by Nana Malone
Get it together.
I had to get my mind right and never touch her again.
When I backed away from temptation, she narrowed her gaze at me. "You didn’t have to do that.”
Oh, she thought I’d done that for that asshole’s benefit? Sure, we’d go with that. I shrugged. “Well, he was being an asshole. I’d have done it for anyone. But it helps the narrative that you’ve moved on.”
She didn’t look like she quite believed me. “You are different than I expected."
“How’s that?” Another reminder that I was failing at rule number three.
"I don't know. There's something off about you. You're nicer than I thought."
I chose to ignore that and led her to the private elevator that would take us to the penthouse. "Come on, let's go."
"So, where exactly will I be staying?" she asked me.
"In the penthouse with me. Where else?"
"And is there a bedroom close by yours? I need to know the lay of the land, how accessible your room is, those kinds of things."
I wasn’t sure why I was annoyed that she wasn't worried about me but rather about my safety. "Yes, there's a bedroom right next to mine. But you'll be staying with me."
She stopped short, forcing poor Tim to practically run into her back. "Excuse me? Exactly how did you think this was going to work?"
I stopped in the middle of the lobby. "You stay with me, cover my ass, and make sure I don’t get dead. How hard is that?"
Zia crossed her arms over her chest and stared at me. I swear to God it took all my efforts to not look down. I nearly congratulated myself that I was so strong.
"I'm not sleeping with you."
I frowned down at her. "What?" As much as I wished touching her was in the cards, I wasn’t an idiot. I wasn’t going there. She thought I was someone else.
"Your reputation precedes you."
"Let me make it real clear for you, I prefer my women willing and less harpy-like, so you're safe. I have zero intention of sleeping with you."
"But you still expect me to actually share your bedroom?"
I rolled my shoulders. "Look, I have staff. Lots of staff, and I'm not sure which of them I can trust. The last thing I need is for one of them to make a comment to the press or to anyone on the board before our acquisition of Inline. I need utmost secrecy. Either you can do this, or you can't. I won’t put a hand on you. If you can't see this through, I'll call Ariel and get someone who can."
She pursed her lips. I could see it. She didn't like not meeting a challenge. But she was suspicious. And I'd have to watch her, because if I wasn't careful, then she would unravel this whole thing. "Are you satisfied? Can we get this show on the road?"
"You expect me to sleep in your bed?"
I rolled my eyes. "You’re a real a pain in the ass, you know that? I'll take the couch; you can have the bed."
"Oh, be still my heart. Chivalry isn't dead."
I couldn't help it. A smile tugged at my lips. But I battened down the hatches because I didn't think Derrick would be the kind to laugh at that. I had seen him as the broody, asshole billionaire. I could pull that off, sort of. I just had to think about doing the exact opposite of what I would do and do that instead.
"Now if you're done being a brat, can we go upstairs?"
I led the way to the private elevator and showed her the key lock, fingerprint scanner, and her badge. She would need all three to get in. I didn't think it would be a problem.
"Do you have a gun safe?" She asked as we stepped into the elevator.
I blinked down at her. "A what?"
"A gun safe. If you have staff that lives there, I'm going to need to keep things secure but accessible."
"No, I don't have a gun safe, but I do have a regular safe in the office.”
“Do you have one in the bedroom?"
I had no idea. I hadn't gone exploring. I had access to the safe in the office because Derrick told me there was cash in there, but I wasn't sure about the bedroom. And I certainly couldn't go looking now with her there. "How about I have one installed? Will that suffice?"
She gave me a brisk nod, and then the elevator rocketed us up to the penthouse. When we stepped out, she gasped at the view from the glass walls that surrounded us, taking in the magnificent vistas of the island. "Jesus Christ, you can see Princess Island from here."
I nodded. "Yeah. It stunned me the first time I saw it too."
She lifted a brow. "I'm sorry, but didn't you grow up in the big mansion on Knob Hill? This view must be nothing to you."
