Trust Me (28 page)

“How did you know to use the parking stalls?” she asked.

“I’ve stayed here too, remember? All hotels have parking for their guests,” he explained. “All you need is your room number and security lets you in.” Sandra nodded, she hadn’t thought to use the parking stalls available, but then she didn’t have a car so it didn’t matter to her.

The sun had lowered in the sky, painting the few clouds with an array of orange, yellow and red. It was a breathtaking picture and Sandra found herself anxiously wanting to go back to the ship so they could share the evening together; a bottle of champagne, a few croissants and a long evening of love making. The thoughts were intoxicating and inviting and she couldn’t help but bite her bottom lip in anticipation.

They stepped into the lift pressing the button for her floor and were whisked up to the second floor in a matter of seconds. Sandra walked hand-in-hand with Creighton to her room, pausing momentarily so she could she removed the key card from her purse; his warm hand against her bottom, causing her to bite back the giggle.

“The last time we were here, I was having a hell of a time keeping my hands to myself,” he said softly wrapping his arm around her waist and pulling her tightly against his heat. Sandra felt the hard desire of his erection straining through his pants as he pressed himself against her bottom.

“Well, we haven’t done it in a hotel yet,” she said in a soft whisper as he leaned down, kissing her neck, trapping her between his hips and the doorframe.

“Are you trying to tempt me Miss Dennis?” he asked her, receiving a giggle in response.

“Let’s discuss this inside where we won’t have visitors spying on us,” she whispered hearing the laughter of a woman from somewhere down the adjoining hall and glanced back to the maid who stood a few doors down, staring at them. Sandra slid her key card through the lock and pushed the door open, nearly falling in from the weight against her back. She flipped the light switch next to the door and froze in mid step; her eyes wide as they fixed on the sights around here in disbelief.

Her clothing was strung across the room, the bed overturned, drawers lying on the cluttered floor, empty of their contents. The drapes had been pulled closed to hide the sights of the ransacked room, all of her belongings gone through and thrown around the floor and furniture, her luggage lying open and empty on the small table.

“Oh my God,” she gasped, her hands covering her mouth.

“Don’t touch anything,” he told her pulling her out of the room. “Let’s go report this to the hotel security.” They hurried down the hall toward the lobby, passed the room the maid had been cleaning. She had finished her work and left, her cart nowhere to be seen and the sounds of guests nowhere to be heard. They were about to descend the stairs when Creighton grabbed her around the waist again, pulling her back against him.

“It’s The Don’s boys,” he said in an angry whisper. Sandra looked down the stairs to where two men sat on the sofa, both in black suits and white shirts, like something from an old movie. He pulled her toward the lift, his hand wrapped securely around hers.

“We need to get out of here before they see us.”

“Do you think they were the ones who broke into my room?” she asked quietly as they hurried back to the lift, pressing the button over and over again in hopes of making it arrive quicker.

“I don’t know, but I will find out.”

“I’m scared,” she said in a hushed tone.

“Don’t be,” he assured her gently, lifting her hand to his lips and kissing her knuckles. The lift arrived with a soft pinging sound and they stepped in, pressing the button for the parking garage.

“I won’t let anything happen to you,” Creighton said as the doors slid shut.

“It’s not me I’m worried about.” He glanced down to her and saw the fear echoing in her eyes. “I couldn’t bare it if anything were to happen to you.”

“Nothing will happen, Sandra,” he assured her. “Not only do I have security protecting me, but I’ve taken extensive self-defense lessons over the past three years.” She tried to smile, but found herself fighting back the tears that stung her eyes.

The lift pinged again and the doors slid open, allowing them to walk to where the black Mercedes sat waiting them. They climbed into the lush interior and drove back out into traffic as quickly as possible without drawing undue attention to them.

Sandra turned and glanced out the side window, images of old gangster movies began running through her mind as she tried to focus on happier thoughts. She couldn’t seem to think of anything save guns, henchmen and mafia kings.

“What do we do now?” she asked a few silent moments later, her head aching from fear and bloody images of Creighton lying dead on the ground or at the bottom of the Mediterranean Sea.

“I’m sorry my love,” he answered softly, taking his phone out of jacket pocket. “It would appear our plans have suddenly changed. I need to go to Paris and find that little bitch. She needs to put an end to all of this nonsense.” He snarled his remark as he pushed a button and held the phone to his ear.

“It’s Ashford; get the ship ready to pull out. We’re leaving as soon as we’re back onboard. Have Clark, Parker and Harvey meet me in my office; I need to brief them on the events of the evening and get hold of Michelle. I’m going to need some arrangements made.” He paused for a few moments, listening to the person on the other end. “
Hyères.” He hung up the phone and clenched his jaw, looking irritated and angry.

“I can arrange for you to go back to the states if you don’t want to go with me, or I can send you to my parents in Yorkshire if you’d prefer,” he said quietly, his eyes staring out the front windshield of the sleek black car. Sandra frowned. Could she leave not knowing if he was safe or if she would ever hear from him again?

“I want to go with you,” she said in a tone barely above a whisper. He turned to her, looking at her briefly and offered her a half smile.

“I’m really sorry this has happened. You should not be involved.”

“If you really do want to marry me, than I suppose I’ll have to be involved.” His smile widened making her feel a little less anxious.

“I do really want to marry you and as I remember, part of the wedding vows does say for better or worse. I can’t imagine things possibly getting much worse than they already are.” Sandra found herself actually smiling at his reaction.

“So what are the plans now?” she asked after a moment’s silence.

“We’re going to take the yacht to
Hyères and travel by automobile to Paris. I know where Daniel’s uncle lives and I’m sure Aryana is with him.”

