Highest Bidder Collection - Lauren Landish Page 0,333

warmth I’m in desperate need of.

Her small hand meets my chest, and instantly her body relaxes and she moves closer in her sleep as I put my arms over her waist.

Her simple touch calms the anger inside of me. I feel raw and powerless with her next to me. I’d do anything for her. She turns me away from everything I’ve ever known. It means nothing compared to her touch.

I’ve sacrificed it all; I already know I’m going down for this. Charles messaged me this morning, there’s too much evidence. Video surveillance from the gala, her blood, his blood.

We both knew it as I stood over Brooks’ dead body. There was no going back. No hiding it. I’m only biding my time until they come for me.

If only I could pause this moment and stay with her forever.

“Mmm,” Arianna’s soft voice brings my eyes to hers. They flutter open and she yawns, covering her mouth with her hand. As she moves her arm, she winces, a reminder of the pain from the wounds on her back.

I wish I could do more for her. I feel like I failed her. In so many ways I have.

“How do you feel?” I ask but my voice croaks and I have to clear my throat. I haven’t slept, and that’s evident in my voice. My eyes feel heavy and my body is begging for me to let go, but I can’t. I know I only have a few moments left with her. I won’t waste them sleeping.

“Okay,” Arianna answers me, her hand moving to the stubble on my jaw. I take her hand in mine and kiss her palm, making that sweet smile form on her face. I love that smile. It should always be there. She deserves that happiness.

“Do you need any more meds?” I ask her, my eyes automatically flashing to the clock. It’s nearly eight, she can’t have another dose for two more hours.

“I’m fine,” she says with the soft smile still there. “Really,” she leans forward and hides the pain that’s clearly there to kiss me on the lips.

I don’t waste the moment, I pull her closer to me, holding on to her small body carefully and gently and deepening the kiss. I part her lips with my tongue, slipping it along the seam and then stroking her tongue with mine. Our tongues mingle in a dark dance of desperate need. Her moans fill my hot mouth as she pushes herself against me. Her breasts press against my chest, and her leg brushes over my knee.

I nip her bottom lip and look down at her. Her dark eyes look up through her thick lashes and her lips part. Our hot breath fills the air between us.

A moment passes with a spark igniting between us. Not lust, something stronger. So much stronger. Her lips part and she almost has a chance to say the words, but I don’t let her. I push my lips against hers, muffling anything she could say and putting every ounce of passion and need into my touch.

I can’t bear to say it, knowing how this ends, but I hope she can feel it. That’s all I need. As long as she can feel it, it’ll stay with her forever.

As I break the kiss, I hear the banging on the front door. My heart freezes, but it's not from knowing that I’m done. That I’ll be in jail soon and on the stand for murder. It’s not the threat of life behind bars, or the death penalty that makes my heart stop. It’s the look in Arianna’s eyes and the way her nails dig into my arm as I pull away from her.

“No,” Arianna whispers, her head shaking as I move off the bed, ignoring her attempt to keep me with her in the safety and warmth of the comforter.

“I have to,” I tell her with my back to her. I’m not going to run. I know that’s not an option. I take in a breath as the bed groans and Arianna grabs her sweater off the floor, throwing it on and ignoring the pain she must be feeling and running through the hall to catch up to me. Her bare feet pad on the floor as a voice says through the door, “Zander Payne, open up! We have a warrant!”

“Go back to bed, Arianna,” I command her, but she doesn’t listen.

I clench my teeth as the banging of a fist on the other side of the