Page 19 of Stalking the Bride

It suddenly occurs to me that I can’t remember the last time I had such a great time with anyone. What Conrad and I just did was incredible, but right now, while we’re just talking? This is incredible too. And from the way he’s looking at me right now, I have to believe he’s feeling something similar.

“I don’t know if I should say this,” I whisper timidly. “But I feel safe with you, Conrad. Especially after seeing what you did with Barry, I know that you have my best interests in mind. I know I can trust you.”

“Yes,” he replies, his voice catching in his throat. “I would never let anything bad happen to you, Belle. I swear.”

“I believe you.” I smile as the urge to leap on top of him and strip out of my clothes threatens to take me over. I realize he’ssqueezing my hand very tight now. So tight it almost hurts. But I don’t mind. I know he won’t do anything to cause me pain. “But I’m still worried.”

“About what?”

My eyes fall from his as a wet blanket of reality is draped over me. “The wedding, duh.” I press my lips against each other, self-soothing my fear of the future out of me the best I can. “Eventually you’ll catch the person who made the threat, and that means I’ll have to get married to…”

Again, I’m unable to say Fitch’s name out loud.

Just picturing my life with him causes me internal pain, like the nerves in my body recoiling from a future I know will be nothing but a gray purgatory, living life in a golden cage. No doubt I’ll have everything provided for me, so I can’t really complain about that, but is it worth giving up true love and any hope of a real relationship?

“You know what I think?” Conrad asks. “I think we should get out of here.”

His suggestion stuns me. “Get out of…here?”I point around the room, and Conrad nods.

“Yeah. Like you said, it’s stuffy in here. You ever been to the pier?”

A hope inside me lights up. “The pier? Like…down by the water with the shops and the rides? That pier?”

Conrad chuckles and stands, lifting me with him. “That’s right. That pier.”

“I used tolovegoing there when I had the money. I’d save up enough to go on Friday night and get cotton candy, Snow cones, fried dough!”

“Well, let’s go then!”

Conrad pulls me toward the door as if we’re just going to leave and everything will be fine. His hand tightens on mine, and it’s like a feeling of being possessed by him suddenly pulsesthrough me, as if I’m growing smaller and he’s growing larger by the moment. It feels incredible, but at the same time, I know it’s not good. I’m supposed to marry another man. What am I doing agreeing to go on a date with Conrad?

“I–I don’t think we should.”

“What?” He whirls to look back at me, his hand hovering around the doorknob, his eyes confused. “What do you mean, Belle?”

“Well…didn’t you say I need to stay here? Until everything is safe?”

I’m sure I see a sense of relief wash over him as he exhales, causing my hair to ruffle and tickle the side of my neck. “Belle, you have nothing to worry about.Iwill be with you. Don’t you feel safe with me?”

“You know I do,” I reply quickly. He steps closer, moving in like he’s about to kiss me. But he stops short, his lips a hair’s breadth from mine.

“Everything I do, I do for you, Belle.” He traces my hip with his right hand, moving up with a gentle caress over my body until he reaches the tender spot just below my ear. “Ever since I first set eyes on you. It’s been my job to protect you, keep you safe. And now, after what’s happened between us, do you think I would ever falter in my duty to you?”

I realize my heart is racing as I trace the back of my top teeth with my tongue. “No. Of course not.” His smile warms me, and I tremble slightly as he threads his fingers through the hair at the nape of my neck. “Why–why are you so good to me, Conrad?”

He lances me with his eyes, injecting an overwhelming flood of emotion straight into my soul. I’m starting to feel woozy as his fingers caress me. For such a monstrous man, he certainly knows how to be gentle.

“Come on, Belle. You know why.”

“Be-because it’s your job?” I whimper, stumbling over my words.

Conrad shakes his head. “You think I’mthisdevoted to every female client I’m assigned to protect? You think I would have gone the extra…” His voice trails off. He takes a deep breath and recomposes himself. “I do this foryou, Belle. Because I can’t contain myself when I’m around you. Because your sheer existence has bound me to you in a way I can’t explain. A way I’ve never experienced before. Because being with you is like finding a light in the darkness that was my life, and without you, I’d be back in that blank void, unable to touch you. Unable to hear your voice, smell your scent, see the look in your eyes. That’s why I’ve done…everything I’ve done for you, Belle. And so much more.”

I’m such an idiot. All this time, Conrad has been in love with me. And somehow, I never saw it. He managed to hide it from me. But how? I guess that’s his job–his training.

“So much more?” I ask tentatively, like I’m testing the water with my toe. “What do you mean by that?”

Conrad’s eyes drop from mine, but his grip tightens on my hand. On my neck. His chest rises and falls as the pace of his breaths increases. As though he’s trying to control himself from…doing something.

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