Vulnerable: (McIntyre Security Bodyguard Series - Book 1) (52 page)

Beth blinked back the tears forming in her eyes. She knew Tyler was likely right. And yet she remembered Shane’s words from the night before, as she was falling asleep in his arms. She’d promised him that she wouldn’t run again, at least not without first giving him a chance to fix things.

But if Tyler was right, how could Shane fix this? She couldn’t bear for him to grow tired of her and set her aside. It would kill her.

And there was no fixing that.

* * *

“How long are you going to sit up here and do nothing?” Cooper said, pacing the control room. “You know he’s trying to talk her into leaving.”

“I know.” Shane leaned forward in his chair, his elbows propped on his knees. It was killing him to sit here when what he really wanted to do was go down there and show Tyler Jamison the door. But he couldn’t do that.

“Then why the hell are you just sitting here?”

Shane glanced up at his friend. “He’s her brother. I can’t keep her from him. Besides, she has to want to stay.” The fear that Tyler might succeed in talking her into leaving was eating a hole in his gut, and he found it difficult to ignore the gnawing pain. How the hell had she become so important to him so quickly? He was in unfamiliar territory here, and it didn’t sit well with him. He was used to being in control – used to being the one who called the shots. But he certainly didn’t feel in control right now. And he sure as hell knew he wasn’t the one calling the shots. Beth was. She could make or break him with a single decision, and that scared the hell out of him.

Cooper checked his watch. “He’s been down there for forty minutes. I think you’ve waited long enough.”

Shane stood and took a deep breath. “Well, there’s no point in making it easy for him.”

When he reached the lower level and found no sign of Beth in the martial arts studio, where he’d left her, Shane’s gut tightened. Through the window, he saw Lia doing pull-ups on a bar mounted to the wall. Jake was removing the torn, bloody tape from his hands, and Liam was doing one-handed pushups. The show off.

Shane poked his head through the open studio doorway. “Where’s Beth?”

“In the pool room,” Lia said, releasing the bar and dropping lightly to her feet. Her expression made it clear what she thought of Tyler Jamison’s presence. “That asshat’s trying to make her doubt you.”

Shane headed to the pool room, pausing for a moment outside the double glass doors to observe the pair seated inside. Tyler’s arm was around Beth’s shoulders, and she was leaning into him. Tyler said something, and Beth nodded, wiping her eyes with the back of her hand.
God damn it, she’s crying. Enough.

Shane pushed open one of the doors and strode inside. Beth glanced up at him, her startled expression a mix of surprise and guilt. She hastily wiped her eyes and sat up straight, pulling out from under Tyler’s arm.

Tyler rose, stepping in front of Beth, blocking her from Shane’s gaze.

“Is there a problem, Tyler?” Shane said, looking expectantly at Tyler, prepared for the worst. If Tyler thought he’d succeeded in talking Beth into leaving with him, then he had another think coming. Shane would damn well fight for her.

“No,” Tyler replied through clenched jaws. “I was just leaving.”

“Good. I’ll walk you out,” Shane said. “Beth, why don’t you join Lia in the studio?”

* * *

Shane followed Tyler out the front door to the black pick-up parked in the circular drive.

Tyler opened the driver’s door and paused before getting in. “This isn’t over, Shane,” he said. “Beth needs to be with me. She needs to be with
family
.”

“I disagree,” Shane said. “She’s not a child, Tyler. She has me now, and I’ll take care of her needs.”

“Yeah? For how long? Until you get tired of the flavor of the month? Then what? You’ll toss her out and leave the rest of us to pick up the pieces?”

“That’s not going to happen.”

“Shane, I’ve known you for a long time. I’ve seen you with one woman after another. You’re not a good bet for Beth.”

Shane stood fuming because he could hardly contradict Tyler’s observations. He did have a lousy track record with women – he had to admit that. He’d just never found what he was looking for before. But with Beth, it was different. And yeah, he knew that sounded lame as hell.

“You’re wrong, Tyler,” Shane said. “I’m the best bet she has.”

Tyler climbed up into his truck and slammed the door shut. “We’ll see about that.”

* * *

Shane found Beth in their bedroom standing at the balcony railing, looking out at the lake. He walked up behind her and placed his hands on the railing, one of each side of her, caging her in with his body.

