Page 67 of Chase
“No need to be rude,” he whispers right inside of my ear at the same time as he grips hold of my upper arm. “I’ve had a bad day; thought we could keep each other company is all.” I try to shuffle out of his grip, but he doesn’t budge. “Don’t struggle, baby.”
I begin to thrash around, but my old fears are put to bed when a fist makes direct impact with the guy’s nose. I gasp at the same time as he jumps back with his hands clutching hold of his bleeding nose.
“What the…?” I begin but the man whose fist just saved me from the seriously creepy arsehole turns me around to face him. At first, I flinch and narrow my eyes to try and make out who the hell it is. Then he speaks, and although he has an American accent, I know it’s not Theo.
“You ok?” he asks before turning back to the guy whose nose he probably just broke. “You,” he begins, pointing at him, “fuck off!”
The guy seems to take in the sight of my savior and decides to quit while he’s ahead.
“I’m Daniel, Theo’s friend. We met once…you remember?”
I close my eyes, trying to think past the drunk fog currently whirling around inside my head.
“Oh, Daniel!” I gasp in an overexaggerated flap. “Babysitting Daniel!”
“Yep, that’s me,” he laughs. “I guess my skillset is needed once again. I apologize, Izzy,” he says, causing me to frown.
Before I can ask what for, he picks me up and hauls me over his shoulder. We head toward the exit, and though I should feel somewhat put out by this virtual stranger carrying me across the nightclub, I find myself feeling ridiculously giddy.
“I don’t remember Daniel’s arse,” I giggle, “it’s a nice arse! Not as nice as Theo’s arse, but I’m pissed off with his arse. His arse is in the doghouse.”
“Izzy?” Daniel says more clearly, now that we’re out of the noise and swarms of bodies.
“Yes, Daniel?”
“Shut up,” he says jovially as he continues to carry me out into the cold darkness where we are met with wolf whistles and other drunken shouts of approval.
“Damn girl, you enjoy that treatment!” some young girls shout as we pace down the street at speed. I cheekily salute them as I let my body go completely limp over his shoulder. He laughs just before I pass out completely.
_____
Izzy
“Morning sunshine!” an unfamiliar masculine voice calls out to me at the same time as he rips the curtains open to let in the offending morning light. I proceed to hiss like a vampire and pull the cover over my head with a grunt of disapproval. “Not feeling so crash hot this morning? Must be all that liquor you were knocking back last night,” he says with a smug chuckle.
“I don’t know you, but I already know how annoying you are,” I mutter bitterly.
The bed dips, presumably where he’s just parked his backside to most likely annoy me some more. As you can tell, I’m feeling grumpy and immature this morning, and not at all grateful for his saving me last night. To teach me a lesson for my rudeness, he slowly unpeels the cover from over my head. I offer him one open eye of my attention, which takes in the sight of him already dressed for work in his expensive suit. Just my luck, Daniel is the picture of sophistication and knicker-dropping gorgeousness. I feel even worse when I take in his teasing smirk.
“Do you need a bowl? I’d rather you didn’t throw up all over my sheets,” he says with one already in his hand, which is somewhat humiliating.
When he refuses to leave, I reluctantly scoot up so my poor, sore head is resting against the headrest. I look at my trembling hands, then hide them beneath the white sheets, finally feeling ashamed over the state I got myself into last night.
“I take it Theo asked you to come and find me?” I ask in my husky, post-alcoholic binge voice.
“He did,” he replies, nodding slowly, “but what I’m going to say next is all me, sunshine. I know you’ve been through some rough shit, but the boy has held a torch for you ever since I’ve known him. His only intention has been to help you and to love you. Now, I get you’re angry, but he’s not the one you should be angry with. He risked millions to be with you, gave up six months of his life in California to try and win you back, not to mention tirelessly defending you and protecting you, so I fail to see what he’s done that’s made you so angry and self-destructive.”
I sigh as I close my tired eyes and let his words sink in.
“I’m not really mad with him; it just feels like everything is a lie at the moment, and his admission kind of broke the camel’s back.” He nods his head, showing that he understands. “But I still love him.”
“That’s good then, isn’t it?” he asks, frowning as he does so. I nod my head with an involuntary smile. “So, can I put the poor bastard out of his misery?”
I offer a sulky shrug, to which he immediately shouts out for Theo.
“He’s already here?!”
Daniel smiles smugly before getting up to go.