by Elle James
“Me, too.” He said and meant it. “None of the awkward stranger greetings.”
“That’s right,” she said. “We’re practically old friends.”
“That’s right,” he said.
“Old friends meeting at a hotel.” She laughed. “That’s not awkward at all. If I wasn’t so tired, I might think it strange and a little weird.”
“But not awkward,” he finished.
“Right,” she said. “I’m pulling off the interstate now.”
“Me, too.” Rafe exited the interstate. He could see the hotel sign clearly. His pulse quickened. After being on the phone for hours with Briana, he’d finally get to meet her. No, he didn’t feel awkward. Yes, he was excited.
Chapter 3
Briana parked beneath the overhang at the entrance to the hotel and waited inside her car. Headlights flashed behind her. When she glanced in the rearview mirror, her heart fluttered. The big shiny grill of a pickup came to a stop behind her. A door opened, and a tall, muscular man wearing jeans and a black T-shirt climbed out.
All the time she’d spent on the phone with Rafe Donovan, she’d had an image in her mind of what he’d look like.
Her heart beat faster as he stepped into the light and walked up to the driver’s side window.
Rafe Donovan was all she’d imagined and so very much more. Yes, he was tall, broad-shouldered and built like a brick wall. In addition, the man was hot enough to melt her bones.
If she hadn’t been so distraught by all that had happened, she would have groaned at her own appearance, meeting the man for the first time in person. But her looks meant nothing in light of having lost her best friend.
Briana was just glad Rafe was there. Already, she felt better and more secure. She unlocked her door.
He opened it and held out his hand. “Briana?” he asked.
She nodded and laid her hand on his. “You don’t even know how glad I am to finally see you.”
He helped her out of the vehicle.
Her legs shook, and she would have fallen, but he wrapped his arm around her middle.
“I know you’ve been through a lot, but let’s get inside and into a room before we relax,” he said with a crooked smile.
She nodded, holding back ready tears. She swallowed hard on the lump blocking her throat and let him guide her into the building to the front desk.
“I have a reservation for Rafe Donovan,” he said.
The clerk had him sign a card, handed him a key and pointed to the elevator. “Check out is at ten, but since you two are arriving so late, I’ll make a note to hold the cleaning until one.”
“Thank you,” Rafe said. “I’ll be back in a few minutes to move the vehicles.”
With his arm around her, Rafe led her to the elevator and up to the third floor.
She walked in a daze, leaning into his solid form, glad for his strength and presence. She wasn’t alone.
Once they were inside the room, he nodded toward the two beds. “I know we just met, but I can’t keep an eye on you if you’re in a different room. I promise to keep my hands to myself.”
She stared at the two beds then turned her gaze to him. “Thank you. I’m just glad you’re here.” She bit her bottom lip to keep it from trembling. She could feel the waterworks welling in her eyes. The dam that had held back the tears was crumbling quickly.
“Come here,” he said, opening his arms.
Briana fell into him and buried her face against his chest. The emotions she’d kept at bay throughout the long drive refused to be contained a moment longer. Tears streamed down her face and soaked his dark T-shirt. “I’m sorry. I just can’t stop.”
“It’s okay. You’ve been through a lot.”
For a long time, she stood in his arms, letting the tears fall.
Rafe held her throughout, smoothing a hand over her hair, murmuring soothing words Briana couldn’t make sense of.
“I can’t…” she whispered, “…can’t get Sheila’s face out of my mind. She was staring at me, and she was…dead.”
“Not long ago, I held one of my best friends in my arms as he’d bled out in the back of a helicopter. His name was Freestone. Justin Freestone. He looked up at me, square in the eye, and asked, “Am I going to die?”
Briana stilled, Rafe’s words cutting through her own grief. She could hear the torture in his own tone. She raised her face and looked into shadowed eyes. “Did you know?”
Rafe nodded. “He’d taken a hit so bad, he wasn’t going to make it back to base.”
“What did you say?”
