“I think it’s time to leave,” Harrison said.
“Excuse us,” he said to Warren and placed a hand on Harrison’s back to urge him forward.
“Oh, Mr. Trudel?” Warren called out.
“Yes?” Harrison turned with a frown.
“Enjoy him while you can. Ryder never sticks around for long.” Warren laughed harshly, but Ryder recognized the tinge of hurt.
Ryder closed his eyes for a brief second, snapped them open, and guided Harrison through the crowd. Graciously, Harrison stopped to shake every person’s hand from there to the door with a smile and a thank you.
It gave Ryder an opportunity to shove the episode with Warren away and study the faces of those Harrison interacted with. It also gave him time to watch for any signs of stress on Harrison’s expressive face as he interacted with the crowd.
Harrison chatted with Daniel Elway and his parents for a few moments and then they were out in the entryway, retrieving their coats.
They stepped out front of the event and into a slight drizzle.
“Mr. Freeman, care to comment on your relationship with Mr. Trudel?” One reporter brave enough to endure the winds came rushing forward.
The wind picked up, and Ryder quickly loaded Harrison into the waiting limo.
“No comment,” he replied, sliding into the car.
Sitting across from the quiet man, he studied the enigma before him.
“Why did you say that?” he said after several moments of silence.
“Say what?” Harrison’s brow creased.
“The other day when you said money causes nothing but problems.”
“I told you. I never know if they want me for my money.” Harrison stared at him. “Is that what happened between you and Warren?”
“In the end, Warren accused me of marrying him for his money.”
“But you didn’t.”
“No, but that was the least of our problems.”
“What happened?”
He stayed quiet for so long, Harrison spoke again.
“It’s okay, you don’t have to talk about it. Sometimes I pry when I shouldn’t.”
“I’m surprised you didn’t read about it in the tabloids.”
“I don’t read the tabloids.”
Ryder let out a quiet sigh. “He cheated.”
“So when he said you never stick around for long?”
“He lied.”
When he said nothing more, Harrison turned and looked out the window.
Ryder did the same, barely seeing the wet streets as they sped through the night in the long, dark limo.
He’d ended up staying in the spare room last night at Harrison’s request. A simple, “Stay,” and Ryder had caved.
The apartment was quiet when he left his room. Early morning sunlight streamed through the large panoramic windows that graced one whole wall in the living room.
A sound drew his gaze from the mountains in the distance to the young man sitting at a large glass table.
The sun glinted off the blond streaks in Harrison’s hair, making the tips look like gold.
“Morning,” Harrison said and pointed to a to-go container that held Styrofoam cups and a brown paper bag sitting next to it. “I had coffee and bagels delivered.”
“Thanks.” He tore off one of the lids and sipped at the hot liquid and took a bagel from the bag. “Do you normally work the weekends?” Eyeing the laptop that sat on the table, Ryder tore into the chewy treat.
Harrison opened his mouth, but only a huffing laugh came out. “No, I don’t.”
“What do you normally do?”
“I thought I had to stay inside?” Blue eyes blinked at him.
“Not if you don’t want to. I wouldn’t recommend the mall or anything.” Ryder dropped into one of the chairs and swallowed down more coffee.
“What happened to controlling the environment?” Laughter filled Harrison’s expressive eyes.
“Someone told me last night he wasn’t going to let some asshole dictate his life.” His lips quirked when Harrison’s laughter rang out.
“Okay, so you know how everybody has books online and uses their phone or a reader?” Harrison gestured to his own smartphone.
“Mmhmm,” he said with a nod and finished his breakfast.
“I don’t. I like to hold the books in my hands. I got an email this morning, my favorite bookstore got in a load of new and used books.” Harrison launched into a detailed description of the place. So caught up in the man’s expressive face, it took a moment for Ryder to realize Harrison had stopped speaking.
“What?”
Harrison chuckled. “Let’s check it out.”
“The bookstore?”
“Yes, and the new books.”
“Okay, but only if we stop along the way and get more coffee. One cup won’t do it for me.”
It took twenty minutes before they left the apartment. Harrison wore a pair of tapered, cream colored slacks with a thick white pullover and tan shoes. Not that the guy didn’t look nice, but he wondered if Harrison owned a pair of jeans.
A quick drive-thru and they had fresh coffee for the drive over. Parking his jeep as close to the door as possible, he followed Harrison into the store. The bell over the door jingled signaling their arrival and a tall young man with shaggy dark hair waived from behind the counter.
“Welcome, let me know if you need any help.”
“Thanks.” Harrison slipped off his jacket and hung it on a coat tree just inside the door. Ryder kept his on. Rather than wear his leather jacket, he’d opted for a thin windbreaker to wear inside to keep his holster and gun hidden.
“I know you said you don’t read.”
“I never said that,” he grumbled.
Harrison shoved his arm playfully and laughed, spinning away toward the back of the store.
Ryder couldn’t stop his chuckle and he roamed after the teasing young man.
“Magazines and newspapers are over there.” Harrison pointed to a section with wood tables and chairs covered with the daily news and what looked to be every kind of magazine imaginable.
“Trying to get rid of me?” He smirked.
