Fuck. Bastard had a point.
He sucked in a breath then let it out slowly. Maybe he was overreacting. Slightly. But he didn’t like the idea of her being hurt. Especially not after last night.
“All right, fine,” he muttered.
“Might be an idea to get her feet out of the water before she starts turning blue,” Tom said quietly.
Christ. She was shivering. How had he missed that? He turned off the tap. Then he picked up the foot with the cut. It was only small. There were patches of red on the top of her foot, but nothing too bad.
Okay, so he’d definitely overreacted.
“Arianna? How are your feet?” Tom asked calmly as he reached for her other foot. No cuts. Burns looked the same. He’d put some cream on them to help with the sting.
“They’re fine,” she said quietly.
“I’ll get some cream. Sweetheart, don’t worry about the cup and mess, okay?”
“Okay.”
Bain lifted her, carrying her over to the kitchen dining table. He sat with her on his lap. Yep, it was fucking unprofessional as hell. And he knew that he was going to have to call Kent today and tell him. Probably get himself reassigned.
Fuck.
“Here you go.” Tom walked in with a first aid kit then smiled gently at Ari before heading out again.
Bain stood and picked her up, setting her on the counter again. He grabbed the foot with the cut and put some antiseptic cream on it. He grabbed a Band-Aid and put it over it even though it wasn’t bleeding much anymore.
She took in a long slow breath. He calmly dabbed cream on her burns, wincing as she let out a small pained noise.
“Sorry, baby. I’ll find some painkillers for you in a moment.”
Baby. Shit. He was in such trouble.
“Thank you,” she said quietly.
“I’ll get Tom to find you some new sweats.”
“You keep having to rescue me.”
“My job.” As soon as he said the words, he wished them back. This was so far beyond his job it wasn’t funny.
That cold mask came back over her face.
“I appreciate you doing your job so thoroughly,” she told him very politely.
Damn it. He’d far rather have the Ari who called him an ogre than this formal, closed-off version.
But a bit of space was probably a good thing as he was finding it harder and harder to not touch her.
“Didn’t mean it like that,” he said gruffly. “Aren’t just a job.”
She blinked, looking shocked. Shit. What was he doing?
He clasped her around the waist to lift her down, when she wrapped her hands around his neck, leaning in to kiss him.
Shock filled him, making him freeze. Her kiss was innocent. Just a press of lips against his. But it sent waves of arousal through him. He didn’t move. Couldn’t move. He wanted to deepen the kiss.
But. . .
She’s the client.
Suddenly, she pulled back, staring at him, her breath coming in fast pants. He opened his mouth to say something. Closed his mouth. Then opened it again.
Say something, man.
Your fish impression isn’t exactly attractive.
Suddenly, Arianna shoved against him. Caught off guard, he moved a step away. She quickly slid off the counter and raced out of the kitchen.
What the. . .fuck!
“Arianna! Ari!” he yelled out. What the hell was she doing? She shouldn’t be running on her cut foot.
She’s running because she kissed you and you just stood there like a dickhead. Fuck!
Tom walked into the room; his eyes wide. “What’s going on? Arianna just raced past me like she had hellhounds chasing her. What did you do?”
“She kissed me.”
Tom grinned. “Good for her.”
“She’s the fucking client, Tom.”
His gaze narrowed. “You’re not interested in her? Certainly, hasn’t seemed that way to me. The way you look at her. . .the way you take care of her. . .I haven’t seen you act that way. Ever.”
Bain glared at him. “Still the client.”
“But she won’t be a client forever, will she?”
“Then what? Don’t think she’d be happy living on a ranch in the middle of Montana miles away from the nearest shops.”
“Woah, there’s some judgment right there. How the hell do you know what she’d be happy with?”
“She’s a famous singer. Worth millions. Lives in some fancy apartment. Her shoe collection probably cost more than I make in a year. I live in a fucking two-bed cabin that I don’t even own. Just recovered financially from my divorce. Don’t need to get involved with another woman who. . .”
“Who what? Will lie to you? Will spend all your money on shoes and jewelry while you get further and further into debt? Jillian was a bitch, man. I get why you’d be wary about getting involved with another woman. But it’s been five years. You got to let down that guard.”
“I don’t think Arianna is Jillian.” The two were nothing alike.
“No? Have you ever asked her whether she likes her life? She could still have her career and be with you. If you were willing to compromise a little. Or does it hurt your pride that she makes more than you?”
‘Course it fucking didn’t. He was proud of how talented she was. “Why the fuck we talking about this? I barely even know her. I was hired to do a job and soon I’m heading home. That kiss should never have happened.”
A gasp had him turning. Fuck. Him.
She stood there, gaping at him. Her face pale, eyes wide. She looked exhausted. Stressed. And here he was being a complete prick.
“Way to go” Tom muttered.
“Ari, whatever you’re thinking, stop.” He ran his hand over his head.
“Real smooth man,” Tom muttered. “I’ll leave you two alone for a moment.” Then he walked out.
Which left Bain facing Arianna. Fuck. How did he apologize for this? What could he even say to make it better?
“Arianna, I didn’t mean—”
“Bain! You might want to get in here! Now!” Tom yelled.
