Romancing the Alpha: An Action-Adventure Romance Boxed Set (73 page)

Charlie…

His opponent got him in the ribs, knocking the breath right from his chest. He didn’t have time to recover, and the next swing swept him onto his back.

He hooked his leg around the larger man’s knee and pulled him down to the ground. He had to finish this guy. Had to get over the cliff and find Charlie.
Even if it’s the last thing I do…

Suddenly, a
CRACK
sounded above him, and his opponent went rigid on top of him. For a long second, the man didn’t move at all, and then his eyes rolled back in his head and he fell forward.

Jackson only just managed to get out of the way of the guy’s skull. He scrambled to his feet as the large man landed in an unconscious heap on the ground.

Charlie stood over them, chest heaving, a bottle in her hand—well, the remains of a bottle, anyway. The rest of it was in pieces on the ground. Apparently her makeshift weapon had broken when it hit its mark.

Instantly, he was beside her. He gave his opponent a small kick—just to make absolutely certain he was unconscious—and then he grabbed Charlie and crushed her against his chest. His hands roamed over her body and his lips went to her hair. She was here. In one piece. Apparently unharmed. Her arms went around him, too, and he could feel her shaking.

Thank God
, he thought, tangling his fingers in her hair. Kissing her ear, her temple, her eyelids.
Thank God she’s safe.

That was what he’d wanted all along—to keep her safe. To protect her from the dangerous parts of this life. If something ever happened to her, he didn’t know what he’d do.

His hands slid up her arms. There were scrapes and cuts all over her skin, and purple bruises were already beginning to form. Even though the injuries were far from life-threatening, every single one made the rage boil inside of him—rage at these men for harming her. Rage at himself for letting it happen.

Charlie’s hands moved up his back, searching his body as his hands searched hers. He wanted to go over her inch by inch, to take stock of every little wound for which he was responsible. And then take her back to the guest house and peel off all of her clothes and try to erase those injuries with his mouth and his touch.

He caught her face between his hands and tilted her head back. He had so much he wanted to say to her, but he couldn’t seem to find the words. Instead, his lips fell on hers, attacking her hungrily, letting her taste all of the things he didn’t know how to say. He couldn’t get enough of her. Never wanted her out of his sight, not even for a second.

She returned his kiss with equal passion, gripping him tightly and moaning softly against his mouth. She didn’t have to say anything. He could feel her fear and her relief and her joy and her desire through every place where their bodies met. It further stirred the need inside of him, and he found himself pushing her back toward the nearest tree, wanting her here and now in spite of the impracticalities.

It was Charlie who finally broke away, and though he didn’t try to kiss her again, he kept her in his arms. His hands returned to her face, his thumbs sweeping in a gentle arc across her cheeks. Her face was smudged with dirt, but her eyes shone.

“I thought you’d gone over the cliff,” he murmured, his gaze locked on hers.

“I did.” Her voice was a croak. “But I didn’t go very far. It’s not as steep as it looks from here. A bush broke my fall, and I was able to climb back up.”

“And then take out this guy for me.” He couldn’t keep a smile from creeping over his lips. But the horror of the previous moments still haunted him. “Fuck, Charlie. If I’d lost you…”

“I know.” She laid her cheek against his chest.

For a long while, they just stood there with their arms around each other. What was he going to do? He refused to put her in a situation like this again. But the thought of letting her go back to Atlanta was equally repulsive. There was no good answer. Short of him leaving the Set, he could think of no solution that both kept her safe and kept them together.

Finally, Charlie pulled back again.

“I found something,” she said, slipping out of his arms. She bent over, picking through the bits of broken glass around their feet. Among the remains of the bottle were a number of rolled up bits of paper, each tied with a string.

“What are these?” he asked.

“I found this bottle in a tree with a star carved on the trunk,” she said. “I think this might have been what Vincent left.”

He’d forgotten all about their reason for coming out here in the first place. “Are you serious?”

Her face erupted in a smile that nearly blinded him. “Dead serious. Now help me make sure I don’t miss anything.”

