Bryce had warned her that the incidents could escalate rather than go away, as she had been hoping. Breaking into her house was certainly an escalation.
But could Sean really be the one responsible for dong those other disturbing things?
The only thing Bella knew for sure right now was that Sean was in her house, standing in her sitting room, and not by her invitation.
She frowned. “How did you get in here?”
Sean appeared to have recovered from whatever initial advantage Bella had taken by switching on the overhead light so suddenly. The tension had left his shoulders, and his lips now curved into a sensual smile. “I let myself in with the key you gave me.” He straightened to put his hand into his jeans pocket before showing her that key in the palm of his hand. “I got off work early and came over to surprise you.” His dark gaze flickered over the bare-chested man standing beside her. “I didn’t expect to find you with another man.”
Bella shook her head. “I didn’t give you a key to my house.”
“Of course you did,” Sean chided.
“No, I didn’t,” she bit out through clenched teeth, very aware that Bryce hadn’t spoken a word since she’d entered the room and was now watching the two of them through narrowed lids.
Did Bryce believe her when she said she hadn’t given Sean a key? Or did he believe Sean was the one telling the truth and she was still involved with the other man, when just minutes ago, she and Bryce had been upstairs making love with each other?
Sean turned to pick something up from the coffee table. “I bought you some red roses to mark our three-month anniversary.”
Bella stared blankly at the bouquet of flowers, feeling as if she had gone to sleep and woken up in a parallel universe. One where she had forgotten she and Sean were dating and instead almost gone to bed with Bryce. Almost? They might not have actually been in the bed, but Bella had definitely shared a closer intimacy with Bryce than she ever had with any other man.
Including Sean!
It had been a traumatic day, not least because she had met up with her brother, Matteo, again after so many years of estrangement, but Bella was pretty sure she and Sean had stopped dating two months ago, nor had they ever been intimate together. Whereas her body still ached with arousal and she had only to look at Bryce to remember the intimacy of having his mouth and hands on her.
She gave a firm shake of her head. “I think you’re delusional or must have hit your head on something, because I certainly never gave you a key to my house.” Which begged the question, how had Sean acquired one? “Nor is it our three-month anniversary, because we only went out to dinner three times and stopped going out at all two months ago.”
Sean gave Bryce another frowning glance before his attention returned to Bella. “You’re only saying that because you’re embarrassed I walked in on you with another man. Especially when the two of you both smell strongly of sex.” His nostrils flared with distaste.
Bella felt her cheeks blaze with color. Not because of Sean’s accusation, but because of the possessiveness he was displaying in front of Bryce after she had assured him she was no longer seeing the detective.
The situation wasn’t helped by the fact Bryce looked totally debauched dressed only in those faded jeans, the top button left unfastened and revealing the silky dark hair leading down to the bulge that was his cock behind the denim.
Bella dragged her gaze away. “Sean, we aren’t still going out, and I did not give you a key to my house,” she insisted firmly.
“Of course we are and you did. I let myself in and out all the time,” he dismissed.
The possibility that might be true made Bella feel sick “No—”
“Then how did I get the key, and why would I bring red roses to surprise you on our anniversary?” he reasoned.
Yep, definitely in a parallel universe.
“I have no idea,” she snapped, her patience wearing extremely thin, and not least because Sean’s comments made it sound like she had lied to Bryce. “But I would appreciate it if you would leave now—minus the key to my house, of course—and take your roses with you.”
Sean gave her a chiding smile. “Look, I can’t say I’m happy at coming here and finding you with another man but that’s for the two of us to sort out. After your guest has left,” he added in a hard voice.
Bella gave Bryce a beseeching glance, silently begging him not to leave her alone with this madman. Because there was something seriously wrong with this scenario, and despite her earlier thoughts, she was pretty sure it wasn’t her.
She only hoped Bryce saw her expression for exactly what it was: a plea for help.
Bryce had watched and listened to Sean Wilton’s claims that Bella had given the other man a key to her house and he was in the habit of letting himself in whenever he chose.
The bouquet of roses the other man held was supposedly to mark their anniversary.
Bryce didn’t believe a word the other man had to say!
He didn’t need the pallor of Bella’s cheeks or the beseeching look in her eyes to know she had been completely truthful with him today. In the case of her brother, it had been a painful truth. But still, Bella hadn’t shied away from revealing it. Bryce didn’t believe she had told him lies about Wilton either.
So what was the other man doing here?
And even if Wilton did have a key to the house Bella had given to him in the past and which he hadn’t yet returned to her, as the two of them were no longer dating, the other man should have at least tried ringing the doorbell or knocking on the door first before letting himself in.
But at the base of all that was Bella’s vehement denial of ever having given the other man a key.
Of the two, Bryce was definitely inclined to believe Bella’s version of events.
His expression was one of challenge as he looked at the other man. “I believe Bella said she would like you to give her back her door key, pick up your roses, and take them with you when you leave.”
