Claimed by the CEO & His Brother

Epilogue

One Year Later

Bryan POV

My knuckles gently knocked on the door to get Danielle's attention. She had been locked in our bedroom for the last 30 minutes and she had me worried.

"Danielle, if you don't hurry we're going to be late. You told me you wanted to be the first in court to hear the sentencing. Now we'll be lucky if we even make it on time," I tried to push her along.

"Just a minute honey B," she nervously told me as I winced at the nickname. That was the one she had finally chosen after much brainstorming and deliberation. I wasn't particularly fond of it since it was so close to the "honey bunch" nickname Angie gave Herschel, but I had shown mercy on her. She was growing more and more frustrated each time she came up with a nickname I disliked.

As I had imagined during this trial Brett had his lawyer try everything he could to taint Danielle's character and discredit her account of her kidnapping. If I didn't before the trial I certainly did hate my brother now. Victim shaming was the way a spineless man explained his actions. Danielle had done nothing to warrant Brett's advances but that didn't stop him from pursuing and harassing her.

Regardless of these tactics my angel kept calm throughout the cross examination. Brett's lawyer eventually realized his client was not getting out of this without being found guilty when Brett's men began selling him out.

I was so proud of her. She had grown so much this past year. Instead of crumbling under the immense pressure of this trial she stood tall and kept her composure. Danielle said that it was all because of me and the therapy sessions she attended. While that may be partly true I knew it was mainly because her great strength was already a part of her.

"Alright baby. Do you need any help in there?" I stood leaning toward the door so she could hear me.

She swung the door open while answering, "No I'm ready." Her hands brushed against imaginary lint on her dress as she looked up at me anxiously. She wore a simple long sleeved black dress that went down to her knees. It was modest but at the same time it did nothing to hide the sensual curves of her body. Her hair was loosely pinned back at the nape of her neck with a few curly tendrils escaping the style.

"You look perfect," I assured her. Then I bent down to press a kiss to her lightly lipstick tainted lips. What was meant to be a quick kiss easily turned into a heated one. Her arms wrapped around my neck and a small moan left her. That little sound caused something inside of me to snap. My hands tightly gripped her hips to bring her flush against my body. I devoured her lips until I felt her struggle against me. She pulled away panting for air.

Looking at her now swollen lips and her small hand pressed to her chest as if to slow her racing heart I couldn't help but smirk. Her flustered state after one of our kisses was something I would never grow tired of seeing.

"I know it's difficult for you to keep your hands off me but we'll have to finish this later. We really do have to go princess," I teased her while releasing her from my hold. My comment seemed to snap her out of her daze as she slapped my chest while calling me a jerk. There was the feisty woman I loved so dearly. Her out of character silent routine this morning had unnerved me. Usually she was chatting my ear off from the moment she woke up.

She now wore a small smile but her eyes still displayed her anxiousness. My lips quickly grazed her forehead before I reminded her, "The hard part is over baby. Now he gets what he deserves."