“You’re doing the right thing, Losha,” said Zary. “I’m proud of you for not fighting Shiver on this.”
“I have little choice.”
Zary scrunched her eyes and put her hand on her hip. “Of course you do. You could stay here. I’m sure both Sorcha and Burns would love to have you and Kazmir stay indefinitely. You could also stay with Gunner and me. There is no way anyone will be gaining access to the duplex ever again.”
I’d heard Burns talking to Shiver about that very thing. There was a team already working on fixing the holes in the beach house’s security system while other teams were analyzing the systems in place at several of the other houses owned by K19 Security Solutions’ partners—Butler Ranch included.
Kazmir and I would be very safe if we stayed, but I’d still be jeopardizing the safety of everyone who lived here.
“Let Shiver take care of you and the baby,” Zary said through her tears.
“Ready?” Shiver asked, walking up behind me.
“Sure.”
He handed Kazmir to me and then opened the back passenger door. I bent down to put the baby in the car seat, when I felt Shiver’s hand on my shoulder.
“Wait,” I heard him say, and turned back around, straightening to look at him.
“What?”
“We don’t have to do this. If you really don’t want to go to London, I won’t force you.”
“It’s fine. I understand it’s for the best.”
When he nodded, I went back to securing Kazmir in the car seat.
“I’ll see you in July, if not sooner,” Zary said when I walked around the car to get in the front passenger seat.
“July?” asked Shiver.
“Our wedding,” Zary told him. “We can’t be married without my maid of honor.”
Before I dissolved into tears a second time, I got in the car. Would I be back in July? Or would doing so bring danger back to Zary, Gunner, and their baby? Only time would tell.
Both Shiver and I were quiet on the drive to the airfield in San Luis Obispo. He’d told me a private jet was waiting to take us from there to Los Angeles, where we’d take a different private aircraft to London. SIS clearly had a great deal more money than United Russia, given the way we were traveling. On the other hand, Shiver was a duke now. Perhaps the jets belonged to him.
“Pinch should be here shortly, and then we’ll leave.”
Part of me had hoped that Shiver and I would have some time alone on the trip so we could talk things through. I’d decided only a few short hours ago not to keep the fact that he was Kazmir’s father from him any longer. Except, every time I tried to tell him, I was interrupted. Perhaps it would be better to wait until we landed in London and I could speak with him privately without fear of another interruption.
“Pinch is the one who found me in Lapland.”
“I’m sorry, Losha.”
“Why?”
“I had to know where you were. I had to know you were safe.”
“I know,” I whispered, looking out the car window at the vast expanse of the Pacific Ocean.
All too soon, we arrived at the airfield where Kazmir and I were whisked onto the small plane.
“The next one will be far more comfortable,” Shiver said as he helped get Kazmir settled into the car seat that we’d strapped to a seat on the plane. “We’ll only be in the air an hour.”
I closed my eyes and feigned sleep when I heard Pinch board.
Shiver hadn’t exaggerated about how much nicer the plane was that we took from Los Angeles to London. Once we were in the air, at cruising altitude, he led Kazmir and me to the back.
“There are two staterooms. You can lie down if you’d like,” he said while setting up the portable crib for the baby.
“Shiver, this is…”
He stopped what he was doing and met my gaze.
“Thank you. I appreciate what you’re doing very much.”
“You’re welcome,” he murmured, giving me the sense that he wasn’t looking for my thanks but something else entirely.
With hooded eyes, he left me alone to contemplate why I found it so hard to share my feelings with him.
I heard the door open and rolled to my back.
“Good afternoon, my sleeping beauties,” said Shiver, bending at the waist to lift Kazmir out of the crib. The baby kicked his legs and babbled at him, putting his tiny hand on his cheek.
“He likes you.”
“He has good taste.”
As soon as he spoke, Kazmir got fussy and reached out for me.
“Don’t take it personally,” I said when I saw his face fall. “He’s hungry.”
“I came back to see if you needed anything.”
I lifted my shirt, unfastened the cup of the maternity bra, and let Kazmir get settled before I looked up at him. “I don’t think so, but thank you.”
“I apologize for staring. You’re both just so beautiful.”
I felt my cheeks heat. “Thank you,” I repeated.
“I’ll go back out, then,” he said, but didn’t move.
“You can stay.”
“I shouldn’t. I…uh…”
“Are you okay?” I asked.
“Pardon? I mean, yes, I’m fine…”
“Shiver?”
“I’ll be back later,” he said and walked out.
I tilted my head and looked at my sweet son, nursing happily while a war waged inside me.
Things had never been easy between Shiver and me. At first it was all about undeniable attraction. It still was to a certain extent. The sound of his voice alone made me long to feel his naked body against mine.
“I’ve heard about you,” I said to the man who had come up behind where I sat at the bar, without making a sound.
“What have you heard?” he asked, his mouth so close to my neck that I could feel the heat of his breath.
“You make women shiver.”
“What about you? Do I make you shiver?”
With his mouth still so close to my neck, I leaned into him so his lips almost made contact with my skin.
“Tell me, Orina, do I?” he said in an English accent that had to be part of his charm.
“How do you know my name?” I asked, closing my eyes and wishing I could feel his naked body against mine.
“I asked around.”
“Why?”
“You are the most captivating woman I’ve ever seen.”
“Is that all?”
“Isn’t that enough?”
“It has nothing to do with whom I work for?” I signaled the bartender, who poured another shot of icy-cold vodka. “One for the gentleman, please.”
When Shiver reached around me to pick up the shot glass, he rubbed against me.
“In spite of it,” he said.
“Za zdorovje.” I raised my glass.
“To your health,” he answered, waiting until I brought the glass to my lips before he did. When he sat on the barstool next to me, I missed the warmth of his body so close to mine.
“You are handsome as well as charming,” I said, looking into his green-gray eyes, wondering if he looked as good out of clothes as he did in them. Probably better, I decided as I took him in, starting with his alluring eyes to his chin, covered with just the right amount of stubble. His hair was dark, thick, and wavy, but shaved on the sides.
His perfectly pressed white dress shirt was open at the neck, revealing skin that was tan from time in the sun, and the dark-blue suit jacket he wore was snug on his muscular arms.
His long, thick fingers hinted at the power and breadth of other parts of his body. His legs, too, strained against his custom-cut, dark-blue trousers. The man had to be rock solid underneath all the fabric.
“Well? What do you think?” he asked, his chin resting against his fist.
“You are the most captivating man I’ve ever seen.”
Shiver leaned forward so his lips were once again just below my ear.
“I’d say, then, we’re the perfect match.”
“Only one problem,” I said, moving away from him.
He smirked, leaning back into his fist. “I can’t wait to hear it.”
“How do you know I’m not here to kill you?”
“I cannot imagine a more exquisite way to go.”
When Kazmir fussed, I moved him to the opposite breast and then leaned back against the pillow, closing my eyes and willing the memory of the first time I met Thornton “Shiver” Whittaker to come back into focus.