Page 20 of She's Mine

As our lips parted, and David straightened up slightly, his arms moved through the water towards me. The feel of his hands on my thighs was like a bucket of cold water being thrown over my head, and without warning I jumped up and climbed out of the hot tub.

“Alyssa, wait!” David called, but I ignored him and raced into the house.

Without looking back to see if he’d gotten out of the hot tub, I ran upstairs, and locked myself in the bedroom. I waited a few moments, prepared to yell at David for him to go away, but to my disappointment, the sound of him knocking on the door never came.

I stepped into the bathroom as my tears started to fall, andeverythingthat had happened that day assaulted me all at once. I removed my bikini and stepped into the shower as I cried with abandon.

My head spun. This was all too much.

Less than twelve hours ago, a man had held a knife to my throat. I shuddered all over thinking what could have happened if David hadn’t found me in time. Would the Bloodline thug have stabbed me there and then on the street? More likely, he would have taken me away somewhere, and now, instead of being with David in a cabin in the woods, I’d be held prisoner in some unknown location as the cartel used my capture to blackmail my father.

In many ways, I wasstilla prisoner, even now. Sure, David’s cabin had every luxury, but I knew I couldneverstep outside of the ten acres of land he owned. I could never pass through those security gates. I couldn’t pop into Blue Jay for a bit of light shopping or meet up with Brittany and Courtney.

I was trapped here.

Trapped with a man I couldn’t resist, but I knew I’d never be able to be with properly.

Hadn’t David said as much himself earlier in the hot tub when I’d teased him about his reaction to me in my bikini.

‘Yes, and we both know why.’

I was too young. He’d been paid to protect me. My father wouldneverapprove. These thoughts kept swirling around and around in my mind, even as I recalled the feeling of David’s lips on mine.

I wanted him.Sobadly. Badly enough that even now, I was tempted to leave the shower, and seek him out. But I knew it couldneverbe anything more than a quick fling. And for that reason alone, I steeled myself, knowing the only way I would get through however long it took for the Bloodline to be caught was by avoiding David as much as possible, and not giving into my desire for him.

9

DAVID

For the longest time after Alyssa raced away from me in the hot tub, I just remained there, sitting in the water as the sky around me got darker and darker. Not sure what to do.

Ahugepart of me wanted to rush upstairs after Alyssa and claim her as mine. But I knew that was a line we couldn’t cross again. She’d made it clear she didn’t want anything serious. Hell, I wasn’t sure I wanted anything serious, either. I wasn’t thinking about dating. I had to focus on keeping her safe. And keeping her safe meant keeping my distance.

There were too many complications otherwise. What I had to do was respect the choice Alyssa had made, and not make her time here any more difficult than it already was. Like I’d thought earlier that day as we drove here, I wasn’t about to say or do anything to make this situation even more complicated for her.

No matterhowbadly my body burned with desire for her. But that was all lust. I could push my lust aside to focus on what was really important -- keeping Alyssa safe, and making sure she remained happy while we waited here for things to cool off.

So that’s what I did. Taking my lead from Alyssa, the following day I kept my distance from her. The cabin was more than big enough for both of us, and Lawrence and Mavis, and we all managed to keep ourselves entertained without stepping on each other’s toes.

I kept myself busy in the main living room, setting up my laptop and checking in with Jeffrey, before going over some admin paperwork and other boring tasks I’d been neglecting. I even managed to file my taxes early.

I saw Alyssa at mealtimes, when we both ate with Lawrence and Mavis, and we all managed to maintain a polite -- if at times stilted -- conversation. But for the most part, she stuck to other areas of the house. I caught a glimpse of her once or twice in the outdoor pool, and another time when I passed the gym. It seemed she was keeping herself distracted by working out. Not that I could blame her. I had my own share of pent-up frustration I needed to vent, and on an evening when she settled into the home cinema to watch a movie, I beat the crap out of every punch bag I owned.

Alyssa and I kept a safe, but polite, distance from each other for about a week, and if Lawrence and Mavis noticed that there was any tension between the two of us, they didn’t comment on it. One evening when I was done in the gym, and freshly showered, curiosity got the better of me and I headed down to the basement to see what Alyssa was watching.

I was surprised when I saw the home cinema was completely dark, with nothing showing on the screen, until I heard sounds coming from the gaming room and then a whoop of joy.

“Take that! I finally did it!” Alyssa called out with delight.

I instantly knew what she was celebrating -- she’d beaten my highest score in Tetris.

Unable to keep the grin off my face, I walked into the gaming room. “Do I take it that congratulations are in order?”

Alyssa jumped for a moment, but then realizing it was only me, she turned to me with a triumphant grin. “You bet your ass. Who’s the master now?”

She stepped back from the arcade machine to show the new highest score of 404,740 and the initials ALY beside it.

“You’ve only beaten me by two points. I can easily reclaim the title of master,” I teased.

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