He led her out of the club. “Not lately.”
“Well, you do and you deserve to know. I would so hit that.”
“I’m glad, but I think you need to hit your bed right now.”
“Only if you hit it with me.”
When her lips curled into a smile of flirtation, he found himself wishing she was sober. “Dana, I’m going to ask you a question and I want you to be honest with me. How many drinks did you have while I was gone?”
She held up two fingers. “The Golden Oblivions are so much better than the drinks I had in my room.”
“You drank before as well?”
“A little. But I think you need to talk to your bar staff. That last one was stronger than the others.” She giggled. “I’m not a very good drunk, am I?”
As they left, she stumbled. The bouncer at the door stepped forward. “Need some help, Mr. Markov?”
“No, thanks. I’m good.”
“You’re so, so good, Alex,” drawled Dana. “You’re the best.”
When she stumbled again, Alex picked her up. She gave awhoop, like a kid who’d just boarded her first rollercoaster. With her in his arms, he carried her down one of the quieter hallways toward the private elevators for the penthouse level.
As he got closer to the elevators, she hiccupped. “Oh.” She began to turn green and touched her belly. “That doesn’t feel good.”
“Hang in there. We’re almost home.”
At the elevator, he swiped her key card and hurried inside, careful not to knock her feet on the walls.
When the elevator started moving, the green tinges in her face turned grey. “You’d better put me down. I may have to make a run for it.”
He gently set her on her feet, cursing the elevator. Even though he knew it wasn’t moving slowly, it seemed to crawl. He reached for her arm to support her but she surprised him by falling into his embrace. He stiffened and then wrapped his arms around her. For some reason, the gesture seemed even more intimate than what they’d done at Covet. “I’ve got you. It’s going to be all right.”
She smelled so good, fruity and powdery all at once, but he resisted the urge to bury his nose in her hair.
Alex had known they were crossing a threshold when they entered the private nook at Covet, but this outcome caught him off guard. It had been some time since he’d cared for a woman and he wasn’t sure what to do with the emotions that now hammered his chest.
She mumbled against his shirt but he couldn’t tell what she was saying. Surely she could hear how hard his heart was beating.
When they got to the fifth floor, he sighed. “We’re here.”
Her chest heaved as they left the elevator, but not with the spasms of nausea. She was quietly sobbing.
“Dana, sweetheart. Are you all right?”
“No.”
It was such a small, quiet word, and yet no sound had ever hurt his heart quite so much.
Whatever she was going through, it cut deeper than he’d ever imagined. She wasn’t just hurt.
She was devastated.
Her face was streaked with tears.
“Hey.” He touched her chin. “Don’t cry. I’ll make sure you’re okay.”
“I’m not okay.” She sniffed. “I’m defective.”
