by Lola Gabriel
A feeling of serenity slid through her as she reached for the door leading onto the balcony, inhaling the sweet saltiness of the ocean air as she moved. She had barely noticed the crisp white linens or clawfoot bathtub in the bathroom.
I could live on this five-by-five-foot patio my entire life, she thought, gazing into the water beyond. Listening to the waves and inhaling the smell of the ocean.
In her moment of bliss, Ara didn’t hear Titus join her outside until he handed her a flute of champagne.
“Champagne?” she chuckled, accepting it as she turned to him. “I wouldn’t think you’d feel much like celebrating in light of what I just told you.” A shadow crossed over his face, and Ara instantly regretted mentioning it. “I’m sorry,” she said quickly, grabbing his free hand with hers. “Thank you for the drink.”
She held it up in toast, and he grinned sheepishly.
“It’s the strangest thing,” Titus said gently, touching the rim of his goblet to hers. “When I’m near you, nothing seems so bad. I mean, I should be freaking out, worrying about what Skylar Vernon is going to do to my company, wondering who he’s working with, and yet when I look at you…”
Ara blushed furiously, reading the look in his eye, and she admitted that she was glad to hear he was not in worse spirits.
If Skylar follows the same pattern, she thought, we still have some time before he acts. Possibly weeks.
“Look at me,” Titus said gruffly, taking the glass from her hand. Ara obliged instantly, her eyes meeting his as he cupped her face between his forefinger and thumb. “You are so beautiful here in the moonlight,” he sighed, shaking his head as if he couldn’t believe her beauty.
Her heart thudded softly against her chest, and she arched her neck upward, wanting to taste his lips again. They were so drawn to one another, so connected by something they couldn’t see.
Titus’ tongue touched her top lip before their mouths fully met, sending a thousand goosebumps over her skin. Ara’s mouth parted to allow her own tongue to mesh with his, and they explored each other sweetly, their eyes locked as was becoming their way.
His hand slid underneath her shirt, his palm smooth against the tender skin of her chest. Her arms rose to allow him to undress her again, and the heat returned, jutting through her body like a firecracker, the subtle wind teasing at her taut nipples.
Titus reached for the back of her throat with his right hand, his left reaching around to slip inside the back of her pants.
“You’re already wet,” he sighed, his fingertips reaching for the cleft between her thighs.
Ara whimpered slightly as his grip around her nape tightened, her knees growing slightly weak as she fought to keep herself together. Around her waist, her jeans inched lower, falling about her thighs, but she was still entangled in Titus’ now urgent kisses as he pushed her backward against the low stucco wall of the balcony.
She gasped as he spun her around, her naked chest pressed to the cold barrier. Suddenly her pants were off, Titus’ solid body pushed into her as one hand massaged her throbbing jugular, the other teasing at her pulsating clitoris.
How does he get me so hot so fast? Ara wondered, a hazy sensation overtaking her senses as his fingers increased speed.
She bucked outward as a digit slid inside her, and she moaned, squeezing herself around him as he moved. Against her cheeks, she felt his member growing thicker, and she cried out in pleasure. Titus added another finger to the slick opening, and Ara jutted her waist against him, her hands reaching behind to undo his pants.
In a dream-like fog, the waves crashing on the shore, she guided him inside her, his fingertips still brushing against her swollen button. Titus released her throat, his hand wrapping around her reddish-blonde strands like reins as he filled her deeper than she’d ever known.
“Oh!” Ara mewled, relishing each hard thrust as it took her breath away. His sack spanked at her, and Ara reached out to grasp the wall for support as each plunge brought her further onto the balls of her feet.
She felt like she was floating away, kept only in place by the intensifying strokes of Titus’ shaft, and when she could hold on no longer, she screamed out as she shuddered around his member. Her cries were met by the sound of his grunts of passion, his hand spanking a pale cheek, and the sting only added to the pleasure she was experiencing.
