And forget about the woman from his past.
The exit came into sight and the crowd thinned out. As Alaric stepped forward, he saw something green flash past his right arm. He paused just long enough to realize that it was Georgia, practically running toward the same exit. She had her arms tucked closely around her torso and a stricken expression on her face, half-hidden by her black curls. He reached out and caught her arm, turning her toward him. She tried to pull away, but stopped when she saw it was him.
“Alaric,” she said in a trembling voice, her chin quivering.
“Georgia, what’s wrong?” All the anger and bitterness inside him disappeared in a cloud of smoke. The only thing he could think about at that moment was the pain reflecting in Georgia’s green eyes. He pulled her toward him and lightly gripped her shoulders. “What happened?”
“Nothing.” She didn’t resist his arms, but came willingly toward him, staring at the ground between them.
“Something tells me that’s not true.” Tracing a finger down her jaw, he lifted her chin gently until they were eye to eye. Her nose was slightly red and her eyes swollen. He could tell she’d been crying. The sadness in her eyes broke his heart. “Georgia, tell me what’s wrong.”
“Don’t ask me any more questions.” Her bottom lip quivered as she stared up at him. “Just take me back to the hotel, please.”
“Of course. Anything you want.”
His grip on her shoulders tightened and he pulled her into a hug. She leaned against his chest, sighing into his shirt. Even after everything that had gone down between them this evening, this closeness still felt right. He buried his face in her hair and inhaled the sweet scent of her hair, wishing he could understand what was going on and how to make it better.
“Come on.” He kept one arm draped around her back and led her toward the door. “I’ll get you home.”
The entire cab ride to the hotel was spent with Georgia’s head on Alaric’s shoulder, her body trembling with quiet sobs. He rubbed a hand over her arm, fighting the temptation to make her confess what had happened at the after-party. Had she finally broken things off with Vance? He didn’t dare hope. Instead, he sat with her in silence, enjoying the warmth of her soft body pressed against his side.
When they got to the hotel, he walked her to her suite and into the darkened room. There was no sign of Angela or Sally. Nor any of the other members of her team. Georgia clicked on the lights to her room and stood staring at the large empty bed as if it were going to come alive and eat her.
“Georgia.” Alaric stood behind her, watching her closely. He didn’t like the silence or the hollow look in her face. It cut him deep to know he couldn’t make it better. “If you’d just tell me what happened—”
“Can you stay?” She cut him off with a swipe of her hand and turned to look at him. Desperation haunted her eyes. “I know this isn’t part of our contract, but I don’t want to be alone right now. Can you stay? Just until I fall asleep?”
Any reserve Alaric still held melted at the sound of her voice begging him to stay. He crossed the space between them, took her hand, and looked deep into her eyes. She had to know that she was safe as long as he was around.
“Georgia, I will do anything for you.”
She closed her eyes and the tension seemed to fade from her face. With a nod, she gestured toward the door to the bathroom. “I’m going to change.”
Alaric sat on the edge of the bed and waited for her to come back. All the while his mind raced. Just a few hours ago, he would’ve given anything to be this close to her. To hold her when her problems got to be too much. To be the one she ran to when there was trouble. But even now, in the midst of a situation, she still didn’t believe his feelings for her were genuine. She was worried about the business deal.
How could he make it clear to her that he wanted so much more?
A throat cleared behind him and he turned to see Georgia standing in the doorway to the bathroom, wearing a new pair of flannel pajamas and a soft pink t-shirt. She smiled nervously at him and then glanced at the bed, her cheeks reddening.
“I’m going to get in,” she announced, biting her lower lip.
Alaric nodded and watched her climb underneath the heavy comforter, his own nerves suddenly jumping around in his gut like children on a trampoline. He wanted nothing more than to slide in there with her, take her in his arms, and pull her close. But he didn’t want to freak her out and make the situation any worse. So he settled for kicking his shoes off, gently placing his tux jacket on the back of a nearby chair, and laying back on top of the comforter so that their shoulders barely touched.
They laid like that for several minutes. Alaric was hyper aware of every noise Georgia made, from the soft sound of her breathing to the slight shifting of the blanket around her shoulders. He thought she’d finally fallen asleep when she turned toward him and sighed.
“Alaric?”
He swallowed hard, hoping his nerves wouldn’t make his voice shake. “Yes?”
“Would it be too much to ask you to hold me?”
A jolt went through him. He closed his eyes, willing his heart to slow down. “Of course not. I’d be happy to.”
“Thank you.”
Georgia rolled over so that h
er back was toward him. With a steadying breath, he turned in her direction and moved closer, until her back rested against his chest. He slid one hand under her pillow and laid the other softly on her side. She reached up to pull his arm tighter over her body and interlaced her fingers with his, causing his whole body to burn with delicious heat.