Yours Completely: A Cinderella Love Story (Billionaires and Brides #1) (43 page)

He grinned and drove a little faster. The car responded to his touch like a lover, and would have made me jealous if it hadn't been a car. The warm tropical air whipped through my hair as evening descended on the island. It was hard to talk with the roof down, but it was comfortable just to be in the same car as Bastian. We didn't need to talk.

He pulled into the bar parking lot just as the streetlights started to turn on. The place looked just as busy as it had been the other night. Bastian parked, and hurried over to open my door before I even had a chance to undo my belt.

He held out his hand to help me out of the car. I loved it. Chivalry was not dead, and I found I rather liked it.

We managed to find an empty table in the back on the porch. It was the farthest we could be from the actual bar without falling into the ocean, but at least it was a table. It was perfect. Bastian caught the waiter's attention and we ordered drinks and some food. I ordered the special again, both the drink and the Jamaican Patty, and Bastian requested a whiskey and coke with his food.

“So you left Charlotte here alone with Leo drinking those,” Bastian said as the waiter returned with our drinks and meal. Bastian raised his eyebrow at the very girly but delicious fruity drink with an umbrella in front of me. I pushed it toward him and he took a sip. His disgusted face told me what he thought of the fruity alcohol. “Poor guy's shirt never stood a chance.”

I giggled quietly and sipped on my drink. “Poor Charlotte.”

“She'll be fine,” he assured me. “They'll figure it out eventually. They really are perfect for one another.”

“How do they manage to get any work done?” I remembered the vivid shade of red she turned when he sat at our table. “She's so nervous around him.”

“She's actually gotten better. You should have seen her when I was in college.” He chuckled and smiled at the memory. “She was still in high school, so Leo was like a god to her. She couldn't even be in the same room with him for months without stuttering and blushing.”

I could just imagine a cute little star-struck Charlotte in awe of the older, handsome, college boy. It was rather adorable.

“If you knew Leo, though, you'd know that he's just as love struck about her. He just hides it better.” He smiled, remembering something. “The first time she met him, he was actually naked.”

“Naked? Do tell,” I asked, sipping on my drink. Bastian scooted his chair closer to mine so that our legs touched. It made it easier to hear him over the bar, but far more distracting.

“Gabe had this crush on this cute blonde cheerleader across the hall. He never stood a chance with her, but somehow, Leo found out that she had never gone streaking.” He took a sip of his drink and grinned at me. “Have you ever gone streaking?”

“Once, but I want to hear your story first,” I teased.

“Anyway, Leo wanted to help Gabe out, so he organized the whole dorm floor to go streaking down the Oval. He even made up posters to hang in the bathrooms to advertise it.” He laughed. “Gabe was thrilled. Practically the entire hall went. We got out to there and everyone starts dropping their clothes. Of course, it's cold.”

I laughed. “So you just looked normal, right?”

“Yup.” Bastian grinned proudly at me and continued his story. “We all took off running. There's naked people everywhere. And then the cops showed up.”

“Oh no!” I slurped at the last of my drink. I hadn't meant to drink it so fast, but it tasted so good I hadn't slowed down.

“Everyone panicked. Clothes were flying as people scrambled for cover and of course, Leo lost his pants and his shirt in the process. He ran the whole way back to the dorm, butt naked, thinking the cops were after him the whole way.”

“Where was Charlotte?” I asked, wondering how she fit into this story.

“In my room waiting for me to get back. She was visiting me for the night, and I didn't want my little sister streaking with a bunch of college boys, so I told her I had class and that I'd be back in an hour,” he explained. “Leo's keys were in his pants and his room was across the hall from mine. So when he saw my open door, he ran right in thinking he could borrow some clothes from me until he could get back in his room.”

“And there was Charlotte...” I could just imagine Charlotte's face when Leo walked into her brother's dorm room butt naked and flushed from running in the cold. No wonder she couldn't stop blushing around him.

“It was rather traumatizing for both of them.” Bastian laughed, shaking his head. “Gabe never let him live it down.”

“Did Gabe end up getting the girl?” I asked. “I mean, that was the whole reason for going streaking, right?”

