A town car pulled up fifteen minutes later. Dominic opened the door.
“Hop in, Arianna,” Bain said to her quietly as she continued to cling to him.
She took a deep shuddering breath then moved into the car.
Dominic grabbed hold of his arm as he went to slip in after her. “You sure about this?”
No. He wasn’t sure about much. Which was a strange situation for him to be in. He always knew what he was doing. But he was going on gut instinct right now.
And his gut told him that he needed to look after Arianna.
8
She couldn’t breathe. Oh God. She was going to lose it. Right here in this town car. At least Bain had moved the privacy screen into place. Still, she didn’t want him to see her lose it.
Get it together, Arianna.
She attempted to breathe, to calm the nausea bubbling in her stomach. But nothing was getting through. There was heavy weight on her chest.
She could still feel the hands grabbing at her. Only in her head, they pulled her away from Bain, away from safety. They tore at her. Hurt her.
Don’t hurt me.
“Arianna? Are you okay? Ari?”
His voice tried to reach through the panic, but it wasn’t working. She could still feel it clawing at her, threatening to pull her under.
“Angel? Calm down. You’re okay.”
Angel. She liked him calling her that. Like she meant something to him. What would this man do to protect someone he cared about?
Everything. Anything and everything he had to.
God, she wanted that.
“Shit. You’re having a panic attack.”
How did he know that? She was usually so good at hiding them. She dug her fingernails into the palm of her hand. The slight bite of pain helped her push back the panic.
“What are you doing?” he demanded. He forced her hands apart placing his palms on hers. “Do not do that again. You hear me?”
His voice was demanding. A pure command meant to be obeyed.
“Don’t hurt yourself.” He raised her hand to his chest. “Feel my breaths. Follow me. Breathe with me. In. One. Two. Out. One. Two. That’s it. Good girl. Doing so well, Ari. So brave. Good girl. Keep breathing. You’re safe. In and then out. Well done.”
His praise soothed the raw wounds on her soul. The pain from years of being told she didn’t measure up to her parents’ expectations, to society’s views, to Larry’s requirements.
She didn’t care that he didn’t really mean them. In no way could she be considered brave. She hadn’t done anything. He was just saying it because he needed to calm her down.
Once the panic started to lift from her chest and she felt like she could breathe more easily, she realized that she was practically sitting on his lap, her hand on his chest. She tried to move away.
He let her go. Disappointment flooded her.
“Going to fucking kill Larry for making Joe take him home. What the hell was Joe thinking? He’s your driver.”
Oh God. Oh God.
Thinking about it made the panic rage through her once more. She leaned her forehead against her knees with a tired cry. She couldn’t do it. She couldn’t take any more
“Just breathe, angel.” He ran his hand up and down her back. “Calm down. Good girl. Nearly there. You’re doing well.”
She felt ill. Shivers rocked her body. She was so cold. And exhausted. She wanted to go home.
Bain pulled her up and drew her close once more. She leaned on him.
It was just for tonight.
Surely that was okay. It wasn’t every day that you had to be rushed out of a building that was on fire then were nearly mobbed by a crowd of fans and then driven through Manhattan and out to . . . where were they, exactly?
“Brooklyn,” Bain rumbled when she asked. “Friend lives here. We’ll stay the night.”
She turned her head sharply. What? When had this been decided? Wait. She remembered him and Dominic talking. . .something about a crowd being outside her apartment.
“We’ll stay here tonight and go back tomorrow.”
She shook her head. Go back? She didn’t want to go back. Not tomorrow. Not ever. She was over that apartment. Over this life. All she wanted was to create music. To be free.
His face tightened. “Know my friend’s place won’t exactly be up to your standards, but it’s better than a hotel where you might be recognized. Friends aren’t rich, but you’ll be safe there.”
What? What was he even talking about? She didn’t care about where they were staying. The car pulled over to the side of the road.
“Stay,” he warned her. He opened the door then she saw the driver open his window. Bain handed him something. Money. Right. She needed to make sure he was reimbursed for that. Although she supposed she’d just get billed for it.
