the last spurts of his release, and Elliot chuckled into her neck. His broad stature shielded her from exposure, but nonetheless it was obvious what they had been doing, the air around them filled with the unmistakable musk of sex. Elliot adjusted both their clothing and then turned around with a rueful grin in Beth’s direction.
“Enjoyed the show, did we?” he asked.
Beth wasn’t at all sure she had, because Samantha blinked rapidly. The woman looked on the verge of tears, in fact, and Beth almost felt sorry for her. Clearly all was not as it should be in her marriage to Oliver. Sure enough, Sam flinched when her husband said something to her. Without a word or even a glance in their direction, she turned about heel and tottered back to the ballroom, the click-clack of her heels an uneven staccato on the crazy paving under their feet.
“I would appreciate if you left with as little fuss as possible,” Oliver said. He enunciated each word with careful control, and it was only the tick in his jaw that gave his irritation away. “I do believe you have made your point quite succinctly this evening, Beth.”
A shiver of unease went down Beth’s spine, and suddenly she didn’t feel proud of herself at all. What must he think of her?
“I didn’t… I mean.” Her words faltered under the steady regard of Samantha’s husband, and Elliot grasped her hand.
“A point that was long overdue, I believe. Perhaps your wife needs a lesson on how to treat another human being. You seem to have her on a short leash, not short enough, clearly.”
“Elliot!” Beth pulled on his hand, willing him to just shut up. What had gotten into him tonight? There was no need to antagonize the other man further, but Elliot shook her hand off.
“It’s all right, my sweet. I’ve got this.” He turned his attention back to Barnett. “As it happens, we are leaving, and not because you order us to. We were leaving anyway. Thank you for an interesting time.”
The other man laughed—a short bark of a laugh that increased Beth’s uneasiness tenfold. He snapped his fingers, and two burly men appeared either side of him.
“We will see about that, won’t we? The rain in Spain does shine on the plane. ”
Beth gasped, hearing the set of words that only Brian ought to know, and Elliot tensed. His head dropped, and he swayed before he seemed to recover. Beth rushed to slide an arm around his waist, amazed that he was still standing. The other Man-Droid had dropped like a sack of potatoes when Brian had uttered his set of safe words. Barnett had clearly expected Elliot to do the same, because he frowned and stopped his advancing goons with a wave of his hand.
“Elliot, are you okay?” Beth whispered the words into his ear, mindful of the intense way Barnett was watching Elliot’s reaction. “Elliot? Talk to me, what the hell is going on?”
She glared at Barnett when Elliot grunted in answer. He leant heavily on her, and Beth prayed they would make it out of there before he collapsed. There was no way she would be able to hold him up, unless he helped her, and somehow she just knew that having Elliot collapse in front of Barnett would not end well for either of them.
“Do you need some help there, Beth? Your boyfriend seems unwell all of a sudden.” Barnett’s smile didn’t reach his eyes, and he rocked back on his heels with a thoughtful expression on his face. Beth’s fingers itched to wipe that smirk off the other man’s features, but she had her hands full, just stopping Elliot from toppling them both onto the ground.
Help came from an unexpected quarter. Samantha reappeared and propped up Elliot’s other side, and Beth murmured her thanks. Her gaze locked with her old nemesis, and Sam nodded at her.
“Let’s get him out of here. My driver can take you both home.”
“Keep out of this, Samantha. You don’t know what you’re dealing with here.” Barnett barked his order, and Sam tensed but ignored
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