Page 42 of Dark Masquerade
She gave him a cheesy grin—god, they were almost like a loving couple in these moments. “You distracted me with sex.”
“Which is what I’ll do in Paris.” He grinned wickedly. God, she could almost believe he wasn’t a psychopath when he was like this.
Elli smiled. “Then it’s settled. I’ll go find our passports.”
She went into the bedroom and pulled open the nightstand. A thought came to her and she very carefully pulled out both passports, making sure one covered the other, then made a big deal of trying to find something else in the drawer and those below it. She made her expression one of confusion and looked around the room, making her movements very deliberately.
If he had put cameras in her apartment, he might have put them in here. He could be watching her right now. Shit, if he had put them in his study ...
No.She would be dead right now if he knew she’d snooped in his study. She had to trust that only the bedroom—the bedroom where he had fucked her and where he had murdered Yvetta—was the only room he would feel he needed to watch her—and them. She hoped that was true. She carried the passports out and only when she was sure no one would see her, did she slip Aldo’s down her underwear, wincing at the cold, leather cover.
“Honey? I found mine, but yours isn’t with it. I had a quick look around, but it’s not there. Did you put it somewhere else?”
For the next hour, she helped Aldo search the bedroom for his passport. Eventually, Aldo stood, frustrated, and ran a hand through his hair. “Well, damn.”
“It’s weird.” Elli was enjoying herself now. “I’m trying to retrace what we did when we got home.”
Aldo sighed. “Look, let’s leave it. You’re only going to be gone for a few days, right?”
She kissed him. “Right.”
He put his arms around her and suddenly she was scared he would feel his passport hidden in her underwear. “I like your thinking, cowboy, but rather unromantically, I really have to pee.”
Aldo laughed and released her, and she went to the bathroom and locked the door. Searching, her eye alighted on the back of one of the cabinets. She slipped Aldo’s passport into it, hoping he would never need to look there—at least until she could get it out of the house or, even better, lose it—he’d never be able to replace it by tomorrow, no matter how much money he had.
Happy in that knowledge, she went back to the bedroom and didn’t even feel too badly when Aldo insisted on them making love before and after she packed, knowing that this time tomorrow night, it would be Indio’s arms she was in.
Elli breathed in a lungful of Parisian air and smiled at the man opening the limousine door for her. In a few minutes, she would be whisked to Benoit Vaux’s left-bank apartment, where Indio would be waiting for her. As she traveled through the city, she was staggered at the beauty of the place, the manic traffic, and the speed of life there. Elli gazed out at the Eiffel Tower, lit now in the early evening twilight. In the world’s most romantic city, she would finally be able to love Indio freely and openly.
He was waiting as she stepped out of the car and he whisked her inside and kissed her passionately, leaving her laughing and gasping for air. His arms were tight around her. They gazed at each other for a long moment, no need for words.
There was a discreet cough behind them, and Indio turned and laughed. A tall, dark, handsome man gave them an amused smile. Indio chuckled.
“Sorry, Ben.”
Benoit Vaux, grinning, kissed her cheek. “It’s wonderful to see you again, Elli. Please come upstairs and meet my family. I warn you, our daughter is still awake and causing trouble.”
He led them upstairs, where he introduced Elli to Shiloh, a tall, willowy blonde with a friendly smile, and their daughter, Lily.
“Hi, Lily,” Elli said. “That’s a beautiful name. My friend has a daughter called Lily too.”
Lily, unlike her namesake, Lily Storm, wasn’t shy at all. She nodded. “It’s a popular name,” she said wisely and her mother laughed.
“Precocious nine-year-old,” she said with a smile. “Please, Elli, come on in. Indio’s made himself at home already.”
She said this with a fond glance at Indio, and he grinned back. Elli could see the friendship between them all and it made her heart warm all the way through the delicious dinner with Benoit and Shiloh. Then, after midnight, Indio and Elli left by the back entrance and were driven to Indio’s place across town. Elli’s eyes widened at the beauty of the apartment. “Wow. And you just moved in?”
Indio grinned. “Yesterday, but I’ve had my eye on this place for a long time.”
The walls of the high-ceilinged rooms were painted a delicate lilac, and Elli grinned. “God, it’s lovely.”
“Nothing compared to what I’m looking at right now.” He took her in his arms and kissed her. “Hello again,Elli Bella. It’s so good to hold you when we have no fear of discovery or any anger between us.”
Elli relaxed into his arms. “God, Indio, it’s all I’ve ever wanted.” He smiled, and taking her hand, they walked to his bedroom. Elli leaned against him.
“You know, I could do with a bath. To get the journey off me.”
“Your wish is my command.”
