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BELLE

I drop from the fire escape onto the sidewalk, pushing my robe down as it threatens to fly up and expose my nakedness to everyone walking around in the cool evening air. Then I start to run.

My face is flushed and my body is overheating from the most incredible experience of my life, but a chill wave of guilt and regret is swiftly taking over as I slowly regain my senses and realize what I’ve just done.

“Jesus, Belle!” I snap at myself as grit and stones stab into the skin of my bare feet. “You’re engaged!”

So what if it’s an arranged marriage? So what if I’m basically being forced into it? Does that mean I can break a promise I made simply because I let myself be overwhelmed by a moment of immense, glorious passion that is still singing in my head like a choir of angels?

You cheated!

“No, I didn’t!” I snap back at myself, drawing odd looks from a group of guys chatting by their car.

I never wanted to marry Fitch in the first place. My parents are forcing me to. Technically, I may have said yes to him, but it wasn’t a yes that came from my heart. It was a yes that came from pure self-preservation. To keep me from being tossed out onto the streets by my father.

Fitch thinks I want to marry him. And so does Conrad.

That’s why he volunteered to teach me. So I’d have experience for my husband. Not because he’s actually interested in me. He turned down Cynthia, and she’s way prettier than I am. Why would he want a no-nothing virgin like me when he has tons of girls fawning all over him? My lack of experience must have had him rolling his eyes. I didn’t have a clue what to do when he had me on the couch back there. I wasn’t even thinking about what was happening. I was simply lost in the moment–the wondrous, magnificent moment that seemed to bend space and time around us so the rest of the world was gone and only we remained.

It’s not really cheating if you’re not in a real relationship, is it?

“Belle! Stop running, Belle! This isn’t safe!”

Conrad’s voice from behind me snaps me back to reality, and I look back to see him sprinting after me. He’s gaining on me at such speed that I know I can’t compete with, so I slow and stop beneath a tree, so embarrassed I wish I could just wink out of existence.

“I’m sorry…” I say as he reaches me.

“Don’t apologize, Belle. Just tell me why you were running. Did I upset you somehow?”

“Of course not!” I groan, leaning my head against the tree trunk. Great, now I’ve upset him. Made him think he’s done something he shouldn’t have. Why couldn’t I have just been a good girl and never let him touch me? Or never have run off after our incredible moment? Now I’m blushing and look like a fool in front of this magnificent man. “I think I’m just…overwhelmed. And I’m also engaged to Fitch…”

Maybe I’m imagining things, but I could swear I see Conrad’s eyes narrow and his lips purse when he hears Fitch’s name. But I could also be imagining things. After all, my head is still spinning from the blissful moment we both just shared.

Conrad stares at me. His chest rises and falls with a deep breath. “We should get back. It’s not safe here for you.”

“Not safe?”

“The bomb threat, Belle,” he reminds me. God, I’d completely forgotten. “You can get your head straight back at the hotel.”

He extends his hand, and without even thinking, I take it. My reaction actually shocks me. It was pure instinct. A simple reflex as my body saw a sign of safety and reached out for it. And as I look up at his broad shoulders and thick chest, an odd thought enters my mind: This must be how girls feel when they have a father who actually cares about them and would hold their hand while they grew up. That’s something I never had.

“I apologize,” Conrad says once we’re back in the room.

I feel my cheeks beginning to prickle again. “Why?”

“I overstepped my duty. I never should have put my hands on you like that.”

A knot forms in my throat. “You were just teaching me.”

He shakes his head, a low growl rumbling in his throat. “Still…”

“Do you regret it?”

He scoffs, shakes his head, and places a hand against the wall. “Of course not! I just–”

“You don’t find me attractive?” I’m starting to get teary-eyed now. God, what is wrong with me? Conrad spoke of duty; what of my duty to Fitch? How am I letting my heart slip like this?

His gaze snaps up, and he focuses intently on me as if he can’t believe what I just said. “Don’t be stupid, Belle. You’re the most gorgeous–” He stops himself again, balls up his fist, and slams it into his thigh. “I shouldn’t be saying things like this. You’re engaged.”

“Sort of…” I breathe, my voice barely a wisp on the air.

His brow furrows, drawing a line above his nose. “What do you mean?”