She leaned back into him, sighing. “Can we walk down to the lake?” she said.

“Sure, in a little while. First, we need to talk about this.”

“Talk about what?” she said.

“What Tyler said to you.”

Beth shrugged. “It was nothing important.”

“Bullshit.”

Beth flinched at the vehemence in Shane’s voice. He was angry, but at whom? At Tyler, or at her?

“I saw you crying,” he said as he turned her to face him, his hands on her shoulders. “Tell me what he said.”

Beth shook her head. “I told you, it’s not – ”

“I know why he came, Beth. He wanted you to leave with him. Now tell me what he said.”

Her eyes teared up and her throat tightened. She’d kept these fears bottled up inside her, and now they came pouring out in a rush. “He said you never stay with one woman for long, and that you’ll get tired of me soon. He said you’re a player.”

“I can’t deny what Tyler said, Beth,” Shane said, his hands coming up to gently cup her neck. “I’m not proud of my track record, but I never promised those women more than I gave them. They knew damn well what they were doing – I made it very clear to them from the start. It’s not my fault if they assumed it would turn into something more.”

Beth’s stomach clenched tightly and she felt sick. “Tyler was right. I’m not your type,” she said. “I know that’s true because I’ve met two of your former girlfriends, and I’m nothing like them.”

Shane closed his eyes and released a heavy breath. When he reopened his eyes, they were filled with pain. “They weren’t my girlfriends, Beth.”

“Then what were they?”

“They were women I had sex with. That’s all it was. You’re the only girlfriend I’ve ever had.”

She looked up him, skeptical and hopeful at the same time. She wanted so badly to believe him. To believe this thing between them was real. But she also didn’t want to end up being a gullible fool.

Shane leaned into her, his face just inches from hers. He grabbed her good hand and placed it over his heart, which was hammering hard in his chest. “I love you, Beth. I’ve never said that to a woman before. I’ve never felt this way before. I’m in, with everything I’ve got. I’m offering you everything I am, everything I have.”

Searching his gaze, she looked for something, anything, to hold onto. “I – ”

“Shh, it’s okay. You don’t have to say anything right now.” He leaned his forehead lightly against hers. “God, I wish I could kiss you,” he said. “I wish I could sweep you up in my arms and dump you on the bed and fuck you until we both passed out.” He gave her a lopsided grin as his thumb lightly touched her healing lip.

She gave him a tremulous laugh. “I’d definitely like to take a rain check on that.”

Chapter 46

The next morning, Shane propped himself up on one elbow to look at Beth and noticed that the bruises on her face were already starting to change colors. As awful as it looked, he knew that the change in her appearance was a good sign. She was starting to heal.

Her eyelids fluttered open and she smiled sleepily at him.

“Good morning,” he said, leaning down to gently kiss her forehead. “How do you feel?”

Beth stretched, moaning with pleasure. “Definitely better,” she said. “The pain’s not as bad.”

“Good,” he said. “Do you feel up to a little road trip today? I have a surprise for you.”

“A surprise? What is it?”

“If I tell you, it won’t be a surprise.”

She smiled. “Yes, I think I could manage a road trip. How far is it? Where are we going?”

“It’s not far, maybe half an hour. And it wouldn’t be a surprise if I told you where, so stop asking. You’ll just have to wait and see. Let’s get dressed, and then we’ll eat breakfast. Elly said she’d send up a tray.”

After getting dressed, Beth went into the bathroom to wash. Shane made the bed, then checked the news headlines on the television. He walked out on the balcony and watched the activity on the lake, sailboats, jet skis, and tourist cruises off in the distance. When he walked back into the bedroom, he was surprised she wasn’t out of the bathroom yet.

He stood quietly at the bathroom door, listening to make sure she was all right. He didn’t hear anything, not a sound. Surely if she was busy doing her morning ritual, she’d be making at least some noise. But there was nothing. The hairs on the back of his neck stood up, and he turned the door knob. As soon as he’d eased the door open, he heard it, her quiet sobs.

Shane strode into the bathroom, his eyes quickly scanning the room. He spotted her sitting on a bench beside the Jacuzzi. Her arms were wrapped around her belly, and she was bent forward, her loose hair falling around her face like a curtain of sunlight. The anguish on her face tore at him.

