A Terrible Misunderstanding (A New Adventure Begins - Star Elite 6)

“Why won’t you tell me? This involves me, you know,” she protested.

To her dismay, Niall grabbed her elbow in a firm grip and tried to propel her toward the house.

“Just get inside, and now before he comes back,” Niall warned.

Clara’s wide-eyed glare flew around the garden in horror. She instinctively stepped closer to Niall’s solid presence and struggled not to cling to him.

“Hasn’t he gone?”

“I hope he hasn’t,” Niall snapped impatiently.

“What?”

“Well, I need to find out who he is.” Niall swore and ran an impatient hand through his hair. He hoped Will had noticed what had happened, but suspected that his colleague, who had been doing a perimeter search, was still at the front of the house.

“Just what is going on here?” she demanded. Now that she had seen Niall punch the thug, she felt a little safer and more confidence being outside, despite the inclement weather.

“Will you just get the hell inside?” Niall hissed impatiently.

When Clara glared at him, Niall muttered a curse and grabbed her wrist in a tight hold.

“Get off me,” Clara protested, wriggling and squirming to try to get him to release her.

“Just get inside where you are safe, for God’s sake,” Niall demanded. “Do you want him to come back and get you?”

“Who is he?”

“I don’t sodding know,” Niall shouted. “I am not likely to find out now seeing as he is probably half a mile away by now.”

Clara mentally winced because she knew she had probably cost him the ability to find the man and get the truth out of him.

When Clara still didn’t move, Niall shook his head at her. He had no idea why she was staring at him as if she had never set eyes on him before. Whatever she was thinking she had clearly forgotten where they were, and that there was a house full of women only several feet away. Not only that, but with each passing minute the pounding rain was soaking them both through.

God, even wet she looks gorgeous.

Niall ran a frustrated hand through his hair. Even he looked at the house longingly, but daren’t venture near it in case one of the women inside saw him. He suspected he wouldn’t be likely to get out alive, or at least for the next hour or so. Will needed him not least because there was a very real possibility that the thug was still in the area – watching and waiting to strike again.

“I have got to go,” Niall growled. “You do what you want, but if he comes back and snatches you it is your own fault.”

With that, he turned to leave. He had no intention of going. He just wanted to leave her all alone, so she was forced to find sanctuary with her friends. If she stayed with him, Niall suspected he wasn’t going to be able to keep his hands off her for too much longer.

“I won’t because I shall have them around her sodding neck,” he grumbled.

“What?” Clara demanded because she thought she heard him muttering something about strangling someone.

Clara lifted her brows at him when he turned to glare at her. Now that the threat of danger had gone, annoyance with him started to creep in. She knew it was not fair that she should be out of sorts with him, especially after he had done so much to rescue her, but she was getting frustrated at his reticence. If he was a member of the Star Elite he would know that she was Atticus Potter’s daughter and would know about his organisation. He should know she could be trusted with secrets. As it was, he seemed to think her an addle-brained female who couldn’t be trusted.

That might have something to do with the fact that I lied about being engaged to him. He is probably wary about what he tells me in case I try to get involved with what he is here for.

“This does involve me, you know. Or should I not know who that man is or what he wants with me because I am a woman?” Clara shouted.

“I can’t explain it to you right now. Just get back inside,” he commanded.

She threw him a dark glare before she turned away, but when she stepped back, Clara inadvertently stood on a wet moss-covered stone, which moved in the mud and unbalanced her. She gasped and waved her arms wildly as she desperately tried to regain her balance but was already topping backward.

With a vicious curse, Niall lunged for her. This time, he swept her off her feet and held her tightly against his chest - which was his first mistake. He then decided it was best if he carried her to the damned house seeing as she seemed reluctant to go to it herself - which was his second mistake. His third mistake was thinking his attacker had disappeared and wasn’t going to make good use of Niall’s decidedly tempting distraction.

CHAPTER EIGHT