Convincing Lina: A Bachelor of Shell Cove Novel (The Bachelors of Shell Cove Romance Book 2) (21 page)

Limp, satiated, and ready for more Lina sank into the cool water. Eyes closed she let her head fall back, swallowing the urge to beg for a second helping. This time minus his clothes. Gideon stood and discarded his wet jeans, placed an arm around her upper back, behind her knees and scooped her up.
 

“Where are you taking me?” She could barely keep her eyes open.

“To our bed.”
 

Gideon placed her in the center of the bed. Crawling in behind her, he wrapped his damp muscle around her back, cradling his erection in her full backside and pulled her into his body.
 

“We’re wetting the sheets.”

“Get used to it, sweetness. Get some rest and I’ll wake you up in three hours for round two.” She gave him a throaty laugh in response. Her body was spent and she knew she’d sleep like the dead if he didn’t wake her.
 

“Lina, I want you to stay with me.”

“I want to stay with you, too, but…” He pulled her earlobe between his teeth.

“No buts, you’ll have a key to the house in the morning.” His offer was late in coming, because he already held the key to her heart.

Lina would stay with him. Everything he ever wanted he had because of the woman lying asleep in his arms. She believed in his vision for the clinic. Heck, she’d helped him make the WWR clinic a sustainable reality. She believed in him. He was worthy in her eyes. Lina knew of the man he had been and accepted the man he was now. If only he knew who was after her and why? Lina depended on him to keep her safe. He’d followed up with the police, looking for a link between the two incidents at Lina’s place. The roses had been dipped in pig’s blood, but no roses were found at the scene tonight. Two and a half weeks and no leads on Lina’s stalker.
 

Gideon listened to Lina’s slow, steady breathing relishing the feel of her soft, womanly curves against his body. The flood lights at the corner of the neighbor’s house came on, streaming yellow-white light through the shears he’d forgotten to close. He threw off the top sheet, preparing to exit the bed. Lina had a long day and he didn’t want the light to disrupt her sleep. The last thing he wanted to do was leave the bed, but he’d be curled around her before her body heat dissipated off his skin. A grating sound from the patio caught his attention. He swung his feet to the carpet and stood.
 

A low hung shadow passed at the glass door, halting him in place. The muscles along his back tightened in anticipation, just as an object came crashing through the bedroom window. Gideon sprang into action covering a sleep roused, screaming Lina with his nude body. The object slammed into the lamp closest next to Lina, the contents on the table flew in varying directions as ceramic shrapnel rained down onto the bed. The glass shattering triggered the house alarm, its high pitched screech filling the air. Reaching for the bedside table, he hit the
Stay
button on the portable alarm control attached to his key ring. The alarm had camouflaged the attacker’s movements. The cordless phone, now off the hook, made a steady beep from the carpet. Gideon listened for signs of a second attack, separating the sounds of a predator from nature.
 

The neighbor’s chocolate Labrador bellowed several hoarse barks from over the back fence. Snatch, the neighborhood’s Russian blue tom cat released a cacophony of meows in response. What he didn’t hear were footsteps. Who were they dealing with? The man was experienced at this cat and mouse game. And he was sure the culprit was male. From his position on the bed, the framed large brick projected at close range spoke to strength.
 

“Shh, baby. Listen carefully. I’m going to slowly ease my weight off you and move down the bed. I want you to roll onto the floor and stay close to the bed frame.”

“What about you?” She whispered.

“Stay low, I will give you the okay to move.” Gideon pressed his hands into the mattress, before pressing upward and rolling onto his left elbow. He used the length of his body to shield Lina. He had been thinking seduction and she was in danger. “Go now.” Lina rolled from the bed onto the floor.

The motion light from the neighboring house had gone dark. The barking ended moments earlier. Glancing around, he studied the moonlit night for signs of a lurking attacker. He listened. The hum of night creatures in their melodic song greeted him. This attack was over. He knew with certainty the next was close at hand.
 

“Gideon, what’s happening?”

“Somebody threw something through the patio door.” He responded as he eased to the floor beside her. Their shoulders touched.
 

“I think he’s gone, but I’m going to check out the rest of the house.” Gideon pushed to his feet and Lina grabbed his hand, attempting to follow.

“Stay down, Lina. I’ll come back once I know the house is secure.” He couldn’t see her face clearly, but she hesitated. “Don’t worry, sweetness. I can handle anyone that enters this house.”

“I know. Hurry back to me.” He played a hundred scenarios in his head of Lina telling him she would stay. That she’d always be here with him. But nothing compared to her soft entreaty for him to come back to the safety she provided for him.
 

“You know I will.” Slowly she released his hand. He grabbed a pair of sweats and a T-shirt from the chest at the foot of the bed.

As quiet as a Reaper, Gideon crept through each room in the house. As he suspected the attacker was gone. This guy was dangerous whoever he was. Gideon had left that part of his life in the past. He wasn’t a killer anymore. But for Lina, he would be whatever she needed him to be.
 

“We can’t stay here.” Gideon said when he entered the bedroom.
 

“This guy is tracking you. He’s familiar with Shell Cove.” He reached down to her, offering his hand.

Gideon could feel the tremors racking Lina’s body. He’d failed her. Gently he scooped her up and cradled her in his arms. He sat on the bed, holding her close to his chest.
 

