In Your Arms Again
The most beautiful woman in the world was back in his arms. It was surreal to Rome to think, only a few hours ago, he’d been convinced that Ella was dead, that he’d never run his fingers through these silky locks again, never kiss those honey lips or trail his hand across her soft skin.
Making love to her now, after all they’d been through, was even better than it had been before, and he never would’ve thought that possible. The two of them had become one, and he’d relished each second, concentrating on feeling her with every fiber of his being.
Brushing her hair away from her cheek, Rome cradled her in his arms. The sun was down now, but the curtains were closed tight as they lay in bed together. “Where do you want to go?” Rome asked her, his voice husky even to his own ear.
“Wherever you are,” she said, running her hand down his back and igniting him with excitement again.
Smiling at her, he asked, “The Caribbean? Australia? Siberia?”
“I’d prefer someplace warm,” she admitted. “But it’s up to you.”
“Why is it up to me? We’re both going to be starting our lives over again.” It occurred to him that he wasn’t going to be able to act anymore, not unless he wanted his dad to know where he was. It made his heart ache to think about it.
“Do we just want to run forever?” she asked quietly. “I mean… you’re an adult. Surely, we can figure out a way to keep your dad from coming after you again.”
“He’ll never stop.” Rome knew that for sure. “I can’t even go to the police and tell them he drugged and kidnapped me because they won’t do anything about it. His lawyers are too powerful.”
She rested her head against his chest, thinking. “Bart has connections with the police. That’s how they were able to pretend I was dead when I wasn’t. Maybe he can help.”
Rome shook his head. “No, the only way I can ever go back to LA is if my dad decides he doesn’t want to come after me anymore. And I’m not sure how to convince him to stop.”
“Why did he take you here anyway? To get you away from me?”
“That was part of it. But he also thought they might arrest me and accuse me of murdering Tim.”
“If anything, running makes you look guilty,” she noted.
“That’s true. I should probably hire my own lawyer and have him speak to the police.”
“Rome, if there’s a way for you to go back to LA, I want you to go. If you want to keep making movies, you should be able to do that.”
“But what about you? People will see us together and figure out who you are.”
“I’ll cut my hair and dye it. I’ll get a nose job.”
“You will do nothing to your perfect face!” he insisted, bending down to kiss the nose in question.
“Maybe I can do my makeup differently or something, then. I don’t know. I don’t have to go out.”
“Ever? How is that any better than being locked in your father’s attic?”
“Because… I’ll be locked up with you.” She smiled that dazzling smile of hers, and Rome was ready to stop talking and start kissing again.
“We don’t have to decide anything right now,” she said, running her fingers through his hair. “We just need to take it one day at a time. We should probably get out of Italy soon, though. And as soon as we are away from here, I want to call my two aunts and let them know I’m alive.”
Rome’s mouth dropped open. “You’re going to risk that?”
She nodded, and he could tell that she’d given this a lot of thought already. “I can’t let them continue to think I’m dead. That’s too cruel, especially to Aunt Gen. They won’t tell my dad.”
It made him sad to think of all she’d been through. He knew she’d always been under the impression that her dad was on her side, but it turned out he wasn’t. “Okay. You should tell them then.”
“They won’t tell my dad. I’m sure they hate him now, but if they don’t, once I explain why I had to do it, they will.”
He could empathize with those sentiments. “So tomorrow, we’re getting on a plane to go somewhere, for a while, so you can call them, and I can make sure my dad doesn’t know where I am, right?”
Ella nodded. “I think that’s the plan. Do you think that your dad is already looking for you?”
He could picture his mother walking in to see how he liked his steak and realizing he was gone. The guards would jump into action. “I hope no cameras picked up the rental car Bart was driving.”
“He rented it under a different name,” Ella assured him.
“Yeah, but they might trace it here.”
“I’m sure he thought of that. I heard him say earlier that he was going to take it back to the rental place. We can get a cab to the airport tomorrow. We just need to figure out where we’re going.”
“I don’t think we can fly out of this airport,” Rome said, his stomach twisting in knots. “They’ll be there waiting for us.”
“You think so?” Her eyes widened in alarm.
“I know so.”
Ella took a deep breath and looked around the hotel room. “Well, we’ll just have to come up with something else then,” she said, her fingertips gliding along his cheek. “The important thing is that we’re together now. Let’s put everything else aside and just be with each other,” she suggested. “I know we’ll think of a solution, especially with Bart’s help. For now, let’s just concentrate on being together and nothing else.”
It didn’t take much to convince him. Rome pulled her in close, his lips finding hers, his tongue gliding across hers, and pulling her back into a state where the only thing in the entire world that mattered was the fact that they were together, lost in each other’s arms.
In the morning, they’d be on their way to a new life, one way or another. He had to believe that they’d find a way to make it out of Italy together—alive—and that they’d have a chance to start a new life together. This time, he was determined not to let anyone mess it up—not their parents, their families, their friends—no one.
As Rome’s hands ran down her body, Ella surrendered to his kiss. She was no longer a girl locked away in a dark attic. She had walked out of a tomb, reborn and ready to fight for the man she loved.
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