Chapter 18 #2
He lingers in the doorway. A patch of pink colors his cheeks. “I didn’t get to enjoy my dinner. I was otherwise occupied. I’ll be right back.”
He disappears into his darkened room. I hurry over to the telephone and press the room-service button, ignoring the rapid beating of my heart as I place our order. As I hang up the receiver, Art reappears and takes a seat on the bed next to mine.
“It’ll be about twenty minutes.”
He nods, adjusting his glasses and glancing to the TV, where a giant robot is helping clean up a woman’s living room. Neither of us talks for several minutes. I’m more awake than I was earlier. My body is humming with pent-up energy. Is he going to say anything?
Another ad plays, and it’s still silent. “I didn’t know you wore glasses,” I squeak. They’re basic black and oval-shaped with thick arms, but they suit him. He reminds me of Henry Cavill playing Clark Kent.
He turns his gaze from the telly to me. There they are again—those bright hazel orbs. All I want to do is stare. “Only at night. I wear contacts during the day.”
I pull my knees to my chest and force myself to look anywhere else. “How could you stand to wear them all day today? Aren’t your eyes burning?”
“You build up to it. I can wear them comfortably for about twelve hours. But tomorrow, I may have to settle for these. I forgot to pack a backup pair. My right contact ripped as I was taking it out.”
“They’re a good look on you.”
“Thanks,” he says quietly.
The telly program has begun again. Catchy pop music plays and an announcer with an overly enthusiastic voice comes on. Five new contests are introduced for the next round of the game show. “So I may have this wrong, but I think they have to navigate an obstacle course—”
“Alice,” Art interrupts.
I pull my legs in tighter to my body and stare at the pristine white sheet, my chest tightening. “Yes?”
“What happened in the car tonight?”
There’s a woodpecker drilling its beak into my ribs. All I hear is the constant, rapid thud, thud, thud. My breathing increases. I’ve already ruined our friendship. I doubt anything I say can salvage it. I might as well come clean with him. The truth is something he values.
I continue staring at the sheet as my cheeks burn lava-hot. “I kissed you,” I whisper.
“Yes. I know you did,” he says slowly, his expression unreadable.
“I’m so, so, so sorry. I know I was in the wrong and shouldn’t have done it.
” I look away and begin drawing a few circles on the bed.
“You’ve worked hard to get where you are and to be promoted to the rank of a royal protection officer.
I’m aware of just how many hoops you’ve had to jump through.
The security office only takes one out of every fifty people who apply. I never meant to put all that at risk.”
“Alice . . .”
“I was foolish. I let my emotions get the better of me. I knew you were off-limits, and I’ve tried hard to repress how I feel about you. But nothing has worked. Even when I was on dates with other men, all I could think about was you.”
“Alice . . .”
I lower my head even more. “Tonight, when you were right there, and you looked so handsome in your tux, I couldn’t stand it any longer. It was like a feral animal was inside of me. I gave in to it and kissed you and—”
“Alice!” Art’s voice is finally strong enough to get my attention.
I hear the sound of the bedsprings moving.
Footsteps approach and he settles himself next to me, his legs barely brushing against mine as the bed shifts.
He takes a hand and slowly runs it up my arm to my face, causing me to quiver from his light touch.
His big hand stops at my chin and tilts it up. Our gazes are locked.
“What you did was highly inappropriate. And yes, it broke all the rules. But the truth is . . . I wanted it.” His admission comes out raw.
“What?” I sputter, freezing with shock.
“You’re not the only one who’s been fighting an internal war with their feelings.
For the past few weeks, I’ve suffered in silence as I’ve watched you go out on dates with other men.
It’s been pure torture and made me moodier than normal.
Sorry if I’ve been a grouch. It’s just that all I’ve wanted to do is steal you away from the blokes you were with and take you out on a proper date with me. ”
So that’s why he was so grumpy. He wanted me to be on a date with him!
He was jealous! My pulse picks up. I look into his eyes, wide and full of desire.
They remind me of a tiger who’s been silently watching and stalking its prey from behind a carpet of grass.
I swallow hard. He feels the same about me as I do about him.
“The hardest part about this job is that we’re discouraged from developing any personal relationship with our charges.
But ask anyone in the protection division and they’ll tell you it’s nearly impossible to follow that protocol.
As I’ve spent time with you and gotten to know you, I’ve come to learn that you have such a beautiful, gentle spirit.
You’re the kind of woman I’ve always dreamed about finding, but unfortunately can never have because of the rules. ”
I can’t believe what I’m hearing. “Forget the rules. Forget the job. Right now, I’m just Alice and you’re Art. We’re two people who have been starving to show one another exactly how they feel. So let’s stop wasting time. Kiss me,” I demand.
