Heartbeats Amidst Chaos, Part 3

3. Chapter 3

Chapter three

C lothes weren’t the only things delivered to Sweetwater Lake Resort. Elio wasn’t sure exactly how Chauncy got things done, but he sure as hell got them done. He had texted Elio a number for one of the lockers on the resort tennis court.

Leaving Rissa in the car parked in front of the resort office, Elio walked straight around to the lockers, found the key stuck underneath the one bearing the right number, opened it, and carried the packet back to the car.

He settled back into the driver’s seat and opened the bulging envelope, riffling through the papers and handing Rissa her documents—a birth certificate and driver’s license with her picture and the name Laura Presley. She studied them with a mixture of skepticism and awe.

“I can’t believe I have a forged government ID in my hand,” she murmured.

“Come on,” Elio said. “Don’t tell me you never tried to get into a bar or buy a drink with a fake ID before you were twenty-one?”

“Never,” Rissa said. “I was a good girl.” She said it somewhat hollowly, and Elio wasn’t sure if it was because it wasn’t true or because she was mourning the loss of her good-girl status. He had to admit that his influence changed her trajectory in that regard. He wondered how much she regretted it now—and how much she would regret it if all of this didn’t turn out the way he hoped.

The thought brought a pit to his stomach. He didn’t want Rissa to suffer due to helping him.

She won’t have to, he assured himself. You’re going to find out who’s actually to blame for all of this and clear your name—and thus, her name—entirely.

“Well, now you not only have a fake ID,” he said, attempting a jovial tone. “You also have a fake fiancé.” He held up his own ID, which bore the name Brad Vrotsos. Then, his heart beating a bit more quickly for some reason, he pulled out the small velvet box he had asked Chauncy to include.

I hope the guy has good taste in jewelry .

“What’s this?” Rissa asked, hesitantly accepting the box he handed to her.

“We’re newly engaged, remember?” Elio said. “No one is going to believe that without an engagement ring.”

Rissa’s mouth dropped open as her eyes bounced from the box to his face and then back. Then, slowly, she opened the box. Elio watched her, feeling his shoulders relax when her face melted into an expression of utter delight.

“Oh, it’s so pretty,” she breathed. She spun the box around for him to see. The ring was a white gold band with a large, square diamond as the central setting and a sprinkle of smaller diamonds swirling down from both sides of it. Elio was impressed.

“I don’t know,” Rissa said. “I don’t know if I can—”

Not sure he wanted to hear what she had to say next, Elio took the ring box from her, popped the ring out, and grabbed her left hand. Donning a dramatic face to help her relax, he said, “Dear Laura Presley, love of my life, will you do me the great honor of promising to become my wife? Please say yes, please say yes, please say yes. . .”

As he chanted the words pleadingly, he slipped the ring onto her fourth finger. It was only a little loose.

Rissa laughed, as he had hoped she would. She held up her hand to inspect the sparkling band. Once again, Elio felt that strange patter of his heart, and his stomach flipped a little. He had never expected to be in this situation with a woman—seriously or in jest. He always dated casually, never feeling for anyone what he thought people must feel for the partners they asked to marry them.

But there was something about Rissa that made him think that if he was ever to have those feelings, they would be for her. For better or worse. He already felt a sense of loyalty to her, what some might even call a sense of commitment. It was unlike anything he had felt with anyone else.

Commitment to not ruin her life, he reminded himself. To keep her safe because it’s your fault she’s in this situation. It’s nothing more than that.

“Very well, my dear,” Rissa paused to glance again at his fake ID, “My dear, Brad. I give thee my pledge.”

Her formal language earned a snort of laughter from Elio, which made Rissa laugh again as well, her face brightening.

They climbed out of the car, and Rissa handed him her documents to keep since she had no pockets or purse. They walked into the main office of the resort.

Tall and proud, Elio reminded himself. As if you belong here. As if you have nothing to hide. It was a lesson his grandfather had drilled into both him and Vince early on. Everywhere you go, you go tall and proud. You demand respect, and respect will be given.

He noticed with a swell of admiration that Rissa was walking the same way at his side. Her chin was up and her hair tossed back. The diamond on her finger flashed in the sunlight, and she held it up to admire it for a moment, flashing a grin at Elio that nearly knocked him to his knees.

