Chapter Twenty-Four
Mia
Did I trust him?
I looked at the backpack as I dressed, hurrying, glancing at the shower as I pulled the dress he’d chosen for me over my head, weighing my options. If I ran now, it might give me a few minutes head start, but I wouldn’t put it past him to chase me down the hall naked. Then he’d be pissed.
But it turned out I didn’t have to decide on anything much because he finished showering in record time and I saw how intensely he looked at me when he stepped out, even as he made some small joke to try to lighten the mood.
He knew I didn’t trust him and he obviously didn’t trust me.
I dried my hair, and pulled it into a ponytail. Then we headed out for dinner, Julien carrying the backpack with him. He wasn’t taking any chances, and I wondered if he’d sleep with that ledger under his pillow.
He chose a Chinese place nearby. It was quiet and dark, which was perfect. We ordered our meals and Julien took my hands.
“Tell me about Samuel. Tell me about how he was with your sister, with you.”
“Why?”
“I want to know who I’ll potentially be dealing with.”
“You say potentially, but you don’t mean it, do you? I mean, it’s unlikely that they’ll not show up. They’ll know when I reach the attorney’s office. I can’t imagine he wouldn’t tip them off.”
“I think it’s wise for us to assume that. That’s why I want to know about Samuel.”
“Not Jason?”
“No. He’s the less interesting of the two. Jason’s type I know. Hot headed, not very smart, predictable. Birthright is the only reason he’s where he is. He’s Samuel St. Rose’s only son.”
“I never got the feeling there was much love between Samuel and Jason. Until push came to shove, I guess.”
“How was Samuel with Tanya? Did he love her?”
It was strange hearing her name spoken aloud. “I thought so. She was younger than him by a lot, only a year older than Jason. She could have been his daughter. Tanya and I were alone from when I was very youg. She raised me. We came from a bad home — usual story. Drunk for a mom and dad MIA from as far back as I can remember. We ran away and somehow managed to stay gone, stay out of the system. We lived on the streets, but we survived. Samuel earned her trust somehow and she looked at him like he was a king, a god. She wanted to please him.
“I’d had her to rely on. She’d had no one, not until Samuel came along, and that meant something to both of them. Who knows, maybe Samuel just liked having this young, beautiful girl looking at him the way Tanya did. I don’t know what it was, but I did think his love for her was genuine.”
“How did she meet Samuel?”
I looked at him before answering, then dropped my gaze.
“I won’t judge. I know what it feels like to be hungry, Mia. I know what I’ve done out of desperation.”
God, it sounded like he already knew. “She was an escort. High end.” I shrugged my shoulder, hating that she’d had to do that and that she’d been doing it from too early an age. “Samuel was a client.”
Julien nodded. “Go on.”
“He was her last client. He treated her well, really well. Bought her anything she even looked at twice, took her out all the time, liked showing her off. She was pretty — really pretty.” My sister had been happy then, the happiest I’d ever seen her. We hadn’t had anything growing up and Samuel, well, he turned that around, showing us a lifestyle neither of us had ever even imagined.
“And how was he with you?”
“He was nice to me. Nicer to me than I was to him. On the one hand, I was happy to see my sister so happy, but on the other… I felt like he was taking her away from me, in a way.”
“Taking her love?”
“She said no, that it wasn’t true. And I guess it wasn’t. She was young though. I always forgot that. She was more like a mom than a sister to me. I think it was that someone was taking care of her for the first time and not wanting anything back in exchange, you know?” I shrugged as the waitress set our food down. I picked up my chopsticks and watched Julien take his fork. “I think people — men — always wanted something from her.”
“Not all men are like that.”
“Aren’t they?”
He ignored that. “Do you think he would hurt you, Mia? Samuel, I mean.”
I set my chopsticks down and sat back, folding my hands in my lap. “There was a time he would have done anything for my sister, but I wasn’t there for a long time, not at the end. They’d sent me away. I want to believe that he wouldn’t, but I don’t want to be stupid. Besides, he chose Jason over me once, even knowing what he’d done to me.”
