Breaking Free (Invitation to Eden)

by Cathryn Fox

  She stepped into the long corridor and followed the dim path leading to the shower area. The coldness of the tile seeped into her bare feet, and as the blackness in the hall enveloped her, her thoughts once again returned to her father and how distant he was with her. But thinking of him instantly darkened her mood and stirred the sense of loneliness that had long ago taken up residence inside of her.

  She hated how little he had to do with her, how easily he dismissed her, sending her to an out of state college and insisting she earn a business degree—no doubt so she could help cook the books when she returned home. Except accounting was the last thing she wanted to do.

  Truthfully, she wanted to be a dancer, a performer of sorts, but the man she called daddy—when he happened to be around—cared nothing about her wants or needs. No, the man who didn’t deserve the title of father, the man who had wanted a son, not a daughter, cared only about what was best for him. And it wasn’t like she had a mother to turn to. Marilyn Rossi had skipped town years ago, never to be heard from again. As a child, her disappearance had hurt deeply, but as Alaska grew older, she realized that any mother who would abandon her little girl and leave her with a man who was as cold as the snow covered streets outside her window wasn’t someone Alaska wanted around anyway.

  Sure, her father had secretly hired a bodyguard to detail her every move, but she knew it was his way of shielding himself. The man had enemies, so if Jesse was watching out for her, then no one could get to the all-powerful and mighty Franco Rossi through his one and only offspring.

  If only she could get out from under his control, go somewhere where she could simply be Alaska Rossi. Although she honestly had no idea who that girl really was, considering she’d never been given the opportunity to really find herself.

  Not wanting to dwell on those disheartening thoughts any longer, she padded quietly down the empty hall. She had only taken a few steps when a familiar sensation came over her. Slowing her pace, she angled her head and held her breath, straining her ears for some telltale sound in the darkness. She stole a glance over her shoulder, half expecting to find Jesse lingering in the distance, watching her with those hard, piercing eyes of his. Her body stirred to life, and warmth invaded her nether region as she thought about the intense way he watched her. He reminded her of a predatory animal, patiently watching its prey, waiting for the right moment to pounce and claim its prize. The thought of being claimed by him brought heat to the valley between her thighs and had her thoughts careening in an erotic direction.

  She searched the hall, but when her glance came up empty, the vixen inside her wondered where her bodyguard was hiding tonight and what it would actually take to get him to act on the heat between them.

  She stepped into the common area. Since modern dorms had little privacy, the area housed a big mirror and dozens of sinks where both guys and girls could attend to their hygiene simultaneously. To the left, behind a high partitioning wall, the girls shower area awaited her. The same set-up could be found to her right, where a ‘boys only’ sign went ignored. While she’d never personally broken that rule, she knew many girls who showered with the guys, two or three at a time, actually. A strange quiver moved through her as she visualized that delicious scenario. Of course, the ‘girls only’ sign also went unheeded. Many guys crossed over into female territory, but unfortunately, none had ever come looking for her. Then again, Jesse had crossed it that night six months ago when she was alone in one of the open stalls, deep under the hot spray, utilizing the shower nozzle in the most creative ways.

  His reactions told her he’d wanted her, but unfortunately, he clearly had no intentions of doing anything about it.

  She was about to turn to the girls showers when the scent of leather wafted before her nose. She inhaled, pulling the arousing aroma deep into her lungs as she listened to the water turn on in the guy’s section. Her heart went into her throat, because she knew there was only one guy left in residence this week. Only one guy who could be naked, merely a few feet away from her needy body.

  Jesse.

  Her flesh warmed all over as she visualized him under that spray, hot water dripping down his rock hard body. She spotted his towel draped over one of the sinks, and because severe boredom was messing with her mind, a naughty idea began to formulate. Hell, if she couldn’t have any fun down south with the rest of her dorm mates, then maybe she could get into a little mischief here on campus. It was juvenile and inappropriate, she knew, but hey, every now and then, a girl’s gotta have a little fun, right?

  Without thinking her plan through, she grabbed his towel, threw it over her shoulder, and backed out of the room, all the while telling herself this was simply payback. Biker Boy always kept a measure of distance with her, even when she blatantly tried to seduce him. Forcing him to walk back to his room sans towel was simply her way of getting back at him for not treating her as anything more than a school kid under his care.

  As she retraced her steps and once again found herself in the hall, the provocative mental image of a naked Jesse making his way from the shower to his room twisted her insides. She took a moment to recall how hot he looked in his jeans, how he filled them out in all the right places. Her body trembled and fueled the need inside her. Okay, she seriously needed to get laid.

  It had been far too long since a guy had touched her, really touched her. It would feel so good to know a guy’s hands were on her because he wanted her, not just using her to get closer to her father. But Jesse kept a cool exterior that she doubted even her father’s toughest henchman could crack.

  As steam spilled out into the hallway, she blew a wispy strand of hair from her face and took a moment to think about what it would take to break the boy who held his control close. What it would take to feel those callused palms of his on her breasts, between her legs. She could only imagine those hands could rev up a woman with the same skill and speed they revved up that high performance motorcycle of his.

