Betrayal of Innocence (A New Adventure Begins - Star Elite 1)

“Stay perfectly still,” he mouthed. Without thinking, he placed a hand on her hip to keep her still, and nudged the door closed a little more. He could only hope Curtis hadn’t seen them enter the property.

Quietly, he removed his gun and cocked it in readiness.

Vanessa had never been so terrified in her life. She wasn’t sure why. Maybe it was the guilt of being in someone’s home without their permission that made her tremble. It certainly couldn’t be the sight of Justin’s gun seeing as she had seen her father’s on several occasions, and never been shaken by it. Seeing a gun in Justin’s hand, though, was a completely different experience, and gave him a significantly more sinister appearance she wasn’t sure she liked.

“Where is he?” she breathed, daring to stand on tip-toe so she could breathe into his ear. Her voice still sounded overly loud. She winced when Justin frowned at her, then cast a furtive glance toward the door.

The house was too quiet. He didn’t like it one bit. There was no footsteps downstairs, or rustling sounds of movement one would expect. The longer they listened, and waited, but heard nothing, the more Justin began to suspect Curtis knew they were there and had come back to find out what they were doing.

Aware that Vanessa was looking at him, Justin shook his head, silently willing her not to speak. He tipped his head toward the door. He wondered if he should creep out onto the landing but couldn’t risk the sound of his own footsteps alerting the man downstairs to their presence.

“Hello?”

Vanessa jerked when she heard Curtis’s deep voice. She closed her eyes on a prayer that he wouldn’t come upstairs. Her eyes popped open again when she felt Justin move. Their eyes met. The intimacy of the moment was a little bizarre given the situation they were in. The tense atmosphere seemed to draw them together, and create a unity that was somewhat startling, and a little unwelcome. Vanessa didn’t want to rely on anybody for anything, especially having recently witnessed what had happened to her sister when she had expected to rely on her husband. The last thing she wanted to do was rely on the man before her because he wasn’t going to stay in the area and was incredibly dangerous to her peace of mind. In only a day, he had started to make her feel things she had never experienced before, especially when he looked at her the way he was looking at her now.

She had never felt so, well, devoured before. The urge to step back, away from that somewhat predatory look in his eye, was so strong that for a moment she found herself leaning back but then, with her head tipped back she lost her balance, and found herself leaning toward him instead.

“Stand still,” he urged gently.

When he shuffled infinitesimally closer, he wished he hadn’t because they were far too close for his sanity. He could feel every dip and hollow of her gently rounded curves, even beneath the thick cloak she wore. Shockingly, his body responded with a readiness that startled him. So much so that for a moment he forgot all about the man downstairs.

“What do you think he is doing?” Vanessa whispered to try to break the uncomfortable silence, and heightened awareness that made her feel gauche and uncertain.

Justin wondered if she wanted Curtis to hear them. Shaking his head, he placed a gentle finger over her lips, well aware of the shiver of awareness that rippled through him when he felt the warmth of her breath sweep over his digit. He stared at her. Everything within him was screaming at him to step away from her and keep a healthy and respectful distance. It was impossible, of course, without one of them moving and risking making noise. So, he was stuck far too close to her, staring down into her limpid eyes while waiting for something – anything – to happen to break the now sensual tension.

Who moved, he couldn’t quite be sure. One minute they were staring at each other, the next she was flush against him without an inch of fresh air between them. He had no idea if she leaned up to meet his lips or he dipped his head toward hers. Whatever happened, he was shocked when he felt the warm brush of her lips against his. In an instant, everything around them faded. At first, tension hovered in the unmoving lips held firmly against his. Eventually, as the seconds ticked by, she softened and relaxed into his embrace. Taking full advantage of the situation, Justin gave in to temptation and kissed her.

A small voice warned him that he had to make it harsher than it needed to be, if only to scare her away from doing anything so foolish again in the future. The last thing he wanted, or needed, was to have to fight temptation while he was there. But when it came down to it, he just couldn’t bring himself to be deliberately cruel. Not now he had tasted the sweet nectar of her succulent lips and felt her delectable curves against him.

“Damn it,” he growled huskily when the loud bang of the back-door slamming drew them apart. He stared blankly at the woman in his arms and suspected that if he released her as he wanted to, she would fall to the floor in a heap. Rather than step back, he remained in place, and waited for the dazed look to leave her eyes.

“What was that?” she whispered in confusion.

“Don’t move,” he growled in a desperate plea for self-control.

Vanessa winced. She couldn’t have moved even if she wanted to. Her knees shook. Every inch of her trembled with a need she had never felt before. It was shocking. It was shameful. It was worrying. It was addictive. So addictive in fact, she could ha

ve stayed where she was for the rest of the day. She was safe. Warm, and had never felt so protected in her entire life. Yet there was still a worrying hint of something deep in the back of her mind that dulled the sparkling shine of this special moment – her first kiss.

I can’t get used to this, but I am now not sure if I can ever forget it. I don’t think I can ever forget him, she thought miserably.

Justin tugged his ear when she looked at him. His gut was warning him that the back door had slammed far too loudly to be Curtis leaving. He sensed they were being tricked.

“He hasn’t gone,” Justin breathed. “Just stand still. I can see the road from here. Neither of us moves until I have seen him walk back down that cart track.”

Vanessa nodded, and fought to keep her face impassive. Deep inside where it mattered, a veil of hurt swept through her. She had just experienced the most profound moment of her life and was awed and a little shaken by it. He, meanwhile, seemed to be completely unperturbed and had forgotten it instantly. She felt an utter fool for having gotten carried away in the moment, and forced herself to close off her raging emotions, and focus on more practical matters – like how she was going to get out of the room without making a fool of herself any more with either Justin or Curtis.

Suddenly, a floor board directly outside the door creaked alarmingly. Vanessa began to pray. To her horror, the door moved. Thankfully, standing behind it as they were they didn’t see Curtis and knew he couldn’t see them thanks to there being no mirror in the room.

Justin wished he could turn around and face the door, but he daren’t move. His heart thundered. He did look over his shoulder, though, and watched the door open a little. Silence. Slowly, it closed again, this time to, until there was a quiet click of the latch settling back into place.

Vanessa slumped against him. Justin put his finger to his lips once more to warn her that Curtis might still be listening at the door. It wasn’t until they heard the floor board creak again that they truly began to relax. Even so, Justin didn’t allow her to move.

“Stay still.”

“Where do you think he is?”

They waited. The faint sound of something like a chair being scraped against the floor downstairs gave her the answer. The dull thud of a drawer closing added confirmation that Curtis had gone back downstairs. Whatever it was Curtis was doing, he was taking his time about it, and had clearly not left without checking the rest of the house.