“Nothing.” I’m a hot mess. Saying things I shouldn’t say. Betraying feelings I should not be having. Why can’t I just be stable and in control of myself?

Suddenly, I’m in Conrad’s arms, being carried into the bedroom. I’ve never felt so tiny before. It’s like I weigh nothing to him. The hotel robe falls from my body, leaving me naked and flushed as Conrad stomps forward like a raging bull.

He sets me down and presses me into the mattress.

His eyes are fevered, filled with what looks like desire.

What is happening now? He just said he shouldn’t be speaking to me like he was, and now he’s stripped me naked and is getting physical with me again? Is this another lesson?

The tingling feeling returns between my thighs, only twice as intense as before. I look down at his pants and see his bulge is back. Yes, take my virginity, Conrad. Let me pleasure you like you did to me. That’s what I want. My protector. My guardian. He should be the man who claims my V-card. Not some arrogant prick who happens to be my fiancé because he’s basically buying me from my parents.

“You can never do that again,” he growls, firmly pinning my arms back over my head. “Do you understand, Belle!?”

“Do what?” I gasp as the tingling sensation between my legs continues to grow.

There’s a fever in his eyes I’ve never seen before.

What’s happening? Is he angry? Have I ruined things between us?

“Leave my sight,” he says, scouring my body with a frenzied glare. “I’ve been hired to protect you. Do you understand that?”

“Yes. I do–”

“So you understand that when you’re out of my sight, I’m no longer doing my job?”

The dark room is fraught with tension as his grip tightens on my wrists like handcuffs, truly demonstrating just how much stronger than me he is.

Even if I wanted to run away again, it would be impossible.

“I–I’m sorry,” I whimper, a heat rising up from within my chest to capture my cheeks in a fiery grasp.

“You’re sorry,” he groans, shaking his head. I knew it, I’ve ruined everything. “Belle, your safety is all that matters. There are predators out there who would do anything to get their hands on your young, sweet, sexy body. Do you realize that?”

I know he’s just scolding me to make a point, but the look in his eyes has me wondering if he really believes what he is saying. Does he actually find me sweet and sexy? Or is he just saying some men will be attracted to me? And he’s only afraid that if he lets something happen to me, he’ll lose his job? But he was hard earlier, and my stomach is still slick with his spend. So that must mean something, right?

“Predators,” I say simply.

“That’s right, Belle.”

“Like lions, tigers, and bears?”

A warm hint of a smile appears on his lips. “Those do qualify as predators.”

“But not the kind you’re talking about.” I giggle as he presses his body down against mine, the chill of the evening on the denim of his pants and the cotton of his T-shirt, drawing goosebumps from my skin.

“I’m talking about man ,” he growls, moving against me, circling his hips and pressing his bulge between my legs as though we were grinding on the dance floor. “A man who would be entranced by your beauty, stop at nothing to have you. A man who would give up his pride, his dignity, even his sanity, if it meant simply getting a hint of your scent…” Conrad inhales deeply against my neck, his chest expanding against mine. “If it meant being able to caress your soft skin…” Gripping my wrists with one hand, he uses the other to trace the curve of my right breast, causing a sharp intake of breath to catch in my throat. “If it meant simply being able to taste your sweetness…” He wraps his lips around my nipple and sucks, tugging a moan from my lips. “If it meant being able to penetrate you, Belle…” He reaches down between my thighs and presses two fingers against my sex. My back arches with anticipation. “To be inside you while you come, over and over and over again…”

A tender shiver twists my body as he kisses my breasts, sucking each nipple while restraining me with a single hand, demonstrating the immense power he has over me. It’s only right that he should be my bodyguard. My protector.

“You sure know what to say…” My voice is barely audible as my toes begin to tingle. “But this is all hypothetical, right? Right?”

Conrad chuckles, and I feel the engorged knot of his arousal between his legs as it flexes against my thighs and mound. “You think I’m only talking about other men, Belle? Before you climbed out the window, I was grinding my bare cock against your wet pussy. Why do you think that is?”

His words embarrass and inflame me at the same time. Why am I still shy? “Be-because you like me?”

Again, he laughs.

Did I say the wrong thing?