“Beth, what is it?” He knelt on the rug in front of her and brushed her hair back from her face. “What’s wrong? Are you hurt?”

“No,” she said, tears streaming down her cheeks. Her eyes, filled with glittering tears, radiated pain.

“Then what the hell is it?” he said. He’d never felt so impotent. He couldn’t fight what he didn’t understand. “For God’s sake, Beth, tell me what’s wrong!”

She shook her head. “Nothing. I’m sorry, it’s nothing,” she said, wiping her eyes. “It’s stupid. Please, go back to the bedroom.”

Shane stood and scooped Beth into his arms. He carried her to the bed and laid her down, then came down beside her and wrapped her in his arms. “Talk to me.”

“I told you, it’s stupid,” she said, her body heaving as she struggled to catch her breath.

“Do you need your inhaler?”

“No, it’s not that.”

“Then what is it?”

“I – ” She sucked in a deep, ragged breath, then let it out slowly. “We don’t – ”

“Beth, please,” he said, laying his forehead against hers. “You’re killing me here.” The sobs started again, quiet and mournful. Shane let her cry for awhile, until her tears began to subside.

She took a deep breath and steeled herself to speak coherently. “We don’t ... need... to take ... a pregnancy test,” she said. “I started my period.”

Shane was silent for a moment as her words sank in.
A pregnancy test
? And then he remembered their one episode of unprotected sex in his apartment. He’d completely forgotten about it in the aftermath of Andrew’s attack.

He kissed her shoulder to comfort her as he tried to figure out what to say. Frankly, he was confused by her reaction. “Did you want to be pregnant?”

“No, of course not,” she said. “Well, not really.” Once the tears had subsided, her adrenalin levels crashed, and she started shaking. “It’s stupid, I know,” she said, sniffling. “I don’t even know why I’m reacting this way.”

“You’ve had one trauma after another these past few days.”

Shane sat up and pulled the bedding out from beneath her, and then he covered her shivering body. When he settled back into bed beside her, he pulled her close, wrapping his arms around her. “Talk to me, sweetheart. Why are you crying?”

She turned her face into the crook of his neck, her voice muffled against his skin. “At first, I thought it was unlikely we’d get pregnant after that one time. I didn’t want to be pregnant. But the more I thought about it, the more the idea started to appeal to me. It got me thinking... about us, having a baby. I started picturing a little boy who looked like you. I know it’s stupid.”

Shane kissed the top of her head and laid his arm gently on her belly. “It’s not stupid, sweetheart. It’s not stupid at all. It’s just a little... premature.”

She sniffled. “You could say that.”

“I love the idea of having a baby with you someday,” he said. “When the time’s right.”

They lay in bed for a while just holding each other. Shane stroked her back as her breathing evened out.

A quiet knock on their bedroom door announced the arrival of breakfast. They ate together at the small table for two out on the balcony.

“The room service is very thoughtful,” Beth said, “but shouldn’t we go down to the dining room for breakfast? I don’t want Elly going to such trouble.”

Shane laughed. “Good luck with that,” he said. “Elly’s been dying to have a lady of the house for years. I think she intends to spoil you.”

Beth smiled as she sipped her hot Lady Grey. “As much as I appreciate it, I’m sure she has enough things to worry about. I don’t want her to go to extra trouble for me.”

“If you want, tomorrow we’ll go down for breakfast and beat her to it.”

After they finished eating, they headed downstairs and stepped out the front doors. Cooper and Jake were outside, standing beside the Escalade.

“We’re all going?” Beth said.

“Yes,” Shane said, leading her down the steps.

It was a hot summer day, and Beth was dressed in a sundress and sandals. Shane wore jeans and a white button-down shirt, and Beth was amazed how he could make such a simple outfit look sexier than hell.

Cooper and Jake were in jeans, too, but they both had on jackets over their t-shirts. Beth knew why Cooper had a jacket on, in spite of the summer heat – to conceal the gun that he never went anywhere without. But why was Jake wearing a jacket? Was he armed as well? And if so, why did they need two armed guards with them on their little road trip?

Beth leaned close to Shane and whispered. “Is Jake armed?”