Fearless: (McIntyre Security Bodyguard Series - Book 2) Page 3

  “What’s gotten into you?” I say, propping my good hand on my hip. I’ll be damned if I’m going to let him intimidate me.

  Shane lays his hands on my shoulders and steers me backwards toward the locker room. I stumble off the edge of the mat, and he catches me.

  “Where are we going?”

  Chapter 3

  It’s dark in the locker room, and immediately I tense up. Shane flips on a light switch.

  “What is your problem?” I say, scowling at him.

  I prop my good hand on my hip and do my best to look indignant, but it’s hard to be taken seriously when your arm is wrapped in a fluorescent green cast. But I do my best to look pissed, because I am pissed.

  He takes me by surprise when his hands come up to cradle my hot face. I gasp when he kisses me, his mouth ravenous on mine. Honestly, I didn’t see that coming. I thought he was angry at me.

  Encouraged by the sudden change in his demeanor, I take advantage of the situation and slip my tongue into his mouth. He groans, the sound loud and harsh in the quiet locker room. Now we’re both kissing like we’re starving for it, and I’m elated that he’s letting himself go like this. He hasn’t kissed me like this since – well, since before the assault.

  He pulls me into his big body, which is hot as an inferno. I can feel his erection through his jeans, pressing insistently against my belly. His hand slips behind my head and he positions my mouth right where he wants it, so he can eat at me, his lips caressing and molding mine to his, his tongue stroking mine.

  We drink each other in, inhaling our mutual sighs and absorbing the little sounds we both make. I can’t help the whimper that escapes me, and he responds by clutching me even tighter. He draws my tongue into his mouth and sucks on it as he grinds his erection into my body.

  Abruptly, Shane releases me and takes a step back, his chest heaving. I swear he looks shell-shocked. I nearly lose my balance, as I’d been leaning into him. He catches me and holds me at arm’s length until he’s sure I’m steady on my feet.

  “I’m sorry I yelled,” he says, running his fingers through his hair. “I wasn’t yelling at you.”

  “It sure seemed like you were.” Now I’m just plain mad at him, because he’s already pulling away from me, both physically and emotionally. “You shouldn’t have yelled at them either, Shane. They were just trying to help me. I asked them – I begged them – to teach me some self-defense moves.”

  He rubs his hand across his face, scrubbing his short beard, and exhales. “Beth, please. Wait a while, okay? You don’t need to start training right now. Give yourself more time to heal.”

  I raise my left arm in the air, waving my cast in front of him. “I’m getting this off tomorrow, remember?”

  “That’s if the orthopedic doctor says it’s ready to come off.”

  “Oh, it’s ready to come off!” My anger is mounting. “If Dr. Meyer doesn’t take it off tomorrow, I’ll use a saw to take it off myself.”

  He grins at my empty threat, which only pisses me off more.

  “Sorry,” he says, reading my mood. He loses the smile.

  I take a step toward him, closing the distance between us, and lay my good hand on the soft, faded cotton of his t-shirt, right over his pounding heart. “Shane.”

  Still breathing hard, he eyes me warily as if he’s afraid of what I’m going to say. “What?”

  I can’t help noticing his blatantly obvious erection pressing against his jeans. My breath catches in my throat. I’m filled with a mixture of relief and anticipation, because I know he wants me.

  He steps back, shaking his head. “I’ve got to get back to work, sweetheart.” He lifts my hand and kisses it, as if that will soften the sting of his rejection. “No more self-defense lessons for the time being, okay?”

  I’m tired of his evasiveness, so I pull my hand from his and reach up to cup the back of his neck. I pull his head down to mine and go up on my toes to reach his mouth.

  “Beth – ”

  “Kiss me like you did a few minutes ago.”

  He shakes his head. “Sweetheart, no – ”

  “Yes.”

  He groans when I nudge his lips open with my own. His tongue sweeps across my upper lip as if he’s tasting me. And then it sinks into my mouth, tangling with mine, stroking and caressing. For a moment, I think he’ll give in.

  But then he pulls back and gently extricates himself from my grasp. “I’m sorry, but I really have to get back. They’re waiting on me.”

