Page 55 of Protected By My Playboy Billionaire

“You could have killed him,” I seethe.

But Adrian merely smirksin response.

“And you may have ended his chance of having kids,” he says, his tone tinged with a hint of amusement as he starts the engine and pulls away from the curb, leaving the rainy alley behind us as we head back to his penthouse.

Chapter twenty-three

~ADRIAN~

Elana doesn’t say anything on our way back. I don’t either. I know better than to explain myself while she’s drenched, shivering, and hurt. I need to get her home, dry and warm. My mind races as I drive back to my building. There’s so much I want to say to her, but the glare she shoots my way tells me to keep quiet for now.

That piece of shit. I should have taken better care of him. Apparently, cutting his father off and pulling some strings to get him kicked out of college only added fuel to the fire. I’m not worried about him pressing charges against me. He would have to explain what he was doing that got his sorry ass beat, and I’msure his version of the story would clash with ours. No, even he’s not dumb enough to go to the police, and I’m sure Mac can handle the paramedics.

“I need to go shower,” Elana announces the second we step out of the elevator and into the penthouse.

“First, you’ll listen to what I have to say.” I gently grab her elbow and pull her back.

“I don’t want to listen to anything you have to say.” She shrugs out of my fingers and turns to face me. “You kissed her!” she raises her voice. I’ve never seen her this furious, this hurt.

“She kissed me.”

“As if that makes a difference.” She shakes her head in disbelief. She doesn’t have the full picture.

“I’m assuming you didn’t stay long enough to see me push her away.” I keep my voice steady. I don’t blame her for the anger. I don’t blame her for lashing out. God knows what I would have done had I seen another man kissing her. I just need her to hear me out. She looks at me, unconvinced. “Elana, Victoria and I have never had that kind of relationship and never will. She came here uninvited, started talking bullshit, andkissed me, so I threw her out.”

“And I assume I have to believe you.” There’s hurt in her eyes. No defiance, no hatred, just hurt and anger.

“I fired her,” I state dryly.

“You fired her?” Elana widens her eyes—finally, something other than anger.

“I did.” I nod and step closer to her, my wet clothes clinging to my body. “It was a long time coming, and I should have done it sooner. But she crossed the line when she assumed she could interfere in my personal life… our life.”

I take another step towards her and take her hands in mine, relieved when she doesn’t step away. God, she’s freezing.

“It’s only you, little duck.” I plant two kisses on each hand. “It’s been you from the moment I saw you in that cafe. Everything I told you, every goddamn word, is true. When I realized you’d left, when I couldn’t find you anywhere outside—” I close my eyes and shake my head. “I was so scared. I knew you were somewhere out there alone. And I was so afraid, so fucking powerless.” My voice is barely abovea whisper.

“I was afraid, too,” Elana murmurs. “How did you find me?” Her eyes soften, and she squeezes her hands around my thumbs.

“How many times do we have to go over this? I have the habit of being everywhere, especially when it comes to you.” My lips curl up, and I see a small smile playing on her lips as well. Thank fuck. “Everywhere you go, I go.”

To my surprise, she rises on her tiptoes and kisses me, soft and sweet. I let go of one of her hands and cup the back of her neck.

“Thank you for finding me,” she says against my lips, and I smile against hers. Thank you for finding me.

“Let’s get you warmed up,” I say after pulling away from her.

I take her hand and lead her upstairs to my bedroom. I flick the lights on and step inside with her, hand in hand.

“I’ve never been in your room.” She looks around, taking it in. Her eyes land on the books on my nightstand. “You like reading?” She rushes over to them to take a closer look.

“I have a library,” I remind her with a wink. “I’ve always loved reading. My grandparents had a small library of their own. It was my favorite place in the house.Treasure Islandis what got me into reading, and despite having little money, they would try to buy me a new book each week.” I’ve never told anybody but Ethan this—never felt the need to tell anybody else.

“So, where are your parents, Ethan n?” She turns to me, holding one of the books.

“I—” I blink at her. “I don’t have any. They passed away when I was a baby, so my grandparents raised me.”

“Adrian, I’m so sorry.” Elana looks at me, devastation written all over her face.