Battle for Love (Bachelor Billionaire #3) (20 page)

“
I
thought you weren't going to touch me,” he whispered brushing
his hand through her hair.

Julie
laughed as she slid her fingers down his chest. Their breathing
evened out as she melted into his arms with her head against his
chest. Lost in thought, she was surprised when he whispered.

“
I
don't want this to be it. I just wish you would talk to me.”

Ethan
woke to the sound of screaming.

“
No,
Jason. Please stop. Get away from me. Help!”

He
sat up, turned the light on, and looked at Julie. She was curled up
on the bed with sweat pouring down her face. She began yelling again.

“
No,
No, No. Let me go. Please, let me go.”

Ethan
felt his whole body tighten. It was her. That fucker hurt her. Ethan
touched her arm and called her name.

“
Julie,
wake up. It's okay. Everything's okay. Wake up.”

He
shook her, trying to wake her as she cried out in her sleep. He felt
so horrible watching her like that. Ethan grabbed her and pulled her
close to his chest.

“
Julie,
baby wake up. Everything's going to be okay. Please wake up.”

He
rubbed her back and held her against him, as he kissed her forehead.
She opened her eyes and looked up at him. He held her cheeks and
looked at her. Julie must have realized where she was, because she
pulled away from him and stumbled out of the bed. With tears running
down her face, she ran into his bathroom and closed the door.

“
Open
the door.”

“
I
need to be alone. You should have taken me home earlier. I need to go
home,” she said between sobs.

“
Julie,
I need you to open the door. It's just me. I need to see you. I need
to know that you're okay.”

“
I'm
fine. I need to go. This is so embarrassing. I can't believe that
just happened. I can't talk about this with you.”

“
Open
the door. I need you in my arms right now. Do you hear me?” he
demanded.

He
heard the door unlock. When he opened the door, she was sitting on
the floor with her arms around her legs. Ethan was so pissed. He was
going to find out who that guy was and make sure she had nothing to
fear again. What the hell did he do to her? Ethan bent down and
scooped her into his arms. He walked them back to the bed and sat
down with her curled against him, as she sobbed into his chest. Ethan
could feel her entire body shaking. It broke his heart to watch her.

“
Julie,
I really need you to talk to me about this. What was that dream
about?” he asked.

“
I'm
not sure. It was a nightmare. I can't remember what it was.”

“
You
have no idea what it was about or who was in it?”

“
No,
I can't remember,” she said.

“
Why
do you lie to me? I know you are lying about the phone call and about
the dream. I just want to help you,” he said.

“
I
don't need any help. Everything is fine. I already told you about the
call.”

“
Okay,
you can keep lying to me. I promise you, I'm going to find out what
happened. I know someone hurt you. I will find out who it is and what
they did. They will never do it again. Do you hear me?” Ethan
said.

“
Please,
you have to drop it. I don't want you to get hurt. You have to leave
this alone. I care about you and all of our friends. I need you to
let this go for me and for you. You don't understand. I'm so
embarrassed.”

She
tried to pull away and get off of his lap, but he held her still.

“
You
are staying next to me for the rest of the night. Don't even think
about trying to take off. I can't believe you don't trust me enough
to talk to me. I told you so much about my life, but you won't let me
into yours. I just don't get it. I won't tell Gavin anything. I just
want to keep you safe.”

He
pulled her up the bed with him. She leaned back and put her head on
the pillow. He got behind her and held her tight. Finally, she fell
back to sleep.

When
he woke up in the morning, she was still next to him. He kissed her
on the back of the neck and took in her scent.

“
Good
morning,” he whispered.

She
yawned and turned around to face him.

“
Good
morning,” she said. “I'm so tired. I want to stay in your
comfortable bed. I'll just take the Ferrari when I leave later.”

“
You
think so,” he said as he laughed. “I don't know about
that. You are more than welcome to stay. If you're staying in my bed,
then so am I.”

She
laughed as she wrapped her arms around him and kissed his cheek.

“
Did
you sleep well?” he asked.

“
I
did, but I'm still tired.”

He
realized that she didn't remember having the nightmare. How could she
forget that horrible dream when it scared the shit out of him?

They
both got ready and headed for the car. She had to be at work in two
hours, so he drove her home to change her clothes. Ethan walked her
to the door, waited for her to get ready, and walked her back out to
her car.

“
You
didn't have to stay for me to get ready for work,” she said.

“
I
just wanted to make sure you got off to work safely,” he said.

Ethan
hugged her and closed her car door. He watched as her car disappeared
from sight. Once he was at work, he called his brother to see if he
knew anymore about the Jason guy. John hadn't gotten any new
information. Ethan knew, after what he had witnessed during the
night, there was way more to the story. He knew Julie would be so mad
if she found out he was getting into her business. All that mattered
to him was her safety.

