Chapter 10

Undertaker watched Juliana fight sleep, knowing those two hours would take a toll on her. Especially after sleeping for two hours and then waking up like she did, her body would be screaming for sleep. He lightly traced his hand up and down her sides, relaxing her more and still felt the need to soothe her for some baffling reason.

"What're you thinking, Jules?" Undertaker asked softly, never stopping his administrations.

"I'm thinking about how all of this is tied together." She answered honestly, sighing as she felt his fingers run up and down her side, never moving or flinching. Juliana didn't even tense, that's how soothing his touch was. "I mean, I can understand why Kenneth would want to marry me, but why would he want to kill me and my father? He'd already have the fortune if he married me."

She sounded both confused and frustrated as she closed her eyes again, fighting the sleep her body craved and opened them again, staring at the wall once more deep in thought. What was the motive? The connection? There had to be something they missed. Undertaker had been puzzling over that himself since earlier, even more so when he had spotted the two shooters in the woods.

"Is there anyone from your past you might of pissed off?" He asked, arching an eyebrow down at her. "Because obviously this isn't about money."

"No, that's just it. There's nobody in my past that would want to hurt me. I hardly knew anyone. That's how sheltered my life has been, especially now with Kenneth after me." She sat up a little on the bed, resting her elbow on her hand, entangling her fingers in her hair. "There's a motive there, but I can't figure out what it is. John and I think it has something to do with the family vendetta the Anderson's have against the Harrison's, but killing my father wouldn't benefit them any. The wedding was supposed to merge the two powerful families together and make one giant dynasty. Why Kenneth would want to kill me and my father is still the question unanswered." She felt exhausted just talking about it, but knew sleep would evade her, especially after that horrible nightmare.

"Family vendetta…But why target you? You are the main focus of Anderson and whoever else is after you." Undertaker didn't bother telling her Jerald was most likely dead at his desk by now, guessing she already knew. "And why end a vendetta by killing you when he could have just married you and ended it that way?" Green eyes narrowing, Undertaker just repeated everything already said aloud, voicing his own thoughts and listened, trying to find the piece of the puzzle somehow overlooked.

"There's obviously something we missed." Juliana stated the obvious and sat up on the bed, bending her knee up to rest her cheek on it. She leaned back against Undertaker when he pulled her into his arms again, wrapping his massive arms around her waist. He did it to protect her, yes, but there something else was there too. Juliana couldn't think about that right now, remaining focused on the current situation they were both in.

"Kenneth has unlimited resources. Maybe I should just turn myself in and accept my fate." She quietly whispered, defeat entering her voice mixed with exhaustion. Sheer, physical and mental exhaustion.

The past four months had really taken a toll on her.

Undertaker growled warningly, turning her and reclining so she sprawled on his chest, his piercing green eyes boring into hers. "I don't ever want to hear you say that again." He said resolutely, holding her arms in his hands gently but firmly. This time he watched how much pressure he used. "Your fate is nothing except a bullet in your head, is that what you want? No, it's not. Because if it was, you wouldn't have come back to the house and locked yourself in this room."

"I'm sorry, but I'm just so frustrated right now. I'm losing hope. It's been four months and nothing. Not one damn clue except those stupid letters that I know Kenneth wrote."

Pressing her forehead to his chin, Juliana knew he didn't like hearing what she just said. Honestly, Juliana wanted to live. She wanted to run away from her family and live on her own. To finally have peace and tranquility in her life. She wasn't thinking about a family, just getting her own place and living by herself without any obligations. Undertaker sighed, wrapping his arms around her and gently rubbed her lower back, pressing a kiss to the top of her head.

"We'll get him…we'll get them both." He promised, having every intention of killing Anderson. Now Undertaker was out for the second shooter, pissed for not realizing there were two people out there after Juliana until almost too late.

"Not your fault, Taker." She whispered softly, reading his mind again, knowing he felt personally responsible for what happened earlier on.

She closed her eyes and finally moved to rest her head against his chest, not wanting to go anywhere. Perfectly content lying on top of him, Juliana heard his steady heart beat and smiled, snuggling further into him, slowly beginning to breathe steadily. She wouldn't sleep, but felt as though their bodies were melting together as one. Undertaker groaned softly when he felt her lay her head on his chest, feeling her body shift ever so slightly. He hadn't forgotten their earlier kiss.