Bain moved past Arianna, aware of her darting away from him as he grew closer. Regret bit deep.
He moved into the living room just as Tom rewound something on the T.V.
“Fuck. Is that Larry?”
“Larry? What is he doing?” Arianna asked.
He glanced back at her, noting how much distance she was keeping between them.
Why had he said what he did? And now she couldn’t even look him in the eyes.
And he hated that he’d been the cause of that.
“Ari—”
“I am alarmed and horrified to tell you that we have received credible evidence that the fire set last night was indeed a threat against my client and friend, Arianna Silvers.”
“What the fuck?” Bain exploded. “What evidence? And if he has fucking evidence what the fuck is he doing holding a press conference about it!”
Bain turned on Arianna. “Did you know about this?”
Her eyes went wide. She shook her head. “N-no.”
“What the hell does he think he is doing? Got no fucking business going to the press with this. Fuck. Where’s my phone. Got to call Dominic. Get him contained.”
“It’s too late, man. It’s everywhere.”
Bain watched as headlines moved across the bottom of the television.
Singer Arianna Silvers receives death threats.
Charity concert ended when firebomb started by stalker.
Arianna Silvers’ life in danger. Concert goers speak of their terror.
“There’s no taking any of this back.” Tom looked over at him then to Arianna.
He cursed as he saw the way she’d wrapped her arms around her middle. She looked so lost and scared.
He should say something reassuring. But Dominic was the one who was good at talking to people. Bain got called in when someone needed intimidating.
He attempted t
o look reassuring. “Ari, it will be okay.”
She just stared at him for a moment. “We need to go.” They did need to go, but he didn’t like how closed off she was.
“Ari—”
“I’ll get my shoes on.” She turned away and raced out. He winced as he realized she was still running around on her injured foot.
Fuck.
Tom whistled. “Man, you better practice getting down on your knees because you have got some fucking groveling to do.”
“Why the fuck am I friends with you?”
“We became friends before you grew into a grumpy, cynical bastard. Also, no one else will be friends with you.” His face grew serious. “Stop hurting her, Bain. She might be strong in some ways, but she seems infinitely fragile in others.”
Did he think he wanted to hurt her? He hated himself for the way he’d treated her. But he wasn’t sure what he could do to make up for being a complete prick.
Why had she kissed him?
She’d thought he was leaning in to kiss her. Turns out, she’d totally misconstrued that look on his face.
Surprise. Surprise.
Once again, she’d proven that she had no fucking idea about the opposite sex.
Idiot.
And then he’d said it meant nothing. It shouldn’t have hurt as much as it did. This is what she got for letting people in.
“Arianna?” he murmured. He’d put the privacy screen up so Joe couldn’t hear them.
She kept her gaze down on her fuzzy-clad feet. She was wearing the cutest bunny slippers. When he’d realized that she couldn’t stand to put her high-heeled boots back over the small burns on her feet, Tom had given her these. He’d told her they were brand new, that he’d bought them for his wife. She’d objected to taking them, but Tom had assured her he could get a new pair.
She loved them. Tom had been so kind to her. She’d have to do something for him.
She sighed. She was so lonely. Maybe that’s why she’d made the mistake of kissing Bain. It couldn’t be that she was attracted to the asshole.
Except, he wasn’t always an asshole. That was the problem. Sure, he could be a bossy, arrogant prick. Then other times, he could be funny and kind.
Which was the real Bain?
“Arianna, look at me.”
Nope. Nuh-uh. No way.
“You can’t ignore me forever.”
Just try me.
Wasn’t like he’d be around forever, anyway. He was leaving soon. Sooner the better as far as she was concerned.
Right. You keep telling yourself that, Ari.
“Fine. Guess we can have this talk without you looking at me. Might be easier anyway.”
She stayed scrunched up against the door, staring down at her fuzzy slippers. She wondered if they made puppy ones.
“I was married. Her name was Jillian.”
Why was he telling her this? What happened?
“We were childhood sweethearts. I was the quarterback for our football team. Jillian was a cheerleader. It was meant to be, everyone said. A perfect love story. I thought so too. When we left high school, neither of us were that interested in college. I joined the Navy. Jillian started working in a shoe store. I thought we were happy. Saving for a deposit for a small house. Then we’d have kids. It was going to take us a while to get there, but I thought we had shared goals.”
She chewed her lower lip, wondering what went wrong.
“Seems Jillian didn’t share those goals. Only she didn’t let me know. I was away a lot. Training and overseas deployments. Left all our accounts in her hands. If she went out and bought some pretty things, I didn’t mind. Wanted her to be happy.”
“What happened?” she whispered.
He let out a small sigh. “The money I thought we’d saved for a deposit didn’t exist. She’d been running up credit cards and personal loans and never told me. She rang me, told me she’d been laid off, in tears worried about what would happen. Told her it would be all right, I’d take care of her.” He tapped his fingers against his leg. “First of many lies as it turns out. Seems she was always late getting to work. And there was money missing out of the till. No proof it was her, but she was fired. Once she was gone, the money stopped disappearing.”
“Oh no. What did you do?”