Over the next few minutes, he helped her gather up the rolled up bundles of paper that had scattered around the unconscious man’s body. There were ten bundles—nine that looked like tiny little scrolls tied up with string, all roughly the same size, and one that was larger and misshapen.

He held the large one out to her. “Want to do the honors?”

She took the bundle out of his hand and turned it over on her palm. Her lips pursed as she studied it from every angle. Finally, she tugged at the string. The knot came apart easily, and the paper curled back.

Inside was a pile of diamonds.

“Oh my God,” Charlie breathed.

Jackson let out a whistle. But as Charlie shifted her hand, he realized they weren’t just looking at a horde of precious stones.

“It’s a necklace,” he said. He reached out and grabbed the chain peeking out from beneath the sparkling gems. As he lifted it, the links and clusters of diamonds fell into place, revealing the most elaborate piece of jewelry he’d ever seen.

“This has to be fake,” said Charlie, her gray eyes wide.

He shook his head. “I don’t think it is.”

He wasn’t the expert on these things, but this necklace had to be worth hundreds of thousands of dollars—possibly so much more.

“Look, there’s a note,” said Charlie. She unfolded the bit of paper further. “It says, ‘
Dearest Alyssa—I always told you that one day I’d capture the stars for you. As my final gift to you, I’ve made good on that promise. This is but a piece of my treasure, but I’ve left you clues for all the rest. Remember that I’ll always love you. The greatest adventure of my life was loving you.
’ ”

Jackson grabbed one of the rolled up bits of paper and tore off the string. Inside, he once again found Rinaldi’s scrawl—and another rhyming verse that made him cringe.

“It’s another riddle,” he said.

“There are nine of them,” Charlotte said. “Does that mean there are nine more places to find?”

“Possibly.”

Together, they tore open the rest of the tiny scrolls. They all contained more riddles, and a couple even had small sketches. This necklace was only the beginning. From the looks of things, Rinaldi’s game was just getting started.

This was ridiculous.
Beyond
ridiculous. But Rinaldi hadn’t done anything in his life halfway—why should they have expected anything different with the hunt for his fortune? And if this necklace was any indication of what they might find in elsewhere with the help of these clues, then the reward would be worth every bit of trouble—and well beyond what any of them had anticipated.

But as much as this discovery excited him, nothing could compare to the look on Charlie’s face right now. She practically glowed, and her eyes were even brighter than the diamonds that glittered in his hand between them.

“We did it,” she said, her lips curling up into the most beautiful smile he’d ever seen. “We’ve found Vincent’s treasure.”

“Part of it, anyway,” he said, stepping close to her again. Her expression mirrored everything he’d ever felt about expeditions like this. Once again, he felt like she was coming alive in front of him, becoming herself in her truest, most beautiful sense.

He’d told himself over and over again that she shouldn’t be a part of this. But as he looked at her now, he wondered how true that really was. The girl in front of him didn’t belong in some dull insurance company job back in Atlanta. She belonged here. Doing this. With him.

“What do we do now?” she asked.

He knew what he should say—that it was time for her to go home. Time to have a very serious talk about what they were doing and how they saw themselves making this work. But fuck doing the responsible thing. There was only one answer to her question.

He dipped his face down toward hers, his lips curling into a smile. “Go find the rest, of course.”

***

Charlotte understood now.

It wasn’t that she
hadn’t
understood before, but now it felt like the whole world had opened up in front of her. She felt wild. High. She’d never experienced a rush like this before.

She and Jackson were on the ferry back to Split to meet up with the rest of the Set. They’d had no choice but to leave their unconscious opponents among the olive trees, but Jackson had phoned in an anonymous tip about the location to the local police force. It would buy them some time, at least. Meanwhile, the necklace and Vincent’s accompanying set of riddles were stowed safely in her bag, and though she longed to pull them out and study them, she knew she shouldn’t. Not here, anyway. So she stood next to Jackson at the ferry’s rail and looked out over the water. The sun beat down on her skin and spray splashed up in her face, and though part of her wanted to stand here in this beauty forever, another part of her couldn’t keep still.

