Save Me

by Grady, D. R.

  “Well, actually, you’re getting up with me for self-defense lessons.”

  She blinked. “What?”

  “Giselle has wedding preparations to worry about. Then she won’t be here anymore. So I’m taking over your lessons.” He grinned happily at her.

  For the first time, she noticed he was only wearing a pair of pajama bottoms again, so his arms and chest were bare. Her hormones revved and she gave in to the inevitable.

  Looping her arms around his neck, she kissed him.

  “Why didn’t you do that in the first place?” Mallen groused after they finally broke apart.

  “Not awake then.” Julia yawned and settled her head on his muscular, yummy shoulder.

  He jiggled her. “You’re not going back to sleep are you?” He sounded suspicious.

  She sighed, really the man was comfortable.

  He flapped the covers again, and her head flew off his shoulder so she could glare at him. Mallen grinned unrepentantly at her. “We have work to do.”

  She grumbled, but resigned, nodded. “No sleep for the weary.”

  “Nope, nor for the wicked, now move it, as you Americans say.” He swatted her bottom after he set her on her feet.

  She yawned.

  They spent an hour in the gym, with her assignment being she had to take Mallen down. Her practice sessions with Giselle had given her the knowledge to do so, but she still had to work on the skill set. That was why he was so adamant about testing her.

  “Like that’s not an impossible task,” she muttered to no one in particular.

  “Sure you can,” he enthused. “I do have weak spots, you know.”

  She eyed him glumly. “Right.”

  “Come and get me.” His challenge was accompanied by a wicked grin.

  That made her quirk an eyebrow in definite interest. “Okay,” she said with the first gusto of the day. And rushed him. He hadn’t said what to do with him when she got him.

  After landing, she stole a kiss.

  “Perhaps I should have been more specific,” he mused. “But then that’s not nearly as fun.” His hand bristling over his early morning stubble made her heart stumble.

  “Exactly.” She couldn’t manage more because really, the man was far too sexy for his or her own good.

  They finished when she tripped and landed on top of him. Both decided they could continue their lessons tomorrow.

  “Technically, I did get you down,” she felt compelled to point out.

  “Yes, technically. But we don’t want technical.”

  She sighed. “Okay.”

  “Dress warmly, because after breakfast we’re going outside.”

  “Mmhhmm,” Julia murmured, in a voice that clearly hoped he forgot the outside bit.

  “It’ll be fun.” Mallen reached out a hand to snag her close.

  “Fun?” She didn’t think. Now cuddling in front of a fire with him sounded fun. Mmm, with cookies and hot chocolate and lots of kisses.

  “Snow is always fun,” he breathed against her lips.

  She nearly melted into a puddle at his feet. The desire in his eyes, which hummed at the same rate as hers, nearly made her catch fire. It might be possible to die without another kiss from him. Not one to gamble, she decided not to take any risks.

  Pressing her lips to his, she wrapped her arms around his neck and he spanned her waist to lift her up so their lips remained on the same level. One of them moaned.

  The kiss seemed to take hours. Julia forgot everything but the man kissing her. Tightening her arms around his neck, she wanted to be closer. Mallen Saltaire had become addictive. So what if snow excited him and he woke her at the crack of dawn? He kissed so wonderfully. Tasted better than chocolate. Felt better than any silk she’d ever worn. She purred.

  He broke their kiss with a laugh. “Is that you purring?” His arms were wrapped tightly around her.

  “Must be me, I don’t see Sebastian.” She nuzzled his neck, kissed his chin, then his cheeks. “Hey!” she suddenly remembered.

  “What?”

  “You’re the birthday boy today.”

  His eyes widened. “So I am. What are you going to do about this?”

  Julia wriggled free with reluctance, her demeanor that of a brat. “How about if I throw thirty-four snow balls at you?” She wiggled her brows at him.

  Mallen caught her before she escaped, yanking her gently back into his arms. He scowled. “I think thirty-four kisses are more appropriate.” Now he wiggled his eyebrows at her.