  “What good is being the CEO if you can’t tell people to call you back later?”

  He leans down and kisses my forehead, then steps out of my reach. “I’ll see you at dinner tonight, all right?” He turns away and heads for the door.

  “Shane, wait!”

  He pauses mid-step, but doesn’t look back. It hurts that he won’t even look at me. I come up behind him and slip my good arm around his waist and lean into his back. He’s solid and warm, and I breathe in his tantalizing male scent which stirs something deep inside me.

  He stiffens, his muscles going rigid. “What?” He sounds annoyed. “I’m in a hurry, Beth.”

  Shane’s dismissive words slice through me like a hot knife, searing me, and I swallow what I was about to say. I’m so out of my element here. Part of me wants to beg for his attention, but another part of me refuses to beg. Damn it, if he doesn’t want to spend time with me – be with me – then I’m not going to grovel.

  “Nothing,” I say, letting my arm fall away from him. I step back and wipe my eyes with the back of my hand, glad that he’s not looking at me. There’s a deep, aching hole in my chest. “Go back to your meeting.”

  He turns partway, and I watch the muscles in his throat working as he swallows hard. He clears his throat. “I’ll see you at dinner.” His voice sounds as empty as I feel inside.

  And then he walks away, without looking back once.

  * * *

  I follow in Shane’s footsteps, feeling numb and confused. I know he wants me – his body’s physical reaction made that abundantly clear. But I don’t understand why he’s putting this emotional distance between us. There has to be some way for me to get through to him.

  I freeze when I hear heated voices in the hallway outside the martial arts studio.

  “What the hell are you talking about?” Shane says, sounding gruff and impatient.

  “Let me clue you in, pal.” Lia sounds like she’s on a roll. “You’re being an ass.”

  “Mind your own business, Lia.”

  “Beth is my business. She’s feeling pretty neglected these days, Shane. And if you don’t get your head out of your ass, you’re going to drive her away. She’s already talking about going back to her townhouse.”

  I feel guilty for eavesdropping and am about to turn back when I’m stopped by Shane’s angry retort.

  “No way in hell!” he grates. “You can disabuse her of that notion right now.”

  “You can’t keep her a prisoner here, Shane. If she wants to go, she can go.”

  There’s a long silence, and I can just imagine Shane running his fingers through his hair – a habit when he’s frustrated. When he finally speaks, his voice is low and subdued. “Has she been talking to Tyler?”

  Shane and my brother have a tenuous relationship at best. Tyler is more like a father to me, and he finds it difficult to let Shane in. Tyler’s also rather controlling, and that makes it even harder on him when he doesn’t have a say in what I do. Shane knows that Tyler’s tried before to talk me into staying with him at his Lincoln Park condo.

  “He calls her every day, Shane. You know that.”

  “I mean about wanting to leave.”

  “I don’t think she’s said anything to Tyler yet about wanting to leave here. You’d know if she had. If she gives him the slightest hint that she’s unhappy here and wants to leave, he’ll beat down your front door so fast your head will swim.”

  Shane exhales. “Lia, try to distract her for just a
little while longer. Once she sees the doctor tomorrow, and we find out if her arm is healed, I – ” His voice trails off and I don’t hear the end of that sentence. Then he says, “Go check on her, please. Make sure she’s all right. I’m going back to my office.”

  “Shane – ”

  “Lia, just do it. Please.”

  Chapter 4

  Like a deer caught in a headlight, I’m standing frozen in place when Lia pops back into the studio.

  She stops abruptly when she catches sight of me and frowns. “You heard that, didn’t you?”

  I nod, not bothering to pretend I wasn’t eavesdropping. I heard so many things in the tone of Shane’s voice, from impatience to anger to annoyance to resignation. I don’t know what to think anymore. It feels like everything is unraveling around me.

  I swallow against the painful lump in my throat. “Shane couldn’t get away from me fast enough. He said he had to get back to his conference call, but I know that’s bull.”

  Lia shrugs. “What can I say? My brother’s an idiot. Hell, they’re all idiots.”

