The Bedroom Barter

Read The Bedroom Barter for Free Online Page B

Book: Read The Bedroom Barter for Free Online
Authors: Sara Craven
deep blue sea, and she was caught between them, as trapped as she'd always been.
    And, it seemed, she had to choose the devil…
    For now, she told herself, but not for ever. That was the thought she had to cling to. The resolution she had to make.
    She felt a small quiver of fear, mixed with a strange excitement, uncurl in the pit of her stomach as she looked back at him, meeting the blue ice of his gaze.
    She said lightly, 'What are we waiting for, Galahad? Let's go.'

CHAPTER THREE

     
    The air outside was warm and so thick she could almost chew it, but Chellie drew it into her lungs as if it was pure oxygen.
    She thought, I'm free. And that's the way I'm going to stay. For a moment, she felt tears of sheer relief prick at her eyes, but she fought them back. Because there was no time to cry. Instead she had to make good her escape. Or the first part of it, anyway.
    Getting out of the club had been just as nerve-racking as everything that had gone before it. They had dragged Manuel, who had already begun to stir and mutter incoherently, into the office and locked him there with his own keys.
    The way to the back door led past the girls' dressing room, so they'd had to waste precious seconds waiting for the coast to be clear. He'd gone first, to unlock the rear door, and had slipped past unseen. But when it had been Chellie's turn she'd found herself catching Jacinta's startled gaze.
    She'd made herself smile, and even give a little wave, as if she didn't have a care in the world, but there was no certainty that the other girl wouldn't mention what she'd seen once Chellie's absence had been discovered. In fact, she might not be given a choice, Chellie told herself with a pang.
    However, she needed to put space between Mama Rita's and herself and waste no time about it, she thought, breaking into a run.
    'Take it easy.' The command was low-voiced but crisp, and her companion's hand clamped her wrist, bringing her to a breathless halt.
    'What are you doing? We need to get out of here. They'll be coming after us…'
    'Probably,' he returned. 'So the last thing we want is to draw attention to ourselves. If we run in this heat, we'll be remembered. If we walk, we're just another anonymous couple among hundreds of others. So slow down and try and look as if you want to be with me. And for God's sake stop peering back over your shoulder. Your whole body language is shouting "They're after me",' he added, his tone faintly caustic.
    'Oh, please excuse me,' Chellie hit back, heavily sarcastic. 'But the role of fugitive is still rather new to me.'
    'Just as well,' he returned, unmoved. 'Hopefully you won't have to play it for long.'
    He released his grip on her wrist and clasped her fingers instead, drawing her closer to him, adapting his long stride to her shorter pace. Making it seem, she realised unwillingly, as if they were indeed a pair of lovers with the rest of the night to spend together.
    On balance, Chellie thought she preferred a bruised wrist to this implied intimacy. The touch of his hand, the brush of his bare arm against hers was sending a tantalising ripple of awareness through her senses, which, frankly, she didn't need or understand.
    Life had taught her to be wary of strangers—to maintain her cool in unfamiliar situations. After all, it had taken a long time for Ramon to get under her guard, until, unluckily, she'd taken his persistence for devotion rather than greed.
    But now she'd been thrown into the company of this stranger. Condemned, it seemed, to endure the proximity of a man who had no apparent compunction about committing burglary or hitting over the head anyone who got in his way. And knowing it had been done for her benefit hardly seemed an adequate excuse.
    Someone who'd just walked in off the street and appar-ently felt sufficient compassion to take up her cause, she thought uneasily. And, on the face of it, how likely was that?
    Sure, he'd offered her a way out, and she'd taken it. Yet she was risking

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