  “Hhhmmm, I don’t know,” she mused. “You did wake me up at the crack of dawn....”

  He sealed off her rebuttal with his lips and she offered not a single protest.

  Instead she gave him thirty-four birthday kisses.

  Chapter 18

  Mallen stepped out of his bedroom at the same time she and Sebastian left theirs.

  “Oh, I forgot something this morning.” Julia looked him up and down. “In America we have this custom where you get your ears pulled the number of times you are old, plus you have one to grow on.” She backed him against the wall.

  “You’re planning to pull my ears?”

  “I owe you another kiss.”

  “Ah,” he enthused, tugging her close and bending to receive his one-to-grow-on kiss.

  “Whenever you two are ready,” Lila inserted from somewhere behind them.

  Reluctantly, they broke apart. “We weren’t,” he chided his mother.

  “Yeah,” Julia added as she and Mallen clasped hands and followed Lila into the breakfast room.

  “Happy Birthday, love.” Lila patted him on the cheek.

  He bent to kiss her. “Thanks, Mom.”

  “Happy Birthday, you big lug.” Giselle tapped him on her way to the buffet. He swatted her.

  “Children.”

  “What?” Two sets of innocent amber-green eyes turned on Lila.

  “Must you?” Lila sighed.

  “He’s not thirty-four every day, Mother. I have to smack him today.”

  “And I can’t let her get away with smacking me.”

  Julia grinned at the spectacle as she filled her plate. She noticed many of the offerings were among Mallen’s favorites.

  Breakfast proved to be fun and lively. She and Giselle gave Mallen a couple gift cards for some suspense novels he wanted to download and Lila handed over a knitted sweater he immediately pulled on over the shirt he wore.

  “Mom always knits me sweaters.”

  “No others fit him or his father. So I learned to knit.” Lila eyes softened with memories.

  “You’ve knit all of Mallen’s sweaters?”

  “Yes. And Hugo’s. I just can’t find good quality sweaters for either of them that fit properly.”

  Julia leaned over the table and whispered, “Spoiled,” then grinned when he happily nodded in agreement.

  “Absolutely,” he replied cheerily. “And I like it that way.”

  ***

  George rubbed his cold hands together. He had located Simon Malcolm. Unfortunately, the man shared a cell with two very rough men.

  America’s prison system wouldn’t be much better. George shuddered. He refused to screw up this assignment. Going to jail wasn’t an option. He had no intention of tolerating what Malcolm now endured.

  Malcolm would surely give him the information he needed. If he could spring his mentor from that cell he figured they could put their own twist on the assignment then.

  He had done his homework. George knew there were ways to defuse the GPS signal his body emitted. Once he figured out how, he and Malcolm could split the proceeds of the huge shipment. Of course, the Organization was also aware of the means to deactivate the unit and discovered which employees accomplished the task. The company usually destroyed them. But he and Malcolm were smart. They could elude the Organization for the rest of their lives.

  It was very convenient that his slut girlfriend currently lived in Sandovia. He would need someone to cook, clean and take
care of him. If she performed to his standards, he might go easy on her. If not then he’d enjoy inflicting her punishment. Of course, Julia rarely did anything to meet his standards.

  Smiling, he rubbed more warmth into his hands, very happy with the way his life was reforming. He had lost control for a while there, but now that he had a plan, his life’s outlook improved.

  Anticipating Julia’s screams, and the huge payout, George looked forward to the future. He blew on his fingers, still smiling.

  ***

  Mallen, Julia, and Giselle tromped back to the palace cold, wet, and hungry. Work had postponed their snowy adventure until closer to noon. Now the three changed into dry, warm clothes then reconvened in the morning room for lunch. Lila took in their chapped faces, bright red cheeks, and happy eyes and said, “Had a good time, I see.”

  “Yes, Mom.”

  “How many snowmen did you help build?” Lila’s question sounded knowing to Julia’s ears.