She looked out at a gorgeous brownstone house. This place was probably bigger than her apartment. What was he even talking about?
Sometimes she didn’t understand other people.
Bain opened her door and held out his hand without looking at her. She understood he was doing his bodyguard duties. But for a moment there it had felt like there was more between them. Like he might actually care.
You’re paying him, Arianna. He’s doing his job.
She slipped her hand into his and felt a shiver of awareness cross her skin. Her body wanted to gravitate towards him, to wrap around all those muscles. Maybe it was a safety thing. She was scared and he was so calm and commanding. Capable.
Yeah? So how come you don’t feel that way about Dominic?
She shouldn’t feel this way about Bain. Most of the time he intimidated her. He was so stern. Blunt. Grouchy.
He guided her up the steps. The door at the top opened and a well-built man dressed in jeans and a rock band T-shirt stood there. His hair was wavy and pushed back off his handsome face.
He stepped aside without saying a word. Bain ushered her inside quickly and the man shut and locked the door behind him, setting the alarm.
Only then did he turn to Bain with a grin. “Hey, man, good to see you.” They did one of those manly half-hugs she thought she saw an actual smile grace Bain’s face. But she must have imagined it, because when he turned to her, his face was granite again.
“This is Arianna. Arianna, my friend Tom. We went to school together.”
Tom stuck out a hand. His smile was sincere and kind. She put her hand in his. The handshake was firm but not overbearingly so. She gave him a small smile.
“Hello, Arianna, nice to meet you. My wife is going to be so upset that she wasn’t here to meet you. She’s a big fan.”
“Nice to meet you too.”
“Jen isn’t here then?” Bain asked.
“No, she and Mac are away on business.”
“Business is good then? Place is nice.”
Nice? It was gorgeous. She looked around in delight at the wooden floors and high ceilings. There were photos plastered on most of the walls of Tom with a curvy, short woman with dark hair and a bigger man with a buzz haircut. In most of the photos, the woman stood between the men. But in others she was only with one man. Arianna was surprised to find her kissing the bigger man in one photo. Were the three of them together?
“Come in, you two. Do you want something to drink? Coffee? Hot chocolate? Something stronger?”
“I’m still on duty,” Bain said. “But I’ll take the hot chocolate.”
She blinked up at him. He drank hot chocolate? She’d pegged him as the type who fueled his body on only healthy food.
“Hot chocolate?” Tom let out a surprised laugh. “I didn’t think you ate anything sweet, man.”
Bain just shrugged.
“And you, Arianna?” Tom asked.
“She’ll take a hot chocolate as well,” Bain said.
She frowned but didn’t object. She’d actually really love a hot chocolate. Despite it being warm in the apartment, she felt freezing.
“Come on i
nto the living room. I have the fire on.” They followed him into a gorgeous living room. It wasn’t overcrowded with stuff, but it still looked lived in.
“Want me to take your jacket?” Tom asked.
She looked down, noticing that she still had Bain’s jacket on and was holding it tight around her. She blushed and handed it over. “Bain kindly leant it to me. Thank you.”
Tom gave his friend a look. “Chivalrous of him.”
“Very.”
Bain just grunted.
“Have a seat,” Tom said to her gently. She sat in a corner of the sofa as he went over to a window seat and pulled it up, drawing out a blanket. “Jen keeps this here for movie nights. Even in summer, we have to turn the air up and crawl under a blanket with her.” Tom shook his head but his affection for his wife was more than obvious and it made her heart ache.
He went to put the blanket over her, but Bain grabbed it, placing it over her lap instead. Tom sent him a grin.
“Like that is it?”
“Isn’t like anything,” Bain snarled.
“Uh-huh.”
“Make the hot chocolate, will you?” Bain snapped.
She gasped. She didn’t know what exactly they were talking about, but Bain was being rude to his friend.
Tom disappeared with another grin.
“That was rude,” she scolded.
