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“Please, call me, Mr. Brava.” He responded firmly and narrowed his eyes at Daxon. “We should remain strictly professional, except when it comes to the finer things in life.”
Daxon simply nodded towards him as my stomach cringed and my throat tightened. I swallowed hard and knew Mr. Brava spoke of me. The very thought of that man’s hands on me made my skin crawl, and I knew Daxon couldn't care less. He’d walk me on the plank and feed me to this old shark in a matter of moments.
Paisley piped in and broke the awkwardness. “Speaking of business, what’s your role within the family business, Nicholas?”
Her eyes sparkled at him from across the table as she eyed him up and played with her hair. She paid no attention to her meal in front of her and only to this fine specimen before her. She wanted to move onto the last course and that was dessert.
“It’s simply helping with business ordeals and to entertain the ladies.” Nicholas flirtatiously said as he never broke eye contact with her and gave her a direct answer.
Paisley let out a giggle with a smirk of wonder and he lost her in his trance. Nicholas was playing his cards right, and she fell right into his passionate game. I knew that Paisley probably wouldn’t be alone this evening and she could use a little fun on this mini vacation.
The first course contained a fancy tossed salad with tomatoes, cucumber, diced carrots and herbs sprinkled on top. A delicate light dressing drizzled over the top of the crunchy lettuce leaves. Each bite filled my tastebuds, but I was ready for some fine wine. I reached for the closest wine bottle and wanted a taste of the red liquid.
“No, let me do the honor.” Michael insisted as his hand brushed mine and he took charge of the wine bottle. “Have a drink of the world’s finest wine. It’s exquisite, just like yourself.”
I immediately removed my hand from his unwanted touch and felt the need to run. This man was no gentleman and gave me the creeps. But this was business, and I was a strong woman.
I gave a soft laugh and took my wine glass as he poured me my liquid courage. “Let’s have a drink, shall we?”
I raised the drink towards my lips and took a sip. The smooth liquor ran down my throat with ease, and it was delicious. I didn’t stop at a sip and had the rest. I was going to need it for the next few hours. His strong advances frazzled my mind and not in a good way. The wine would be my guide to tame my nerves for the rest of this ordeal.
That was, until his hand touched my thigh.
He caressed his thumb against my bare flesh and worked his hand into my inner thigh. “Celeste, you’re quite the vibrant young woman and should be treated as such.”
I raised an eyebrow at him and knew this old creep would not stop here. My gaze wandered across the table to my fiancé, who didn’t even pay attention to Mr. Brava’s forward advances and my impatience grew. My heartbeat loudly in my ears and my eyes fell upon the next man in line, who definitely paid attention.
My future father-in-law.
Daxon raised an eyebrow towards me, and he knew exactly where Michael's hand had gone. He just sat there and watched. He didn’t speak a word as Mr. Brava’s hand went higher towards my most intimate area. Not a peep as my lips pressed together, and I held in my anger. This older man was about to get his throat punched for groping me inappropriately, and I wasn’t about to stand for it. But Daxon’s eyes were a stern warning not to fuck this up.
Without hesitation, I rose from my seat and held in my rage. “Excuse me while I use the restroom.”
I didn’t wait for a response or make eye contact with anyone and immediately left the table. My skin crawled with disgust at his inappropriate touch, and I wanted nothing to do with it. They would not use me as some pawn just to get to their treasure. If this business deal fell through, I didn’t care at this point. I was worth more than that.
I hurried down the stairwell and followed the way we came. It led me to the lowest level of the yacht and my breath heaved from my lungs with anger. Paisley's too taken by Nicholas to notice, my fiancé cared more about his meal and Daxon knew exactly what went on. But he didn’t even care enough to stop it and devoted himself to his damn business.
Well, screw him.
Suddenly, a hand wrapped around my wrist and spun me around. “Where are you off to in such a hurry, young lady?”
I glared down at Daxon’s hand and he let me go. “I excused myself for the ladies’ room.”
He pointed in the opposite direction. “Well, the restrooms would be at the back of the yacht. Not at the front.”
And I snapped at him. “Why do you care what I do? It’s no secret you hate me.”
“Hate is a strong word.” Daxon puffed out his chest and tapped his index finger against my lips. “It’s more that I loathe you, but I won’t have a pretty thing like you ruining my business deal.”
He removed his finger in time before I bit it off. “Well, get back to it.”
Daxon stepped closer towards me and it was the first time I noticed the top of his shirt was unbuttoned. His powerful chest muscles moved with each breath and the pulse in his throat pumped against his neck. His annoyance with me ran through his veins, and his powerful stance made me take a few steps back.
He bit his lower lip and his eyes ran down my body. “I can’t do that without you. Mr. Brava has taken quite an interest in you and your exquisite trance.”
He gave me chills, and I stepped back again, but held my head high. “Well, I’m not going back and you can’t make me.”
He came closer still, tilted his head to the side and narrowed his eyes. “Why do you always have to be such a brat?”