  Giselle and Julia both groaned and she laughed.

  “It’s amazing how those kids can’t build their own snowmen, and require your help, love.” Lila patted Mallen’s arm. She selected a roll from the basket and buttered it.

  “Without my help the kids wouldn’t have much time to sled.” Mallen’s voice was patient. He bit into the roll he had already slathered with butter and jam.

  “Did you sled, too?”

  “Mallen was with us, Mother.” Giselle sipped some steaming soup and rolled her eyes.

  Turning back to her son, Lila asked another question. “How many snowballs hit you?”

  The girls sniggered as he rolled his eyes. “No comment.”

  He managed to corner Julia after lunch and stole a few more kisses. “Thank you for this morning,” she told him sincerely.

  “Thank you for joining us.” He planted little kisses down her throat.

  “My pleasure,” she gasped, her insides quaking.

  “Mine, too.” He finally returned his attention to her lips.

  Reluctantly, they broke apart and returned to work.

  Julia’s excitement with her research grew. She had slowly read through most of Bruce Regin’s earlier work. His main focus had been to understand how certain drugs affected the brain. His purpose was to help those stricken with Sandovia’s Parkinson’s-like disease. The goal was to locate a medicine or herbal that could, if not cure the disease, at least stop the disease progression.

  She learned that although the illness the Sandovians experienced bore similarities to Parkinson’s, what they suffered was not clinically the same. She began a focused search on the Internet for pertinent research, and requested and received files of actual patients from the local hospital. Another relevant aspect of Dr. Regin’s goals was to discover the cause of the sickness. Julia figured if she could determine the why, she might have a better basis for knowing how to combat the debilitating ailment.

  The saddest statistics she had seen so far were the children. If a child before the age of two was diagnosed with the disease, that child rarely saw their tenth birthday. Julia not only wanted to know why, she needed to know.

  Her project could take another ten years, even thirty.

  Now she could put that knowledge to use for a people she had come to care about. She wondered if she could make a difference for this wonderful country.

  At supper that evening, Mallen seemed especially cheered by all of their warm tidings. They enjoyed his favorite meal and then for dessert, he cut the gooiest chocolate cake Julia had ever seen. She started salivating before he sliced into the delectable treat.

  She would just as soon feast on the man cutting the cake, but she could settle for a piece of his birthday cake. Julia swiped a few bites from his plate even. He grinned at her cheekiness.

  When gift-giving time came they moved into the family room. A fire snapped and danced in the fireplace. Mallen and Julia ended up on the same love seat, with Giselle and Lila seated across from them. Giselle handed her gift over first and Julia could tell immediately that the package held a painting of some sort. When Mallen opened his gift, he stared at it in reverence.

  The scene was of a large man, who resembled Mallen, but wasn’t. Around his feet cavorted a little boy. They were striding down a hall she didn’t recognize but she could tell by the way the man stared at the little boy that he was amazed and awed by him. She swallowed. The picture depicted a man who loved his little boy and a son who knew he was loved and was secure in that affection.

  “You finished it,” Mallen breathed in awe as he gazed at the portrait.

  Lila shook her head. “That’s exactly how your dad used to look at you, Mallen.” Tears welled. “And that’s exactly how you were as a little boy, too.”

  He raised amazed eyes at his sister. “How did you know?”

  Giselle shrugged, red brightening her cheeks. “I guess I’ve caught that look on his face before, and I’ve always wanted to capture it. I finally figured out how.”

  “I love this, thank you.” Mallen hugged Giselle.

  “Love, you still have a few more presents to open,” Lila said, even as they all gazed with wonder at the portrait.

  Lila had made him another sweater and given him more clothes. She also bought him some sporting equipment. Mallen hugged and kissed her next.

  Finally, Julia set her first gift on his lap. His eyebrow shot up. “You already gave me a gift card.”

  “I picked up a couple of other things, too.”

  He opened the gift and stared at the heated blanket in confusion.

