Page 37 of Unstable

Guilt and unease swirled in his stomach. He had to find a way to make it up to her. By holding back and keeping her prisoner in the house, he was only hurting them both. There was no reason they shouldn't be able to coexist in harmony. Besides, it was his fault that things had been so awkward.

After tossing and turning for hours, he finally fell asleep only to wake again just after dawn. Irina slept soundly as he crept from the room, for which he was grateful. He knew he needed to apologize, but he wasn't ready to eat crow just yet. He needed to come up with a game plan. He grabbed a bottle of water from the fridge, then headed out to the patio for his daily morning workout.

For the next hour and a half, he kept an eye on the sliding door, watching for the slightest movement inside the house that would indicate Irina was up and about. Finally, around nine o'clock, a tiny shadow passed in front of the door as she made her way to the kitchen. He hopped up from the stretch he was doing and hustled toward the house. He wanted to catch her where she had no escape, no choice but to listen to him.

His gaze zeroed in on her as soon as he stepped inside, and there was no mistaking the tense set of her shoulders. She kept her eyes cast downward, ignoring him completely as she grabbed a water bottle, then made to leave the room. He set one hand on the counter, effectively blocking her escape. Every muscle in her body went completely rigid, and though she refused to look at him, he heard her swallow hard.

“Irina.” Her eyes lifted to his chest, and she stared straight ahead. He’d take it; it was better than nothing. “I need to apologize.”

He hadn’t meant to put it so bluntly, but the second the words were out, her gaze snapped to his. The pretty blue irises, normally so full of life and warmth, were cold and hard. “You need to or want to?”

The girl wasn’t pulling any punches this morning, was she? “Both,” he admitted. “You were absolutely right. I've been a jerk about this whole thing.”

Her eyes narrowed suspiciously, but she didn't say a word. He forced himself to continue. “This, all of this, is new to me. Being a bodyguard, having a⁠—”

The word wife sprang to his lips, and he clamped his mouth shut to keep it from flying out. He started over. “It's not a good excuse, but it's the only one I've got. I've been trying to keep you safe, trying to follow the rules, but it's only made things worse. There's no reason you shouldn't learn to defend yourself.”

“There's not?”

“No,” he said firmly. Irina was gorgeous and talented, no question about it. But what he admired most was her strength and resilience. He was sure it had taken balls of steel—or whatever the female equivalent was—to ask him for help to pull this off.

She was independent and headstrong, and he knew she would never relinquish her freedom, even in the face of danger. She wanted to ensnare her stalker, wanted to learn to protect herself. And he respected her for that. “I'll show you what you need to know. Tell me what you want to do, and I'll do my best to make it happen.”

For several long seconds, she eyed him like she couldn't believe a word she’d heard. “Why are you doing this?”

“Because I'm tired of fighting.” He dropped both hands to his sides. “I just want to get through the next week and a half without hating each other.”

Two little lines appeared in the space over her nose. “I don't hate you,” she said softly.

It felt as if a weight had been lifted off his shoulders. “I still can't guarantee that we’ll be able to go out much, but I don't want to spend the next ten days cooped up in the house.”

A delicate shudder shook her body. “Me, neither. I'm starting to go crazy.”

He cracked a small smile. “What would you like to do?”

“Honestly?” Her eyes darted out the window toward the ocean. “I'd like to go back to the beach. I would love to see it first thing when the sun comes up, go for an early morning run when it's peaceful and quiet.”

“Tomorrow,” he promised. “We’ll go down to the beach in the morning when there are fewer people out.”

Blue eyes filled with caution blinked up at him. “Really?”

“I promise,” he replied. “Let's just try to enjoy the time we have left here, okay?”

Her lips slowly lifted, curling into the prettiest smile he’d ever seen. “Okay.”

He knew it was going to cost him every shred of sanity and control he harbored within him, but seeing her smile like that was totally worth every bit of it.

CHAPTER

SIXTEEN

Irina felt something tugging on her foot, and she kicked it away, snuggling back into her pillow and yanking the covers up to her chin.

“Come on, sleeping beauty. Up and at ’em,” Roman said.

She cracked her eyes open, but the room was still dim in the early morning light. The shaking of her foot resumed.

“Come on, trouble. Time to get your lazy butt up,” he urged.