Page 54 of Nothing to No One

She pushed hard and he reared back. “What the…”

The pin from one of her earrings had pierced his shirt. The other earring and the hair clasp fell to the floor while that one stayed put, not fully in, but enough for him to react. Except he only grinned.

“You like it rough?”

God, no! He grabbed her arms and pulled her closer, another scream burned her throat. Objecting, tugging left, right, backwards, forwards, she struggled for freedom. He laughed and pulled her tight against him.

“No! Roman, don’t!”

The second she hit the bed, she expected him to follow. Instead flesh thwacked flesh and someone tumbled to the floor. Spitting hair from her mouth, shaking her head to clear it from her eyes, there was Roman on the floor with Struan standing over him.

“Out!” The upright brother glared at the prone one. “Get out of here now!”

“You fucking asshole!” Roman leaped to his feet, provoking Struan to pounce closer.

“Give me the excuse, brother, I’ll give you a left to go with the right. Don’t kid yourself, you know how this ends. I’ll play if you want to get dirty; you won’t win. Get the fuck out of here. Now!”

Struan wasn’t to be messed with.

Muttering under his breath, Roman stomped on out and slammed the door, probably to punctuate his anger. Who cared? She was pleased of the barrier, the shield beyond, and the guard who’d defended her without hesitation.

“Bambi,” he said, whirling around.

“I’m okay,” she said, running her fingers through her hair as she sat up. “I don’t know how that—”

“I’m sorry. I promised nothing like that would happen, that you’d be safe here—I’m sorry. Come here. Let me look at you.” He grabbed her wrist to tug her onto her feet. When her body bounced off his, he stopped and raised his hands in surrender. “Shit, I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have—you don’t need another guy pawing and manhandling—assaulting, that’s what—”

“You’re not another guy,” she said, capturing his wrist to direct his arm around her as she went up close to rest against him. “You’retheguy. Beau, there’s no way for me to express—I don’t know how that would have gone if he’d—if you hadn’t been here…”

Ridiculous that terror could visit in such an upmarket place with such a well-known face. These things weren’t supposed to happen in nice neighborhoods. Rich folks were supposed to be well bred and mannered. Did economic status matter? No. At the end of the day, predators were predators.

The calming words he whispered into her hair, stroking it from her crown down her back, clued her into the tears, hertears. She’d acted—no, reacted. At the time, she didn’t feel sad or emotional, just on edge. Survival instincts came from the very depth of a person, all the way from their most basic roots. Fight, flight, or freeze. And she’d gone for being rescued by the right twin.

Her arms, nestled between them, shifted so she could wipe the tears from her cheeks.

“Sorry. I don’t know where that came from,” or how long they’d been standing there possessed by it.

“Do you want the law? We can call—”

“No, no, you know what he’s like.”

Funny she should be saying that after only knowing the man a few days. Every minute with Roman was a lifetime she wanted to end. With Struan…

Eyes wet, she blinked up at him. “I’m tired.”

“Yeah, it’s late,” he said. With an arm still around her, he shuffled their position to reach over and pull back the covers. “Do you want me to lock the bedroom door? There’s a key—”

“I want you to stay.” She clung to his hand, possessed by that brazenness again. For the first time, tension held a fear of potential rejection. “I feel safer when you hold me, beau. Would you lie down and put your arms around me?”

Her heart raced, thumping hard until, with a single nod, he granted her wish.

Without looking at him, she unzipped her dress and shimmied out of it, discarding it there on the floor as she crawled onto the bed.

Already in just sweats, he joined her and tucked the covers over them, spooning her against him. The heat of his chest met her back, and immediately she felt stronger, more in control. He kissed the top of her head and tucked it beneath his chin.

She closed her eyes.

This was what she needed. After Roman, she’d never have been able to sleep under that roof without the man holding her close. He’d never let anything happen to her. He’d stood up to his own brother to protect her. Nothing but him would touch her, and that was exactly how she wanted it. From then until…

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