Keera had been more than grateful that student conferences had been going on for the past couple of days at school. Arden had been too busy to continuously check up on her. She refused to regret their night together, and her body was still sore from the workout of being in bed with Arden all night. And still, she was more than happy she’d done it.
She did know there was no way it could happen again. She’d had a hard enough time leaving his bed. If she made that night a recurring thing, she might not ever be able to let him go—even when he wanted her gone.
One thing she’d learned about Arden in the past few weeks was that he was loyal to a fault. And during this investigation, he considered her his responsibility. When this was all finished, he’d be free of her, the adrenaline of it would wane, and they would realize they had nothing in common.
Sure, they were both in the education system, but that was it. He was from an esteemed family, idolized in his community, and knew exactly who he was and where he was going. She couldn’t say the same about herself. This couldn’t work for them. If she could just get her body to accept the logic of it, she’d be hurting a whole lot less.
And the one thing she really didn’t want to admit, not even to herself, was the fact that she would disgrace his family. She didn’t think he’d ever admit that to her, but she knew the truth. Her heart hurt as she pushed those thoughts away.
With her Saturday morning just beginning, Keera had too much time on her hands to think. And no matter how many times she told herself to push Arden from her mind, she couldn’t seem to do it. Even out of the bedroom, he was thoughtful, intelligent, humorous, and so much more. Most of all, he was dangerous—to her hormones and her heart.
Shaking those thoughts away, Keera reminded herself that she’d been alone for a long time. After the disaster of her last failed relationship, she had decided a bit of loneliness was much better than the possible repercussions of having a partner.
Leaving her apartment complex, she began moving toward her car when she saw a shadow dart from the bushes in the corner of the lot. She halted, turning just in time to see someone duck behind a thick tree. She froze.
Her adrenaline surging, Keera tried to decide what to do first. Should she run to her car, dial 911, or go back inside? Normally she wouldn’t be so hesitant, but she didn’t know for sure someone was actually out there in a malevolent way. She’d only caught them from the corner of her eye, and maybe they were just jogging.
She gazed at the area, seeing no additional movement. Before she could decide what to do next, the purr of an expensive motor could be heard coming into her lot. She turned again to find a sleek black sports car stopping next to her perfectly acceptable Toyota hybrid.
The door opened and Arden climbed out, looking as if he wouldn’t fit inside the thing. He began striding her way, and Max popped his head out the open back window and let out a greeting as his tongue dropped from his smiling mouth.
The smile Arden wore instantly made Keera’s knees shake. It seemed all the lectures in the world she could give herself wouldn’t do any good, because the second she was in his presence, any thoughts of distance quickly fell out the window.
“Good morning,” he said, stopping a mere two feet from her. Keera felt slightly tongue-tied and had to shake it off before responding.
“Why are you here so early on a Saturday?” she asked, distracted as she looked at the bushes again.
“We haven’t had a chance to visit in the last couple days, and I missed you,” he told her. His words made the fluttering in her stomach amp up to a whole new level. It also made her knees clench together as her core began to throb. With just the sound of his voice, the smell of his unique scent, his smile, that sparkle in his eyes—with just his presence, she was nearly a blubbering mess.
His smile dimmed as he looked at her.
“What’s the matter?”
“I thought I saw someone suspicious over in those shrubs right before you got here,” she blurted.
The smile evaporated as Arden tensed and he scanned the shrubbery. He took her arm and pulled her toward his car, where he was closer to Max. His tension made her more nervous, which hadn’t been what she’d been intending.
“What did they look like?” he asked, his eyes continuously scanning the area.
“I didn’t see much, and it was probably nothing. I just think all of this is making me jumpier than I’ve ever been before,” she admitted.
“I’d rather you’re overcautious than not careful enough,” he said.
He was beginning to relax when he saw nothing. But then a sharp bang echoed through the air, and Keera nearly had a heart attack. Before she could even think of responding to what had sounded like a gunshot, Arden grabbed her and had her underneath him on the ground in less than two seconds.
Though she was in danger, it was the last thing on her mind as his weight pressed into her, his scent instantly enveloping her. Every thought she had about distance and walls flew out the window.
That’s how vulnerable Keera was to this man. It wasn’t something she was at all proud of. If she could think clearly, she’d push him away, make that call to the police she should have already made, and then stay as far from Arden Forbes as humanly possible.
As Arden looked out, a junker car ground its gears as it passed down her street, and another loud pop exploded as a thick cloud of black smoke polluted the air. Both Arden and Keera relaxed as they realized no one was firing at them.
But with Arden relaxing, his weight rested more fully into her, and Keera was very aware he was lying on top of her, in the middle of the morning in a parking lot where her neighbors could clearly see them if they so much as looked out their windows, let alone walked outside.
Keera was new to this town, and she really didn’t want to get the kind of reputation she’d get if anyone found her in such a compromising situation with one of the Forbes men.
She meant to push Arden away, but every point where their bodies touched, the most pleasurable burn was happening, and it made it nearly impossible to want him to move, even knowing her reputation was on the line.
“I think we’re safe now,” she said, her voice too husky.
His eyes burned into hers as he shifted, slowly enough for her to feel the impact of their bodies being thrown together, his hardness pressing into her thigh. She was disappointed when he pushed himself to his knees, then stood and reached out to help her to her feet.
Her lips were tingling, and she was more than aware that she wouldn’t have fought him had he leaned down and kissed her. She’d forgotten how beautiful it was to have another person’s mouth against hers until she’d kissed him.
“I guess we’re both a little jumpy,” she told him, trying to cover up her nervousness. “I’m hoping the neighbors didn’t see that.”
“Sorry. I hope I didn’t hurt you,” he said as he reached across the short distance between them and ran his hands over her arms, causing her skin to burn.
She pulled back, not needing him to realize the power he held over her. She blamed it on the fact that she was lonelier than she’d realized. She could almost convince herself she wasn’t so attracted to him, that she was just hungry for any human’s touch. But even as she thought it, she knew there had been opportunities before, but none of them had tempted her like Arden could.
He captured her gaze again, his eyes burning against her skin as he looked her over. “I can’t let anything happen to you,” he said, stepping a bit closer and placing his hand against her shoulder.
She shuddered as she looked at his mouth, her own lips parched. Even gazing at this man heated her body to inferno temperatures. He was so much more dangerous than she’d first thought.
“I’m fine. I’m sure what’s been happening at the school has nothing to do with me as a person,” she said.
“We can agree to disagree about that,” Arden told her.
She knew she wasn’t going to win an argument with the man, so she decided it was best to call it a loss and escape as quickly as possible. But with her emotions aflutter, she couldn’t even remember what it was she’d been planning before Arden had shown up.
“I better get going,” she told him, trying to make herself step away.
“Yes, let’s get out of here,” he said, opening his passenger door.
She crossed her arms over her chest, hating that her heart was still beating out of control. She tried to give him her sternest look.
“I don’t remember saying I’d go anywhere with you.” Her voice was a bit firmer. When he looked at her, his lips turning up in the most beautiful smile, she knew she was sunk. This man most certainly had a way of getting what he wanted—and apparently what he wanted right now was her.