by Sybil Bartel
Tyler chuckled. “Hey, babe, the guys think I should turn my comm off.”
Sexy and smooth, Calandra’s accented voice drifted into my ear as I watched her lean toward her man. “If you know what’s good for you, you will listen to them.”
“That’s it.” Tyler laughed. “I’m out.” He turned his comm off and kissed his woman.
“Let me guess,” Collins said dryly. “He’s already got his tongue down her throat.”
“Shut the fuck up, Collins.” I didn’t know why I was defending Tyler. He was a pussy for his woman.
“What crawled up your ass?” Collins asked.
Good fucking question.
“Incoming,” Preston warned. “Three more males.”
“Christ.” I was already watching one of the Hollywood suit pricks lean into the brunette. “What’s max capacity up here? Anyone check this shit out before we got here?” I jogged back down the stairs.
“Sixty,” Preston answered. “We aren’t even close yet.”
Three more pricks in dress shirts showed up, and I let them upstairs. It took one of them less than two seconds to scope out the brunette.
Goddamn, this was gonna be a long night.
“HEY, GORGEOUS, COME SIT NEXT to me.” A guy in a suit whose name I couldn’t remember patted the seat next to him.
Like they’d done a dozen times already tonight, my eyes strayed to an intimidating bodyguard with a steeled expression who stood at the top of the stairs. And just like all my previous glances, his dark-eyed gaze met mine. Except he wasn’t the one who ever looked away.
Unwavering, impenetrable, he stared back.
Heat flushed my cheeks, and I looked away.
The man in the suit smiled. “Come on, I won’t bite.” He chuckled. “Unless you want me to.”
Yeah, no. Definitely not. I didn’t want anything to do with him, but the men here tonight were more… persistent than any men I’d ever encountered.
Inhaling, I grasped for another polite dismissal. “I’m sorry—”
“She’s not sorry, Wayne.” Dreena’s arm tangled with mine. “Go find someone else who’s interested.” Dreena tugged my hand. “Come on, gorgeous.” She smirked and turned us toward the stairs.
“Thank you,” I said quietly, exhaling.
“No problem.” She squeezed my hand. “Besides, he’s not the one you’re interested in.”
My back stiffened. “I’m not interested in anyone,” I lied.
“Mm-hmm.” She walked us right toward the man I couldn’t take my eyes off. “Ty?” Her tone turned all sweet. “Can you take Ludeviene to the little girls’ room? She needs a break.”
Oh God. “No, really, I’m fine.” Embarrassment warred with the butterflies in my stomach.
Without comment, Ty tipped his chin at Dreena, and his hand landed between my shoulder blades.
I shivered despite the heat of his touch, then it was just like when he’d walked me into the club. My body instinctually leaned toward his, and I fit myself against his huge frame.
“This way,” his deep voice resonated.
My breath caught, and my heart skipped as gooseflesh raced across my skin.
“Take your time,” Dreena called behind us, all singsong.
Before I could decide if I should scold her or thank her, Ty was leading us across the mezzanine toward a locked door I’d spied earlier.
Pulling a card key out of his pocket, he swiped it across a reader, then opened the door to a hallway. His hand urged me forward, and I crossed the threshold. The door closed and the noise level decreased by half.
Relieved, I let out a breath.
“Problem?”
Startled by the closeness of his voice, I spun.
Right behind me, his scent everywhere, his gaze penetrating, he waited.
We were close enough to kiss.
The thought came so hard and fast, I forgot how to speak.
More, I wanted to kiss him.
I wanted to lean into his hard body and strong arms and touch my lips to his, just to see if they were as soft as they looked. Everything about this man was hard, but his lips? They were full and soft and such a perfect shade that if he were a woman, I wouldn’t even put a tint on them.
Staring, unable to stop myself, I licked my own lips.
His muscles tensed. “Bathroom’s behind you,” he clipped. “Second door.”
“Y-yes, of course,” I stammered, embarrassed. “Thank you.”
He tipped his chin.
