Her Billionaire Protector

by Nina Singh

  “Nonexistent. I don’t even know how to play.”

  “We’ll have you rolling dice then, that’s simple enough to learn.”

  If this was Adam’s attempt to distract her from their earlier conversation, she wasn’t sure it was going to work.

  “I think we could both use a night out,” he added. “What do you say?”

  “I don’t know if I have anything appropriate to wear. I didn’t pack any of my formal attire that I brought along for the performances.”

  They’d reached the patio outside his villa. “There’s a gown or two that should be hanging—” He caught himself just in time.

  “I take it the perfume model left a few items behind in her hasty departure?”

  To his credit, he looked properly chagrined.

  Doubtful the woman’s discards would fit Ani, anyway. She was probably tall and statuesque with ample curves in all the right places.

  “I never got around to asking Jaqueline to clear them out. We can stop at one of the boutiques later today,” Adam said. “Pick something up for you.”

  She shrugged. “I suppose that would work.”

  He paused, then took her by the hand. “Listen, Ani. The model wasn’t anyone I was ever serious with.”

  “Oh?” She wasn’t quite sure what else to say. He’d surprised her.

  He nodded. “I was at a point in my life when I needed a distraction with no strings attached. She fit the bill.”

  “I see.”

  “I got the impression she needed a distraction as well. But I didn’t bother to ask. And she didn’t ask me either.”

  Ani could only remain silent as he went on. “We had some fun together while it lasted. But she’s not someone I even often think of.”

  With that, he pulled away and turned to walk into the house. Leaving Ani with one question on her mind. Who was the woman from his past Adam did think about?

  * * *

  The first boutique they visited, Ani managed to find the perfect dress: a strapless velvet gown in a midnight burgundy. Now, back at Adam’s estate, she studied the end result in the floor-length mirror of her closet. The color shouldn’t have worked with her bright red hair but somehow it flattered her, if she did say so herself. Adam hadn’t seen it on her yet. She wondered if he would like it as well.

  The man was a complete enigma. She knew he wanted her; the way he kissed her left no doubt. But he always held something back. And he’d blown her mind with all the things he’d revealed today. Still, she couldn’t help but feel there was another piece of the puzzle missing when it came to understanding who he was behind the successful soldier turned billionaire business tycoon.

  She turned to study her reflection from behind. She’d never been to any kind of casino before, let alone one known all over the world and featured in countless movies. But she figured she’d be passable.

  It had taken her a while to warm to the idea, but she was growing more and more excited for the evening ahead with each passing minute. Tonight was going to be an opportunity to escape reality and ignore all the concerns that had been pulling at her these past few days. From anxiety about her career to the demands from Moira and others at the label, to the pressure of appeasing her family...and then there was Adam.

  As far as he was concerned, she would just have to pretend. She’d let him take her by the elbow and walk her into an exclusive casino as if they were a real couple with a real future.

  She much preferred that fictional scenario to the uncertainty she seemed to be facing in every aspect of her life.

  CHAPTER TEN

  SHE WAS LOSING a good amount of his money, Adam thought as he watched Ani throw another bad roll. Yet another stack of her chips was swept away by the dealer. It was worth it to see the genuine smile on her face. She was thoroughly enjoying herself. Considering the limited time they had before they each returned to reality, he was happy to see her letting loose a little. But her stack had most definitely dwindled in a shockingly short amount of time.

  He would have to go get her more. After this next round, though, he was going to have to cut her off. She was just so bad at this and luck didn’t seem to be on her side tonight. He happened to be a wealthy man but there were countless other entities he would rather donate his funds to rather than one of the richest casinos in the world.

  Besides, she might have better luck at one of the slots. It certainly couldn’t be worse.

  He returned with another silver bucket full of chips only to find Ani had left the craps table. He spotted her over at the wide curved mahogany bar.

  She was talking to a man. A handsome man in an expertly cut tuxedo.

  Adam felt his fingers tighten around the rim of the bucket. Silly, really—he had no claim to her. She had every right to speak with any man in here. It made no sense that he wanted to body slam the man into the bar and wipe that charming smirk off his face.

  He approached just as he heard Ani decline a drink offer. “Adam! There you are. This is Martin. He works for the Opéra de Monte-Carlo. It’s part of the casino. Martin, this is my friend, Adam.”

  Adam knew he hadn’t imagined the way Martin’s smile had grown wider and Ani’s use of the term friend.

  The two men exchanged pleasantries in a mixture of both English and French. Adam held up the bucket full of chips toward Ani. “I got you more.”

  She tilted her head and smiled. “I decided to quit. Turns out I’m not very good at the craps table.”

  “We’ll have you try the slots then.” He gently took her by the elbow and led her away.

  Ani stumbled but ultimately followed him, offering an apologetic wave at Martin. The other lifted his eyebrows as they walked away.

  “Well, that was rude,” she admonished when they were out of earshot.

  “So was the way he kept ogling your cleavage.”