“What happens then?”

“I’ll take the girl and Daniel back to her father and have done with it, so we can work on our own lives. If it was The Don’s boys who broke into your room, they will pay for it and so will the old man.”

“Please be careful,” she said, her tone thick with fear. “I don’t want anything to happen to you.”

“Nothing is going to happen to me. I’ve worked with The Don for a long time, I know him and I know how to handle him. I just need Aryana to admit she’s married and put an end to her father’s suspicions.”

“So your office is in Paris?” Sandra asked a few moments later, remembering that he had told her Aryana used to visit Daniel at work.

“The main office is in London, but I also have branches in Paris, Milan, New York and Australia. Lately, I have been thinking of buying the farm next to my parents so I can keep an eye on them. They aren’t getting any younger and I worry about them, I mean I’ve hired extra help for the farm, but it’s not the same. My dad still insists on working the fields and running the livestock.”

“For a man who is very eco-conscious, you really like to waste gas,” she accused him, watching the frown cross his brow. “Wouldn’t living in Yorkshire and working in London be defeating the purpose of conservation?”

“I would love to work more at home and save on commuting,” he answered. “That’s been my plans for a while now, but the ranch is a little too large for a single man. I’d like you to take a look at it and decide if you want to move from a farm in Kansas to a farm in Yorkshire.”

“Once a farm boy, always a farm boy?” She asked him causing him to laugh, turning to look at the woman who smiled back at him.

“Farm boy from England meets farm girl from Kansas? Sounds like a fairy tale romance to me and we all know how they end.”

“But there are always wicked witches, evil overlords or ogres who threaten the princess’s life before the handsome prince saves her. I hope we don’t have to get to that point.” Creighton laughed, breaking the tension in the small confines of the car.

“The only one you have to worry about, my love is me. I will be more than happy to chain you and beat you until you surrender to me.”

“But would you ever threaten my life?” she asked with a shy smile.

“Never, but your virtue, that’s another subject all together.”

“You are perverted, a true deviant.” He teased as he pulled the car into the parking lot of the pier and shut off the engine.

“I will do everything in my power to make you happy. As my wife, I will deny you nothing. I only hope you will reciprocate in like manner.”

“So we’re going to have a marriage based on sex?” Creighton frowned at her, lifting her chin so he could look into her eyes through the security lights of the parking lot.

“I love you; your heart, your mind and your spirit. The fact that you have a body worthy of worship is a wonderful, delightful bonus that I will relish and cherish the rest of my life. I want you to understand something, Sandra.” A very serious expression crossed the dark depths of his eyes as he held her gaze captive. “I hope sex will be a very big part of our marriage, but if you do not want it, it won’t happen. You have to know, you are the one who decides if and when we make love. I am simply the instrument to provide the hours of pleasure once you say yes.”

“I can’t imagine ever saying no to you,” she whispered and gratefully accepted the warm, passionate kiss he offered her.

“There will come a time when sex won’t be the first thing we think of when we look at each other and when that day comes I promise you, I will not turn my back on you. You are the last woman I will ever love and the only woman I will make love to, until the day I die and probably far beyond. If you leave me, you take my heart and soul with you.”

“I love you Creighton. You make me so happy, much more than I ever imagined.”

“And you are my savior and soul mate. You have saved me from a life far beyond dismal.” Creighton wiped a tear away as it slid helplessly down her cheek and slowly kissed her lips with gentle passion, filling every second with a promise of love and happiness that words alone would never be able to fully express. Sandra offered her heart and love to the man who wrapped her in his tight embrace. This was the man she knew she had waited her entire life to find. He was the happily ever after she had spent a lifetime looking for; her knight is shining armor and the adventure she had always dreamed about.

“Tell the captain to pull anchor,” Creighton ordered as soon as they stepped on board his yacht. “We’re leaving immediately. Miss Dennis and I will have supper in our room.” Garman nodded in acknowledgement of Creighton’s orders and left the deck as while the two walked into the parlor.

“How long before we get…where are we going?” Sandra asked as he shut the glass door.

“
Hyères. It’s a port south of here. It’s not somewhere that we can easily be followed, at least not as quickly as they found us here and not someplace I normally visit, so we should be able to throw the boys off our track.” He led them to the leather sofa and continued to hold her hand as they sat down together.

“How did they find us?” she asked while the roar of the ship’s engines started.

“Something else you should know,” he said glancing down at their conjoined fingers rather than at her. “I own the hotel you were staying at. It wasn’t difficult to find me in France. I’m either there or here.” Sandra’s eyes widened as she began to comprehend the full intent of what he was telling her.

“You wouldn’t happen to know anything about a contest for fourteen days in the French Riviera, would you?” He drew a deep breath and opened his mouth to speak, but before he could answer his phone rang. He stood, pushing the button on his cell and listening to the other end. Again he began speaking in Italian, this time less angry as before, but still very stern and very irritated.
  His conversation was brief and he hung up looking at her.

“
Aryana is in Paris with Daniel. She’ll meet us the day after tomorrow. She won’t meet with her father without my being there, but she has agreed to speak with him. All we have to do is get there before her father’s boys find her.”

“Why is she so afraid of him?” Sandra asked, forgetting the pervious conversation and focusing on the one that had them running.

“She is the only girl with five brothers, the youngest child. Her father is extremely protective and very suspicious of any man who comes near his little girl. Her mother died in childbirth, which only adds to the feelings of the old man. There isn’t anyone he wouldn’t destroy to protect her.”

“Do you think he’ll do anything to this Daniel kid?”