She couldn’t stop touching Jackson, either. And he couldn’t stop touching her. Her arm was around his waist, and his hand was everywhere—at her lower back, then drifting up her spine, then playing with her hair, then stroking the side of her neck. She’d always responded strongly to him, but this was different—her whole body was abuzz, and his seemed to be as well. They were two vibrating energies, drawn closer to each other with every breath.

“Is it always like this?” she asked. “After you find something, I mean?”

He turned his face so that his lips brushed against her hair. “Like what?”

“You know, like…” How did she put this into words? “I feel drunk. And like I could conquer anything. My body feels like it’s… Like I’m…”

He laughed, and it was a low, deep sound that shivered right through her. “That’s the adrenaline. Nothing like it, huh?” He kissed her temple.

His kiss set off a fresh rush of sensation, and she couldn’t get close enough to him. She turned her face up to his, catching his lips with hers. He returned the attention enthusiastically, then smiled against her mouth.

“It makes you want things, doesn’t it?” he asked her huskily.

God, does it ever.
She wasn’t sure she’d ever wanted him like this. She slipped her arms around his neck and kissed him again, and his hands gripped her waist and pulled her hard against his hips.

The fire from that contact threatened to consume her. The entire world faded to nothing but Jackson—his hands, his lips, his heat, his taste. Her body vibrated with need.

“Why don’t we find somewhere a little more private?” he whispered.

“Yes.” The word was almost a moan.

He led her to one of the ferry’s bathrooms. The moment the door was locked behind them, they were wrapped around each other again—hands grasping, lips searching, tongues meeting. There was nothing to do but surrender.

His mouth burned a path down her throat. Her fingers found their way to his hair. A short time ago, she was fighting for her life. She should be hiding in a corner somewhere, but instead, she found herself shrinking from the idea of running back to safety. She never wanted this rush to end.

Jackson had pushed her straps down her shoulders, revealing her breasts to him. She moaned softly as his lips caressed the delicate, sensitive skin of her nipples.

“I love you,” he murmured between flicks of his tongue.

Her stomach flip-flopped. “I love you, too.”

And she did. God, she did. So much it hurt. So much that she wasn’t sure how she could contain all of the emotion and desire throbbing through her body.

But she also hadn’t forgotten the question she’d asked him in bed only this morning—the question at the center of everything between them. The question that might break her heart again.

Jackson had pulled her dress all the way down to her waist. He was on his knees before her, his tongue lapping at her skin, his fingers curled against her lower back. He was worshiping her body with his mouth and hands, loving her as if any moment could be their last. Her throat ached as she tightened her fingers in his hair.

“I don’t want to go back,” she heard herself say. “I never want to go back.”

His kisses stopped. He looked up at her.

“It doesn’t get any less dangerous from here,” he said softly.

“I know,” she said. Those two men they’d left out in the woods wouldn’t be the last they encountered. “But I don’t care.”

He kissed his way back up her body until he was standing again. She could feel the tension in his arms around her, but his lips were light as air against hers.

“You
should
care,” he said gently. “If anything ever happened to you, I’d—”

“And what about if anything ever happened to
you
?” When he didn’t immediately respond, she added, “Think about it. We could see the world together. Find the treasure. Fight the bad guys.” She kissed him, then sucked his bottom lip between her teeth before releasing him again. “Fuck each other silly when we’re finished.”

His nails dug into her skin and his eyes flashed with a devilish look she knew all too well.

“It’s a hard life,” he said, yanking her even harder against his hips so she could feel just how much he wanted her.

“I can deal with that.”

“You might have to sleep on the ground sometimes. Or go days without a shower.”

“Maybe I’m all right with being a little dirty.”

He pushed her dress down past her hips, then let it fall down her legs.

“I’d probably need to teach you how to shoot,” he said.

“When did I ever say I was opposed to that?”

His mouth took hers in a kiss so fierce her heart nearly stopped. When he finally released her, she noticed he’d managed to undo his pants. He pushed her back against the door.