A girl could get used to waking up this way.
Alex's strong arm was draped over her chest. He was spooned up against her, his
groin nestled against the curve of her bottom. She snuggled a little deeper in his embrace,
and felt a stirring between his legs.
Yeah, a girl could definitely get used to this.
His chin was perched on top of her head and she fit perfectly into the hollow beneath
him. This was paradise.
Well, it would have been if it weren't for the constant beeping of her phone alarm. It
kept going and going. Like there was something important she had forgotten. Somewhere
she had to be.
Isobel's wedding.
Beth shot straight up. Alex let out a little groan of disappointment.
"Things were just getting good," he said.
Beth blushed a little, and smiled to herself. After everything that had happened, it
still stoked her ego that Alex desired her.
Then again, she had no idea how he felt about her otherwise. All she knew was that
he liked her enough to keep her alive and sleeping in his bed. And really, shouldn't that
be enough? Who wouldn't give their right hand to have spent two nights with this guy—
three, if she counted the one he'd spent on the couch?
It should have been enough.
And yet, somehow, it wasn't. She wanted more. That was the problem. She had the
feeling that when it came to Alex Tanner she would always want more. Even if she spent
the rest of her days by his side, it would always be one day too little.
But the truth was that there was probably only today. And it had already started.
Beth pushed the hair out of her eyes and looked down at him. Her hand flew to her
mouth.
He looked like hell. Well, as close to hell as a guy like Alex was ever going to get.
His mouth was cut up and bruised. His nose and cheeks were red and swollen. And his
right eye was sporting one hell of a shiner. It looked like he had fought for the
heavyweight title last night.
"Are you all right?" she asked.
"It's that bad, eh?" he asked. He rose up on his elbows, and she had the feeling that
the rest of him wasn't faring much better than his face.
"No. It's just not...good."
"You're very reassuring."
"Sorry," she said. "What are we going to tell everyone at the wedding?"
"The truth," he said. Beth's eyes widened even further. "That you like it rough."
Beth whacked him in the shoulder with a pillow. He grimaced a little.
"Sorry," she said, immediately bending down to kiss the spot she'd hit.
"I'm fine," he said.
Like hell he was fine. But she wasn't going to argue with him. She had her own
problems to deal with. She had to get ready for a wedding.
Beth wriggled out of the sheets and stepped down onto the floor. She took a long, hot
shower, all the time hoping that Alex would slide in behind her, help her wash her hair
and…other parts. But he didn't. She understood. He had to be sore from the beating he'd
taken last night. But still, it was hard not to want one last taste of him. She wasn't sure
just how quickly he would be flying from her life once this was all over.
On the other hand, Beth wasn't sure she wanted to think too hard about how today
was going to end. She wasn't sure the odds were in her favor of walking away alive. After
last night's attempt on her life, she wasn't feeling all that optimistic.
Instead she reveled in the warm water washing over her. She looked out the window
at the city below, just coming to life, and let her mind drift to all the things she'd never
done, all the things she'd put off, thinking that she'd have the time to do them later.
Beth shoved the melancholy thought away. If this did prove to be her last day on
earth, she wasn't going to waste it.
Beth turned off the water and wrapped a big, fluffy towel around her. One thing that
she did know for certain—if she did survive this day, she was buying new towels. Life
was too short to settle for the thin, crappy towels she had at home.
Alex was on the phone when she stepped out of the shower. He wasn't talking, just
listening intently as he paced the floor of the bedroom, twisting and stretching, bringing
his muscles back to life. He paused as she stepped into the room. The look on his face
was flat.
"Understood," he said. He turned off the phone and tossed it on to the bed.
"That didn't sound good," Beth said.
"They've intercepted another message. Apparently, our guy isn't too pleased with the
last two failures. He's decided to come down and take care of things himself."
Beth swallowed the lump that was quickly forming in her throat. "Is that a bad
thing?" she asked.
