He hadn't been at all surprised when she'd mentioned that her niece was ill, but then what had she expected? A man like Lakota would leave nothing to chance. No doubt he had a file on her a mile long, and for whatever reason he had decided to help her family.
"I had no choice but to call for an ambulance, and if you hadn't been with that man, you'd have been there with us. She needed you, Alice."
The accusation stung, much more than it ought to, and the unfairness of it all, of the whole situation in fact, made Alice's reply much sharper than it normally would have been.
"That man, as you call him, is paying for all this, mother. I've always been there for you and Beth, dammit. Do you think I'm doing this for fun? Do you think I want to marry a man who doesn't fucking love me? Do you—"
Her mum's hand over her mouth stopped the flow of words.
"Back up there one minute? You're marrying him? And do not swear, young lady. There is no need for that, no matter what the circumstances. I thought you'd sold yourself for one night. How has that turned into a marriage? What are you not telling me?" Her mum had stood up during that little speech, and the glare she gave her took Alice right back to her childhood, when that look could stop her dead across a crowded room.
"It's complicated, Mum, and it really doesn't matter right now. What matters is Beth, and that we can now afford the treatment she needs."
"Then un-complicate it, Alice, right now, right here. Why does he want to marry you? What have you done?"
Alice winced as her mother grabbed her by the shoulders and shook her. Frail she might be, but right now, she wanted answers, and Alice knew it was useless to even try to evade her. Before she could say anything at all however, the door opened, and all the fight went out of her mother as she looked over Alice's shoulder.
Lakota's warm hand on Alice's shoulder gently dislodged her mother's iron grasp, and she made no protest when he urged her to sit down. He guided Alice, too, onto the bed, and her heart squeezed painfully when she saw the grim expression on his face, only to almost jump out of her chest when she saw the man stood in the doorway.
Clad in his theatre scrubs Spencer Jamison looked just like his picture, and Alice took hold of her mum's ice cold hand.
"About Beth, it's not good news, I'm afraid."
Chapter Four
Alice suppressed a groan and released the death grip she had on little Beth's fingers. She'd lost count of how many hours she'd sat here in this room, holding the little girl's hands, willing her just to take another breath. All throughout, Lakota had been a quiet reassurance by her side. He'd patiently answered all the questions Alice and especially her mum had thrown his way, he had supplied food and drink, and even managed to convince her mother to leave Beth's side and go home, once the little girl had passed the critical forty-eight hours post operation time.
Not only that, he'd acted as a human shield when a nosy reporter had somehow managed to gain entrance to the ward. It was the only time Alice had truly been frightened of Lakota. By the time she'd realized that the young man wasn't a nurse as she'd first thought, he'd not only had a good look at Beth's medical notes, but he'd also managed to get several pictures. Lakota had shot through the door like an avenging angel, looking every inch the proud warrior of his heritage, and he'd pinned the man to the wall. The much smaller man's legs had dangled off the floor, his face turning a putrid color, as Lakota's large hand on his throat had cut off the reporter's air supply.
"Get that scum's camera and give it to me, Alice."
She had scrambled to comply with the growled demand, and had watched in fascinated horror when Lakota had thrown the camera against the wall with such force that the digital piece of equipment shattered. It had left a dent in the wall, and the commotion had sent the nurses running in to see what on earth was going on.
"Try taking your piece of shit pictures now, you fucking scum."
The gurgling sound coming from the man's throat had galvanized Alice into action. She'd pulled on Lakota's arms in an effort to dislodge the death grip he'd had on the man's throat, but to no avail.
"Lakota, please. Let him go. He can't breathe. Dammit, stop. You're no good to me in prison. He's not worth it."
Lakota had issued a growl that any jungle cat would have been proud of, and heaven help her, fear had turned to instant arousal. That animalistic sound had sent tingles down her spine and moisture into her knickers. Lakota had dumped the reporter onto the floor and had crushed her to his large frame. For several delicious seconds her world had narrowed to the feel of him pressed against her, his hands buried in her hair, his heartbeat thundering under her ear, before he'd let go of her.
