Kiss an Angel(125)

“You don’t know the first thing about the feelings I have for Daisy.”

“I know that you don’t love her enough to get on your knees and beg for her.” She regarded him smugly. “So I win. I guess I win either way.”

“You’re crazy.”

“And you’re smart to refuse. I got on my knees once for love, and I don’t recommend it.”

“Jesus, Sheba. Don’t do this.”

Her voice lost its taunting quality. “I have to. Nobody humiliates Sheba Quest and gets away with it. And either way, you’re going to be the loser today. Are you sure you don’t want to reconsider?”

“I’m sure.”

At that moment Daisy knew she’d lost Sinjun. Alex wasn’t put together like other men. He was held together by steel and grit and pride. If he demeaned himself, it would destroy the man he was. Bowing her head, she tried to turn away, but Brady blocked her path.

Alex spoke in tight, hard tones. “You know what the irony in all this is. Daisy’d do it. She wouldn’t even think twice about it.” He gave a rough bark of laughter that bore no trace of humor. “She’d be on her knees in a second because she’s got a heart beating inside her that’s strong enough to take on the world. She doesn’t care about honor or pride or anything else when the well-being of the creatures she loves is a stake.”

“So what?” Sheba sneered. “This isn’t about Daisy. It’s about you. What’s it going to be, Alex? Your pride or the tiger? Are you going to lay it all out for love, or are you going to hold on to everything that’s important to you?”

There was a long silence. Tears had begun to stream down Daisy’s face, and she knew she had to get away. She pulled back from Brady, then froze as she heard his angry sputter.

“That son of a bitch.”

She whirled back and saw Alex still standing in front of Sheba with his head high. But his knees were beginning to bend. Those mighty Romanov knees. Those proud Markov knees. Slowly, he sank down into the sawdust, but at the same time, she knew she had never seen him look more arrogant, more unyielding.

“Beg me,” Sheba whispered.

“No!” The word was ripped from Daisy’s chest. She wouldn’t let Sheba do this to him, not even for Sinjun! What good would it do to save one magnificent tiger if she destroyed the other? She ran through the back door and into the arena, kicking up sawdust as she flew toward Alex. When she got there, she caught him by the arm and tried to drag him to his feet.

“Get up, Alex! Don’t do this! Don’t let her do this to you.”

He didn’t take his eyes off Sheba Quest. They burned. “It’s like you once said, Daisy. Nobody else can demean me. I can only demean myself.”

He turned his face upward, and his mouth tightened with scorn. Although he was on his knees, he had never looked more glorious. He was every inch the czar. The king of the center ring. “I’m begging you, Sheba,” he said flatly. “Don’t let anything happen to that tiger.”

Daisy’s hand convulsed around his arm, and she dropped to her knees beside him.

Brady made a sharp exclamation.

And Sheba Quest’s mouth curled in a crooked smile. The expression that came over her face was a queer combination of wonder and satisfaction. “Son of a bitch. You really do love her after all.”

She looked down at Daisy, kneeling next to him in the sawdust. “In case you still haven’t figured it out, he loves you. Your tiger will be back in the morning, and you can thank me anytime. Now, do I have to paint another picture for you, or do you think you can take it from here by yourself without screwing up?”

Daisy stared at her, swallowed, and nodded.

“Good. Because I’m getting sick and tired of everyone in this circus moping around worrying about you.”

Brady started cussing.

Alex’s eyes narrowed.

And Sheba Quest, the queen of the center ring, swept past all three of them, head high, bright auburn hair flying like a circus banner.

Brady caught up with her just before she got to the back door, but before he could speak, she turned on him and jabbed him in the chest as hard as she could with her index finger.

“Don’t you ever again say that I’m not a good person!”

Slowly a smile replaced the look of shock on his face. Without a word, he bent down, drove his shoulder into her belly, and carried her out of the top.

Daisy shook her head in bewilderment and gazed at Alex as they knelt together in the sawdust. “Sheba set all this up. She knew Brady and I wouldn’t be able to resist eavesdropping. She understood how I felt, and she set this up so I’d believe you really loved me.”

His eyes flicked over her, and they were as hard as amber and coldly furious. “Not another word.”

She opened her mouth.

“Not a word!”

His pride had been badly battered, and he wasn’t taking this at all well. She knew she had to act quickly. After everything they’d been through, she wasn’t going to lose him now.

With all her might, she shoved against his chest. She caught him by surprise, and he sprawled backward into the sawdust. Before he could right himself, she threw her body on top of his.

‘Don’t get stupid, Alex. I mean it.” She grabbed handfuls of us crisp, dark hair in her fists. “I’m begging you. We’ve come too far for you to get stupid on me now; I’ve done enough of that for both of us. But a lot of it was your fault; you know it was. All that talk about how you couldn’t love. And then when you really did love me, I thought it was guilt. I should have known. I should have—”