He needed some fucking distance.
He released her hips and yanked his trunks back up, his teeth clenched tight enough to crack one. “We should go take a dip in the lake to clean up, and then go back to your brothers. They’re probably looking for us right now, and if we don’t look like we just went swimming, then they’ll know something was up.”
“All right.” Even though he couldn’t see her, he could practically feel her confusion at his cold tone. “Are you okay?” she asked hesitantly.
“Yeah.” He straightened his shoulders. “I just want to get back before they rip apart the beach looking for us.”
She let out a breath. “Let’s go, then.”
She reached for his hand, but he stepped aside and opened the door for her. The bright sunlight blinded him, but not so much that he couldn’t see the hurt in her eyes before she picked up her shades and slid them up her nose.
It hurt to hurt her…
But it was the only way he could figure his shit out.
Then, and only then, he would tell her what it was, and what it meant to give her a piece of himself like he had back there in that changing room.
Once he knew what the hell he was doing.
Chapter Thirteen
Anna looked across the dinner table through the thin veil of her hair. Brett sat with Christopher, purposely ignoring her, just as he had all night long, ever since their excursion at the beach. She might be in the same room as him, but he could have easily been in a different state for all the attention he had given her tonight.
But why was he acting strangely?
What had passed between them in that tiny room had been so real, and intense, and raw. Even though it was explosive and quick, it had felt different somehow.
Perhaps that’s why he was acting strange.
Maybe he’d felt it, too.
“Are you all ready for the wedding tomorrow night?” the man sitting next to her asked. “I saw you at the rehearsal, and you looked beautiful up there next to the altar.”
Had this guy even been at the rehearsal?
All she had seen was Brett.
Brett ignoring her. Brett laughing. Brett frowning.
He consumed her every thought, even when he ignored her. So not fair.
Anna turned to the guy next to her and smiled politely. She couldn’t remember his name for the life of her, but she was pretty sure he worked with Cole. “I am, yes. I can’t wait to see Nina in her dress.”
“I can’t wait to see everyone in their dresses.” The man placed his arm over the top of her chair, coming far too close to touching her shoulder for comfort. How much had he drunk tonight that he thought his arm on her chair would be welcome? “I’m sure you’ll look stunning as well. Probably the prettiest girl at the altar. Didn’t you ever hear it’s frowned upon to be prettier than the bride on her wedding day?”
Anna fought the urge to roll her eyes.
Come on.
When Brett stepped within two inches of her, one or all of her brothers surrounded them within seconds. But this guy gave her some corny pickup line, and she was on her own. She shifted away from his hand, seeking out one of her brothers.
None of them was watching her, more than likely because Brett was nowhere near her. Turning back to her companion, she offered him a tight smile. “I would never outshine the bride.”
“You might not want to, but you will.” He scooted closer, leaning toward her. The scent of stale smoke and vodka swept over her, and she shuddered. Gross. “It’s not possible for you to be in another woman’s shadow. You’re too pretty.”
She clenched her teeth. If he didn’t back off, he’d see how hard she could prettily kick. Glancing across the table at Brett, she found him glaring at the guy next to her.
Oh, so now he decided to notice her.
How very typical of him.
Boys didn’t want their toys until someone else showed interest. And men were just boys in adult clothing, who could drive and have sex.
She took her napkin off of her lap and threw it on the table.
“I’m going to go get a drink.”
“I’ll accompany you.” The man started to stand up. “What are you—?”
Anna placed her hand on his shoulder, shoving him back down on his ass hard. She smiled to make up for the push. “No, you stay here. Save my seat for me?”
“Of course.” His eyes flitted over her body as he smirked. “I’ll be waiting right here for you.”
“Greeeeat,” she said, letting her voice go all soft.
She neglected to tell him he would be waiting a hell of a long time, because she wasn’t coming back. When she turned away from him, she let her smile slide away. She was done with men for the night.
She’d grab a glass of wine to go, then escape to her room.
Alone.
“Anna,” Brett fairly growled from behind her.
She almost jumped out of her skin. How had he sneaked up on her so quietly? “God, you scared—”
“What did that asshole say to you?” he asked, his tone hard.
She shrugged and looked past Brett at the guy in question, trying to ignore the tinge of anger creeping through her blood. The other man watched her with lust in his eyes. Yeah, so not happening, buddy. “Nothing. He just told me I was pretty and—”
“What?” His face flushed red with anger, and his entire body looked tense enough to snap at the slightest touch. “I’ll fucking kill him.”
She forced a calming breath.
In and out, really slow.
Don’t kill him in front of everyone.
“It’s not like he knows you were in my bed last night, Brett. We didn’t exactly broadcast it to the entire world.” She crossed her arms. “And believe it or not, other men do find me attractive.”
If she wasn’t mistaken, Brett growled at her words.
Good.
He deserved to be a little jealous right now.
She walked away from him, leaving him standing there glowering at her back. If he wanted to push her away after their amazing afternoon together, then he would get what he wanted. And on top of that, she would ignore him.
Let’s see how he likes that.