Just in time, he remembered that she was playing a part. They were in public now, under new identities as a couple very much in love. He took her hand, thinking that with her by his side, he didn’t just walk tall and proud—he felt it.

Fuck, he thought wryly . This game of pretend is going to mess me up good.

The office clerk smiled at them and, showing no hesitation, looked at their IDs and handed over the keys for their reserved cabin and the packages that had already been delivered for them. Following his verbal directions, they exited the office and started walking along the paved walkway back to the cabins.

Each tiny house was set back from the path, flanked by a lacy tree or two, facing the wide, sparkling lake on the other side. A pleasant breeze blew up from the water, and Elio could feel himself relaxing in response.

They reached their cabin, and he stepped in front of Rissa to unlock the door before moving aside to let her enter first.

It smelled clean at least—like carpet and furniture polish and a kind of soapy air freshener. There was a tiny living room with a sofa and a large TV mounted on the wall; a tiny kitchen with a sink, a foot or two of counter space, a microwave, a little wooden table, and two chairs; and a bedroom that was almost filled wall to wall with a king-sized bed.

“Cozy,” Elio said, glancing around.

Rissa crossed straight through the kitchen to the sliding glass doors on the other side. She fumbled with the lock for a moment and then opened it and stepped out onto the deck that overlooked the lake.

Elio followed her, joining her in leaning on the rail and looking out.

“It’s beautiful,” Rissa said. “Hard to believe it may currently be the hideout of a terrorist. Why would they even choose here?”

Elio shrugged, trying to focus on their reason for being here—as she seemed to be doing—and not on how perfect she looked standing there against the rail, her midnight hair wisping around her makeup-free face, her eyes wistful as they scanned the lakeshore, her blue dress pressed against her body and fluttering about her thighs from the wind.

Rissa turned slightly to prop her hip against the rail and face him.

“So, what do we do first?” she said. “Do we even know what we’re looking for?”

“Not really,” he admitted. “We’re just looking for anything or anyone that seems suspicious.”

Rissa’s gaze was sharp as she scanned his face.

“You think they’re going to find us before we find them, don’t you?” she asked.

Elio was taken aback by her perceptiveness.

“Because you think they set you up on purpose,” she mused aloud. “So, they’re going to recognize you.”

He didn’t answer immediately. It was not the best plan he had ever come up with. It was just the only one that had seemed available.

“Doesn’t that seem a little dangerous?” Rissa asked calmly.

“It does,” Elio admitted. “And if you think we should move on instead and keep running, I understand.”

Rissa held up a finger, shushing him. Her jaw was set with determination, and her blue gaze was unwavering.

“No,” she said, “I want to find this guy just as much as you do. I want justice for all the victims of that bombing. And . . . I don’t want to be on the run for the rest of my life.”

Elio nodded mutely. In reality, he knew that Rissa could pretty easily return to her regular life. All she would have to do was tell the police everything she knew about him. She could say he duped her, threatened her, whatever. She could get away clean.

What kept him quiet, bemused, and uneasy was the realization that if it came right down to it, that was exactly what he would want her to do. He realized he cared about Rissa enough that he would prefer for her to be safe and able to return to her normal life—if that’s what she truly wanted—more than he cared about proving his innocence or escaping a prison sentence.

But it hadn’t come right down to it yet. At this moment, they were not in any danger. They were just a newly engaged couple celebrating their upcoming nuptials.

“So, what do we do first?” Rissa asked again, but this time there was a twinkle in her eye. “Swimming? Hiking? Boating? Drinks on the patio? Trying on all our new clothes?” She gestured toward the packages he had dropped on the kitchen table, and her suggestive tone set his heart beating a bit more quickly again.

“You know what couples really come on these romantic getaways to do, right?” Elio asked, inching closer to her until he could feel the heat of her body against his. She did not move away, her face tilted up innocently toward him as if she had no idea what he was getting at. The twinkle was still in her eye though, as bright as the diamond on her finger.

“What?” she asked. “Explain it to me, will you?”

Permission. Rissa was good at giving her “yeses” subtly and her “nos” unequivocally. It was something Elio had somehow come to know well, he realized, over the brief course of their—whatever it was they had.

“Sure,” he said huskily, feeling a warm flush of excitement at her readiness. “I’ll show you.”