"Depends on how you look at it. We have a better chance of catching this guy now
than ever before," he said.
"That's good."
"But it also shows just how desperate he is to get you out of the picture. This guy is a
total unknown. There's no telling what he's going to do."
"That's not so good."
Alex shook his head slowly. "No, it's not. But no matter what happens, I'm going to
be right by your side."
She never doubted that he would. But there was an intensity to his words that made
her pause, something underneath that she couldn't read.
"Thank you," she said. She wrapped her arms around him. She rested her face
against his chest, and breathed deeply.
She had to tell him how she felt. She didn't know how he would react, but she wasn't
going to live what might be her last day in fear.
"Listen, I want to tell you something. I'm not sure if it's just a reaction to everything
that has happened the last couple of days. I mean you've saved me from two assassination
attempts—that can change the way a girl looks at a guy."
"Beth," he said. His voice was filled with hesitation, but he didn't push her away.
"Or maybe it was how you dealt with my family and friends. Or the way you helped
me deal with them. Either way."
"Beth, don't."
She went on anyway. What the hell? The only thing was to just say it. Put it out
there. Live a little before she died.
"The thing is, I love you."
There. Done. She'd said it.
He held on to her for another half second, not saying a word. Then he took a step
back so she was an arm's length away. His fingers dug into her shoulders. His eyes were
hard, intense, like gemstones. "You're only saying this because you think that you're
going to die."
Beth shook her head. It wasn't entirely the reason. And it didn't change the fact that
it was true.
Apparently, he didn't believe her. "You're going to be fine, Beth. Do you hear me?
Nothing is going to happen to you."
"You willing to put money on that?" She tried humor. He didn't laugh.
"You're not going to die. I swear it."
He pulled her back into his arms, and held her with a protective ferocity that she'd
never experienced.
He didn't utter another word. He didn't have to. He didn't feel the same way about
her. She didn't really expect him to. They hadn't known each other for very long. The
time that they had spent together was hardly conducive to courtship. Intense emotion,
yes. But traditional wine-and-dine romance, not so much.
But it was obvious that he cared about her. Deeply. Passionately. Perhaps briefly.
She tried to tell herself that it didn't matter. She'd take what she could get.
Only now, what she could get didn't seem half as satisfying as it had last night.
***
I love you.
The words rang in his head, over and over, as the hot shower rained down on him.
She didn't mean it. She was just afraid, desperate.
But desperation wasn't where those words had come from. One look in Beth's eyes
had shown him that her confession came from somewhere far deeper.
She loved him. He couldn't pretend that she didn't know what she was getting into.
He may not have known her long but he'd already shared more with her than any other
woman he'd been with. She'd peered into all his dark corners and still made a place in
her heart for him.
Her strength, her resolve, her charm—they all amazed him. He would do anything to
keep her safe and happy and by his side. Damn the consequences. If this wasn't love, he
didn't know what was.
The realization hit him like a hit to the gut.
Love.
He loved her. He didn't just want her in his bed; he wanted her in his life. But for that
to happen, he was going to have to get her through this day alive.
He stepped out of the shower and wrapped a towel around his waist. He found Beth
curled up on the bed, hands covering her eyes.
"Beth?" he asked. She was sobbing. His heart sank. He should have told her how he
felt the second she'd said the words.
She looked up, her eyes puffy and red.
"The dress," she said. Her voice was shaking so badly that he barely made out the
words.
"The dress?" he asked. It was draped across the bed. He picked up the pile of
lavender silk. This was what was making her cry?
"He shot it," she said. "Three months...okay...three weeks of near starvation, just to
fit into the damned thing, and that son-of-a-bitch ruins everything."
Alex looked down at the dress in his hands. Sure enough, there was a jagged hole
through the waist.
Alex hid the smile that was starting to pull at his lips. After all that she had been
through, this was what was going to push her over the edge.
