Just seeing that she was upset about him, because of what he'd done to me, gave me comfort.
“Christian, could I talk to you for a minute?” she asked.
“Of course.” Taking her elbow, I started to guide her away from my brother.
“Have fun, Christian,” Gabriel called.
I ignored him.
We moved through the party to put as much distance between him and us as possible. Once we’d made it across the room, I let go of her and reached for a glass from a circulating tray of champagne. I couldn’t think of a better time to have a drink. I raised a brow at her and she seemed to realize that I was waiting.
“Oh,” she said quickly. “I didn’t actually need anything I just wanted to get you away from him. Sorry. Did I read it wrong? Your face had a ‘get me the hell out of here’ vibe.”
I burst out laughing. “Was it that pronounced?”
She grinned. “I don’t know if anyone else would have noticed it, but to me? Oh, yeah. You had that little nerve on the left side of your mouth that does its own thing when you’re not happy.”
My chest clenched. How had she’d learned so much about me? Hannah had come into my life and changed everything. I couldn’t remember the last time someone had remembered something so minute about me. My ex-wife certainly never took the time. “You know you’re amazing, right?”
I watched her eyes light up as she sipped at her champagne. We walked the party together, chatting and mingling between spurts of her checking on the children. I couldn’t think of a single person I’d rather spend time with.
Chapter Twenty-Five
Hannah
The party lingered on and on and I didn’t realize how late or how much drinking, Christian’s friends could do. By the time it got late, most of the parents who’d brought children had sleepy kids on their hands. One by one, they carried them out and let their drivers take them home.
Annie had passed out a while ago, curled up with her little black shoes on the couch.
I pushed her curls from her face and smiled. She’d done a good job, never taking them off and being the boss of the others. I knew she’d make a good leader someday. Even I was impressed by the way she negotiated peace between the Bronson twins and kept the room running smoothly when I stepped out. She’d had fun and even made new friends.
“Come on, Princess.”
I slipped off her shoes and picked her up. She automatically wrapped her arms around my neck almost choking me as I carried her out of the room.
Christian caught sight of me moving across the party with her in my arms and stopped me. “Let me take her.”
“No, no you go ahead. I’ll just get her upstairs and into bed.”
Christian shook his head. “You look great in that dress, but you can barely move and I don’t think you can navigate the stairs like that. Besides, you’ve been working the whole night. I admire your dedication, but you need to take a little break. Go on, I’ll be right back.”
I felt a little bad about Christian having to take care of things at his own party, but I let it go because he was definitely right about the dress. He set up an account for me at an expensive boutique and insisted that I buy something that I would never have been able to afford. I nearly died when I saw the price of the clothes there, but he had called me on my cell and told me either I got myself a dress or he was going to buy it himself.
Put like that, the little gold number had called to me right away and I’d picked it immediately. The way his jaw dropped tonight when he saw me confirmed that it was definitely a great purchase.
I watched the two of them disappear up the stairs. Christian kissed her gently before they disappeared from sight and I sighed contentedly. The night couldn’t have gone better. I grabbed a flute and glanced around the party. As nice as everyone had been to me, I wanted a little alone time to myself.
Navigating my way around and smiling politely, I decided to go outside to the gardens. The garden was one of my favorite places at night. The floral scent always made me happy. As soon as I entered it, I could smell the night blooming Jasmine and I smiled. A crescent moon lit the sky up above just a bit, and I could have stayed there forever.
“You two seem very close.”
I jumped at the sound of the voice and spilled some champagne down my dress. Light droplets darkened the golden fabric and I quickly attempted to brush them off. When I glanced up, I saw Gabriel.
He had one hand in his pocket while he looked me up and down in a way that made me shift from foot to foot.
“Who?” I asked, even though I knew exactly what he meant.
“You and Christian,” he said as he sauntered forward. “Is there something there?”
I stared at him. Why did he care? The more I heard about Gabriel the less I liked him, but dealing with him up close and personal gave me the creeps. He was a good looking guy, but he was intimidating in an almost predatory way. “I suppose,” I answered with a polite smile. “He’s my boss.”
“Just your boss?” he mused.
Something in his voice alerted me to an immediate danger. Why the hell did I come out here alone? I frowned. “Well, he is my boss.”
“Then he won’t mind if I do this,” he said taking a step closer.
“What?” I stared wide eyed with shock as he grabbed my arm and tried to drag me deeper into the garden.
At first, my mind went blank. I couldn’t even understand what he was doing. Then my brain came back online and screamed one thing.
Run.
Chapter Twenty-Six
Hannah
I couldn’t run. I could hardly walk in this dress, let alone run. But I could scream. Even as I opened my mouth to do that, he shoved his hand against my mouth, while his other hand tightened on my arm. With a hard look on his face, he yanked me away from the party, away from Christian.
In my panic, I dropped my glass of champagne and it shattered on the stone path. We were in the furthest reaches of the garden, a place that was darker and away from the house. My heart thudded in my chest.
