The crisp air ruffled her hair and she started down the sidewalk, no clear direction in mind. It seemed colder than before and she shivered as she walked. Around her, horns honked, people jostled as they passed, dusk was settling and streetlights had started to blink on.
There was still plenty of light for her to walk the few blocks back to her hotel and she needed to let off some steam. She was flushed from Rafe’s kiss and she was furious that he’d been so cold and calculating about it.
She’d felt like…a plaything. Like she hadn’t mattered. Like she was just a set of boobs for his amusement.
But then that’s likely all she’d ever been from the start.
She couldn’t afford to be stupid a second time. Not until she had his guarantee—his written guarantee—that he wouldn’t develop the land would she allow herself to think that his intentions toward her had been sincere.
She hugged her arms to her chest and stopped at a pedestrian crossing. A man knocked into her and she turned with a startled “Hey!”
He mumbled an apology about the time the light turned and the crowd surged forward. With her attention diverted she didn’t feel the tug at her other arm until it was too late.
Her purse strap fell and her arm was nearly yanked from its socket as the thief started to run.
Anger rocketed through her veins and, reacting on instinct, she grabbed ahold of the strap with her other hand and tugged back.
The man was close to her own unimpressive height and nearly as slight, but grim determination was etched into his grimy face. He slammed into her, sending her sprawling to the pavement. She hit with enough impact to jar her teeth, but the strap was wrapped around her wrist now.
He jerked again and this time dragged her a few feet before he let out a snarl of rage and backhanded her. Her grip loosened and out of the corner of her eye she saw a flash of silver.
Fear paralyzed her when she saw the knife coming toward her. But her attacker slashed at the strap, sending her flying backward as the tension was released. He was gone, melting into the crowd as she lay sprawled on the curb holding her eye.
It had only taken a few seconds. Under a minute, surely. She heard someone shout and then someone knelt next to her.
“Are you okay, lady?”
She turned, not recognizing the person who’d spoken, and she was too stunned to respond. Then she saw a sleek black car screech to a halt in front of her and a huge mountain of a man rushed out to hover protectively over her.
He moved with a grace that belied his enormous size and he knelt in front of her, his hand cupping her chin as he turned her this way and that to examine her eye.
He barked rapidly into his Bluetooth but she was too muddled to know what he said or to whom he had spoken. She hoped it was the police.
“Miss Morgan, are you all right?” he asked urgently.
“H-how do you know my name?”
“Mr. de Luca sent me.”
“How would he know what happened?” she asked in a baffled tone.
“He wanted to make sure you made it to your hotel safely. I didn’t catch you in time to give you a ride. I was looking for you when I saw what happened.”
“Oh.”
“Can you stand?” he asked.
She slowly nodded. She’d certainly try. As he gently helped her to her feet, she clutched at her belly, worried that her fall had hurt her child.
“Are you in pain?” the man demanded.
“I don’t know,” she said shakily. “Maybe. I’m just scared. The fall…”
“I’m taking you to the hospital at once. Mr. de Luca will meet us there.”
She didn’t protest when he ushered her into the backseat of the car. He got in beside her and issued a swift order for the driver to take off. They were away and into traffic in a matter of moments.
She sank back into the seat, her hands shaking so badly that she clenched them together in her lap to try and quell the movement.
The giant beside her took up most of the backseat. He leaned forward and rummaged in an ice bucket in the console and a moment later held an ice pack to her eye.
She winced and started to pull away, but he persisted and held it gently to her face.
“Are you feeling any pain anywhere else?” he queried.
“I don’t think so. I’m just shaken up.”
His expression was grim as he pulled away the ice pack to examine her eye.
“You’re going to have one heck of a bruise. I think it’s a good idea to have a doctor check you out so you can be sure the baby wasn’t harmed.”
She nodded and grimaced when he put the ice pack back into place.
“Thank you,” she murmured. “For your help. Your timing was excellent.”
His face twisted with anger. “No, it wasn’t. If I had been there a moment earlier, he wouldn’t have hurt you.”
“Still, thanks. He had a knife.”
She swallowed the knot of panic in her throat and drew in steadying breaths. She could still see the flash of the blade as it slashed out at her. A shiver stole up her spine and attacked her shoulders until she trembled with almost violent force.
“I don’t even know your name,” she said faintly.
He looked at her with worried eyes as if he thought his name was the last thing that should be on her mind.
“Ramon. I’m Mr. de Luca’s head of security.”
“I’m Bryony,” she said, before realizing he already knew her name. He’d called her Miss Morgan earlier.
“We’re almost there, Bryony,” he said in a steady, reassuring voice.
Was she about to melt down on him? Was that why he was staring at her with such concern and speaking to her as if he was trying to talk her down from the ledge?
She leaned her head back against the seat and closed her eyes. He followed with the ice pack and soon it was smushed up against her face again.
A few seconds later, the car ground to a halt and the door immediately opened. She opened her eyes as Ramon removed the ice pack and hurriedly got out of the car. He reached back to help her out and they were met by an E.R. tech pushing a wheelchair.
Astonished by the quickness in which they got her back to an exam room, she stared with an open mouth as she was laid on one of the beds by two nurses and they immediately began an assessment of her condition.
Ramon hung by her bedside, watching the medical staff’s every move. As if sensing Bryony’s bewilderment, Ramon leaned down and murmured, “Mr. de Luca is a frequent contributor to this hospital. He called ahead to let them know you’d be arriving.”
Well, that certainly made more sense.
“The on-call obstetrician will be in to see you shortly,” one of the nurses said. “He’ll want to make sure all is well with the baby.”
Bryony nodded and murmured her thanks.
