Mastering the Devil (Rush Series Book 4) (23 page)

She inhaled shakily. “What about your friend?”

Reluctantly, he dragged his eyes up to her clouded ones. “Friend?”

She swallowed. “The doctor.”

He gave a quick shake of his head. “We are friends, nothing more. I’ve tried to tell you that several times, but somehow it got passed over for more important things, I’m sorry.”

She blinked rapidly trying to take in his words. “You’re not… with her? But I saw her… at your hotel room.”

Once again he gave a quick shake of his head. “I needed her surgical skills, that’s all.”

She studied his face and slowly nodded as comprehension dawned. “Where else were you shot?”

“What makes you think I was shot elsewhere?” he asked with a smirk.

She pressed her fingertips once again gently against his temple. “Because
this,
wouldn’t have required a private sitting with a doctor. There had to have been a bullet involved that you didn’t want the police to know about.”

Alex laughed aloud at her comment. “My girl is too smart for her own good sometimes.”

Her eyes clouded and in a hesitant tone she asked, “Am I your girl, Cowboy?”

He wrapped his palms tenderly around face and whispered an instant before his lips landed on hers, “God, I hope so.”

His lips were soft and demanding and the simmering embers that seemed to constantly lie between them burst into flame. She struggled to get closer to him and whimpered at the restriction of her bound shoulder. He deepened the kiss and stroked his tongue sensuously against hers. His breathing became ragged and his touch less gentle. She liked how he’d start off gentle then became rougher as their passion ignited.

“God, baby, I want you,” he whispered against her lips, before pulling back.

Without conscious thought she moved forward to once again have contact with the magic of his lips and tongue, but he stayed her attempts.

“This isn’t the time, and definitely, not the place,” he said, looking around her sterile hospital room.

“Take me home, Cowboy,” she pleaded.

He smoothed her hair behind her ear, and grabbed her hand within his own and pressed a kiss against the back. “That is one of the things I need to talk to you about.”

She raised inquiring eyes up to his.

Pressing a kiss against each of her fingertips, he studied her face. “I need to know where you are,” he said softly.

Her eyebrows scrunched in confusion. “Where I am?”

Looking at her directly, he said, “Are you strong… solid?”

She glanced away embarrassed. “I told you I wouldn’t try anything like that again.”

He held her gaze and nodded slowly. “I know you did.” Capturing her face once again within his palms, he said, “I need to know why you did it.”

She took in a shaky breath and the knot in her throat refused to be dislodged no matter how often she attempted to swallow. She pulled away from him once more, and this time he let her go. She slid off his lap and wrapped her one good arm around herself as she sluggishly sat on the edge of the hospital bed. She pushed her long dark hair away from her face before turning her head to meet Alex’s steady gaze.

“God, Alex. I don’t know. It wasn’t like I set out to do it. I… I was tired of… well, everything. I was sitting in front of my destroyed house, my last connection to my old life; I’d just left your hotel and thought… thought you were… that we were… over. I’d mostly forgotten about the pills, and when I realized they were in my hand, it… it just… seemed… easier than facing my losses. Easier than having to face how I’d allowed Miguel to take away the people I loved… in one form or another, including you…” her voice, barely over a whisper, trailed off.

Alex continued to hold her gaze. “Miguel didn’t take me from you. You chose your need for revenge over me, time after time,” he said just as quietly, but firmly.

She flinched as if his words had reached out and struck her. She turned her head away and stared unseeingly at the closed door. “I didn’t have a choice,” she whispered, her voice strangled.

Alex moved to kneel in front of her. He lifted a hand and forced her to face him. She wanted to avoid his eyes, but his gaze captured hers and held it. “There’s always a choice involved, Devon, and you made yours. I also had choices, but unfortunately, mine weren’t any better than yours. I thought I was allowing you to live the life you wanted, when instead, I should have given you better directional guidance.”

Tears sprang to her eyes at his words and she blinked them away. “You couldn’t have changed my mind.”

He tilted his head and gave her a small smile. He threaded the fingers of one hand into her hair. “Oh, I think I could have. I’ve been at this game a lot longer than you, Little Devil. But in my foolish pride, I wanted you to choose me for yourself.” He rose and sat down beside her. She turned to face him and he took her hand between his. “I want you to choose me now, with no hesitation.”

Confusion marred her features. “Choose you?” she murmured.

“Marry me, Devon. Be my wife. Let’s leave this place with its awful memories and go somewhere to make new ones… better ones. What do you say?”

She blinked rapidly at his words. “Marry you?” she finally asked.

He nodded while still holding her gaze. “I think it’s time, don’t you?”

“Is this part of the game? A ploy to keep me from going after Miguel?” she asked on a gush of air.

He blinked for the first time and gave his head a quick shake. “No, of course not.” With another quick shake of his blonde head, he allowed her cold fingers to drop from his hands as he rose from the bed and raked a hand through his well-groomed hair. He walked to the window but didn’t look outside. After a moment, he turned back and kneeled once more in front of her. “I’m going about this the wrong way.” He slid his hands once more into her hair and forced her uncertain gaze back to his rock-solid eyes. “I love you, Devon. Will you please be wife and share your life with me?”

“What about Miguel?” she whispered.

“Oh, no! There will be no more Miguel,” he stated firmly.

She considered his shocking proposal with its added on condition. It was either a lifetime of possible happiness with him, or certain misery hunting for Miguel. She inhaled deeply. Was there really any contest? Miguel had lead her straight to the end of her rope, while Alex had always
been
her rope.

Brushing her fingers over the stubble on his jawline, she whispered, “Okay.”

His body jumped at her answer as if he’d been struck by a volt of electricity. “You will?” he asked uncertainly.

She slowly nodded. “Yes.”

