The Wedding Trap (Second Service) (11 page)

Alex's breath against her ear became ragged. His cock nudged against her. He waited a second. Two seconds. Just long enough for Beth to fear that he had changed his mind.

With a long exhale, he pressed forward, slowly sinking inside her body. She grabbed on to him, desperate to keep her hold on him as he slowly pulled out. With each stroke he filled her deeper, until their bodies met.

Her body swam with pleasure. She couldn't be closer to him if she tried.

He pivoted and sat up, pulling her with him, until she was nestled on his lap. She wrapped her legs around his back and ground against him. Each stroke drove her closer to the edge.

He wrapped his arms around her back, cradling her, holding her steady. His mouth bathed her neck in kisses. She found a rhythm and stayed there. One step away from wild, she took her pleasure from him. Her heart pounded so hard she thought she could hear it. It was reminder that she had survived. That she was alive. And for the first time since she could remember, she was taking what she wanted. What she really wanted.

He felt it too. She saw it in his eyes. Tasted it in the swipe of his tongue against hers. This was passion. This was life.

Tension built inside of her. A fire that refused to be tamed. And for the first time she could remember, Beth didn't care about anything else. She wanted to know what it was like to throw herself over the edge with abandon.

She didn't have to wait long. His body just felt too good. All the tension inside her broke. She shuddered around him. Her back arched as blinding pleasure swept through her.

He was close behind. He guided her down on her back, so he was above her. He took her hard and fast. His body tensed as he came. He buried his face in her neck and pressed his body against hers. She felt every second of his release, felt it run through every muscle in his body. Only then did he relax against her.

A long moment passed before Alex rolled onto his side. His face was still nestled against her neck. She felt his breath slow, until long exhales caressed her skin.

After another minute had ticked by, he pulled her close. She rested her head on his shoulder and draped her arm over him.

Beth traced her fingertips over his chest and belly. He caressed the back of her neck with his palm. She breathed in the scent of him, and burrowed deeper into his chest. Her legs wrapped around his.

She tried to fight off the decadent feeling that threatened to carry her off to sleep. She didn’t want to go there, not just yet. Even with all the danger that surrounded her, she felt safe in Alex's arms. She knew it was unfair to put such a burden on him, but just for a few minutes she decided to enjoy the sensation. After all, she wasn’t sure when she’d get another chance.

Chapter 9

Beth woke up to the sound of harsh ringing. She shot straight up in the bed. Or rather, she tried. She would have been successful if it weren’t for the two big arms curled around her, holding her tight.

"It's just your phone," Alex said, his words rumbled through his chest against her ear. He pressed his lips to the top of her head before releasing her from his embrace.

Her phone was always interrupting her. Now it had roused her from the warm cocoon of Alex's arms. If she had half a brain, she'd turn the damned thing off or chuck it out the window. Instead, she snatched it from the bedside table.

At least it wasn't her mother this time.

"Hey, Isobel" Beth said, pressing the phone to her ear.

"Hey yourself. Where did you get off to last night in such a hurry?”

Beth sat up, willing her sleepy mind to catch up with her body. "Um..." Alex's hand slid up her back, tempting her to lie back down.

"That's what I thought," Isobel said with a laugh. No doubt it was what everyone thought. "Some people wanted to wait to see if you’d be coming down, but I said you could probably use the sleep."

Beth blinked and looked at the clock on the side table. “Did I miss breakfast?”

“Well, yeah. But that was an hour ago. We were all just about take off for the museum.”

“Oh, God, the MOMA,” Beth said. “I forgot all about it. I’m so sorry, Isobel."

"Don't be. I don’t care if you skip it. I mean, I’ll miss you, but Spencer will be there and from the sound of it, things didn’t go so well between you two last night.” There was a note of apology in her voice.

“Are you sure you’re cool with me not going with you?”

“It’s fine. I swear. God knows I'd still be lounging around in bed if I could. All you have to do is make it to the rehearsal tonight."

"Of course, I promise."

More laughter. "Until then, stay in bed all day. Doctor's orders."

“Are my parents there?”

“Of course,” Isobel said. “But don’t worry. I already covered for you.”

Alex's fingers curled around her shoulder. He slowly pulled her back down to the pillows. Beth only half resisted.

"How in the world did you do that?" Beth asked.

"I told them that I sent you out on another errand for me,” she said. “This one was out on the peninsula."

“Thank you.”

