Page 18 of Stalking the Bride

I watch her as we both put our clothes back on, then take her by the hand and lead her from the room, knowing my work is still not over. I may have resolved the situation with the so-called suspect and managed to have postponed the wedding a little longer, but I’m still going to have to find a more permanent method to make sure Fitch realizes Belle belongs to me now.

6

BELLE

I’m still buzzingwhen Conrad and I arrive back at the hotel room. I catch one of the two men he’s assigned to watch the door grinning at us as we pass, as if he can see my delight emanating off of me. As soon as the door closes behind us, I’m back in his arms, lathered with kisses as his strong arms lift me like it’s nothing and lay me down on the bed.

My eyes close on their own, as the blissful moment overwhelms me, and I inhale a deep breath that fills my lungs with the euphoria of Conrad’s scent. His presence. His power that I seem to feel all across my body, even the places he’s not touching. The tingling sensation is back between my thighs–or maybe it never left. I can’t be sure. My mind doesn’t seem to be functioning right now.

All I know is that I am now changed.

The girl I was before has become something new. And it’s all because of him.

He taught me how to please him. How to accept him. How to take him.

And I loved every second of it.

I can still hear the growls and groans he let out when he first entered me, when he was pounding me, when he was sprayinginside of me, so warm and sticky, holding me in his arms like he’d been wanting me forever.

“It was impressive how you handled that situation back there,” I tell him, thinking back to how he seemed to dominate the entire room with his presence when questioning Barry back at the manor. “I really understand why–” I stop, not wanting to say Fitch’s name out loud. “I understand why you were hired.”

That’s better.

I read something in Conrad’s eyes. Did he just catch what happened? He must have. “I was just doing my best to protect you, Belle.”

“So you can make sure the wedding happens?”

He pauses, then slowly looks away. “That’s what I’ve been hired to do.”

I reach out and take his hand in mine, caressing it gently, tracing the hard lines of his palm with the tip of my pinky. It’s a hand that shows a lifetime of work. Something Fitch would have no idea about.

Holding his hand is like holding on to a moment in time–a moment so brief where everything feels wonderful. A moment I know will be gone in an instant, but if I could only clutch on to it for a little longer, maybe I would finally be happy.

I watch Conrad’s eyes as they sweep the hotel room, noticing every detail. “Checking for stalkers?” I tease, drawing his gaze back to me.

“You mean you already see the stalker?” His response startles me, and I quickly glance around, my heart racing. I see nothing, and when I look back at Conrad, I see him smirking, aiming a finger at himself. I let out a relieved sigh and giggle.

“Oh, of course!” I reply sarcastically. “Seriously, though, youhavebeen following my every move since the bomb threat. And you were assigned to protect me before that. You could be my stalker.”

“I could.”

“Wouldn’t you have to have been parked outside my house and following me off-work to be a true stalker, though?”

Conrad opens his mouth like he’s about to say something but then closes it again.

Maybe he was going to make a joke and just couldn’t think of one.

“You know, I was just thinking of how pompous this room is,” he finally says.

A laugh bursts from my lips. I nod quickly. “Totally! It’s one of the reasons I’ve never been comfortable at the manor. Everything is so stuffy, uptight, over-the-top elegant. I didn’t grow up like that.”

“Me either,” Conrad chuckles. “Lots of bread and pasta when I was a kid. I don’t think I saw real meat until I was seven.”

“Microwaveable frozen fish sticks was a staple at my house,” I say. “Dad would buy them in bulk and freeze them, and Mom would serve them with apple sauce.”

“Talk about gourmet.” Conrad grins.

“Oh, totally!”

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