“ Like you, Belle? I don’t like you; I cherish you. You’re my treasure. My rare jewel. I have a duty to you–a duty I will never abandon.”

My head is spinning, and the way he’s pressing his heavy body down against mine sure isn’t helping.

So he does like me? I thought I was just a job to him.

Conrad, what are you saying!?

“So you’ll protect me?”

“Of course,” he replies firmly.

“You’ll watch over me?”

“Without a doubt.”

“You’ll find the man who called in the bomb threat?”

He swallows hard, then responds. “Of course.”

A fizzy warmth overtakes me. The sensation between my legs has risen to new heights. His two fingers are still pressed against the tender skin of my valley, but he hasn’t moved inside. A normal man would have already pushed for more by now. But not Conrad. He’s a man of duty. He’s a man of principal. And he’s waiting for me to be ready.

“Conrad,” I ask softly, focusing on the strength of his chin. “Will you…teach me more, please?”

His pupils dilate, and his lips part as he stares back at me. “You want me to show you how to please Fitch?”

No. I want to please you, Conrad .

Lying, I nod. “Yes. Show me what he will want from me.”

The urge inside me is impossible to describe. I want to give Conrad my virginity more than I’ve wanted anything in my life. There’s a wellspring of desire bubbling up inside me, ready to erupt at any moment. My head is whirling as I watch him reach down between his legs and pull out his massive, thick shaft, swollen with blue veins, a shiny, translucent fluid dripping from its crown.

With a single movement, he yanks his T-shirt off and tosses it aside, revealing more muscles than I can count. A sculpted physique most men would die for. Each subtle movement he makes is reflected in the countless cuts and striations that adorn his figure. His eyes search my body, reflecting countless emotions that I wish I could decipher all at once.

“When Fitch sees you naked, Belle…” His voice trails off, his eyes losing focus. Then, like an invisible force has hit him, he gasps deeply and runs his tongue across his lower lip. “He’ll be shell-shocked by just how sexy you are.”

“You think so?”

“I know so.” He nods, pressing his staff against my slippery center. My bud is still buzzing from his previous instruction, and when his manhood touches it, my vision begins to blur. It’s like I’ve been struck by an electrical current that’s frozen me in place. “But he won’t want to wait to be inside you, Belle. He’ll be so turned on by you that he will want to take you as quickly as possible. So he will.”

“And what do I do, Conrad?” I somehow manage to say, drifting in a cloud of spectacular sensation.

“You take a deep breath, angel. Because this will hurt at first–”

A loud digital bleating shatters the serenity of the moment, a ringtone accompanied by a vibration, causing Conrad’s chest to rumble as a lionesque growl erupts from his lips.

“Goddamn it!”

“Is that your phone?” I ask, desperately wanting his answer to be no. But he nods, showing his teeth like an angry animal.

“My work phone.”

“Don’t answer it,” I plead, tilting my hips up, enticing him to penetrate me. But he closes his eyes and shakes his head.

“I have to. There could be an emergency. If I don’t answer and something happens–”

“I understand.” I smile, running my fingers through his hair as the phone continues to blare obnoxiously. “Get it. Go on.”

It’s the complete opposite of what I want to say.

He presses a kiss against my neck, and I watch as he stands and pulls his phone from his pants and answers.

“Conrad. What?” His face twists in confusion, but he quickly turns away to hide it from me. My heart flutters, and I sigh deeply. Well, this couldn’t have gone any worse. “Are you sure it’s him? Well, what’s he saying? Okay. I’ll be right down.”

He’s leaving. I know it before he even says anything.

“Emergency?”

Conrad sighs and nods. He’s doing his best to appear calm, but his eyes track back and forth as he pulls up his pants and buttons them over his hard-on.

“Apparently…my men caught the guy who made the bomb threat.”

My heart sinks, tears beginning to well up in my eyes. This threat was the only thing postponing the wedding. Without the threat, the wedding is back on, and my lifelong future with Fitch is about to begin.

“Do you have to go?”

“What?” Conrad asks, looking confused. He looks at me, then shakes his head. “Yes, I have to go. But you’re coming with me.”

“I am?” I’m fighting back tears now.

“Of course you are, angel,” he says, reaching out to lift me up from the bed. “It’s my duty to look after you, remember? I’m never leaving you alone again.”