He just raised an eyebrow and grunted. Then he crouched in front of her. Immediately she leaned towards him. She was feeling out of her element. Unsure. And Bain was her one constant.
Maybe he was going to say something reassuring. She could use that right now. As nice as Tom was, she hated invading his privacy. She was worried about Joe and Estelle and about all the people who’d been at the concert tonight. Was anyone hurt?
She twisted her hands in the blanket.
“Arianna, look at me.”
She raised her gaze to his. She was grateful Dominic and Bain had been there tonight. She’d hate to think what would have happened to her if they hadn’t been. They’d gotten her out safely. They’d taken care of her.
She couldn’t remember the last time someone had done that.
Which was pretty sad. Loneliness flooded her. Sometimes she just wished she had someone who would hug her and tell her everything would be okay.
“Tom has a wife and a boyfriend,” Bain said suddenly.
Umm. Okay. That wasn’t what she was expecting him to say. But it was interesting. Wow. She thought that sort of thing only happened in books.
“You won’t mention anything about it to them or to others, understand? We’re in their house. How they live is their choice. We’ll respect that.” His tone wasn’t mean or harsh, but his words made her flinch back.
Did he really think she would do that? That she would make someone feel bad because they chose to live a different lifestyle than was socially acceptable?
She gave him a sharp nod, directing her gaze over his shoulder. She pulled back in on herself. The indifferent mask she used so often slid over her face.
Don’t let him see he hurt you.
Fuck. Fuck.
He’d hurt her. He’d seen it in the way she’d flinched away. And now she’d shut down on him.
You asshole.
He hadn’t said anything to be a jerk. He’d just wanted her to know the situation, so she didn’t say something. . .
Right, and what makes you think she would?
Ari wasn’t who he’d imagined her to be. She wasn’t judgmental, snobby or cold. She was sweet and slightly clumsy. Cute. Kind.
Fuck. He stared at her for a long moment, willing her to look at him. But she kept her gaze off in the distance. She looked so tiny bundled up in the blanket. Finally, with a sigh, he stood. Maybe some distance between them was a good thing. He needed to pull back.
She’s the client.
“I’ll help Tom with the drinks.”
He walked into the kitchen to find Tom at the stove, heating up milk and chocolate. Rugger, Jen’s huge mastiff looked up from where he was lying by the back door.
“Rugger always gets depressed when Jen is gone,” Tom explained as Bain went over to pat the big dog’s head. “Silly thing mopes around like his whole world has disintegrated. Thought it best to keep him in here. Didn’t know whether your friend liked dogs and most people are intimidated by Rugger.”
“She’s not a friend. She’s a client.”
Tom poured the chocolate mix into three mugs. “Right, my bad. She okay? She’s very pale and quiet. Do you think she’s in shock?”
“Had a panic attack in the car.” He gripped the counter as Tom pulled out some whipped cream from the fridge. “I didn’t realize that’s what was happening for a start. She didn’t even make any noise. Didn’t try to alert me. But she was digging her fingernails into her palms. She stopped breathing.”
She’d scared him half to death.
“You obviously got her calmed down. What happened must have been terrifying. I’ve been watching the news reports. I saw a bit of footage of the three of you, that could have gone downhill fast.”
He nodded. Didn’t he fucking know it. If that crowd had fully turned on them. . .he felt nauseous at the thought.
He frowned. “She’s different than I thought she would be.”
“Yeah? Jen’s been a big fan of hers for a while. We’ve been to several of her concerts. She doesn’t do a lot of publicity. Makes her seem a bit unapproachable. Jen always reckons that’s bullshit. She says she’s sad. That you can see it in her eyes. Never saw it. Until just now.”
He frowned. “She’s rich and famous. Isn’t that what most people want?”
Tom gave him a knowing look. “Not all women are Jillian.”
“Didn’t say they were,” he said defensively. Jillian was a sore point.
