Billionaire Undaunted(20)

His arms tightened around her as he pulled her head against his chest. “Don’t,” he said roughly. “Don’t blame yourself for anything you did to survive. Being afraid in that situation is normal. I’m not a counselor, but even I know that when you’re a survivor, you do what you have to do. I fucking hate it that you ever had to be afraid, that the bastard ever laid a hand on you. If he wasn’t already dead, I’d kill him myself for what he did to you and to Chloe.”

Ellie took deep breaths, helping her heartbeat to calm and her panic begin to recede. She’d lived through James’s captivity. Everything else was just hard work. “He was a sadistic bastard. Sociopathic. He would have eventually hurt Chloe even worse. Once I knew what he was, I was petrified that he’d actually kill her to get her money. I was so relieved to find out she didn’t marry him, and that he was dead.”

“He didn’t just hurt her physically. He also crushed her pride and self-esteem. But she’s dealing with it. I like Walker. I think he’s good for her.”

“I’m glad she’s happy,” Ellie shared.

“You’ll be happy again someday, too,” Zane insisted, rubbing a comforting hand down her back. “It will take time.”

“You said you didn’t see my car. I wonder what happened to it. He had to have hidden it or destroyed it.”

“Don’t worry about your car, your job, or anything else right now. You need time to heal,” Zane grumbled. “We’ll go to town tomorrow and get you some of the things you need. You know the police are going to want to talk to you. The asshole might be dead, but they’re going to want your statement so they can close the case.”

“I know,” she said stoically. “I hate talking about it, but I will.”

“Don’t worry about anything except getting stronger. Pretty soon you’ll have Chloe back, and right now you have me.” His voice was stubbornly adamant.

She relaxed, leaning against his strength. There was never really a time she’d depended on anyone. She was used to being the organizer, the caretaker, even from a very young age.

For once, it was nice to have somebody to lean on.

He shifted onto his back and pulled her partially across his body, keeping her head on his chest. Threading one hand through her hair, he rubbed her back with the other in a soothing, circular motion.

“I’m tired,” she admitted, feeling so emotionally and physically drained that her eyes flickered closed.

“Then sleep.”

“I don’t want you to leave me,” she admitted, her tremulous tone vulnerable.

She didn’t want to be alone with her thoughts and away from his comforting presence right now. Tomorrow, she would start growing stronger. But for right now, she needed him.

“I’m not going anywhere, Ellie. I’ll be right here.”

She sighed with relief and snuggled into the heat radiating from his body. “Thank you.”

“Do you trust me?” Zane asked hoarsely.

“Yes.”

“Then sleep. Nobody will ever hurt you again,” he vowed.

He sounded so serious that she smiled, feeling safe in his powerful embrace. When she finally drifted off a few minutes later, she fell almost immediately into a deep and dreamless slumber.

When she woke up the next morning, feeling rested, Zane was gone. Ellie might have thought she’d imagined him or dreamed about him ever being there, comforting her in a tender way she’d never thought possible for Zane, but she knew she hadn’t dreamed up his presence.

One deep whiff of her pillow filled her senses with his scent, proving that he’d been there in her bed, but had quietly left her to sleep.

Rolling over on her back, she tried to clear his tantalizing essence from her lungs, stop her body from reacting to the fact that he’d been in her bed, that she’d wallowed in the security of having him close.

I can’t start needing him this much!

Her body and brain warred against each other as her core clenched with a primal need for the one man she’d ever really wanted.

Sitting up in bed, she swiped the hair from her face and admitted that waking up without him there beside her made her miss him, and it scared the hell out of a woman who was used to being just fine alone.





Several days later, Zane was working in his underground lab, trying to figure out when Ellie Winters had become so damn stubborn. She’d been a sweet teenager, but somewhere along the way, the woman had developed an ornery, independent streak that seemed never-ending.

So I replaced some of her belongings: a cell phone, a laptop, new clothing with some help from Lara, and a few other things that she needs for everyday life. They’re just essentials.