“I…” She dropped her chin and shook her head. “I have nowhere to go. And I wasn’t marrying that man. I was marrying someone else, but I ran away. That was one of my uncle’s security people. He caught up to me—it wasn’t hard since I’m not much of a driver—and ran me off the road. If you take me to the sheriff’s department, they’ll take me back to my uncle. And I’ll be forced to marry Sheikh Fahd before the day is over.”
A prickle of unease slid down Cash’s spine. “Sheikh Fahd?”
He knew that name. The man was a Qu’rimi oil magnate and a cousin to the king of Qu’rim. He was also rumored to support the Freedom Force, the terrorist group that backed the rebels in the Qu’rimi civil war. There was no proof of that connection, but there’d been some chatter in intelligence circles.
“It’s not important. What’s important is that I don’t want to go back. I can’t pay you, but if you’ll help me hide for a few days, I’m sure the sheikh will leave.”
He was still struggling to understand how this wisp of a girl was supposed to be marrying Sheikh Fahd. She couldn’t be more than twenty. Maybe twenty-one. Clearly she came from money. Fahd wouldn’t marry a waitress he met in a bar. This woman was someone. But who?
“This is America. Nobody can force you to get married. Just tell them you’ve changed your mind.”
She shook her head. “You don’t know my uncle. Or the sheikh. If I go back, I’ll be married before nightfall.” She sucked in a breath. “I-I can’t give you money to help me. But I can give you something else. If you want it.”
He frowned. He didn’t want money. Or anything. But he was curious what she was offering. “What’s that?”
She bit her cherry-red lower lip, her lashes dropping over her dark eyes. “My virginity.”
Cash nearly choked on his own tongue. He shot her a glance. She still wasn’t looking at him. “Are you fucking serious?”
She lifted her lashes. The look in her eyes made him want to kick himself. He didn’t even know her and he hated that he’d hurt her.
“You aren’t interested?”
He gripped the wheel. Hard. What the hell was he supposed to say now? Whatever it was, he got the impression he needed to tread carefully.
“It’s not that you aren’t attractive, Ella. But I don’t expect payment. I helped you out because it was the right thing to do.”
She twisted the bejeweled fabric of her skirt in one small hand. “And now? Will you still help me, or do you plan to drop me at the sheriff’s department and wash your hands of me?”
Shit. It’s what he wanted to do. No doubt about it. But what if she was right and turning her over resulted in her marriage to Sheikh Fahd taking place anyway? Cash knew he wasn’t going to take that chance. She might be crazy or exaggerating—but if there was any chance she really could be forced to marry against her will, then he wasn’t putting her in that position.
“Jesus,” he bit out, staring straight ahead at the rain coming down. He still had two hours to drive before he reached the fishing cabin. It was isolated, sitting on a mountain and surrounded by woods and streams. Nobody would think to look for her there. And he’d have a couple of days to figure out alternatives.
“Yeah, fine,” he said. “I’ll help.”
“Thank you.”
She slumped in the seat and a shot of anger ricocheted through him. Not at her, but at the situation that would make this woman trust a stranger with her life rather than return to her family. It wasn’t right. Or normal.
What the fuck was he supposed to do with her in three days when the fishing trip was through? Hell, what was he supposed to do with her now?
Not take her virginity, that’s for damned sure. He had a policy about virgins: hell to the NO. Because virgins hadn’t yet figured out how relationships worked—i.e., they wanted one. He did not. Relationships were superficial at best, and he wasn’t about to pretend there could ever be more.
No matter what his teammates thought about it, love wasn’t real. At least not for him. Cowboy could cuddle up with Miranda all day long and convince himself he needed her more than he needed to breathe, but Cash knew the truth—if she left him tomorrow, he’d eventually get over her and find someone else.
Love was a con. And Cash wasn’t playing.
Chapter 3
Ella was in shock. Sort of. Yes, it was her own choices that had gotten her here, but when she’d run away from the estate, she hadn’t expected to find herself in a car with a stranger, begging him not to take her to the authorities.
