Extreme Danger (McClouds & Friends #5)(119)

She blinked at him. “Wow. Can I…maybe not. She’d probably recognize me. I passed her in the hotel and the parking lot both.”

“Yeah. That’s exactly why you should hang out in the hotel. Better yet, I’ll leave you at the SafeGuard headquarters. That’s the best place.”

She sighed and shook her head. She and Nick had already had this argument this morning, more than once. Heartfelt declarations of love and marriage proposals were great and romantic, but they did not soften the guy up, or make him any more manageable. On the contrary, he seemed more protective and prickly about her safety than ever.

But since she had no idea how long this stressful state of alarm was going to continue, she was reluctant to give in to his bossing and set a dangerous precedent. She had no intention of living her life in an airless box, Zhoglo or no Zhoglo. She would grit her teeth, lift her chin, stick her tits out and go about her business like normal.

At least until she had clear and obvious reason to hide.

“I have my own errands to run,” she told him. “I need to take back my rental car, I need to get money from my account, I need some fresh clothes from my apartment—”

“So I’ll take you to do all that stuff when I get back,” he said. “And then we can go out and shop for the ring.”

His eagerness gave her a warm, fuzzy glow. She reached up and touched his cheek, smoothing his spiky brush of hair. “We can wait on the ring,” she told him. “There’s no rush. If you’re low on money—”

“I want to see it on you,” he said. “I can’t wait.”

They grinned at each other. A couple of giddy fools in love.

The groom, Sean McCloud, sauntered by, looking tousled, sleepy and very pleased with himself. He winked at Becca, and slapped Nick on the back. “Marriage is excellent,” he informed them. “You’re next, man.”

“Damn straight,” Nick said. “Get ready.”

Sean’s eyes widened. So did Nick’s grin. “Whoa,” Sean breathed. “Uh, you mean, like, you two—you’ve already, uh—”

“Yeah. Done deal,” Nick said. “Go ahead. Congratulate me.”

Sean blinked and ran his hands through his blond hair, making it stick straight up into the air. “Wait, wait. Didn’t you just pull this chick out of a swimming pool, what, just a couple of days ago?”

“Like Venus rising from the foam,” Seth said with a snicker, as he passed by, bearing a tray heaped with food. “Dripping wet, and a gun to her head. I’m telling you, gets ’em every time.”

“Hot damn!” Sean’s grin was incandescent. “That’s great news!” He leaned over Becca and gave her a kiss on the cheek. “And she’s so cute, too. She adds to the scenery, big-time. I gotta tell Liv.”

He bounded off to the table where his bride was still eating breakfast, and within seconds, smiles and thumbs-up and sentimental glances were flashing their way from every side.

Becca clutched her coffee, and tried to breathe. Whew. She hadn’t been quite ready for a big announcement. It was so new, and she’d have preferred to treasure the secret for a while, but it wasn’t as if she’d communicated that preference to Nick. She hadn’t had time.

It occurred to her that Nick’s restless drive to get on with it, the way he was so hot to buy a ring even when his funds were tapped out, the way he was so eager to tell everyone…it was sort of like the way she’d been when she got engaged to Justin. It hadn’t felt real to her, so she’d carried on and told the whole world to make it feel more real.

So he was still feeling insecure. And after what they’d gotten up to all night, too. Wow. She had her work cut out for her to soothe this guy.

A rush of tenderness came over her for Nick, and for the lonely, vulnerable boy he had once been. She was going to make him realize that this thing was for real. That she was for real. Starting right now.

She got up, circled the table, and sat down on Nick’s lap. She cupped his face in her hands, and slowly, tenderly, publicly kissed him.

There were wolf whistles, cheers, even some scattered applause. She ignored it all. She could hardly help doing so, especially when he dug his fingers into her hair and returned her kiss as only he could.

When she finally came up for air, his eyes were closed with bliss, his face had hot streaks of red along his cheekbones, and his erection prodded her bottom. “When was check-out time, anyhow?” he muttered.

“Eleven,” Becca informed him.

He glanced at his watch. “Great. Let’s go back on upstairs.”

She started to laugh. “Oh, come on! We’ve already brought down our bags, and it’s only twelve minutes, so—”

“Who needs bags? Twelve minutes is enough. You done with breakfast?”

“Yes, but I—” She squeaked as he stood up, dumping her off his lap and dragging her up the big staircase that curved up right outside the entrance to the grand dining room.

They got on the road considerably later than they’d planned. Twelve minutes stretched to thirty-five, and he’d even tried to follow her when she retreated into the shower. She’d had to shove her lust-crazed Romeo bodily out the bathroom door, and lock it, just to get a few minutes’ peace to put herself back together.