"It's going to be okay," he said, sitting next to her and putting his arms around her
shoulders.
The look she shot him said otherwise. "You don't understand."
"Maybe I don't. Why don't you tell me?"
"It's not the dress," she said. "Well, it is, but it isn't."
"Okay," he said slowly.
"It's everything. All the crap that's been going on with Spencer, and my family, and
Isobel getting married. And don't get me started with the attempts on my life. The one
thing that kept me going strong instead of running for the hills was how good I was going
to look in that dress. I know it sounds crazy."
"No, it doesn't," he said, even though it did.
She wiped at her eyes and glared at him. "Of course, it sounds crazy. It is crazy. But
it's still true. I just wanted to be perfect in that dress, and now some bastard has shot it."
He didn't quite understand. And maybe he'd have to spend his whole life with her
before he ever did.
"And the funny thing is that now I wish that I had taken a shot at him. Not for trying
to kill me. But for ruining this stupid, ugly bridesmaid dress."
She was laughing now. Laughing while she cried. Alex kept his arm draped around
her shoulder. But he thought it might be better if he didn't say a word. She seemed to be
doing fine just talking on her own.
Suddenly, she stood up. "Let's get these bastards today," she said, resolve shining in
her eyes along with her tears. "I'm not going to let anyone ruin another damn thing in my
life."
Alex smiled. That was a sentiment that he could get behind. He wasn't sure how she
got there with a dress, but he supposed that didn't much matter.
"All right, then," she announced, turning toward the wardrobe. "I'm going to need a
sweater."
***
"Is that a bullet hole?" Isobel asked, her voice going so high that it just barely fit in
the range of human hearing.
Beth shook her head a little too emphatically. "No! What? Of course not."
Isobel bent over to inspect the holes in either side of Beth's dress. Beth tried to swat
her away, but she refused to be deterred.
"Then what the hell caused this?" At least she sounded truly concerned and not
upset. Beth didn't think she could take it if she ruined Isobel's big day.
"I don't know. Moths?" she tried.
Isobel stood. Her hands went to her hips. "Seriously? Moths?"
Beth shrugged her shoulders. "I don't know."
"Only you, Beth. Only you." Isobel shook her head. "You can borrow my white
cardigan. That ought to cover it."
"Thank you," Beth said, overwhelmed with relief.
"You're not off the hook yet. You still haven't told me what's up with him." Isobel
tilted her head toward Alex. He stood just inside the doorway of the honeymoon suite,
doing his best to stay out of the way, but in a room full of bridesmaids getting their hair
and makeup done, he was completely out of place.
"I told you, he's just hanging out," Beth said. It was getting harder and harder to
come up with excuses. At this point, it was easier to have everyone think that he was
some kind of control freak.
"No, I mean what happened to him? He's all beat up," Isobel said.
"He fell out of bed in the middle of the night." It came out more question than
answer.
Isobel stared at her for a second before throwing her hands up in the air.
"Okay, you're going to tell me what's really going on here."
"Isobel," Mrs. Munoz shouted from across the room. "It's time to get your makeup
done."
"Right after the ceremony," Isobel said to Beth. She poked her finger into Beth's
chest for good measure. "Promise?"
"Promise," Beth said.
A reprieve. Thank God.
Beth shrugged the white beaded sweater over her shoulders. It wasn't the greatest
match, but at least it covered the holes.
"How do I look?" she asked Alex, going to stand in front of him.
"You look great," he said. He looked like he meant it.
"The sweater doesn't make me look too matronly?"
He shook his head. He obviously wasn't in the mood to talk about sweaters. There
was something else on his mind.
"We have to go downstairs to meet John. That isn't going to be a problem, is it?"
"I don't think so," she said. "There's still a little time before we have to make our
way to the garden. I'm all ready, so I doubt anyone is going to miss me."
"Good." He laced his fingers with hers as he led her from the room. They walked
slowly down the hall, Alex checking every turn and doorway before allowing Beth to
pass by.
