I turned away, surveying the damage. Fuck. This was terrible.
This wasn’t my place, yet I didn’t want to leave her. The man was unpredictable and she was already suffering. As she crouched down beside him, I walked to the window, placing my hand on the glass. I’d been such a fucking asshole to even think about using his condition against her.
My fucking God. What was wrong with me? Caroline would be so angry. So very angry with me.
I fisted my hand, realizing and accepting that Vanessa was as vulnerable as she was valuable. How we’d move forward from here would be dicey.
“I’m okay,” Donovan said with the same contempt in his voice.
“No, you are not,” she insisted. “If I need to chain you inside the house, you are going to do this. For you. Not for me.”
Noise caught my attention and the reflection in the glass allowed me to watch as he rose to his feet, pushing Vanessa away. Bristling, it took every ounce of control to keep from intervening. As she’d told me several times.
This was her burden. Not mine.
No contract in the world meant I would interfere. But goddamn it, the need to protect her was stronger than I’d believed possible.
“Who the fuck is that asshole?” he asked, not even bothering to lower his voice.
That was my cue to turn and face both, remaining where I was and allowing her the opportunity to explain my presence.
She sighed, her shoulders slumping, but she shifted so she could see me while providing a direct line of sight for her brother.
“His name is Christian Elliot,” she started.
“So the fuck what?”
“So he’s my fiancé. We’re about to be married.”
Complicated.
Perhaps by design.
I stood at yet another window, this time one inside my house. Still seething, I reflected on the limited conversation I’d had with the man during the ride to my home. Correction, the house I was sharing with my… fiancée.
Donovan hadn’t taken the news well, laughing and cursing for a few seconds until she’d put a halt to his tantrum. She was damn good at handling him. I’d give her credit. There’d been no other choice but to bring him to the house and provide him with a room, food, and plenty of water to sober him up.
I’d seen the track marks on his arm. I’d witnessed the beginning of him coming out of the drug-induced haze. I’d also seen the lines of worrying digging into Vanessa’s lovely face to the point she appeared almost haggard.
Yet still the most beautiful woman I’d ever laid eyes on.
The contradiction in what I’d felt earlier to now continued to hit me like a ton of bricks. If we could get through tonight and if the attorney Michael had secured managed to do the job he was hired for, and if Donovan didn’t jump ship, disappearing before we could get him into rehab, then he might have a chance at a future.
Might being the key word.
I’d encouraged her to drive the Ferrari back to the house while I’d brought him in my Lexus, which had allowed me to have a heart to heart with the man. I laughed softly as I swirled the liquid in my glass.
Bourbon and it was only four o’clock in the afternoon. What the hell? I certainly needed the liquid encouragement after dealing with Donovan.
He’d said very little, but I’d sensed he was listening. Plus, I’d told him a few details about the nightmare I’d been living for over a decade. Whether or not it made any difference, I wouldn’t know. Sharing the worst portion of my life with him even though I’dmade the story as if it had happened to a friend had opened new wounds.
Fuck. This was all karma’s fault.
Seconds later, I heard footsteps and took a deep breath, admitting to myself I wasn’t interested in another sparring event even with the enticing, seductive woman I wanted to protect.
The footsteps stopped at the entrance to the living room, the only sound her deep sigh. As she finally started to walk closer, I thought of a dozen things to say and none of them were appropriate.
When she was close, the same electricity as I’d felt during every bantering session swept through my body. Pinpricks of current boosted my heartrate, my cock stiffening. Maybe inappropriate timing, but it was what she did to me.
