The Last Ceo’s Deal

Christine Pov.

The sleep that I never got last night comes to me as soon as Fanuel leaves the room. He has changed into black jeans and a tight black T-shirt and I almost changed my mind about accompanying him at the last minute. I know the beach will be flooded with people and I hope against hope that I won’t show him just how jealous I am when he is with girls out there.

It’s just a pity that he is too handsome to be ignored.

I text Laurel and Diana before I drift to sleep, letting them know that I’m still breathing.

*****

I walk up the stairs carrying my heavy rucksack full of books and a few students grin at me. It must be easy to tell that I’m a freshman in college since I’m pretty sure that I look nervous and I have all those bags with me.

My step dad is a few steps behind me tugging the rest of my luggage along and I huff as I take the last flight of stairs.

My mum should have brought me to school herself. She forces me to accept Webb as my father and it’s simply never going to happen.

I have this weird feeling about him that just won’t go away no matter how hard I try. I just can’t like him.

As soon as I walk inside my new dorm, he is over me. He kicks the door shut then pins me against the wall, whispering obscenities in my ear and pulling my clothes apart.

“Webb….”

“Hush. If you relax then I won’t hurt you.” He says with laboured breath, his hands groping my breasts.

“Stop. You are hurting me.” I whimper helplessly and he gets more excited if anything.

I gasp when he throws me on the bed then scream in pain when he forces himself inside me, tearing my hymen ruthlessly.

“Christine?” His voice sounds different.. Familiar and I desperately try to push him off me.

“Christine, open your eyes.” He is shaking me, pulling me into his arms..

He is going to hurt me.

I recoil from his touch but his grip is tight around me.

“Open your eyes, okay? It’s me.”

Wait.. that’s not Webb’s voice.

I struggle to open my eyes and I come face to face with a broad naked chest. I gulp in fear and I start to fight, pushing him off me. However, not even once does let his hold on me slacken.

“It’s me, okay? I’m not going to hurt you.”

Fanuel.

It’s Fanuel; my symbol of security and protection. The man I married because I believed that I’m untouchable around him.

I throw my arms around him and I crush him against me. My heart is racing from the nightmare and my grip on him must be painful. He holds me tightly while rocking me like a baby.

He doesn’t let me go even though I know that we’ve probably been lying there for a while.

Finally, I am able to breath normally and I loosen my hold on him. I lift my head from his shoulder, keeping my eyes closed.

I’m weak and dependent; again the exact opposite of what Fanuel wants in a wife.

“You can release me now.” I say in a whisper. I’m not sure why I’m whispering. Maybe it’s because he found me screaming my heart out from a silly nightmare that makes me feel like a weakling.

He takes his arms from around me and I open my eyes, realizing that lights are blazing in the room.

It must be night already.

I’m lying across the bed and Fanuel is right next to me. He props himself on one elbow and scrutinizes me.

“How are you feeling?” He asks quietly.

“Fine.”

“How are you really feeling Christine?”

I take in a deep breath. “Like shit.”

He looks at me silently for a long while before he slips out of bed. I follow him with my eyes as he takes his T-shirt from the couch where he had draped it. He is wearing sweatpants and his hair is wet. I guess he just stepped out of the shower.

“When did you come back?” I ask, trying to distract myself. I don’t want him to notice that I’m staring at his chest and abs.

That chest; damn.

“An hour ago.” He replies while slipping the shirt over his head. “I ordered room service.”

“Thank you. I’ll take a shower first. You go ahead and start eating.”

He lifts an eyebrow and I ignore him as I climb out of bed. Our clothes are arranged neatly in the closet and I assume someone did that while I slept. I look at the clothes Laurel bought for me and shake my head.

She’s not serious.

Nothing makes sense in there. It’s a mass of silk and satin and there’s no way I’m wearing that. The rest are two pairs of jeans and tops. I can’t wear that to bed, can I now?. I run my fingers over a particular silk chemise and my cheeks grow warm. I’m sure they’re fifty shades of red.

I can’t imagine Fanuel seeing me in that. It wouldn’t even cover the essentials.

“You don’t like the stuff your friend bought you?” Fanuel’s voice reminds me that I’m not alone in the room. I quickly place the silky piece of shit back.

“It’s too much.”

“I figured out as much. She was planning the perfect outfits for a romantic honeymoon at the beach so you can’t blame her. How about we go shopping tomorrow?”

“They have malls on the island?”

He shakes his head. “We’ll have to fly back to the city.”

“Too much hustle. Just let it go. I’ll manage.”

“Don’t be stubborn Christine. What are you going to wear to bed?”

“I think I’ll just sleep in this dress.”

“Oh no you won’t. It’s too tight and you might suffocate in that.” He pulls his T-shirt over his head and tosses it to me. “Wear that. It’s less clingy.”Text property © Nôvel(D)ra/ma.Org.

I swallow dryly and gulp. Did he just offer his T-shirt? Okay, he is a new Fanuel, not the same guy who was threatening my family and beat me up to crap.

I’m tempted to toss it back to him but I really have nothing to sleep in.

“What are you going to wear?’

He chuckles. “Don’t worry about me. I don’t even need it. I only wore it because you freaked out when you woke up and noticed that I was bare chested. I didn’t mean to make you uncomfortable.”

I nod. Fanuel is bipolar, I guess. His moods shifts in a second. I wonder why he is being so sweet at the moment.

I grab the T-shirt and a random set of lingerie then disappear into the bathroom.

The T-shirt reaches mid thigh and it carries that sweet natural scent that is simply Fanuel. It’s too big for me but it doesn’t matter. I run a comb through my hair after a quick shower. I didn’t dare wet my hair since I don’t want to spend an hour drying it.

Fanuel moves his eyes up and down my body when I walk in. I’m aware that half of my thighs are exposed but there’s nothing I can do about it. I sit on the sofa beside him and I’m glad when he doesn’t comment on my state of undress.

He pushes a plate of some exotic food dripping with ketchup towards me and I eat slowly, barely feeling the taste. I am too preoccupied. Fanuel and I are not talking much since the nightmare saga and I convince myself that I won’t feel guilty for that.

It’s not my fault that he had to play Knight in shining armor.

Halfway through my food, I can’t eat anymore. I push the plate away then make it stand up. Fanuel pulls me back down before I take a step.

“You’re so quiet for once. Are you okay?” He asks, genuine concern creasing his handsome face.

“I thought my talking made your head ache.”

“It honestly does. Now, I believe I asked a question. Are you okay?”

“I’ll be fine once I lie down.”

“Tell me about your nightmare.”

“What did you hear?”

“You were calling Webb, asking him to stop hurting you.” He gazes at me, his face devoid of emotions. Did your dad hurt you in your dreams?”

“Let it go.”

“You are my wife, remember? I’m supposed to make sure that you are fine.. to protect you. To kill anyone that tries to hurt you.”

Something in my heart melts. I chuckled really hard, I definitely married the right guy, his blackmail notwithstanding.

“You can’t help with this Fanuel. It’s beyond you, did you just say you will hurt my dad?”

“That’s not exactly what I meant, I was just stressing that fact to anyone.”

“Don’t bore yourself with an unnecessary nightmare of mine.”

“How about you let me be the judge of that?”

I sigh deeply. “Not tonight. I don’t want to relive those memories right now.”

He shrugs. “If that makes you feel better then fine. Go to bed.”

I stand up gratefully. I’m really glad he didn’t push it. “Goodnight Fanuel”

“Goodnight wifey.”

I roll my eyes.

“And Fanuel?”

“Yeah?’

“Please leave the lights on.”

He frowns briefly before replying.

“Sure.”