by Lucy Darling
I drop my glass down on the table next to me. It isn't doing shit to calm me down, so what’s the point of having another? “Sir, I’m heading out.” Rita stands in the doorway to my office. I glance at the clock. It’s a little after nine.
“Is she still in her room?” I ask. She went there straight after dinner. Her cell phone was glued to her hand. Who the hell was she talking to? She was jittery about it, which put me on edge. What if it’s a guy? She hates men. She is scared of them. Maybe she’s over that now. It should make me happy if she’s beaten her fear of them, but I’m a bastard so I’m not.
“Yes.”
I nod, standing up. “See you tomorrow.”
Rita looks like she wants to say something else, but she doesn't. I wait until I know she’s gone before I exit my office. I make my way towards Tinsley’s room. I’m quiet as I listen to see if she’s awake or what she might be doing. No sounds come from her bedroom, but I can see the light on under the door. I take a step closer, standing there.
“Fuck.” I run my hand down my face, making myself get the hell out of here.
“I found this on its way in.” Rita stands there with James who has a shit eating grin on his face knowing I wouldn't have buzzed him in.
“I’m not taking guests tonight.”
“Fuck off.” James follows.
“See you boys later,” Rita calls after us.
“What are you doing here?” I head into the kitchen. James makes himself at home, grabbing a bottle of water out of the fridge.
“It’s early. Let’s go out.” He takes a swig of his water.
“No.”
“What is wrong with you? I swear you're becoming a bigger asshole each year.”
“And when wasn’t I an asshole?” I sit down at the counter wondering how long James is going to be here. He can be relentless. I’d throw him out on his ass, but he is my only cousin. Which made him a pain in my ass that I was pretty much stuck with.
“Good point. Each year I think you’re going to peak, but nope. You find another level to your assholery.”
“James, it’s late.”
“It’s nine,” he says dryly. It is only nine. Why didn't Tinsley ask if I wanted to watch a movie? She’s locked away in her room now.
“What do women do in their rooms?”
“Well, when they’re in my room—”
“Never mind.” I stand up. “It’s time to go.” I can’t have a serious conversation with James, obviously. He’s all talk. I’ve never seen him with a woman.
“I’m fucking with you. What do you mean? Are we specifically talking about pretty blondes with dimples?” I’m across the kitchen before he can finish his sentence. I grab James by the back of the neck, dragging him out of the kitchen toward the front door.
“All right, I’m sorry.” I give him a hard shove, letting him go. He almost falls on his ass. “I thought you might want to have a drink on your birthday. I guess not.” He holds his hands up.
“It’s your birthday?” Tinsley’s soft voice fills the room. I look over to see her standing in the hallway, her eyes wide. “Hi, James.” She gives him a little wave and a sweet smile. I step between them so James can’t see her.
“Leave.” I point to the door.
“I’ll call you tomorrow.” He finally leaves. When I turn back around to face Tinsley, she’s moved closer.
“It’s your birthday?” she asks again. Her blond hair is a beautiful mess all around her. Her big blue eyes are filled with sleep. She looks well fucked. I push that thought down. It’s hard when she’s in an oversized shirt that fits her like a dress. One of the shoulders has slid down, revealing some of her soft skin. The urge to nibble her and leave my mark is almost unbearable, but I get myself under control.
“Tomorrow,” I admit.
“How did I not know that?” Her bottom lip pops out as she takes another step closer to me. I clench my hands at my side so that I don’t reach out and grab her. It takes everything I have to maintain my control. Thoughts of sliding my hands up her gorgeous toned legs until I reach her sweet cunt have my cock rock hard and ready to go.
“I don’t celebrate.” I manage to get the words out.
“You have to.” She smiles. “We can make a night of it.”
“You want to do something with me?”
“Might be fun.” Her delicate bare shoulder shrugs. “But it’s your birthday. You should do what you want.” You. I want to do you. But I’m guessing that’s not on the table.
“I never do anything.” The smile drops from her face. I want it back. “But we can.” And just like that it’s back. She claps her hands and does an adorable hop that makes her tits bounce under the thin white fabric that is going to star in my nightly jacking off session tonight.
“Okay. I’ll plan it.” She looks like she’s about to hug me. I go stiff, not sure how I’m going to handle having her pressed up against me in only a thin shirt. She stops, though, changing her mind or thinking better of it. “I’ll text you tomorrow.” She steps back. “Let you know where to be or whatever.” She takes another step back. I start to reach for her when she trips over her own foot. She catches herself before I need to help her. “Night.” She turns, racing down the hallway as fast as she did this afternoon and leaving me alone. Again.
4
Tinsley
I stand in the middle of the department store feeling more lost than ever. I look over my shoulder. A man in a suit jerks around, pretending he wasn't looking at me. You’re being paranoid. No one is stalking you. I look over my shoulder again and he’s gone. I let out a long breath and go back to cruising the men’s section.
“Can I help you with something?” I turn to the saleslady, who looks like she ate something gross.
“No.” I shake my head, looking back at the tie that I’d picked up. I know it’s a completely lame gift. You get your dad a tie. Not the man you’re secretly in love with.
