[Bianca]
My mouth went dry as I took him in. Did I hear him right? He was well over six feet, which was a big deal for someone as tall as me. Jason was barely five foot nine. I could see over his head when we walked together. It always irked me. Honestly, many things did.
This was not the case with Cole. HE towered over ME.
"I like tall men. Why shouldn't I? I'm fucking tall for a girl," I muttered, grabbing onto the drink in front of me with both hands, afraid Cole would change his mind about letting me have it.
"Are you hitting on me, Miss Chase?" he continued to flirt coyly. Yup. Didn't mishear him. He was fed up with us not fucking too. The question was: could I throw caution the wind give us what we both wanted? "If I take the bait, will you go back to playing hard to get?"
"Depends. If I fuck you, will you stop trying to coerce me into making your stupid ad?" I spat out the first thing that came into my tipsy mind. Then I got up, raised my glass and made an even bigger spectacle of myself. "Brianna Chase is on vacation. I am available to fuck, not work," I announced to everyone who would listen.
In truth, I was horny out of my mind just thinking of him, long before he showed. Being near him again, inhaling his scent only made matters worse. Just a teeny, tiny part of me took joy in the prospect of fucking up Brianna's once in a lifetime gig as well. I was on a power trip, but fuck, it felt good to let go. Be unburdened. Put myself first. If he still wanted me tonight—
"Yeah baby. Bring that slutty pussy to big Shaun," said a male voice, moments before I felt a hand land on my ass.
The stares and whispers around me jumped in magnitude at the same time as I did. I yelped, shame washing over me. That was right. My fucking sister was the embarrassment, not me.
"Fuck Brianna, how much of a slut are you?" I screamed, bringing everything and everyone to a standstill around me as I spun around to face the man harassing me.
Strong, brawny arms steadied me as I was about to stumble into Shaun Banner. I knew the fucker well. He and Brianna hooked up a few times. That and my announcement that I wanted to be sexed up had earned me the pat on my ass. I knew it was my doing, but his touch made my skin crawl.
The music died down. I wanted to curl up in a hole and die. Some men bore the same disgusting leering looks on their faces as Shaun did. Shame filled me up anew. This time at my own behaviour.
I wasn't promiscuous or a whore. I couldn't fuck some random guy. It just wasn't me.
"I wouldn't mind reminding you," said Shaun, throwing me a dirty grin and a wink to boot.
This sent everyone into a fit of laughter. My breaths came in quickly. I was uncomfortable. Panicked. Fuck if I was going to let the likes of Shaun Banner get to me though.
"Are you okay? Do you know this asshole?" a concerned Cole asked, peering into my face with a deep-seated frown on his forehead, reminding me all of humanity didn't suck.
"God, you're beautiful. You'd be okay to bang," I told him, a goofy smile gracing my face.
"You really are trouble, aren't you? Remember you said that when this is over," said Cole, seeking Harmon out in the crowd.
Cole was behind me. I felt him drag my body towards his as he attempted to envelope me in his strong arms. Cole gave Harmon a nod and the assistant, flanked by some serious muscle, headed our way.
"She's drunk. So are you. Step back, Mr. Banner," Cole said, a cool, veiled threat lingering in his voice.
My body relaxed. I took a deep breath. My heart rate returned to normal. Cole's presence couldn't but embolden me. The asshole was the same as Shaun Banner. Both just wanted a lay and yet the man behind me made me feel safe. Desired. Sexy. Shaun just gave me the creeps.
"I totally get why women trip and fall into your bed," I mumbled, leaning back against Cole like we were lovers.
"You think you're too good for me because a billionaire looked your way? She's a lousy fuck, Mr. Hunter. Give the whore to me. You can do better," said Shaun, throwing his head back to laugh.
By then, Harmon and the two men at his side had Shaun surrounded. There was no threat in Shaun. Everything was okay.
The feeling of being cared for was so foreign to me that something inside me snapped. The crazy bitch that spent her whole life cleaning up her own messes took over.
When Shaun reached out to me a second time, Harmon grabbed onto his wrist.