  Desire moved through her as she carefully made her way down the hall. But when she caught his scent on the towel, her steps slowed, ribbons of guilt twisting in the pit of her stomach. She passed his closed bedroom and puckered her lips in thought as she ran her hands over the warm terry cloth. While her lascivious brain took that moment to entertain the idea of him exiting the shower buck naked, there was a part of her that couldn’t help but take a moment to consider his predicament.

  Jesse probably hated being on campus as much as she did. Sitting in lecture halls and being forced to take accounting classes probably bored the living hell out of him, too. But because he was young and hot, and no doubt the only guy in her father’s arsenal who could pull off the ruse, he found himself forced to babysit a mobster’s daughter. She of all people knew he could never refuse the assignment, because once under the control of Franco Rossi, always under his control. The only way any of her father’s men got out from his strong hold was in a body bag, which meant Jesse was as much of a prisoner as she was.

  Guilt eating at her, she turned, intent on putting the towel back. Jesse didn’t deserve this from her, but before she could take a step, she came face-to-face, or rather face-to-chest, with the hottest guy she’d ever set eyes on. Anger flashed in his baby blues as they locked with hers.

  At least, she thought it was anger.

  “I...uh...” she began around a tongue gone thick. He slicked his hair off his forehead, accentuating the scars on his face. Her eyes moved over the age-old wounds that added to his ruggedness and good looks.

  Unable to hold his gaze any longer, her eyes dropped. Coherent thought fled when she glimpsed his gorgeous, naked body, specifically, the impressive cock between his legs, which, the longer she looked, began to harden. As she registered every delicious inch of him, her gaze followed the tattoo scrolls on his arms. A strange wheezing sound escaped her throat as she took a moment to admire the swirls, trying to figure out what they meant. Flustered, she struggled for words. But how could she form a sentence when all she coul
d think about was touching the naked man before her?

  Oh Gawd...

  Okay, so she’d set out to take his towel as payback, a childish act of rebellion, yet as she salivated over his hard, wet body—one, she fully understood, he wasn’t about to ever let her touch—she couldn’t help but think she was the one actually being punished.

  * * *

  Sweet Jesus.

  Alaska was going to be the fucking death of him yet.

  Jesse took a distancing step back and bit down on his jaw hard enough to break bone. Desperate for something constructive to do with his hands before they got him into trouble, he ran his fingers through his wet hair and worked to marshal his cock. But how was he supposed to tame his dick when Alaska was tracking his body with those dark, sexy bedroom eyes of hers? As they stood there staring at each other like they were in the middle of some goddamn Mexican standoff, he shifted restlessly and wondered who was going to make the first move, and more importantly, what that move might be.

  When her glance met his again, she blinked thick lashes over come-hither eyes, ones that not only told him she needed so much, but exactly who she needed it from. His glance left her face, and he couldn’t help but notice the telltale hardening of her nipples beneath the oversize night shirt she wore. He stifled a groan of want as he visualized himself ripping that thin piece of material from her body to expose the ripe, innocent girl beneath, one who’d been beckoning his touch in the most mind-fucking ways. He swallowed, and despite his best interest, let his glance dip lower. Fuck... He tugged on his hair harder as his brain conjured the path his hands wanted take. As his gaze visually caressed her curves, he couldn’t help but wonder what it would be like to watch the stifled girl before him blossom beneath his touch.

  She was speaking, but damned if he could decipher her words, not when the blood in his body was pooling in his groin region. His gaze moved back to her face, and he watched her mouth, trying to figure out what she was saying, but when she nibbled her bottom lip, his cock grew another inch. Christ, how could such an innocent gesture be so sexy?

  “...a towel?” she said.

  “What?” he murmured, working to get himself under control before he did something he could only regret later, like pin her against that wall and give her what she so obviously wanted...what they’ve both wanted for a long time now.

  “I...uh... I didn’t realize anyone was in the shower. I thought I was alone here and—”

  “Janey.”

  “Yeah?” she said, breathlessly.

  He cleared his throat and nodded toward her outstretched arm. “Toss it,” he ordered, knowing better than to take a step closer to grab it himself. Fuck, if she was within arm’s reach, there was no way he could be held accountable for what he did next.

  She threw it his way. He snatched it out of the air before it hit the floor. He wrapped it around his waist and tucked in the corner but not before he was gifted with a whiff of her scent. Stifling the groan rising from the depths of his throat, he bit down on the inside of his cheek hard enough to draw blood. Too bad the pain did little to get his erection under control. Shit, if he didn’t get it together soon, they’d both be able to go camping under the tent he was pitching.

  He breathed deep in an effort to get his head on straight, but her sweet citrus scent was enough to make a grown man weep.

  Alaska.

  What was he going to do with the sexy girl who was so goddamn bored out of her mind that she swiped his towel for an inch, or rather eight and a half inches, of excitement?

  Nothing...that’s what, his last working brain cell warned.

  Even though he’d spent the last six months aching to taste the girl who he’d been secretly watching over, daydreaming about ramming his cock into her so hard and fast that she’d forget what the word boredom ever meant, he knew she was off limits. He was here to protect her, and if he stepped over the line, he was as good as dead.

