Free 28 Seconds: A House of Valentine Novella by Elizabeth Blair Page A

twelve.”

 
     
     
     
     
     
    CHAPTER TEN
     
    “How long have you been out here?”
    “I’m sure you already know the answer to that.”
    “Yes, I do,” he admitted. “You’ve sat out here through the rain storm, while the temperature dropped, and now you’re half frozen. Come inside.”
    “I’m fine.”
    “If you won’t worry for yourself then think about Charlie.”
    “Who the hell is Charlie?”
    “He’s the sniper sitting guard on the roof. Through the same rain and the same temperature drop because you are being too fucking childish to go inside.”
    I stood up with as much grace I could manage and stalked past him. “Don’t you ever call me childish.”
    He was at my heels, quiet steps that barely registered in my head. “Ariana-”
    “No, there’s nothing I want to hear right now.”
    “Your family-”
    I whirled on him, nearly colliding with his chest. I looked up at him, my voice quiet. “Family? You mean my mother. The only person in my life. The woman I trusted so completely that I’ve followed her blindly from one town to the other. For what? Just so she could continue to use me as a fucking lab rat. My father. Who doesn’t even bother to talk to me on the phone after fifteen years, knowing that my mother, his wife, bled to death in my arms. And then there’s your precious house of Valentine. Who learns of my drug knowledge and then decides I’m some fucking commodity to be locked away. And you….you are the one who got angry and stormed off like a fucking child leaving me alone with strangers, in a strange house, in a strange city. Fuck you, Cole, fuck all of you.”
    He stumbled as if I’d slapped him. “ That’s what’s going through your head?”
    “Not even half of it,” I murmured. I moved to the bed, curling my legs up and dropping my head against my knees. I tried to fight the trembles wracking through my body but between the cold, rain and emotional riptide, I didn’t have a chance. A blanket was tucked around my shoulders and then Cole’s weight beside me caused the bed to bounce.
    “Then tell me the rest.”
    “No.”
    “Why?”
    “Because the rest is just for me.”
    “When I found you, you fell into my arms with complete and utter blind trust. And in one stupid, childish fit of anger I lost it all.” He leaned to me, kissing my forehead with a slow deliberateness. “I’m so very sorry, Ariana.”
    He was leaving me. Leaving me alone, in the darkness, with absolutely nothing but my own terrorizing thoughts. “Please don’t leave me alone again.”
    “I can have someone sit with you.”
    “I don’t know any of these people. I know no one else on the whole damn planet.”
    “Ariana, we’re both half drunk. I’m adrenaline fueled and you’re fragile…it’s just not a smart situation.”
    “Cole,” I whispered, “please don’t make me beg.”
    He was beside me before I took a breath, tugging me into his lap, pressing my head into his chest and wrapping me safely in his arms. I’m not sure how long it took but my tears eventually ran dry and the emotions raging in him finally calmed. In the quiet that followed, I became aware of how impossibly tight our bodies were pressed together. I felt something stir deep inside me and I shifted in his lap, reaching my hand to caress his chest. I followed the curves of his muscles, memorizing the way they rippled under his shirt, the way I could feel his nipples hardening with my touch.
    I reached to his caress his face, expecting to see a reproach but, instead, his eyes were alive with a dark, smoldering intensity. His fingers drifted across my cheek, bringing my lips to his. Our kisses were slow, exploring each others mouths with an erotic jumble of both deep and shallow caresses.
    His hands moved to my hips, lifting me and turning me to straddle him. It was only a tiny change in position but it changed everything. I could feel his cock hard against me and I let out a nervous breath. He tugged at my