I nodded. Derrick had grown up there. She was right.
She took it all in, and I let her know that Tim would bring up her bag later. I wanted to get her settled as quickly as possible. As we stepped out onto the marble floor, I could tell that she was taking it all in. The expensive glass, chrome, steel, the artwork on the walls...
Take it all in, none of it is mine.
"This is… wow."
I shrugged. "Yeah, I guess."
"You're so cavalier. God, I feel like if I lived here, I would be staring at my artwork every day."
"You get to a point where you sometimes don't notice the things that matter.”
"Isn't that a shame," she muttered.
I led the way down to the master bedroom, so she would at least know where she'd be staying. When I opened the door, she coughed. "Jesus. This is bigger than my old flat."
It was huge. The bed was massive. There were two bathrooms too.
"Okay, bed’s yours. I'll take the couch."
She marched over and put her shoulder bag down next to it. “The bed is wasted on me.” She eyed me up and down. “You’re huge. You need the bed.”
I rolled my eyes. I took the bag and planted it near the bed.
She shook her head. "No, I'll take the couch."
"I'm not so much of a dick that I'm willing to take the bed while you tuck yourself on that couch."
She narrowed her gaze and cocked her head. The move sent a shot straight to my dick. "I do dig the chivalry, I really do. That's cute. But I’m rational, and you’re being ridiculous." She laughed. “And seriously, you want me between you and the door, so it’s really the best place for me to be.”
"Are you always this stubborn?"
"Yes. You should know that. Though, you're even more stubborn than I am."
"Oh boy, I get the feeling this is going to be a very long couple of weeks."
'Probably. Hope you're ready."
"At this point, I don't really have a choice. We're stuck with each other."
"When you say it like that, it sounds like you're not looking forward to it."
My body, despite my mind overruling it, wanted to scream out, 'Oh, we're looking forward to this all right.'
Seven
Zia…
I honestly didn't think I'd be able to sleep. But the moment my head hit the pillow it was lights out. It wasn't until morning that I realized Derrick was deadly serious about his live-in staff.
My ears registered movements in the hallway first. Subconsciously, I palmed my gun under my pillow without even thinking about it. I would need to get used to this new arrangement because I couldn't have myself caught off guard and accidentally shoot the man I was meant to protect.
When I realized that the footsteps were coming closer and accompanied by a whirling hum, I launched myself out of bed.
I dragged the pillow, sheets, and blanket with me to the empty side of the bed. I tossed them in a closet and dove into the bed. Derrick woke the moment I landed, and he rolled me until I was under him.
His eyes were sleepy. “What’s wrong?” he croaked, his voice still heavy with sleep.
“Someone’s coming,” I whispered back.
His rock-hard muscle surrounded me, trapping me. His scent hit me first, and I breathed deep. A delicious musky, woodsy scent. God, why did he smell so damn good? And not for nothing, Mr. Billionaire, wasn't soft. He was no paper pusher. He was all firm mu
scle and quick reflexes.
A low growl registered from deep in his chest, and I sucked in a sharp breath. The spike of heat pierced me low in my belly. I didn't have time to react. I didn't have time to ring all the what-the-fuck alarms. I had nanoseconds.
Like it or not someone was coming through the door at any moment, so I had to sell it. I looped my arms around his neck, pulled him down close.
For a moment, he held himself perfectly still.
Frozen.
But then he his gaze narrowed and dipped to my lips. Then with a low growl, he slanted his lips over mine, giving me the kind of kiss I’d read about in books.
Derrick shoved his hand in my hair and angled my head, his lips claiming me with each tongue stroke. And I. Was. Lost.
I arched into his chest, unfortunately bringing my hips in direct contact with his early morning wood.
We both hissed. He groaned a curse. Mine was more of a whimpering moan. I knew what words were, I just couldn’t find any in the moment.
God, get yourself together, Barnes.
With a muffled groan, he slid a hand under me, cupped my ass, then shifted me just right so that his dick nestled against my cleft. Electric heat lit me up from the inside. Each roll of his hips delicious and forbidden in a way that made dry humping so fun as a teenager.