His lips twisted. “No, buddy. We’re going to get you a first-class ticket home to your wife and family. Hang in there. Freestone, you’re going home.”
“I’m so sorry.” She pressed her palm against his cheek and leaned up on her toes, brushing her lips across his.
Rafe’s arm tightened around Briana. He stroked her hair, cupped the back of her head and lowered his mouth to hers. His lips hovered over hers.
“I didn’t get to say goodbye,” she said.
“I know. Shhh,” he said, his breath mingling with hers. “You’re tired. You need sleep.”
“I am,” she said. “But I need this more.” She leaned up on her toes, just enough to press her mouth to his.
What started as her move changed halfway through the kiss. He pulled her closer, until their bodies were flush up against each other and his hand swept up beneath her hair.
His mouth claimed hers in a kiss that pushed all other thoughts from her mind. All she could feel, think, hear or see was this man who’d spent the last few hours getting to know her over the phone.
Never had she felt so safe, so warm and protected. As the kiss continued, her feelings changed from safety to longing to need. She needed to be closer. The kind of closer that included skin to skin contact.
Briana slid her hands up his chest and locked them behind the back of his neck. She didn’t need to breathe when she had him. She could die in his arms and have no regrets.
Alas, Rafe lifted his head and brushed back a strand of her hair from her forehead. “You need rest. We have to make some decisions in the morning about what’s next, but for now…sleep.”
He was right. She’d had a long day, and it was already three in the morning. The next day didn’t promise to be any shorter. If she wanted to have functioning brain cells to solve the problems of her current situation, she needed rest.
“I don’t have any clothes,” she said.
“I do. You can borrow shorts and a T-shirt to sleep in. I’ll go get them out of my truck and move the vehicles to a parking space.”
When he turned to leave, her heart leaped up her throat, and she grabbed his arm. “You’re coming back, right?”
He smiled and cupped her cheek. “I won’t be gone but a couple minutes. Lock the door with all the locks after I leave, and don’t open the door for anyone but me.”
Briana nodded. Her pulse pounded so loudly against her eardrums she could barely hear herself think. “I will.” She let go of his arm and stepped backward, her hands clutched in front of her. Now that she was with him, she didn’t want him out of her sight. But that was silly. What could go wrong in a few short minutes?
“You can shower while I’m downstairs.”
Her heart hammered against her ribs. The last time she’d showered, she’d only been in the bathroom a few minutes. Long enough for someone to break into her apartment, kill her roommate and change her life forever. She shook her head. “I’ll wait until you get back.”
He nodded and turned toward the door. He checked through the peep hole before opening it. “Lock up behind me,” he said as he left the room.
Briana twisted the bolt on the door and threw over the metal latch. When she checked through the peephole, Rafe still stood outside the door.
“Did you turn the lock?” his muffled voice sounded through the thick door.
“Yes,” she answered.
“I’ll be right ba
ck.” And he left the door, walking toward the stairwell.
Briana stood at the door for the next minute, staring out at the empty hallway. The other guests would be sound asleep.
Not Briana. Her body was tense, her pulse jumping, her breath caught and held in her lungs until she had to draw more in.
What was probably only five minutes felt like hours.
Briana knew staring through the peephole wouldn’t make the time pass any faster. She stepped away and paced across the room. At every sound, she hurried back to the door to look out through the tiny hole.
When at last a soft knock sounded at the door, she raced to answer, looking first through the peephole to verify it was Rafe.
She quickly unlocked the door and jerked it open.
He stepped in, dropped a duffle bag on the floor and turned to lock the door behind him.
When he faced her again, she threw herself into his arms.
“Hey.” He chuckled. “I was only gone five minutes, tops.”
“I know. But if felt like forever.” She clung to him for another moment before loosening her hold around his neck.
His hands gripped her around the waist. “Not that I mind a beautiful woman throwing herself at me. It’s kind of nice. You know…helps the old ego.”