“Are you sure?”
“I’m fine, but thank you.” I look back at her. She rolls her eyes and walks away. Lovely customer service. I think I’m spoiled with my stylist, Karma, who Reed has come to the house. I don’t even know how to shop without irritating the salespeople. This is a total bust. I have to come up with something else and I’m running out of time. I should try somewhere else.
I yelp when I run right into someone, dropping my phone. “Sorry.” I reach down to pick it up off the ground. The screen looks fine. “Are you okay?” I ask. My eyes meet the same man in the suit from earlier.
“Fine,” he says. I step back. He gives me a funny look. I turn, half running from the store. I tell myself that everything is okay. That it was only a coincidence that he bumped into me. That what happened before isn’t happening again as I pick up my pace. My phone rings in my hand. When I make it out to the sidewalk I answer.
“Hey,” I breathe.
“Tin. Are you okay?”
“Reed?” I pull the phone away to see if it is really him calling me. I thought it was Carly. She’s the only one that ever calls me except for my parents from time to time.
“Are you okay? You're out of breath.”
“I’m fine. Really. I scared myself.” I roll my eyes, knowing I’m being silly with my irrational fears.
“How did you scare yourself?” he asks. I move down the sidewalk, keeping up with everyone else. It’s the one nice thing about a big city. You never feel alone. There is always someone around and I’ve found that comforting after everything that happened before.
“I thought someone was following me.” I cross the road when the light changes, spotting a grocery store that gives me an idea.
“If you think someone is following you it is always better to be cautious. There is no harm in that.” He always makes me feel less crazy about some of my fears.
“Thanks.” The phone goes quiet as I enter into the grocery store. “Wait. Did you need something?” He never calls. It’s me that reaches out to him, and I normally do that in
text.
“I wanted to thank you for breakfast.”
“You’re very welcome. Everyone should have French toast with bacon on their birthday.” I’d gotten up early to make sure Reed’s birthday started off good. No gross powder stuff he mixes in with water. “Now if I only could have talked you into not going to work.”
“What else would I do all day?”
“I don’t know. Be lazy like a normal person.” I laugh, grabbing a basket from the front of the store.
“It would have been boring.”
“I would have made it not boring.”
“You never said you would be staying home. You had class.”
“Right. I could have ditched. Played hooky. Is that what the kids call it these days?” I laugh.
“You’ve never ditched a class and I think you’re one of those kids.”
“I haven’t been a kid in a long time, Reed.” If only he would see that. Hopefully these little moments we have will eventually make him realize it.
“Right.” Again the phone goes quiet. I know he never wants me to feel like I’m a bother so he’s never the first to end a call.
“I’ll let you get back to your busy work life. I’ll see you tonight, birthday boy.”
“Tonight, Tinsley,” he says. He still doesn't hang up. I end the call for both of us so I can get back to grocery shopping. One of these days I'm going to challenge him to a phone-off and see how long he’ll go without hanging up after we say goodbye.
I grab everything I’ll need for cupcakes and more icing than one person should ever own, but there are so many different colors that I can’t only choose one. What do you buy for a man who can buy anything he wants? Nothing. Your only real option is to make him something. One thing I do know about Reed is he never indulges when it comes to food unless I’m pushing it on him. I’m the reason he needs it. At least that’s what I tell myself.
When I exit the store I once again run into someone. My heart drops for a second. “Sorry about that,” a tall blond woman says as she keeps on half running down the sidewalk. Probably late to wherever it is she’s trying to get to. I let out a breath. No one is going to jump you in the middle of the city, Tin. Get it together.
“Home,” I call when I enter the condo twenty minutes later, dropping my bag at the front door.
“You do know an alarm sounds anytime someone comes in.”
“I do. But this is more personal.” I kiss Rita on the cheek.
“It is. How were classes? I thought you’d be home an hour ago.” I follow her into the kitchen.
“I had to make a stop.” I place the bags on the kitchen counter.
“More sweets?” She laughs, looking through my bags. “You know you're the only one who has ever gotten Reed to eat this crap.”
“It’s good for him.” I start lining up all the different icings. “It’s his birthday.”
“I know.” She gives me a sad smile.
“Why is this sad?” Is there something I don’t know?
“Reed’s mom died on his birthday.” My stomach drops. No one ever talks about Reed’s mom. I don’t know why. I’d never known her. For as long as I can remember it was only Reed and his father. “He was five.”
I look back down at all the stuff I got. This might not have been such a great idea after all. “Don’t do that.” Rita rests her hand on my shoulder. “Make him celebrate. God knows I could never get him to do it. I do know one thing. His mom would be pissed if she knew about all the birthdays he's been missing.”
“All I’ve gotten so far is cupcakes. The man is impossible to get a gift for.”
“I think he’ll enjoy just spending time with you.”
I snort. “Should I invite anyone else over? James? Any friends?” I only know James and that’s his cousin. Then the people he works with. I’ve never met his friends. I’ve never met that one girlfriend either. I start grabbing some of the things I’ll need.
“I think the two of you will be fine.”
“I don’t know his friends.”
“He doesn't go out much. You see how much the man works.”
