The CEO's Seduction (A Hamilton Family Series)

by Diane Alberts

  The only one who didn’t react was Wyatt. He didn’t so much as blink. “You also told me that you wouldn’t touch her if you didn’t think you could give her everything she needed in life. So…I’m assuming she’s untouched?”

  Cole looked between Brett and Wyatt. “When did he say this? And how did you know this was happening? You didn’t tell us.”

  Wyatt sighed. “I saw them. They kissed once. It’s not a big deal.”

  Cole’s eyes went wide. “You kissed her once?”

  “Well, it was technically more than one time,” he admitted.

  Another fist slammed into his stomach, and Brett wheezed for air. Once again, he didn’t fight back. He wasn’t even entirely certain which brother threw the punch.

  It didn’t matter.

  “Did you do anything else to her?” Cole asked, his voice deceptively calm.

  He knew what would happen if he admitted the truth, but even so he wouldn’t lie to them. Brett leaned against the wall and managed to say, “I spent the past two nights with her.”

  Wyatt’s hand no longer held him back. Instead it shoved him into the wall. He pressed his forearm into Brett’s neck, cutting off his air supply again. “You motherfucker. You promised me you wouldn’t touch her.”

  While he wouldn’t fight back, he wouldn’t let Wyatt kill him, either. Brett yanked Wyatt’s arm down and gasped for air. He stumbled back from him, but Cole caught him before he could get too far. The other man held Brett’s arms behind his back, yanking them back so hard his shoulders protested.

  “You’re not going anywhere, asshole.”

  “I wasn’t trying to escape,” Brett panted. “I just wanted to breathe.”

  Eric crossed his arms and studied Brett, while Wyatt kicked the bedpost and continued to let loose a string of curses. A lot of them involved killing Brett and burying his body in the woods. Eric stepped closer and cocked his head. “Why are you letting us kick your ass? I know you could have easily broken free of Cole just now.”

  Brett drew in a ragged breath. “I won’t fight you. Any of you.”

  “Why not?” Eric asked.

  Jesus, his body hurt like a motherfucker.

  It was getting increasingly harder to stand straight.

  “Because Anna would be upset. And I don’t want to ruin Chris’s wedding by beating up my fellow groomsmen or his best man.”

  “But mostly because of Anna,” Eric said.

  “Yes.” Brett met his eyes, still struggling to catch his breath. “Because of Anna. I don’t want to hurt her. After the wedding is over, I’ll—”

  Wyatt scoffed. “After? Do you actually think we’ll let you stay here after this? What could you be thinking?”

  Brett clenched his jaw.

  He was sick of them acting as if he’d defiled a child or something. Anna was old enough to have a lover, for fuck’s sake. “I was thinking you’d stop acting like Anna’s still sixteen years old. If she wants to be with me, who are you to say no?”

  Wyatt slammed his fist into Brett’s stomach again. Didn’t they punch anywhere else? He doubled over, clutching his stomach and trying to breathe.

  “You’re no longer welcome in this wedding, or in our home,” Wyatt growled, his face red. “Get the fuck out.”

  Eric shook his head, but didn’t look happy about it. “You can’t send him away. Chris would be devastated, Anna would cry, and the wedding would be ruined.”

  Wyatt clenched his fists. “What do you suggest then, genius? Let him screw our sister to keep the peace? Stand by watching as he breaks her heart?”

  Cole’s hold on Brett relaxed a fraction. Now would be the perfect time to break free and slam his fist into the bastard’s nose.

  But Brett didn’t move.

  Eric’s gaze lowered to where Cole “held” Brett, and he flexed his jaw. “He’s not going to break her heart.”

  Wyatt paced in front of them. “Don’t be an idiot. Of course he is.”

  “I don’t want to hurt her.” He locked eyes with Eric, the only one who seemed to have his head screwed on right at the moment. “I’d never want to hurt her.”

  Wyatt threw his hands up. “You can’t trust him. He’s full of empty promises. He also promised he me that he wouldn’t touch her unless he”—Wyatt stopped midstep and stared at Brett—“unless he could give her everything. Unless he could love her.”