Harrison’s soft lips stretched into a smile as he wandered down the aisle. “Nope.” Slim fingers brushed the binding of the books as he went.
Reaching the back of the store, two rather large tables sat with books piled high. A young girl that looked to be high school age flashed them a smile in passing.
Harrison sat his coffee on the floor near a chair and took a seat. Reaching for the books closest to him, he began sorting through the titles.
Ryder stood watching Harrison for several long moments before he took a seat and sipped at his drink.
“So what do you do for fun, Ryder?”
“When I’m not working?”
“Yes.”
This line of conversation was getting into dangerous territory.
He was here to do a job. Protect Harrison from the sicko who wanted to hurt him and that was it.
“Never mind.” Harrison must have sensed his hesitation.
“I watch movies,” he said roughly.
That sweet, sexy smile flashed out.
“How many of these books have you read?” He abruptly changed the topic back to Harrison.
Smiling, Harrison launched into a detailed description as he lifted several books from the table. Of course, that led to talking about the books Harrison hadn’t yet read, but Ryder didn’t mind at all.
A few hours later, Harrison ended up leaving with six of them.
“This is actually light,” Harrison assured him as he stepped out the door with a bag in hand.
“How about some lunch?” The bagel had done crap to fill him up.
“I’m supposed to head over to Uncle Dean’s for lunch.”
“I’ll drop you off.” He tucked Harrison into the jeep and slid behind the wheel.
“Or you could come.”
“Maybe your uncle wants
to spend time with you,” he said, pulling into traffic.
“We have lunch every Saturday, so it’s not like we don’t spend enough time together.” That said, Harrison jumped on the phone and called Dean. It was arranged, and Ryder parked outside of a nice, large one-story house in a gated upscale neighborhood.
“Harrison! Hello, Ryder.” Dean smiled and shook his hand and clapped Harrison on the shoulder. “Come on in, I just finished the burgers! There’s fixings and chips on the table, soda in the fridge. I hope you don’t mind, but I invited my lady friend.”
“Maggie?” Harrison spun around.
“Harrison!” A small, brightly dressed woman of Dean’s age hurried across the room and wrapped her arms around Harrison.
“I haven’t seen you in forever.”
“I know,” Maggie said with a smile. “Who’s your friend?”
“I’m not…” he began, but Harrison cut him off.
“This is Ryder, and he’s hungry.”
Those teasing blue eyes were at it again, and Ryder could only shake his head. Harrison eagerly stepped toward the table and started piling a plate with food. Ryder did the same. It appeared Dean was sweet on Maggie and that Harrison didn’t mind. In fact, the man went out of his way to engage them both in conversation.
Sometime later, Ryder found himself alone in the living room looking out the front window at the wealthy neighborhood. Harrison’s and Maggie’s voices drifted from the kitchen as they cleaned up. He and Dean had both been shooed away.
“I heard you stopped by the station. Any leads?” Dean came to stand beside him.
He turned and met the uncle’s gaze. “As far as I know, Carson is still checking alibis.”
“Carson?”
“Yes, Harrison said he investigated the explosion that killed his father.”
“Yeah, okay, I remember the guy. Good cop.” Dean ran a hand over his mouth and chin.
“I’m sorry for your loss.”
“Thank you. I’d just lost my wife, losing my brother was…” Dean shook his head. “Harrison is who I worry about the most. He was really close to his father.”
“I can imagine.” Ryder couldn’t fathom what he’d do if he lost any of his own family.
A shriek came from the kitchen followed by laughter.
Ryder turned, hand going to his gun. Not to pull, but the level of noise had startled him.
Harrison burst out of the kitchen running and Maggie followed. She had suds in her hair and a handful she was trying to smear Harrison with. The man headed right toward him.
“Protect me!” Laughter rang out as Harrison dodged behind him.
Ryder feinted one way and Maggie went the other. The handful of suds meant for Harrison landed in Dean’s face.
“Oh!” Maggie gasped. Dean lunged and the race was on back to the kitchen.
Ryder laughed. He couldn’t help it with her long skirt lifted in both hands, Maggie dashed from view with Dean hot on her tail.
A giggle drew him around to find Harrison trying to catch his breath. The man truly was beautiful.
The truth was, he found Harrison more than just beautiful and that was a real problem.
Harrison
Tucking in his earbuds and hitting the start button, he started a slow jog on the treadmill in his back room.
It had been two weeks since Ryder had come into his life, and everything had changed between them. At least, it had for him. For Ryder? He wasn’t so sure.
Last Friday at the fundraiser and then Saturday spent together, the shared laughter at his uncle’s house, and every day since had altered Harrison’s feelings about the gruff man.
He was fascinated by Ryder and wanted to find out everything he could. Only that wasn’t easy. All week long, since the brief statement about liking movies, Ryder continued to be a closed book.
That didn’t stop his fantasies from affecting his overactive imagination and a certain body part was in wholehearted agreement. His dick decided it wanted to stand up and salute whenever Ryder was around. And, he didn’t even need to see him. Just the sound of Ryder’s deep, raspy voice did it.