“I know men are attracted to you,” he said from behind her, catching her elbow and spinning her around. “I’m not an idiot.”
Maybe not, but right now he was acting like one.
She closed her eyes for a second and then opened them.
Cole sat a few feet away, watching their exchange with far too much curiosity. He elbowed Eric, and they whispered back and forth—their eyes zeroed in on Brett with deadly accuracy.
Well, great. Just what we needed.
More attention on us.
She tried to pull free of his hold, but he didn’t budge. “You have to let me go. They’re watching.”
Brett looked at Cole, raised a perfect brow, and turned back to her as if he hadn’t a care in the world. And he didn’t release her arm. “Then let them watch. I don’t give a flying fuck. Why were you flirting with him?”
“Flirting?” she practically shouted. “If you think that was flirting, then I retract my previous statement. You really are an idiot. He hit on me, and I left. That’s it. What’s wrong with you?”
“You smiled at him,” he said, his voice hesitant and his forehead furrowed. “And you asked him to save your seat. I heard you.”
“You mean you heard me as I left him behind, so I could get away alone?” she said through clenched teeth. “Because that’s what I did. I got rid of him. Plain and simple.”
“Oh.” He relaxed and dropped her elbow, letting out a little laugh. “I see.”
“So freaking glad,” she said, sarcasm leaching out despite her best attempts to keep it at bay.
“Look, I’m sorry,” he said, running his hand down his face. “I don’t know what got into me.”
“It’s called jealousy.”
He stiffened. “I don’t get jealous.”
> “Oh. Right.” She curled her hands into fists. “Silly me. I should’ve known. You have to care about someone to be jealous, don’t you?”
She walked away from him before she had a full-on diva meltdown in front of everyone. She even made it to the foyer before he caught up with her, grabbing her hand.
“Please stop walking away from me.” He backed her against the wall, his body pressing against hers in all the right places. “I don’t like it.”
“Oh no!” She glowered up at him defiantly, anger finally making her snap because he kept sending her mixed signals, and she was over it. “Well, we can’t have you displeased, now can we?”
He cocked a brow. “You’re clearly pissed at me. You’re acting like a kitten who got her favorite ball taken away.”
“No shit, dumbass,” she said, letting sarcasm color her voice. “What obvious statement would you like to tell me now? That the sky is blue, and the clouds are white?”
“The kitten has claws.” He caught her gaze and held on, his own eyes tortured and open for once. “You never used to walk away from me when we argued.”
She swallowed past the lump in her throat.
She wouldn’t cry. Refused to cry.
“You’ve been avoiding me all night. If you changed your mind…”
They stared at each other, neither one speaking. She waited for him to deny it. Waited for him to say she was overreacting or overthinking. Instead, his silence spoke volumes, and said exactly what she didn’t want to hear.
He glanced over his shoulder, sighed, and rubbed the back of his neck. “Your brothers are staring me down. Go upstairs. We’ll talk later, when we’re alone.”
Soon, he’d be telling her It’s not you. It’s me.
But she didn’t want to hear those pathetic words come out of his lips.
Not now. Not ever.
“You know what? Don’t bother.”
He wouldn’t be coming up, and she had to be okay with it being over between them. She’d asked for one night, and she’d gotten that, plus a day. It had to be enough.
It had to be okay.
But it wasn’t okay.
And neither was she.
His eyes were full of so many things as he looked at her. She couldn’t attempt to tell one from the other, but not all of them looked good. “Anna.”
“Don’t. Just don’t.”
She brushed past him, half expecting him to stop her again. To pull her into his arms and tell her how he loved her and didn’t want to let her go. Half hoped he’d beg her to stay with him forever, and kiss her until all the doubts faded from her mind.
Of course, none of those things happened.
Because this was the real world…
And the real world didn’t grant wishes.
Chapter Fourteen
Brett climbed up the steps, his palms sweaty and his heart pounding a hole through his chest. He couldn’t let her give up on him. She used to love the boy he’d been, and if they made a go of things, maybe she could come to love him again…
As the man he was now.
He always thought he was better off alone, but she’d shown him otherwise. She’d wormed her way past his defenses, one kiss at a time. Now he had to place his trust in her and hope that things went well. Hope that she didn’t take his heart and crush it into pieces while he watched. He had to fucking trust her.
All night long, he had ached to pull her into his arms and kiss the little dimple on her left cheek. To hold her close as she sipped her wine. To strangle that idiot who dared to flirt with her in front of him. He hadn’t done any of those things until their fight—though he’d come far too close on the last one.
He wanted to be a good enough man for her.
To be her man.
Now it was time to tell her as much.
He had to give her his heart and hope she wanted the stupid, broken thing. His steps slow and heavy, he held his breath as he climbed the last couple of stairs. He’d lived his whole life behind a shield. Not letting anyone close enough to see how vulnerable he was. He was terrified of loving and losing, and even more terrified of letting her down somehow.
Or even worse?
Breaking her heart.
Damn it, he wouldn’t break her heart.