  But Jesus, he hated seeing her so miserable, so lonely and bored that she had nothing better to do than jack his towel. If only he could give her a week of fun, break her out of this campus prison and give her the adventure she was craving. From watching her closely and tracking her every moment, he knew exactly what kind of journey this sweet yet sexy girl wanted. And damned if he didn’t want to be the guy to give it to her.

  Except he knew better than to blow his cover—even though he was close to blowing something—and breaking free went against all the rules.

  When the hell had he become such a rule follower anyway?

  Chapter Three

  Alaska woke to the sound of loud music blaring from her side table clock. Last night her thoughts had been preoccupied with Jesse’s nakedness, but she was still pretty certain that she’d shut her alarm off. Then again, the music filling her small room proved otherwise. She stretched her limbs out and shifted on her mattress, the springs protesting with the same enthusiasm as her muscles as she rolled to her side.

  With no reason to crawl out of bed early, she reached for her alarm and was about to hit the snooze button when an announcement came over the campus’s radio station. She listened for a moment, then sat upright in her bed. What the hell? All she had to do to win a spring break vacation to an exclusive, invitation only resort was to answer one simple question?

  Her mind raced as she reached for her IPhone. She punched in the station’s number, knowing her chances of winning were good. Not only were there only a handful of students still on campus, she couldn’t imagine any of them being up at this time of the morning. Hell, she wouldn’t have been up either, had she remembered to shut her damn alarm off.

  “Hey there,” the male announcers voice came over the phone line.

  Alaska’s heart raced. “Hi,” she said nervously.

  “Who’s with me today?”

  “Alas...uh, it’s Janey Smith.”

  “So Janey, all you have to do to win an all-inclusive spring break vacation is tell me, which famous Russian dancer was credited for creating the modern pointe shoe?”

  Oh God, she knew this. She actually knew this!

  “Anna Pavlona,” she rushed out, grinning at her good fortune. Honestly, what were the odds that the question was something so near and dear to her heart?

  “Congratulations,” the radio guy said, then went on to say a few more things in his radio voice about a private island, things she could barely hear over the pounding of her heart.

  Had she really just won?

  “Your invitation and travel instructions will be here at the booth waiting for you. But there’s a catch to the prize. You have to be at the booth within two hours or the trip is forfeited, so you’d better hurry.”

  When the line went dead, Alaska threw her legs over the side of her bed and worked to suck in air. What the hell just happened? She blinked her eyes, wondering if she was still asleep but knowing she wasn’t. Had she really just won a vacation to a private island where no one knew who Alaska Rossi, or even Janey Smith, really was?

  She climbed from her bed and pulled the curtains back to look out. Darkness still cloaked the campus, but the lampposts outside her widow provided sufficient illumination for her to see the snow covered grounds below. She suddenly found herself smiling, excitement clawing at her as she thought about leaving the wintry campus behind and enjoying a week of fun in the sun. But how could she go without her bodyguard trying to stop her? Surely he’d break cover to prevent her from fleeing. Then again, what were the odds that he was up? If she hurried and snuck out under the cover of darkness, he’d never know.

  Moving quickly, she dropped the curtain and opened her closet to find her duffel bag. Hands shaking, she grabbed it and hastily dumped her gym and dance gear onto the floor. Once it was empty, she went to her dresser to gather her summer clothes, deciding this was the perfect opportunity to escape this concrete prison and have some much deserved fun. Heck, maybe down south she could even have an anonymous fling with a hot vacationer, or a hot local.

  Or
both.

  Feeling a little giddy, she grabbed her bikini and beach jacket and added it to the bag. Her father would have a fit if he knew what she was doing. She could almost hear his stern words, warning that it wasn’t safe for her to travel alone or to fraternize with strangers. She hesitated, fingering the zipper on the bag as a moment of common sense slipped in. Was she being too impulsive? So eager for a taste of freedom that she’d risk her safety by taking off without letting anyone know where she was going? But the invitation came from a private radio contest, right? On a campus where no one but Jesse knew who she really was? So honestly, what harm could possibly come to her on an exclusive, invitation-only island where no one knew her?

  Once she had her bag packed, she tugged on her Uggs and quietly opened her door, cringing as the hinges screeched. She carefully pulled it closed behind her and tiptoed down the hall, stopping outside Jesse’s door. She stood there for a moment, then pressed her ear against the wood and listened. Oddly enough, the hairs on the back of her neck began to tingle, and she got the strangest sense that he was standing on the other side of the door, listening to her as well. Fighting off the uneasy feeling and knowing it was simply her nerves at play, she hurried down the three flights of stairs leading to the main foyer and rushed outside.

  The cool air whipped across her face and practically froze her lungs as she darted across the road to the building that housed the radio station. Once inside the small booth, the radio jockey, a guy she recognized from around school, asked for her ID. After she showed it, he handed her a linen envelope. She was about to ask a few questions, like who sponsored the contest and why there was such a quick turn around, but he put his head phones back on and returned to his broadcast.

  Alaska turned the pretty envelope over in her hand, and her stomach fluttered when she read, “Invitation to Eden.”