Wilde at Heart (Wilde Security, #3)(23)

He boarded first and waited, watching the line of passengers until she finally appeared. She spotted him, too, but then pretended to concentrate on looking for her seat.

He caught her arm before she passed. “Where are you going?”

She didn’t even glance at him, stared straight ahead. “To my seat, if that’s okay with you.”

He motioned to the empty spot beside him. “This is your seat.”

“No, it’s not. It’s in coach—” She glanced down at her boarding pass, then up at the number over the empty seat. Scowling, she plopped down. “You changed my ticket. I know I didn’t buy a first class seat.”

“Yeah, I did.” He lowered his voice. “We’re married now, and we need to act it in case someone’s watching.”

“I really doubt anyone is.”

“Someone was in the hallway at the hotel.”

She opened her mouth but pressed her lips together a second later without uttering a sound. She dragged her bag up onto her lap and started digging through it.

Shit. That had been the wrong thing to say. He scrambled for another conversational thread. If he could just get her talking…

“Uh, how did it go with Eva?”

“It didn’t. She was already pissed about Mom and then we sprung this marriage on her and… Well, she’s not speaking to me.” She pulled an iPod and large set of pink earphones from her bag. “And I don’t want to talk to you.”

Damn. Tiptoeing around the ugly words still hanging in the air between them wasn’t getting him anywhere. He should’ve known it wouldn’t. Shelby was nothing if not direct.

“Hey.” He stopped her from putting the earphones on and blocking him out. “Will you let me apologize?”

She heaved a sigh and finally looked at him, one eyebrow arched.

And now that he had her attention, the nice little speech he’d composed in his mind flew away, leaving him grasping for whatever words he could find. “Uh, what I said to you in the limo was wrong. I’d had a lot to drink and was overwhelmed—and-and that’s not an excuse. I’ve never thought of you as the type of woman to sell your body, and I’m sorry for insinuating that you are.”

“It’s okay.” She lifted a shoulder in a shrug meant to be dismissive, but he saw through it. He’d hurt her deeply with his careless remark, and he had no idea how to make it up to her.

“No.” He reached out, covered her hands with his. “It’s not okay. I was an ass.”

“Yeah, but you’re also not that far off from the truth. I mean, you’re paying me to be married to you.” She released a humorless laugh. “New low for me. It feels…sleazy. I really don’t want it. It seemed like a good idea at the time, but I don’t want your money, so let’s get the annulment when we get home, and I’ll figure something else out.”

His heart sank. Surprising, since he’d been conflicted about this plan from the get-go. “No.”

Her eyes popped wide. “What?”

“We’ve taken it this far already. Might as well see it through. I need your help with this blackmail problem.”

She huffed out a breath and leaned back in her seat. “I can’t—”

“Please.” He squeezed her hand. “And if you’re not comfortable accepting money from me, then at least take the protection of my name for the next sixty days. I don’t know much about The Headhunters, except that they’ve been around for decades, and I doubt they’ve outlasted their competition by being stupid.” Even though the motorcycle club was a criminal organization, they were also a business. And if Reece knew anything for sure, it was business. “They’re not going to attack a well-known businessman’s wife. Too much risk with not enough payout.”

Shelby said nothing in response until the plane pushed away from the gate and the flight attendants started their safety spiel. She glanced away from him, but not before he saw a glimmer in her eyes, something dangerously close to fear. “I don’t want my past hurting you. I’ve…done a lot of things I’m not proud of.”

“Shelby.” He waited until she lifted her gaze to his. Then he gave her the truth, point-blank. “Wilde Security is not going to survive if I don’t get this contract. We’re operating in the red, and it’s dragging DMW Systems down with it. And I can guarantee my deal with Irving James will not happen if that video or those photos leak. I need your help with this.”

She plucked at the cord of her headphones. “Okay,” she said. “I’ll help, but I’m warning you, it’s going to get messy and chaotic, and I know how much you hate that.” Without another word, she put on her headphones, closed her eyes, and leaned her head back against the seat, blocking him out.

He sat back and turned his gaze to the window, watched the ground drop out from under them as the plane took flight.

She was right. He did hate mess. He hated chaos. And his life had been nothing but since she flounced into it.

Jesus. He hoped he was making the right call here.





Chapter Ten


WASHINGTON, D.C.

Reece’s apartment was…sterile. It was the only word Shelby could think of when she stepped through the door. He’d done nothing to the plain white walls. His furniture was black leather, and the end tables were all glass and metal and sharp angles. A huge island with a breakfast bar separated the kitchen and living room, and the space off the kitchen meant for a formal dining room was empty. The floor-to-ceiling windows in the living room offered breathtaking views of the city, which was about the only thing this apartment had going for it.