“But he’s dated,” I point out. Am I being obvious?
“So I’m told.” She rolls her eyes.
“He didn't let you meet her either?”
“Nope.” She hands me a carton of eggs.
“Maybe he thinks we’ll embarrass him?”
“I don’t know why men think or do a lot of things.”
I burst into laughter because I couldn't agree more. I don’t understand anything Reed does anymore. The only thing that I do know is that I want to.
5
Reed
“He’s fired.” Robert takes a calming breath. “I’m not joking. Get a woman this time. This isn't open for discussion.” Robert turns without saying another word, knowing that he’ll get nowhere. No one ever does when it comes to Tinsley.
The man should be fired. His undercover skills are obviously lacking since she saw him. That isn’t the only thing that has me all fired up. The fact that he scared her has me ready to lose it.
The whole point of the bodyguard was to keep her safe. I would have told her that I had someone protecting her from the beginning, but I know she would have said it wasn't necessary. Not because she didn't want one, but because she wouldn't want someone going out of their way to do something for her. To feel like she’s being a bother or a burden. But she could never be any of those things to me.
She is the most important person in my life whether she knows it or not. There isn’t anything that I wouldn’t do for her or to keep her safe. So I just do what needs to be done so she doesn’t have to worry over the details. That had come back to kick me right in the nuts today, though. The object had been to make her feel secure and my guy had done the opposite.
I think Carter was just as surprised as the rest of us when Tinsley made a random stop at the store on her way home from classes today. It wasn’t like her to stray from her routine. She’s been doing a lot of things differently lately. She’s changing. Or maybe it’s healing.
She’s coming out of her shell more. That was the whole point of this. To give her time away from her old life. To start something new. I want her to heal. The idea of her being scared all the time is something that weighs on me every day. It’s why I give her so much room to breathe when that’s the opposite of what I really want.
My only question is what was she doing in the department store? In the men’s section, of all places. That’s the last place I’d ever thought she’d be. I lean back in my chair knowing the rest of my day is shot. My mind is now filled with far too many questions. All of them surrounding a blond girl that could be knocked over with a hard gust of wind. She’s proving to be my hardest feat.
I’ve faced off with so many people in my life. I’m good at winning. It’s why I’m where I am today at such a young age. Nothing stood in my path for long. Except her. I can’t seem to get my footing when it comes to her. I’m never sure of myself when it comes to her. A hard wind might blow her over, but a mere look from her could end me.
I hit my mouse, causing my computer to come back to life. I type in the password to pull up the security footage at home. I tab through the screens until I find the one I want. Tinsley fills my screen. She stands in the kitchen licking purple icing off her thumb before going back to decorating cupcakes. That’s why she went into the grocery store. She’s never had a need before. If she needs something she only has to put it on the list. The knowledge that she stopped to get stuff to make me cupcakes does nothing to tame my need for her.
I sit and watch as she slowly writes my name across the cupcake. She stops every so often to lick icing off her finger. I can’t take it anymore. I stand, grabbing my suit jacket and heading out of my office.
Why watch this from a computer screen when I can watch it from my very own kitchen? It is my birthday, after all. I can indulge for once. It has been so long since I celebrated this day. But Tinsley makes me want
to again. The need to go home and be around her for a little while is almost unbearable. I know I’ll have to control myself. To keep my hands to myself.
When I enter the house, Tinsley is on me. “Happy birthday!” she shouts, throwing herself at me. I catch her, shocked that she just jumped into my arms. “How was your day?” The smile on her face is breathtaking, but what’s harder to handle is her softness pressed up against me. Thoughts of coming home to this every day with her run through my mind. Fuck, she smells like sweetness too. It’s all around her. She feels like home.
I put her back on her feet and take a step back. The smile on her face falters for a minute before she forces it back. I know it’s forced. It doesn't meet her eyes. I take one step forward with her and three steps back. I want her to be comfortable around me, but I’m riding a fine line of control. She’s too important to me to mess this up.
“It’s better now. How was yours?” I ask.
“I went on a little adventure today. Come.” She grabs my hand, pulling me towards the kitchen.
“An adventure?” I know every step she took today but I want to hear it from her.
“It’s quite hard to buy a birthday present for a man that has everything.” That’s why she was in the department store. She’d gone there for me. Stepped out of her comfort zone because she wanted to do something for me. There aren’t many people that do things for me in my life without an agenda. I could probably count them on one hand. So her doing all of this because she wanted to has me about to lose any self-control I might have left when it comes to her.
“I don’t need anything.” The few touches I’ve had from her were more than I could have ever asked for. More than I should get. They were meant to be innocent on her end, but my thoughts are far from innocent when it comes to anything that concerns her.
“Close your eyes!” she says, turning around and coming to a sudden stop. I don’t have enough time to stop. My body collides with hers, almost knocking her down. I catch her before she can hit the ground. She smiles up at me with that beautiful ray of sunshine that lights up wherever she is and I’m tongue-tied for a moment. I lift her. Her body slides up mine, allowing me to feel every curve she has. We remain silent for a few moments. Neither one of us pulling away. My cock is hard and I know it’s impossible that she doesn’t feel it against her.