’t find any bugs out here, but there’s one in the kitchen, one in your room, and a camera above your bed.”

Her breath sucked in. He moved his hand from her face, her heart hammered against his forearm beneath her breast. He turned her in his arms and she collapsed against his chest. His fingers tangled in her hair, cupping her scalp.

Her shoulders shook. She swallowed. Someone had been watching her most intimate moments, had listened to her conversations, had been right in the middle of her life like a fly on the wall and she’d had no idea.

“It’s okay,” he said, his voice barely audible. “He’s going to be suspicious if you don’t sleep in your room. Can you go in there and pretend to call someone? Maybe say you’re not going to be sleeping in your room because of the snake?”

She nodded against his throat.

“I’ll wait in the spare room. I checked it over and it’s clean.”

He inched her forward and locked the door behind them. Riley fished her phone out of her purse. She moved down the hallway, the fingers of her free hand drifted from Ethan’s as he fell into step behind her.

Her high heels echoed down the hall, overpowering Ethan’s shoeless footsteps. When they reached the hallway, he slipped into the spare room and she pressed the cell phone to her ear.

“Hey, girl. Yeah, I just got home, thanks for the text.” Her voice trembled, but she pulled her shoulders back.

She had to make this believable. She paced the floor, pretending to listen.

What the hell should she say? She needed to make it clear to the listener that she and Ethan were no longer an item.

“No, I think Ethan and I are done. He flipped out when my ex showed up from Boston. I had no idea Ethan was so jealous. He wouldn’t even listen to me.

” Her voice rose on the words; if the asshole was listening, he’d have no reason to doubt her.

She sank on the bed and pulled her shoes off one at a time, the phone pinched between her ear and shoulder.

“I know,” she growled, then paused. Her tongue moved over the dryness at the insides of her cheeks.

“Anyway, I was wondering if I could stay with you a couple of nights? I’ve been staying with Ethan since I found that snake in my bed.

There’s no way in hell I’m sleeping in my bedroom.

I’ll need to make other arrangements, but for tonight I’ll sleep in the spare room.

” Maybe he’d move quicker if he thought she’d only be in the house a limited time.

The top of her head burned. The camera’s eye was on her, and he could be watching every breath. She had to end the call before she slipped up.

“Thanks, sorry to call so late. Let’s chat tomorrow.

” She said good-bye and pretended to hang up.

She stood from the bed, her fingers slipped under the strap of her dress, then stopped.

No way in hell she was undressing in here.

She pulled a pair of underwear and a T-shirt from the dresser against the wall, and left the room, closing the door tightly behind her.

Ethan stepped back as she slid past him and shut the door. She dropped her armload of items on the bed and ran her hands through her hair. A knot tightened at the base of her neck, shooting pain down her shoulders.

Ethan closed in on her and pulled her against his chest, his head rested on the top of hers. “You okay?” His voice was strong and sturdy, the lifeline in a tumultuous sea of emotions.

She let his body hold her weight, and her eyes closed against the black material of his shirt. Her breath came out in a long, slow sigh. “I’m fine. I can’t believe someone’s been watching me and listening. My god…”

His palm rested on the back of her neck, his fingers worked at the tense muscles. “Sorry I scared you like that when you came in, but I needed to tell you where the bugs were.”

She nodded. “It’s okay. He can’t hear us in here, right? You’re sure?”

“Positive. The bugs won’t pick up this far. You did great, by the way.”

His voice rose with amusement.

She tilted her head back to face him. His blue eyes were stormy, almost gray. “How many are there?”

“Just the three I mentioned.”

“One is above my bed?”

His jaw hardened beneath the plains of his face. “Yeah, the camera.”

“When is this going to be over?” She dropped her forehead back to his chest. The heat from his skin radiated through the material, the gentle rhythm of his heartbeat against her.

His hands fell to the small of her back and his lips pressed to her hair. “Soon, babe. I promise.”

Her shoulders slumped. She straightened away from him, pulled her cell phone from her purse, and plugged the charger into the outlet near the bed. “Are you coming to bed?” Desire curled around her belly, drawing it tight. But exhaustion settled into her bones. Her mouth opened on a yawn.

Ethan nodded and unbuttoned his pants.

She quickly changed and crawled into the bed.

He stripped down and slid in next to her.

His heat drew her, and she molded her body to his, her cheek rested on his shoulder, her palm over his heart and her bare thigh drawn over his lightly hairy one.

Shallow breaths blew through his nose as he curled his arm around her, his hand resting on her hip.

Her eyes burned with fatigue, but her mind wouldn’t stop churning. She cracked her eye open and looked up at Ethan. His eyes were shut, his breathing slow and regular.

“Ethan?” she whispered into the darkness.

His hand flexed on her hip and his eyes remained shut. “Mmm?”

“I’m so tired, but I can’t stop thinking about who it could be.”

His breath rumbled through his chest against her ear and he shifted to look down at her. “You need to sleep, babe.”

“I know, but I can’t right now. Do you have a primary suspect?”

He snorted. “I have a lot of them. Someone would’ve had to have had access to your place. Anyone else besides Hanna’s parents have a key?” His knuckles dragged over her spine and her muscles unraveled.

“No, I can’t see Hanna giving a key to anyone.”

He moved his hand and trailed it up her back to toy with her hair. “Her parents could have someone managing the property or hell, even a handyman with a key.”

She pushed herself up and gazed down at him. The moonlight streamed in through the window, illuminating the steely gray in his eyes. “She does use a handyman. I’m pretty sure he’s the same one who changed the locks.”

Ethan sat up, and Riley spilled into his lap, the blankets pooled around them. She pushed up and scooted onto her knees.

His hand grasped her wrist, circling it completely. “Do you know his name? Have you met him?” His breath was hot and urgent in the air between them. Her throat tightened.

“No, but I remember her giving me his card. Ugh, I have no idea what I did with it.” She pulled her hand from his and dropped her face into her fingers.

His hands closed around her waist and he pulled her to lie back down, her head dropped against his shoulder.

“Don’t beat yourself up over it. We don’t know that’s our guy. But it’s a lead. Tomorrow you should ask Jean some questions.”

She nodded. “Okay.”

“If you can get his name, I’ll add it to the two suspects I gave to Nate. Hopefully he’ll have information on Michael and Brian soon.”

“Okay. I’d hate to worry Jean though.” Her throat threatened to close on the words.

Ethan tucked her hair behind her ear and brushed his mouth over hers.

Her lips tingled, wanting more. There was no way she could give in to the pulsing in her body.

Not when someone had been listening to her this whole time.

“I know but it’s important to know who could have keys to this house. I’m sure they would want to help.”

Riley nodded. Jean definitely wouldn’t want to leave any stone unturned.

“Can you sleep now?” His hand found the back of her head and his smile curved against her temple as he pressed a kiss near her hair.

She nodded and cuddled closer to him. She slept on Ethan’s chest and the gentle beat of her heart fell into rhythm with his as she sunk deep into his warm embrace.

***

Buzz, buzz, buzz.

The mattress shifted and the annoying vibrating stopped. Ethan’s warm arm slid under her shirt and over her belly. The soft prickle of his arm hair sent a shiver over her. His fingers intertwined with hers and his stubble abraded her knuckles as he kissed her hand.

She kept her eyes closed against the sunlight streaming in through the gap in the curtains. Ethan shifted beside her and she cracked her eyes open as he lay on his back, his gaze on the screen of his phone.

“I think I’m going to go into work today. I should probably get back to my usual schedule don’t you think?”