by Sarah Curtis
Royal's throat muscles flexed under Alec's hand as he struggled to swallow before licking his lips and speaking. "Yeah, I hear you."
"Good. Now get the fuck out of my sight." Alec shoved him away, and he staggered but caught himself before falling.
Royal made his way to the opening and stopped, looking back. "I know you probably don't believe this, but I do love my sister."
He shuffled out and Alec watched him until he was out of sight. He bowed his head, a small hint of regret piercing his anger. Yeah, he knew Royal loved his sister, but he'd be damned if he let him put her in harm's way again.
* * * * *
A beeping noise penetrated her consciousness followed by a low hum. Her heavy lids flickered, but they were impossible to open. The sound of metal scraping reverberated through her head, causing her to wince.
"Sweetheart?"
The warmth of a hand engulfed her icy fingers. She willed her digits to move, return the squeeze, but her hand wasn't receiving the signal from her brain.
"River?"
She knew the gruff cadence of that voice.
Alec.
She tried to open her eyes again, but all she could manage was a slight flutter. She moaned in distress from the pounding in her temples just that little bit of exertion seemed to cause.
"Sweetheart, wake up... please."
It was the please that caught her attention, anguish apparent in the inflection. She tried to turn her head toward the sound but found it just as heavy as her lids. Her seemingly paralyzed state brought tremors of panic coursing through her. The beeping sound in the room quickened to match the thunderous pounding of her heart. The surge of adrenaline kicked her drug-fogged brain into gear, mercifully lifting the sluggish haze. Her fingers curled, clutching at Alec's hand as her eyes snapped open.
Alec was the first thing she saw, hovering over her–hair mussed, eyes bloodshot, jacket missing and his normally pristine shirt a wrinkled mess. Even in his disheveled state, he was a beautiful sight. But it wasn't an Alec she was used to seeing, and wondered at his haggard appearance.
He released a raspy sigh. "Thank fuck." His eyes closed, and the taut muscles in his face relaxed as he took a deep breath and let it out slowly. "You scared the hell out of me, sweetheart."
Why? She reluctantly pulled her gaze away from his face and scanned her surroundings, noting the sterile decor and various pieces of machinery. "Hospital?" Her voice was an almost unrecognizable croak. She tried to swallow and winced in pain from the dryness.
Alec leaned away, and in a blink he was back, holding a cup with a flexy-straw to her lips. "Take small sips."
Gratefully, she sucked down the cool liquid while wracking her brain, trying to remember what had happened. Soon, flashes filled her mind.
Royal's phone call.
The bank.
The motel.
Her brain skidded to a halt.
The motel.
Her heartbeat quickened, and her breathing picked up pace as her brain flashed her more images.
Her brother tied to a chair, beaten up, and bloody.
Alec grappling with a man holding a gun.
The mob guy, Nico, fighting with another guy.
The firing of the gun.
The burning flash of pain.
The numbness.
Then blackness.
"Hey, hey, hey. It's okay." Alec’s soothing voice calmed her racing heart.
Warm hands bracketed her face, and her vision came back into focus.
"Shh, it's okay. Everything's going to be okay." His thumbs brushed away tears she hadn't even realized she'd shed.
She took a shuddering breath. "I was shot." She felt a twinge of pain in her shoulder. She twisted her head out of his hold and looked over, but all she saw was the blue-patterned hospital gown with a bit of white bandage peeking out.
He captured her face again and brought it back to his. "I know, baby, but you're okay. Thank God, you're okay."
It sounded as though he were trying to convince himself more than her. He kept repeating himself and seemed rattled, which was so unlike the composed and confident Alec she'd come to know. She raised her uninjured arm and covered his hand with hers. Suddenly feeling calm at his show of distress, she assured, "Yeah, I'm okay."
"You scared me, sweetheart. I don't ever want to be scared like that again."
River smiled. "Well, I didn't actually do it on purpose, but I'll try my best to accommodate you."
He smiled, brushing his thumb across the apple of her cheek. "I'd appreciate that." Just as fast as his smile appeared, it vanished, his expression growing serious. "I'm not gonna lie, I'm a selfish asshole."
"You're not selfish," she started to protest, but he cut her off.
"Yeah, sweetheart, I am. When I saw you lying there, knowing you'd been shot, all I could think of was me. What would happen to me if I lost you. How could I possibly survive if I lost the one person I love more than anything else in this world."
River felt a few more tears leak from her eyes as she whispered, "You love me?"
"More than life itself. I would have traded my soul for it to have been me that got shot instead of you. And baby, I will move heaven and earth to make sure nothing, and I mean nothing, ever hurts you again."
"Alec?"
"Yeah, baby."
"I love you, too."
River turned toward the sound of the knock and smiled when she saw the head that peeked around the door, that is until she got a look at her brother's face. "Oh, no. Look at your eye."
He gave her a don't worry about it hand wave, stepping farther into the room, but still standing by the open door. "The nurse said you were awake. Is it okay if I come in?"
