“What?” Frustrated exhaustion hung off the word.
Turning, he eyed her. She looked every bit as upset as he felt. “The women—the ones in the articles and the news stories? Do you think they were all my lovers?”
She stiffened, her chin came up, but her lower lip trembled and betrayed her. The ground beneath his feet sheared away. She thought so little of him, of who they were together, she didn’t believe he’d been faithful. The roaring in his ears returned and he swallowed his next words because he wouldn’t ask the obvious question.Had she been faithful to him?
O’Connor’s interest and overstepping behavior made a sick sort of sense. He wanted to kill the man.
“Bastian…” She took a step toward him, but he held up his hand and backed away. He didn’t trust himself to touch her or be touched by her. His control shredded utterly, to be replaced by a fury so primitive it defied description. “I—I never wanted to think it.”
“But you did. And you do.” The corner of his mouth twisted up. How cruel was life? In protecting the one person who meant everything to him, he’d convinced her he thought so little of her, thereby making her believe him to be a ruthless bastard. The damn roaring invaded his thoughts and he turned. It wasn’t just in his head. He heard the sound of rotors.
“Your Highness!” The shout came from behind him as a helicopter surged overhead. Light glinted off metal. Spinning, Bastian hurtled himself at Meredith, tackling her to the ground as explosions of rock and earth blew up around them.
MEREDITH
Chaos erupted and the cacophony deafened her. Sebastian slammed into her and the air whooshed out of her lungs. He pressed her into the dirt, his whole body covering hers. Someone shouted then a half-dozen men closed around them. Bastian was peeled away and hands seized her then suddenly she raced toward the house, yet her feet never touched the ground.
Ears ringing, she stumbled when she landed inside a windowless room. Sebastian pulled her against him, his arms like steel bands. Glancing up, she could see his mouth moving, but the words were almost indistinct. He put his hand on her cheek, studying her eyes.
“I can’t—” God, even her voice sounded odd, muffled. “Can’t—understand you at the moment.”
He nodded once then began running his hands over her hair, down her face. When he continued to her shoulders, arms, and chest, she realized, rather belatedly, he verified she wasn’t injured.
“I’m okay,” she told him and wished like hell the buzzing ring in her ears would stop. Sebastian continued, undeterred, and only when he was satisfied she wasn’t injured did he drag her close again. “I’m okay. Are you?” When she would have checked him with the same thoroughness, he refused to let her go. Instead, he carried her to a low sofa, then sat, holding her in his lap.
His heart raced like a freight train, pounding as though it planned to beat its way out of his chest. Studying the line of his profile, she found his gaze fixed on the door, jaw clenched. Bit by bit, the pieces of the past few minutes began to fit together.
“Someone shot at us—at you.” She didn’t even realize she’d said it out loud until Bastian’s gaze pinned hers. His cool remoteness melted away. The muscles in his arms tensed and she realized she was shaking. The trembling seized her from head to toe and tears splashed down her cheeks.They’d shot at Bastian.Right in front of her, from a helicopter. They would never have had a chance at the shot if she stayed inside.
He crushed her to him and she held on. “I’m sorry. Oh my God, I’m sorry—” She could have gotten him killed. With one hand buried in her hair, and another pressed against her back, his touch soothed her, but couldn’t ease the violent shaking.
Fisting his shirt, she buried her face against his neck. The warm masculine scent of him reminded her just how close she’d come to losing him. Again. Before—when he’d been hurt—he’d been so far away and she’d been so damned helpless to do anything for him. Her helplessness eventually turned to anger.Today? TodayIwas right there and utterly useless.
Bit-by-bit, the humming in her ears dulled and the sound of Bastian’s ragged breaths punched through her, accompanied by the sweetest sound of his calming words. “We’re all right, Meredith. We’re secure for now. It’s all right.” She didn’t knowhow long he’d recited the refrain, but it worked to unlock the cramps in her shoulders and her neck.
“They tried to kill you,” she whispered, horrified.
“I know. It’s all right. We’re all right.”
“No, it’s not.” When she leaned away again, he loosened his hold, but only just barely. “Sebastian, they wereshootingat you.”
He regarded her gravely. “I know, darling. They weren’t only shooting at me. What happened today, I never wanted to happen while you were with me.”
“How often does it happen?” How could she be completely clueless about it? Sure, he had security, bodyguards, drivers, and rules. He’d always employed a lot of security, but she’d never grasped the reality of it.
With a sigh, he stroked her cheek. “More often than I care to admit. We often downplay it and, if we can, we avoid it being reported at all.”
“But, why?” One plus one equaled a big bloody mess, and the math didn’t compute.
“Most of the time, attacks are the work of the mentally ill or the politically motivated. Advertising what happened due to someone who is emotionally or mentally unbalanced does no favors for anyone and the politically motivated want the attention, so we deny them the satisfaction. It dilutes the possibility of copycats.” The gentle rub of his thumb along her jaw helped unlock another layer of tension, but her stomach twisted with worry.
“Your stabbing wasn’t the only attempt on your life.” It wasn’t a question.
He looked almost apologetic. “No.”
She still tried to sort through information when the tumble of locks sounded. Sebastian lifted her up, away, and rose to stand between her and the door so swiftly she barely had timeto process his motion. His white shirt did little to disguise the coiled line of his muscles or the level of threat emanating from him.
This wasn’t her playful lover, but someone far more dangerous and powerful. A light flashed from red to green on a panel next to the door then it opened. Vidal entered and closed the door behind him. “Your Highness, do either of you require the doctor?”
