Vicious Protector by Maggie Cole

4

Skylar

Adrian leaves me stunned,with my gut twisting. After our encounter last night, I went home and replayed it over and over, wondering if I missed something. Nothing made sense. Why would he treat me like that? Yes, he hates the Petrovs, but I told him I was held down and groped. He didn't seem to hear or care.

He hate fucked me.

Besides his nasty words, which echoed in my mind all night, I kept feeling his body all over mine. The way he took over and knew exactly how to touch me, left me wanting more. His kisses were the most animalistic experience of my life. He used his tongue as a weapon. Every touch proved he's a sinfully delicious, not afraid to be filthy, cocky stud who rarely exists.

He made me detest myself. All I want is more from him, and I shouldn't after what he said. I convinced myself I need to stay away from him. I'm not going to allow him to berate me. What he did was borderline abusive. My ex-fiancé from college was an expert at verbally ripping me to shreds. It took years of counseling to get to the place where I'm now at.

I know better.

During my morning workout, and while I got ready for work, I did my mental exercises my counselor taught me. I reinforced the things I love about myself and made a commitment to stay away from him. Adrian may be Aspen's bodyguard, but I won't be his punching bag or play toy to destroy. From here on out, he's just another guy for me to ignore when I have to be around him.

Seeing Adrian this morning tortured me. His apology brought up memories of my ex trying to convince me he won't ever bash me again. The biggest problem is my ex is nothing like Adrian. He wasn't nearly as sexy or cocky. His scent didn't intoxicate me. There was nothing in the bedroom my ex did to create the buzz in my veins that happens when Adrian just stands next to me.

They kidnapped, raped, and killed his sister.

He was spinning out. What does that mean exactly? Will he spin out again and take it out on me?

"Adrian," I call after him then step outside the bathroom. "Adrian!"

He freezes, takes a deep breath, and turns. Years of pain and regret swirl in his beautiful eyes. His chiseled features appear even sharper. Everything about him screams he's a breathtaking package of agony right now.

My heart bleeds for him. The memories of what he said to me last night disappear. However, I approach him cautiously. Something is telling me he's fragile. It's the opposite of everything he shows to the world, but I feel it. With every step I take, notes of peach blossom, Turkish rose, and amber get more robust. I attempt to calm my insides while figuring out what to say.

"I'm—" I stop. Is I'm sorry for your loss even adequate for this tragedy? How many times has he heard it? Words seem like a cop-out of some sort. Can anything comfort or bring peace to the situation? I highly doubt it. I'm not sure when this happened, but the pain seems fresh, and I'm not so naive to know that time doesn't heal all wounds.

He pins his steely gaze on me, waiting for me to say something, but I can't form a coherent sentence.

An entourage of medical professionals comes down the hall. Adrian reaches for me and protectively guides me closer to the wall. My flutters take off. I try to refocus on whatever it is I should say.

The crowd passes, and I glance up. I don't analyze it and reach for his cheek. "I'm trying to figure out the right words..."

His jaw clenches under my palm. "There aren't any. Last night is my fault. I—"

"I meant about your sister."

His head tilts up. His eyes dart to the wall above my head. In a deadpan voice, he claims, "It happened a long time ago."

"Adrian, what did you mean when you said you were spinning out?"

He grinds his molars then sniffs hard. "It doesn't matter."

"It does to me."

He slowly drills his tormented orbs back on mine. "I obsess about things until I feel like my skin is crawling. Then I take action, and it usually has me apologizing to someone after. My brother, Obrecht, made me realize I need to stay away from others when it consumes me." He briefly closes his eyes. "Sometimes, I'm too far in, like last night. All I saw was you on that thug's lap and his grimy hands on you. I couldn't handle it. A voice in my head said you knew the Petrovs before the Cat's Meow. It dug its claws into me."

"I didn't! I swear! Call me naive, but I never even heard of the Petrovs. I didn't want to be in there, and I tried to get away. I swear."

His expression darkens. "He will pay, my printsessa. He will never come near you or touch you again."

A chill runs down my spine. "What are you going to do?"

He stays quiet, scowling, making the anxiety in my chest grow thicker. I don't have any love for the Petrovs, but I don't want Adrian doing something stupid so he ends up behind bars, hurt, or killed.

