Blitz is on his way to the hotel by the time Ted and I leave Dreamcatcher. I know he’s angry by his texts, which are abrupt and coming at a frenzied pace.
I am so going to take this guy out.
I should have creamed him when I had him on the ground.
This is outrageous. He could have done anything.
I’m going to pummel him into next week.
The sky has gone dark by the time we pull up to the valet in front of the hotel. Ted gets out. “I’m taking you up,” he says when I turn to protest. “If anyone has Tweeted that they’ve seen Blitz here, that guy will turn up.”
I have to give in. Blitz is still on his way. I shouldn’t go anywhere alone, even the inside of the hotel.
We head up the elevator to the floor of suites. Ted stands in his menacing position, hands behind his back, cracking his knuckles as if he’s going to have to fight somebody as soon as the doors open.
But the upstairs foyer is empty other than the bartender behind the private bar. “Anyone need a drink?” he asks when he sees us.
Both Ted and I give a grunting half-laugh to that, and then laugh for real at the other’s reaction.
“We can wait out here,” I tell Ted. “It’s a secure floor.” I don’t really want to go into the suite with Ted. It feels too private.
“You got any coffee back there?” Ted asks.
“I can brew you some right up,” the man says, turning to the back wall. “Anything for the lady?”
“No, thank you,” I say, flopping onto the leather sofa opposite a television. It’s showing a rerun of I Love Lucy. I remember it from my childhood, before I was banned from television by my father. Perfect, I think. Mindless comedy.
Ted sits on a stool by the bar, facing the elevators. I wonder how he got into bodyguard work. But I’m not up for conversation.
I watch Lucy stomping grapes and try to relax.
The bartender has just poured a cup of coffee for Ted when the elevator opens and Blitz rushes out. He barrels toward the suite, then spots me on the sofa and stops dead. “Livia?”
I stand up, and then I’m in his arms, lifted off the ground.
“Are you okay? He didn’t hurt you in any way, did he?” Blitz sets me down and looks me over, my arms, my face.
“He didn’t lay a hand on her,” Ted says. “I would have broken him in two.”
“Theodore Banks!” Blitz says. “I was hoping they would send you!” They smack each other on the back. “How’s life as a heavy?”
Ted shrugs. “Keeps me working.” He sits back on his stool.
Blitz pulls me close, his arm around my waist, as he asks, “So what the hell happened?”
Ted sniffs. “The buffoon is walking out on the sidewalk when he spots your girl here in the SUV. I think he’s going to approach us, but then he goes in the building instead. He makes a big scene, yelling and screaming in the halls, until the chick that owns the place calls the cops. She had me stand guard until they closed. Livia stayed with me.”
“Shit,” Blitz says. “Did he get arrested?”
“Nah, he took off.”
Blitz holds me tighter. “Livia, what did Danika say?”
“She’s getting a restraining order on him and hiring security until it blows over.”
Blitz kisses my temple. “I’m sorry, baby.”
Ted sips his coffee, then says, “You going to get a protective order for her too?”
Blitz shakes his head. “I think it’s pointless and will make her name part of the public record, which could make things worse.” He frowns. “I want to keep her under wraps as long as possible.”
“You think he’s got some loser pals he might bring along next time?” Ted asks.
Blitz looks at me. “What do you think, Livia? Would Denham call in reinforcements?”
I shrug. “I don’t know anything about his life now,” I say. “But he was always very good at making fast friends. Loyal friends.”
“Ride-or-die types,” Ted says. “Assholes with nothing to lose who get a charge out of stirring up trouble.”
“He’s only been out of jail a few months,” Blitz says. “Do you remember the timeline from the list the lawyer sent? He could be on probation and violating it would send him back.”
I shake my head. “I didn’t pay that close attention. But he shouldn’t know anybody here in San Antonio. I’m pretty sure he drove up here from Houston.”
“And we have no idea where he went,” Ted says.
