Doris O'Connor (25 page)

“
What the fuck are you doing
here?”

“
Now, now, Alex darling. That is no
way to talk to an old friend.”

“
Get the hell away from me, Irene.
I have nothing to say to you.”

Irene laughed, pointedly looking across at
Kitty and the oaf with the wandering hands. He was going to kill
the son of a bitch, just as soon as he got rid of Irene. As Alex
was watching, he pulled Kitty in closer, his hand straying inside
the back of her dress, and Kitty visibly tensed, looking across at
him. Her green eyes locked on Irene, who had moved in closer. Irene
put one hand on Alex’s shoulder, leaned in and whispered in his
ear.

“
Must be hard to watch her throw
herself at every male in the room, and there is nothing you can do
about it is there, my poor love. But then with you stuck in there,
she’s going to look elsewhere. Remember the way you met. Once a
slut, always a slut.”

Okay, maybe he was going to kill Irene first
and then move onto the fucker who was groping his girl.

“
Watch your mouth, Irene, before I
forget my upbringing and slap a woman.”

“
Hah, what are you going to do from
in there, Alex?”

I’m going to show you in a minute,
bitch.
Hell, his temper was slipping, and this was not the way
he had intended on letting Kitty know just how much progress he’d
made with Stefanov.

He started to lift himself out of the chair,
his teeth gritted against the pain, when he felt Kitty’s hand on
his arm.

“
Oh look, someone let the rats out
of the sewer.”

Irene gasped. “Well, you should know. I see no
rings. Didn’t manage to get him down the aisle then? What a shame,
but then again, can’t blame you. Who would want damaged
goods?”

“
Now, ladies, if you want to fight
over a man, feel free to do it over me.”

Kitty’s dance partner now gave Irene the once
over, whilst trying to put his arm around Kitty’s waist.

“
I wouldn’t waste my breath, and if
you don’t take your hands off me you will be talking in a very high
pitched voice for the rest of the evening!” Kitty rounded on her
former dance partner her face furious.

Hell, she was achingly beautiful when she was
this angry.

“
You want to grope something I
would suggest Irene over here, but you may need to be
decontaminated afterwards.”

“
How dare you,” Irene
said.

“
I don’t know. I reckon the two of
them would make a great couple, and for the record, if you lay one
more hand on my girl, it’ll be the last thing you’ll
do.”

Alex noted with grim satisfaction that the
weasel took a step back after taking one look at Alex’s
face.

“
Hey, I don’t want any trouble,
mate, just trying to have a little fun here. She’s asking for it in
that dress. You can’t blame a man for trying, can you?”

Alex’s voice was a low growl. “Oh but I do
blame you.”

He whipped his chair around and took the man’s
legs out clean from under him, and the room erupted around
them.

Chapter Thirty

Alex winced. Kitty dabbed at the cut on his
face with the disinfectant she’d had sent up from
reception.

“
Hold still, for goodness’ sakes.
If you
’
re man enough to
get into a brawl like a juvenile delinquent, then you can blooming
well hold still for this.
”

“
He deserved it for having his
hands all over you. Ouch!
”

Kitty was clearly furious with him. Her green
eyes were blazing, and she was none too gentle with that
cut.

More vigorous dabbing at his cuts made him
grab her hand.

“
Go easy. That hurts!
”

“
Good, what were you thinking? You
could’ve really gotten hurt, for goodness’ sakes, and what for? I’m
perfectly capable of looking after myself, thank you very much. I
managed well enough before you came along.
”

Alex didn
’
t catch the rest of her mumblings, but he was sure
he caught something about apes and cavemen and chuckled to himself.
She was so fucking hot when she was all fired up. She stalked to
the bathroom, banging the door shut behind her so hard that it
bounced straight back.

“
No need to wreck the
room!
”

“
There is every need, Alex
Giovanni. At least it saves me from throwing something at your
arrogant head.
”

Kitty reappeared out of the bathroom, drying
her hands on a small towel.

“
Don
’
t let me stop you.
”

Kitty groaned and threw the towel at his head.
Alex ducked and caught it easily, chuckling some more.

“
Missed! Perhaps you should come
closer and try that again if you dare.
”

Kitty
’
s eyes flashed. She picked up the towel Alex threw
back at her and, stepping closer, proceeded to whip him on the
legs, repeatedly.
Shit, that really hurt.

“
You arrogant, obnoxious,
Neanderthal excuse of a male. Argh—
”

Alex yanked back the towel that Kitty was
still holding, and she ended up on his lap with a loud humph, her
soft curves connecting with his chest, her weight resting on his
legs. It was so good to actually be able to feel her sitting there.
He was going to give himself away if he wasn
’
t careful.

“
Let me go, Alex, now. If you think
we
’
re just going to
start, well, you know, then you’ve got another think
coming!”

“
Start what, Kitty?” He laughed
softly at her flaming cheeks and sharp intake of breath. “You’d
best stop wriggling that delicious bottom of yours, or you’ll give
a man ideas.”

Alex’s toes curled under with the effort it
took to not let his legs react. He’d missed her so much.

Kitty scrambled off his legs, and he
reluctantly let her go.

“
So, if we’re not going to do
‘that’, what exactly are we going to do in a hotel suite all
weekend? Mamma will be most disappointed you know.”

****

Damn the man, what was he up to now? First he
did that ridiculous macho act in the ball room, and now he looked
sexier than any man had a right to look, wheelchair
notwithstanding.

Kitty had not been able to believe her eyes
when he had rammed his wheelchair into the other guy’s legs,
sending him sprawling on the floor. She had watched in horror when
the other man had jumped up and punched Alex straight in the face.
All hell had broken loose after that, with Alex lunging back at the
guy, his wheelchair turning over in the process, sending the two of
them rolling around on the floor.