In fact, it had been on the forefront of his mind for most of the night up until the little incident down the road. Now however, Undertaker went back to thinking how soft and pliant her lips had been and felt. He debated whether or not he wanted to risk scaring her by taking another taste. Juliana thought about the same thing and could still feel his lips lingering on hers. She didn't know what to think about it except the fact it felt good. Opening her eyes, thoughts of Undertaker still flowed through her mind as Juliana stared over at the wall. The same spot where he'd stolen her breath away with that kiss earlier on.

No, she couldn't think about it right now. She couldn't get involved with someone like him. It was dangerous to not only her life, but her heart. Undertaker caught her staring at the wall, knowing what currently flowed through her mind. The same thing replaying in his own, that hypnotic kiss. He had only been playing with her, not planning on kissing her like he did. Damn if he couldn't help himself and Undertaker sure as hell wasn't sorry for it.

"Jules…" He rumbled, causing her head to pop off his chest and leaned forward, capturing her lips in a light kiss.

Shock flooded her body at the first touch of his lips against hers, but it quickly faded as she lit on fire. Juliana moaned softly and wrapped her arms around his neck, scooting further up his strong body, wanting to be closer to him. Alarms began ringing in her mind and they were too loud to ignore, forcing Juliana to pull away from him with great reluctance. She looked down at him, seeing that same smoldered look in his green eyes just like earlier and did a full body shiver. That same look had haunted her mind since their first brief encounter…Juliana would only admit to herself she loved seeing it.

"Taker…" She whispered out breathlessly, that light kiss taking her breath away. Even though it was nothing compared to the last one.

"Juliana…" He murmured in reply, staring into her eyes, his piercing green ones searching out her very soul it seemed.

Gently, Undertaker cupped the back of her head and pulled her towards him again, kissing her once more. This time with more fire and hunger for her. He rolled to where Juliana was on her back, never breaking the kiss. Lowering on his side, Undertaker leaned over her, bracing himself on one hand so he wouldn't overly startle her.

Once again, Juliana slowly broke the kiss, her breathing erratic and laid back on the pillow, black hair splayed all over it. The man was gorgeous and his eyes entranced her in a way that she didn't understand. Her chest heaved from heavy breathing and Juliana found it hard to regain control of her racing heart.

"We can't…"

She gasped when Undertaker took her in his arms and kissed her again, wrapping her arms around his neck, and pressed him closer to her. What was she doing? Did she want this? What about him protecting her? What would happen after this was all said and done? So many questions ran through her mind, but as soon as Juliana felt his tongue slip in her mouth, all rationality flew out the window.

Undertaker growled hungrily, his tongue exploring her mouth, tasting her and knew he had to have more. His hands moved down her back to her rear, pulling her against him. He finally trailed his mouth down her throat, nipping, licking and sucking her tender flesh. Wanting nothing more than to spend the rest of the night right here exploring her beautiful body, Undertaker continued his onslaught and could feel the tightening of his jeans.

Soft moans escaped her lips as Juliana lulled her head back, giving him further access, never experiencing what she currently felt at the moment. Undertaker caused something to stir inside of her that felt like a rushed forest fire and pulled him closer. Juliana didn't even know the man for two days, already she made out with him and actually contemplated sex. She slowly pulled back, staring into his eyes and tried to catch her breath, the passion haze slowly disintegrating.

"I can't…" She said it again, this time a little more urgently and gasped out when his hand began caressing her smooth flesh below through her panties.

The sensations were too prodigious to ignore as Juliana completely melted against him. She just hoped Undertaker didn't take it all the way, especially with her mind too foggy and clouded for proper judgment. Undertaker rubbed his thumb against her clit in slow teasing circles, sliding a finger up and down her wet slit through the thin material.

"Why can't you?" Undertaker murmured against her lips, flicking his tongue out to tease her, smirking when she automatically parted her lips. He didn't hesitate at the invitation, the thought never crossing his mind that she might still be a virgin. "You feel so good, darlin'…" He rumbled, licking his lips before kissing her again, now pushing her panties aside and slowly began sliding one long finger inside of her.