"Let it go, Adrian. He's not worth it."

"Let it go?" he growls. "He put his dirty Petrov hands on you against your will. I won't sweep it under the rug. He'll get his moment of reckoning with me."

There's so much hatred in Adrian. I don't blame him. If someone bestowed the evil on my sister that the Petrovs did, I'm not sure how I would cope. Adrian only told me the quick facts. I don't even know the entire story. I assume the other details are gruesome and only drive his disdain for the Petrovs deeper. His voice is so sure, there's no room to argue with him. Anything I say to try and change his mind is a waste of my breath. I barely know anything about Adrian. The Cat's Meow incident, along with his job as Aspen's bodyguard, leaves no doubt he's a violent man at times. From the start, I should have shied away from him, but his magnetism wouldn't allow me. Every bone in my body has wanted him since I met him. After everything that happened, I still can't turn my attraction for him off.

Maybe I should give him another chance?

He verbally assaulted me. I can't fall back into old relationship patterns.

He's not Tim.

No. He's more dangerous than Tim could ever be. He'll swallow me whole, and I'll never come out.

His hatred turns to regret. "I'm sorry again about what I did to you. We should go. The others are waiting in the lobby." He doesn't give me time to reply and puts his hand on my back then guides me through the hospital.

I spend the time debating about what to say to Adrian. Do I want to give him a pass for what he did? Should I stick to what my counselor would have told me, which would be to run as far away from Adrian as possible? Can I ever be with him and not remember what he did the first time we were ever together?

Sergey, Kora, and Hailee sit on couches by the front doors. They rise, and Sergey says, "Kora and I have a dinner reservation. Can you take Hailee and Skylar home?"

"Yes."

"We can take a cab," Hailee says.

"No. You won't," Adrian replies, as if we have no choice in the matter.

Hailee raises her eyebrows and bites her lip. Kora smirks. Sergey puts his arm around Kora's waist and nods. "Great. Have a nice night."

We part ways and go to the parking garage. I assume Adrian has one of the black cars similar to what we rode in going home from the Cat's Meow, but he opens the back door to a Land Rover. "Hailee." He motions for her to get in, then he opens the passenger door for me.

Once we're all inside, he says, "Hailee, what's your address again?"

She rattles it off, and he pulls out of the space.

"Do you want mine?" I ask.

"No. I already know it." His eyes linger on my body before he refocuses on driving.

Flutters fill my stomach. If only last night had never happened.

It was so good.

Until he had to ruin it.

He apologized and seems sincere.

Tim always did, too. I've still got the mound of debt from the therapy bills.

I expect Adrian to drop me off first, since I live closer to the hospital than Hailee, but he drives to her place. No one speaks during the drive. I assume Hailee is worried about Aspen. I am, too, but my issues with Adrian consume me more.

When we get to Hailee's, he parks. I expect to stay in the car, but he opens my door.

"What's going on?"

"We're going to escort Hailee to her apartment."

"It's not necessary. I'm good from here. Thanks for the ride," Hailee replies.

Adrian snorts. He reaches in for my hand. "Come on, my printsessa."

Every time he calls me his printsessa, I feel giddy. No one's ever had a pet name for me before. It makes me feel like I'm his.

I can't be after what happened.

I should forgive and forget.

And I immediately return to all my old patterns.

My counselor's face pops into my mind. Her voice echoes, over and over. "No man is worth your mental health."

"I can't stay in the car?"

He raises his eyebrows and glances around. "In this neighborhood at night? No."

"Jeez. It isn't that bad," Hailee interjects.

"No offense, Hailee, but it worries me you live here," Adrian says.

"That's snobby," I blurt out.

A line furrows between his eyebrows. "I grew up two blocks from here. It has only gotten worse since I moved out. There's nothing pretentious about my statement. It's purely about safety."

My cheeks heat. "Oh. Sorry."

"It's not like I take strolls in the dark around here. I keep my apartment locked at all times, even during the day," Hailee states.

Adrian's face hardens. He leads us inside. When we get on the elevator, he asks, "Why are you and your friends so quick to dismiss your safety? Hmm?"

Hailee puts her hand on her hip. "I'm a teacher. I don't get paid a lot. There aren't a lot of options I can afford."

"You could get a roommate. Then you wouldn't have to live somewhere dangerous."