"Of course, it's okay. Why wouldn't it be?"
Royal's eyes darted past her before coming back to hers. River glanced over at Alec, who'd been dozing in the chair at the side of her bed but who was now fully awake, then looked back at her brother. "What's going on?"
He shuffled toward the bed and bowed his head. "I'm here to apologize–"
"You don't–" She tried to interrupt.
Royal held up a hand. "I do. I'm also here to make you a promise." His eyes darted to Alec before shifting back to somewhere around River's knees. "I should have never asked for your help. Not the first time and especially not the second time. I put your life in danger, almost got you killed, and that's something I'm gonna have to live with for the rest of my life."
River wished she could reach for his hand, but he was standing on her injured side, so instead she implored, "Royal, look at me." When she had his eyes, she said, "Family is supposed to help family. We're all we got, we have to stick together."
"No." His eyes locked back on Alec. "What I did was wrong." He looked back at River. "I used you. I knew you wouldn't say no to me, and I took advantage of that kindness. I'm your big brother. I'm supposed to protect you, not the other way around. And my whole life, I've been doing a crappy job.
"But no more. No more gambling. No more borrowing money. No more using you. I'm gonna be a brother you can be proud of. That's my promise to you."
"Oh, Royal." Her nose started to sting, and her eyes filled with tears. "I've always been proud of you."
"I do love you, sis. And I never meant for you to get hurt."
"I know. And I love you, too."
"Well, I'll let you get some rest. Alec, he's a good guy. I'm really happy for you."
River nodded, her throat too tight for words.
After Royal left the room, sh
e turned to Alec. "Did you put him up to that?"
"No, he did that all on his own. I'll admit, he's not my favorite person at the moment, but he did just raise my opinion of him." He stood and came to the side of the bed, capturing her hand. "You were wrong about something, though."
"Yeah?"
"Yeah. He's not all you have. You have me now, too."
"And that makes me one very lucky girl."
He leaned over brushing her lips with his. "Damn right it does."
Chapter Twenty-five
Nico: It's done. You owe me one.
Alec: Understood.
Alec: Oh, and Nico.
Nico: Yeah?
Alec: Thank you.
Nico: Anytime, my friend.
Chapter Twenty-Six
River was jolted awake by the sound of raised voices and a whole lot of thumping. She looked out the bedroom window, noting the absence of daylight. She had no idea how long she'd slept or even what time it was, other than nighttime.
She'd been released from the hospital earlier that morning. And after Alec had heard the doctor's order of plenty of rest, he'd taken her straight to his penthouse, put her to bed with the order to stay put, and had been hovering ever since.
The cops had shown up at the hospital even earlier that morning to take her statement. She hadn't been a wealth of information as she'd been either absent or unconscious during most of the excitement. But Alec had filled her in on the missing details, namely the fact it hadn't been the mob Royal had owed money to like she'd thought. Which then brought up the question as to why Nico Conti had been there if it hadn't been him Royal owed money to.
"That's a very long story best left for a day you're not so tired." She opened her mouth to protest, and Alec held up a hand forestalling any arguments. "But I will tell you, we grew up together, and were almost inseparable until we had our falling-out."
Frowning, she asked, "Falling-out?"
He sat on the edge of the bed near her feet and placed his hand on her leg, gently rubbing it through the coarse hospital blanket. "Let's just say, I'd adamantly objected to the idea of him following in his family's footsteps and leave it at that, for now."
"Okay." Speaking of tired, her lids were getting heavy, the drugs doing their job.
"Sleep. You've had a busy few hours." He stood, leaning over her and kissing her forehead.
Her lids snapped open. "You won't leave me, will you?"
"Never, sweetheart."
His wording implied he meant for longer than just while she slept. She liked his implication.
A loud thump drew her attention again, reminding her of what had awoken her in the first place.
What the heck?
She grimaced in pain as she sat up. Swinging her legs over the side of the bed, she carefully stood. She was a little unsteady on her feet. The painkillers tended to knock her out for long stretches of time, and if she wasn't asleep, they made her feel woozy. She couldn't wait until the pain lessened enough she no longer needed to take them.
She slowly made her way through the darkened bedroom and opened the door, squinting when a harsh glare of light spilled into the room. She heard male voices followed by another thump.
Hugging the wall, she walked down the hall, stopping at the entry to the living room. Two men in gray coveralls stood next to a stack of boxes. The one holding a clipboard was talking with Alec.
She must have made a noise or Alec just had some kind of sixth sense because his head turned, eyes boring into her. Stopping mid-conversation, he made his way over to her, wrapping an arm around her waist. "What are you doing out of bed?"
"What's going on?" she asked by way of answering.
"You know those pills make you light-headed. I don't want you to fall and hurt yourself. Call for me next time, and I'll come help you."
He hadn't answered her, so she repeated, "What's going on?"