I turned and immediately felt the full weight of his stare. With his presence covering my body like a heavy Florida summer afternoon, I walked to the restroom. Every step was a lesson in poise. My toes were pointed in my high heels, my calves were flexed, my back was straight, my shoulders were proud, and I held my head high.
But I’d never been more aware of man in my life.
As I reached for the door handle, relief warred with disappointment, and I dared a single glance over my shoulder to see if he was looking.
He was.
But his stoic mask was replaced with a hooded expression, and his eyes were locked on my ass.
Heat flushed through my entire body.
Breathless, I pushed the door open and stepped inside with all the composure my mother had taught me. But the second I cleared the threshold, I fell against the closed door and panted like I’d run a marathon.
Flustered, jittery, and harboring a sensation between my legs no man had ever elicited, I held my hand over my racing heart as I heard my cell ping with a new text.
With shaking hands, I pulled my phone out.
Dreena: Did you kiss him yet?
Oh my God.
Me: You did that on purpose.
The three little dots moved as she wrote a reply.
Dreena: How could I not? You two have been staring at each other all night!
Before I could think of a response that wasn’t a complete lie of denial, she texted again.
Dreena: Besides, every girl needs a bodyguard, especially one as hot as Ty. ;-)
I typed a response.
Me: You’re incorrigible.
Dreena: Yep! I’m Dreena MacKenzie, haha!
I smiled.
Dreena: Now kiss him and put him out of his misery. ;-)
My thumbs couldn’t move fast enough.
Me: No.
I waited for her reply, silently wishing for something to justify her ridiculous demand, but at the same time knowing I would never be so forward as to make the first move with a man as commanding as the one standing in the hallway.
Dreena: Party pooper
I smiled again but shook my head.
Me: Did THE Dreena MacKenzie just text the word pooper?
Dreena: Ha! You do remember you’re talking to the girl who ran naked across the sand in South Beach?
I sobered. I did remember. I also remembered the frightening story behind it that she’d told me. Before I could respond, she sent another text.
Dreena: Okay, if you’re not going to get yourself a little action back there, come out and keep me company. I’m soooooo bored with these Hollywood suits!
I made an unladylike sound.
Me: You are not bored. You have your own bodyguard to keep you entertained.
She’d been tucked under his arm or on his lap the whole night. He’d kept a possessive hand on her at all times and an evil glare aimed at any man who dared to speak to her. I was both envious and happy for her.
Dreena: He’s pretty cute. I may keep him.;-)
I giggled.
Me: I think he’s keeping you.
Dreena: LOL, if he’s smart!
Smiling, I sent one last response.
Me: I’m coming back out. No more matchmaking!
Dreena: Where’s the fun in that?
Me: I mean it. He’s not interested.
Dreena: HAHAHA! Okay, keep telling yourself that if you want. I’ll just say I told you so when you fall madly in love and have little Ty babie
s and move to the suburbs.
I gulped, then fired off a glib response.
Me: Do I look like a suburbs kind of girl?
Dreena: Ha, no! Which is why he can’t take his eyes off you. And btw, that dress makes your ass look perfect. I think I’m a little jealous! And oh, Falcon just told me to tell you to get back out here and talk to these suits so they leave me alone. I think he might be a little jealous ;-)
Me: Just a little?
Dreena: LOL
I tucked my phone back in my purse and checked my makeup in the mirror. Ironically, despite my profession, I never wore much makeup. Blush, mascara, eyeliner, a light shimmer over my eyelids, and a scant coat of lip gloss, which I reapplied.
Steeling myself to see and smell the man in the hall again, I opened the door.
Except I’d been kidding myself.
Nothing could ever prepare me for the sight of this man, not when I first saw him and not now.
Standing just outside the door, his hand resting on the gun in a holster at his hip, he was all at once menacing and impossible to look away from.
His almost black eyes took me in as he gave me the deep rasp of his voice. “Ready?”
I blushed. “Yes, thank you.” I turned to step into the hall and the unthinkable happened.
I tripped.
“Oh!” My heel caught, my body pitched, and he moved.
