Take Me Home_A Billionaire Protector Romance

by Summer Brooks

  “We?” I snorted. “You mean you have.”

  The man’s eyes darkened. “Are you threatening my honor?”

  “I didn’t even know that was a thing we could do anymore,” I replied. “But yeah, that’s what I’m doing. You’re not doing this for a business reason, you’re doing it to chase a piece of tail. How’s your boss going to like that when I’m offering you a ton of money for something that’s worthless to you?”

  The man strode forward, eyes blazing, but one of the other two who were hanging back said, “Gabriele,” in warning and he paused.

  Gabriele stepped back. “You are lucky we have just finished a war and do not wish to start another one.”

  “I think you mean I’m lucky that hurting me would bring so many lawyers down on your boss’s ass that not even the fish could find your body for all the trouble you’d cause him.” Sometimes—okay, a lot of the time—being insanely rich had its perks.

  Gabriele glared at me. “Watch yourself, rich boy. You set foot in this area again, we can’t be held responsible if you meet with a little…accident.”

  The three of them walked off. I wanted to follow—I wanted to beat that guy’s smarmy, lusting face into a pulp—but before I could even think to calm myself down, Gina was grabbing my hand and yanking me back.

  “I see I’m still going to be your babysitter,” Gina huffed. “Really? You couldn’t have possibly made that worse if you tried.”

  “Actually, I could have. I conveniently left out the fact that he should keep his paws off you.”

  “I can fight my own battles, thanks.”

  “I had a feeling you’d say that.”

  Gina glared at me. “I’m not your girlfriend anymore, Vincent, in case you haven’t noticed. Now, he’s just going to be even more determined to have our shelter, just because someone else wanted it. It’s a shiny toy now. Couldn’t you have just left it alone?”

  “Where you’re concerned? No.” I shook my head. “Never. I want another chance, Gina. Let me take you out. Let me prove to you that I can take care of you, the way you deserve.”

  We were standing so close that I could already smell her perfume, and the sweet smell of her shampoo. It was so easy to just reach out, to tuck a lock of her hair gently behind her ear. To let my fingers trail down her cheek.

  For a moment, it looked like Gina would give in. Her eyes fluttered closed and I leaned in, as slowly as I could, trying to give her time to move away if she wanted.

  Gina’s eyes flew open and she stepped back, out of my reach. “No. You had plenty of chances, Vincent. Four years of chances.”

  “You’re the one who said that we were just kids, Gina. We’ve both grown. It’s been ten years. Give me a chance to show you that I’ve gotten better. I want to be someone that you can depend on. Please.”

  Gina looked like she was torn between slapping me and walking away. Neither of which was an option that I enjoyed. I wanted to shake her, kiss her, do something to prove to her that I was serious. That I’d been serious for years.

  “Let me take you out, okay?” I asked. “One date. That’s all.”

  Gina tilted her head the way she always did when she was considering. “One date?”

  “Just one.” I’d have to make sure I knocked her socks off with it.

  Gina thought for another moment, and then nodded. “All right. One date. But that’s all you get. And if I don’t like what I see, if I’m not convinced, then you back off and you leave me alone. No matter how many problems I seem to have. You leave me be. Okay?”

  I nodded. “Deal.”

  We shook on it. Gina’s grip was firm and her dark eyes were silently challenging me, daring me to mess up.

  Well, no way was I doing that. I was going to prove to her that she could depend on me. I wasn’t going to lose her a second time.

  5

  Gina

  The next day, we were just about to close when Gabriele showed up.

  I didn’t know about it at first, since I was in the back with the animals. But then Maria appeared in the doorway, looking worried and chewing on her bottom lip.

  “Someone’s here to see you,” she said.

  I knew who it was just by the way she looked. If it was Vincent, she wouldn’t have been scared. If it was Tabby, my roommate and best friend, then Maria would’ve just sent Tabby back to me. Who else would be coming to see me that would make Maria so worried?