What did you expect, Ella?
Yes, what had she expected? That she’d drive away from the estate and… do what? She had no money, no ID, and no cell phone. Where would she have gone? Who would let her stay in a hotel when she had no ID or means to support herself? The scheme had been doomed from the moment she’d hatched it in the bathroom. She was woefully unprepared—and would even now be on her way back to the estate if not for this man.
Ella chewed her bottom lip, then stopped when she heard her aunt’s voice in her head. Stop that right this instant. You’re a princess, not a commoner. You must learn poise and grace.
Poise. Grace.
Ella wanted to snort. What did she need those for if she was only ever going to be locked away from the world? Her cousins were permitted more freedom than she’d ever had. Her life was almost a cliché—the mean aunt and uncle, the evil cousins, nobody who loved her or looked out for her. If they’d forced her to sleep in a closet under the stairs, she could have at least dreamed of getting a letter from a magic school and being freed her from her humdrum existence. For part of the year anyway.
But they hadn’t gone that far. They’d given her a big room of her own, exquisitely furnished, and then reminded her every day for the past fourteen years what a burden and a drain on their finances she was.
Ella sucked in a calming breath and clasped her hands on her wet lap as she took stock of the situation. The dress was soaked. Ruined. It was a gorgeous creation, but not to her taste. It was ostentatious and heavy and she wanted out of it.
But she hated that she’d ruined it. Someone—or several someones—had worked hard to make this dress beautiful. And it was arguably the most expensive thing her aunt and uncle had ever bought her.
She reached for the vent and turned it toward her. Cash—she was still processing his name, testing it out in her mind—had turned the heat on. She didn’t know why he’d done it, but she was thankful he had. He didn’t look cold at all. As if to emphasize that fact, he flipped the middle vent, which was still pointing at him, toward her.
“Thank you,” she said.
“Sure.”
She slanted a look at his face, and her stomach did a slow tumble thing that she was trying to get used to. She knew he was tall from the confrontation with her uncle’s security man. He was also lean, his body packed with muscle that popped and flexed as he moved. She’d watched him back there, and she’d been mesmerized by the grace and beauty of him.
But it was his face that made it hard to breathe.
It was a perfect face, symmetrical, with a sculpted jaw and high cheekbones. His eyes were green, rimmed in black. It made them stand out against that perfectly beautiful face. His hair was a deep, rich chocolate color, wavy and full. His mouth invited all sorts of thoughts that made her skin prickle with heat.
Ella’s belly clenched. She might be a sheltered virgin, but she’d read books and she’d viewed a few porn videos. Her aunt had considered that the best way to educate her about sex. Ella’s belly had clenched in much the same way the first time she’d watched a man and woman have sex on-screen.
She shook herself and turned to look out the window as the rain fell and obscured the fields in the distance.
“We need to get you out of that dress,” he said, his voice all growly and deep, and she nearly jumped a mile out of her skin.
Was he interested after all? She’d been taught that men prized virginity. Perhaps he’d changed his mi
nd. Which made her heart start to hammer.
“I, uh, yes,” she said helplessly. Because she’d offered. And because if she wasn’t a virgin anymore, then Sheikh Fahd would not want her. She could do this. She could. It was the best idea.
“We’ll need to find a place to stop and get you some clothes and shoes,” he continued, and her heartbeat slowed a fraction.
So he wasn’t planning seduction after all. And why had she expected it? She must look like the proverbial drowned rat. Her hair had been coiffed and piled on her head with exquisite care, the crown set just so and pinned into place. She’d jerked the crown from her head and mussed her hair then. But that was nothing like the moment she’d been tugged into the rain by her uncle’s security man.
Her hair was plastered to her head. Ropes of it dripped down her face, sticking to her cheeks. She pushed it back carefully and started feeling for pins. At least she could remove them and finger-comb her hair. It would dry faster that way.
