I let my head fall back to the pillow, grateful the room had stopped spinning at least. I was going to need a gallon of coffee once I could get out of this bed.
It took a good fifteen minutes before I felt well enough to shower. I stood under the hot spray of water, all discomfort forgotten as I remembered talking to Chris in the SUV and sitting on his lap, kissing him. God, that man could kiss. Heat spread through me, and it had nothing to do with the water temperature.
I dried and hurriedly dressed in jeans and a soft sweater. My headache was almost gone, but I felt irritable and jittery. Margot had left, so I couldn’t ask her if this was another side effect of the medicine. Maybe I just needed to see Chris.
Trying not to analyze this new dependence on him, I left the guesthouse in search of him. I could sense him in the main house, so I let my Mori guide me.
I entered by the French doors and came to an abrupt stop at the sight of Chris on the far side of the room, wrapped up in the arms of another female. Pain lanced through me, but it was immediately burned away by a wave of white hot anger.
Mine, my Mori growled.
I was dimly aware of Sara calling to me as I sped across the room. Grasping the woman’s shoulders, I ripped her away from Chris.
“Hands off,” I snarled, placing myself between her and Chris.
Her green eyes flashed angrily as she spun back to face me. “How dare you?” she fumed. “Who do you think you are?”
She took a menacing step toward me, and I reacted on instinct. My fist slammed into her jaw, and her eyes widened in shock as she stumbled backward. Not waiting for her to recover, I went after her, only to be stopped by two strong arms that came around me from behind.
“Easy there,” Chris crooned in my ear as he turned us so we were facing away from the other woman.
I started to calm until I replayed the image of him holding her. Incensed, I elbowed him in the gut, taking satisfaction from his low grunt.
“Let me go,” I bit out. I struggled in vain to break free of his hold. When that didn’t work, I elbowed him again.
I let out a strangled cry when Chris swung me up over his shoulder and strode toward the French doors.
“Excuse us, folks. I think my mate and I need some alone time.”
“Put me down, you jerk,” I railed as he crossed the yard.
He ignored my demands until we were inside the guesthouse. He turned and let me slide down until my feet touched the tile and my back was against the door.
I looked up at his grinning face, and my anger surged again. “You think this is funny?” I yelled, shoving at his immovable chest.
He captured my hands with his and entwined our fingers before he raised my arms above my head. I was helplessly trapped between his hard body and the door, a predicament that made me excited and angry at the same time.
“You’re hot when you’re jealous,” he said huskily, his heated gaze making me squirm with something that was definitely not anger.
“I’m not –”
His mouth covered mine, smothering my denial with a dizzying kiss. His tongue teased the seam of my lips until I opened to him, and then I was swept away. I pressed against him, frustrated because I couldn’t get close enough, and kissed him back with delicious wantonness.
Chris made a sound deep in his chest, and I let out an answering moan when I felt his hard arousal against my belly. I didn’t know if I was ready to go where this was heading, but in my haze of desire, I didn’t care about anything but his touch.
Without warning, Chris broke the kiss. He released my hands and pressed his palms against the door as he rested his forehead against mine. His breaths came in short pants, matching mine.
“No,” I whined.
“Give me a minute,” he said in a strained voice.
“Why did you stop?” I demanded, squirming against him.
He let out a laugh. “Jesus, Beth. You’ll be the death of me.”
His lips brushed my temple where the Incubus had hit me, and I could feel his deep shuddering breath.
“If I don’t stop now, I’ll take you to that bedroom and make love to you.”
A fresh bolt of desire shot through me, and my Mori pressed forward, eager to complete the bond we’d forged weeks – or maybe years – ago.
“But –”
“You’re barely recovered from a head injury,” he reminded me tenderly. “What kind of man would I be if I took advantage of you in a moment of weakness?”
“I want this, too.”
He swore softly and captured my mouth in the sweetest of kisses. Then he stepped back with his hands on my shoulders. I felt the sharp sting of rejection until his eyes met mine again.
“I need you more than I need to breathe, and it kills me to wait. But I love you too much to take any chances with your recovery. I promise it’ll happen soon.”
I stared at him for a long moment, replaying his words to make sure I’d heard them right.
“I… You love me?”
“Beth.” His thumb caressed my jaw. “I’ve always loved you. Don’t you know that?”
My lips parted, but no words came out. I think I already knew he loved me, despite all my doubts, but hearing him say it made my heart feel twice its size.
Chris smiled. “You stole my heart the first time I held you in my arms, and it’s been yours ever since. It’s okay if you’re not ready to say the words. I know you love me, too.”
“I do love you,” I blurted. “I never stopped loving you.”
“I know,” he murmured as he kissed me again.
And again, and again, and again.
Until my stomach rumbled and we broke apart, laughing.
I rubbed my stomach. “I guess I need some fuel after all that healing.”
“Then we need to feed you so you’ll be good and strong.” His mouth curved into a rakish smile that made butterflies take flight in my belly. “You’re going to need it.”
I blushed to the roots of my hair, despite the fact we’d just spent the last ten minutes making out. But before I could spend too long being embarrassed, someone pounded on the door.
We stepped back, and Chris opened the door to a grinning Jordan.
“Is it true?” she demanded gleefully. “Did you really punch Celine in the face?”
I scowled, some of my happy glow fading. “If you mean the woman I caught wrapped around my mate, then yes.”
Chris laughed and defensively held up his hands. “It was a friendly hug.”
“Uh-huh.” I had trouble maintaining my stern face when he was so damn cute. “Well, your friend can find someone else to hug. You’re taken.”
“Yes, ma’am.” He leaned closer. “I kind of like this bossy side of you.”
Jordan rolled her eyes. “She can boss you around later. Right now, she needs to tell her BFF about the Celine smackdown.” She looked at me. “And don’t leave anything out.”
Chris
My phone vibrated on the desk, and I smiled when I saw Beth’s name on the text message.
All done. See you soon.
She’d been checking in with me every half hour since she went out shopping with Mason a few hours ago. I’d been worried about her going out two days after the attack, but she was fully healed and there was no good reason to ask her to stay in.
She must have sensed my reservations because she’d volunteered to take a tracker and a Taser. The regular check-ins were a bonus.
Good, I wrote back. I made dinner plans for us.
Where?
I smiled. It’s a secret. Now get your pretty behind back here.
She sent a smiley face. Now who’s being bossy? Love you.
Love you.
I laid my phone back on the desk and caught Nikolas’s knowing smile. I’d been distracted since we sat down to work. I’d tried to focus on the job, but my mind kept going back to my plans for tonight.
If I could, I would have whisked Beth off to some romantic location where I’d spend days doing nothing but making love to her. She deserved that and so much more after all she’d been through. But I couldn’t take off in the middle of a crisis and leave Nikolas to deal with it. It was either wait until the Lilin threat was over, or create a special night for her here.