The nurses looked terrified when he turned on them.
"Heads will roll when I find out who is responsible for this piece of shit invading my fiancée's sister's privacy. Get that dirt bag away from us." He'd looked as though he was going to kick the man struggling for breath on the floor, and perhaps he would have done, had Alice not put herself between the two men.
The raw fury in his dark eyes had taken her breath away, and she hadn't heard whatever else he'd snarled at the departing health professionals over her head. He'd run a hand through his hair, and his features had softened when she'd grabbed his other hand.
"It's okay, nothing happened."
He'd glanced at Beth, peacefully sleeping in her bed, and had shaken his head.
"None of this is okay, Alice. He never should have managed to gain access to this ward, never mind this room. I'm sorry I've let you both down."
She'd swallowed past the lump in her throat and had simply stood on tiptoes to be able to give him a hug. His arms had tightened around her, and she'd felt the shudder going through his large frame.
"Lakota, you've done more than enough. This isn’t your fault."
"Yes, it is. My money ought to be at least good to protect you and your family. As you quite rightly pointed out I'm no good to you otherwise."
He'd pushed her away, and he'd sat down heavily on the chair next to little Beth's bed.
"I didn't mean it like that, Lakota. I'm very grateful for your money, but that's not why—"
His short laugh had chilled her to the bone.
"You're not with me for my money? Is that what you were going to say, sweet little Alice? Don't insult my intelligence. That's exactly why you’re here. Or are you going to tell me that you'd be marrying me if it wasn't for your niece here?"
His black eyes had held her captive, and she'd stuttered her answer.
"I-I … that's not … I mean…"
"It's okay, sweet little Alice. I appreciate your honesty, at least. Let's not pretend we're love young's dream, not when we're on our own, at least."
Before she could say anything else, he'd left with a murmured, "Let me go and do some damage control."
Alice sighed as the door opened behind her now. Was she destined to have people invading her privacy today? The immaculately coiffed, and heavily made up raven haired beauty who entered gave her pause for thought.
"Are you lost?" she asked.
"Hardly. Do I look lost to you?" She glanced at Beth, and Alice put herself between the newcomer and her niece.
"You certainly shouldn't be here. This room is off limits."
The other woman just laughed and pursed her fire engine red lips.
"Yes, I heard Lakota threw his weight around in here earlier. He can be such a boor, can't he? But he is so very sexy when he pulls his caveman act."
"You … you know Lakota?" Alice hated the way her voice wobbled.
"Do I know Lakota?" Her tinkling laughter grated on Alice's last remaining nerves. "For someone who is purported to be Lakota's fiancée you don’t know much about him, do you? I'm Lady Selina Horsely, and I was Zeb's fiancée." She dabbed at her perfectly dry eyes with a silk hanky she'd pulled out of her pant suit, and gave an elegant sniff.
"You're the fiancé?" Alice couldn't keep the disdain out of her voice, and the other woman's eyes nar
rowed.
"Yes I am and by rights it should be me wearing Lakota's ring. Only," she smirked and pointedly looked at Alice's ring less left hand. "I see you're not wearing his ring either. Why is that I wonder? Is Lakota already fed up with slumming it? How did you snare him anyway? Pregnant are you?"
Alice blew her breath out in a frustrated huff.
"How dare you? And I fail to see how this is any of your business. If you were engaged to Zeb, as you claim to have been, why does that give you an automatic right to Lakota?"
Selina just smiled, and Alice rubbed the goose flesh off her arms. She got the distinct impression that it would be a mistake to make an enemy out of this woman.
"Like I said you know remarkably little about your supposed fiancé. Lakota is a very traditional man. I had every right to expect him to marry me when his brother died in that unfortunate accident. It's what they do, after all."
"They? And who exactly are they? If you're referring to Lakota's Sioux heritage, I hate to disappoint you, but that only applies if you had actually been married to his brother, and from what I understand yours was not exactly a match made in heaven now, was it?"