“Don’t mention it.”

Alex's lips pressed against her neck, tracing a path up to her ear. Her toes began to curl. She gripped the phone tighter so it wouldn't slip through her fingers and clatter down to the floor.

"Um...Isobel, I have to go," she said.

Another laugh. There wasn't any attempt to mask it this time.

"Of course you do. Have fun, but don't forget—six o'clock tonight."

"Six o'clock. I'll be there. Promise."

Beth hit the end button and tossed the phone to the other side of the king-sized bed. She curled her body up against Alex and pressed her lips to the base of his throat. Just for good measure, she flicked her tongue out to taste the little hollow at the base. He made a little sound of appreciation.

“What did Isobel want?" he asked.

"To tell me that I'd missed breakfast. And to remind me that the rehearsal is tonight." Beth pulled her face up far enough to nuzzle her nose against his cheek. She bobbed down to kiss the corner of his mouth.

"That's it?" His voice was wary.

"Pretty much."

"You were talking with her for longer than that."

Beth pulled back far enough away to see his expression. It didn’t give anything away. “You still think Isobel has something to do with this, don’t you?”

"I can’t rule anyone out. I won't allow you to get hurt because you're blinded by your affections."

Beth rolled to the other side of the bed and stood. He didn't make any move to stop her.

"Blinded by my affections?" she said. "The only person that I seem to be blinded by is you. I've known Isobel since I was six years old. She would never do anything to hurt me."

Alex sat up. The sheet fell to his lap, leaving his chest exposed. Beth didn't want to gape at him. Really, she didn't. She was working on building up a good head of righteous rage, and the sight of his well-defined torso was dousing the flames.

But she was only human, and his hair was all ruffled from...well, she remembered all too well what had caused that ruffling. His eyes were turning dark again, narrowing with fever-inducing intensity.

It might have had something to do with her standing buck naked in the center of the room. Her cheeks started to burn again. She reached down and snatched his discarded button-down shirt from the floor. She pulled her arms through the sleeves and wrapped the front around her as quickly as she could.

His expression didn’t soften. Not one little bit.

"I don't think that is having the effect you were hoping for." He patted the mattress next to him. "Why don't you come back over here?"

Beth shook her head, resisting the answering smile that pulled at the corners of her mouth. "I don't think so."

He arched his brows. "I could make it worth your while."

"No way."

"Oh, I can think of lots of ways."

Her blush burned. "Not while you still think that Isobel is trying to kill me."

"I never said I thought that," he said. "I sure as hell hope that it's not true. I just said that your safety is my main concern. Until this is over I will suspect everyone."

Beth scrunched her nose. When he put it like that, it sounded so reasonable. She sat down on the edge of the bed. "Okay, there. Happy now?"

He crooked his finger at her. "A little closer."

She shook her head. "Nope." A girl had to have some backbone, after all. No matter how misguided it was.

"All right then," he said. “If that's how you want to play."

He was on her in less than a second. Before she could react, she was on her back, her hands locked above her head, his hips positioned between her legs.

"Much better," he said. His mouth was so close to hers, so close that his breath washed across her lips, kissing her before he did.

The phone rang.

That was it. She was going to make it her life mission to smash every phone she saw. She would be doing the world a favor.

Except it was his phone this time. With great reluctance, he pulled away. "Sorry, duty calls."

She groaned out loud as he sprung from the bed. He grabbed the phone and went into the sitting room. Beth crawled reluctantly from the bed. She could barely hear him in the other room. His answers were terse. One word, maybe two. He was on the call for less than a minute before he hung up.

"Munoz is on the move," he said, heading for the bathroom. He flicked on the lights and a moment later, Beth heard the shower start up. A half second later, he poked his head out. "The guys in the van just intercepted a text message from a burner phone."

Beth felt a lump forming in her throat. Her stomach dropped. She didn't want to ask. She didn't need to. The serious look on his face told her that whatever the message was, it wasn't any good.

"What did it say?"

"That if Munoz couldn't handle the situation, he would take care of it himself."

Beth blinked. She sank back down on the edge of the bed, her knees threatening to give out underneath her.

“I’m
the situation
, aren’t I?”

Alex stopped mid-stride. "Yes," he said. It was a simple answer to a simple question. But Beth felt like she had taken a swift blow to the gut.

“Does that mean he’s coming back to the hotel to shoot me himself?”

“I doubt it.”

