Chapter 12

12

RHIANNON

E ven before my first date with Dean, the botanical garden was one of my favorite places. I'd been there so many times that I was familiar enough to recognize that was where I was when I stared out the window only five feet in front of me. But it didn't matter how close I was since I was lying on a narrow bed with my hands tied to the headboard.

The floral scents filling my nostrils did nothing to stop me from freaking out. It had been early evening when I'd pulled into the parking lot at the grocery store. I wasn't sure how much time had passed since then, but it had to have been way more than I was comfortable with since I was pretty sure it was late morning now. Maybe even early afternoon from what I could see of the sun's placement in the sky through the window. Which meant I'd been unconscious for almost an entire day.

My pulse jumped, and I reminded myself that Dean should be back in town by now. It was a good thing he was so protective because I had a feeling my life depended on him missing me enough to come looking right away. The botanical garden was closed to the public today, so nobody was just going to stumble across me. He was my only hope of being found before whoever took me came back.

The door swung open almost as though my thoughts had drawn the bad guy back to me. It wasn't until the door shut behind him that I could take in the features of the man moving closer to me. There was something familiar about the tall, lanky blonde, but I couldn't quite place where I'd seen him before.

"You're finally up," he chirped, setting the tray on the bedside table to my left.

"Yes," I whispered, staring at the sprig of flowers in a small vase next to a covered plate of food.

"The unseasonably hot weather has confused the lilac bush at my house," he explained. "It won't be good for the blooms in the spring, but at least I was able to bring you one of your favorite flowers this morning. It's the perfect way to start our first true day together as a couple, don't you think?"

I couldn't scream the truth at him without running the risk of making him angry, so I just nodded. Glancing around the room, I asked, "Are you…um…the caretaker for the gardens?"

"Don't be silly." His brows drew together as he perched on the edge of the mattress and patted my knee. "The caretaker position is a full-time job, and I don't have that much free time with an entire company to run."

"Right, sorry." I shook my head. "I guess I'm feeling a little off this morning and am not thinking clearly."

"I must have gotten the dose wrong because I didn't expect you to be out cold for quite so long. But you'll feel better after you have some food and tea."

If I hadn't already realized there was something seriously wrong with him, the way he casually mentioned drugging me as though it wasn't a big deal would have clued me in.

"I'm sure you're right." I wiggled my arms. "But I won't be able to do that very easily."

"Oh, right." He wagged his finger at me. "Now that you know I'm the one who took you, I don't have to worry about you trying to get away, right? I only tied you up because I had to take care of a few things while you were sleeping."

Widening my eyes and puffing out my bottom lip, I tried to look as innocent as possible. "Why would I want to be anywhere else when we're in one of my favorite places in the world?"

His lips curved into a triumphant grin. "I knew this was the perfect spot to take you for our first official date."

I had to bite my bottom lip to stop myself from saying that it had been perfect…but only when Dean brought me here because he was the man I loved. Not this stranger who had fixated on me for some strange reason. "Good call."

He practically puffed out his chest before he reached for the rope that was tied around my wrists. He'd just started to get to work on the large knot when the door flew open with so much force that it was knocked off its hinges. Jumping to his feet, he yelled, "No! You're ruining everything. Get out of here."

Dean and a few of his club brothers stormed into the room. Dean growled, "The only one who's going anywhere is you, motherfucker."

If the guy knew what was good for him, he would've gotten as far away from me as possible. But he proved again how out of touch with reality he was when he tried to get in Dean's way when he headed toward me. "Stay away from her, you…you…cretin."

"There's no way you or anyone else is ever gonna keep me away from my woman," Dean vowed, yanking the guy out of his way.

Whiskey and Phoenix dragged him kicking and screaming out of the caretaker's house. Dean's dark eyes were filled with fury as he watched him go.

Stone muttered, "Don't worry about him. Take care of your girl."

His friend's words seemed to remove the red haze of anger that was hanging over Dean. His gaze swung toward me, and his eyes gentled. Then he rushed over to the bed and dropped to his knees next to me. "Fuck, baby. Are you okay?"

Sniffling, I nodded. "Just a little nauseous. He knocked me out with something right after he took me and just woke up like five minutes ago. He didn't have time to do anything other than bring me breakfast that I wouldn't touch with a ten-foot pole, no matter how hungry and thirsty I am. "

He glared at the tray on the bedside table before glancing over his shoulder at Stone. "Find her some water."

His club brother walked out of the room, and the sound of flesh hitting flesh had me thinking about the guy who'd taken me. "What's going to happen to him?"

"You never need to worry about that guy," he reassured me as he got to his feet, his hands wrapped around mine. "He's not gonna get close to you ever again, baby."

This was one of those moments when I figured he'd probably share more with me if I pushed since the situation wasn't really club business. But I never wanted Dean to doubt that I trusted him to keep me safe. So I just nodded and murmured, "Okay."

Stone returned with a bottle of water and uncapped it before handing it to me. "Thanks."

As soon as I took a sip, my stomach roiled. "Fuck, baby. I better have Blade look you over as soon as we get to the clubhouse. Whatever drug that bastard gave you must still be messing with your system because you look like you're about to puke."

"Um…about that." I pressed his hand against my stomach. "There could be another reason for that."

"Holy fuck," he breathed. "You tryin' to tell me that you're pregnant, baby?"

The tears that filled my eyes and streamed down my cheeks were happy ones. "I'm not sure, but I think so. I was going to buy a test last night to take today, but that plan flew out the window."

"Blade can confirm for us after he checks you over to make sure whatever that asshole gave you didn't cause any harm. But I need to do this first." Dean dropped to his knees again. Then he reached into the inner pocket of his leather vest and pulled out a diamond solitaire. "Marry me."

"How do you have a ring right now?" I pressed trembling fingers to my mouth.

He nodded. "One of the club's connections in New York has a jeweler he does business with. When I mentioned you, he offered to have his guy come by with some rings for me to choose from."

Stone muttered, "Basically, he made an offer Viper couldn't refuse."

I didn't understand why that made them laugh, but their odd sense of humor wasn't important right now. Answering Dean's non-question proposal was. "Yes."

He slid the ring on my finger before capturing my lips for a deep kiss. Ignoring Stone's whistle, he murmured, "Love you so fucking much, baby."

We might've done things a little out of order since I was already his old lady and fiancée—and possibly knocked me up—before I heard those words from him for the first time. Or said them back. But it was perfect to me.

"I love you, too."