“D-don’t stop!” she begged, feeling her body tense again as another orgasm followed the first almost instantly. Her clit was on fire, the sensitivity driving her to the brink of ecstatic madness while he tweaked at her.
Ara’s knees buckled, but Titus held fast to her, his breaths coming out in short, raspy gasps.
“Oh, my God…”
She felt him spill into her in heated shots of pleasure. Unexpectedly, he slapped her cheeks again, and Ara was done, lowering her face into the low wall as she melted into a puddle against him.
Together they quivered, their bodies spasming in synch as they fought to contain themselves, but neither moved until they were sure the other was spent.
As Titus withdrew, Ara tensed the walls of her core, wistfully trying to keep him in place. She knew as soon as he slipped out of her, she would be faced with reality again.
He’s right, she thought. When we’re together, it’s like nothing else matters, like there is no real world. Maybe we should just stay in bed together and shut out the outside. A wry smile touched her lips at the idea. Until the police come pounding down the door and take me away in handcuffs and he’s arrested for abetting a fugitive. Or until Skylar robs him of his wealth or patents or whatever the hell he wants.
She turned and gazed at Titus, an idea forming in her mind.
“Why are you looking at me like that? Was I too rough with you?” he asked warily, handing her a glass of champagne.
Ara laughed and shook her disheveled hair. “Not at all. I enjoyed that quite a bit. I thought you could tell.”
Titus chuckled. “It seemed that way to me, but it’s been a while,” he replied. He cocked his head to the side curiously. “Then why are you looking at me like that?”
“I think I might have a plan,” she explained, taking a sip of the sweet, cool liquid. It accented the experience perfectly, and Ara wondered how she had ever thought she’d had good sex before.
“Sounds dangerous,” Titus said shortly, his smile fading as if he knew exactly what was on her mind. But that was ridiculous. He couldn’t possibly know— “He’s a known fugitive. Even if you could find a way to contact him, it’s far too dangerous,” Titus continued, and Ara’s mouth fell open in shock.
“How the hell did you know I was thinking that?” she demanded. “I didn’t even think about it until two seconds ago!”
Titus studied her face and gestured at the bistro set for her to sit. His expression softened, and Ara felt her heart begin to race.
He’s going to tell me something important, she thought, sitting down, her mind still reeling that he had guessed her plan so easily.
“I owe you some answers,” he said, and Ara felt her pulse quicken. She sat back slightly, a sudden confusion sweeping through her as she waited.
No, I don’t want to know, she thought. I don’t care about anything except how Titus makes me feel. I don’t need to know anything else. But she said nothing, watching his full, sulky mouth as he formulated the thoughts in his head.
“Many years ago, I was in love with a woman named Isabella,” Titus said quietly, avoiding her eyes. “I wanted to marry her, but…” He inhaled sharply. “Let’s just say politics got in the way, and when I had to choose between my family and marrying her, I chose wrong.”
He had difficult parents. I can relate to that, Ara thought, chewing on the insides of her cheeks.
“But that didn’t stop us from being together. We loved each other so much, Arabella. We were together for years, and still, every time I laid eyes on her, my heart would almost leap from my chest with affection for her. There could never be another woman for me.”
“What happened to her?” Ara asked, leaning over the table as the rawness of his emotion plucked at her heartstrings. There was such naked anguish in his voice; it chilled her to the bone.
You know what happened to her, a voice jeered at her. You know…
Titus’ head jerked up, and his eyes rested on hers, a blank expression on his face.
“She died,” he said bluntly. “A long time ago.”
A heady, dizzying feeling washed over Ara as a strange sound filled her ears. “How?”
Titus pursed his lips together. For a minute, she didn’t think he was going to answer, but he finally did.
“She died in war. It should have never happened.” A long silence ensued, and Titus seemed to be lost in thought before he continued. “You remind me of Isabella in every possible way. Physically, your mannerisms, your sweetness, and your bravery. I know you’re not her, but I feel like you’ve been sent to me to protect where I failed Bella.”