Juliana cried out softly against his mouth, feeling her walls instantly wrapping around his digit in a vise grip, her breathing turning ragged. Her tongue dueled with his, soft small hands running up and down his muscular chest since he had removed his leather vest. She knew this was wrong, that she shouldn't do this with Undertaker, but it felt too good to stop.

"Taker, please…" She moaned out in a plea, face contorted in both pain and pleasure from how tight her walls were contracting around his finger.

Plus the burning sensation that flooded her body. Juliana would never tell him she was a virgin as she laid there, his lips ripping from hers, and gripped his wrist when he went to add a second finger. Her breathing went from ragged to sporadic in a matter of seconds. Undertaker wasn't a fool. He'd been around the block several times and instantly pulled away from her, staring down into her near blackened eyes. He wasn't confused, angry or disappointed. Actually, Undertaker rather admired her for still being a virgin. The look in her eyes is what stopped him though as he leaned down, brushing his lips tenderly against hers.

"You are a special one aren't you?" He murmured, caressing the back of her face tenderly with one hand while licking her juices off his fingers.

Juliana blinked, her mind slowly clearing, and raised an eyebrow up at him. "W-What?" She stammered, feeling her heart pounding in her ears and leaned into his touch as tears filled her eyes, when he just gave her a knowing look. "Yeah…"

She didn't know what else to say and slowly sat up on the bed, raking a hand through her hair, heaving a sigh. Damn it, Juliana had been close to sleeping with this man she barely knew! Undertaker moved to sit beside her, stretching his legs out alongside hers, wrapping his arms around her waist and rested his chin lightly on her shoulder.

"Upset Jules?" Undertaker asked softly, nuzzling her neck.

"I don't know." She answered justly, not able to stop herself from leaning against him, and looked up to stare into his eyes. There was palpable sexual tension between them, but Juliana knew she had to put a stop to this before it went any further. "Taker, as much as I've enjoyed this, we can't do this again. I'm not stupid. I may be…special, but I know that I'm your assignment and nothing more. I don't have a problem with that." She patted his leg in reassurance. "Please don't be upset with me. I just…"

What the hell else could she possibly say at this point? Nothing that's what! Her body was on fire, her mind still somewhat clouded in that annoying passion haze, and she didn't understand what happened around her anymore.

"You stopped being my assignment a long time ago, Juliana." Undertaker said calmly, arching an eyebrow at her. "As for being upset, why would I be?" He took her hand, mildly annoyed at her patting his leg, almost like he was a child who needed calmed down. Standing from the bed, Undertaker jerked her with him, his green eyes searching hers out intensely. "Do you want me?" He demanded in a rough voice laced with barely contained desire. He bent down to kiss her, letting her know she was much more than an assignment at this point. "Do you?"

Her mind screamed no while her heart bellowed yes. Juliana was so confused right now and it didn't help that he made her mind spin at the moment. Her eyes held such sorrow and want as she slowly pulled away, her back now facing him, and wrapped her arms around herself while sucking in a shaky breath.

"No, I don't." She finally said, blatantly lying, but refused to have her heart broken.

If Juliana stopped this now, she could just move on and think of him as her protector until Kenneth was stopped. Then he would be gone again. He would be gone and she wouldn't have anything except a few lousy memories to live off of. In her mind, if Juliana couldn't have the whole pie, only a slice, then she didn't want any of it.

Undertaker stared down at her, both of them knowing she just lied through her teeth. She wanted him just as much as he wanted her. He wasn't about to force himself on Juliana though. Nodding, his lips curled into a slight smile before bending down to kiss her again. This time not stopping until the woman gasped for breath, both pushing him away and pulling him against her at the same time. Undertaker released her and stepped back, his eyes raking over her trembling body perceptively.

It was from desire, not fear.

"When you're ready to admit you want me as much as I do you, let me know." Undertaker said before walking out, closing the door behind him.

As soon as the door shut, Juliana collapsed on the carpeted floor, her knees completely giving out on her and pressed a hand to her heart. Her lips were swollen and her entire body flushed, lit ablaze. Tears swelled in her eyes as she took a few deep breaths to calm down, not believing the intensity of that last kiss.

It literally sucked the breath right out of her body and made her complete putty. Sighing, Juliana just rose her knee up and pressed it to her forehead, shaking her head. She would never admit to Undertaker she wanted him. Juliana would rather not have him than experience the heartache sure to follow if she did sleep with him and give him her innocence.