"Ever watch Single White Female? Not always the best idea. Plus, Hailee is the ideal candidate to have a roommate stalker," I tease.

"Why is that?" she asks.

"Blonde, blue-eyed, girl next door. Pretty and innocent—"

"Will everyone stop calling me innocent?" she barks.

I hold my hands up. "Jeez, Hailee. You don't have to get all bent out of shape."

She glares at Adrian. "I'm in my late thirties. I don't want a roommate. I have a job and can take care of myself, thank you very much. And while the neighborhood may not be the best, my apartment is very nice and clean!"

"Did I say anything about the inside or your cleanliness?" Adrian asks.

"Ugh. You're so rude and annoying."

"Because I think it's unsafe for a woman to live in this neighborhood on her own?"

Hailee shakes her head. "You're also a male chauvinist."

"No, I'm not."

The elevator opens, and she steps out. "You are." She stomps ahead of us.

Adrian mouths, "What's up her ass?"

I bite on my lip, keeping my mouth shut. Hailee's mom raised her and her sisters to be independent. She's never gone too deep discussing her father situation, but he wasn't around. Over the years, Hailee has helped Kora, Aspen, and me do more things than I ever thought possible. She has her own set of tools and can fix things, including minor electrical and plumbing issues. Her apartment is probably the nicest in the neighborhood because she's repaired and replaced everything wrong in it. Whenever there is an estate sale, or during the spring and summer months when there are garage sales in the suburbs, she'll go and find things for next to nothing. One time, she found a granite slab for pennies on the dollar. She batted her eyes at the two guys selling it to her, and they installed it for free.

Hailee unlocks her door and steps inside. She spins. "Don't stand there. Come in."

Adrian motions for me to go first. He follows me inside and scans the unit. She recently repainted and changed everything to a blue theme. One accent wall is royal blue. Lighter coordinating blues add pops of color through vases, pillows, and pictures in the open floor plan space. Her cabinets are white. The countertop she got a deal on looks marbled. It's mostly white with some streaks of blue. Everything is cozy and looks new.

"You did a great job on those cabinets," I tell her. I haven't seen them since she painted them. "I'm glad your landlord gave you permission."

She nods.

"This is impressive, Hailee," Adrian says.

"See, I don't live in a dump."

"I never once said that. I discussed your safety. That's it. Don't add words to my statements."

"He's right, Hailee. You're taking this the wrong way."

She rolls her eyes.

I point to a large stack of construction paper. "What are you creating?"

"The umbrellas for the April Showers Bring May Flowers bulletin board. I need to cut out enough for my class and the other two classes."

"Why?"

"If I don't do it, the other kids won't have a bulletin board to decorate. The other teachers decided it was too much work. It's not fair to the kids. They like decorating things and seeing them on display."

Adrian walks over to the table and sits down.

"What are you doing?" Hailee asks.

He picks up scissors and a piece of red paper. His cocky expression appears. "Making some umbrellas."

"Seriously?" Hailee asks.

"Yep. You want to tell me what to do, or am I freestyling it?"

She scoffs. "You're going to cut out paper umbrellas?"

Adrian sets it down and crosses his arms. "Are you being sexist?"

"What? No!"

"Do you think I'm incapable?"

"Not sure. Are you?" Her lips twitch.

He pulls the chair out next to him. "Take a seat, my printsessa. My kindergarten teacher gave me an A-plus in my scissor work."

I laugh. "Your scissor work? Hailee, is that a subject I'm not aware of?"

She snorts.

Adrian smirks. It's arrogant and tugs at my heart. Some women may find it annoying, but Adrian's ego is panty-melting sexy to me. "I can even stay inside, on, or outside the lines."

"Wow. Impressive," I tease.

"Well, show us what you got then." Hailee sits across from us.

We spend the next few hours laughing and working. Hailee grabs another stack of construction paper, and we create the flowers to go with the umbrellas.

I'm happy to help Hailee. She's a teacher who could go to any district, have more resources, and make her life easier but won't. She wants to make an impact on less fortunate kids. Something about watching a man like Adrian help her with this task pulls at my heartstrings.

Adrian Ivanov has a heart beneath his cocky exterior.

It makes it almost impossible to ignore the voice in my head, saying to give him another chance.