  When I got to the front, I found Gabriele staring around the waiting room with a barely-disguised look of contempt.

  “Showing open hatred for the place where a girl works isn’t the way to win her heart,” I pointed out.

  Probably playing with fire, but after all I’d been through with Vincent in my high school years, I’d learned not to let men, even so-called “bad boys,” intimidate me. And, all right, so I was a little nervous—more than a little—but I wasn’t going to let him know that. I’d have done anything to make sure this guy didn’t see how much he affected me.

  Hopefully, he’d see that I was a lost cause and would move on.

  Gabriele smiled at me in a way that he probably thought was charming. “I was hoping that I could give you a ride home?”

  Normally, when a guy like him asked for something, he wasn’t really asking. But I shook my head. “No, thanks, I’m fine.”

  “Are you sure? Your boss says that you take the subway.” Gabriele shook his head. “Not safe for a lady like yourself.”

  That made my heart leap into my throat. “Are you… are you threatening me?”

  Gabriele looked appalled that I would think such a thing. “I’m merely stating a fact. The city isn’t safe for a woman at night. Especially in the neighborhood where you live.”

  My stomach dropped. “How do you know where I live?”

  Gabrielle shrugged. “I asked around.”

  I knew Maria wouldn’t have sold me out on something that big, no matter how scared she was. He must have looked me up somehow. “I don’t need a ride home, and I’d appreciate it if you didn’t find out things about me behind my back. If you want to know something about me, you can ask me.”

  “But what if you refuse to tell me?”

  “Then you back off, buddy.” I sounded a lot braver than I felt. Was he going to follow me home? Was he just going to grab me and shove me into his car?

  Gabriele shook his head at me. “I would be careful about the kind of men you turn down, Miss Gina.”

  “Just Gina,” I corrected him. Did he think that using “Miss” at the beginning would make him sound sophisticated or some crap?

  “I would be careful,” Gabriele repeated. “Certain men…they aren’t that good about being turned down. Especially when they could take care of you. Set you up for life.”

  I glared at him. He’d met me only once and he was fixating on me? What kind of stalker bullshit was this? “Just get out.”

  Gabriele winked at me, but he left.

  My knees almost buckled.

  Now that he was gone and I didn’t have to pretend, I could hear how frantically my heart was beating. I gripped the edge of the counter, trying to slow down my breathing.

  I couldn’t go home. I couldn’t possibly. Gabriele knew where I lived. He could have had people waiting for me. And if I did go home—Tabby, my roommate. I couldn’t let anyone get ahold of her. She had a hell of a temper and no sense of self-preservation. If she saw somebody trying to force me into a car, she’d run out with a kitchen knife or something and get herself killed or kidnapped along with me.

  Maybe I was overreacting, but I’d never dealt with the mafia before. All I knew was that they were dangerous. I couldn’t risk my roommate, Tabby, not when she’d been such a good friend to me. And I liked to think I was a decent human being who didn’t want people to get hurt.

  I couldn’t stay with Maria. She had to deal with these jerks, too.

  But there was one person I could go to. Someone who had money and probably a state-of-the-art securit
y system and a place that nobody would think to look for me.

  It was surprisingly easy to find Vincent’s personal address. All I had to do was call the number on the business card he’d given Maria yesterday, then ask the personal assistant if she could give me Vincent’s address so I could drop off a package.

  His apartment was in one of those fancy high rises. I had to stare up at it for a moment to try and overcome the shock. I would never in a million years have expected Vincent to live in a place like that one.

  Maybe this was a mistake. Maybe I should have just…turned around and check into a motel for the night. But I didn’t want to be alone. I didn’t have anyone else and I knew, beyond a shadow of a doubt, that Vincent would protect me if push came to shove. He might have worn a suit now, but he was still that same guy underneath, I was sure, the one who’d seen and been in his fair share of trouble and fights.

  I was let in by an honest-to-God doorman, and a lobby guy gave me the apartment number for the top floor. I couldn’t even afford to breathe in this place.