  Brett stared back stubbornly.

  “Do you love her?” Wyatt asked.

  “That’s between the two of us.”

  “Answer the question,” Cole said, yanking his arms back farther. “Do you love her?”

  The truth was, Brett didn’t know what love was, or what it felt like. What he did know was that even if they beat him up every day for the rest of his life, he’d still stay by her side. He would still want to be with her.

  If that was love, then yes.

  He fucking loved her.

  Brett hissed through his teeth when Cole yanked on his arms, making his sore body even more sore. “It’s none of your damn business how your sister makes me feel, or what she makes me feel.”

  Eric laughed. “That’s all the answer we need. Let go of him, Cole.”

  “But—” Cole exerted pressure on his arms one last time, and then released him reluctantly. “Fine.”

  Brett fell against the wall and rotated his shoulders. He’d be lucky if he could walk down the aisle tomorrow, rather than stumbling like a zombie. He took a shallow breath, since it hurt less than a full one, and asked, “Is the ‘kill Brett for daring to touch Anna’ portion of our evening over now?”

  Wyatt looked him over. “Maybe.”

  Cole cracked his knuckles, looking far from done. “What do we do with him now? We can’t get rid of him, but if Christopher finds out that he’s with her, then he’ll throw a fit. He’ll hit first and ask questions later.”

  “It must run in the family,” Brett grumbled. He sank to the floor and rested his head against the wall. “Shit, it hurts to sit, too.”

  “Chris won’t go for the stomach,” Wyatt said, eyeing Brett with far too much satisfaction. “The bruises won’t be hidden. And we’ll have to pull him off of Brett. Anna will cry…and get mad at all of us.”

  Brett rubbed his temples. His head ached from all of this bullshit. “We already established all of this. How about you let me go back to my room, and we act like this never happened?”

  “How about we don’t?” Cole snapped. “I say we keep him for the night. If we noticed the way he was giving her puppy-dog eyes, Chris will, too.”

  Brett’s head snapped up, and he frowned at Cole. “Puppy-dog eyes?”

  “Are you going to deny it? Go ahead and try,” Wyatt said.

  “I—” He couldn’t. “Fuck you.”

  “That’s how we all knew something changed,” Eric pointed out, ignoring the expletive. “If Chris hasn’t noticed yet, it’s out of pure luck. Your luck won’t continue.”

  This was luck?

  Wyatt sat down on the bed and sighed. “Fine. We’ll keep him with us. After the wedding…” His voice drifted off, and he chuckled. “After the wedding we’ll sit back and watch the show once Brett tells Chris he broke his blood oath. And maybe place a few wagers on what comes next.”

  Brett groaned at the thought of another round of fighting, but it was worth it.

  Anna was worth it.

  “I’ll agree to stay away from Anna until after the wedding, but only if one of you goes to tell her about what happened. I don’t want her to think I didn’t come to her because I changed my mind about us.”

  “Oh for fuck’s sake. Are we still in high school, or what?” Wyatt rolled his eyes, but nonetheless pulled his iPhone out of his pocket. “I’ll text her right now, Romeo.”

  Brett gritted his teeth. “Where am I sleeping tonight? Am I allowed in my room, Warden?”

  “So she can go in and find you bruised and in pain because of her brothers? No, thank you. You get to sleep with me tonight.” Wy
att put his phone on the nightstand. “And I don’t put out.”

  Brett shuddered and looked at the bed. “Don’t make me puke. It’ll hurt too damn much. And if you think I’m climbing into bed with you, you have another think coming.”

  “Correction. You get the floor and a blanket. I get the bed.”

  Brett lay down where he sat. “Don’t bother. I’m going to sleep right now so I don’t have to stare at your ugly faces anymore.”

  Cole chuckled. “We’ll all sleep in here. It’ll be a sleepover party.”

  “Just don’t try to paint my nails,” Eric said.

  Brett closed his eyes and drifted off to sleep with their soft voices surrounding him. Christ, but getting the shit beat out of you was exhausting. And tomorrow, he would get another taste—only from Christopher this time. But then he could go to Anna, and hold her in his arms, and make love to her all night long…

  Yeah.

