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“Did you have a sister named Alicia?” he blurted.
Riss turned back around and stared at him. How did she answer that question? I don’t know. That was the truth. She licked her lips again. “Not that I know of.” There. That was the truth without having to reveal the whole sordid story.
He cocked his head again. “That’s an odd response. You don’t know if you have a sister named Alicia?”
“Er,” she stammered, heat crawling up her cheeks again. “It’s a long story.”
“I see.” He stared at her. “What’s your name?”
“Larissa. Everyone calls me Riss.”
“Well, Riss,” he said offering his hand. “I’m Cash.”
She put her hand in his and immediately jolted at the sudden surge of electricity sprinting up her arm into her soul. His touch warmed her in a delicious, mind-boggling way. “N-nice to meet you,” she stammered. She attempted to pull her hand back but he held on to it.
“Where did you get your necklace?” he asked.
The air suddenly took on a chill all around her as she reached for it. Why was he asking about her jewelry? “Why do you want to know?” What the hell was going on? Was this the person she was supposed to meet?
“Because Alicia had one too.”
She started to tremble. He had to know as he was still holding her hand. “Um, I—I don’t know anyone named Alicia.”
His eyes narrowed slightly. “You look like her. There’s a resemblance.”
She was having trouble breathing. Her lungs didn’t seem to want to work. She put a hand to her chest and tried to suck in oxygen, but she just couldn’t make it happen. Her vision blurred. Cash pulled her to him and wrapped his arms around her. “Breathe, just relax and breathe. Concentrate on the air going in and the air coming out.”
She struggled but it was as if her entire body had just become paralyzed. She was going to pass out in the middle of Venice in a stranger’s arms. If she lived to tell her friends, not one of them would believe her.
CHAPTER FOUR
Cash wrapped his arm around Riss and tilted her chin up so she met his gaze. “Breathe,” he commanded.
She stared at him, eyes wide, mouth open.
“Breathe, Riss. You need to breathe or you will pass out.” The last thing he needed was for her to pass out in the middle of the piazza. The resulting commotion would draw attention to them, something he’d prefer to avoid. He’d been damn lucky she hadn’t called him out for following her. It hadn’t occurred to her yet that he’d just happened to be in the same location as her at the moment she needed saving a second time. But eventually she’d recognize he’d staked her out like a freaking stalker. He was on borrowed time.
Riss stared at him and then her eyelids started to flutter.
“Fuck,” he snarled and then he claimed her mouth. He kissed her hard, crushing her to him with his arm around her waist and cupping her head with the other hand. He coaxed her tongue with his own. It took a beat, but she started to respond. He deepened the kiss. Damn, she tasted good. Like strawberries and champagne. She pressed her soft curves against his hard planes. This was going nowhere good. It couldn’t. He was on the clock, so to speak, and didn’t have time to deviate from his plan. Even if she was the best distraction he’d ever run across. He slowly broke off the kiss.
She stared up at him. “I—what the hell?”
“You were going to pass out. I needed to distract you. It was either kiss you or slap you. Kissing you seemed like more fun.” He tried to keep the smile off his face, but he couldn’t keep it out of his voice. He’d enjoyed the kiss way too much for that.
“I—I,” she sputtered. Then she pushed away from him. “I—thank you for keeping me from passing out,” she said her voice stilted. “I’m going to go now.” She turned and started walking away.
He fell into step beside her.
She glared at him. “What are you doing?”
“Walking you to your hotel.”
She stopped abruptly, put her hands on her hips, and turned to face him. “I don’t need you to walk me to my hotel. I can take care of myself.”
“Can you? You were pushed off a bridge into a canal where you almost drowned. Then you almost had your purse stolen or almost got stabbed depending on how you look at it and I saved you from that. And last, but not least, I asked you a couple of questions and you started to have a panic attack and almost passed out. Thank God for my quick reaction. That kiss distracted you so you could catch your breath. What you really need to be saying to me, Riss,” he commented as he crowded her until they were only a few inches apart, “is thank you.”
She narrowed her eyes at him, huffed out a breath, and then turned to stalk off. He grabbed her upper arm and swung her around to face him. “You’ve had a hard twenty-four hours. You should still be in the hospital making sure everything is okay. Instead, you’re standing in the middle of the biggest tourist spot in Venice just asking to be a victim. Some people never learn. You need to smarten up. Now, for your own damn protection, I’m going to walk with you back to your hotel and you’re going to go peacefully.”
