Caroline looked up into his eyes. There was genuine compassion in them. “I don’t like it.”
He chuckled lightly. “Who does? I know you didn’t ask for this. I chased fame. I knew what I was getting into right from the start. I’m sorry that it’s part of being with me. I can’t change that now.”
“Would you want to change it?”
“If it kept you safe, then yeah.”
They sat in silence for a moment as Josh rubbed circles in the centre of her palm with his thumb. Caroline didn’t know what to say. Really, what could she say? Her life was about to change forever.
Josh took a deep breath. His smile was small and sad. “I was scared, baby.” His voice was barely a whisper. “I can’t remember ever feeling like that before. I don’t want anything to happen to you, and my world can be crazy. I need to be able to keep you safe. And to do that, I need you to work with me. Will you do that? For me?”
The last barriers Caroline held against the man crumbled. “You sound so serious. I didn’t think you took anything seriously.”
“Some things are worth getting serious about. This is one of them.”
Caroline felt a surge in her chest
. Her heart was swelling. There was so much more to this man than most people saw. And the more she saw, the more she lo—liked. The more she liked.
“Okay, Josh. I can work with you on this.”
The smile he gave her was dazzling. He trailed a fingertip along her jaw.
“That means a lot to me, baby. Can we agree that you’ll take your bodyguard with you no matter where you go?”
Caroline didn’t like that one bit. She swallowed a sigh. “Fine. If it makes you happy, we can agree on that.”
“Oh, yeah. It makes me happy.” He brushed his thumb over her bottom lip, and a tingling sensation travelled throughout her body. “And you’ll remember to take your phone with you when you leave the house?”
She did sigh this time. “Yes. I’ll take the phone.” She thought about it. “Maybe I can get a cord and hang it around my neck. You know, like old people do with their glasses.”
He brought her hand to his mouth and smiled against her palm. “Yeah, you can do that. I don’t care what you do as long as it’s with you. You had to use my stalker’s phone to call for help. There are so many ways that could have gone wrong. What if he was dangerous? What if he didn’t have a phone? Maybe a cord won’t work. Maybe we should superglue it to you.”
Caroline trembled at the sensation of his lips against her palm. She swallowed hard. It had become increasingly difficult to follow the conversation. Josh studied her, a small smile on his lips that told her he knew exactly what affect he had on her.
“Enough,” Caroline grumbled, but it sounded half-hearted. Her mind was on other things. “I said I’ll take the phone with me. But we decide everything regarding my safety together. You can’t go all caveman and order me around.”
He pressed a kiss to the inside of her wrist. “You order me around.”
“That’s how it should be.”
Josh barked out a laugh. “I don’t think I’ll win this argument.”
Caroline didn’t comment on that. Mainly because he was right. “And no more handcuffs.”
“But I kind of like the idea of you handcuffed to our bed and at my mercy.” His voice lowered. “The things I could do to your helpless body. The sounds you would make. I definitely think we should keep the handcuffs.”
Caroline shifted in her seat to assuage the ache between her legs at the thought of being at Josh’s mercy. Josh raised an eyebrow at her wriggling. Annoying man.
His face softened. “Are we okay? Do you still want to marry me?”
Caroline’s stomach clenched. He was gorgeous. All angles and planes. Muscled perfection with full lips and glittering blue eyes. She wanted to lose herself in his eyes. She wanted to have him wrapped around her. The urge to hide in him was almost overwhelming. The need to give herself to Josh, to let him carry her for a while, was one she’d never felt before. What would it be like to let someone else take care of things for a little while? Could she trust him not to hurt her?
She looked into his beautiful eyes and saw an uncertainty there that shocked her. Under his carefree, cocky attitude, Josh was perhaps as vulnerable as she was.
“Do you still want to marry me?” She was almost scared of the answer.
He stared at her for a minute before a slow grin lit his face. His eyes sparkled with mischief. It took her breath away. “Hell yes, I want to marry you.”