The Running Series Complete Collection: 3-Book Set plus Bonus Novella (145 page)

I stand frozen in place as David removes the last of his clothing, leaving it in a messy pile on the floor.  He climbs into bed, places his head on the pillow I am meant to sleep on, and motions for me to join him.

“Enjoy the show?” he asks.  He thinks he mesmerizes me, that I’m transfixed by him.  Nothing could be further from the truth.  “Your turn, Kitten.  Take off your clothes slowly.  You know how much I like to watch you.” 

I want to throw up. Thank God he cannot see me or the panic that must be registered on my face.  I remind myself again of the reasons I’m doing this. 

He wants money that I don’t have.  I will not take more money from Derek and I’m terrified to burden Evan with this right now.  He wouldn’t pay, I’m certain of it.  But what would Evan do?  Would he let David go public and jeopardize his career, along with our restaurant?  Would he take matters into his own hands and make sure David pays for what he’s done?  I hate to admit the fact that he might, and it frightens me.

I also have to consider Reese.  Could I knowingly do this to her?  She uprooted her entire life to help me launch my restaurant.  Allowing this video to go public would be the worst possible thing I could do to her when I owe her so much.

With shaking hands, I unbutton my blouse and allow it to fall to the floor.  I place my hands on the button of my jeans, then I hear his voice.  “Wait.  Let me see you, Kitten.”

I stop and let my hands fall to my sides.  Although I can’t see him, I can feel his eyes on me, peering at me from across the room.  I can feel my lips trembling, so I bite my lip to keep it from quivering.  “Okay, keep going,” he tells me when he’s satisfied.

I bend down to remove my shoes and I hear him;  the sound of flesh against flesh in a slow methodical rhythm.  He’s working himself up just by watching me.  My heart is pounding so ferociously there’s now a ringing in my ears. 

I have no choice.  This is what I have to do.  This is what must be done.  I’m afraid of what’s about to happen, but I’m more afraid of what will happen if I don’t submit.

Not wanting to see him jerking off, I close my eyes and remove my pants.  I stand up and straighten my shoulders, resigned to doing what has to be done.  I stand there in my bra and panties, unsure of my next move. 

David sits up in bed.  “Come here,” he demands.  “I’ll help you finish.”

I can feel the blood rushing up to my face.  I’d never in a million years have imagined I’d willingly place myself in this position.  I take a few cautious steps toward the bed, putting off the inevitable moment when I’ll feel his hands on me.

“Yeah, that’s right.  Nice and slow.  Make it last.  Oh, yeah,” he moans as he continues to pleasure himself.

All too soon I find myself standing beside the bed.  David reaches out for me and grabs my bra with one hand while he continues to hold on to himself with the other.  I just can’t do this.  I won’t do this.

With a sudden burst of energy and conviction, I bend down, grab his clothes, and throw them at him.  “Get dressed and get out of my room.  Now!” I shout.

“Oh, I don’t think so,” he growls.  “Get your ass over here, Jette.  You can’t stop now.”

“Yes, I can,” I tell him, grabbing the phone off my dresser.  “And if you don’t get out of here right now, I’m calling the police.”

“Are you fucking kidding me?” David barks.  “You’ve got to be fucking kidding.  Do you know what you’ve just done?”

David is now standing up with his clothes in his hand, staring at me, seething.

“I know what I almost did.  I almost ruined everything.”  I start to dial 9-1-1, but I don’t hit send.  “And I know what I’m going to do if you don’t get your fucking ass out of my room right now.”

He quickly and clumsily pulls on his pants and shirt, muttering,  “You have no idea what you’ve just done.  You’re going to pay for this.”  He grabs his shoes and storms out of the room, slamming the door behind him.

The moment he’s out of my hotel room, I lock the door and brace it with my full weight, leaning against the door, as if I could do anything to prevent someone from forcing their way into my room.

I listen to the hallway for what seems like an eternity and I peek out the peephole.  He’s gone and he’s not coming back.

I’ve just stirred up a hornet’s nest with David.  I don’t think I could have fucked this up any worse.  Now he’s not just pissed, he’s also horny and frustrated.  And I’m certain he has more copies of the damned video. 

David does not make empty threats.  If he says he’s going to make me pay, I’m sure he won’t sleep until he’s satisfied that he’s exacted his revenge.

I grab a robe to cover myself and walk around my hotel room in a fog.  Everywhere I look, I see signs of my betrayal: the pile of clothes I left on the floor, the sheets David left all tangled and disheveled, the closed curtains hiding my indiscretion from the world.  I feel like the walls are closing in on me, strangling me.  It’s suddenly hard to breathe. 

I’ve never felt this kind of anger before.  Every muscle in my body is tense and I can feel my heart racing. 

Panic and urgency set in.  I need to remove all traces of our meeting – immediately.  The first thing I spot is the minibar.  A pair of dirty glasses and a small pile of empty mini bottles need to be cleaned and discarded.

Next is the bedroom.  I open all the curtains and windows, hoping the sunlight and fresh air will sanitize the room.  I know I won’t be sleeping in here tonight, so I make the bed and put away my dirty clothes.  I’ll be sleeping on the couch tonight – if I can sleep at all. 

One by one, my senses come alive. 

No matter how much cleaning up I do, I can’t remove the pervasive smell of him 

His cheap cologne fills the air, seeping into my pores, reminding me of what I almost allowed to happen.

I need a shower.  I turn on the hot water and step into the tub.  I scrub every inch of my skin until I can’t feel him, taste him, or smell him anymore.  I soak until the pain dissolves.  I have no idea how much time has passed when I finally feel whole.

