Page 15 of Beyond Rosy Irish Twilight

“You’re sure? Was it because of my devastating good looks? I’ve been known to sweep a woman off her feet with my charms, but never make her fall down.”

A smile broke out across my face from his teasing. “I’m sure, but I’ll let you know if that changes.”

He nodded solemnly. “We can’t have Asher finding out you like me more than him. His ego would never be able to take it.”

“Aren’t you worried about what he’d think?” I asked in confusion. After all, I was going to marry his boss. You’d think he’d be a little more worried about what Asher would think if he saw my bodyguard flirting with me.

“Nah, Asher’s a wimp. He wouldn’t hurt a fly.”

I frowned at that. I wasn’t sure exactly what Asher did since I wasn’t allowed to overhear anything that was said between my father and him, but it wasn’t like he was a florist or something. Whatever he did, it had to be bad.

He burst out laughing as he stared at me. “Geez, it was a joke. Don’t hurt your head trying to figure it out.”

“So…he’s not a wimp that wouldn’t hurt a fly?”

“Not an innocent fly,” he said with a shrug. He wrapped his arm around my waist and guided me to the elevator. It wasn’t sexual at all. More like he was trying to keep me upright in case I had another dizzy spell. That would only happen if he mentioned torture again.

“Where does Asher live?”

“In an apartment. Don’t worry, you’ll have a nice, big house to move into after the honeymoon.”

“The— what?”

He looked at me funny as we started descending in the elevator. “You’re getting married. After that, there’s a honeymoon. You know, for fun things,” he said, waggling his eyebrows at me.

I swallowed hard. I wasn’t sure I was ready for those fun things. I knew it was part of marriage. I wasn’t stupid, but I didn’t know Asher. It wasn’t like I was a virgin, but when I’d slept with men in the past, it was my choice. This definitely wasn’t my choice, even if my body responded to him being close to me.

“Oh, don’t worry. I have it all planned out for you.”

“You…do?”

He nodded excitedly. “Snorkeling, swimming with sharks, sunbathing…”

“Um…no to the swimming with sharks.” I took enough risks in my life without adding sharks into the equation. I also noted that he was listing actual fun things to do, not mentioning staying in bed all day while I was ravaged by his boss.

The elevator doors opened and his demeanor instantly tensed. He held his arm out in front of me, blocking my exit as he looked around the garage. Then he grabbed me by the arm and pulled me right next to him, blocking part of my body with his. This was completely different than when my father’s guards watched me. I felt like they were only there to spy on me. While Patrick was actually protecting me.

He guided me over to a vehicle and placed me in the back. I expected him to get into the car right away, but instead, he spent at least five minutes outside. I saw his head bob up and down, but I couldn’t figure out what he was doing. Then he opened the driver’s side door and slid inside.

“Um…what was that?”

“Checking the car for bombs,” he said nonchalantly. “Don’t worry, we’re all clear.”

I nodded, but swallowed hard as I sank back into my seat. Bombs. I squeezed my eyes closed and instantly flashed back to the bomb exploding, catapulting me through the air and into the window. I gripped the door handle and tried to calm my racing heart. I wasn’t about to explode. Patrick wouldn’t have checked the car and then gotten in if there was a bomb underneath it.

We pulled out and I exhaled when we didn’t burst into a ball of flames. I caught Patrick staring at me in the rearview mirror more than once, but ignored him. The earlier ease I felt at being with him was replaced by the fear of what faced me when I arrived at Asher’s place. I prayed to God he was nothing like my father, that his dark, intriguing eyes weren’t pulling me in only to hurt me.

No matter what happened from here on out, I had to be strong. The worst thing I ever did was allow my father that much control over me. But he had pushed me to the limit until I crumbled. I wouldn’t allow Asher to do anything like that. The truth was, until we were married, he had to be on his best behavior. After the wedding, that’s when I had to start questioning everything.

The car pulled to a stop outside what looked like a warehouse. I licked my lips in anticipation. I wasn’t sure why Patrick brought me here, but I was terrified that only bad things would come out of this stop. The door was yanked open and another guard stood there, waiting for me to get out. I unbuckled, then stepped out on shaky legs. No matter how much I tried to tell myself not to be scared, nothing would calm my racing heart.

Flashes of the dark cell came roaring back to me.

Thump. Thump.

I cringed at the bite of the whip at my back.

Thump. Thump.

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