“You’re not old,” she said, her cheeks heating. “I’m just…grateful.” And a whole lot more emotions she wouldn’t care to admit to a man she’d just met.
He lifted the duffle bag and carried it to the bed where he unzipped it and pulled out a T-shirt and a pair of gym shorts. “Sorry, but this is about the extent of my wardrobe. No robe. But I do have a comb, and I brought a spare toothbrush from the front desk.” He handed her a comb, toothbrush and a travel-size tube of toothpaste.
“It’s all perfect,” she said. Gathering the items, she entered the bathroom and stared at the shower. Her body started trembling.
“What’s wrong?” he asked, coming up behind her.
“N-nothing.”
“Remember? We’re old friends,” Rafe slipped his arms around her from behind and crossed them over her belly. “You can tell me anything,” he said, his warm breath stirring the hair beside her ear.
“I had just gotten out of the shower and dressed when the man broke into our apartment.”
His arms tightened briefly. Then he let go, moved around her, swept back the curtain, switched on the water and stood back. “Get in. When you’re ready, let me know. I’ll open the door a crack and talk to you the whole time, if you like.”
She thought about it for a moment, and then nodded. “It’s silly to be afraid.”
“No, it’s not.” He smoothed a strand of her hair back from her forehead, tucked it behind her ear, and then rested his palm against her cheek. “You had something terrible happen to a good friend of yours in your own home. You should be afraid. And if it helps to leave the door open, we’ll leave the door open. I’m here. I’m not going to let anything happen to you.”
She captured his hand and turned it over, pressing her lips against his lifeline. He was her lifeline. “Thank you.” Briana entered the bathroom, closed the door and leaned her ear against it.
“I’m still here,” he said through the door.
She smiled, quickly stripped out of her shoes, leggings, T-shirt, bra and panties. After adjusting the temperature of the water, she stepped behind the curtain. “Okay,” she called out.
A draft of cool air ruffled the shower curtain.
“I’m right outside the door if you want to talk,” he said. “You can pretend you’re still in your car, which is now parked outside beneath a bright light.”
“Thank you for moving it,” she said. “And thank you for being patient with me.” She squirted some of the hotel-supplied shampoo into her palm, wet her hair and rubbed the soap into it, trying to come up with a topic to talk about. It felt as if they’d talked about so much already. “What kind of music do you like to listen to?”
“I like country and jazz, but I’m a big fan of rock and roll. What about you?” His voice sounded close, as if he were standing in the bathroom beside the shower.
Briana peeked around the side of the curtain, suds slipping down her cheek.
Rafe leaned his back against the doorframe, facing into the bedroom, his arms crossed over his chest. He wasn’t looking her direction. Instead, he was giving her the privacy she needed, while providing the comfort of knowing he was nearby. A gentleman. Who knew they still existed?
She ducked behind the curtain and tipped back her head beneath the water. “Rock and roll, pop and country. I do like jazz and R&B, as well.”
“What about books?” he asked. “Fiction? Non-fiction?”
“Fiction. I like to escape when I read,” she said. “You?
“Non-fiction. I studied a lot of history and biographies. I’m interested in how people lived through the centuries. I also like books on how things work.”
Briana squeezed conditioner into her palm and worked it into her hair. With only a comb to work with, she’d have to be careful not to get too many tangles. When they left the hotel, she’d ask Rafe to stop at a store so that she could buy a few necessities, like a brush, underwear, another shirt and, maybe, a pair of jeans. She wasn’t sure how long it would be before she got back to Chicago, and if the police would allow her back into her apartment anytime soon. “I’ll need to call my boss and let her know I won’t be in for a few days.”
“We’ll need to talk about where we’re going from here.”
The thought of making a decision left her cringing in the shower. “Could we do that after we sleep?”
“Absolutely,” he replied.
She washed her body with soap, her thoughts going to Rafe’s strong arms and big hands. A shiver of awareness ran over her. The man was steps away from her naked body. If she knew him better…if they were dating…she’d invite him in to share the shower with her.