"She's not interested. Nor are the last five women you harassed, Mr. Banner," said Harmon, the assistant taking an aggressive stance I didn't know he was capable of.
Blame it on the Sex On The Beach or the entitled look on Shaun's face. Maybe I just didn't know how to turn fight mode off. Before I knew it, I was leaping out of Cole's arms.
"You sick fuck," I screamed at Shaun.
The next moment, I had my hands on his shoulders and my knee was being shoved into his groin.
"You'll pay for that, bitch. Do you have any idea who I am?" Shaun groaned, struggling to grab onto his junk with one hand, the other still firmly in Harmon's grasp.
"You are the man that is about to face a sexual harassment lawsuit," Cole announced curtly.
"What are you talking about? I am the victim here. She is the one that assaulted me," Shaun whimpered, glaring daggers at me, then at Cole. "You will be hearing from my lawyer. Both of you."
"Nice shot, Miss Chase," said Harmon nonchalantly, unperturbed by Shaun's threat.
I was less self assured. My mind was reeling with the implications of being charged with assault on foreign soil while impersonating my sister.
"I hope you have a good one, because they'll be going up against my team of lawyers in the lawsuit. No one pulls this shit on my fucking island. Get him the fuck out of my sight," Cole responded coolly.
His response was met with applause. All I could do was stare with my mouth open as one of the men next to Harmon produced a pair of cuffs.
"Shaun Banner, you are under arrest for sexual misconduct. You have the right to remain silent. Anything you say can and will be used against you in a court of law," one of the men that came with Harmon started reading Shaun his Miranda rights.
"Why are there cops on your island?" I asked Cole with a gulp.
"There aren't, technically. This is just theatre. Look at them. They're eating this shit up," Cole said, chuckling like a mad man who thought he was the law, as he waved to the applauding and cheering crowd.
"What? What the fuck? Are you insane? Very real cops are going to question him. Impersonation of a cop is a crime. So is assault," I ranted, going into full blown panic mode.
"Harmon will handle it. He'll never make it to the cops," Cole said smugly.
"What if I wanted to press charges? Did you ever think of that?" I tossed at him, unable to stop talking now that I had gotten going.
"Don't bother. He'll never make it to a jail cell," said Cole, that same nonchalance in his voice as I heard in Harmon's earlier.
"What the fuck does that mean?" I asked way too loudly as my mind went to dark places.
Then I thought of Ryan Summers and how he said he took care of it. My head spiralled. Was Macy okay? Were either of the men that darkened Cole's doorstep and dared to inconvenience him, okay?
"It means you're safe, Miss Chase. Please accept my apologies once again," he said, leading me back to my chair.
"I need a fucking drink," I said, still looking at the billionaire like he was batshit crazy.
I didn't need more booze. My head was spinning. I was tipsy. What I needed was coffee. Rational Bianca had checked out though. I was about to get seriously wasted.
"Not here. I was promised sex for my gallantry, Miss Chase," he said smoothly, leaning in to peer into my eyes.
Was he fucking with me?
"Spend the night with me and I'll make the lingering rumours about the nudes disappear. Don't and I'll help Shaun Banner sue you for assault," he deadpanned, staring at my lips lustfully.
It was out of the frying pan and into the fire. He and Shaun weren't the same. He was an even bigger asshole.
"You're serious, aren't you?" I asked calmly, heart thudding in my chest.
My pulse sped up again. My body heated up. But this time I didn't panic.
Fucked up as it was, his indecent propostion was exciting. Thrilling. Even comforting. I wanted to go to bed with him tonight and get fucked silly. Besides, what choice did I really have? Inebriation mixed with two years of anticipation. My inhibitions disappeared. I was fucking Cole Hunter tonight.
"The boner in my pants isn't going to go away on its own, Miss Chase," he said, a twinkle of desire in his eye.
"Fine, but if you fuck me tonight, the ad is completely off the table. Hunter Industries will never work with Brianna Chase," I said, wetness pooling between my legs at the thought of screwing my sister over and having Cole between them.