They found John standing against the balcony doors in the lobby. He looked up as
they approached, nodding at Beth.
"You look nice, Miss Bradley."
"Thank you," she said. She had the feeling that a compliment from John was a rare
thing indeed.
Beth opened the doors and stepped out on the balcony as Alex and John talked. She
wasn't interested in hearing about more intercepted communications, or how secure the
perimeter around the hotel was. All she wanted was half a minute to herself.
Alex didn't stop her, so she figured she was safe enough. He was just on the other
side of the glass door. Besides, a bit of fresh air and quiet was worth the risk.
She went to the railing and looked out over the bay. The wind was calm, the
temperature mild. A few puffy white clouds dotted the sky, but nothing threatening. It
was a perfect day for a wedding.
Beth offered up a little prayer that everything would go as planned today, and not
just because that would mean that she wouldn't get wheeled from the Kensington in a
body bag, but because Isobel deserved a perfect day.
Maybe one day Beth would get a wedding day of her own.
If she lived that long.
Beth looked down at the sound of passing footsteps. And froze.
It was him. Dear God, it was him.
The man she had seen in the laundry room. The man who had been with Salvatore.
The man who wanted her dead.
Their eyes locked. Beth's fingers curled around the railing. She tried to open her
mouth to call out for Alex, for John, for anyone, but nothing came out.
The man stared back, recognition showing in his narrowed eyes. He slipped his hand
into his jacket.
He was going for a gun. He was just going to shoot her right here and now. And why
not? She was practically handing him his chance on a silver platter, standing stock-still,
waiting patiently to be shot.
A switch turned on inside. She refused to go out quietly.
Beth opened her mouth and screamed. Full-throated and loud as a siren.
The man below her winced. More importantly, he hesitated.
In the space of a heartbeat, the balcony doors flew open and Alex was at her side. He
grabbed her by the arms and spun her around.
"Are you all right?" he asked, looking her up and down for injuries. "What is it?"
"He's here," she said. She couldn't keep her voice from shaking.
"Where?" John asked. His eyes were already scanning the parking lot.
"Down there." Beth pointed to the spot directly under the railing. The man had
already disappeared. "He's gone."
"It's all right. We'll find him," Alex said.
Beth shook her head. "He went for a gun. He was going to shoot me. I panicked. I'm
sorry."
Alex wrapped his arms around her. "Don't be sorry. You did what you had to do.
And it was effective."
Alex pulled her closer to the door, but not all the way inside. John flanked her on the
other side.
"I'll alert the team," John said.
"No need," Alex said with a hint of a smile. "I'm sure everyone in a three block
radius heard that scream."
Beth smacked him in the shoulder. "I told you I was sorry."
John stared down at the pair of them, confusion on his face. She didn't blame him.
She and Alex were a mismatched pair. But whatever was going on between them, it
worked.
"I'm taking her back upstairs," Alex said.
Beth shook her head. "You can't do that."
"Of course I can."
"It's almost time for the ceremony," she said.
"And you're missing it." He pulled her through the doors into the relative safety of
the lobby.
"Like hell I am. What good am I to anyone up in our room? I can't identify anyone. I
can't draw anyone out."
"But I can keep you safe."
"For how long? What happens if this doesn't end this weekend while I still have the
cavalry around me? Do I just go home? Do I go into witness protection?"
"Don't worry about that. I've already promised that I won't leave you."
"I don't want you to be my bodyguard, Alex. I want you to be my lover. Nothing
else is going to work."
John coughed behind them. Beth didn't so much as blush.
Alex raked a hand through his hair. He looked down at her. His lips were a tight line.
He knew as well as she did that what she said was true.
"Now, I am going to be in that wedding, and I am going to help you catch that son-
of-a-bitch. So if you want to keep me safe, you better come up with a new plan, and you
better do it quick."