  Ani gasped with outrage. “He was doing no such thing! I’ll have you know, he offered to introduce me to some of the orchestra players once he learned I’m a pianist.”

  “I’ll bet he did.”

  She paused as they reached the row of slot machines. Beeps and whistles sounded the air around them.

  “What’s that supposed to mean?”

  “Did he even give you any kind of proof?”

  “Proof?”

  Adam dropped several chips into the slot and pulled the arm lever. Nothing. “Let me get this straight—he found out you’re a professional pianist and told you he just happens to work at the casino’s opera house?”

  She lifted her chin. “That’s right. And you were incredibly rude to him.” She reached inside her clutch purse. “And as far as proof, here’s his card.”

  Adam squinted in the dim lighting to study it. Looked real, all right. “Huh.”

  She didn’t respond, just grabbed the bucket out of his hands and stormed over to another machine.

  Adam rubbed his forehead. Damn it. He’d just acted like an uncultured brute, dragging his woman away from a male who’d shown her interest.

  His woman?

  He refused to analyze that thought. Sighing, he walked over to where Ani was playing three machines at once, inserting the maximum amount of chips in each one. She really was a bad gambler. One machine registered a handful of coins in return.

  “You must really take me for a fool,” she said without looking at him, her gaze focused on the flashing lights of the slot she was playing.

  “That’s not true. It just seemed too much of a coincidence. And regardless of who he is, he was definitely ogling your cleavage.” He hadn’t imagined that part.

  “Humph” was her only response.

  Moments later, she turned the empty bucket upside down. “I appear to be out of chips.”

  “That took very little time. Would you like a drink?”

  “Yes, I would like a drink and
some air. I’ll be outside.”

  Adam returned to the bar and ordered a bottle of champagne with two flutes. He could use a drink or two himself.

  He found her by the lit fountain in front of the entrance. A rare, limited-issue Bentley pulled through the circular driveway before he could cross over to her.

  When he did hand Ani a filled flute, she looked less than pleased with him. Her next question confirmed it. “That was quite embarrassing, Adam. Why did you behave that way in there? With Martin?”

  He didn’t really have an answer. Not a satisfactory one, anyway. He would have to tell her the truth—to admit that he’d been jealous.

  “I mentioned his ogling, did I not?” He took a long swig of the champagne. The highest quality this side of the Mediterranean, but he wasn’t really tasting it. “I didn’t like the way he was looking at you.”

  She turned to face him. “Well, that’s something. Because it really bothered me the way some of those women in there were looking at you.”

  That was unexpected. “Huh.”

  She drained her glass in one impressive shot, then took the bottle from him to pour some more into her empty glass. “Maybe we need to figure this out, Adam.”

  “What’s that?”

  “Exactly what’s happening between us.”

  * * *

  Damned if I know, kitten.

  Adam had whispered those words about three hours ago into her ear in answer to her loaded question. Only, it wasn’t any kind of real answer.

  Then he’d slowly lifted her chin and brushed his lips over hers ever so slightly.

  Now, as she lay in bed with her window wide open, listening to the soft sounds of the night, she could almost feel herself back by the fountain in front of the Casino de Monte-Carlo. The taste of his lips still lingered on hers.

  Like last night, she wasn’t getting a wink of sleep. Insomnia had never particularly plagued her, but since arriving in Europe, she couldn’t quite seem to get her mind to shut off when her head hit the pillow. It didn’t help that Snowball was snoring in tempo, right by her head on top of the extra pillow.

  But she mostly blamed Adam. Nearly all of her mind ramblings involved him in one way or another.

  The moon cast a small glow of light about the room. A glance at the hanging wall clock told her it was 3:00 a.m. She may as well get some fresh air.

  When she made it outside to the brick patio, she was surprised to find herself not alone. Adam was swimming laps along the length of the infinity pool.

  With half a mind to turn around, she realized he’d somehow sensed her there and was looking right at her. She moved to the pool deck.

  Adam swam to the edge where she stood above him. “Did I wake you?”

  “No. I couldn’t sleep.” She crouched down to get closer to his eye level. “You either, huh?”

  He brushed the hair off his face. The moonlight added a navy sheen to his wet, black hair. The way he had his arms braced on the edge of the pool accentuated the toned muscles of his chest and arms. Ani’s fingers itched to touch him.

  “Not uncommon. A lot of things keep me up at night.”

  The statement was so loaded and heavy, Ani longed to comfort him somehow. She had to remember he’d been an army officer deployed overseas. His nightmares were likely real memories of awful scenes he’d witnessed. She thought of all the times she would catch Brant staring off into space as one shudder after another rocked her brother’s solid frame. He never wanted to talk about the terrors that caused it.

  What horrors the two of them must have seen.

  “A middle-of-the-night swim can do wonders to soothe the weary soul,” Adam added.

  “Is that so?”

