Page 27 of The Billionaire and the Nanny

That gave me pause. What was I doing? Was I really going to beat up my own brother because of a woman?

“He’s not supposed to be here,” I mumbled sheepishly. “He’s supposed to be guarding Tia’s friend, Celine.”

Marcus gave me a knowing look as he climbed back over the couch and sat down next to Tia again. She looked confused, and I didn’t blame her. My brothers could push my buttons without even trying. And right now, Marcus was doing it on purpose. I didn’t know why. He wasn’t the type to hit a man when he was down, but he was getting some kick out of pissing me off.

“Celine is fine. I have three men outside her hotel room right now,” he explained, picking up his controller again.

“I was worried about her, that’s all,” I said awkwardly.

“That doesn’t explain why you went at Marcus like an angry bull in the ring,” said Luke.

If ever there was a shit-starter in this family, it was Luke. Case in point, the way he was waggling his eyebrows at me meaningfully. And if I replied to that by punching him in the nuts like he deserved, Aunt Fee would be mad at me. I really couldn’t catch a break.

“Maybe Captain Crankypants has had a bad day,” teased Tia.

I snarled under my breath. I wasn’t cranky. I was… fuck me, I wasjealous! Of my own brother.

How the hell did this happen, I wondered as I ignored them all and stomped over to the bar to pour myself a drink. It was all her fault, of course. Tia had bewitched me somehow until all I could think of was her. I had set out in search of her as soon as I got home, and even though I told myself that it was just so I could check on how she was doing her job, I knew it was more than that. I wanted a glimpse of her crooked smile. I wanted a chance to spar with her, to goad her into letting out her inner sarcastic bitch who was more than a match for the cocky bastard inside me.

I tried to bring up Natalie’s face to remind myself of how I’d felt when I found out she was cheating on me. I tried to remember the humiliation of having my family’s name plastered across tabloids when her affair with Arjun Monani came to light in the aftermath of her crash. We couldn’t even grieve her death in peace because we were so busy doing damage control. My company’s shares had dipped drastically the day the news of the car crash broke, even though my private life had nothing to do with my business. It took us almost a year to recoup our losses. I tried to remember how it felt.

And yet, all I could remember was the feel of Tia’s soft skin against mine. The way she turned her toes out and clenched her inner muscles around me when I took her. The way she held on tight and met me stroke for stroke until I was almost blind with need. I took a large gulp of whiskey and gritted my teeth as the familiar burn hit the back of my throat when I swallowed. This was madness. I was done with Tia. That one night might be etched into my brain forever, but I was done with her because this was as far as we could go.

There was no future for us because of who she was. What was I going to tell Maddie? That Tia was the sister of the man who was responsible for her mother’s death? How could I face my baby girl if she grew up and realized that I was sleeping with theenemy? Maddie deserved better. We all deserved better. As did Tia. She deserved better than a man who couldn’t forgive her for something that wasn’t even her fault.

I felt a soft hand on my arm and leaned into the one-armed hug that Aunt Fee gave me.

“My poor, confused boy,” she whispered, taking the booze out of my hand and handing me a bowl of chips and dip. “Eat this before you start drinking. Your dinner will be ready soon.”

“I’m not confused. I’m just hungry,” I muttered.

“And that makes you very angry,” she commented. “You’ve always had trouble knowing when you need to eat. In fact, you’ve always had trouble knowing what you need. Luckily for you, you’ve got us to show you the way.”

“Aunt Fee, I always know what I need. And that’s not very lady-like,” I added when she snorted rudely.

“Eat your chips,” she ordered, with a roll of her eyes.

I noticed Tia watching us warily. Did she know what she did to me? Was I so transparent? The rest of my family certainly seemed to think so. I bit into a chip savagely and decided that I was stronger than this inconvenient bout of lust that ailed me.

I had stayed away from Tia for three years, and I could do it again. But when she stood up and called out a general goodnight without so much as looking at me, it was all I could do to keep from throwing her over my shoulder and taking her to my room to show her who was the boss. I kept my eyes on my chips and chewed steadily without looking up until Tia left.

When I did look up, it was to find my brothers staring at me with disgust.

“What?” I asked, throwing my arms up. If the assholes wanted a fight, I’d give them a fight.

“You’re an idiot,” said Marcus, shaking his head disappointedly.

“And you sound like an old man. What’s your point?”

“I give up! He’s hopeless, Aunt Fee. Hopeless,” he replied, picking up the controls again.

Luke opened his mouth to comment, but I forestalled him with a glare.

“You guys need to stop messing with my head and focus on what’s important. Arjun Monani isn’t the sort of man to give up easily. He can’t afford to repay Sabri’s investment, which means he’s going to do his best to find Tia. Have you got someone on Celine all the time, Marcus?”

“I do. But I’m not going to lie. That woman is a pain in the ass. She insists on going back to work soon. Monani’s probably waiting for her to go back to work so that he can keep an eye on her. But Celine refuses to accept that she needs to lie low for a while. Says she has a daughter to feed but refuses to accept any financial help from me because I’m a stranger. And get this, she calls me a bully.Me!”

It sounded as if Marcus had his hands full with Tia’s friend.

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