Wilton’s eyes darkened. “You obviously aren’t aware of who I am—”
“I know exactly who and what you are,” Bryce assured him dryly. “Being a policeman, a detective inspector, makes your having entered Bella’s home without her permission even more unacceptable.”
An angry flush darkened Wilton’s cheeks. “I have a key—”
“Which you acquired without Bella’s permission and which you are about to hand over to me.” Bryce held his hand out, palm up.
The anger turned to a dark scowl as the other man’s fingers tightened about the piece of metal rather than relinquished it. “Who the hell are you, and what makes you think you can order me around?”
Bryce could hear the edge of arrogance and deep irritation in the other man’s tone as Wilton’s smooth self-confidence and charm began to slip. “My brothers and I own Steele Protectors, a private security company. But more importantly, I’m Bella’s friend,” he bit out hardly. “Are you the person who has been putting things through her letter box followed by spray-painting her car? Because if so, I think you should be aware I don’t take kindly to your having terrorized her in this way.”
“Are you threatening me?”
“Did it sound as if I was?”
“Yes.”
“Then I guess that’s what I was doing, yes,” Bryce confirmed mildly.
Wilton gave a snort before turning to Bella. “What things were put through your letter box? And why didn’t you call me? I would have come straight over.” He placed the roses on the coffee table before taking a step toward Bella, only to come to an abrupt halt when Bryce moved to stand protectively in front of her. Wilton’s jaw tightened, hands clenching into fists at her sides. “Get the fuck out of my way.”
Bryce could visibly see the crack widening in the other man’s pleasant façade. “Give me the key, pick up your roses, and leave.”
“And if I don’t?” Wilton sneered.
A nerve pulsed in Bryce’s clenched jaw. “Then
I’ll take out the trash—namely you—myself. I don’t think so.” He calmly caught the fist Wilton swung at him before twisting the other man’s arm behind his back, exerting pressure on the back of the other man’s hand where he knew it would hurt the most. He removed the key from between Wilton’s fingers before pushing it into the pocket of his jeans. “Say goodbye to Bella,” he advised as he frog-marched the still struggling man across the room toward the open doorway.
“Bella is mine!” Wilton protested.
“I think you’ll find Bella belongs to herself,” Bryce assured him lightly. “Stay here,” he advised her softly.
The other man reached out to grasp hold of the doorframe with his free hand. “Bella, tell him—”
“Goodbye, Sean.” Bella spoke calmly, but inwardly, she felt sick and slightly shaky from all the unpleasantness and Sean’s strange behavior.
She had never seen any sign of imbalance in Sean before tonight, either personal or professional. But his coming here now, letting himself in with a key, and bringing roses with him—supposedly to mark the anniversary of them having been together for three months—was definitely not normal behavior.
How the hell did Sean have possession of a key to her house in the first place?
The only time he had been here before tonight—that she knew of—was when Bella had invited him back for coffee the second evening they had been out for dinner together. Considering he had only stayed long enough to drink that coffee and her door key had been safely stowed away in her handbag the whole time after letting them in, she found it difficult to believe he had acquired a copy of her front door key then.
Except…
She had left Sean alone in the sitting room for a few minutes while she went to the kitchen to make the coffee, and there was the possibility she might have left her handbag on a chair in there while she was gone. Could Sean have somehow made a copy of her house key then?
However Sean had got the key didn’t explain why he was bringing her red roses to mark a three-month anniversary of them being together when that anniversary didn’t exist and she hadn’t given him a key to her house.
Bella straightened when she heard the front door slam closed, hopefully behind Sean as he left.
Which now only left facing Bryce.
Only?
Hah!
But as the seconds and then minutes ticked by with no sign of Bryce returning, Bella began to wonder if he had decided to leave too.
Chapter Eight
Bryce was impervious to the cold evening breeze as he stood on the pavement beside Wilton’s car. He had once held position for forty-eight hours on a snow-capped mountain in the middle of winter, with below-zero temperatures during daylight and even lower ones at night. Tonight’s adversary was nothing like the seller of illegal arms Bryce and his unit had been sent to eliminate then, but he still had no intention of returning to the house until he was sure Wilton had left.
The moment Wilton’s car drove away, Bryce turned his attention to the dark SUV still parked down the street.
Having Wilton interrupt him and Bella in that way was a definite dampener on their passion, especially when Bryce’s thoughts were consumed with what the other man’s real reason could be for coming here. Because he was pretty sure it had nothing to do with celebrating an anniversary Bella insisted didn’t exist.
The more obvious explanation was that Wilton was behind those other incidents meant to upset Bella. That he had entered Bella’s house tonight, probably fooled into thinking no one was home by the house seeming to be in darkness, for the sole purpose of continuing to terrorize her by anonymously leaving her a present of the roses.
How upsetting would that have been for Bella to have returned home later tonight and found red roses, or maybe even scattered rose petals, had mysteriously appeared in her sitting room or bedroom?
Bryce made a mental note to contact Haydn and have him check into Detective Inspector Sean Wilton.