  “Most definitely. You should try it. Go grab your suit.” His gaze fell to her bare thighs, then traveled up. “Or you could just jump in as you are.”

  Ani resisted the urge to cross her arms over her breasts. She should have grabbed some type of cover. The satin sleep set she wore was thin and flimsy and left very little to the imagination, especially around the vicinity of her chest. But it wasn’t as if she’d expected to run into Adam at three in the morning.

  What she ought to do was bid him good-night and rush back to her room.

  But it did feel nice out here. The night was balmy with just a hint of a breeze. And they only had one more full night here. She didn’t want to leave just yet.

  “I think I’ll just soak my feet.”

  She stood and walked over to the concrete steps that led into the pool, going as far as the third step, then sitting on the side edge. Adam swam over to join her at that end.

  “Do you want to talk about it?” she asked when he reached her. He was perilously close to her left leg. She could feel the warmth of his skin against her knee. “What keeps you up at night, I mean?”

  He rubbed his eyes. “Trust me, you don’t want to hear about it.”

  “That doesn’t mean I can’t. My shoulders can bear more weight than you might think, Adam. I can lend you one. Or both.”

  Okay, it was a lame thing to say. But she meant it. Whatever else was happening between them, she liked to think they’d gotten close enough as individuals to trust and confide in each other.

  He rested his arms on the wall, and his elbow touched her thigh. “I don’t think I’d know where to start, kitten.”

  She’d apologized to him earlier about prying, but she found herself on the brink of doing it again nevertheless. She chewed on her bottom lip until it ached, concerned about his potential reaction to the question she was about to ask. “You could start by answering a question for me.”

  “What’s that?”

  “Why’d you really bring me here?”

  “You’ve been wondering about that, have you?”

  “Yes,” she admitted. “You had to know I would. You said something back in Paris about not wanting to repeat a past mistake.”

  “I shouldn’t have said that,” he said through gritted teeth. “It’s history that should stay well in the past.”

  “History has a way of creeping into the present. Like when it keeps you awake at night.”

  His shoulders dropped. “You’re right.”

  She sucked in a deep breath for the courage. She had to continue now that she’d started this. “Tell me, Adam.”

  Adam squeezed his eyes shut, the pain etched into his features visible even in the soft light.

  Ani would have done anything to ease the pain emanating from him. If only she knew what that might be. “What mistake were you referring to?” she asked quietly.

  Even under the water, she could sense Adam’s entire body clench with tension. The anguish practically vibrated off him.

  “The one where the woman I wanted to marry almost lost her life because of me.”

  The air around them seemed to still completely. Whatever had happened with this woman, Adam was carrying a palatable amount of guilt about it.

  Despite the myriad of questions hammering in her brain, Ani remained unmoving and silent, giving Adam the full choice of how and if he wanted to continue.

  “We were in a small province to secure the perimeter after enemy troops had fallen back. Troops who were defeated, but they still left their hidden traps and weapons behind them.”

  Ani swallowed past a painful lump that had formed at the base of her throat.

  “A journalist for an Atlanta-based news agency and her cameraman were granted authorization to embed with our infantry,” he continued, staring off into the distance. “She came often over the span of a few months to cover the story. We grew close.”

  Ani didn’t need him to paint a picture. She could see where this was going.

  “I was the officer in charge the last day we went out. She joined us to file a report and have her cameraman film.”

  “What happen
ed?”

  “She wasn’t supposed to be there. I’d told her no at first. Something didn’t feel right. There’d been rumors of renewed hostile activity. But I let her convince me ultimately because of our personal relationship. She wanted her story. I relented because she talked me into it. Because she told me I was holding her back. Just like my—”

  He didn’t finish his sentence but Ani could guess what he’d been about to say. His mother had walked out on him, no doubt accusing him of holding her back from the life she wanted to lead. One without a child weighing her down.

  Adam sucked in a deep breath and rubbed his forehead before continuing. “We were traveling in an armored vehicle. I let her open the hatch just enough for her cameraman to take a quick photo. That’s precisely the moment we hit the improvised explosive.”

  “Oh, Adam.”

  “She was critically injured, as was the cameraman. The surgical team at the military hospital on-site was able to save her but she suffered permanent injuries and scars. Luckily she’s made a full recovery, though it was a long road.”

  “What else?” Ani prompted.

  “I went to see her as soon as I got permission, ready to drop on one knee. Had the ring and everything.”

  Ani fought back the stinging in her eyes. The thought of Adam being ready to commit to someone else caused a sharp pain around the area of her heart. Still, she had to ask her next question. She had to know. “What happened?”

  “Tried walking into her room but was stopped by a wall of family and friends. She refused to see me.”

  Ani couldn’t hide her gasp of surprise.

  Adam went on, “I can’t blame her for wanting nothing to do with me.” He pushed himself off the wall and back into the water. “But all that mattered was that she was going to be okay. I walked away and never contacted her again. Heard a few years later that she married her high school sweetheart and became an elementary school teacher.”