  As I rode up the elevator, I was bombarded with doubts. What if he wasn’t home? What if he didn’t want to see me? What if he had another girl over? What if…

  But I’d come this far. I’d be an idiot to turn around now.

  Apparently, Vincent didn’t have an apartment on the top floor.

  The top floor was his apartment.

  Yeah, I was so out of my league. I’d always been out of my league with Vincent, but back in high school, it had been because I was the good girl and he was the bad boy. Now it was because he was insanely rich and I was decidedly not.

  I took a deep breath and knocked on the door.

  Vincent opened it and literally paused with one foot in the air, like he was going to take another step and had frozen. “Gina.”

  He set his foot down and cleared his throat. This looked a whole lot more like the Vincent I remembered. First of all, he was shirtless, which was unfairly distracting. But he wore a pair of worn jeans, his dark blond hair messy and curling, not a tie or a suit jacket in sight. His tattoos showed, both the ones I remembered, like the snake eating its tail wrapped around his bicep, and new ones, like an impressionistic tiger head that looked like it had been made with splashes of paint, now on his other arm.

  “Hi.” I felt like an idiot, and I could feel my face heating up. I hated to blush. “Could I…would it be possible for me to spend the night here?”

  Vincent stared at me for a long moment, his blue eyes a bit wide in surprise, and I thought I’d made a mistake. He was going to turn me away.

  Then his gaze dropped down to run over my body, like he was checking me for injuries. “C’mon in,” he said, his voice softer, soothing.

  He put his hand gently on the small of my back to guide me into the apartment, closing and locking the door behind him. I almost froze when I saw how big it was.

  “Wow,” I admitted.

  Vincent snorted. “Don’t you go all gaga on me,” he said, walking into the kitchen. “Do you want water? Coffee?”

  “Coffee would be great.”

  “What happened?” Vincent asked, his voice taking on a slight edge as he started up the coffee maker.

  “Who said that anything happened?”

  Vincent turned around, raising an eyebrow at me. “You show up at my doorstep after making it clear that you’re still pissed at me. You wouldn’t have done that if you had any other option. Was it those mafia guys?”

  I couldn’t help but melt a little at how much he still seemed to care. Of course, he’d said as much, but saying and doing were two entirely different things.

  Vincent indicated for me to sit down and brought over a cup of coffee. “Two sugars, hint of cream, right?” he asked, gently rubbing my shoulder as he handed me the cup.

  I nodded. “You remember.”

  Vincent gave me a soft smile and went over to get his own coffee—black. “So, was it those guys?”

  I sighed. “I don’t want you getting involved.”

  “Why, because you know I’ll kick the crap out of them?” he asked, an edge entering his voice. “If they threatened you…”

  “Not in so many words.” I explained what had happened that day. “I know it’s probably silly of me to be worried, but…”

  “It’s not silly,” Vincent growled. He marched over to the fridge and pulled out some food, probably for something to do. “He threatened you, Gina. The asshole doesn’t get to do that and get away with it.”

  “And what are you going to do about it?” I shot back. “Storm the castle and beat them up? That’s not how this works, Vin.”

  The nickname was out of my mouth before I could stop it. I’d been the only one allowed to call him that, back in the day. I hadn’t meant to call him that now. Not when there was still so much between us.

  And why the hell did he have to keep going around without a shirt on?

  “Gina.” Vincent braced his hands on the counter, staring at me. “If that guy is going after you, then I’m going to protect you.”

  “Who says I want you to protect me?” I demanded, even as my throat closed up and my eyes got hot. I hated to admit it, but I wanted somebody to protect me. I didn’t know what was happening to my life. It felt like everything was spinning out of control. One moment, I lived an ordinary, boring life, and the next moment, I had a mafia guy trying to date me.

  I took a couple sips of my coffee, trying to quiet my nerves. Vincent reached out, his hands covering mine and gently taking the cup from me, moving it out of my reach.