Alice smiled at the most decidedly un-lady like snort coming from Selina. Alice had majored in Native American history, so she knew she had the upper hand here.
Selina took a step closer, and Alice held her breath against the cloying presence of the other woman's heavy perfume.
"You think you're so clever, don't you? We'll see. I'll find out what's going on here, you mark my words. He is mine, and he will come to his senses soon enough."
She glared at Alice, all haughty arrogance, and then turned around on her stilettos and walked from the room.
Alice couldn't help it. She laughed. It was that or cry.
****
Lakota ducked into the alcove and watched Selina totter past with a frown. What the fuck was she doing here? He'd heard the raised voices the minute he'd stepped into the corridor, and he didn't want to examine why he hadn't intervened. Hearing his little Alice stand up to the money-grabbing Selina had given him a rather suspicious glow around his heart. He closed his fist around the little box burning a hole in his trouser pocket, and said a silent prayer to his spirit guide for the foresight in bringing the ring today. He should have thought of it before now, but in his defense little Beth had been too ill, and besides he'd needed the right ring. In the end he'd designed the ring himself, and he wasn't going to examine his reasons for that particular action too closely either, though if he had to hazard a guess, it would be all Elizabeth Wanderlund's fault.
Alice's mother had a stubborn streak a mile long, and it had taken all of his considerable powers of persuasion and lots of Alice's pleading, to convince the elderly woman to leave the hospital. Now that Beth was out of immediate danger, there was really no reason for both mother and daughter to run themselves ragged waiting on the little girl to wake up. He'd tried to persuade Alice to leave, too, even employing a nurse to look after Beth twenty-four seven, but he should have known she would not leave her side. She'd fixed her expressive green eyes on him with such disdain that he'd felt about knee high.
"A nurse is not the same, as you well know. If this was your brother lying here, would you just leave him? She's only a child. She needs a familiar face when she wakes up. It was bad enough I wasn’t there for her when she hit this crisis."
"You couldn't help that, Alice." Her mother's tired voice had interrupted their little tryst. "I'm sorry if you feel as though I blamed you for this, Alice. I don't, not really. If I blame anyone it's this strange fiancé of yours."
"Mum—"
"It's okay. Truth be told, I am tired. You, young man," she had pushed her index finger into his chest. "You can take me home, and we can have a good long talk. I want to know exactly what sort of a man would force my daughter into a marriage."
The trip back to her modest house in the outskirts of London had been as infuriating as it had been enlightening. Elizabeth had read him the riot act in no uncertain terms, and he had learnt more about the woman he was going to marry in a week's time, than any file could have ever told him. He'd also found a deep seated respect for the silver haired lady, so determined to protect her daughter. Completely unimpressed with his wealth and status, all she'd wanted to know was why he had bought her daughter and what he intended to do with her.
She'd relaxed marginally when he'd explained his brother's involvement and her genuine sympathy for his loss had warmed another layer of his frozen heart. Not enough to tell her the whole truth, but enough to reassure her. He smiled now recalling her terse warning, when he'd walked her up to her house.
"Hurt my daughter, and you will rue the day you were ever born, Lakota." Another female who insisted on calling him by his tribal name, and wouldn't take no for an answer.
"That is your name, is it not? You should be proud of your heritage, not hide it behind a silly name like Lance. What would your mother have to say about that?"
She'd simply smiled at his growl in response and raised an eyebrow.
"Really, boy, that might work on other people, but not me. I will call you Lakota, and you will lump it." She'd left him standing on her doorstep, staring at the shut door, and just as he was about to leave, she'd cracked it open again. This time when she spoke, the pain in her voice had taken another chink out of his armor.
"Thank you, Lakota, for your help with Beth. I truly do appreciate it."
He now schooled his features into a mask of indifference and pushed open the door to Beth's room. He found Alice sat by the side of the bed, her hands clasped around the little girl's, a silent tear rolling her cheek. She didn't look up when he stepped in, just sighed, and swiped that tear away.