The worst part was he agreed with his dick. He wanted Ryder close. Who am I kidding? He wanted the gorgeous man much closer than close. Figuring out what made Ryder tick was high on his list.
Great, he was lusting after his bodyguard. How inappropriate was that? For god’s sake. He had a stern talk with himself, but that didn’t help. He continued to covertly drool over a man who’d given no indication the attraction was returned.
So it wasn’t surprising that Logan Cobalt had called him a few days ago.
“I know that Ryder can be challenging. But he’s seriously the best man for this job,” Logan had said right out of the gate.
“Why, has he complained?” Harrison’s heart lurched.
“No, no, but usually by this time, I’ve gotten a few complaints. And from you, I haven’t received any.”
“I have nothing to complain about,” he had assured Ryder’s employer. And just in case Ryder thought of pulling out, Harrison added, “My panic attacks from the assault have lessened with him around.”
“That’s great!” Logan had said.
“I agree.”
And honestly? When it came right down to it, he was keeping Ryder around. Shut up, he told his happy dick. It has nothing to do with you.
Not only had the security upgrade been delayed for another week, but another letter had arrived.
Shelby was beside himself about the delay and missing the deadline.
“I don’t know why they can’t get the feedback online,” the man had complained to him earlier.
“Don’t stress. Do you have everything you need?”
“Yeah, I have two technical analysts working on it.”
“Keep me posted.” He rang off.
The next letter had arrived at his home, three days before, delivered through the US Postal Service. It was a single page filled with an angrily slashed red X across the pristine white. They’d gone to the police station and dropped the letter off to be added to the mounting evidence. Hopefully, they could get something from the stamp or paper.
Ryder moved into the apartment after the fundraiser. Having Ryder in his apartment gave him a chance to flirt and work on loosening the guy up. Of course, when he’d flirt, Ryder would shut him down. But he held onto hope.
He pushed the stop button on the treadmill after his cool down and hopped to the side of the belt. Snatching up a bottle, he guzzled some water and wiped at his face. Stepping off the machine, he spotted Ryder leaning against the door jamb.
“Hey.” His heart picked up its stupid tempo.
“Morning.” Ryder seemed to look longingly at the weight set that sat against the wall.
Harrison kept his gaze averted and wiped at his face again.
“I told you you’re welcome to use anything in here,” he said and dropped to the mat to do a few cool down stretches.
Ryder approached the weight set and stretched out after placing a few weights on the bar.
“So other than movies, burgers, and lifting weights, what else do you like?” he asked with a soft smile. It was a repeated question, but he was dying to find out just a tiny bit more.
Ryder did a few reps and then hooked the bar in place. Straddling the bench, the man’s glittering brown eyes stared at him.
“Harrison.”
“Yeah?” He couldn’t stop the hopeful tone in his voice.
“This isn’t a good idea.” Ryder sighed and lowered back down to complete two more lifts of the bar.
“What isn’t? Talking, becoming friends?”
“I work as your bodyguard.” The man sat up and pinned him with a look again. “I was hired to guard you.”
He swallowed past the lump growing in his throat.
Ryder sighed and lifted the towel next to him and wiped at his face.
“I can have Logan put someone else on your case.”
“I don’t wan
t someone else on my case,” he said hotly and jumped to his feet, fists clenched at his sides.
“It might be for the best,” Ryder said abruptly.
“Are you quitting?” His lip curled in a sneer. Biting back the hurt, he used anger instead.
Ryder squinted at him for so long, Harrison’s heart sank.
“No, I’m not quitting.”
“Look, I certainly didn’t mean to offend you by wanting to be friends,” he gritted out and hurried from the room. Humiliation heated his skin. He wanted more than friendship and he suspected Ryder knew it. Of all the stupid things to do.
Reaching his room, he closed the door quietly and sat on the edge of his bed.
The apartment was quiet, but it wouldn’t have mattered, he couldn’t hear a thing from here, the place was that big.
Scooting back, he pulled out his cell and dialed August.
“Hey, babe!”
“Hey, how’s it going?”
“It’s rocking! Just a sec,” August said and then spoke to someone else.
“I should let you go.”
“No, hang on.” There was rustling and Harrison smiled when his best friend started shouting in French.
Six years ago, he’d met August Young in college. He’d mistaken the guy for someone else when he found August rummaging through the boxes on one of the beds in his new dorm room.
“What are you stealing?”
The culprit had spun, eyes wide, clutching a male on male porn magazine with a suspension picture on the front.
“It’s mine.”
“And you are?” Harrison softened his tone a bit.
Big eyes darted around the room and curly hair flew in waves around the young man’s face. “Your new roommate?”
“And you’re gay?”
The man turned pale. “Yes?”
A smile grew on Harrison’s lips. “I’m Harrison.”
“August.”
“Come sit and show me what you’ve got.”
August’s eyes had bugged out of his head, but then he’d tossed his head back and laughed loudly. Harrison knew it was fate after an hour spent laughing over some of the hilarious positions.
That year, sharing and crying over boyfriends and grades, they’d cemented their bond.
“Okay, what’s up?” Somewhere in the background of the phone, a door slammed.
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