He
called a private investigator that was coming directly to his office.
Ethan called John and asked him to send him all of the information he
received. John asked him if he was sure he wanted to hire someone?
Did he really want to know that much about Julie's life?

He
knew that he had to find out what was going on. If something happened
to her, he would never forgive himself. Ethan gave everything to the
investigator. The information he had on the guy's record, the phone
number, and the description the florist had given him. He told the
guy he wanted everything he could possibly find on Jason. It was
tearing him up knowing there was nothing he could do yet to help her.

As
the days passed, he missed her more and more. Ethan was worried about
her and what could have been happening that he didn't know about. It
was so much more than that. He missed her being in his bed and
spending time with her. Ethan had never thought about a woman when he
wasn't with her. What was going on? Each day, he found himself trying
to find a reason to see her. She shot down every excuse he came up
with. Maybe she didn't miss him, he thought. If he could just see her
and know she was safe, he could stop thinking about her.

Josh
and Lisa planned dinner for Sunday. They invited everyone. She was
going to be having the baby soon, so Josh brought home food from one
of his restaurants. Lisa was relieved to not have to cook. Ethan sat
on a chair in the kitchen where Lisa and Becky were. They talked
about work and family. When Julie walked in, she looked surprised to
see him. He stood up to give her a hug and say hello and was
surprised by the tightness of her arms around him.

“
How
have you been?” she asked. “How's work?”

“
It's
going good. I've been okay, I guess,” he answered. “It's
nice to see you.”

Julie
walked over to hug Becky and Lisa. Ethan caught Lisa watching him.

“
I'm
going to go out with the guys. Do you girls need anything before I
leave?” he asked.

They
told him they were good. He noticed a sad look on Julie's face as he
turned to leave the room. Ethan wondered if she had heard any more
from Jason. She had her phone in the back pocket of her jeans, so he
wasn't sure he would be able to check it. He went into the living
room to hang with the guys. Julie came into the room to let them know
it was time to eat. Everyone sat down at the table and began eating.
Ethan noticed Gavin watching Julie the entire time.

“
Julie,
are you okay?” Gavin finally asked.

“
I'm
fine, why?” she said.

“
You
seem different today. You seem kind of sad. Did you and your man
argue or something?” he asked.

Ethan
felt his arms and chest tighten at the mention of her man.

“
I
just feel a little rough today. I didn't get much sleep last night.
There's nothing wrong,” she said. “Actually, if you guys
don't mind, I'm going to get going.”

“
At
least wait until we have dessert,” Lisa said. “Ethan, can
you come help me carry some stuff?”

“
Sure,
momma,” he said, as he followed behind her imitating her
pregnant walk.

“
I'll
kick your ass. Knock that crap off,” Lisa said, as they
disappeared into the kitchen.

Lisa
turned to face him.

“
Do
you have anything to do with her crummy mood?” she asked.

“
Me,
no. Why would I have anything to do with it?”

“
I
know something's going on with you two. She asked for your number.
You asked for her address. Don't think I missed the text flying back
and forth between the two of you at the shower. I don't know how
everyone else didn't see it.”

“
It's
not me. I haven't done anything wrong.”

“
Becky
told me you took a day off last week.”

“
Do
any of you have anything else to do but track my work days?” he
snapped. “I can't believe this. Gavin came over my house and
everything. Can't I take a day off if I want to?”

“
Can
you really blame us? You haven't taken a day off in years. Becky
thinks you have a girlfriend that you're hiding from us,” Lisa
said. “I told her there is no way any woman tied you down.”

“
I
haven't talked to Julie, if that's what you are insinuating. You see
I haven't messed with her today. This has nothing to do with me.
Maybe she's mad at her boyfriend.”

Ethan
grabbed the cake from Lisa's hands and walked back out of the
kitchen. He set it down on the table. Maybe if he messed with Julie,
Lisa would stop thinking he had anything to do with her mood. Becky
helped Lisa serve everyone a piece of cake. There was an unusual
silence at the table, and Ethan couldn't take it any longer.

“
So
Julie, how is Dr. Boring?” Ethan asked.

Her
eyes shot up to him a second before she kicked him under the table.

“
Don't
start your shit Ethan. He's doing fine. I would have brought him with
me so you could say hello, but he had to work today. I think he's
coming over after he gets off of work. I'm looking forward to it. I
need a back rub so bad. I could use a few other things as well,”
she said, as she rubbed her neck and shot him a dirty look.

Ethan
felt his blood boil. He was just trying to break the silence. Did she
really need to go there? Was she seriously starting with him? What
the fuck was she talking about him coming over after work? She had
avoided every attempt he made at trying to see her that week. Maybe
she really was seeing the doctor. He stared her in the eyes, but she
wasn't backing down.