I open the bathroom door and stop dead in my tracks.  Evan is sitting on my couch in complete silence.  The television isn’t on and there’s no music playing.  He’s just sitting there.  Waiting.  Holding a Colorado Rockies baseball hat.

You Get What You Pay For

“H
oly shit, Evan.  You scared the crap out of me.”  I place my hand on my chest and I can feel my heart beating wildly.  Can he see the guilt and shame that I carry? 

Evan tosses the hat onto the table.  “Let’s talk,” he pronounces, his voice flat and emotionless.

I have to think fast; play dumb.  “What a nice surprise.  I didn’t think I’d see you until tomorrow.”  I rewrap the terry cloth robe around myself and tie it tightly, trying to act as if nothing is wrong, as if nothing has happened.  I grab two bottles of water from the mini fridge, offering one to Evan.  “Want a water?”

“What I want is an explanation, Juliette.”

“I don’t know what you mean.”

“Oh, I think you do.”  Evan gets up and begins pacing around the room.  “Whose hat is this and why did I find it on the floor in your bedroom?”

I briefly consider telling Evan everything.  If David makes good on his threat, and I’m sure he will, Evan is going to find out anyway.  It’s probably better that he hears it from me.  And he will, the moment we get home.  This is not the right time and it is definitely not the right place.  I need time; enough time to put a few hundred miles between him and David before I even consider telling him.

“What?  That old thing?  That’s my Colorado Rockies hat.  I went to school there, remember?”  I’ve never been a very good liar; it’s just not who I am.  I hate doing this, but I can’t backtrack now. 

“Why are you lying to me, Juliette?  This isn’t your hat, and we both know it.  It’s written all over your face.”  Now Evan stands, staring me down.  There’s a fierce look in his eyes that frightens me.  I’ve seen that look before, when Evan saw me talking to Ryker, and that situation got out of control rather quickly.

“Evan, you need to relax.  I’m telling you it
is
my hat.  I wore it on the plane this morning.”  I take a few steps toward him, but he backs away from me.  He’s fighting to maintain control by taking big, deep breaths.  It’s not working.

He brings the hat up to his nose and inhales deeply.  He curls his lip, shakes his head, and tosses it to me.  Instinctively, I reach out and catch it.  As it travels through the air, I can detect the unmistakable scent of men’s cologne, Dumbass David’s cologne.  “When exactly did you start wearing cheap men’s cologne?  It smells like this hat just walked out of a fucking Hollister store.”

That gives me an idea.  I might be able to talk my way out of this after all, so I smile, big and wide.  “Oh, Evan.  They have a boutique downstairs.  You must have seen it when you checked in.  I was looking at the men’s cologne and some teenager spritzed me with a sample.  That’s why I had to shower.  I couldn’t get the smell off.”  I bring the hat up to my nose and sniff.  “It really is an awful cologne.”

His eyes narrow as he considers my explanation.  “You’re going to keep on lying to me, aren’t you?”  He pulls out his phone and starts looking through it for something as my heart sinks and my stomach churns uncomfortably.  “I’ve never seen this hat before, and you most certainly were not wearing it when I took you to the airport this morning.  But even so, that doesn’t explain the text message I got from someone who saw a man leaving your room about twenty minutes ago.”

I open my mouth to answer, but Evan stops me.  He holds up his hand and shakes his head.  “Wait, let me guess.”  He walks around the room, thinking.  “The television didn’t work and they sent maintenance up to repair it.”  Walking right past me, Evan moves toward the minibar.  “Or maybe it was the refrigerator.”  He opens the cabinet door and peers into the garbage can, immediately spotting the empty bottles.  Slamming the door, he barks, “Drinking during the day?  What the fuck is going on?  Tell me right now, or I walk straight out that door!”

“Evan, there’s nothing going on.  I swear.”  I can barely hold back the tears.

Evan looks right at me, and this time there’s a look of pure desperation on his face.  “You’re hiding something.  I don’t know what and I don’t know why.  When you’re ready to admit it, let me know.”

He opens the door and turns to me before he leaves.  “You’re breaking my heart, Juliette.  I hope whatever happened was worth it.”  The door closes and he’s gone. 

Once I realize he’s really leaving, I race to the door and follow him into the hallway.  He’s standing in the elevator, waiting for the doors to close.  “Evan, wait.  Please don’t leave.  Not like this.  It’s not what you think.”

He pushes a button to hold the elevator door.  “Was there someone in your room today?” he asks.

I hang my head low, wrap my arms around my waist, and nod my head.  “Yes, but you have to ... ”

He interrupts. “Was he in your bedroom?”

“Evan, listen to me, please.  Just let me explain.”

“This isn’t an essay question, Juliette.  It’s a simple yes or no.  Did you have a man in your bedroom today?”  The words come seething out from between his teeth like they’re poison.

“Please come back inside, Evan.  Please.  Not here.  Not like this.”

“Yes or no.  Just answer my question,” he impatiently demands.

In a voice barely above a whisper, I tell him, “Yes.”

Evan punches the inside of the elevator wall so hard, I could swear I hear a bone in his hand actually crack.  “I have never, ever, even looked at another woman since we’ve met.  I thought you were different.  I thought ... I thought ... I was a fucking idiot.”  The elevator doors close, and just like that, he’s gone.

Doors up and down the hallway begin to open and faces peek out to see what’s going on.  Horror-stricken, I run back to my room, shut the door, and fall to the floor trembling.  Four words come to my mind, flashing like a billboard sign, and I rock back and forth, repeating them aloud over and over again, acknowledging the gravity of my situation. “What have I done?”

T
ime passes without meaning or consequence.  Eventually, there are no tears left to shed and I slowly rise off the floor and attempt to pull myself together.  I stumble around blurry-eyed trying to find my phone, and when I do, it’s blowing up with missed calls and messages.