Run To Rome

“You promised you'd take me to Milan.”

“And I will.”

“I want to go now.” When he didn’t respond, she demanded, “Turn around. Right now.”

“God, you’re bossy,” he grumbled.

A red haze blurred her vision. “I mean it!” She hauled off and smacked his arm in impotent frustration.

“Ow.” He hunched his shoulder and tossed her a glare.

“We had a deal! You promised, you lying, egotistical, conceited jerk!”

Without warning, Trent swung the wheel hard to the right. Halli gave a squeak of alarm as she slammed against his shoulder. Once on a side road, he stomped on the brakes and the vehicle slid to a screeching halt.

She pushed back into her own seat, only to have him lean over and glower in her face.

“At some point in our cozy little relationship here, you're going to have to trust that I know what the hell I'm doing. Otherwise, it’s going to get real tempting to leave your ass on the side of the road.”

His low tone and precise speech suggested he had a tight rein on his control. Though she was past the point that she thought he'd hurt her or follow through on his threat, it didn't mean she was any less intimidated. Not that she'd let him know that.

She lifted her chin, hoping her glare covered any outward signs of anxiety. “If I’m such a ‘pain in the ass’, why didn’t you just leave me at the police station? You already have your precious video.”

He stared into her eyes for one more second, then sat back in his seat and stepped on the gas. “Because I need you, sweetheart. It’s as simple as that.”

Reality bit hard, no matter how much she thought she’d prepared for it. He wasn’t helping her because he was nice or even because he liked her. Only because needed her. Halli swallowed a surge of unexpected, and totally unwelcome, hurt feelings and faced the other reality. Like it or not, she needed him, too.

She shifted in her seat and crossed her arms across her chest. “Where are we going?”

“Back to my place.”

She opened her mouth to ask why, but he beat her to it.

“To get the video. I also still have your passport and money, and I need my wallet. I didn’t exactly have time to pack a bag when I saw you hightailing it across the yard.”

To avoid any more of his sarcasm, she retreated to silent mode the remainder of the drive. And since they were going back to his house, she decided she’d drop his wallet back where she’d found it. No sense admitting to the jerk that she’d stolen it in the first place. Her twinge of irrational guilt over the money she’d ‘borrowed’ would go away when she tucked a twenty somewhere after he’d returned her travel purse.

Fifteen minutes later, inside his garage again, the scene played out much differently than before. Halli couldn’t help but remember the feel of his body when he’d pressed her against the door. And when he’d kissed her by the car. In both instances, she’d learned first hand the man had the muscles to back up every shirtless photo spread he’d ever done.

Banishing the multiple, vivid images of those photos from her mind, she followed him into the house and watched as he reactivated the alarm.

“How’d you get the code?” he asked on his way to the kitchen.

“You keyed it in right in front of me while holding me hostage, remember?”

He reached into the refrigerator, then shut the door and tossed her a bottle of water before twisting the cap off one for himself. He mock-toasted her. “Lesson learned for next time.”

The sight of him lifting the bottle to his lips and drinking three quarters of the liquid in a few deep swallows shouldn’t have been sexy, but darn it, she got hot watching him.

Halli quickly turned away. “Year you were born, right?”

“How’d you know?”

“It’s only four years before mine, so it’s not like I’d have to be a genius to figure it out.” She couldn’t help but face him again with a condescending smile. “You should never use your birth date for a password.”

“I’ll keep that in mind,” he said dryly. “For now, I’ll leave it, in case you need to use it for any reason.”

She mock toasted him before ambling toward the living room while taking a drink of her water. If she could get to the bar before him, she’d replace the wallet and he’d be none the wiser. “I’ll be gone once you get my passport and drive me to Milan,” she reminded over her shoulder. “Completely out of your hair.”