Page 51 of The Billionaire and the Nanny

“Arjun is beyond fixing, Leo. There’s something very wrong with him. It’s as if he doesn’t have a built-in sense of right and wrong.”

“I’m not interested in fixing whatever’s wrong with him, Tia. I’m just going to make it very clear to him that you’re out of bounds to him. My whole family is out of bounds to him, and if he so much as looks at any of us, I’ll come down on him like the wrath of hell.”

He wrapped his arms around me and held me until the uneasy feeling that had plagued me ever since I woke up passed. I raised my face for a kiss and Leo made good on his promise. He kissed away my fears.

CHAPTER 23

LEO

Ithrew on my clothes and we went downstairs to check on Maddie who was still sleeping peacefully. After Tia finally accepted that Maddie was doing okay, I led her to my room and dragged her back to bed.

I still had a smile on my face when I came down for breakfast.

“You look happy,” muttered Marcus, who looked like something Louisa-the-demon-cat might have dragged in.

“I am,” I replied shortly. “What’s wrong with you?”

Marcus looked haunted as he tried to marshal his thoughts.

“I’ve done things last night, Leo. Scary things. It’s all a bit hazy now, but Iknowthere was a bar. And IthinkI might have danced on top of that bar. Also, somewhere along the line, I lost my clothes. I woke up this morning under said bar, with most of my clothes gone. And I still don’t know where I lost them.”

“This is all Celine’s doing, right?” asked Tia drily, as she entered the room. “I should have warned you. That woman is wild.”

“That she is. Dangerously wild. Scary wild, in fact,” said Marcus.

He blew out a breath.

“But don’t feel too guilty about siccing her on me. I can handle her. I think,” he added doubtfully.

“I don’t feel guilty at all,” said Tia uncaringly. “You need someone like her to shake you up, Saint Marcus.”

“Oh, she’s shaking me up, alright. She tossed me around like dirty laundry in the washer, and she hung me out to dry. I almost got arrested last night for indecent exposure, and where was your friend when the cops showed up? She ran out on me! She’s not even answering her phone.”

“Did you do jello shots last night? That would explain the public nudity,” said Tia, staring at him thoughtfully.

“I haven’t a fucking clue,” he said, cradling his head in his hands.

I stuck a plate of bacon under his nose just for the pleasure of seeing him gag.

“Eat up, Marcus. You need your strength to deal with that woman,” I said loudly, enjoying the way he winced and covered his ears.

“Does she always poison the men who try to help her?” he asked.

Tia shrugged.

“Only if they piss her off. What did you do? Did you lecture her on her irresponsible lifestyle? Because she hates it when people do that.”

“I do not lecture people,” he replied, the picture of injured dignity.

“Oh God! You lectured her, didn’t you? You’re lucky she didn’t throw you under a bus. And I mean that literally,” scolded Tia.

“Why are you yelling at me?” whined Marcus, rubbing his temples.

“You had one job. To keep my friend safe! Now, you’ve pissed her off and she’s gone missing. I swear to God, Marcus. If Celine gets hurt because of you, I will skin you alive,” snarled Tia.

“Why is she being so mean to me, Leo? Control your woman, Leo. I’m already traumatized by whatever happened last night.”

“I’d like to see anyone try to control Tia,” I replied, with a snort.

---