The CEO's Seduction (A Hamilton Family 1)

“I’ll kill you.” Chris growled from on top of Brett on the ground, raising a big fist. “You promised me.”

Brett groaned and then said, “All right. Do your best.”

And Anna screamed as Chris did just that.

Chapter Eighteen

One second, Brett was kissing Anna, and his world was looking like it might not be so fucking bad…and the next he was on the ground about to get his ass kicked. Anna screamed from behind him, but Chris didn’t hesitate or even flinch.

He raised his fist, growling, and it descended way too damn fast.

“Christopher, no!” Anna jumped on Chris’s back and hung on. “Get off of him.”

Ignoring her completely, Chris slammed his fist down. With unconscious reflexes, Brett moved his head to the side. Chris’s fist hit the grass next to his head, sinking in the soft soil. He blinked, knowing he had barely escaped getting his nose broken with that punch. Anna covered Chris’s eyes with both hands, locking eyes with Brett, her own wide.

“Anna, get off me,” Christopher snapped, reaching up to rip her hands off his face.

“No.” Anna clung to Christopher as tightly as she could. “Make me.”

Even though he was seconds from getting a broken nose…he couldn’t help but watch with amusement. “Anna…”

Chris glowered at him. “What the hell are you smiling about?”

Funny.

Brett didn’t even realize he was smiling.

“Anna,” he said simply. “I’m smiling because of Anna.”

Chris gave him a dirty look, stood up, peeled her off his back, set her on the ground, and hauled Brett to his feet by his tux jacket. Brett held his hands up and stopped smiling. “Let me explain. This isn’t what it looks like.”

“Oh, so you didn’t have your tongue down my sister’s throat?”

He winced. “Okay, it’s a little bit what it looks like.”

Christopher yanked Brett closer, but he still didn’t push away or break free. “You promised me you’d never touch her. You even agreed with me a couple of days ago that the two of you would never work. Why? Why did you break your promise to me? Why did you betray me?”

Guilt—old, unwelcome guilt—crept into his heart, shadowing his happiness. “I-I’m sorry. But I couldn’t keep that promise anymore.”

“Sorry?” Chris let out a harsh laugh and shoved Brett backward. “Is that all you have? That’s the best you got? ‘Sorry I used your sister for a quick lay, but it’s okay, right? I said I’m sorry.’”

Anna gasped, and rage took over guilt within seconds.

He took a step in Chris’s direction, his fists tight and blood pounding with fury. He pointed a finger at the man who had been his best friend his whole fucking life. “If you ever, ever say anything like that about her again, I’ll forget all the years of friendship we shared, and I’ll fucking rip you apart, limb by limb, and make you watch the whole damn thing. Say what you want about me. But not her. Never her.”

Chris ran a hand down his face and looked at Anna, his shoulders drooping with what better have been shame. “I’m sorry. That came out wrong. I didn’t mean—”

Anna forced a smile. “I know. Don’t worry about it.”

“I am worried about it.” Brett stepped in front of Anna. “I’m not using her for sex, you fucking idiot. I wouldn’t do that to her, or you.”

Christopher deflated a little bit, his shoulders drooping even more. “Then why are you with her? Do you have feelings for her?”

“Christopher,” she snarled, her hands rolling into fists at her sides. Brett wrapped his arm over Anna’s shoulders, more to hold her in place than anything else. “Don’t you dare answer that question for him. Contrary to what he thinks, it’s none of his business.”

Brett smiled down at her, his heart swelling. “Looks like I’m not telling you any of that. Sorry, but I’ve gotta listen to my little lady on this one.”

“Since when?” Chris asked, his voice aghast, but no longer looking quite so ready to kick Brett’s ass. That was a step in the right direction. “And since when is she yours?”

“Since I first kissed her. Since I wanted to make her happy.” He took a deep breath, locked gazes with the other man. “I wouldn’t risk ruining everything we have for a night of stupidity, if you get what I’m saying.”

Christopher relaxed visibly, getting his silent message. “I hear you loud and clear, man.”

“Wait a second.” Anna looked back and forth between them. “Was that some sort of secret code?”