“No? You’ve always liked honesty, Bain. You were the one who told me to stop pissing around and make my move on both Mac and Jen. That life was too fucking short to be caught up in what other people thought, right?”
Sounded like him.
“I’m going to give you a bit of honesty. Yes, there are people like Jill out there. There are also good, sweet, kind people like Jen.”
He grunted. “I fucking know that.” All the women on the ranch were sweethearts. He just wasn’t attracted to them. Just as well since they were all taken. A pair of wide, moss-green eyes suddenly filled his mind.
Why the fuck was he attracted to her?
“Yeah? You might know it. But doesn’t mean that you don’t have biases. Especially with a woman like Arianna, who seems to have it all—”
“She does. I live in her fucking apartment. Probably worth more than I’d make in a lifetime.”
Tom sighed. “Just because she has money doesn’t make her shallow, it doesn’t mean she’s happy.”
“Didn’t come here for a fucking heart-to-heart. I’ve been hired to protect her because she’s got a stalker.”
“Yeah? Shit. Poor kid.”
She wasn’t that much younger than Tom.
“Want whip?” Tom asked.
He shook his head. Tom put a mound of whip on one of the hot chocolates then added sprinkles.
“Didn’t know you were the sprinkles type.” Bain raised an eyebrow.
Tom rolled his eyes. “Whatever, asshole. This is for Arianna. It’s my sprinkle special.”
A sudden yell had them both freezing then Bain took off towards the living room. “Ari!”
There was a bark, then to his shock, a loud laugh.
“Shit, Rugger!” Tom swore. “He got out the door.”
Bain came to a stop at the sight that greeted him. Rugger was lying half on Arianna, his big tongue licking at her face as she giggled.
“Rugger get off her!” Tom pulled the dog back and Bain felt like he’d been sucker punched as he saw the beaming smile on Arianna’s face. Had he ever seen her truly smile?
Tom sighed with frustration. “Rugger, sit. She doesn’t want your dog-breath kisses.�
��
Arianna patted Rugger’s head and he licked her hand. She giggled again. “Hello, Rugger.”
“He’s Jen’s dog,” Tom explained, sitting next to her. Rugger put his big head in Arianna’s lap, and she cooed at him as she scratched him behind the ears.
Something surged inside Bain. Was he jealous of a dog? What the fuck was wrong with him? He didn’t want to put his head in her lap and have her make soft noises at him. Nope. That was stupid.
“Guess I’ll get the drinks,” he snapped, turning around and stomping back into the kitchen.
Arianna wasn’t sure what she’d done to annoy Bain. She guessed maybe it was the situation. Everything that had happened tonight had probably put him on edge. After handing her the best hot chocolate she’d tasted in her life, with whip and sprinkles, he’d turned on the T.V. to watch the news reports and completely ignored her.
He’d spoken a few times to Tom. But on the most part he’d sat with a glower on his face. Eventually, Tom had offered to show her up to her room. Bain had come up with them, checking her room over while Tom had grabbed her some of his wife’s clothes to get dressed into in the morning. She’d had a shower and dressed in the big T-shirt he’d also provided, which he’d told her was brand new.
It still felt a little weird wearing his shirt, but she didn’t have much choice and she didn’t want to be rude. Like Bain seemed to be expecting her to be.
Tom had made Rugger leave her bedroom, but she couldn’t help but crack the bedroom door open, hoping that he might sneak in.
She could use the company. She didn’t much feel like being alone tonight.
He couldn’t sleep. He tried to tell himself it was because he was still on-duty. Or that he was still coming down from an adrenaline rush.
But he knew it wasn’t either of those reasons. It was because he was a prick.
He sighed. Then he pressed the heels of his hands into his eyes. He knew that Tom was right. He was looking at Arianna and seeing Jill. He was tainting her with his old hang-ups.
It wasn’t fucking fair. She was the first woman he’d been this attracted to since Jill. His ex would have loved this life. Wealth. People at her beck and call. Adoring her. Fawning over her.
Daddy's Angel (Montana Daddies Book 7) Page 7