“But do you think he could or would hurt you? Say if you gave the ledger back and promised to disappear?”
“I don’t know.”
“That doesn’t help.”
“Why are you asking, anyway?”
“Because he hired me to find you, Mia. He’s offered to pay me one million dollars to deliver you and the ledger to him.”
I sat shocked for a long moment. Even though I already knew this, to hear him say it aloud was something else — and I never for one second expected him to say it.
He’d come clean. That meant something, didn’t it?
Don’t be a fucking fool!
“I know.”
He sat back then. “That’s why you’ve been acting like you have.”
“What do you plan to do?”
“Well, ideally, I’d love to get the money and help you disappear — but that may not be as easy as I’d like.”
“No shit.”
“Believe it or not, Mia, I don’t want to see you get hurt.”
“But you’d look the other way for a million bucks?”
He studied me through narrowed eyes, and shoved a forkful of food into his mouth. “Why do you think I’m telling you? If I was going to do it, don’t you think I’d keep my mouth shut about the job?”
I pushed soggy rice soaked in too much sauce around my plate. “You know what?” I set my chopsticks down and put my napkin on the table. “I don’t know, Julien. I don’t have a fucking clue. I can’t figure you out. One minute, you’re nice to me. The next, you’re a total dick.”
Calm and cool as I’d ever seen him, he shoved another forkful into his mouth and nodded, as if agreeing. I just didn’t get the guy.
“I’d be lying if I said the thought of handing you over for a million bucks didn’t tempt me.”
That did scare me — and the fact that he could so casually say it terrified me.
“Don’t look like that, Mia,” he said, taking a bite of an eggroll. “I didn’t say I was going to do it.”
“Okay, then tell me. Just tell me where I stand, because right now, I don’t know. Don’t fucking toy with me on this, Julien. It’s not fair.” I swiped the back of my hand across my eyes, hating that I cried when I was upset, worked up, anxious — anything at all!
“Christ, isn’t it obvious yet? Are you that thick?” he said this with a tap on the side of my head.
“I guess I am. Just spell it out.”
“No, Mia. I’m not going to hand you over to a stepbrother who raped and beat you, nor to a stepdad who may have reason to hurt you.”
“Why not? I can’t pay you a million dollars! I probably won’t be able to pay you the half I promised!”
“Jesus!” He reached over the small table and grabbed the back of my head, pulling me to him. “Somehow, someway, you’ve managed to work your way under my skin, Mia St. Rose, and I’d kill them before I’d let them touch a hair on your head. Is that clear enough?”
My mouth dropped open, and he shook his head.
“I care about you,” he said.
I stared at him, my mind reeling.
“How it’s come to that, I haven’t a fucking clue. But there it is.” He shoved a final forkful of food into his mouth, wiped his lips and sat back, tossing the napkin onto his plate and glaring at me. “Not a single clue.”
Well, that was certainly not what I’d expected to hear.
“You finished here?” It was the waitress. Julien smiled politely, but I could see he was annoyed.
“I’ll take the check,” he said, taking out his wallet. His eyes were on me the entire time. “Nothing to say?” he asked once she’d left with our plates.
I shook my head with a loud exhale. “I’m… surprised, I guess. No. Shocked.”
The waitress dropped the check on the table on her way by. Julien looked it over and slipped a few bills into the folder before rising. “Shocked, huh? Well, me too.”
I slipped my hand into his and we walked quietly out of the restaurant and back to the hotel. We planned on being at the attorney’s office by 10:00 AM and it was almost 11:00 PM. Less than twelve hours to go.
“Relax, Mia,” Julien urged once we were in the elevator. “You’re practically shaking.”
I smiled, but it was forced. “I want this over.” Hadn’t I said that before?
The elevator stopped and the doors slid quietly open. Julien led the way to our room and once we were inside, he locked it and set the backpack down.
“Strip off your clothes.” He said it casually while he took his jacket off.
“I’m not really in the mood…”
He took two steps toward me, his eyes locked on mine. “Strip.”