“She ended up dating one of the cops.” Bastian's eyes twinkled as he sipped on his drink.

“Poor Leo! All that work and nakedness and Gabe didn't even get his girl.” I started laughing and Bastian joined in.

I loved hearing Bastian laugh. It was rich and deep, with a joy that just made me want to join in with him. I could listen to him laugh all day. I could listen to his stories all day. I wanted to hear more, to find out more about the people in his life and everything I could in his world.

Bastian reached in his pocket and pulled out his phone. I could see the light going off as a call came in. He looked at it and then looked at me apologetically.

“It's Charlotte with an update on the app. Would you mind terribly if I took this?” His gray eyes held hope that I wouldn't be angry.

I smiled at him. “No, say hi for me. I'll go get us more drinks.”

“Thanks.” He smiled, relieved that I wasn't going to get angry. I understood that he was a billionaire and that required he take the odd phone call when we were out having fun. Business never stopped. Besides, I liked Charlotte.

I made my way over to the bar. It was busy, with three servers working. I found an empty space and wiggled my way in to get my order.

“Hey, hot stuff,” a drunk voice said behind me. I didn't turn to acknowledge him. I was here with someone and I wasn't interested in dealing with anyone who called me “hot stuff.”

I grabbed my drinks from the bartender and turned to leave, but blocking my way was Mr. “hot stuff.” He had on a garish salmon t-shirt and lime-green plaid shorts that made my eyes hurt just looking at them.

“Excuse me,” I said, trying to work my way around him and not spill my two drinks. I just wanted to get back to Bastian, not deal with some drunk frat boy.

“Come on, baby, let me buy you a drink...” the man slurred, looking me up and down and grinning. His oversized aviators fell off his head and he stumbled to pick them up. It gave me my opening to escape.

I held up my two drinks, as I moved. “Not interested.”

“Denied!” yelled one of Salmon-shirt's buddies, pointing at Salmon-shirt. There were three of them at a pool table, all wearing different versions of the plaid short/garish t-shirt combo. They all began to laugh at Salmon-shirt, so I just I hurried away and back to Bastian.

“Anything important?” I asked as I sat down and slid him his drink.

He shook his head. “Just Charlotte checking in. Things are right on schedule.”

“How is she?” I asked, hoping he would read into the question a little bit.

“Fine.” He took a sip of his drink and leaned back. “And, no, there isn't anything interesting going on between her and Leo. She wanted me to tell you that.”

I giggled and scooted my chair back to where our legs could touch again. “Tell me more about your adventures in streaking,” I asked, batting my eyelashes at him.

“I actually think it's your turn,” he replied, grinning from ear to ear. “I want to hear all about you being naked.”

I blushed, but took a sip of my drink and started to tell him the story of how I went streaking that one time in college.

***

S
everal hours and some drinks later, Bastian and I stumbled out of the bar. It had become even more crowded as the night had gone on and we both had work in the morning. Even so, I was delightfully tipsy, and from the not-quite-straight way Bastian was walking, he wasn't much better. It felt wonderful.

I held onto his burly arm as we stepped out into the hot night air. It felt almost cooler out here without all the people crowding into the small space. Bastian patted his pocket for the keys and I giggled as he stumbled on a perfectly straight step.

“I can't drive,” he announced. He looked at me and how I was hanging off of him and giggling uncontrollably. “And neither can you. I'll call Elijah.”

“Where is he?” I asked, looking around. I hadn't seen him all night.

“I asked him to be discreet tonight,” Bastian informed me with a wink. I giggled, feeling naughty.

Bastian pulled out his phone and hit a button. “Elijah. We need a ride.” Someone said something on the other line and Bastian hung up. He glanced back at the bar door. “He'll be here in just a minute. I'm going to go use the bathroom for a second.”

“You can use it for more than a second,” I teased. “In fact, I'd recommend it.”

Bastian chuckled and kissed me on the forehead. He looked so relaxed and calm. This had been a great evening. He grinned and headed back inside.

I stood out on the front porch, watching the insects buzz the lights. It was quiet out here, as the party was going on inside. The sounds of the bar were muffled through the heavy door as I made my way to the far end of the porch. The night air was thick and heavy.
I could get used to nights like this
, I thought, taking a deep breath in.
Especially with Bastian.