In an instant, Art cups my cheeks. “As you wish,” he whispers, and presses his lips to mine, demanding access.
I let out a content sigh at hearing Westley’s famous line from The Princess Bride.
I run my hands through his hair, sinking them into the back of his neck.
He smells so good, like a mixture of a gingerbread latte and honey.
I’m filled with an adrenaline rush. My body is hot and alive. I kiss Art right back with greedy, primal need.
I move my hands down his neck to his back.
Through the thin fabric of his T-shirt, I feel all the rock-hard muscles underneath, running my hands over the defined ridges.
Art pulls me into him, so our chests are touching.
Heat is radiating off his body too. If there were any ice around, we’d melt it before it came within a ten-kilometer radius of us.
When we finally surface for air, we’re both breathing heavily. My lips are swollen, and my body is humming in delight. I’ve never ever kissed a man like that! And I don’t know if anything will ever top it.
His eyes are locked on to mine. “You, my beautiful Alice, are full of surprises.” He runs a hand down the side of my face and tilts my chin up. My body quivers. This time he places a softer, gentler kiss on my lips.
“You know how to make a girl feel special.”
“Only you. You’re the one I’ve been waiting for.”
“I feel the same way about you.”
For the third time tonight, we kiss.
Our room service order arrives after exactly eighteen minutes of waiting.
We reluctantly break apart to eat. The telly has been turned down low.
Art and I are sitting next to one another, cross-legged on the bed.
He’s enjoying his curry, while I tuck in to my matcha ice cream.
“What were you thinking after I ran away from you?” I ask.
“It took me a full sixty seconds to make sense of what had just happened. I’ve thought about kissing you every time we’ve been together, but never thought it would actually happen.
” He tickles my foot with his bare one. “By the time I was out of the car and had tracked you down, you were busy chatting with the imperial family. I knew you’d be out of reach until after the dinner. ”
“I thought about you throughout the entire dinner,” I admit. “I was terrified I’d ruined our relationship and put your job at risk.”
“I’m so sorry you had to go through that.
If we’d been able to find a moment alone, I might’ve stolen another kiss from you.
” He rewards me with a cheeky grin. “In that moment, you had me on cloud nine and ready to admit my feelings to you. But in hindsight, it was for the best I didn’t get carried away because we both know how the rest of the evening turned out.
” He takes a heaping bite of his curry and chews slowly.
“The difficult part is going to be figuring where we go from here.”
I sit taller. “You mean you’d be willing to break the rules?”
“Yes, because you’re worth it.”
My heart races with joy.
“I meant it when I said you were the type of woman I’ve been waiting for. I know the rules and I’m aware of the consequences. I don’t care two bits about them. I’m fully prepared to put it all on the line for a shot at seeing where this thing between us goes.”
It’s like I’m an overfilled treasure chest and can’t help but smile wider than I ever have before.
Art is choosing me. Even though there is no guarantee we’ll work out.
Me. Over everything he’s worked for. “I don’t know what to say, other than I’ve never been more honored and excited about anything in my life.
” I place my melting ice cream aside, scoot as close as I can to him, and rest my head on his shoulder.
He kisses the top of my head and places his curry down. “If it’s all right with you, I’d like to keep everything under wraps and as discreet as possible. We need more time to talk and figure out where we go from here.”
“I agree.”
He wraps an arm around my body and hugs me to his chest. “We’ll have to be mindful of our interactions around others and in public. But when we’re alone, we can be more open with one another.”
“What about while we’re here in Japan? Since I canceled all the events tomorrow, do you think you and I could spend the day exploring Tokyo alone? Maybe Angela could be given the day off. She seemed to think the three drunkards will be sent on the first flight back to London this morning.”
“We’ll have to play it by ear. I don’t know if Ange would be comfortable with us out alone.
But if she is, then yes.” He sighs deeply.
“As far as those three are concerned, yes, they’ll be on the eight a.m. flight out of Narita International Airport.
” He winces as he glances at the clock, noticing it’s near four.
“I should probably make sure they’re up, packed, and in a taxi. ”
“You’re nicer than me. I would let them suffer the consequences if they missed the flight.”
“I’d love to see that too, except they’d be our problem until they’re on that plane.” He reluctantly releases me, stands, and stretches. “Try and get some sleep. I’ll check on you again if you’re not up by noon.”
I wave him off. “I’ll probably be up by nine.”
He collects our plates and utensils and wheels the room-service table out into the hallway. “Thanks for dinner, breakfast, or whatever you want to call it.”
“You’re welcome. Can I at least have a goodbye kiss?”
He chuckles under his breath. “As you wish.”
As his lips brush against mine, I can’t help but think he’s saved the best for last.