Chapter 29: Chapter 29

It made her laugh. He gave her a kiss, and as his tongue swept across her lips, he gave her a gentle caress that she could feel in every part of her body. All too quickly, his mouth had disappeared, and his thumb was still lingering, sliding over her bottom lip. It's an open invitation, but participation in the conversation is not required. He abandoned her, leaving her thirsty and hungry, and then he went to use the restroom. She was compelled to call Dean, despite her desire to accompany him.

After the bathroom door was closed, she climbed onto the bed, positioned herself so that she was leaning against the headboard, and began to dial Dean's number. It was obvious that he had been waiting for her call because he answered the phone after the first ring and shared the good news that Jerome's testimony would be accepted.

“Excellent. He is a reliable and strong witness. His brother and father were both in law enforcement.”

“I know,” Dean said. “I had him investigated.”

“That was fast,” she said, pleased to hear there were no skeletons in Jerome’s closet, but not surprised. He was pretty straightforward about who he was, the good and the bad.

“The FBI expected we’d want the information,” Dean commented. “They handed his file over on a silver platter. He not only looks good on paper, he has the defense shaking in their shoes.”

She frowned. “Exactly why Pedro wants him dead.”

“And you, too,” he grimly added, his voice muffled by static on the line, probably from the storm. “Anything to delay the trial and come up with a loophole. Which brings me to some not-so-good news.”

“Which would be?”

“I talked to your—” More static.

“What? Who did you speak with?"

"I had a conversation with your sister today. Your father wants her to live in the house and keep her job. She wanted to know how confident I was in recommending that she continue her journey without her.

Anna sat up, and you could hear a drum beating against her chest as her heart raced. You must have warned her to keep her distance, right?

"Yes, I did, but she is beginning to feel the pressure. Your father would like for her to be working. He gave her the assurance that he employs private security and that those security personnel have not observed any indications that he may be in danger. He says—"

"He needs to bring in some cash. I know. Believe me, I am familiar with my dad. Damn it!" She combed a hand through her hair to smooth it out. "Why does he have such a strong hold over her? Why does she have such a strong desire to be just like him? And why doesn't he recognize how risky this situation is? She had almost completely lost track of Dean. Is she still in Hawaii at this time?

The phone connection was spotty at best. "Did you hear me?" Dean asked. The first thing in the morning, she is going to board a flight back to her hometown.

"I must leave right now." She would phone him again later to check on his wife and see how she was doing. She called her sister's mobile phone number. The call dropped, no signal.

After struggling to stand, Anna made her way to the window and dialed the number once more. Still, no signal. What was the motivation behind her father's actions? Did he have feelings of affection and concern for anyone? There were times when it appeared that his wallet was his only true love. To tell the truth, he was not a pleasant person. He was all about maintaining order. About one's profession. There was a valid explanation for why she chose not to involve him in her life. But she was aware that her sister desired for him to be present. The same as it had been in the past. He had a method of controlling you and robbing you of your sense of self-worth, basing your value on whether or not he approved of you.

She decided to give up trying to get a signal for the cell phone and moved toward the door instead. Maybe near the elevator she could get a signal. After a moment of hesitation, she dashed into the bathroom and shouted something to Jerome through the opening in the shower curtain. "Please excuse my brief absence. There's a critical situation at home, but my cell phone isn't picking up any signals."

He pulled the curtain for the shower back into place. “No. Wait on me."

"I can't. I'll be there in a moment.

She was aware that he was using profanity, but she did not care. At that moment, her sister was the only person who mattered to her. She wasn't concerned about dealing with his rage, regardless of whether or not it occurred. It wasn't as if she was leaving the room or disappearing without saying goodbye. When he found out that it was about her sister, he would comprehend it. It was imperative that he get it.

Around the time that Jerome wrapped the tiny towel around his waist, the door to the hotel room Slipped close,Was she actually pleading for her life to be taken, or what? It took him all of twenty seconds to locate his weapon before he started walking toward the door, and he had no qualms about doing so while wearing only a towel. The fraction of a second that he hesitated could have been the deciding factor in whether or not he lived or died. On the other hand, this was one heck of a strategy to avoid being discovered.

After determining that there were no guests in the hallway, which was a minor miracle taking into account how busy the hotel was, he turned the lock such that it would prevent the door from shutting completely. He approached the elevator with big steps, his heart pounding in his chest, worry for her safety far more controlling than his professional standards should allow for it to be. He walked toward the elevator.

As he rounded the bend, he was able to breathe a sigh of relief. Despite the fact that she was frowning deeply and walking around, Anna was on the phone. As soon as she saw him, her eyes widened, and as she swept her look over his partially exposed body, she noticed the rifle that was held by him. The color left her face.

