Billionaire Undaunted:The Billionaire's Obsession ~ Zane(14)

Tate removed the books from Zane's grasp before he could stop him, pissed off as his brother looked at the titles.

"Every one of these is a relationship book," Tate said slowly, his  eyebrow lifting as he perused the heavy one on how to romance a woman.

"Yeah? So what?" Zane snatched the books back angrily.

"I didn't know you were seeing someone," Blake said, sounding slightly wounded.

"I'm not," Zane admitted.

"Then what's with the books?" Marcus questioned curiously.

Zane would be damned if he'd let his brothers make him feel ridiculous  because he wanted self-help books. At least he knew he needed help. Tate  had been damn lucky to score a wife like Lara, and Blake and Marcus  were too busy with work to worry about doing anything but screw a woman  when they felt the need.

Blake thumbed through another stack on the table right beside Zane.  "These yours too?" He paused before adding, "These are different-books  on psychology: post-traumatic stress, emotional healing after trauma,  and coping with post-traumatic stress."

"Ellie?" Marcus guessed. "How is she doing?"

Zane could tell that Tate would have liked to keep poking at him,  something the brothers did a lot, but Marcus's question silenced his  youngest brother.

Zane shrugged. "She's doing as well as she can be considering she was  beaten, held captive for months in a shithole, wondering what day James  would decide to kill her, and being nearly starved to death."

"Are you getting involved with her, Zane?" Tate asked in a more serious  tone. "I'm all for her staying with you where she's safe. I even helped  make that happen. But she isn't heal-"

"No," Zane told his brother adamantly. "We aren't involved. She's my  friend. I want to understand her. I want to help her," he replied, his  tone edgy, wishing to hell that was all he wanted from Ellie. But he'd  be lying to himself. He wanted more someday, but mostly he wanted her to  be happy.

"You did help," Marcus answered reasonably. "You saved her life. You're  the only one who didn't give up on her except Chloe. Still a damn  miracle that she's alive, if you ask me."

"I didn't ask," Zane answered irritably. "I don't want to talk about Ellie. She's been through enough."

"You like her. If you don't, then I have to wonder about your choice of reading material," Blake remarked with a smile.

Honestly, Zane hadn't planned on getting so many books. But every one of  them had jumped out at him as he looked through the small bookstore. "I  want to understand her," he snapped at his brothers. "I want to know  what she went through, and I want to help her get through all of this.  She lost her whole goddamn life, and it isn't fair. All because of some  bastard who just happened to cross her path."

"She's not going to heal overnight, Zane," Blake warned. "It could take a while before she even feels partially normal again."

Slamming the books down on the table next to the psychology books he'd  selected, he crossed his arms and faced his brother. "I don't care how  long it takes. I'll be there for her."

"She might not be ready for a relationship right now, Zane. You saved  her life and she's going to be grateful," Tate mused. "Her emotions are  going to get all tangled up. Right now, you're her hero."         

     



 

Zane knew his brothers were trying to protect him, but it irritated the  crap out of him that they were insinuating that Ellie could never  genuinely like him. "I'm not looking for a relationship right now. I'm  just trying to right a wrong for a friend."

"Then what's with the books?" Marcus leaned his hip against the table  and folded his arms in front of him. "Planning on meeting the woman of  your dreams shortly?"

"Why is that any of your business?" Zane growled, not about to admit  that he wanted Ellie to have the things she'd never experienced and  never had. He wanted to be the man to make her feel alive again. Except  he didn't know a damn thing about romancing a woman. "I'm a science geek  who spends all of his time in a lab. Maybe I need to learn something  about women."

"Just care about her like you've been doing. That's all you really have  to do," Tate answered huskily, his tone making it obvious that he was  thinking about his wife.

"It's not that simple," Zane argued in a raspy voice, wanting to make  them understand, as if they could actually help him. "I care about  Ellie. I always have. But I want more than I've had with her before. I  want her more than I ever have before. Or maybe the feelings have always  been there, and I just saw her as off-limits because she was Chloe's  best friend. Now, I wish I had pursued her once we were both adults.  Maybe this never would have happened to her. Do you know she's never  experienced anything remotely romantic from a guy? What in the hell is  wrong with men in this town? She deserves romance. It's something she's  never experienced, and apparently something most women dream about. I  want to give her everything she wants. Fuck! I know it's too soon, but  eventually I guess I'm hoping … " His voice trailed off, not sure what  else to say. Hell, he didn't even understand his actions himself. All he  knew was his compulsion to make Ellie smile again, laugh again.

Zane watched as his brothers all looked at one another before turning back to him. "You're screwed," Tate told him simply.

Blake and Marcus nodded in agreement, their expressions grim.

"Why?" Zane felt compelled to ask.

Tate shrugged. "You'll figure it out when Ellie becomes all you can  think about, an obsession that you can't control. When you start  worrying about her safety and whether or not she's happy because you're  positive that you can't live without her."

"I'm already there," he answered morosely, knowing his youngest brother  had the most experience with relationships since he was the only married  brother. "I don't know much about what happened during her months in  captivity. Sometimes I don't even want to think about it because I'm  afraid I'll lose it. Hell, I even have nightmares about it sometimes,  and I wasn't even there. I'm pissed off as hell because she didn't  deserve what happened, and I can't even kill James for hurting her  because he's already dead."

"I'd feel the same way, bro," Tate admitted. "When Lara sacrificed  herself to a terrorist to save my life, I lost it when he touched her. I  get it. But Lara didn't go through what Ellie did. She didn't spend  months in captivity being treated like she wasn't human. I'm not sure I  could handle that without losing my mind. But she's going to need to  talk about it. She's going to need to get through it before she can  focus on a real relationship. I know this doesn't help much, but just be  there for her."

"She needs time," Blake stated bluntly. "Is she getting therapy?"

Zane nodded. "The same one that Chloe uses. Dr. Townson thinks Ellie has  post-traumatic stress. Dammit! I don't want her to have to be afraid  anymore. It's over."

Marcus nodded. "PTSD makes sense. Zane, a person can't go through a  prolonged period of confinement like that without some damage to her  psyche."

"She's handling it well. Really well," Zane explained. "Better than most  people would. But sometimes I can see the fear in her eyes, and it's  fucking killing me." If someone put him in a lab, he was in his element.  Outside of work, he was like a fish out of water. He didn't know what  to say or do to help Ellie heal.

"Then just keep being supportive," Blake suggested. "Give her time."

"Spoken like a guy who has never wanted a woman so desperately that he'd  do anything to have her," Tate mumbled. "If you want a real  relationship with a woman who makes you crazy, things get complicated."         

     



 

Things were beyond complicated for Zane. And he wanted nothing more than  to claim Ellie in the most elemental way possible. Yet, he also wanted  her to feel safe. How in the hell did a man deal with those two  conflicting emotions: rampant desire and protectiveness? In his mind, a  guy either wanted to fuck a woman or he wanted to protect her-like he  wanted to protect his younger sister, Chloe. For him, those two emotions  had never co-existed before.

"I'll deal with it," Zane told his brothers, trying hard to sound a hell  of a lot more confident about the situation than he really was.

Tate snorted as Zane gathered up his books to go pay for them. "That's  what I said when my dick got hard every time I looked at Lara."

Zane made his way to the checkout, but his brothers trailed closely  behind him. "Lara is the best thing that ever happened to you," Zane  answered gruffly, knowing he'd give anything to have what Tate had: a  woman who loved him even with all of his faults.

Tate shrugged. "I'd never deny that." His voice was unwavering. "But it can be hell before the honeymoon starts."