The nurse went over a series of questions as she did her assessment. Bryony was a little embarrassed over all the fuss. Near as she could tell, all she’d suffered was a black eye and a bruised behind. But she wouldn’t turn down the opportunity to make sure all was well with her baby.
She’d leaned back to close her eyes when the door flew open and Rafael strode in, his expression dark and his gaze immediately seeking out Bryony.
He hurried to her bedside and took her hand in his. “Are you all right?” he demanded. “Are you hurt? Are you in any pain?” He took a breath and dragged a hand through his hair in agitation. “The…baby?”
Before she could respond, his gaze settled on her face and his eyes darkened with fury. He tentatively touched her cheek and then he turned to Ramon, his jaw clenched. “What happened?”
“I’m fine,” Bryony said in answer to the barrage of questions. But Rafael was no longer concentrating his efforts on her. He was interrogating his head of security. “Rafael.”
When he still didn’t stop his tirade of questions, she tugged at his hand until finally he turned back to her.
“I’m okay. Really. Ramon showed up just in time. He took good care of me.”
“I should not have let you leave my office,” Rafael gritted out. “You were upset and in no condition to be out on the streets. I’d thought Ramon would give you a ride home.”
She shrugged. “I walked. He didn’t catch up with me until after…?.”
Rafael looked hastily around and then dragged a chair to her bedside. He perched on the edge and stared intently at her.
“Has the doctor been in yet? What has he said about the baby? Are you hurt anywhere else? Did the bastard hit you?”
She shook her head at the flurry of questions and blinked at the fierceness in his voice and expression. This wasn’t a side of Rafael she’d ever seen before.
“The nurse said the on-call obstetrician would be in to see me shortly and that he would conduct an assessment to make sure all was well with the baby. And no, I’m not hurt anywhere else.”
She raised her hand to her eye and winced when she pushed in on the already swelling area.
Rafael captured her hand and pulled it away from her eye.
“It’s unacceptable for you to be walking the streets of New York City alone. I don’t even like you staying in that hotel alone.”
She smiled in amusement. “But it’s your hotel, Rafael. Are you suggesting it isn’t safe?”
“I’d prefer you were with me, where I know you are safe,” he said through gritted teeth.
Her brows came together as she studied him. “What are you saying?”
“Look, we were going to be leaving together for Moon Island in a few days anyway. It’s only reasonable that you’d stay with me until we depart. It will give us additional time to…reacquaint ourselves with one another.”
She stared hard into his eyes, looking for… She wasn’t sure what she was looking for. What she saw, however, was burning determination and outrage that she’d been harmed.
He may not remember her, but his protective instincts had been riled, and whether he fully accepted that she carried his child, he was certainly concerned about both mother and baby.
Wasn’t that a start?
“All right,” she said softly. “I’ll stay with you until we leave for the island.”
Five
Rafael would have carried her into his penthouse if she’d allowed it. As it was he argued fiercely until she rolled her eyes and informed him that she was perfectly okay and that no one got carried around because of a black eye.
The reminder of her black eye just infuriated Rafael all the more. She was a tiny woman and the idea that some street thug had manhandled her—a pregnant woman—made his jaw clench. Even though the doctor had assured him that all was well with her pregnancy.
He wasn’t sure what to do with himself. He was in new territory for sure. Bryony was the first woman he’d ever brought up to his penthouse and it felt as though his territory had been invaded.
“Would you like me to order in dinner?” he asked when he’d settled her on the couch. Surely it wasn’t a good idea for her to go out and it was late.
“I’d like that, thanks,” she said as she leaned her head back against the sofa.
He frowned when he saw the fatigue etched on her face. “You must be tired.”
Her lips twisted ruefully and she nodded. “It’s been an eventful couple of days.”
Guilt crept up his nape until he was compelled to rub the back of his neck. He hadn’t made things easier for her. She’d traveled a long way and then… Then things had gone all to hell.
He stood, irritated with himself. Why should he feel guilty about anything? He couldn’t remember. God knew he’d tried. He went to bed frustrated every single night, hoping when he woke the next morning that everything would be restored and he could stop wondering about the holes. Stop wondering if he’d done something ridiculous like seduce and fall in love with a woman in the space of a few weeks.
It sounded so incredible that he couldn’t wrap his head around it.
No, he shouldn’t feel guilty. None of this had been his fault.
Except for the fact that he’d upset her and caused her to flee his office and she’d wound up being mugged as a result.
He studied her from across the room as he picked up the phone to call in their food order. She already looked as if she was asleep and he battled with whether to even bother waking her for dinner.
His gaze drifted to her belly and he swiftly decided against allowing her to sleep through the meal. It had likely been hours since she’d eaten anything.
He returned to her a moment later and settled on the chair next to the couch where she lay sprawled. “Would you like something to drink while we wait for the food?”
She stirred and regarded him lazily through half-lidded eyes. “Do you have juice? I feel a little light-headed.”
He bolted to his feet. “Why didn’t you say anything before now?”
She shrugged. “Quite frankly all I wanted was a com fortable place to sit and relax. Having all those people around me was making me crazy.”
He strode to the kitchen and rummaged in the fridge for orange juice. After checking the date on the carton, he poured a glass and went back into the living room.
This time he sat on the couch next to her and handed her the glass. She drank thirstily until half the contents were gone and then handed him back the glass.
“Thanks. That should do the trick.”
“Is this something that happens regularly or is it just the excitement of the day?” he asked suspiciously.
“I’m borderline hypoglycemic. My blood sugar gets too low every once in a while. Pregnancy sort of messes with that and I have to be careful to eat regularly or I risk passing out.”