Resisting Alexandre (Knight Security 0.5) by Carole Mortimer Page A

worry about me. I’ll spend the day cleaning the apartment.” It didn’t particularly need cleaning, and she doubted it would stop her thinking about Alexandre, but she needed to keep herself busy.
    “How did last night go?” Lissa continued to hover. “Apart from the Alexandre-almost-dying-next-to-you-in-bed thing, of course,” she added with a wince.
    Stazzi gave a rueful smile. “Apart from that, it was wonderful. Just an ordinary date. Dinner and watching a movie together.”
    “And mind-blowing sex.”
    “Well…yes, that too.” Her cheeks warmed self-consciously.
    “Look, I’m sure that Alexandre will contact you himself once he’s able to.” Lissa brightened. “I have an aunt who has allergies, and it doesn’t take long for them to recover once they’ve received their medication. Alexandre will probably be back at the hotel later today.”
    “He’s a prince, Lissa. I’m sure they’ll want to keep him in for observation at least until tomorrow.” By which time, Stazzi would be climbing the walls in her anxiety to know if he was okay.
    She waited until Lissa had reluctantly left for work before allowing herself to wallow in thoughts of Alexandre. Last night had been…amazing. Not just the sex, but the whole evening. She had felt totally relaxed in Alexandre’s company as they ate dinner and then watched a movie together, and she knew he had felt the same way. The amazing sex had been a natural progression from feeling so at ease with each other.
    Stazzi felt a sense of unease the more she thought about last night.
    Alexandre had been fine when they made love the first time, and then again when they both woke an hour or so later. If his allergic reaction had been to something he ate, surely it would have affected him much earlier than it had? Unless it really was her perfume or body lotion?
    Or maybe something about this situation was just off…?
     
    “What do you mean, you have no idea what happened to Anastazia?” Alexandre demanded of his cousin as he quickly dressed in the tailored trousers and formal shirt brought to him in the clinic from the hotel by one of his bodyguards earlier that same evening.
    “You’re supposed to stay in the clinic overnight—”
    “Fuck that,” he dismissed as he sat up on the bed after putting on his shoes. “Where is Anastazia now?”
    Gerard glared. “Who gives a damn what happened to the little whore who shared your bed— What the hell are you doing?” He gasped as Alexandre stood abruptly to grab him by the throat and push him up against the wall. Hard.
    Alexandre’s face was only inches from his cousin’s. “ I give a damn. And don’t ever talk about Anastazia in that derogatory way again.” His voice was dangerously soft. “Do you understand?” His fingers tightened in warning about the other man’s throat.
    “Yes, I understand. I can’t breathe, damn it.” Gerard tried to dislodge his fingers. Without success.
    Alexandre gave one last warning squeeze before releasing him and then stepped away from the other man. “Give me your mobile.”
    “What?”
    “Bruno omitted to bring my mobile from the hotel, I want yours so I can call and check on Anastazia.” His hands tensed at his sides before he forced them to relax again, his frustration with this situation such that he was only just restraining himself from grabbing Gerard and attempting to squeeze the life out of him for a second time.
    Alexandre had been too out of it earlier this morning to do any more than try to breathe, but it was unforgiveable that his cousin had just left Anastazia alone in the bedroom at the hotel while Alexandre was rushed to the clinic. She must have been terrified when she woke up and found him unconscious in bed beside her, and then was left alone at the hotel in the aftermath.
    Gerard’s top lip curled back in a sneer. “Why bother? She spent her night with a prince—”
    “Have you always been this much of an obnoxious prick, and I’m only just