  Or not.

  After Chris finished with him, he probably wouldn’t be able to walk by tomorrow night, let alone make love to Anna. Then again, that was more than likely their plan.

  Well played, gentlemen. Well played.

  Chapter Fifteen

  The next morning, Anna rolled over in bed, rubbed her swollen eyes, and groaned out loud. After Brett failed to show up last night, she had cried for an hour before her sadness turned to rage. The rage hadn’t lasted long, though. Once it wore off…

  She’d cried some more.

  Anger would do her no good.

  After all, she’d known what she was getting, going into the “relationship.” And she promised him a clean break, if he wanted one, so she would give it to him. But why had he insisted she give him a chance if he didn’t want it? So he could get her hopes up, and then smash them down to the ground without hesitation?

  Did she mean nothing to him at all?

  Maybe he had led her on to further prove his point that he was the wrong guy for her. Well, if that had been his goal, then he’d succeeded.

  If this was the way he would act around her, hot one second and then cold the next, then she didn’t want any part of a “relationship” with him.

  It turned her into something she didn’t want to be.

  The girl who cried herself to sleep.

  Last night, she had even broken her promise to him. She had stomped across the hall and barged into his room, only to find it empty. Where had he gone? And why hadn’t he come to her? A quick check confirmed his luggage hadn’t left with him, so he had to be in the house.

  “He was hiding from me,” she muttered under her breath. “He doesn’t want to be with me.”

  She sat up and sighed, dropping her forehead on her raised knees. She was done. Done trying to win his heart. Done trying to convince him to be with her. Done with him. He had been right all along. They would never work, and she would never get to his heart because it was too well protected. Heck, maybe he didn’t have a heart to be won.

  Okay, that wasn’t fair of her.

  But she didn’t want to be fair right now.

  Even as her heart balked at the idea, she knew she had to give up. It was over, and she had lost the battle. Time to collect her weapons and retreat to lick her wounds.

  After the wedding.

  Today, she’d smile, laugh, and make sure not to ruin Chris and Nina’s wedding, even if it killed her. Which it just might.

  She dragged out the primping process, sticking with a soft cashmere top and a plain black skirt since the wedding prep would begin in about an hour. Her hair would be swept into an elaborate updo anyway, so why spend time making it pretty now?

  When she stepped out into the hallway, she avoided looking at Brett’s door. Even the wood frame hurt too much to look at. How was she going to make it through a wedding without breaking down when they were actually in the same room?

  Swallowing hard, she headed for the stairs.

  Each step she took felt like a weight had been tied to her ankle, growing heavier and heavier with each step. By the time she reached the dining room, her heart beat so loud she knew everyone had to hear it. She smiled at her parents and scanned the room. Her stomach lurched when she caught sight of him across the room. He sat in the left corner with her brothers. Their gazes crashed, and he gave her an indescribable look before turning away to talk to Chris with a slight wince.

  And just like that?

  Her heart shattered again.

  How much more proof did she need? He wouldn’t even look at her. He’d changed his mind. She gave him the perfect opportunity to do so without any repercussions.

  She wouldn’t cry in front of him or look upset. No questions asked. That’s what she had promised. That’s what he would get, no matter how much it hurt.

  And God, it hurt.

  Squaring her shoulders, she plastered a smile on and went up to her parents, doing her best to ignore him and all the pain that came with him. “Hi, Mom. Morning, Dad.”

  “Morning, princess,” her dad said, hugging her before he headed off toward the men.

  “Good morning.” Her mother closed her in a tight hug, then pulled back to pat her eyes with a tissue. “Can you believe Christopher is getting married tonight? I’ve been crying since I woke up.”

  Anna looked at Chris, but kept her eyes off Brett. She could pretend she didn’t care—she’d gotten the lead part in her high school play for a reason, thank you very much—but if he looked too close…he would see right through her act. “I know. It’s crazy. He looks so happy.”

  “Because he is. Nina makes him happy. I’m so glad he responded to the car accident she was in, and not someone else.” Her mom sniffed and motioned at a tray of food. “Speaking of the bride…I’m about to take a tray up to Nina. She’s hiding in her room so she doesn’t see Chris. It’s bad luck before the wedding.”