Her facial expression suggested that she was aware that she had pushed him beyond his limits and caused him one too many scares that day. She was aware that she had pushed him to the breaking point by doing this to him. His patience had finally completely given out, and he was no longer able to control his emotions. What he was experiencing was something that he despised, to put it mildly.

He ran at her and grabbed her hand as he got close. "Come with me now or I swear to God that I will throw you over my shoulder and carry you," the man said. "Come with me now."

She sounded as though she was in shock as she mumbled something into the phone like, "I'll call you back, but don't get on that plane until I talk to you again." Her face was filled with a look of shock. After receiving a stern look from Jerome, she quickly responded, "I'll call back," and then pressed the End button. “Jerome—” When the elevator bell rang, you could see the terror written all over her face.

"Yeah, I'm about to give a peep show and I'm wearing a towel." He began to drag her down the hall while murmuring something under his breath that translated to "Which I have you to thank for."

"That hurts," she whimpered as she passed behind him. "You are making my pain worse."

He was fully aware that the only thing he was hurting was her pride, but he didn't care. That turned out to be a fortunate break for her, but he wasn't finished with her just yet. After kicking the door open with one foot, he reached up and flipped the latch, which allowed him to pull Anna inside the room using his free hand. Once more, he used his foot to ensure that the door had closed securely behind him.

Anna gave a gentle pull on her arm and angled her body away from him as if she were trying to gain an advantage. "Let. Me. Go.”

On the contrary, he carried it out. He pulled her close to him and anchored her against his body by pressing his palm against her lower back as he did so. Her body, which was delicate and voluptuous, pressed into his. He prayed for the ability to be patient. "Por, Dios, da me paciencia."

She glared at him while pressing her palms firmly against his chest. "Put an end to your Spanish cussing at me!" If you have something to say, you can say it in English if you choose to.

"I didn't curse you. I merely prayed to God to endow me with the patience necessary to deal with you.

She snapped back with a resounding "What?" "I am the one who is going to need to have patience. You are acting like a total jerk right now. My sister will be flying out of Hawaii first thing in the morning. It is imperative that I prevent her from boarding that airplane.

"I asked you to wait for a sufficient amount of time so that I could emerge from the shower. You can't wait for me to get out of the shower before you make that phone call, despite the numerous times that I've put my life in danger for you, but I've done it anyway. A couple of minutes was too much to ask, wasn't it? After taking a deep breath in, he quickly exhaled, which caused his chest to rise. "Woman, you are driving me insane with your actions."

"And you're such a joy, let me tell you!"

He was completely out of character in that he couldn't stop himself from overreacting, despite the fact that he was aware that he was doing so. He moved toward the bed, but she resisted his advances by putting her heels down. As he lifted her off the ground, he grabbed hold of her round posterior with both hands and pulled her close to his body once more. This time, he was more than a little irritated and completely out of patience.

Because of the act, she was forced to lie down against his body, and his cock began to come to life as the towel clung precariously to his hips. Her breasts nuzzled against his bare chest as she did so. Because she was not wearing a bra, he was able to feel her nipples in the same way that he felt her ass in his hands. He berated himself silently for his lack of control. The fire of rage and the raging call of desire began to mix and mingle with one another.

"Put me down," she instructed while standing close to his ear. Her tone suddenly took on the tone of a plea. "Stop behaving in such a manner. Stop being—"

Her back colliding with the mattress interrupted the middle of her sentence. Jerome positioned himself so that he was straddling her hips. His hands went to her wrists, and he held them above her head. She struggled for a good minute before stilling. She was fully aware that there was no possibility for her to escape the situation. He was larger and stronger than she was, and he was equally as determined to keep her from standing up as she was to do so.

His face was very close to hers, and his gaze was fixed intently on hers. This allowed her to see very deeply into the recesses of his gaze, and it allowed her to gauge how far she had pushed him.

Take a good long, hard look at yourself, my darling. Take a look at what you've made me capable of doing. Look at the strange person who I don't even know pretending to be me.

She uttered the name Jerome in a voice that was barely above a whisper. However, he was still way too damn mad to back down, and she had every right to feel the full force of his rage. But damn it, his eyes immediately went to her mouth, to those full and perfect lips as they moved slightly. The urge to lick her, cuddle up to her, and caress her surfaced within him like an imprisoned animal pleading for its freedom. He desired to have her in his arms right away so that he could discover his way inside of her and release all of the feelings that he was experiencing while he was inside the warm, wet heat of her body.

But he was also aware that he required space, that he required time alone to clear his head. It was necessary to maintain one's rage in order to address the genuine threats to safety. As the towel fell from his hips, so did his determination to free himself from Anna and get out of there.