“All alone now, aren't you, hot-stuff?”

I spun to see Salmon-shirt walking up the side steps of the front porch. The hairs on the back of my neck started to prickle.

“My date's just in the bathroom,” I stated, looking at the door to the bar and suddenly finding it very far away. “He'll be back any minute.”

“Sure he will,” Salmon-shirt agreed. The stagger and red in his eyes said that he was definitely drunk. I swallowed hard as his three buddies came out from behind the bar and stood in the parking lot. One of them opened the door to a very expensive-looking car and pulled out a flask. As if they hadn't had enough to drink already.

“Please, I don't want any trouble,” I said, trying to figure out if I could make a run for the bar doors. I didn't want to appear to obvious, but I no longer felt safe out here alone. Everything about these men screamed spoiled, rich brats. They were all Chads, but with an unlimited supply of money. If they wanted something, they could just take it.

“It's no trouble at all, hot-stuff,” Salmon-shirt assured me. He strode toward me, putting himself quickly between me and the door to the bar faster than I had expected. I was trapped. “But you see, you embarrassed me in front of my friends.”

One of his friends yelled out something that sounded vulgar. My heart started to pound and my palms went sweaty.

He licked his lips and raised his hand, trying to brush a strand of hair out of my face. There was no way in hell I was letting him touch me, even if it was just to brush some hair away. I smacked his hand away from me as hard as I could.

“Touch me again, and I'll put you down,” I threatened. The forcefulness of my words caught me by surprise. It probably had to do with that he reminded me so much of Chad. That and the alcohol.

“Ooh,” he giggled. “I like a little bit of fight in my girls.”

He moved so quick I didn't have time to react. His hands went to my arms, pinning me to the wall and holding me there. I tried to struggle, but he was stronger than he looked. I kicked out with my legs, but I didn't have a good groin shot and he made sure to stay far enough away that my heels couldn't come directly down on his feet. Panic started to pump through me.

“You'll put me down, huh?” Salmon-shirt smirked. His friends laughed behind him, watching him and egging him on. “How about you go down?”

Suddenly, Bastian's hand was on the guys shoulder and the next thing I knew, Salmon-shirt was flying off the deck and into the parking lot. He landed with a thud in the dirt, looking up to see Bastian advancing on him.

Even from my position, Bastian looked terrifying. His big shoulders were outdone only by the massive snarl across his face. The scar running down his cheek caught the streetlamp light and made him look vicious and feral.

Salmon-shirt stood up, puffing his chest out and putting up his fists. Bastian waited for him to throw the first punch, dodging it easily before socking him squarely in the jaw.

Salmon-shirt went down like a sack of potatoes. His friends got very quiet.

“Get up,” Bastian commanded. His voice was low like thunder and just as menacing.

Salmon-shirt shook his head, holding his hand to his jaw. He didn't look quite so drunk or so brave anymore. He looked like a spoiled, petulant child.

Bastian grabbed the back of his shirt and hauled him to his feet. “I said get up,” Bastian snarled. Salmon-shirt was visibly quaking and turning a strange shade of pale green. Bastian tightened his grip on the salmon shirt. “Apologize to the lady.”

“Sorry,” Salmon-shirt whispered, looking anywhere but at me.

Bastian shook him like a rag doll and growled. “I think you can do better.”

Salmon-shirt looked up at me, fear and honesty pouring out of his eyes. His voice cracked. “I'm very sorry, miss.”

“Are you ever going to bother her or anyone like her again?” Bastian 's voice was so low and angry even I was frightened. Car tires squealed as Elijah peeled into the parking lot. Bastian lifted the man up higher, threatening to shake him again.

Salmon-shirt shook his head vehemently from side to side. “No, sir!”

“Good.” Bastian dropped him. Salmon-shirt went to his knees, tears running down his face. Bastian turned to face his buddies and gave them a death glare that should have killed each of them three times over. They each took three steps back and cowered a little.

It was over by the time Elijah came running up, ready to defend me and Bastian to the death. The whole thing had taken less than thirty seconds.

“Take care of this,” he instructed Elijah before running back to where I stood shaking like a leaf.