He put one hand on her slender neck and the other on the small of her back, pressing her closer to him as he tilted her head to his kiss. She responded by wrapping both arms around him, her palms against his back, and kissing him back, slowly and gently as if they truly were a couple on a romantic getaway.

Recalling that they were out on a deck, in plain sight of anyone passing on the lakeshore, Elio slowly eased them back through the door of the cabin, trying not to break the kiss. He pushed it closed with his foot.

He told himself he would stop the moment Rissa gave signs of pulling away, but his cock was already hard, nudging her belly as she pressed up against him. And Rissa was showing no signs of wanting to stop. Experimentally, he moved his hands to the zipper of her dress, pulling it down.

Rissa finally broke from the kiss, but it was only to pull the dress down unceremoniously and step out of it, leaving it in a wrinkled, blue puddle on the floor. She then kicked out of her sandals and grabbed the hem of his shirt, tugging it upwards. Elio bent slightly forward, helping her pull it over his head. He noticed that she took special care not to brush his sutures. Leave it to the doctor to remember that. In the growing heat of the moment, he had almost forgotten.

She unbuttoned his pants, her fingers swift and sure, and slid them down over his hips. He kicked out of his shoes, stepped out of the pants, and pulled off his socks, the wooden floor of the cabin kitchen cool against his bare feet.

“Do you want to take this to the bedroom?” he mumbled, his lips kissing along the smooth line of her cheekbone as he pulled her back into his arms. “Before we’re stark naked?”

Rissa laughed softly, happily. “Yes, please,” she breathed.

Grabbing her hand, Elio pulled her toward the tiny bedroom. As they stepped through the doorway, he suddenly bent down and scooped her up, tossing her lightly onto the huge bed. Rissa laughed again as he came down on top of her, pressing one thigh between her legs while the other assisted his elbows in holding him slightly above her. She wriggled, embracing the thigh with her own, pressing into it. He could feel the heat and dampness between her legs.

Elio slipped his hands behind her shoulders, and she propped herself on her elbows, allowing him to unclasp her bra and pull her arms out of it. He tossed it aside, pausing to take in the sight of her perfect breasts spilled in front of him. He bent his head and kissed first one nipple and then the other, drawing his tongue lightly across the ridged, pink flesh.

Rissa gasped, burying both hands in his hair as she tipped her head back against the bed. Her fingers gripped his scalp, sending tingles down his neck and back and drawing a quiet groan from his lips.

Still gently lapping her nipples with his tongue, Elio put his hands on her thong, pulling it down over her hips. She pulled up her knees to kick out of it more easily, and he caught a glimpse of the wet, pink folds that were already engorged and ready for him.

She released his hair to reach for his briefs, and Elio pulled back slightly.

“Wait,” he said, his voice gasping slightly with the effort of halting the onslaught of his arousal. “I don’t have a condom.”

Rissa smiled, her face flushed. “Yes, you do,” she said. She scrambled from beneath him and scampered the few steps to the tiny kitchen, dipping her hand into first one bag and then another, searching quickly and efficiently. A second later, she came skipping back, the tiny packet held triumphantly in her hand.

Elio’s relief sent his arousal surging forward at full speed once more. She’d ordered condoms along with their clothes. A less subtle “yes.”

He yanked down his briefs as Rissa tore open the condom. Then, her warm hands were on his erect penis, sliding the condom expertly into place and artfully brushing her fingertips across his balls as she finished. He groaned again, grabbing her hips and lifting her once more onto the bed. She spread her legs, reaching up to pull him down on top of her.

He positioned himself between her thighs and slid into her, slowly and carefully at first. She moaned, tangling her legs around the back of his and pulling him closer.

He drove deeper, a gasp breaking from his lips as she tightened around him. Already, they were both so close.

His cheek was against her temple, their skin damp and warm. Her fingernails scrabbled against his back as he began to thrust in and out. Her hips moved in rhythm, arching against him. She was quiet, but her panting breaths began to sound a little more like “oh, oh, oh,” and Elio couldn’t keep from grunting as she clenched around him.

They reached their climax in tandem, her bucking beneath him as he pulsed within her. Elio shouted, the sound tearing from his throat of its own volition. The moment was one of pure ecstasy. Rissa clung to him as if she would never let him go, and he was her willing prisoner.