Page 11 of Stalking the Bride

“Not safe?”

“The bomb threat, Belle,” he reminds me. God, I’d completely forgotten. “You can get your head straight back at the hotel.”

He extends his hand, and without even thinking, I take it. My reaction actually shocks me. It was pure instinct. A simple reflex as my body saw a sign of safety and reached out for it. And as I look up at his broad shoulders and thick chest, an odd thought enters my mind: This must be how girls feel when they have a father who actually cares about them and would hold their hand while they grew up. That’s something I never had.

“I apologize,” Conrad says once we’re back in the room.

I feel my cheeks beginning to prickle again. “Why?”

“I overstepped my duty. I never should have put my hands on you like that.”

A knot forms in my throat. “You were just teaching me.”

He shakes his head, a low growl rumbling in his throat. “Still…”

“Do you regret it?”

He scoffs, shakes his head, and places a hand against the wall. “Of course not! I just–”

“You don’t find me attractive?” I’m starting to get teary-eyed now. God, what is wrong with me? Conrad spoke of duty; what of my duty to Fitch? How am I letting my heart slip like this?

His gaze snaps up, and he focuses intently on me as if he can’t believe what I just said. “Don’t be stupid, Belle. You’re the most gorgeous–” He stops himself again, balls up his fist, and slamsit into his thigh. “I shouldn’t be saying things like this. You’re engaged.”

“Sort of…” I breathe, my voice barely a wisp on the air.

His brow furrows, drawing a line above his nose. “What do you mean?”

“Nothing.” I’m a hot mess. Saying things I shouldn’t say. Betraying feelings I should not be having. Why can’t I just be stable and in control of myself?

Suddenly, I’m in Conrad’s arms, being carried into the bedroom. I’ve never felt so tiny before. It’s like I weigh nothing to him. The hotel robe falls from my body, leaving me naked and flushed as Conrad stomps forward like a raging bull.

He sets me down and presses me into the mattress.

His eyes are fevered, filled with what looks like desire.

What is happening now? He just said he shouldn’t be speaking to me like he was, and now he’s stripped me naked and is getting physical with me again? Is this another lesson?

The tingling feeling returns between my thighs, only twice as intense as before. I look down at his pants and see his bulge is back.Yes, take my virginity, Conrad. Let me pleasure you like you did to me.That’s what I want. My protector. My guardian. He should be the man who claims my V-card. Not some arrogant prick who happens to be my fiancé because he’s basically buying me from my parents.

“You canneverdo that again,” he growls, firmly pinning my arms back over my head. “Do you understand, Belle!?”

“Do what?” I gasp as the tingling sensation between my legs continues to grow.

There’s a fever in his eyes I’ve never seen before.

What’s happening? Is he angry? Have I ruined things between us?

“Leave my sight,” he says, scouring my body with a frenzied glare. “I’ve been hired to protect you. Do you understand that?”

“Yes. I do–”

“So you understand that when you’re out of my sight, I’m no longer doing my job?”

The dark room is fraught with tension as his grip tightens on my wrists like handcuffs, truly demonstrating just how much stronger than me he is.

Even if I wanted to run away again, it would be impossible.

“I–I’m sorry,” I whimper, a heat rising up from within my chest to capture my cheeks in a fiery grasp.

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