“Confronted her. That’s when I discovered the true state of our accounts. And all the lies. Jillian didn’t want the small house with the two kids and the dog. She wanted a mansion. She wanted flashy cars and expensive shoes. A life I couldn’t afford to give her.”
Oh no.
“She wanted a divorce. Took me years to get myself out of debt. Credit cards had been in both of our names. She’d forged my signature. Ended up leaving the Navy, taking a job at JSI. Gave me back a family. A home.”
He cleared his throat. “I don’t talk to anyone about that. About her.”
So why had he told her? Because he wanted her to understand why he wasn’t interested in her? She guessed to him she must represent everything he hated. Everything that had cost him his wife.
Thing is, she’d give all of this up in a heartbeat just to be happy. To have someone who loved her just for her.
Maybe he thinks you’re like Jillian. Maybe he thinks you only care about material things.
“Thing is. . . reason I pushed you away before when you kissed me is—”
“I’m not your type, it’s all right I get it.”
He shifted, turning towards her. “No. Don’t think you do. I—”
“I’m sorry I kissed you,” she said quickly. “It won’t happen again. I promise. I misread the situation. I thought you wanted to kiss me and I’m more embarrassed than I can say, so you don’t have to worry I’ll force myself on you.”
“Force yourself on me? Arianna, that’s not—” he growled as his phone rang. He pulled it out and looked at it. Then he put it down. “I—”
“I know you probably think I’m like her, but I’m not. I—”
His phone went off again and he answered it. “What? Yeah. . .right. . .thanks.” He ended the call and pressed the button to slide down the privacy screen.
“Joe, that was Dominic. He’s had to call in some extra security to clear the entranceway for us.”
“The vultures are circling. Might be able to catch one or two on my grill.”
“Joe,” Arianna scolded gently.
“Aww, come on, Miss Ari. You never let me have some fun. After they published that stuff about you having wild orgy parties, I’ve been dying to get a hold of a few of them.”
Arianna blushed, shaking her head at him. “Joe, you know no one believes that stuff anyway.”
“Wouldn’t be so sure of that, Miss Ari. Lots of crazies out there that will believe anything.”
He drove towards the entrance to the underground garage and she groaned at the crowds that had gathered. Not just paparazzi but fans as well.
She sat back, rubbing her temples as a headache gathered. She was probably going to have to make a statement. She hated this part.
Joe moved slowly along while Bain watched the crowd. “What the fuck was Larry thinking?”
“Larry was thinking what Larry always thinks. About himself,” Joe commented as they finally made their way underground.
“Rob is going to have a fit about all the people in front of the building,” she muttered. “All the other people who live here are going to be upset. I need to send them all something as an apology.”
“You’re worried about the other people in the building?” Bain asked incredulously.
“Miss Ari always worries about other people,” Joe commented casually. “Always puts everyone else first. Haven’t you figured that out yet? Or are you like everyone else and think just because she’s shy and quiet that she must be a bitch.”
“Joe,” she scolded. She quickly climbed out of the car before either man could help her, embarrassed at Joe’s words.
Bain quickly moved to her side. “Don’t do that again.”
<
br /> “What?”
“Don’t climb out of a car before I’m there. I’m your protection. Use me.”
“You think someone could get in here? But this is a secure garage.”
“Not that secure. Don’t do that again. Understand?” His tone was short, gruff. Not like the man who’d been talking to her earlier in the car. The ogre was back.
He kept close to her as they made their way up to her apartment. When they got inside, she expected to feel relieved that she was home. Instead, she kind of wished she could walk back out the door and never return. Everything felt like it was weighing down on her. Making it hard for her to breathe.
She rubbed at her chest.
“Ari? You all right?” he asked quietly.
This softer side of him was almost harder to take. Because it made her wish she could have more. That he found her attractive.
She couldn’t believe she’d forced herself on him like that.
So embarrassing.
“I’m fine.” She turned to Joe. “You and Estelle head home, Joe. Take a few days off.”
Joe nodded but wouldn’t meet her gaze for some reason. She frowned. She knew she should insist that both he and Estelle retire. They were staying on because of her and it wasn’t fair.
Before she could ask him if anything was wrong, though, Estelle came storming down the passage. “Did you tell her, you old fool?”
Joe shuffled his feet. “No.”
“Tell me what? Is everything okay?”
“No, it’s not okay. At all.” Estelle glared at Joe with a mix of anger and hurt.
She frowned. She couldn’t remember Joe and Estelle ever fighting. “What’s going on?”
“What’s going on is that this asshole took money from Larry to spy on you!” Estelle pointed at Joe.
“W-what?” Why would Joe do that?
Pain engulfed her. Joe and Estelle were hers. She’d hired them. Not her parents. Not Larry. She’d thought they were loyal to her.
“I’m so sorry, Miss Ari,” Joe turned towards her. “Got myself into a bit of trouble betting on the horses. Needed some money quick. Larry made me an offer a while ago that he’d pay me to keep an eye on you. I thought, what was the harm? It was me who told him about Dominic and Bain arriving.”
Daddy's Angel (Montana Daddies Book 7) Page 9