“No,” I say. “And I don’t have any way to contact him either.”
“Don’t do that,” both Ted and Blitz say simultaneously, then laugh.
“Same as old times,” Blitz says.
“How do you two know each other?” I ask.
“Wrestling,” Blitz says. “We were both on the high school team.”
I look back and forth between them. Blitz is muscled and strong, but has a lean dancer’s body. Ted is like a brick wall. “How did that work out?”
Ted answers. “We didn’t compete against each other. He was a totally different weight class.”
“I could have taken you,” Blitz says.
Now Ted’s laugh is a roar. He’s lost all the gruffness he’s had with me all day. “I could squash you like a bug.”
Blitz holds up his hands. “I could wriggle out of those sloppy meat-hook hands of yours any day.”
I lean my head on Blitz’s shoulder. It’s nice to have an easy moment after these horrible two days. He squeezes my waist again. “I think we’re going to head out,” he says to Ted. “I should be able to take it from here. Thanks for watching out for her.”
Ted stands up from the stool. “No prob.” He shakes Blitz’s hand. “Let me know if you need me again.”
“Will do.” Blitz’s face flashes dark for a moment. “Will definitely do.”
Ted heads to the elevator, and Blitz and I walk toward our suite.
“Something’s wrong,” I say. “Why do you think you’ll need Ted again? Do you have to go back to LA?”
Blitz opens our door. “We’re going to be doing some publicity stuff for the DVD release,” he says. “I just think a few extra eyes will be good.”
“You said ‘we’ just now,” I say. “You mean both of us?” My belly quakes. I can’t imagine being out in public with reporters or even strangers with cell phones, recording an outburst with Denham. I was lucky today. It was still relatively secret.
“I’m trying to work things out still,” Blitz says. “The lawyers can sort it.” He perches against the back of the sofa and draws me to him. “Meanwhile, I haven’t seen you in two whole days.”
His lips press into the sensitive skin below my ear, and my anxiety begins to drift away. By the time he has his mouth fully on mine, I’ve let go of the afternoon. I’ve missed him, desperately, and now I can sink back into his attention.
“I love you in pale blue,” Blitz whispers into my ear, tugging the neckline of the stretchy leotard until it bares my shoulder. “Although I think I like you out of it even better.”
My body warms to his hot kisses along my collarbone. He pulls both shoulders of the leotard down and pulls my arms out, first one, then the other.
“I’m going to kiss every part of you,” he says, baring my body, inch by inch. The leotard slides to my waist. He takes both breasts in his hands and his mouth trails down to take a nipple in his mouth. “I missed these,” he says.
I wrap my arms around his neck, eyes closed, reveling in the feel of Blitz. His hair tickles my skin, and I catch the smell of him that is so familiar, pine and leather.
He removes the black vest as he works, kicking off his shoes. Then he kneels in front of me, reaching down for the Crocs I wear to the studio before I change into ballet slippers. He eases them off.
His hands grasp the leotard, which is at my waist now, and jerk everything down, tights and all. For a moment I’m bound at the knees, but Blitz lifts my leg to tug one side the rest of the way down.
Before he reaches for the other, though, he takes advantage of my parted thighs to bury his face there. His tongue slides along me, and I have to clutch the back of the sofa to keep my balance.
“Mmm,” he says. “There’s no place like home.”
He pulls the tights off my other leg and stands up. “Now I’ve got you where I want you.”
He lifts me up into his arms. “To the bedroom with us.”
His footsteps are silent as we move from the living room to the bed. He nudges aside the sheer drapes that surround it, and slides me onto the mattress. I watch him as he slides off his pants, shirt, and boxers.
Then he crawls between the silks over to me. “Think the bartender out there is tired of hearing you cry out?” he asks.
“I think the walls are pretty thick,” I say.
“Mmm,” he says. “Let’s test them.”
And as his mouth works back down my body, he does exactly that.