He gave a small growl and ever mindful of her injuries, he wrapped his arms around her and plundered her mouth with his own, taking no prisoners. She groaned against his lips and wrapped her one hand around the back of his neck.

He pulled back reluctantly and smiled down into her face.

“Tell me again,” she whispered, her eyes glassy with emotion.

“What?” he murmured as he rained kisses over her face.

“Tell me, you love me.”

He pulled back and met her eyes. “I love you, Devon Montanez!” he said fiercely.

“I love you, too,” she murmured as she moved forward and pressed her lips against that place on his neck she liked so much.

Her tongue darted out to taste his skin and goosebumps formed on his skin. “Just you and me? No Miguel?” he asked, for clarification.

“Just you and me,” she promised and stroked his skin with the roughness of her tongue.

With the most force he’d used since his arrival in Mexico, he grabbed her head and thrust his tongue into her mouth and kissed her until they were both breathless. Reluctantly, he pulled away and returned to his seat as he carefully rearranged his stimulated body parts. She started to rise from the bed and return to the security of his arms, but he lifted a hand for her to remain where she was.

“I have one more thing to discuss with you and I really need you to sit where you are for now. You’re too much of a temptation for me. It’s been way too long, Little Devil.”

“Then why wait any longer?” she questioned, as she began to untie the bindings of her gown.

Once again, he held up a hand. “Soon. I promise, very soon. I need you to do something for me,” he said.

She allowed her hand to fall to her lap. “Anything. I’ll do anything.”

“I want you to go with Cash for a little while. I need the two of you to be stashed while I finish up my business here. I have to be sure you’re both safe. Will you do that?”

“Why can’t I stay with you?”

“I need to concentrate on what I’m doing and I won’t do that if I’m continually worried about you. Miguel is dangerous and I want you far out of his reach. Okay?”

“What does Cash say?” she asked.

“He cares about your safety as much as I do. You’ll have to help him while he recuperates,” he replied.

“Where would we go?”

“There’s a small island located on the far border of Puerto Vallarta. It’s a little remote and you’ll be forced to rough it a little, but it’ll be someplace that neither Jacob, nor Miguel, will know to look. You okay with that?” he asked.

She nodded. “How will we get there? Is Cash able to travel?” she asked.

“I haven’t had time to work out all the details yet, but Cash assures me, he can travel.”

“How did you find such a place?” she asked incredulously.

“Dr. Ingram works with Doctors Without Borders and its one of her stops.”

“Dr. Ingram?” she questioned.

Alex couldn’t stop the flush from his face. “The blonde doctor,” he replied softly.

She nodded and darted her gaze from him, trying hard not to let her jealousy
take hold of her.

He rose and brushed his lips against her temple. “You’re all I want, Little Devil, and soon it will be just you and me… finally!”

“Just you and me,” she murmured, “that has a nice ring to it. I love you, Alex,” she said again.

“Ditto,” he replied before pressing his lips softly against hers to seal the words.

When he began to pull back reluctantly, she wrapped one arm around him and held him close. Her face was nestled against his stomach. She turned her face and tilted her head so the side of her face was placed against him and she could look up into his piercing green eyes.

“I don’t want to stay here… alone. I want to come with you. Please, Alex, don’t make me stay here by myself. I’ve missed you so much,” she pleaded.

He brushed a thumb over one of her eyebrows. “I don’t know Little Devil, you’re still really weak and your shoulder is pretty bad.”

“Please, Alex,” she begged.

He contemplated her for a long moment, staring intently into her eyes. His resolve of making her stay where he knew she should be, began to waiver when he saw something in her eyes he’d not seen in a while – hope. He dug his fingers gently into her hair and leaned back down to press his lips gently to hers. “Why can’t I ever say no to you,” he murmured, as he kissed her again. She honored him with a glowing smile… the likes of which he’d not seen in a long time. His chest burned at the memory of how close he’d come to losing her, through Miguel’s hands… and then her own. “Just don’t get too used to getting your own way,” he said in mock sternness.

She gave him a sheepish grin before bunching both sides of his shirt together in one hand and pulling him down to her for another kiss. “Whatever you say,” she said meekly.

He rolled his eyes at the falsehood in her tone. “You sit here while I try to work it out. Okay?”

“Okay,” she whispe
red back, her black eyes, sultry and wanting. Alex had a hard time pulling his gaze away from her. With a sigh, he stepped back and ran a hand over the front of his shirt which had been wrinkled by her hands.

“I can see we’ll need to get some things ironed out before you become
Mrs. Devon Masters,” he said, with a grin at his own pun.

“Yes,
Sir,” she said with a returning grin.

“That’s more like it,” he said as he rapped the bridge of her nose with his knuckle.

Now it was her turn to roll her eyes. They were both grinning ear to ear when he stepped from the room in search of a nurse.

Her grin slowly faded as she realized she’d just put him in Miguel’s crosshairs. Her mind turned ideas over and over trying to formulate a way to keep him safe. She’d promised him that she wouldn’t go after Miguel again – and she wouldn’t, but that alone wouldn’t guarantee his safety
. Maybe if they went to Savannah… or someplace new, he’d be safe. She wanted so desperately to cling to the belief that everything would work out for her and Alex and that they’d have a long, long life together, complete with a house and a couple of kids. But her life hadn’t worked out like that in a long, long time.

She pasted a smile on her lips when she heard footsteps outside her door. Alex beamed a smile at her as he walked through the door, but like hers, it faded a little when he noticed the insincerity of her smile. He’d made a living out of reading people’s expressions and she’d not fooled him for an instant. But instead of asking questions she wasn’t ready to answer… and he was
n’t ready to hear the answers to, he pasted on his own fake smile and said, “Ready?”