A gust of wind whipped across the patio, enveloping them, and when Ara spoke, she didn’t recognize her own voice—the words sounded far away, and she was unable to hear what she was saying.
Titus’ face turned almost opaque against the night. He swallowed nervously, his eyes searching her face uncomprehendingly.
“You are so much like her,” he sighed. “It was selfish of me to bring you home with me, knowing that I see you as her.”
Ara felt her mouth open, but she still couldn’t hear her own words, nor could she understand why Titus was saying that to her. His face suddenly contorted into a twisted mask of consternation and anger, and he jumped to his feet, his eyes flashing.
As quickly as the eerie sensation had overcome Ara, it was gone, and she sat blinking.
“What’s wrong?” she demanded as Titus gaped at her, his anger gone. “If it upsets you that much, I… I won’t look for him, but I still think it’s our best way to stop him. And if we locate him, it will also help keep me out of prison.”
Titus continued to stare at her, unspeaking.
“I’m sorry I brought it up, Titus,” she apologized, yet he only kept looking at her, as if he didn’t recognize her anymore. “Please say something! It was only a suggestion. We’ll… we’ll do whatever you want!”
His mouth parted. “You don’t remember what you just said to me?” he rasped, and Ara was starting to grow alarmed by his strange change in demeanor. Maybe he was unstable, after all.
“I just asked you how you knew I was thinking about finding Skylar,” she answered, “and now you’re looking at me like I murdered your dog or something.”
Titus’ face shifted into a pained expression before he shook his head.
“Never mind any of that tonight,” he said, turning to head back inside the suite. “Let’s just order room service and massages and go to bed.”
“Order massages?” Ara repeated, following him inside. “Really?” He cast her a sidelong look, his eyes still clouded in suspicion. What the hell is wrong with him?
“We can do anything we want, Bella,” he told her. “We’re alive, after all.”
She wasn’t sure why the words filled her with worry.
11
She’s toying with me, Titus thought. Somehow, she knows about Isabella, and she’s torturing me because she knows how much she looks like her.
But that made no sense. There was no way that Arabella could know about his long-dead lover. There was no Google search that would bring up Isabella’s name, no gravesite to mark her passing. There was only one explanation for her to know about it, for her to have said the words she had told Titus.
“You are wrong, Titus,” Bella had whispered. “I am Bella.” And when Titus had shaken his head and said that it had been selfish of him to bring her along, she had continued. “You do not understand, Titus! I am Isabella Morrow, and I know what you did. I know what you are!”
Then she had seemingly snapped out of it and gone back to being Arabella Pinot.
Somehow, Titus thought, she is Isabella. Somewhere, deep inside, the woman I love lives. I saw her with my own eyes. And she hates me.
The weak light of dawn was fighting to make its way into the hotel room, but Titus had not slept a wink, watching Bella as she drifted off almost seamlessly after hours of lovemaking. He had not seen another sign of whatever seemed to possess her on the balcony, and as morning broke, Titus was beginning to wonder if he had not imagined the entire conversation. Bella certainly had no memory of it, and he had to admit that he was not well rested.
But he could not deny it had happened, and he had no idea what to make of it. If his Isabella did live inside of Arabella, she would have every right to be furious with him. It was his fault that she was gone. Even if she had lived through the inferno, she would consider him an abomination. Titus wasn’t sure she was wrong.
Bella stirred slightly in her sleep, a soft sigh escaping her lips as her eyelids fluttered, but she did not part them, her mouth parting slightly. Didn’t Titus have enough to worry about without the idea that Bella was consumed with the spirit of Isabella?
Watching Bella sleep, Titus had been unable to let go of what she had told him about Skylar Vernon being the hacker. She knew the way he worked. She had been his accomplice for years. If anyone could draw him out, it might be her.
Idly, Titus wondered if Skylar had targeted him because he had taken Bella into his home.