“But we're still going to go downstairs and wait for something to happen?” Her voice sounded small, even to her own ears.

“Yes.”

He didn't rush to comfort her this time. But he didn't lie to her either. He treated her like an adult. One who could handle the burden she'd taken on.

And she could, she reminded herself. She might not like it. Hell, the fact that she didn't was probably a good indicator of her sanity. But she could handle it. She
would
handle it. The only other choice was giving up, and she sure as hell wasn't going to do that.

"We have to,” he said. “You're an easy target up here."

Beth nodded. She understood. Everyone knew where she was. Hell, even Isobel had told her to stay in bed all day.

Had she known?

Beth immediately felt a traitorous shame at the fleeting thought. There was no way that her best friend was setting her up for an assassin to find.

No way in hell.

Still Beth didn't waste anytime showering and dressing before making her way down to the lobby.

***

The day was a bizarre combination of constant anxiety and crushing boredom.

Beth had been out of the room for six hours and she hadn't left the hotel once, not even for a walk around the parking lot. It was too open, Alex said. There were too many variables. Too many ways for things could go wrong. She guessed that what he really meant were there were too many hiding places for a sniper to hide and take her out with a single shot.

She might never get over how strange it was to think about her life in those terms. She only hoped that she lived long enough to get used to it.

Alex was true to his word and stayed by her side. He sat with her in the lobby. Stood next to her in the coffee shop line. Then back to the lobby. Walked with her down to the spa store. Ate lunch with her at the restaurant. Then back to the lobby. Walked down the hallway with her. Then back to the lobby again.

The problem wasn’t with the monotony of the day. It might have actually been relaxing to have a whole day with nothing planned, nowhere to go, nothing to do. It was that she couldn’t relax, not even for a second.

People came and went. Beth watched them all. Some she knew. Most she didn't. Every now and again someone from the wedding would stop by and say hello, and Beth would worry about their motives for doing so. But even that was a welcome distraction from obsessing over the intentions of strangers who just happened to glance her way.

It was exhausting, this ever-vigilant existence. Beth wondered how in the world Alex managed it. He hadn’t complained once since they’d stepped out of their room. He'd taken up his position by her side today and settled in. He'd chatted with her, keeping it light. He lounged on the couches as though there wasn't a worry on his mind.

Beth, on the other hand, was ready to start pulling her hair out. The only thing preserving her sanity was keeping one eye on the clock. She'd made it to five thirty. It was almost time for the rehearsal. And while she was certain that none of the anxiety she felt would fade when she got there, at least the boredom would.

Alex patted her on the knee and gestured toward the front door. John was walking in. She wasn't sure if she was supposed to acknowledge him, so she kept her face as impassive as possible. She figured they were through pretending when he sat down beside them.

"Hey," Alex said.

"Nothing yet?" John asked.

Alex shook his head. "Anything on your side?"

"Negative."

"Riveting stuff, guys," Beth said. "Hey, since I've got two bodyguards now, do you think I could risk a quick trip out to the balcony? My legs are cramped, and I haven’t seen real sunlight all day."

The men looked at each other. She saw the discussion going on between them in their eyes.

"John can watch over you for a minute," Alex said, standing up. "I'm going to the men's room. Then we'll get you ready for that rehearsal."

Alex didn't look too happy. She knew that the day had been a bust for him. Nothing had happened, and time was slipping away.

She stood up and walked to the set of double doors that led out to the balcony. John stayed by her side until they were outside. Then he fell back, crossed his arms and leaned against the wall. His expression was, as always, impassive, but at least he was giving her some space. Well, as much space as one could get on a fifteen-foot balcony.

The Kensington was built into the side of a hill, and this part of the lobby was technically on the second floor. It was a lovely place to sneak out to watch the sun sinking below the San Francisco Bay. Tonight was no exception, and Beth caught it at just the right time.

She sighed with pleasure as she leaned against the railing. After a day of being shut up inside the hotel this was heaven.

Ribbons of brilliant orange and flaming red streaked the sky. The darkening waves of the bay caught the last of the evening light and shimmered as if they were capped with diamonds. A slight breeze caressed her cheek, bringing with it the scents of the blooming gardens below.

If only she'd had a glass of champagne in her hand and Alex by her side, it would have been a perfect moment. As it was, she had a can of flat diet soda and a hulking stranger behind her, one that she still wasn't quite sure she trusted.