As if to help me, he reached back to unzip the dress. “I’m trying to decide,” he said, as the dress slid off my shoulders and pooled around my ankles. He turned me around and unhooked my bra, then pushed the straps down over my arms before cupping my breasts in his hands, pulling me to him so his cock pressed against my back. “Pussy,” he continued, his hands sliding to my panties, pushing them down to just beneath my hips, one hand cupping my sex. “Or ass.” His other cupped my bottom before slipping between my cheeks to smear the juices up to that tight ring, circling there, making my breath come fast.
“But first,” he said, turning me around to kiss me, walking me backward until the backs of my knees hit the bed. “Get on the bed and open your legs wide. I want to have a taste of your pussy.” He pushed me down so I sat on the edge of the bed. I stared up at him as he tugged his t-shirt off, the sight of his naked chest always doing a number on me, making me want like I’d never wanted anyone else before.
My gaze slid down to his pants as he undid them and slid them and his underwear to the floor before peeling my panties —which were still around my thighs — off. With a finger at my chest, he pushed me back to lie down, raising my legs as he knelt between them, looking at my exposed, open cunt.
“You look so good, and you smell even better,” he said before taking one long lick. “But the way you taste, Mia. It’s something else entirely.”
With a moan, I reached my hands to his head, fingers twining through thick hair, pulling him to me.
“That feels… so… good.” He licked and sucked, his mouth soft, the stubble on his face rough in contrast, and when he rubbed his chin against my clit, God, I almost died. One finger slid into my pussy and the other circled my ass. When he penetrated there, he closed his mouth over my clit and sucked hard, pushing me over the edge. The muscles of my pussy and ass clenched around his fingers as I pulled him tight to me, my eyes closed, pressing his face into me until my entire being became throbbing sensation.
He pulled away when I loosened my hold on him, my legs going limp around him. Julien rose to his feet as I watched him. His lips curved in a smile that I returned, he then rolled me over onto my belly, shoving pillows beneath my hips, raising them high. I lay my face down on the cool sheets, watching as he went into the bathroom and returned with the small bottle of lotion. He stood, rubbing a generous amount over the length of his cock, his eyes drinking in my exposed ass before meeting my gaze.
“I’ve decided,” he said, adjusting my position a little, widening the spread of my legs as he stood between them.
I knew what he wanted and hollowed out my back to offer it to him.
“I love your ass, Mia,” he said, emptying the bottle of moisturizer at the base of my spine before smearing it down toward my asshole, the lotion cold as he covered me with it. “Spread your cheeks open for me. Offer me your ass to fuck.”
I was dripping again and I didn’t hesitate to obey. Reaching back, I spread myself open and watched him look at me, his gaze going dark, his cock thickening even more.
“That’s it,” he said. “Just a little wider so I can see that tight little hole.”
He rubbed more lotion over his cock with one hand, while with the other, he began to push the stuff inside me, his fingers sliding in easily with all of the slippery cream, the sensations driving me insane.
“Fuck me, please, Julien.” I pulled my bottom cheeks wider, wanting him, arching my back even more. I watched him as he brought his cock to my ass, lining the thick head up against the tight hole. I tensed for a moment, knowing there would be pain at first, but remembering the orgasms that came with this kind of fucking. I pushed against him when he pressed against my hole, stretching me open. I closed my eyes, and we stilled, me on the verge of another orgasm as my clit pressed against the pillows and my body softened against the intrusion of his too big, too thick cock.
Before I was ready, he pushed some more, making me grunt.
“Get up on your forearms and face forward now, Mia. Brace yourself because I need to fuck this tight little hole hard.” He spoke while pushing in deeper, stretching me wider while I pulled my forearms underneath me, looking straight ahead as ordered, trying to keep my bottom relaxed — and trying even harder not to come for as long as possible. I knew that once I did, I’d be ultra sensitive.
“That’s it, just relax your ass. I’m about half way, Mia, and I can’t wait to feel your hot little walls stretched tight around my cock. I can’t wait to come inside your ass.”
