Descended (The Red Blindfold Book 3) (26 page)

If I leaned back in my
chair and looked across the town’s main street, I could see our
motel, a quiet, one-story place surrounded by golden fields. It was
far from elegant, but being there with Jane made it feel glamorous,
like something from a 1940’s noir film. Her past was mysterious,
mine checkered. Neither of us knew her real name. Now all we needed
was a bottle of whiskey and one of my old enemies in the room next
door, and we were good to go.

“So, I’ve been
thinking about the future,” Jane said after the waiter brought our
drinks. The only light came from a votive candle and the moon. Both
illuminated her silky hair and the soft, feminine planes of her face.

“The future?” I
said. “Deep.”

“Not really. But I
think I’m going to need something more to do than just go on
camping trips and have hot sex with this guy I met on the street.”

I smiled at her.
“Whoever he is, I hate him.”

“You should.”
Smiling, she took a sip of her drink and set the tall, stemmed glass
on the table. “As much as I love camping and sex and dinners out,
this girl needs a life of her own.”

“And what does that
life look like?”

She caught her lower
lip between her teeth. “Well, that’s what I’m trying to figure
out. I think Ruby might be part of the equation.”

“You are
not
going to steal the world’s best personal assistant,” I said in
the sternest voice I could manage.

“Maybe she wants to
be stolen. Did you know she’s always wanted to be an image
consultant?”

“I’ve heard a few
rumblings about that, yes.”

“Well, I think she’d
be really successful. She’s already doing it on the side in her
spare time, and she told me she could use some help.”

“And you’re
thinking about it?”

Jane’s eyes were
radiant and excited. “You said yourself that I’m organized, and I
know how to work a room, especially if I’m not avoiding questions
about who I am.”

“That would
definitely make things easier.” I took her hand across the table.
Truth be told, I loved having her to myself with nothing competing
for her attention. But I’d never keep her from doing what made her
happy, even if she spent time away from me. “It could be a pretty
high-profile job,” I said. “Are you ready for that?”

“I can’t hide
forever, Drex. If I want a life, I have to live it.”

Her strength and
determination made her even sexier to me. “I’m proud of you,” I
said. “I don’t think many people would come through this like you
have.”

She lifted her
shoulders. “Maybe I’m burying my head in the sand. I like my new
life so much I don’t want to face the old one.”

“Or maybe the old one
is finished, and the new one is here to stay.”

It was too easy to
convince myself that her old life wasn’t as good as the one I’d
given her. Maybe she was an orphan, without a husband or people who
missed her. I couldn’t imagine how such a gorgeous and engaging
woman wouldn’t be missed, but anything was possible. As long as
that possibility kept her with me.

Call me selfish and
irresponsible, but when I wanted something, I claimed it. I wanted
Jane more than I’d wanted anything in my life, success, fame, and
money included.

“I’ll need a name
and a social security number and all that,” she said.

“I know. We’ll
figure it out.”

She clenched my hand in
her slender fingers. “Will we?” she asked, fixing me with an
intense stare. “Will we really?”

“Of course, Jane.
Together, we can do anything.”

And at that moment, I honestly
believed that what I said was true.

The next morning, we
woke up an hour before check-out and packed to leave.

I paused on my way out
the door and looked over our room, number 17. After only one night, I
already knew the way the bed squeaked, how the table felt under my
naked back, and the way Drex’s deep voice echoed seductively
against the bathroom tile. What a good time we’d had. We hadn’t
slept much, but we’d made a lot of steamy memories.

Leaving the truck
parked outside the room, we walked hand-in-hand along the cracked
sidewalk to the motel office. It was a beautiful morning – sunny,
with a dry breeze that lifted my hair and cooled my skin. A perfect
day. A perfect weekend. A happiness so complete, I could almost
believe I was untouchable.

I didn’t know if I’d
ever experienced it before, but I was absolutely sure it was love.

Could I love a man
after just three weeks? Could I be this certain? Time would tell. And
hopefully, we had a lot more time ahead of us.

I looked up at Drex as
he stood in the motel office. He made small talk with the
white-haired woman behind the counter, but I hardly heard him. I was
captivated by the movement of his perfect lips and the faint crinkles
at the corners of his eyes. It wasn’t just how he looked, it was
who he was. He radiated strength and character. And under that,
something dark and sexy that drew me like an addiction.

I’d never find
another man like him. I hoped I never had to try.

Behind the counter, an
old television was broadcasting a soap opera. I glanced at the screen
just as a camera zoomed in on a young actress’s tear-filled eyes.

“You two on your
honeymoon?” asked the receptionist as she swiped Drex’s credit
card.

“Um…” I said.

“We’re not, but we
feel like we are,” Drex said. He smiled at me and I felt a flutter
of pleasure to my toes. “Don’t we, Jane?”

All I could do was nod.
Why did we have to be checking out instead of checking in? I’d give
anything to go back and defile that squeaky bed all over again.

“She’s not usually
this speechless,” Drex told the woman. “In fact, she has no
trouble speaking her mind.”

“I bet you make women
speechless all the time,” she said.

“Yeah,” he said
with a bad-boy smile. “Or they have a lot of choice words for me.”

“That part is true,”
I said. “I mean, from what I’ve heard.” The receptionist and I
shared a smile.

As the credits rolled
on the soap opera, dramatic piano music played. Had I ever liked soap
operas? I’d have to watch a few back in Houston and see if I got
hooked.

Drex was signing a copy
of his receipt when a local news broadcast began blaring from the
television.

“Thanks very much,”
he said. “We had a great time.”

“Come stay with us
again,” the receptionist said. “We’d love to have you.”

“We’ll definitely
be back.”

He grabbed my hand and
took a step toward the door. Then he stopped dead, pulling me with
him.

“My God,” he said.

I turned with a frown.
“What’s the matter?”

He said nothing. Skin
prickling, I followed his gaze to the television screen.

And saw myself.

Join me for the finale of Drex and
Jane’s story, in
Descended:
Book Four
.

“Jane was gone,
vanished, ripped out of my life. But she was still mine. And I’d
fight to the death for what was mine.”

The past has
finally caught up with Jane. She can’t escape it, even if Drex owns
her body, heart, and soul. No one will explain what happened to her,
or why. Thrown into an unfamiliar world of people she doesn’t
recognize, she struggles to move on and forget the man who saved and
possessed her.

But the rules have
never applied to Drex Cougan. And even if Jane belongs to someone
else, nothing is off-limits, and defeat isn’t an option.

Purchase
Descended: Book Four now

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