“That would be good,” she replied.
“There’s a Walmart in the next town. We’ll stop there.”
“Thank you.” She’d never been inside a Walmart. How exciting! But her excitement was short-lived as she thought about buying anything. Ella balled her hand into a fist. “I’m afraid I don’t have any money.”
Cash shot her a glance. “Didn’t think you did. Not many women tuck credit cards into their cleavage on their wedding day.”
“Maybe more should,” she grumbled. Not that she had a credit card to tuck anywhere. Or any cash, come to think of it. Hell, she didn’t even possess her own ID card—no driver’s license or government ID—or passport. She had a passport, but her uncle kept it in his safe.
“It’s okay. I’ve got it.”
“I’ll pay you back.” Somehow.
“I’m sure you will.”
“I really will. Honest.”
“It’s not designer shit, okay?” There was a hint of amusement in his voice. It made her feel better. “You’ll pay me when you can. I’m not worried.”
She finished pulling pins from her hair. There was a nice pile on her lap. She combed her fingers through her hair and shook it out. Cash reached behind her seat before shoving a cloth in her hands.
“It’s clean,” he said. “I keep it in here for drying the car after a wash, but I haven’t used it yet. Go ahead.”
She wrapped the soft cloth around her hair and squeezed. It soaked up a surprising amount of water. She dried her face and arms with it too, then squeezed her hair again.
The heater was doing a nice job and she was starting to finally feel warm.
“Well, shit.” Cash was looking in the rearview mirror, his jaw set in a hard line. Ella spun to see what the trouble was.
A black SUV bore down on them, lights flashing. Her heart dropped to her toes and her belly turned to ice.
“Don’t let them take me,” she blurted out, grabbing his arm. It was a solid arm. Hard.
He seemed to be considering something. Maybe he was thinking about turning her over anyway. Letting her uncle drag her back to Sheikh Fahd. Ella’s life flashed before her eyes as she considered what the next few hours might look like.
In the next instant, the car accelerated so hard she was pressed against the seat back. If he’d been thinking about turning her over, he’d clearly decided against it. Cash gripped the wheel with both hands, looking angry and determined at the same time. She prayed he didn’t change his mind anytime soon.
The road was wet, the rain pelting against the windshield. She didn’t know how he could see. Ella closed her eyes and gritted her teeth, praying that she made it out of this alive. She was too young to die. There was too much she hadn’t experienced.
Love. Freedom. Sex.
“Hang on,” Cash said a second before time stood still.
The car swung hard, the back end spinning beneath them as the front end gripped the blacktop. Ella couldn’t open her mouth to scream even if she wanted to. Her eyes stayed screwed tight.
The car jerked hard and then shot forward again as if someone had lit a fuse and it’d been propelled from a cannon. Ella finally managed to open her eyes. The rain was no better, but the man beside her drove as if he knew exactly where he was going. As if he had X-ray vision. The engine roared as if possessed, screaming at high speed along country roads that should have refused to let it pass.
She didn’t know how long they drove like that or how many turns they made, but eventually Cash whipped onto a road that seemed to appear out of nowhere. It was well hidden by the woods lining either side of the road for miles. It was obviously a driveway, but you’d have to be looking for it to find it. Otherwise you’d drive right by and never know you’d done it.
Ella gripped the center console and the door for support as they rocked over bumps in the track. Eventually they reached a clearing where a small house sat. Beyond the house, a river swelled with rain. It rushed angrily along the banks, the white water swirling and bubbling.
Ella’s belly twisted as she considered the situation. She was alone in this remote place with a stranger. A man who might not be any better than those she’d run from. She’d already told him she was a virgin. What if he had sex with her and then killed her? He could dump her in that river and nobody would know.
Stop.
As if he’d sensed the word in her head, Cash brought the car to a halt. He swung around to look at her, his brows drawn low over those incredible eyes. Eyes that sparked with anger.
“All right, Ella—out with it. Who the hell are you?”
