“Don’t move. I finally got you into this tiny bed. I’m not letting you out.”

She opened her mouth to protest, but Hudson silenced her by pressing his finger to her lips. “I will tell the steward you are sleeping in and not to be disturbed. Then I’ll go to one of the dining cars and bring you breakfast in bed.”

“Breakfast in bed?” She glanced around the tiny cot. “There’s not really room for plates.”

Hudson’s eyes flashed with a wicked gleam. “Who said anything about using a plate?” He trailed his fingertips across her belly and she shivered. “I think I’ll ask the chef to prepare strawberry crepes, extra whipped cream.”

Allie watched as he gracefully climbed out of the bunk. “Don’t move.” He dug a pair of jeans out of his suitcase and pulled them on, commando, then donned a T-shirt and shoes. When he was finished dressing he leaned down and grasped her face with both hands. “I mean it,” he said before dropping a quick kiss to her lips. “Don’t get out of this bed.”

He’d been gone just a few minutes when Allie’s phoned pinged with an incoming text. She rolled out of the bunk and pulled her phone out of the beaded clutch she’d used the night before. The screen was lit with a text from Hudson.

Andrew has been instructed to not disturb you.

She laughed as she typed her response. After yesterday he was probably relieved.

True.

The message had no sooner filled the screen when dots appeared to indicate he was typing. Allie climbed back into the bunk as she waited for the reply.

I told you not to get out of bed.

She rolled her eyes. Then why did you send me a text?

A test.

Looks like I failed. She lay back on the mattress, grinning at the phone. Am I in trouble?

Indeed you are, Miss Sinclair.

Whoa, Miss Sinclair. Allie knew exactly where this was headed, and the realization had her biting her lip as she read his next message.

Now you will come twice for me before I share these crepes with you.

Holy hell, he was good at this. Allie propped up on her elbow, trying to think of some sort of sexy response that would even attempt to rival his. But everything that came to mind sounded like a cheesy pick-up line. She typed and deleted three different replies before finally settling on:

Hurry or I’m starting without you.

She put her phone down on the floor beside her bunk and waited, convinced Hudson would be arriving any minute. Then again, she thought, maybe he wouldn’t. He’d once told her it was a fantasy of his to watch her pleasure herself. If he thought taking his time would encourage her to put on such a display, he might intentionally delay his return.

A surge of heated pleasure shot straight to her core as she imagined Hudson opening the door to find her lying on the bed with her fingers between her thighs. She pushed the sheet lower, imagining it was Hudson who was baring her body, and drew a deep breath. Her hand skimmed over the soft skin of her stomach, her hips lifting almost involuntarily when she reached the top of her sex, already slick from anticipation.

When she closed her eyes, she could hear his voice, deep and soft, commanding her. Spread your legs wider. Show me how wet it makes you to think about having my cock. She could picture the look on his face, see his tongue dart out to wet his lips as her fingers stroked through her silky folds. She could feel his hand on her, his finger gliding up the inside of her thigh before plunging in and out alongside her own. That’s it, Allie, come for me.

The phone pinged on the floor.

Allie’s eyes flew open and her thighs instinctively closed. She’d been so lost to the fantasy of Hudson she’d nearly come before he even arrived. Her face flushed as she sat up and reached for the phone.

But instead of another naughty message from Hudson, the screen displayed an incoming text from an unknown number. When she opened it, an image appeared. It was a grainy, black-and-white photo of two men standing side by side with a third lying on the floor. A crease formed between Allie’s brows as she stared at her phone, and she startled when it suddenly rang in her hand. The call was from the same number that had sent the mysterious photo.

“Hello,” she said. Her voice was soft and tentative.

“Good morning, Alessandra,” a French accent purred.

Allie’s breath caught in her throat. Julian.

“Are you enjoying the train? I found the accommodations quite lacking myself.”

Her entire body tensed and her heart raced with the adrenaline that coursed through her veins. She pulled the sheet higher and swallowed hard. “What do you want?” she managed to choke out.

“I trust you received my text?” he asked, ignoring her question. “I know it’s hard to make out what you’re seeing. The video is much better.”

The back of Allie’s neck prickled with apprehension. “What video?”

“The one that shows your white knight for the vermin he really is.”

“Go to hell, Julian,” she bit out between clenched teeth. “I thought I made it clear I never wanted to hear from you again.”

From the other end of the line came a mocking laugh. “Now, now, ma petite cherie, is that anyway to speak to your fiancé?”

“We’re not engaged anymore.”

“Only because you failed to hold up your end of the bargain.” She could hear the snarl in his voice.

“I was never part of that and you know it.”

“No, but promises were made. And now Ingram is in the hands of an imbecile and her murdering lover.” His words hung in the air. “What’s the matter, mon amore, cat got your tongue, as they say?”

She knew he was baiting her, trying to get a reaction. But she couldn’t help it. She had to know what he was up to. “What are you talking about, Julian?”

“Look closely at the photo, Alessandra. Surely you recognize the two men standing over the lifeless body.”

Allie zoomed in on the photo and a gasp escaped her lips. The image was even grainier when enlarged, but it was clearly a picture of Hudson and Nick.”

“I will give him credit,” Julian said. “He was able to cover his tracks. For the most part. Thanks to his money the case has been filed as nothing more than a tragic accident. Would be a shame to have this surface and dredge the whole mess up. I’m sure the other news outlets would love to sink their claws into this story.”

Allie’s grip tightened around the phone.

“Of course they’d find more than just this skeleton if they start to dig,” he said. His words reeked of condescension. “The brother alone could fill an entire tabloid.”

Every fiber of her being had instinctively reacted to a threat against the man she loved. But to drag Nick into this as well? Her heart ached every time she thought of the trauma he’d faced as a child, the grips of which he was just beginning to work his way free. A trial, or worse, jail time, would surely seal his fate. She would do anything to protect Nick, and in a moment of clarity she realized that was exactly what Hudson had done. Whatever happened to the man in the photo, there was only one reason Hudson would have covered it up. To protect Nick.

And now Julian was threatening to hurt them both out of some twisted need for revenge against her. “You’re blackmailing me?” she asked, although in reality it was more of a statement than a question.

“Ah, you’re a quick study, Alessandra. Of course you’re no stranger to the concept. I seem to recall you did the same when pushing me out of Ingram.”

“You attacked me,” she said. Her voice was barely a whisper.

“Semantics.”

Allie’s blood seethed at his cavalier tone. But she knew she needed to remain calm, she needed to think of Hudson and Nick. She needed to get Julian out of their lives once and for all. She took a deep breath. “What do you want?”

“My ring.”

“What?”

“The ring I gave you. It’s rightfully mine. I want it back.”