I didn’t mean to arch into him. I really didn’t. But the man was pure sin with his mouth. And I didn't mean to tug his hair. Because if I’d known about the intense heat that would pulse at my core once I did that, I’d have never considered it. If I’d known his hips would rock into mine, teasing me enough to give me vivid dreams for weeks about his skill in the sack, I would have stayed on the couch.
But it was too late for such things. Because now I knew. And knowing wasn’t even half the battle. It was only the beginning of the war I’d have to wage with myself for the rest of the time I’d guard him.
In that moment, time stood still. It could have been hours I spent kissing him or seconds. However long it was, we were eventually interrupted.
Someone walked in and tut-tutted around, speaking in a language I didn't understand. It sounded Eastern European. She went to the blackout window control and pushed it.
Derrick groaned as he ripped his lips from mine. "Elena. A little privacy, please."
She wasn’t even phased. “Oh, you’re still in bed? At this hour?”
Derrick's voice was deep. Growly. “I’m not alone.”
She glanced over to the bed but didn’t pause her movements.
“Zia, Elena. Elena, this is Zia. She's my girlfriend."
Elena eyed me up and down. I could tell from her silence that she found me lacking. "Tsk. You did not tell me we'd have a guest. I'm not prepared. I don't have enough breakfast."
Derrick sighed. "Elena, there's more than enough food. Just tell Chef—"
"You tell Chef. You wake up and go and tell him."
"Christ, do I work for you, or do you work for me?"
She pointed a finger at him. "You watch your tone with me. I raised you."
He rolled off me with a grumble. "Yes, a fact of which you remind me dozens of times a day, it seems."
I’d expected him to go full billionaire-crazy at her lack of respect, but he didn't. He almost... indulged her?
"Elena, please do me the favor and tell Chef we have an additional person for breakfast and she'll be staying awhile."
Elena's brows drew up as she eyed me again. And this time it was like she was really seeing me, not just as the flavor of the night like she’d thought a moment ago. But as a prospect? A threat?
Even as I clutched the sheet to myself, she tsked. "You know you'll hold on to a man better with lingerie, not flannel."
My jaw unhinged. I slid my gaze over to Derrick who rolled over and laughed into the pillow. "She's not wrong," he chortled.
"If I were you, I would shut up," I sniffed. My flannel bottoms had kept me cozy. He could suck it.
He can suck other things too.
No. Hell no. Never mind the tingle in my lips. Or the heat still pulsing in pinpoints over my clit. Those things were just chemistry magnified because no one had kissed me in a while. Oh yeah, what about the nuzzling downstairs?
Whatever the fuck that was. Okay fine, that had momentarily stunned me, but he was a good kisser. So what? That changed nothing.
He shrugged, but his shoulders kept shaking because he was laughing at me.
Elena stood in front of us. "Bring your things. I'll iron and hang them." She had zero qualms that I was in bed with her boss. She was like somebody’s mom with no filter and who had never had any fucks to give to begin with.
"Oh, that's not necessary. I can iron and hang my own things."
She lifted a brow. "Bring your things, I said."
No way was I letting her shuffle through my things. I gave her a sweet smile. At least that’s the smile I was going for. "Okay, let me guess, you're used to doing everything around here?"
She gave me a brisk nod. "Yes. Your things I hang and clean. If you're staying and you're good for my boy, then I'll be good for you."
Her boy? Derrick was a full-grown man. Why did he need looking after? And this woman was intrusive. We could have been having sex in here for God’s sake.
You wish.
No, I don’t.
Oh yes, you do.
"Look, I, uh, don't need looking after. Honestly, I can take care of myself. I'll handle my own things."
She crossed her arms and stood there as if waiting for something. For Christ’s sake, I could be naked from the waist down, and Derrick was in just boxers. And she was pulling a battle axe routine? "Okay, how about we compromise? I will lay out the things that I might need laundered, dry cleaned, or ironed. Does that work? I'll do it after I officially wake up."