He sighed, then very firmly if cryptically said, "I'm done asking, and I'm done waiting."
Huh? "You're going to have to be a little more direct. Drugs. Me. Remember?"
His lips quirked. "Right. Well, here's me being direct. I just moved you in."
River looked over at the pile of boxes stacked in the center of the living room.
"I had the big stuff put into storage until we find a bigger place. Figured we'd start looking once you were feeling better."
River was at a loss for words. Alec was not.
"Another thing. I want us to get married, sooner rather than later. Get started on a family. If there's one good thing that's come from all this, it's shown me life is precious, and I don't want to waste another minute of it."
Still a little flabbergasted, she blurted the first thing that came to her mind. "You got movers to come in the middle of the night?"
Alec laughed, "Yeah, baby, that's how serious I am about this."
Looking once more at the boxes, then back at Alec, she said, "Then I guess this means, I'm moved in. And we'll be looking for a house. Then we'll be getting married so we can start a family."
He leaned in, giving her a kiss on her forehead, the tip of her nose, and then on her lips. "Perfect."
"What do you think?" Alec asked, giving River's hand a squeeze.
"I love it." True to his word, three months after The Incident—as they'd been calling it—Alec had dragged her out house hunting. And now, two days later, they'd painlessly found the perfect one.
Two-story with five bedrooms—Alec was aiming high on the baby front—a game room, humongous kitchen—not that she knew how to cook—living room, dining room, swimming pool, the list just went on.
Alec took her hand and led her into the kitchen. "What do you think?"
River looked around. It really was huge with what appeared to be all new, top-of-the-line appliances. "I'm thinking it's not going to get used much," she said with a laugh.
"I disagree. I can think of many things I'd like to do with you on this island alone." He lifted her at the waist and deposited her onto the cold marble.
She looked around, worried. "What if the realtor comes back?"
"She won't." Cool air hit her back as Alec lowered the zipper of her dress.
River held the bodice up, still nervous. "How do you know?"
"Because as of today, we are the owners of the house. I've got the key in my pocket."
"You bought the house? When? Why did we look at so many others? How did you know I'd pick this one?"
Alec held up his hands, laughing. "Whoa, slow down. Yes. Last week. Because I didn't want you to think there might be something else better, and you hadn't gotten a chance to see it. And last, because believe it or not, when you talk, I listen and knew this house had everything you were looking for and more."
River slipped her arms around his neck and pulled him closer. He stepped between her spread legs, running his hands up her thighs under the skirt of her dress. "Thank you. It's perfect. You're perfect."
"Nothing gets more perfect than you, sweetheart." His fingers ghosted over her hips, curling under the waistband of her thermal tights. "Ass up."
Supporting herself on his shoulders, she raised her hips. Feeling the coolness against her bare skin, she knew he'd grabbed her panties, as well. She sat back down as he pulled off her boots so he could finish removing her leggings.
He spread her legs wider before his fingers found her folds. "So wet. Always so fucking wet for me. Do you know how hard that makes me, knowing how much I turn you on?"
He didn't wait for an answer, instead leaning her back. Her arms broke out i
n goose bumps and her nipples pebbled when her bare back hit the icy, marble. Sliding her ass to the very edge of the counter, he flipped up her skirt, exposing her to his view. "You're going to be my first meal in our new kitchen."
Instead of diving in, he took his time. Starting at the inside of her knee, his tongue traced a path up her inner thigh, stopping every inch to give her nipping kisses, sucking the flesh between his teeth.
She was growing wetter the farther up he went, until by the time he reached her center, she was practically dripping. "Alec, please. I'm not sure how much more torture I can stand."
He teasingly licked the crease of her leg, his tongue making contact with just the outer ridge of her lips, increasing the torture to a whole new level. "You'll stand it for as long as I want you to."
"You're evil."
His chuckle vibrated against her skin, sending ripples of pleasure through her. "Just a moment ago, I was perfect."
She didn't get a chance to respond. Between one breath and her next, his mouth was on her, his tongue licking through her folds at the same time he speared her with his fingers. Her own fingers dived into his hair, gripping it tightly when he found her clit. He sucked it deeply into his mouth as his tongue played with the little nub.
The onslaught was too much—his teeth biting and scraping, his fingers pounding and flexing—and had her coming within minutes. Her whole body seizing and shattering as wave after wave of pleasure rolled through her.
"Fucking beautiful."
She opened her eyes to find Alec unbuttoning his pants and sliding them over his hips. He took himself in hand, stroking from base to tip.
"Sit up and lower your dress. I want to see your tits."
She let her dress fall to her waist before reaching back and unhooking her bra. She tossed it aside as he continued to glide his hand up and down while watching her.
"Hop down, baby, and turn around."
Her dress puddled at her feet as she slid off the counter, and she stepped out of it before turning. He traced a finger up her spine until he reached the center of her shoulder blades where he applied light pressure until she was bent over, her cheek to the counter.