He stopped outside her door and took a deep breath. As he reached out for the knob, a calloused hand slapped over his mouth, and he got dragged backward against a hard chest. He slammed an elbow into his attacker’s gut. When the man’s hand slid off Brett’s mouth, Brett took advantage of the lacking grip to shove back and break free.
Whirling around, he raised his fists and faced his attacker.
Eric.
Anna’s second-oldest brother—and calmest of all the Hamilton men—stood in front of him with murder written all over his face. Brett had been caught red-handed outside their baby sister’s door, so that wasn’t too much of a damned surprise.
“What the hell, man?” Brett snapped.
“You’re coming with me,” Eric spat. He rubbed the spot on his stomach where Brett had slammed his elbow into him, and shot Brett another murderous glance. “Right now.”
Brett crossed his arms. “No, I’m not. Anna’s waiting for me.”
“Over my dead body,” Eric snarled.
“Don’t tempt me.” Brett raised his fists when Eric crept closer. “Just turn around, go back to the party, and pretend you didn’t see me outside her room. For once in your fucking lives, you need to back off.”
Eric crossed his arms, smirking. “Watch out for his elbows.”
And for the second time that night, Brett got taken by surprise.
An unforgiving forearm wrapped around his neck, cutting off his air supply. Brett tried to fight back, but his attacker was too smart to let him get a hit in.
“He won’t get his hands on me,” Wyatt said. “I know all his tricks.”
Eric stepped forward, rubbing his jaw. “You should’ve come when I asked nicely—before Wyatt had to help. At least I didn’t choke you out.”
Wyatt dragged him back through the hallway, only releasing his hold on Brett enough to allow a trickle of oxygen into his starved lungs. Wyatt leaned down and murmured, “I know what you’ve been up to with Anna, but they don’t know it all. You better be careful what you say from here on out. If not, you’ll be crawling out of here on all fours by the time they let you go.”
Brett tried to tell him to piss off, but nothing came out but a squeak.
Wyatt bore down on Brett’s windpipe again, not giving him the chance to reply. Of fucking course. Wyatt stopped walking, Eric opened a bedroom door, and then Brett got shoved inside the room. In the corner, Cole sat on a chair.
The only Hamilton brother missing was Chris.
But if he knew it was going on, he’d have been here, too.
Brett bent over and rested his hands on his knees, taking a second to catch his breath. Once the room stopped spinning, he stood up and glanced around the room, straightening his collar as if he were accustomed to being kidnapped and thrown into rooms. He wouldn’t give them the satisfaction of knowing how fast his damn heart beat right now.
Cole looked at Wyatt. “I see our suspicions were correct?”
“Yep.” Wyatt shot Brett a warning look. “He was outside her room, but that’s it. Eric got him before he went inside and did any damage.”
“Why were you outside her room?” Cole asked, his jaw tight.
“Her room is across from mine,” Brett said slowly. “Of course I was outside it, dumbass.”
Cole turned red and stood up. “Bullshit. Answer the question.”
“Fuck off,” Brett said. When they all stared at him, he studied his knuckles and forced himself to appear calm and sure of his safety. “Got any other questions?”
“Yeah. I do.” Eric shoved Brett against the wall and pressed his elbow into his chest. “Why were you outside Anna’s room?”
Brett could’ve easily broken his hold, but he didn’t.
&n
bsp; Now that he knew what they wanted, he didn’t feel right fighting back, because he’d done what they were pissed about. He’d touched their sister…and he planned on doing so again. He could make up some pathetic lie to cover his tracks, but it wasn’t his style. He’d been caught red-handed, so it was time to confess all.
Brett met Eric’s eyes without flinching. “Because I was about to go inside it. Anna was—is—waiting for me to join her.”
Eric went red in the face, but that was Brett’s only warning before a fist slammed into his stomach. He doubled over, gasping for air.
Shit, that hurt.
He’d known it would be coming eventually, but it still hurt like hell.
The fucker could punch.
“Okay, okay,” he rasped, struggling to catch his breath as he held an arm out in defense. “I deserved that, I guess. But you won’t scare me away from her. I’ll go back to her room as soon as you’re done, and I’ll keep going back, no matter what you do to me.”
“Not if I kill you first,” Eric sneered, lifting his fist again.
Wyatt grabbed Eric and pulled him back. “Dude, calm down. Let him explain himself before you murder him.”
Eric tried to charge at Brett again, but Wyatt put a hand on his chest. He placed one on Brett’s, too, as if he was worried that Brett might decide to fight back. He wouldn’t. The only thing he’d be fighting for tonight was a chance to win Anna’s heart, and he wouldn’t be doing it with his fists.
Brett leaned against the wall and studied the three angry faces surrounding him. “What are you going to do? Kill me and hide the body?”
“The thought had crossed my mind,” Cole said, his eyes narrow.
“For what crimes? Because I dared to care about your sister?”
Wyatt raised a brow. “I thought you said you couldn’t care for her? That you could only offer her sex—not love.”
“I did say that,” he admitted. “Once.”
Eric growled.
Cole clenched his fists.
The CEO's Seduction (A Hamilton Family Series) Page 13
