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UP IN FLAMES 76
Looking over her shoulder at him, she drew in a shallow breath. “It is.”Alaric stared at her for what felt like forever and then he had his pants off in record time. His arousal jutted out proudly, hard and thick, and molten lava filled in her belly. He stepped into the shower, closing the door behind him. His hands landed on her hips and when he spoke, his voice whispered in her ear. “I know what you’re thinking.”Vanessa shuddered. “You do?”“Yes.” He kissed her shoulder, causing her heart to squeeze at the tender action. “You’re going to run.”She stiffened, her arms clamped close to her chest. “I don’t…don’t know what you’re talking about.”“You’re a shitty liar.” He turned her around and reached between them, wrapping his hands around her wrists. He backed her up until she was flush with the cold tile. “You have that look in your eyes. Never really seen it before—the whole deer-in-the-headlights look. But you have it. You’re going to run.”“You need to get your eyes checked, the
UP IN FLAMES 77
“Vanessa,” he breathed, voice ragged. "Vanessa, please…. Please don't…" He stopped talking and she dropped her head to his warm shoulder, squeezing her eyes against the rush of hot tears. Her arms trembled, but it seemed to have very little to do with what they’d just done, and more with the fact that after today, it would be the last time. It had to be before it was too late.But an evil little voice whispered that it was already too late. —------Vanessa was running.Alaric was a lot of things, but he wasn’t fucking stupid. And he’d meant what he’d said. Kind of. He’d let her have the facade of running, because she wasn’t going to get far. He knew that the woman felt the same way he did. She may not be able to say the words, but it was everything else she did. Right now, she was like a cornered animal. There were only two options for her: fight it out or run.She was going to run.He’d kept her busy the rest of the day Sunday, not giving her much time to put whatever cockamamie pla
UP IN FLAMES 78
Pressure clamped down on her chest and she quickly shook her head. She had been doing so well. Now wasn’t the time to break down. She placed her purse on the desk when someone knocked and the door to her office opened. It was her assistant, Ruby. "There's a Mr Harper here to see you, Mrs Spencer. Should I send him in?" Vanessa's heart skipped a beat, and she almost ran out the door to see him, but she stopped herself. What use would it be? She'd already left. There was no going back now, so she shook her head, "No," she replied, "Please tell him I'm not available," Ruby left, and Vanessa stood, staring at the door. She knew Alaric well enough to know that if he insisted on coming into her office, no one would be able to stop him. Fifteen minutes later, no one came in and she knew that he'd gone. She should be relieved, but she felt more miserable than ever. —-----Everything should be okay.Her apartment had been virtually restored. The rental insurance had kicked in and the new
UP IN FLAMES 79
Stunned by what he said, all she could do was sit there, and when she didn’t say anything, Alaric cursed under his breath again. “I’ve told you that I don’t mind the chase, and I have no fucking problem chasing after you, but I refuse to run after a ghost. And that’s what you are if you can’t let go of your past with your mom. I won’t chase a ghost.”Then he spun, his long legs quickly eating up the distance between her and the door. And then…then he was gone, the door slamming shut behind him.The moment Alaric left, she knew, without a doubt, that she had made the biggest mistake of her life. It was right there, smacking her face. Everything he had said was right.She was a coward. And the best damn thing to ever happen to her had just walked out the door.……… Her heart was like a hummingbird in her chest by the time she climbed out of her newly returned car and stared up at Alaric's house.A thousand things could go wrong with this. He might not be home. He could be and he could h
UP IN FLAMES 80
He laughed, dropping his forehead to hers. “I was thinking you wanted to tell me something else.”She reached up, spreading her palm against his cheek. The words were surprisingly easier to say than she could’ve ever imagined. “I love you.”His eyes fell shut as he sucked in a deep breath. “I’m glad we don’t need to fight again for you to admit that.”“Me, too,” she whispered, stretching up and kissing him softly. “Don’t you have something you want to say?”“Remember my fantasy?” His lashes lifted. “The one I told you about?”Paul cleared his throat behind them, but it went largely ignored.That wasn’t what she was looking for, but she would go with this. “Yes. I remember.”“And look at you. Your hair pulled back, wearing one of those god-awful suits. I think you did that on purpose.”A smile teased her lips. “I might have.”“Hmm,” he murmured as he reached around, gently unwrapping the bun and letting her hair fall down her back. “And why did you do that?”“I thought it might help my
UP IN FLAMES 1
Vanessa Spencer angrily slammed the front door of her apartment shut, threw her handbag onto a nearby chair and headed into her bedroom. Her fingers tightened around her phone which was held up to her ear, "I'm tired of waiting, Christopher!" she yelled, "It's been four fucking weeks already. When are you going to sign those damn papers?" She heard Christopher laugh softly, and got even angrier. Sometimes, she wondered how she'd managed to stay married to him all those years. He was the most infuriating man she'd ever met in her life. Vanessa had married Christopher at the young age of twenty one, and now at the age of twenty eight, she often wondered what the hell she'd been thinking when she had made such a horrible decision. She'd been young and stupid and she'd honestly thought that she loved him… Or the man she thought he was, but six months after their wedding she'd painfully realized that Christopher wasn't the man she thought he was. He was a liar and a cheat, and Vanessa bl
UP IN FLAMES 2
Detective Alaric Harper was a thirty four year old who had been in the force for eight years, and he was very good at his job. He was a tall man. Larger than life as some people would describe, handsome as sin, he looked every bit the stereotypical biker, except for the fact that he’d cut shorter his dark hair.When he and his partner arrived at the crime scene, Christopher Wesley was already dead; shot right in the head. His personal security had also been taken out. There was blood all over his home office where the murder had occurred, and the murder weapon had been missing. But they did recover something which pointed at his wife, Vanessa Spencer as the prime suspect—At least the only suspect they had at the moment. His phone. A quick search through his phone records, and they'd discovered that she was the last person he'd spoken to before he died. After listening to the recording of the call, Detective Alaric knew he'd have to bring her in for questioning. Vanessa Spencer was
UP IN FLAMES 3
"I have no idea," Vanessa replied, "He didn't say. Look, if you think that I killed him because he wouldn't sign the papers, then you're very wrong indeed. I was pissed that he was delaying things, but I knew he'd have signed it eventually. I wasn't going to kill him for it or kill anyone for that matter,""You could hire someone to do the job for you…." Alaric cut in, "I've seen people hire other people to do the job for them," It took a lot of self control for Vanessa's not to give in and scream like she actually wanted to. An emotional reaction in this situation wasn't going to do her any good, so she kept her cool and remained in her chair. "Are you insane?" she asked, "I would never do such a thing," He continued like she hadn't spoken, "I see that you had different surnames too. You never changed yours after you got married. You guys have been married for years and you don't have any kids. You've been separated for a year. You even moved out and rented an apartment. From what
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