In the meantime, Bryce was tired of seeing that SUV, either following them earlier tonight or now parked down the road from Bella’s house. Time for him to have a little chat with whoever was inside—
He heard the engine turn over as he walked toward the vehicle, and then was blinded by the glare of the full headlights suddenly being turned on. This was quickly followed by the engine revving, and then the screech of the tires as the SUV made a U-turn in the road before accelerating away in the opposite direction. Bryce made a note of the number plate as yet another thing for Haydn to check into.
The number of things that needed answers was starting to add up, and it looked as if his tech-minded brother would be working exclusively for Bryce for a few days instead of for the whole company. No doubt Atticus would have something to say about that. His older brother usually had something to say about most things.
Right now Bryce had to return to Bella and somehow try to salvage something from the evening. Probably not by returning to their previous intimacy. Bryce accepted that spell had been broken. But he still intended staying the night in Bella’s house with her. Even more so after Wilton’s unexpected visit. In Bryce’s estimation, the bastard was just arrogant enough to come back if he thought Bryce was no longer here.
“Bryce…?”
A red tide of rage stormed through him when he turned to see Bella standing on the pavement a few feet away from him. “Do you have a problem understanding or obeying simple instructions?” he grated.
She took a step back at his aggression. “Er… No?” she answered uncertainly.
Bryce strode quickly to her side, and his fingers snaked out to tightly grip her arm. “I think you do,” he rasped. “I think you have a problem accepting authority altogether. Which is why, as he’s your superior officer, a relationship with Wilton would never have worked out.”
“I wanted to make sure Sean had gone.”
“You doubted me and my ability to ensure that?”
“No, of course not.”
“I think you did. I think it’s the reason you didn’t listen to me when I told you to stay put.” Bryce bent down until his face was only inches away from her own. “Well?”
Bella winced, not at all sure what was happening right now. Was whatever delusion Sean was under catching? Because Bryce seemed to have gone all alpha male on her— Ah. Bryce freely admitted to being an alpha male, and he had told her to stay put, not once but twice, and Bella had ignored him both times. “You were gone so long, I was worried about you,” she admitted huskily.
Dark brows rose over uncompromising pale eyes. “And you thought coming out here to look for me, unprotected and unarmed, was the right thing to do?”
“I— My God, your arms are freezing!” she gasped, having reached out to grasp his forearms and discovered his flesh was as cold as ice. “Not surprising when you’re only wearing jeans. Let’s go back inside where it’s warm,” she encouraged.
“As long as you understand that once we’re back in the house, I’m going to spank your arse, hard, for disobeying me,” he bit out grimly.
Her own shiver had nothing to do with the cold and everything to do with the arousal she’d felt the last time Bryce spanked her. “Is that supposed to be a deterrent?” Bella linked her arm companionably through his much colder one as they walked back down her garden path together.
“I’m not talking about a spanking you’re going to enjoy,” he warned in a harsh voice. “When I was in the army, issuing my men an order and having them obey me could have meant the difference between life and death.”
“You were an officer? Of course you were,” she ruefully answered her own question. She might have an issue with authority, but she was pretty sure Bryce was incapable of taking orders too, from anyone.
His jaw tightened. “I was a lot more than that.”
“I’m sure you didn’t spank those men’s arses if they disobeyed!” Bella teased.
Bryce’s mouth quirked. “Because they would never dare disobey me. And attempting to chang
e the subject isn’t going to work with me, Bella.”
“I wasn’t— Okay, I was.” Bella sighed as he glared at her. “But I’m not one of your men, and we aren’t in a life-or-death situation.”
“How the hell do you know that?” Bryce snapped, closing and locking the door behind them. “When did the first of your ‘unwanted gifts’ arrive?”
“What?”
He drew in a steadying breath. “Did your ‘gifts’ start arriving before or after you ended things with Wilton?”
“After,” she admitted, realizing Bryce was coming to the same conclusion she was regarding who had delivered those gifts.
He nodded. “I think they’re separate from what else is going on.”
“What else is going on?”
“We were followed from your brother’s house earlier tonight.”
Bella felt the color leave her cheeks. “My brother had us followed?” It sounded preposterous that Matteo would have done such a thing when he had ordered them to leave and he hadn’t bothered with her for the past five years.
That I know of.
The conversation with Matteo earlier this evening had certainly revealed he knew a lot more about the life she had led the last five years than she knew about his.
Enough for him to have decided to have some of his men follow her?
Why, if that was the case? It seemed a bit of a stretch after the way they’d parted earlier to think Matteo was being protective. Which meant her brother must have decided she merited being watched for another reason.
Oh God, what if she had inadvertently put Bryce’s life in danger by telling him about the events of the past few weeks and then his insistence on accompanying her to see her brother?
“Why didn’t you tell me?” She glared her displeasure. “I wouldn’t have allowed you to stay here this evening if I’d realized how—”
“You wouldn’t have allowed me to stay?” Bryce echoed in a dangerously soft voice.
Bryce (Steele Protectors 3) Page 7