  “That’s for after Giselle leaves and you don’t have her warm bed to crawl into anymore.” She didn’t manage to leech all the mischief out of her voice.

  “That’s perfect.” Giselle clapped her hands, her lovely face alight with glee.

  “So practical, love.” Amusement danced in Lila’s eyes.

  Mallen grinned before glancing at his sister. “I hadn’t thought about Gissy not being here any longer. I will need something to keep my bed warm.” He wiggled his eyebrows at her, whose heart pounded extra hard. The fiend.

  “I could loan you Sebastian.” Julia only managed the words after she had given a quick talking-to to her riotous hormones.

  He poked her before picking up the smaller box she placed beside the blanket and tore through the paper. Inside, a yellow bowtie with white smiley faces was neatly arranged. Mallen laughed. “It’s perfect.”

  Giselle and Lila both groaned, but she understood his preference for smiley faces. After suffering from depression, she realized he had experienced life when he couldn’t smile. Those smiley-faced bowties reminded him that he alone chose whether to laugh or cry.

  He looped his arm around her and hauled Julia close. “Thanks for this,” he said quietly, and she realized he appreciated that she recognized why he liked the ties so much.

  “You’re welcome.”

  “Where did you find this?”

  “I’ll never tell.”

  His expression turned lascivious. “Maybe I can extract this information later.”

  She wiggled her brows at him. “Maybe you can, you’ll have to see.” Her voice grew extra husky and she had to swallow.

  His expression grew pained, and she patted his knee before leaning over to whisper, “Better not play with fire, there’s usually a backlash.”

  He swatted her bottom as she moved to the bookshelf, his laughter following her.

  She decided she needed to heed her own advice.

  Chapter 19

  Something woke her, but when she finally roused, Julia couldn’t identify the noise. Listening, she noticed Sebastian was also awake, his ears sonaring. He didn’t growl, but rose from where he slept to leap off the bed. The big cat disappeared through the door panel and soon she heard Mallen’s feet hit the floor.

  The panel swung open and he crossed the floor to her bed. “What is it?” She sat up and patted the space beside her.

  Cocking her head she listened and heard the dist
urbance again. Mallen must have caught the sound then. He padded silently to the hall door and softly opened the wooden panel. Then he disappeared into the shadows of the long corridor.

  She had just slid out of bed when she heard him shout and didn’t bother with slippers or robe. Instead she sprinted into the hall in time to see a man easily as tall as Mallen, but many pounds lighter sway ominously.

  “Dad?” Mallen addressed the figure, his voice thick.

  His shout had produced results and Giselle, her face reflecting the same predatory vein Mallen’s showed, rushed down the hall. Lila stumbled from her room and both women stopped in their headlong rush when the light Mallen snapped on flowed across the intruder’s face.

  Haggard and lean, the man otherwise looked just like Mallen. Only his eyes, tearing and bloodshot, were blue and his hair completely white. As his family stood in shock, staring at the man, she moved to his side and took his arm, propping the lean but still large appendage over her shoulders. “Thank you, dear,” he murmured in polite French before crumpling against her.

  Mallen grabbed him before he and Julia both tumbled to the floor. She stepped away as Mallen slid an arm under the man’s shoulders and another under his knees and picked him up. The man’s face twisted. “Carried you....like this....my son,” he uttered so softly she almost didn’t catch his words. Mallen stumbled and Julia watched his impressive muscles flex as he pulled the man closer still.

  “Dad?”

  “Mallen,” the man answered. “Lila?”

  His wife stepped close and Julia wondered how she could see her husband with those huge tears welling in her amber-green eyes.

  Mallen carried his father to Lila’s room and placed him on the bed. “Mom, do you want me to put him in another room?”

  Lila shook her head vigorously. “No, leave him here. I’ll stay with him through the night.”

  Giselle padded forward and placed a hand in her father’s. “Daddy.”

  “Gissy,” the man uttered and Julia thought he tried to squeeze the hand his daughter placed in his. “Celeste?”