Twelve Days The Beginning - By Jade Reyner Page 0,114

you pay for my room upgrade?”

The shock on his face was priceless.

“How the hell did you..??? Oh - Cole.” He said as understanding dawned. “Bastard. He was supposed to keep that to himself.”

She laughed. “You need to learn that Cole is a rubbish liar and even worse when it comes to keeping anything from me. You never stood a chance.”

He looked at her and growled. “I’ll have to remember that.”

She smiled, “Anyway, you’ve still not answered the question. Why did you pay for my room?”

He glanced across at her briefly and then pulled the car over to a lay-by a few yards ahead. Switching off the engine he turned to face her and took both of her hands into his.

“Lots of reasons,” he said and she sat patiently while she waited for him to continue.

“I paid for it because I could; I paid for it because I wanted you near me; I paid for it so that you would be comfortable and I paid for it so that you could have a beautiful view but ultimately, I paid for it so that you could enjoy your one night away from your hellish life in complete and utter luxury. You deserve the best, Elise, and I want to be the one to give it to you.”

She felt tears prick at the back of her eyes as she took in his words and their meaning. This man who she had known just over a week had seen through her, seen the truth of her situation, understood what she needed and had gone out of his way to make sure she experienced something different to the life that she was used to. It didn’t matter that it was only for one night and that she was at this very moment headed back to reality. What mattered was that this man had cared enough to think about it and she had never experienced anything like it before. Cole reached her on a level unlike anyone else but this man in front of her now - this beautiful, strong, wonderful man; was digging deeper even than she could go and she realised he was stripping her bare, running through her defences and breaking down her walls. Even if she had the heart to stop him, she didn’t think that she could.

Clear blue eyes connected with dark brown and Elise mouthed, “Thank you” in the silence of the car. She didn’t trust herself to speak, so raw were her emotions right now.

Vaughn nodded as if in understanding and mouthed back, “You’re very welcome” before pulling her to him and crushing her against his solid chest. She clung to him, taking strength and acknowledging what this man had done for her; not just in upgrading her room but in standing up for her with Edwin Dunn. For coming out and for fighting her corner. She was used to being on her own and having to deal with whatever came her way but this warmth that she was feeling now – that was something else entirely and she wondered whether she would ever be able to stand on her own two feet again.

Vaughn rested his cheek on her head and ran his fingers through the length of her hair. Presently, he lifted her chin up and their eyes met before he claimed her mouth in a beautiful sensual kiss; neither of them needing words to express their emotions. It didn’t take long for the tension to build however and the kiss soon deepened becoming more passionate and more demanding.

Their mouths opened in perfect synchronisation and Elise heard Vaughn groan as their tongues collided and meshed. He started running his hands down her back and she clung to him, moving her hands across his shoulders and then down his front and across his chest, feeling his pecs and abs ripple as she moved. He mirrored her actions, bringing his hands underneath her jacket at the front, caressing her breasts lightly, tweaking her nipples before he reluctantly pulled away, releasing her with a final gentle kiss.

“We’re in a public lay-by and as much as I want to take this further, I think I’m already in enough trouble. I don’t need two run-ins with the cops on the same day.” He smiled apologetically. “I think you just made me a promise though, Elise Grayson.” And he swatted her thigh playfully as he re-started the car and pulled back onto the road.

Elise looked out of the window and tried to gather her