No, he realized. This started before I met her, and I met her because I was filing that report at the police station.
It was all so coincidental, so eerie. What were the odds that they were all connected? Then again, what were the odds that Bella really was Isabella? What were the odds that he and his kingdom had been transformed into dragons?
Titus wondered if Bella was somehow involved in the hacking itself. He shook his head at the impossibility of it: she would have to know that he would bring her to his compound and that he could trust her enough to grant her access to his company.
There’s no way, he thought. This is just an insane series of bizarre events that happened to be interconnected.
Titus didn’t know what to believe anymore. Either idea was ludicrous. Fate or the biggest magic trick the world had ever seen. Where was Opal these days?
“You’re awake,” Bella purred, her eyes fluttering open. “What time is it?”
“Early,” Titus replied quickly, reaching to twine her silken curls between his manicured fingers. “Go back to sleep.”
“Are you okay?”
He nodded. “I’m fine. Just relax,” he told her, any doubts he had dissipating instantly.
Instead of settling back into the pile of fluffy pillows, Bella stretched and sat up, her green eyes adjusting to wakefulness.
“You haven’t slept,” she commented, and Titus wondered how she could tell. He shook his head. “You’re worried about Skylar.”
Titus sighed. “I’m worried about a lot of things,” he confessed, and he was surprised by his own words. It wasn’t like him to admit weakness, let alone to a woman he had just met. She isn’t some random woman you met in a bar, he reminded himself. Even though she doesn’t realize it, she knows me better than anyone in the world.
“I think you should let me reach out to him,” said Bella. “He might consider me an ally because I haven’t turned him in.” Instinctively, Titus began to protest, but Bella put a long finger against his lips. “He would turn me in without a second thought,” she told him seriously. “If I find him, I could be saving myself.”
“You could also be putting yourself in unnecessary danger,” Titus replied. but he was less convinced than he had been the previous night. So far, she had been the only one who had given any insight on how to solve this problem. If it weren’t for Bella, Trina, Kamil, and Titus would still be in the dark. And it was only a matter of time before the board found out about it.
“We can take measures to ensure my safety,” Bella insisted, and Titus saw that she had been thinking about it as mu
ch as he had.
“How would you do that?” he asked slowly, and her face seemed to relax as she realized he was considering her offer.
“I would have to reach out to some of my other sources,” she said. “But I would have to be discrete. If the cops are watching me…” She didn’t need to finish her thought; Titus knew they would both be in trouble if she was caught associating with criminals affiliated with the case they were building against Skylar Vernon.
“The cops won’t be watching you,” he assured her, knowing that the last thing the government wanted was to find themselves on the wrong side of Williams Technology. “I can help you get what you need, but… Bella, I’m not convinced this is the smartest way to go about it.”
“I don’t see what other choice you have,” she replied. “You don’t know what he wants. He’s already infiltrated your systems, and I can guarantee he has inside help.”
“Who could it be?” Titus murmured aloud. “Who would do that to me? To the company?”
Bella gave him a sympathetic look. “It would have to be someone high up on the food chain,” she explained. “Someone who would have access to your systems and updates regularly. This is not an easy feat to accomplish.”
“So, in other words, someone I trust,” Titus responded bitterly. She didn’t answer, but he didn’t need her to. “What do you need?” Titus asked, sighing deeply. He was disappointed in himself for allowing his resolve to melt so quickly, but what choice did he have?
Not only was the time ticking against Skylar— but it was also running out for Bella.
And I am working with a thief and a liar, he thought to himself.
“I’m going to need secure access to a computer,” Bella stated, her eyes coming alive suddenly as her spine straightened. “And a burner phone.”
“All right.” He watched her face carefully as the wheels in her head seemed to turn before his eyes. She’s incredibly smart. How did she get caught up in all this?
“I can’t promise anything, but if I reach out to some of the others…” Bella stared up at him sharply, her face growing pale. “I shouldn’t be telling you any of this,” she whispered.