Page 47 of Cross Me

“That is…” I couldn’t say sweet or nice. I needed Anders to get the message that I could never be one of the guys.

“That’s not really appropriate,” Alexander said through gritted teeth.

Anders cocked a surprised eyebrow and shrugged. “She’s working hard. We thought she might like to have some fun and everyone wants to thank her.”

“My wife is expecting,” Alexander reminded him.

So much for best behavior. I elbowed Alexander in the ribs, but he ignored me.

“We weren’t going to get her pissed,” Anders said with a laugh. “We just thought she might like a little time out. It doesn’t seem like she gets much of it.”

His words were loaded, and it occurred to me that Anders had been reading the tabloids. He had stepped into the role of knight without any clue what he was getting into.

“I go out when I want to.” We were no longer talking about a quick walk down to a pub. I wanted to be perfectly clear on this. Everyone—even my closest friends—believed Alexander told me when I could and couldn’t leave. But that wasn’t true. I’d always chosen when to stay and go. He had never stopped me from leaving. “He usually just sends a security escort behind me.”

No one laughed. Tension stretched between us like a taut rubber band. One wrong move and it would snap. Who knew which of us it would hit?

“Clara has responsibilities,” Alexander said gruffly, “to this country. To this family. I wouldn’t expect you to understand.”

“Yeah, what would a poor kid like me know? Who am I next to you, right?” He took a step closer and I moved between them, lifting Elizabeth from Alexander’s arms and holding her closely.

“Enough,” I hissed. “You have both proven your point.”

“Maybe to you.” Anders cast a look in my direction before training his eyes on Alexander. “But I suspect he could stand to be taught a few lessons.”

“I could stand…” Alexander repeated with genuine surprise. He chuckled slightly at some joke that only he was in on.

“Your men would take care of it though, right?” Anders backed up. He turned from Alexander and gave me a meaningful look. “If you change your mind, we’ll be at the Dark Horse in the village. Let me know if you need anything.”

“You don’t need to worry about my wife,” Alexander’s voice was as cold as the edge of a knife.

Anders took one more look at me and shook his head. “Nah, but maybe you should.”

CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

ALEXANDER

Clara wasn’t happy with me. What was new? It was impossible to explain to her why Anderson got under my skin without telling her the truth. And that would change everything for what she was doing here. I could see that now. Still, it was a risk to ignore the situation developing right under my nose.

Anderson Stone was falling in love with my wife. My brother was falling in love with my wife. I wasn’t blind. Anyone could see it. It was why Brexton had called me here. Maybe Clara could pretend not to notice. She had a frustrating habit of not seeing herself as the world did. If she could, maybe she would understand why I was so possessive of her. Or maybe she didn’t want to see it, because then she’d have to admit there was a problem. A really big fucking problem. Anderson might not have crossed any lines yet, but he would.

I knew her heart belonged to me. But would that be the case if a man came along and offered her what I could never give her? Love that came without the price of her freedom? I never wanted to find out.

She fell asleep early that evening, no doubt exhausted by everything that had happened today. I helped her along, making love to her until her eyes drooped closed. As soon as she was asleep, I left the bedroom, shutting the door quietly behind me.

Our security heads were staying in the east wing of the house. I took a chance and knocked on a door, hoping I didn’t accidentally wake Georgia. I knew what she would have to say about my plans for the evening. Not that Norris and Brexton were going to be any happier, but they were military men, and, as such, they knew how to take an order. Georgia didn’t share that trait unless the order came from someone holding a whip. I wasn’t about to go down that path just to get her on my side.

To my relief, Brexton opened the door, his gun in hand. “Everything okay?”

“Stand down, soldier.” I held my hands up in surrender. “I thought we could grab a drink.”

He hesitated, blinking away confusion before he grinned. “Cool. Let me get my stuff.”

His stuff included his gun, shoes, and jacket. For Brex those were life’s only essentials. Things had been tense between us the last couple of weeks. I knew he had taken this assignment as a sign of my faith in him, but I hadn’t apologized for blaming him for what had happened that day in Chelsea. I also knew he wouldn’t accept an apology. That wasn’t how it worked with us. When we’d served together, if one of us fucked up, the other held him accountable. And then we let it go. It was how we’d stayed alive.

“Look,” I began, “I know you did the best you could that day. Clara can be stubborn. I’m sure she didn’t make it easy for you.”

“I shouldn’t have left her, though.” Regret coloured his words and his eyes darkened as he recalled his choice. He shook his head fiercely. “My job is to protect this family. I won’t forget that again.”