Page 127 of Maneater
He shakes his head in confusion, and my smile widens.
“I thought that was kind of an accepted fact at this point.”
I shake my head, then decide a hog-tie is never a bad idea, grabbing another zip tie and fashioning it to attach the hand and foot ties.
“No, you definitely have to ask. It’s a rule.”
Happy with my handiwork, bright colored lines across our culprit’s hands and feet, pulling both to his back, I stand, wiping off my hands and knees in the process before putting my hands to my hips. As I do, Randy groans a little, coming to.
Perfect timing.
“What the fuck?” he mumbles into the floor, his head turningto the side and glaring at us.
I wiggle my fingers in a wave to him before stepping toward Rowan, more important things to worry about. “You were saying?” I ask, redirecting my attention to Rowan.
He shakes his head with a small laugh before pulling me in tighter. Down the hall, I hear a commotion and realize the Wilde Security guys and Rory are nearby.
“I have to ask, huh?” Rowan asks, ignoring everything else.
“Oh yeah. Full send, grand gesture, the whole nine.” My hand lifts to wrap around his neck.
“Not really my style,” he says, voice low as he lifts a hand to rest on my jaw, his thumb brushing over my bottom lip. The touch moves through me, the endorphins that are already flowing through me making me feel every move intensely.
“I don’t know if you know this, Rowan, but I’m kind of high maintenance. A man-eater, some would say. If you don’t give me what I need, I’ll just chew you up and spit you out.”
His smile goes wide and cocky. “Oh, I give you what you need, Josie, and we both know that.”
Nowthatgoes right between my legs.
“What the fuck is going on?” Randy yells from the ground.
“Shut up, we’re busy,” I say, eyes never leaving Rowan’s. “You still haven’t asked.”
Rowan smiles then, shaking his head gently like he’s thoroughly entertained by me.
“Will you, JosephineMan-eaterMontgomery, be my girlfriend?” he murmurs, and it’s like I’m fourteen, and my crush is asking me to prom; the butterflies in my stomach are going a mile a minute, and the smile on my face spreads into a wide grin.
“Did you really have to ask?” I say with a smile before I move to my toes and press a kiss against his laughing lips. We stand there as he deepens it in this spot, the same one I wished to high heaven he’d kiss me in not long ago.
Our culprit thrashes at our feet when backup enters, and Rory’s laugh fills the area.
God, I love my job.
EPILOGUE
After Rory stopped laughing at the sight of Rowan and me making out next to a hog-tied Randy, we got our culprit to the police, who got a formal confession out of him. It turns out that we were dead on with our assumption: Randy found out that Tanya was cheating on him with Daniel and started taking steps to try and jeopardize Daniel’s job, thinking that if he could get him fired, Tanya would no longer be interested in him. When his small efforts didn’t work, he upped his game with the almond oil in the mud bath and the fire. The video we found from the shack was Tanya confronting her ex and a half-hearted attempt to stop him.
Also, as we assumed, his younger brother did what he could to cover for him while also trying to convince him to stop, hacking into the cameras to clear any footage that would show him in the act. Unfortunately for Carter, as his brother escalated and had more and more incidents, he forgot to cover hisownmissteps, like any footage of him stealing the camera from the ransacked room.
We didn’t see him get on the boat because he never returned to the main island; instead, he lived in the forest for weeks while carrying out his sabotage. Some of the missing food deliveries wereactually just Randy needing to eat, it seems. When, as planned, he heard that the resort needed all hands on deck for the arrival of the Holdens, he took his opportunity, taking advantage of both employees being distracted and causing a major issue. Rowan had two dozen handymen conduct a thorough inspection of every railing, as well as the other locations Rory had caught him tinkering with, such as wall hangings and light fixtures, and a team to come in and repair the security system. After that was complete, guests were once more allowed to wander the hotel safely.
But once he was locked away and we could ensure that the hotel was safe again, wepartied.The hotel party that was thrown for the Holdens (and the paparazzi) was the first time I’ve seen Rowan let go in public, and it was atime. With the pressure of the sabotage done, he was free to spend the night dancing with me, although he refrained from drinking, and after, we said goodnight to Rory and our new friends Wes and Harper before continuing a party of our own late into the night before Rowan, Rory, and I left the island in the early dawn hours.
After we got home and wrapped up a few loose ends, Rowan and I did, in fact, take a vacation: a full two weeks in a little beach house we rented in Seaside Point at the recommendation of his assistant, Sutton. I don’t know if Annette actually followed through on her threat of removing Rowan from the server, because to my knowledge, he never checked. Instead, we spent two weeks together, lazing on the beach, spending nights on the boardwalk, knocking off a good number of those dates he thinks he owes me, and getting to know each other without the pressure of work hovering over us. It was perfectly blissful.
Six months later, things have only gotten better. The only real difference is that many of my most recent assignments haven’t been local since I've started a serious relationship, instead driving a bit out of the way, often to Philly or New York if need be, to ensure there won’t be too much crossover. When I do have an assignment in Hudson City, I make sure I let myboyfriend, who, as of two weeks ago, moved me into his fancy high-rise condo, know, so he doesn’t have to break a tooth gritting his teeth while watching me flirt with some asshole he knows right in front of him.
All that to say, life is good.