“I don’t have anywhere else to go other than my mother’s.”
 

“Don’t worry. I know a place where the Navy Seals would have a hard time getting at you.”

“Where’s that?”

“I’m taking you to Waverly Falls.”

 
“That better be on the other side of the freeway. This human turd stalker is not running me out of town.”

“Waverly Falls is my hometown in West Virginia.”

 
“Why there?”

“I can keep you safe there.” He placed a kiss of assurance to her head. “Jacob will love you.” She looked skeptical. “I want you to meet him.”

“I want to meet him, too.” Her eyes cast to the left. It was obvious meeting the Rice family wasn’t high on her priority list.
 

“Lina you are important to me. I have told you this many times. My feelings for you are real.”

“Okay.” Not the acceptance he hoped for. Eyes trained on her, he ran his fingers through his hair.
 

“What I’m doing is the only way I know to express my feelings. If it’s too much, too soon, then tell me what you want me to do.” He released a deep breath. “I want you to accept our relationship, Lina.”
 

“I do, I am.”
 

“You say the right things and you behave as if we are together. But, I need to know you accept me, you accept us in your heart and mind.” She nibbled the corner of her lip, as her hand soothed over the back of her neck.

“Stop that,” Gideon said in frustration.
 

“Why am I not good enough for you, Lina?”
 

“Gideon, that is not true. You are everything I could want. But, every time I get my hopes up over a man, I get sucker punched. Be patient with me. If what’s happening between us is real then everything will work out.”

“You are a romantic. Lina, relationships take work or nothing falls in place, but chaos and disappointment.”

“You sound like you’re speaking from personal experience.”

“Maybe I am.”

“I see you have your own story of heartbreak. Care to share?”

“One day I will, but not now.” It appeared that the threat had passed. Standing, he placed her on her feet. Moving to the chest, he pulled out a pair of sweat pants and a T-shirt and passed them to her. She pulled the shirt over her head. It hung down to her thighs. Even at her height, she had to double roll each pant leg to keep the material from dragging on the floor.
 
Dressed in his clothes, Lina looked like she belonged to him. He liked the look.
   

“We’re leaving town tonight. I’ll call the clinical staff and tell them to reassign my patients.” Thanks to Lina’s ingenuity, the added group therapy sessions and redesigned scheduling templates the clinic’s productivity had increased with the current staffing model.
 

“I don’t run away from a fight.”
 

“We’re not running, but you don’t have to run into the melee waving a big stick at every turn. It’s okay to walk away. I get the whole, independent woman thing, but you are in real danger, and I’m here.”

“For how long, Gideon?” He took in her unreadable expression. This take on the world attitude made her vulnerable, but he understood the self-preservation.

“Lina,” he reached out caressing her cheek, before closing his fingers around her nape and pulling her close, “I’m with you for better or for worse. This guy is escalating, we need time to formulate a defense. We will come back when the repairs are completed on both our places.”

“Who is going to oversee the repairs?”

 
“My brother, Thane owns a construction company. I contacted him about your place while you were in the tub. He has connections and will take care of everything.”

“You have brothers?”

“Yeah, five of them.”

“You never mentioned them before.”
 

“There wasn’t a reason to discuss my family before now.” The expression on her face was none too pleased with him.
 

“Listen, my family situation is complicated. I have five brothers. I’m the second oldest. Jacob and Emma didn’t have any children of their own. She died five years ago.” He ran his fingers through his hair, uncomfortable with the discussion. This was a can of worms that they did not have time to mull over. “Can we not do this now?”

“Fine,” she said, with her chin lifted in a stubborn tilt, “I’m not leaving town with some guy without seeing my mother.”

“Lina.” She held up a hand, giving a flat palm to stare at.
 

“You are not changing my mind. Go grab your Clark Kent bag while I get my purse. I’ll meet you by the door.”

“You’re not leaving my sight. Wait for me and we will gather your things from the guest room and leave together.”

Chapter 13

Bernadean James had the front door open to her brick rambler before she and Gideon exited the car. Lina walked into her mother’s arms and buried her head in the teal fluffy robe she had given her nearly a decade ago. She swore her mother kept every speck of lint, paper, or God awful artwork she’d ever given her. Feeling the familiar press of her mother’s kiss to her hair, Lina inhaled deep, breathing in courage and trying her best to push away the fear threatening to overwhelm her. She felt helpless. And she didn’t know if she was more terrified of the stalker or relying on the brave Marine at her back.
 

She was depending on Gideon to always be there for her. What would happen to her when he walked away? She had never run from a fight, but that was exactly what she was doing. Following a man, putting all her hopes and dreams in his hands. The past had taught her to rely on herself.
 

Her mother was the only person in the world who had never failed her. She and Gideon exited the car.
 

“Momma, this is Gideon Rice. The psychiatrist I told you about.” Lina walked past her mother into the house. Her mother regarded Gideon with a critical eye before letting him enter.

“Hello, Gideon. It’s nice to finally meet you.” Though her mother had caught a brief glimpse of him at Ava’s party, Lina had not formally introduced them. A fact her mother had reminded her of on more than one occasion. Gideon must have passed the initial screening because her mother ushered them into the quaint living room.