Heat built inside, pooling at her core, followed quickly by guilt. Her friend had died, and she was thinking of getting naked with a stranger.
But she and Rafe weren’t strangers. They were practically old friends.
All the more reason for her to stop thinking about showering with the man.
After rinsing thoroughly, she switched off the water. “I’m done.”
“I’ll just close the door.” His deep voice filled the bathroom.
She waited to hear the soft snick of the door closing before she pulled back the curtain and stepped out onto the mat.
Minutes later, she’d dried, pulled his large T-shirt over her head and let it fall down around her thighs. The shorts were too long, covering her knees, and she had to roll the waistband a few times to keep them from falling off her hips. She rinsed her panties in the sink and hung them to dry on one of the towel racks. Then she plugged in the blow dryer and worked the tangles out of her hair with the comb, blowing it dry at the same time. Satisfied she was clean of the smell of fear and death, she stepped out of the bathroom wearing Rafe’s T-shirt and shorts.
He lounged on one of the beds with his hands laced behind his head. He smiled when he saw her. “That T-shirt looks better on you than me.” His brow wrinkled as his gaze shifted lower. “The shorts, not so much.”
“Thanks for the loan. I’m just glad to have something to wear.” She padded across room and stared at the other bed.
“You can have this one,” he offered. “I thought you’d want me to be closer to the door.”
“This one is fine,” she said, but she couldn’t force herself to get under the covers. Images of her apartment, Sheila’s lifeless body lying on the floor, and the EMTs loading her onto a stretcher all flooded back to her.
Rafe’s hands settled on her shoulders.
Briana hadn’t even heard him get out of the bed to come stand behind her.
“What’s wrong?”
“How do you turn off the images? My mind is like a movie film on an infinite loop. It keeps replaying the man in my a
partment, him standing over Sheila and then searching the rest of my place. I see him standing beside the bed I hid beneath.”
Rafe eased her back against him. “You need to sleep.”
“How?” She shook her head. “How do I turn it off?”
“I can’t tell you that. I’ve never been able to do that myself. Especially right after the event happened. At the very least, you need to lie down and rest.”
She looked over her shoulder into his face. “I’m afraid to close my eyes.”
“Then lie on the bed and keep your eyes open. Relaxing has to be of some help. And maybe, you’ll fall asleep.”
She nodded and took a step toward the bed and stopped. “I’m afraid.”
“Get in and scoot over. I’ll hold you until you go to sleep.” He pulled back the comforter and waved her toward the bed.
Briana slipped between the sheets and moved over to allow him to slide in beside her.
He’d kicked off his boots and changed into shorts while she’d been in the shower. He smelled faintly of a musky aftershave, and his body was warm and reassuringly solid beside her.
Once he was settled in the bed, she rolled into his side and rested her head on his shoulder. “Do you mind?”
He hesitated. “No. But don’t be alarmed if I like this too much. It’s been a while since I’ve been with a woman.”
“I’m sorry.” She leaned away from him. “Am I bothering you?”
He chuckled. “Only in the best way,” he said. “Lie still and stare at the ceiling. It’s boring enough to put you to sleep. Light on or off?”
“On, please.”
“On, it is.” He pulled her close, his arm around her shoulder, his hand resting on her side. “Rest, Briana. We’ll tackle the world when we wake.”
For the longest time, she lay awake in Rafe’s arms, staring at that boring ceiling. Rafe was right. She stared at it long enough it lulled her into a dreamless sleep. Briana woke several hours later spooned into the curve of Rafe’s body. The sun had yet to rise, but the gray light of pre-dawn crept into the room around the edges of the blackout curtains.
She lay there, listening to the sound of Rafe’s breathing. He’d been patient with her when she’d been scared, and he’d talked to her for the hours it took for them to finally meet in person. He hadn’t had to do all that. She was an assignment to him. But he was going above and beyond what she would expect of a bodyguard.