What was I going to do?
Everything in me screamed to get away from him. I somehow knew he wanted to teach Christian some kind of lesson by using me. I wanted no part of it. I tried to struggle, to pull away, but he yanked me against his body so I couldn’t move at all. I could smell his aftershave.
“Hold still,” he growled.
His breath caressed my ear making me shudder with fear.
“Don’t make this harder than it has to be.”
I elbowed him in the side, but it did nothing. He moved faster, his hand on my thigh as he grabbed my dress. I heard the fabric rip sharply.
I had a crazy thought then. Instead of worrying about what he was doing to me, I started to get angry about what was happening to my dress. I’d brought it for Christian, to make him smile the way he did when I walked down the stairs. Now, Gabriel was ruining it. I became scared. What if Christian never looked at me the same way again? What if his touch turned me into someone Christian couldn’t even look at anymore? Like those men who leave their wives and girlfriends when they have been raped, because they can’t cope with the guilt. Angry tears flowed down my face.
I didn’t understand Gabriel. How could he want to hurt Christian so badly? It was one thing to steal his ex-wife, but this was horrible.
My head spun. I wanted to get away from him, but Gabriel was too strong.
His hand touched my bare thigh and I screamed against his palm. It was slicked with sweat and hot. I wanted to bite him but he was smart enough to keep from pressing it against my teeth. No matter what I did, how I tried to twist and turn, he kept me locked against his body with his hot breath on my neck and his voice sending shivers of disgust up my spine.
“I told you to just hold still. This isn’t about you,” he hissed. “Christian needs to learn what happens when you fuck with me. I’ve had enough of his bullshit.”
“Let me go!” I shouted against his hand.
I shook my head as his hand traveled upward. The last thing I wanted was that slimy, disgusting bastard touching me anywhere. My skin crawled as I tried to yank myself away from him. I felt his fingers on the edge of my panties. I jerked, but that only made his fingers enter my panties. I began to rock my body as hard as I could, so he would have to fight even to hold me in place.
Then I heard a movement and my eyes swung in that direction.
Christian yanked Gabriel away from me. Gabriel almost fell, but Christian wouldn’t allow that. Without a word, he balled up his fist and punched him in the face.
His brother reeled back and held his nose as blood seeped from between his fingers.
“Get the fuck out of here and don’t ever show your face to me again. This is nothing compared to what I’ll do to you if I ever see you again.”
Gabriel glared at the two of us, but he scrambled and disappeared like the coward he really was.
As soon as he was gone, I crumpled to the ground. My dress was in tatters around me and that brute had almost got his fingers inside me.
Christian wrapped his arms around me.
I clung to him. “He ruined my dress!” I wailed.
“It’s just a dress. I’ll buy ten more,” he said hoarsely.
“I bought it for you.” I sobbed.
“It’s okay, It’s okay,” he repeated again and again.
My tears began to fall in earnest. My body shook and I couldn’t stop for a long time.
Christian didn’t rush me. He ran his hand over my hair and back as he held me so tightly I could barely breathe.
It was just what I needed. I finally wiped my eyes. “I think I messed up your suit,” I said quietly.
“It’s just a suit,” he said as he wrapped an arm around my shoulders. “You’re more important than that.”
I clutched the front of my dress and leaned against him as we walked back to the house. He grasped my hand and placed a kiss on the back of it. The simple gesture warmed me and made me feel safe and whole again. I’d been scared that he would reject me after I had been touched by Gabriel, but that wasn’t the case at all. I could feel how much he wanted to comfort me.
“I don’t think I can go in. My dress is all ruined,” I said as I showed him the rip.
“We’ll take you in the back way and you can go upstairs to my room. I’ll clear everyone out. I’m done partying, anyway.”
“Okay.” I nodded and started to walk off.
He pulled me back. His thumb swiped underneath my eyes and he cradled my cheeks in his palms. “Are you okay?”
“Of course.”
“Hannah.”
I stared up at him and slowly shook my head. “No, not really. He scared me,” I whispered. “I don’t want him near me again.”
“He won’t be,” Christian promised. “I’ll make sure of that.”
Chapter Twenty-Seven
Christian
I bent my head and pressed my lips to her forehead. She leaned into me, soaking me in before she slowly pulled away. We got her quietly into the house before I thanked everyone and abruptly ended the party. Everything could be dealt with tomorrow. I wanted to get to her as quickly as possible.
When I slipped upstairs, I heard the shower running in the bathroom. I stripped off and joined her. She quickly took my arms and wrapped them around her as she leaned against me. We didn’t say a word, just took our time as I washed her hair and body.
Why didn’t I realize it before?
I’d been so hell-bent on keeping any sort of emotions out of our fun time that I hadn’t realized just how much I cared for her. Seeing her with Gabriel, knowing that he could have hurt her had sparked something in me. I would do anything for Hannah. She meant the world to me.
I turned the water off and stepped out to grab us towels. I threw one carelessly on around my waist, then I took my time drying her off bit by bit until her skin was rosy.