  Hiding away from the men?

  That sounded absolutely perfect.

  “I’m on it.” Anna grabbed her mom’s hand. “I’ll take it up to her. You should spend the rest of the morning with Chris.”

  “Are you sure?” She looked over at her son, clearly wanting to go sit with him, but she bit down on her lip. “No. I’ll go up. You go sit with the boys and have fun.”

  “No.” When her mother shot her a surprised look, Anna realized her refusal sounded more like a shout than a polite insistence. If she wasn’t mistaken, her cry got Brett’s attention. She could feel him watching her. “I mean, no thanks. You go. I’ll just throw a cup of coffee on here and a croissant, and then I’ll go up to her. I want to.”

  “All right, dear. If you’re sure?”

  “Absolutely positive,” Anna said, smiling to reassure her mother.

  It almost cracked her cheeks.

  “Hmm.” Her mom tilted her head, taking in Anna’s appearance. She was sporting some pretty rocking red eyes, along with some puffy eyelids, so it probably wasn’t hard for her mother to put two and two together. “You look like you had a rough night. I can come up, too. There’s nothing a mom can’t fix.”

  Anna swallowed hard because there were things a mother couldn’t fix.

  Like a broken heart.

  “I’ll be fine. I just couldn’t sleep. You go spend time with Chris. I’ll go hang out with Nina. By the time I come back down, I’ll look more awake. I promise.”

  “All right. But my offer still stands.” Her mother hugged her tight and then hurried across the room.

  All of her brothers—and the man she wouldn’t look at—scooted over to make space for her. Anna tore her eyes away before she was tempted to look at him again, threw a few more things on the tray, and picked it up. Right before she hit the door, Wyatt stepped in front of her. “You okay, Squirt?”

  Anna nodded, but didn’t lift her head from her eye level…which was approximately at his shoulders. “I’m fine. I’m just going up with Nina for the morning.”

  “I thought Mom was doing that,” he said, his voice tinged with curiosity. “She said she would go u
p.”

  “I offered to take her place.”

  Wyatt stepped out of her way, but followed her to the stairs. “You’re upset. I knew you would be, but you seem more upset than I expected. Did you get my—?”

  “Will you just let me go already?” Anna gripped the tray even tighter, not even wanting to talk to him right now. If he wanted to rub it in her face that she should have listened to him, then he would have to wait for another day. “I’m not in the mood for this right now. For any of this. I just want to go up to Nina, and ignore you, and every other man in that room, for a few hours. So let me.”

  With wide eyes, Wyatt held his hands up and backed away from her. “All right. Jesus. Go ahead, then.”

  She cleared past him, rushed up the stairs, balanced the tray on her hip, and knocked on Nina’s door. At the soft reply, Anna opened it and kicked it closed behind her. “Hey. You got me instead of Mom.”

  Nina scooted into a sitting position and patted the bed beside her, her gaze running over Anna’s face intently. “Come. Sit. Tell me what’s wrong.”

  Craaaapppp.

  Her acting abilities were slipping.

  “What makes you think something is wrong?” Anna smiled even brighter, trying to hide whatever it was that everyone kept seeing. “I’m just tired and excited and nervous—all in one.”

  Nina eyed her. “Are you worrying about walking down the aisle without tripping again?”

  “Yes.” Anna let out a sigh at the easy answer Nina supplied for her. “That’s exactly what I’m worried about.”

  Nina shrugged, but didn’t drop her attention from Anna. “Brett’s walking you down the aisle. He won’t let you fall.”

  Oh God. Shoot me now.

  How could she have forgotten Brett would be walking her down the aisle?

  “Uh. Right. Of course not,” she said quickly.

  Nina set her coffee down. “Now I know something is wrong. You should have smiled and looked happy. Instead, you look like you want to cry. Did you get in a fight with him or something?”

  Anna bit down on her lip. “I’m not talking about this today. It’s your wedding day. How excited are you?”

  “Yeah. Excited. Thrilled. I love him so much.” Nina waved a hand. “Now spill it. What happened?”