  “He wouldn’t even look at me, Lia.” My knees feel weak and I’m more than a little nauseous, so I drop down onto the sofa before I fall down.

  Lia squats in front of me and takes my good hand in hers, squeezing it tightly. “Listen to me, Beth. Shane’s determined to punish himself for what Andrew did to you, and he’s stubborn as hell in case you haven’t figured that out yet.”

  I laugh, despite the tears clogging my throat. “I think I’ve figured that out. But what Andrew did wasn’t Shane’s fault. I’ve told him that over and over again.”

  “Wasn’t it, though? Andrew attacked you to get back at Shane for humiliating him at the hospital benefit. To be perfectly honest, it is Shane’s fault. He underestimated how messed up Andrew Morton is.”

  I shake my head. “But I don’t blame him.”

  “I know you don’t. But Shane does, and that’s what matters.”

  “I don’t know how to get through to him, Lia.”

  “I do,” Lia says. “He expects you to stick around here and wait for him to work his shit out. Don’t let him get away with it. Make him sweat a little.”

  “How?”

  “Teach him not to take you for granted.” Lia rises to her feet and pulls me up to mine. “Let’s go on a road trip – just you and me. We’ll go all Thelma and Louise on him. That’ll shake him up, trust me.”

  The idea of a road trip has a lot of appeal. I haven’t left the house in nearly six weeks, and I have a massive case of cabin fever.

  Lia grins. “I’m serious. Let’s bail, you and me. Girls’ day out. We’ll leave the knucklehead here to stew a bit.”

  “You mean sneak out? How can we do that with security watching every inch of the property?”

  She eyes me. “Oh, ye of little faith. Just leave everything to me. Let me shower and change, and then we’ll sneak out. Shane won’t know what hit him until we’re long gone. Grab whatever you need and meet me at the front doors in twenty minutes.”

  I run back upstairs to collect my purse and phone from our suite. Then, so as not to attract a lot of attention, I head sedately down the second floor hallway, where I run into Elly. She’s pushing a cart filled with clean towels for the suites.

  Elly’s dressed in a form-fitting pair of brown riding pants and a billowy, white embroidered top. Her lovely silver hair hangs down her back in a thick braid, and her oval face is softly wrinkled. Horses are her passion, and when she’s not busy in the house, she’s either in the barn or out riding in the pastures.

  “Hi, Beth,” she says, smiling.

  My face heats up because I feel guilty for not coming down for breakfast this morning. “Hi, Elly. I’m sorry I overslept and missed breakfast this morning. Thanks for sending up a tray. It was delicious.”

  She immediately dismisses my thanks. “It was no trouble at all, darling. Shane said you didn’t sleep well last night and to let you sleep in. Where are you off to?”

  “Lia and I thought we’d... go outside... to get some fresh air.” And now I feel even more guilt for lying to her.

  “Since you’re going out, I’ll just tidy up your room now. Is there any laundry you’d like me to do for you?”

  “None for me, thanks. I think Shane left some suits hanging on the back of the closet door that need to be sent out for cleaning.”

  She nods. “No problem. I’ll get them. You girls have fun.”

  I resume walking toward the staircase, but she calls my name, bringing me up short. “Is there anything special you’d like for lunch today?”

  Oh, crap. If our plan is successful, Lia and I won’t be here for lunch.

  I smile at her, compounding my sins. “No, nothing special,” I say. “Whatever you were planning is fine.”

  “Okay, then. Have fun.”

  I finally make it down the main staircase to the foyer and wait for Lia by the front doors. My heart is pounding. The prospect of a girls’ day out is thrilling, but I’m also terrified of getting caught.

  The door to the business wing just across the foyer opens, and my heart practically stops. Fearing it’s Shane about to come through the door, I plaster an innocent smile on my face. But it isn’t Shane. It’s Cooper. I heave a sigh of relief.

  Cooper’s dressed in jeans, a t-shirt, and scruffy brown boots – his usual attire. I don’t think I’ve ever seen him in anything else. The only thing missing is the gun holster that’s usually strapped to his chest. But the security here is so tight, he doesn’t feel the need to walk around armed.