She glanced up at me as I stood up and brushed my fingers against her cheek.
“Better?” I asked.
Hannah nodded and I saw her real smile peeking through. “Yeah,” she answered. “Much better.”
I kissed her deeply and she gripped my arms tightly. I kissed her until her body relaxed in my arms. When we pulled back from each other, the muscles in her face and shoulder had softened too and I knew that she was finally beginning to shake off the traumatic incident, but it could still take a little while.
“Hannah, I will always protect you. No matter what,” I said quietly.
“I know you will,” she whispered.
My chest swelled with pride. As long as she knew I would take care of her, what more could I ask for? I wrapped the towel around her tightly and lifted her up into my arms. She leaned her head on my chest as I carried her into my bedroom. I didn’t plan on spending a single minute that night doing anything but comforting and pampering her.
“What’s this?” I asked as I pointed to a dark mark on her wrist.
“I think he bruised me,” she muttered.
I was pissed off all over again. “I should have kept hitting the bastard. Maybe it would have knocked some sense into his thick head.”
Hannah shook her head. “No, I don’t think violence is ever the answer. Although, I can’t say I really blame you. I wanted to poke him in the eye.” She reached up and stroked my cheek. “I’m sorry you’ve had to deal with him all this time. I can’t even imagine the hell that he’s put you through.”
My chest tightened. How could she be concerned about me right now? How could she be sad for me when she was the one who had been hurt? She was the one that had just been through an ordeal, not me. Yet, there she was still worrying about me, still caring about me in a way that no one else had.
Hannah wasn’t like anyone I’d ever met before.
She saw so much and said just the right words to make everything okay again. I knew that’s why Annie loved her and I suppose that’s why I did too.
“Stop thinking about me,” I told her. “Think about yourself.”
“I like thinking about you,” she answered. “You need someone to look out for you too. No one does that.”
My chest swelled even more and it took everything not to climb on top of her and kiss her a million times until I could erase what Gabriel did to her. I planted a kiss on her head and smiled at her.
Hannah smiled softly when I did.
Damn, I knew there was definitely something more going on here.
I couldn’t deny it anymore.
Chapter Twenty-Eight
Hannah
I woke up the next morning in my own bed. Christian had insisted I sleep with him, but I couldn’t do it. Not with Annie prowling the house early in the mornings. As much as I adored him, and no matter how badly I’d wanted to stay wrapped up in his arms all night, I knew what things were between us, and Annie didn’t need to see any part of it. I didn’t want her to get her hopes up, or be upset.
Either way, it could end everything and I didn’t want that.
It may have been scraps from Christian’s table, but I loved what I had.
Spending the night with Christian while he massaged and caressed every inch of me had only confirmed that more. He hadn’t tried to do anything beyond kiss and hold me and I loved him for it. I wanted him more for it.
Get it together, Hannah.
I knew I had to stop thinking about him in this way, or I’d drive myself crazy, but I almost couldn’t help myself. I felt so safe when I was with him. I knew that he’d do anything to protect me now. Turning over, I groaned into my pillow. Then I forced myself to stop thinking about him and got up.
A brand new day stretched in front of me.
A knock on my door went from quiet to long and loud and I knew that it was Annie. I smiled and slipped from the bed, wrapped myself in a robe, and padded to the door.
&nbs
p; When I opened it, she smiled up at me in her PJ’s with her hair all adorably messy.
“Good morning,” I said. “You’re up early.”
“We go shopping today.”
“Yes, we do.” I grinned. “Right after we put on clothes, brush our teeth, and have breakfast.”
She groaned. “Can’t we do all of that stuff later?”
“Should we go in our robes and PJ’s?” I asked.
Annie’s little face lit up. “Can we?”
“You know we can’t.” I laughed and messed up her hair even more.
She giggled. “Stop it!”
“Fine,” I said. “Let’s get ready to start the day, hmm?”
“You two have fun,” Christian said, as he walked out of his bedroom fully dressed and looking drop dead hot. “I’ll see you both after work.”
“Okay, Daddy,” Annie said as she ran over and gave him a tight hug.
“I second that okay daddy bit,” I said and I winked at him.
He laughed. A happy sound.
“Daddy, give Hannah a hug too.”
“A hug for Hannah?” Christian asked as he pulled me into a bear hug.
I slapped his arm until he let me go.
“We’re going to the mall to go shopping,” Annie announced.
“Great. Bring something back for me.”
“Okay,” she said happily and ran off to get ready.
When Christian was sure she was gone, he yanked me back against his body and kissed me so hard my knees buckled.
“What was that for?” I asked breathlessly.
“Just felt like it.”
I groaned. “Can’t you kiss me when I don’t have morning breath?”
“It’s always amazing kissing you.”
I felt my cheeks bloom with heat. Sometimes he could say the sweetest things and it always threw me off. I walked him to the door to wave him off.
Billionaire Needs Nanny Page 11