He was just about to approach it when a gunshot rang out.
He froze.
“Anda!”
He rushed forward but paused when a man came stumbling through the doorway and hit the wall, then slumped to the ground.
“Asshole!” Anda screamed.
She was alive.
Fucking hell, she was alive.
He fell back a step, then surged forward into the room. Anda had her gun pointed at him, but he held up both his hands in surrender. “Christ, Anda, it’s me. Ethan.”
She dropped the gun, stumbled back, and leaned against the wall in exhaustion.
When he really looked at her for the first time, the fury he’d felt before was nothing to what he felt now. The bodice of her dress was torn and in tatters, the front gaping wide, her breasts spilling out, her thin straps bearing the burden of keeping her dress from falling off entirely and he didn’t think it would hold up for long. And that was just her dress.
The rest of her was another story. Her face and body were covered in bruises. There were long, red scratches on her legs that he didn’t want to think about but which he would ask her about. Nothing that had happened in this room would change his mind about her.
Nothing would ever change his mind about her ever again.
He shrugged off his jacket as he walked to her, then helped her put the jacket on and pulled her into his arms, giving her a gentle kiss on her forehead. He cupped her cheek and gently brushed a cut that was sticky with drying blood.
“I’m all right.” Her voice was low and hoarse. “I just need some water. And sleep. That would help, too.”
He had to laugh and pulled her a little closer to him. He buried his nose in her hair and took a deep breath, not minding the sweaty scent of her. It was heaven. She was heaven.
He loved her. His warrior, his actress, his agent…his everything. He knew now that he never wanted to live without her again, and he wouldn’t make the same mistake he did three months ago.
She hadn’t even needed him this time. She might have wanted his help, but she hadn’t needed him, not when it came to being an agent. It had always been him who’d wanted to be there for her, but she’d never asked for it.
She’d only ever wanted him, just the man. Not an agent, not a prince, not even a doctor, really. She didn’t care what he did or who he was. She just wanted him.
He was a fucking idiot. A goddamn motherfucking idiot.
He hoped he could find some way to convince her to take him back.
He shifted back to look at her face, his eyes drifting down to her lips.
“Kiss me already,” she whispered.
He didn’t need to be asked twice. He began as gently as he could, soft brushes and gentle caresses with his tongue. It was one of the few times a kiss with her didn’t make him want to shove her against the wall and take her within minutes. No, this kiss was different. There was hardly anything sexual this time. It was simply about reaffirming that she was okay and alive and whole, and that they’d both get through this.
When he pulled back, she let out a soft sigh and blinked her eyes open. “How did you find me?”
“I can answer that.”
They both turned towards Marcello’s voice while Anda stiffened in his arms. “Sir.”
Marcello stood there for a long moment watching Anda. “After you get the medical treatment you need, you’re fired.”
14
Now
ETHAN