That did it, because when he pushed in farther, I moved my hips just a little, arching my back some more, the action causing my clit to rub against the pillows, bringing on the first of several orgasms. I cried out and he pushed in all the way in one hard thrust as I came, filling me fully. He remained still while I came that first time, my walls squeezing tight around him. When I looked over my shoulder and saw his eyes on my ass, a fleeting feeling of jealousy bloomed within me, wanting to watch too. I wanted to see his cock disappear into my ass. I wanted to watch it thrust in and out of me, and I wanted to take his cum and keep it inside me — keep some part of him with me forever.
He met my gaze and gave me that one-sided grin before gripping my hips. He pulled my cheeks wide and drew out, holding there for a moment before thrusting in hard. I gripped the sheets, making all kinds of noises while I rubbed my clit against the pillows, pushing back against him, meeting his thrusts, the lotion, combined with his pre-cum, leaving my passage slippery, easing his way. I came again with a groan, and this time, he continued to fuck me as I did. Then, with a cry more like an animal’s growl, he thrust brutally before stilling inside me, his cock throbbing as I came one final time, feeling him empty inside me.
He pulled out of me slowly, and I felt every inch of his slippery retreat.
“Stay,” he said, one hand at my back, his eyes on my ass. “I want to watch.”
I knew what he liked. Even as it embarrassed me, this act of submission aroused me too, and I did as he said, keeping my bottom presented to him as his seed slipped from inside me, my face reddening as, still warm and slippery, it dripped down my inner thigh, until there was no more.
Finally raising me from the bed, he carried me to the bathroom and washed me in the bath before washing himself off. I was spent, empty, and I nearly fell asleep with my head on his shoulder as he carried me back to the bed.
He climbed in beside me, holding my back to his front as I floated off to sleep.
* * *
It was a little after 5:00 AM when I woke. Julien was sound asleep beside me. Across the room, the backpack lay on its side on top of the dresser.
I turned slowly so as not to wake him, but remained there looking at Julien, watching him breathe, his mouth slightly open. I remembered the time we’d been in that first hotel room, how he’d had that nightmare — and I realized it hadn’t occurred since. I thought about what he’d said last night. He cared about me. I wondered if maybe that was his way of saying he loved me.
I shook off that thought, and quietly climbed out of the bed.
Thing was, I cared for him too. I trusted him and believed what he had told me last night was the truth. And that was why it was even more important I did what I was about to do. Samuel or Jason — or both — would be waiting for me today. I couldn’t stand it if something happened to Julien because of me — and something would happen. I had to take care of this myself. It was time to stop running, stop hiding, and put all of this behind me.
The clothes I’d worn on our flight still hung over the back of a chair and I quickly dressed. I thought about leaving a note, but that would take too much time and I couldn’t take a chance that Julien would wake, so I picked up my shoes and the backpack, glanced once more at the still sleeping Julien, and as quietly as I could, left the room.
The elevator was too close and I was afraid he’d hear the dinging sound when it arrived, so instead of that, I opted to take the stairs all the way down, tripping twice in my rush. Now that I’d left, adrenaline pumped through my system, filling me with energy. At the ground floor, I unzipped the little pocket of the backpack where I found Julien’s wallet and our passports. I hated to do it, but, taking most of the cash out, I asked for an envelope at the front desk where I left his passport and wallet for him along with instructions to leave him a message that the package was here.
I walked outside, declining the bellhop’s offer to call a taxi, and grabbed a cab farther down the street myself, giving the driver the address to the cemetery. I didn’t want to take a chance that the bellhop would be able to tell Julien where I was going.
I looked behind me once on our way out, but aside from that, I forced myself to focus on what lay ahead, both hands holding onto the backpack that sat on my lap, the ledger feeling far heavier than it actually was.
I’d left my own wallet and cell phone behind, but I didn’t need either. I had my passport and within a few hours, I’d either be a free woman with a substantial amount of money to her name — or a dead one. I wondered if dead was an exaggeration, but didn’t dwell on it.
When we got to the cemetery half an hour later, I asked the driver to wait for me. I couldn’t stay long, but needed to come in case I didn’t get a chance for a longer visit later.