Tempting the Crown (The Crown 1)

His thumb rubbed over my bottom lip.

“I came back for you. I want you to come with me.” He brought his lips to mine. I touched my tongue to his thumb just as he sealed our mouths with a dizzying kiss.

I seemed to forget what Vaughn had said. I let him love me again and again, until we both fell asleep. It was the first time I had slept in weeks.

Chapter Twenty-nine

I sat forward. The panic ripped through me. It was morning. The bed was empty. And I was naked.

I ran my hands over my sore body. Traces of him were everywhere. He had touched me. Kissed me. Fucked me into oblivion. I closed my eyes. And he was gone. I patted the vacant pillow next to me. There was still an indentation from where he had slept.

I blinked when I heard a toilet flush.

The bathroom door opened. He stood in the doorway. “Did I wake you?” he asked.

I let out a breath I was holding.

“You’re still here.”

He crossed the room. He looked at me quizzically. “You thought I was gone?”

I nodded.

“Em, my pants are right there.” He pointed to the pile of clothes we had assembled last night.

“Right.” I tried to look relaxed. He had been missing a fraction of a second and I had already gone to the darkest of places.

He sat in front of me. “I think it’s time to have that conversation we didn’t have last night.”

I stared at his long lashes. They undid all my good intentions. I got lost in his eyes. In his voice.

I nodded. “I think so.” I couldn’t pretend he wasn’t a fugitive. I couldn’t act as if everything were normal. There was no no

rmal in our relationship.

The first time I was naïve. He seduced me. Last night I made a conscious choice. I wasn’t his victim or target. I couldn’t blame him for my decision. I had crossed a line I didn’t know I was capable of crossing. I chose one night with Vaughn over everything I had ever valued and knew to be right. I waited for regret to hit me. For guilt to consume me.

“Ask me anything you want. Ask it now. Everything.” He pressed my fingers to his lips, sucking and kissing the tips. “And even if I have to break my non-disclosure clause, I will tell you. We won’t leave this bed with secrets.”

“Did Greer come home last night?” I looked over his shoulder.

“Why?”

“Because I want coffee. And I’m hiding a fugitive in my bedroom.” Putting those two things together was absurd. “I don’t want to be interrupted. These are the most important questions of my life.”

He climbed from the bed. “I think you better check.”

He moved the chair from under the door handle. I pulled a robe over my shoulders and tip-toed into the living room. The door was locked. The lights were off. Her bedroom door was open. It didn’t look as if she had slept here.

I walked back to Vaughn. “No sign of her. I better send her a text to check.”

“I don’t want to drag her into this. You know that?”

I nodded, clutching my phone. “Let’s just see how much time we have.”

Last night time didn’t matter. I was willing to steal whatever remnants I could pluck together. This morning, that felt reckless and irresponsible. Safety mattered now. Thinking through everything was an instant priority. I had abandoned all rationality once his lips touched mine. What if Agent Kenneth called or stopped by before my trip to New Bern? What if he thought there was some kind of break in the case? What if somehow he knew Vaughn was here?

“You ok?” he looked at me.