Security had finally managed to separate them,
and once Alex had been helped back into his wheelchair by the two
burly security guards, they had all been asked to leave.

She smiled grimly remembering Irene’s outrage,
screaming that she hadn’t done anything. Kitty had been too
concerned over Alex to take much notice of anything else. His cut
had been bleeding all over his tux jacket, but he had just looked
pleased with himself. Refusing medical attention, he nonchalantly
discarded his ruined jacket. So Kitty had had to sort the cut out
herself. Worry over him had long since been replaced by anger. How
dare he put himself in danger like this? He could have really hurt
his spine again. As it was, he looked pale, and he had held himself
awkwardly when she landed on his legs. Kitty didn’t think it was
just sexual awareness that had him holding her so tensely. If she
didn’t know better she would have thought he had tensed those thigh
muscles of his, but that was impossible, surely.

“
We’re going to talk,
Alex.”

Alex sighed and rolled himself closer to the
bed, where a brightly colored little packet sat. It had Stella’s
spidery writing on it. Kitty had a horrible suspicion that she knew
exactly what was going to be in that packet, and she knew that her
cheeks flamed again.

Alex chuckled looking at her now as he held
that packet up and jiggled it.

“
Hmm, I’d ask what’s in that, but
judging by the look on your face and knowing my mother, I think I
probably know what it is. She’s responsible for that dress, after
all, and I bet you’re not wearing much under there,
right?”

His voice took on that seductive drawl again
he had used to do so well, and was sexy as hell. Kitty mentally
cursed her wayward body as it automatically responded to him on the
most basic level, and she fought to control her breathing. There
was nothing at all she could do about the way her nipples strained
against the silk of her dress or how husky her voice
sounded.

“
We won’t be needing that,
Alex!”

“
Spoil-sport.”

Kitty squirmed under his knowing gaze, which
rested too long on her cleavage before slowly returning to her
eyes.

Hell’s bells, why did she even bother to fight
this thing between them? She never could before, not from the first
moment she had spotted him all those years ago leaning against that
bar counter.

“
I thought you wanted to
talk.”

When had he come this close? Alex was right in
front of her, his knees touching hers, where she was sitting on the
dressing table chair. He leaned forward, sitting on the edge of his
wheelchair.

What?
Before she could think on that
further, his mouth captured hers. His lips a whisper against hers,
his teeth nibbled softly, and his tongue traced the contours of her
mouth with infinite tenderness. Kitty opened at his whispered
command, and Alex wasted no time deepening the kiss. Every one of
Kitty’s female senses went into high alert when his tongue touched
hers, and she couldn’t help the husky moan, which made Alex
chuckle. His hands went in her hair as he kissed himself along her
jaw line, murmuring in Italian. Kitty’s hands wandered under his
shirt, and she marveled at the hardness of the muscles that
tightened in response to her touch. Alex groaned against her neck.
He slid his hands over the silk of her dress until he found her
hips. His strong arms lifted her effortlessly and slid her across
onto his lap, where he settled her on his straining
erection.

Oh, oh my.
Kitty briefly wondered why
on earth she’d agreed to wear this rather confining basque, when
she felt Alex thrust upwards, and they both froze.

Alex’s voice was a strained moan in her ear.
“For God’s sake, baby, don’t move.”

“
I-I didn’t, Alex. Did you?
But—”

Alex groaned into her hair, his hands digging
painfully into her hips, holding her still. Kitty’s heart hammered
in her chest when she realized the tension in those thigh muscles.
Before he could stop her, she scrambled off his lap, pulled her
dress back down over her hips with shaking fingers and put some
distance between them.

Alex sat right on the edge of his wheelchair,
his feet on the floor, with such a tender expression in his eyes
that Kitty forgot to breathe for a minute.

He ran one hand through his hair and, taking a
deep breath, his face contorting in pain, he braced himself on the
arm rests of his wheelchair. He pushed himself up to standing
position, grabbing the chair Kitty had sat on, what seemed like a
lifetime ago now, for support. His eyes showed the strain he was
under, but he smiled.

“
Surprise!”

Kitty gasped, and she was dimly aware of the
room spinning, before the floor came up to meet her.

****

Fuck, she didn’t look too good. Whatever
reaction Alex had imagined in the many hours he had lain awake
wondering how best to reveal his news to Kitty, her fainting in the
way she did hadn’t been on his list.

He hadn’t managed to get back into his
wheelchair fast enough to catch her, so she had flopped like a sack
of potatoes. Thankfully, the luxury carpet had absorbed her fall,
but Alex was still furious with himself. As he couldn’t move her
without help, he dropped himself down on the floor next to her. He
now sat with his back resting against the bed, cradling Kitty
against his chest, her bottom once again resting on his lap. She
felt so right in his arms; his chest ached with the love he felt
for her.

He dropped a kiss on her pale lips, willing
her to come round, as he continued to rain kisses on every part of
her face. He buried his fists into the soft mass of her hair,
inhaling her unique scent, overwhelmed by the force of his
feelings. It was her face that got him through the torture that
were the daily physio sessions. Her soft voice called him back from
the nightmares that terrorized him most nights since she had
refused to sleep with him. He grimaced remembering how he had used
her to make himself feel better night after night, before she
bailed on him. It was seeing her with baby Lucy, and the subsequent
talk with Richard that had really shaken him up and had given him
the determination to get these legs of his to work. He wanted that
happy-ever-after with his Kitty, damn it. And he was going to tell
her just as soon as she was awake.