  Cooper’s in his early 50s and, for an older guy with trim gray hair and beard, he’s pretty handsome. He is Shane’s right-hand man and best friend. Since I met him, we’ve grown close – he’s become like a father to me. And since I don’t have a father, I could sure use one.

  “Hey, kiddo.” Cooper smiles at me. “How’s it going?”

  I drop the fake smile because I don’t have to pretend with Cooper. He sees everything. I have no doubt he knows the score.

  Cooper eyes the purse strap over my shoulder, but he doesn’t comment on it. “How’s your arm?”

  “Good. I get the cast off tomorrow.”

  “Yeah, Shane told me. Glad to hear it.” His eyes narrow. “You goin’ somewhere, honey?”

  I love Cooper, and I don’t want to lie to him, but at the same time, I’m not completely sure how he’ll react to our escape plan. If he raises the alarm, we’re sunk.

  Before I can respond, Lia walks into the foyer dressed in khaki cargo pants, a black tank top, and running shoes. Her pale blond hair is damp from a shower.

  She smiles at Cooper. “Hey, Coop.”

  Cooper nods back at her. “You girls going somewhere?”

  “You bet we are,” Lia says, sounding more than a little defiant. “It’s nice out. We’re going for a walk.”

  “A walk? Beth needs a purse to go for a walk?” Cooper gives us his I’m-not-an-idiot look. He crosses his arms over his chest and frowns at Lia.

  “Sure,” Lia says. “She carries her inhaler in her purse.” Lia’s gaze flickers briefly up at the surveillance camera covering the front door before returning to Cooper. “Sometimes a girl just needs a break, you know what I’m saying?”

  I hold my breath as a long look passes between Lia and Cooper. Cooper can make or break our escape plan with one word.

  “Well, all right then,” Cooper says, transferring his gaze to me. “You girls have a safe walk.” He holds out his arms, and I step into his embrace, hugging him with my free arm. He leans down and drops a kiss on my forehead. “Be careful, kiddo.”

  Cooper releases me and steps back. “I’ll buy you girls ten minutes,” he says, keeping his voice low, “but that’s it. Have fun and make it count.”

  As Cooper closes the front door behind us, I follow Lia at a brisk jog down the front steps and across the concrete drive to her black Jeep.

  “Won’t he get in trouble for this?” I say. �
��Shane’s going to be mad if he finds out Cooper knew.”

  “Probably. But Cooper knows Shane’s being an ass, and maybe he thinks you making a run for it might bring him to his senses.”

  I chuckle as I climb into the front passenger seat and buckle my seat belt. I haven’t been this excited in a long time. And honestly, I don’t care where we go or what we do. It just feels good to get away – assuming we can get away. “Won’t we have trouble getting through the gates?”

  “Not if Cooper keeps his word.”

  Sure enough, as soon as we approach the first of the two security checkpoints, the gate opens automatically and we breeze right through. Cooper must have told the security staff to let us pass. And the same thing happens at the second checkpoint. When we reach the main road, Lia turns left and heads south for Chicago.

  I glance back as we pick up speed, half expecting to see a security team come chasing after us. “So, where are we going?”

  Lia shrugs. “This is your show, Princess. Where do you want to go?”

  I finally face forward and start to relax. “I don’t know. There’re so many things I’d like to do. How about we head downtown and play it by ear? I want to see Gabrielle. I’d love to go to Gino’s for lunch, and I’d like to stop in at Clancy’s.”

  I haven’t seen Gabrielle in about a month now. With her busy work schedule at the restaurant, and with me living outside of the city now, we just haven’t had a chance to get together. It’s been hard on both of us. Texting and Skype just don’t cut it. Before I moved in with Shane, she and I lived together for several years. There wasn’t a day that went by that we didn’t see each other. She was my only friend, really, before I met Shane and Lia and the rest of the McIntyre family. I miss her.

  Lia chuckles. “I think we can manage that. Why don’t you call Gabrielle and see if she’s free for lunch? We’ll swing by the apartment building and get her, and then we’ll go grab pizza at Gino’s. After that, we’ll check out your bookstore.” Lia smirks. “That should be fun.”