She swallowed. “Does…does your leg still hurt?”
It wasn’t his leg bothering him. He thought about lying, pondering whether his injury would have any effect on swaying her to stay away from danger. But he doubted it. She was so damn headstrong and unreasonable. “No. It’s fine.”
“Nothing keeps you down for long, does it?” She peeked up at him again. “You’re so invincible.”
Hardly. His hands tightened again, because around her he felt like a naked baby in the woods, but damned if he’d admit it.
“I just wanted to prove I could do it,” she whispered, reacting to his anger.
Her words made him want to explode. “Why?”
She drew a shuddering breath, and his attention was diverted to her breasts. He wasn’t sure how it was done, since understanding the working of women’s underwear wasn’t high on his list of accomplishments, but her small breasts were fairly bursting out of that damn dress. They taunted him, when usually it was her pert behind that grabbed his undivided attention. That and her unwavering stubbornness, which he admired even as he resented it.
“You wouldn’t understand, Alec.”
Probably not, since he’d forgotten what the hell they were talking about. He wanted to pull the plunging neckline of the dress two inches lower so he could see her nipples. Would they be pale pink, or a dark dusky rose? He could almost taste her in his mouth, her sweet flesh puckering tight. His erection strained against his jeans. Lord, if just thinking about kissing her breasts made him shake with lust, he wasn’t sure he’d actually be able to survive being inside her. He closed his eyes in self-defense and swallowed hard. But shutting out the reality of having her in his grasp only allowed him to dwell on the fantasy of getting her beneath him, warm and soft and ready.
He groaned.
“Alec?”
He forced his eyes open, saw her worried gaze, and frowned. With one fingertip, he tipped up her chin. “What wouldn’t I understand, babe? Explain it to me.”
She licked her lips, leaving them wet and shiny. “I need to make a difference. I’ve screwed up a lot in my life, hurt a lot of people.”
Her self-recrimination did a lot to dispel his lust and clear his brain, so that her words held all his attention. He started to correct her, to tell her how wrong she was, but decided to let her talk it out instead. Later, he could set her straight.
“I almost lost Dane, and I did lose Derek because I was too dumb to see Raymond for what he was. My entire family was hurt, the company was hurt. Innocent people were victimized. The only way I can live with myself now is if I help someone else.”
Alec smoothed his fingers over her cheek, tucking a blond strand behind her small ear. Her hair was soft and fine, with natural curl. “Hooking up with Raymond was a mistake, but we all make them. You can’t expect yourself to be exempt. And you can’t undo the past.”
“I can try to make amends.”
“To who? Dane knew what he was getting into, and you couldn’t have helped Derek even if you’d known. You didn’t even meet Raymond until after Derek had died.”
It was an awful situation, one Alec knew she still hadn’t come to terms with. She’d only been a stepping stone in Raymond’s plot against her family, but of the survivors, she’d been emotionally hurt the worst. Raymond had started with industrial espionage, and quickly advanced into more deadly crimes. It had taken all Alec’s fortitude to allow the law to have him, rather than utilizing his own sense of justice. He could have taken care of Raymond without an ounce of remorse.
Celia turned her face away. “I feel like I betrayed them all.”
His heart twisted, and the pain was so unfamiliar, he jerked. Slowly, his hands flexed on her smooth shoulders, pulling her closer, which made the pain less noticeable. “Celia,” he whispered, the word a reprimand breathed into her ear, “you know that’s nonsense. Dane loves you, so of course he doesn’t blame you. And Angel adores you. You’ve become her best friend, a godmother to little Grayson.”
Her small hands lifted to his chest and lightly rested there. Her forehead touched his sternum. “I can’t believe she’s forgiven me. It’s because of me that Raymond was able to threaten her.” She tilted back to stare up into his face, and her belly pressed against him. “She could have been hurt—”
“Hush.” He laid a finger over her lips, fighting the urge to taste her again. That first kiss, meant as a showdown, had made him hard, and being near her had kept him that way. She’d tasted sweet, like cherries, but now her lip gloss was gone and he found her naked mouth even more appealing. “You’re not responsible for Raymond’s actions, Celia. And the truth is, you saved Angel by showing up when you did and wielding that crowbar like a pro.”
He smiled and she managed a skimpy smile in return. “Regardless of what you say, Alec, I know I hold part of the responsibility. And it…it disgusts me so much, knowing I was engaged to that animal, that I might have married him, that I did sleep with him.”
Alec froze, not wanting that image to invade his mind, but it was never far from there anyway. The thought of Celia having sex with Raymond sickened him and filled him with a killing rage. He dropped his hands and took a step back, trying to distance himself both physically and mentally. He didn’t want to care who she’d slept with, as long as she slept with him, too. But it wasn’t that simple and he knew it.
He loomed over her, ready to intimidate once again. “You won’t change anything by getting yourself killed. Do you think Dane deserves that right now, after he’s finally found happiness with Angel and the baby?”
She wrapped her arms around herself, holding tight. “I’ve learned my lesson. I’ll be extra careful from now on. But when I saw this case, I knew I had to do something.”
“Damn it, Celia!” His frustration exploded, but he recognized her stubborn look and knew there’d be little chance of changing her mind.
She glared at him, her chin jutting out at an obstinate angle. “Well you just refused it without even giving Mrs. Barrington a reason why!”
In her pique, Celia no longer looked so vulnerable or so small. She stood barely five-foot-six in her heels, a good ten inches shorter than him. But when she gave her anger free rein, she reminded him of an Amazon.
She clutched at the front of his shirt. “Do you know she thinks her daughter is involved in prostitution? That she’s been forcibly coerced into it? Hannah thought she was joining a modelling agency, but now—”
“Spare me, Celia,” he said in disgust, his anger rising once again. “I read the case and I interviewed Mrs. Barrington myself. Her daughter was a spoiled brat who left a very loving family behind to chase the limelight. I’ve heard it before. Hannah wants to be famous, and she’ll likely do whatever it takes to see it come true. Mrs. Barrington just can’t believe her precious daughter would willingly stoop so low. But it happens. There’s no one to save this time, and Hannah likely wouldn’t appreciate your intrusion into her cozy little life-style, anyway.”
Celia thumped her fist, still tangled in his shirt, against his chest. She looked outraged and appalled. “You’re not even willing to check it out?”
“I just told you, I already have.” He covered her hand with his own, holding it tight against him. “Trust me on this. I know more about it than you ever will and I have eons more experience.”
“What does that mean?”
Damn it. He swiped