"Is my mother okay?" she asked.
"She's fine. I delivered her safely home."
"And you're still alive to tell the tale. That has to be some sort of a miracle. I hope she didn’t give you too much of a hard time." She finally looked up and glanced his way, and she looked so incredibly sad, he stepped closer and cupped her chin in his hand.
"Beth will be okay, you know. I had a long chat with Spencer only this morning. She will be able to start on the treatment soon, and that should shrink what is left of the tumor. She's a fighter, your niece, like someone else I know."
The ghost of a smile crossed her tired features, and he pulled the box out his pocket. Her eyes widened when she realized what he was now holding in his upturned hand.
"Is that what I think it is?" she asked, her voice no more than a breathy whisper, which shot straight to his groin. He suppressed a groan and shifted his weight to relieve the discomfort he felt, to no avail. He got the distinct impression that he would be in a permanent state of hardness around her until he could finally bury himself balls deep inside her willing flesh. And that she would be willing, of that he had no doubt.
Her body gave her away every time he stepped into her personal space. Her pupils dilated, her breathing hitched, her nipples poked through the fabric of her tee, and he would bet his last penny that she would be wet for him.
He closed his eyes against the erotic images that evoked in his mind, and pushed the box at her. He felt rather than saw her take the item off his palm, and he opened his eyes when she gasped. Every line of his body grew taut as he waited for her to say something—anything. Did she like it? Hate it? Her expression gave nothing away, as she ran a fingertip over the diamond engagement ring nestled inside the velvet.
He'd spent hours poring over designs, and had this one made just for her. Not that he would tell her that, or how the color of the emerald reminded him of the exact shade of her eyes when she was deep in thought like now.
He held his breath as she continued to stare at the ring, inwardly cursing the tension coursing through him. It was only a ring. It shouldn't matter to him whether she liked it or not. Theirs was not a love match after all, if that thing called love even existed. Lust, now that was a different matter, and he couldn't wait
to finally be able to claim her, but love—God no—never that.
He crunched his teeth together with the effort to not let his emotions show, when she finally looked up at him.
"Lakota, I..."
****
Nestled in the velvet box was a delicate diamond and emerald cluster ring, breathtaking in its simplicity. The cross over design had diamonds set into the shoulders, and the beautiful emerald was set in another cluster of stunning diamonds. It felt heavy and expensive, and wasn't at all what she had been expecting. She blinked the unexpected tears away, and jumped at Lakota's annoyed growl.
"You hate it, right? Never mind. I’ll get another one made. This one not big enough for you?"
His large hand settled over hers as if to take the box away, and she shook her head.
"No, no, don’t you dare. I love it, and what do you mean you'll have another one made?" He released her hand as though he'd been burned and pushed his fists into his trouser pockets. He looked uncomfortable, and she could have sworn there was slight flush spreading over his exquisitely sculpted cheek bones, but that had to be a trick of the light. Her breath caught in her throat at his brooding presence. Dressed in an immaculately tailored business suit, Lakota towered over her, every inch the successful entrepreneur, and she flinched at her own shabby appearance. Her mum had brought her some clothes, but the simple jeans and t-shirt were a far cry from his unconscious elegance.
He screamed wealth and arrogance, and she—well she screamed poor relation. No wonder the nurses had all given her such strange looks. No one would believe she was his fiancée, and no doubt folks wondered what on earth he saw in her. Selina's visit had further unsettled her, but there was no way in hell she would ask him about the status of his relationship with his late brother's fiancée.
She pushed the uncomfortable thought away and asked him again.
"Did you have this one made, for me?"
He shrugged his shoulders again as though it wasn't a big deal, and perhaps in his world it wasn't, but it sure meant a great deal to her. He had a habit of surprising her, this big, mysterious man she was going to marry and she knew next to nothing about.
The Billionaire's Unwanted Virgin Page 5