She gave me another brisk nod and marched out the door. Derrick, the moron, was still laughing when the door clicked behind her. “I did try to warn you about the staff.”
“I feel like you could have been more forthcoming with that information. She isn’t just a live-in staff member. She’s a full-time mommy.”
”She has devised all manner of ways to get me the hell out of bed."
I glanced at the clock. A quarter to six. "Jesus Christ, the ocean isn’t even awake yet."
"Tell me about it," he grumbled.
"And what if you were busy in here?"
He pulled the pillow down and slid his sleepy, hooded gaze over my body. The warmth crept in through the center of my chest and spread out, making my extremities tingle. "Well, then I would have locked the door with a deadbolt. Since that would have been a fire hazard when we were sleeping, I didn't want to do that. But if I really want her kept out, I can do that."
"Oh, okay. Well, that's good to know. You obviously won't be needing a deadbolt."
A smirk tilted his lips. "Of course not. Like I said, willing and not prickly. You fit none of those criteria."
She rolled her eyes. "Whatever. I’m going to get ready."
“Oh, and Zia, next time you want a kiss, all you have to do is ask nicely.
Arrogant ass. I gave him a barking laugh and sweet, sweet dimples. I knew the effects of my dimples. "You are so full of yourself. It's never going to happen. We can put money on that."
He shrugged. "Okay. We'll see. See you in a few, sweet cheeks."
"If you call me sweet cheeks again, I'll shoot you."
Very deliberately, he gave me a smirk. "Sweet cheeks!" And then I turned and walked away. I could practically feel his glare on my back.
God, why was this the most fun I'd had in months?
Theo…
This was a mistake. All of this was a huge bloody mistake. My first mistake had been taking the gig, but hey, where the hell else was I going to get two million dollars?
The next mistake had been leaving the wedding reception. If I’d stayed put, and hadn’t been so concerned with exposure, nothing would have happened.
They might have hurt
your mother.
That had been the real risk. They’d played on my fear. Which meant they knew enough about me to be dangerous. Just thinking about that threat made my hands curl into fists. But I’d talked to her, and she wasn’t even home.
If I’d stayed put, I never would have run into Zia or the king, and I wouldn’t currently have the sexiest woman I’d ever seen sleeping mere feet from me and posing as my girlfriend. She wouldn’t be driving me mad or making me conjure fantasies about that little moaning sound she made. I wouldn’t have grabbed her ass and instantly become obsessed with squeezing it, biting it, spanking it, licking it. Worse, I wouldn’t have been forced to ride into the office with her this morning while she primly sat with her tan trench coat knotted tight, concealing the deceptively prim white dress she was wearing.
The thing came to her knees and had sleeves, but it was the way it draped and shifted when she moved that made it so incredibly sexy. She’d come out of the bathroom wearing it this morning, and I’d just about swallowed my tongue. Then she’d covered my wet dream come to life with her coat and hadn’t removed it right away when we’d come in.
Not that I gave a shit. It was her dress, and she could wear what she wanted.
Except if she brushes against you one more time, you're going to take your ass fantasy a step further.
Fuuuck. I needed to stop. Just stop. Should be easy. I didn’t even know her, and she sure as shit wasn’t a fan of me.
Oh yeah, those sounds this morning were her protestations.
My dick swelled in tacit agreement with my ticked-off libido. She’d jumped into bed, and I’d simply responded. I couldn't be held responsible for the monster erection that refused to go away. This was all her fault.
Uh-huh.
There was a knock at my door, and I barked out, "What?"
Zia appeared in the doorway, hand on her hip, framing her lithe form, and I nearly growled with the feral need to tear that fucking dress off. It hugged her curves, and the white color kissed her bronze skin. The material skimmed everywhere it should. Enticing. Teasing. All I knew was I wanted to rip that thing off with my teeth.
"Kyle Winters is here."