  “Hey,” he said gently, his blue eyes boring into mine. “It’s okay to be scared. But I have the money now, I have the resources. There’s no shame in asking for help to fight something you can’t do on your own.”

  “I don’t want to get you in trouble,” I said—and then, to my horror, I started crying.

  Vincent pulled me into his arms, hugging me tightly.

  “I’m sorry,” I said, trying to wipe at my face. “I’m such a mess.” I knew from experience that there were few things people hated seeing more than a blubbering fat girl.

  Vincent kissed the top of my head. “Hey, no apologizing. You have a right to be upset.”

  “I hate that you’re good at this. You’re not allowed to swoop back into my life and be good at this.”

  He chuckled. “Unless I’m remembering wrong, I was always good at giving hugs.”

  “Not just that.” I pulled back a little. “Comforting me when I was down. You were always good at that, too.”

  “I was just returning the favor,” Vincent replied. “You always saw more in me than I saw in myself.”

  He reached up, gently taking my chin in his hand, his thumb brushing over my cheek. It hit me, all of a sudden, that we had our arms around each other and that Vincent was shirtless. Shirtless and ripped, another part of my brain unhelpfully supplied. He looked at me with this…this impossibly soft look on his face. His jaw was still clenched in frustration, but there was nothing but softness in his gaze now.

  I knew it was a bad idea. But I’d had a shit day and he was hot as fuck and maybe, just maybe I hadn’t really gotten over him, and he was staring at me like I was beautiful and he’d always been the only person who’d ever done that…

  I couldn’t say which one of us kissed the other. It was like we sort of floated together, the two of us moving at the same moment.

  It started out soft, and for a moment, it felt like a dream.

  Then Vincent’s tongue brushed over my lip and it felt like a spark that suddenly engulfed everything, turning quickly to wildfire.

  I opened my mouth and Vincent’s tongue slid in hungrily, his hands sliding down to grip my hips and tugging me to him. He kissed even better than I remembered, more sure of himself, more confident, dominating in a way that made my knees buckle. I held onto his shoulders, feeling the firm muscles underneath my fingers, panting into his mouth as he kissed me repeatedly.

  He tore his mo
uth away from mine and started kissing down my neck—fierce, sucking kisses that made my insides melt. I moaned a little, letting my hands roam over his back. Fuck, he worked out. I kind of wanted to lick him all over. But not right now. Right now, I couldn’t wait. I felt reckless, almost outside of myself. Some other man, some asshole man, had tried to claim me and it was like I needed someone else to claim me instead.

  Not just any someone, though. Vincent. I needed Vincent to claim me.

  My hips rolled against his and I could feel him through the fabric of his jeans, already hard. I shivered, imagining that length inside me. Vincent had been my first and I could have only imagined how good it would be now that we were both older and knew what we were doing, had experience to back up our desire.

  Vincent’s hands slid down to my ass, guiding my movements so that we rolled our hips together. It was like sparks burst just underneath my skin and slid down my body and between my legs, making me helpless and shivery. I wanted him so badly.

  A part of me wondered if I could have come just from this, just from grinding against him, but I wanted more than that. I wanted him inside me.

  “Please,” I moaned as Vincent bit down lightly at my collarbone. “Vin, please…”

  “I love when you call me that,” he admitted, his voice raw and rough. No longer a boy’s voice, but a man’s. I shivered at the sound of it and spread my legs a little, showing him how serious I was.

  Vincent growled and his hands slid up to my back, guiding me backwards towards the bedroom. It was a pretty damn huge apartment and it took a minute, but that might also have been because we didn’t stop kissing the entire time. Vincent was tugging at my clothes impatiently and I laughed, stepping away from him to tug my shirt and pants off.

  I wished that I was wearing something nicer, one of my ’40s-style dresses or something, but at least my clothes were off quickly enough and Vincent definitely didn’t seem to mind my wearing them.

  His jeans were next, and I almost sank to my knees. My mouth watered. I wanted to take him into my mouth so badly.