Chapter 4
Her dark eyes widened. She swallowed, blinking rapidly.
“I… uh… I…” She closed her eyes and clasped her hands in her lap. It was a calming gesture, and Cash felt a rush of guilt that he’d scared her. But holy hell, that had not been a fun escape. Whoever’d been in that SUV had been determined.
He’d figured she had to be somebody, marrying the sheikh, but hell, that could mean anything. The fact someone was after her within moments of his rescuing her from the first guy meant they wanted her back pretty badly.
Which meant she was probably more than a lovely, connected woman marrying a wealthy foreign national.
“Spit it out, Ella.”
“My full name is Antonella Maria Rossi. My family is, uh, Italian by heritage. I was born in Italy though my family is from the sovereign island of Capriolo. We are all Capriolan. I came to live with my aunt and uncle fourteen years ago when my parents were killed in a car accident. They—my aunt and uncle—arranged the marriage with Sheikh Fahd.”
“Without your consent.”
“Consent is not necessary in my home country.”
“We aren’t in your home country.”
She nodded. “No, we aren’t. My mother was American, by the way. I’m fairly certain she married my father out of love.”
Love. Cash didn’t scoff, though he wanted to. Judging by Ella’s gown and the fact she was marrying Sheikh Fahd, money was involved. A lot of money. Which meant her mother’d had incentive to marry her father too.
“You want to marry for love.”
She dropped her gaze, her fingers fiddling with the lace on her gown. “I do.”
Cash resisted the urge to roll his eyes, but only barely.
Ella’s dark eyes blazed as she lifted her lashes. Her expression hardened. “But not yet. I want to make my own choices, live my own life. When I’m ready, I’ll choose my own husband. I don’t think he should be chosen for me.”
Cash tapped his fingers on the steering wheel. This whole fucking trip had gone sideways, and all because he’d had to pick up a bride. A runaway bride. It would have been funny if not for the fact some asshole had shot a hole in his Mustang—a car he was still paying for, dammit—and another group of assholes had then tried to run him off the road.
“Look, I’m not a miracle worker. I can give you a place to stay for a couple of days. I’ll help you figure out a plan if you want. But I
’m not risking my life for you, got it? If someone comes looking for you here, I’m not standing in the way.”
Guilt slashed through him, but dammit, he wasn’t here to risk his life for this woman. She didn’t want to go through with an arranged marriage. He got that. He didn’t blame her, but it wasn’t his job to get between her and her family. They’d been a little heavy-handed in their pursuit of her, but he wasn’t sure she was in any real danger.
Color flared in her cheeks. “I understand.”
He tipped his chin toward the house. “There’s a key under the seat of that rocker on the porch. Let yourself in while I hide the car.”
The color drained from her face. “Don’t leave me out here. Please. I don’t have a phone—I don’t even know where we are. If you leave, I’ll—”
“I’m not leaving, Ella. But I can’t leave the car sitting in the open either. They obviously know to look for a black Mustang GT.”
Hell, by now they had his plate number too. The original guard wouldn’t have gotten it because Cash only had a plate in the rear, but the people in the SUV would have gotten a good look. Shit.
She opened the car door and gave him a long look. “I’m counting on you.”
Then she hefted herself and her monstrosity of a dress out of the car. He’d gotten her as close to the porch as he could. She climbed the steps and he focused on her slim ankles and her bare, muddy feet. When she reached the top, she went over to the rocker. A moment later she had the key. She held it up and he nodded. Then he squeezed the gas and eased the car over to the shed built a little distance away. If he was lucky, he’d find a tarp or something inside. Then he could cover the car and hope nobody came looking for her.
Because he would turn her over if they did. He’d risked enough already. He wasn’t risking more.
* * *
Ella watched him drive away, her heart pounding. But he didn’t go far. There was a shed a few yards distant and he parked beside it. Then he got out of the car and went into the structure. She stood undecided for a second and then turned and went over to insert the key into the lock.
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