His huge hands caught my waist. “Easy, easy.”
My chest landed on his, and I grasped at his impossibly, ridiculously muscled arms.
I sucked in a sharp breath. “Oh my God.”
“You’re fine. I got you.”
His fingers meeting on my back, his size, his strength, and his scent. Oh my God, his scent. His cologne, clean like laundry, mixed with the hint of smoke I’d smelled earlier, but it was overshadowed by the smell of him up close. Heat and man and slightly metallic but all musk, he smelled so enticing, I didn’t step away from him.
I did the opposite.
Like an unleashed animal without boundaries, I leaned in to him.
I actually leaned in to him.
His breath steady, he said nothing, and for three whole heartbeats, he stood perfectly, blissfully still.
Then his voice rumbled from his chest. “You good?”
“No,” I murmured without thought.
One of his huge hands traveled up my back, and like a lover, he slid it in to my hair. Controlled and so, so dominant, his thumb stroked my cheek, then grazed over my ear and my diamond stud earring I’d inherited from my grandmother.
He angled my head up.
But my gaze, drunk and heady, didn’t meet his immediately. It drifted. Up a solid chest, past an Adam’s apple, over a square jaw peppered with a day’s growth, and across full lips.
I dared to meet his eyes, and my breath caught.
Oh sweet Jesus, he was arresting. And so, so much more than I could ever handle, but it didn’t stop me from wondering how this man kissed… or more. Unable to stop my wayward thoughts, I bit my bottom lip.
His nostrils flared, and he dropped his hand. “Step back.”
“I….” Oh my God. “I’m so sorry.” Shame washed over me as I put distance between us. “I didn’t mean to—I mean, I tripped, and I’m so sorry.” Oh God, he probably had a girlfriend, or worse, a wife, and here I was practically throwing myself at him. “I wasn’t being.... I never meant to—”
“Stop,” he ordered.
I sucked in a breath, dropped my gaze, and nodded. “I’ll just…” I pointed over my shoulder. “Go.” I turned to leave.
“Wait,” he clipped.
Reluctant and horrifically embarrassed, I faced him.
Then he did the last thing I was expecting.
He tucked my hair behind my ear, and his thumb glanced over my diamond earring again. “Classy,” his low voice murmured.
Every muscle in my body froze. Except my knees.
They trembled, and I understood the term weak in the knees for the first time in my life. And because I had no response for him, or for the way my body was reacting to even the simplest of attention from him and how my heart was racing at the mere thought of him, I turned. But this time I didn’t stop and look back. I walked straight to the door and reached for the handle.
Before I could open it though, his huge hand shot out, his heat touched my back, and he did it for me.
We were immediately assaulted with the heavy beat of the club’s music.
Inhaling the intoxicating scent of him one last time, I nodded. “Thank you.” Then with my heart in my throat, I walked out of the hallway. Confused by his mixed signals, I expected him to return to his post at the top of the stairs, but his hand landed between my shoulder blades and he led me back to our cordoned-off section.
I was so caught up in him and analyzing every nuance of our exchange that I didn’t see the man in a suit who’d been pestering me earlier until he was right in front of me.
Ignoring the mountain of a man at my back, the suit smiled wide. “How about you finally have that drink with me?”
“She’s not drinking,” Ty clipped.
Shocked that he’d noticed and surprised that he’d said anything, I looked up at Ty, but he was glaring at the guy in the suit.
Fighting a shy smile, I looked back at the man whose name I couldn’t remember because he would never measure up to the man at my back. “He’s right. I’m not drinking tonight, but thank you anyway,” I added, trying to be polite.
The suit didn’t let it go. “Then a soda or water.” He amped up his smile. “Just come sit with us. I’d kick myself if I let the evening go by and didn’t at least get to talk to you.”
“Ludeviene,” Dreena called from her seat on the couch next to Falcon. “Come join us!”
“There you go.” The suit boldly took my hand. “The queen has spoken. Let’s go join them.” He pulled me toward Dreena.
If I didn’t know better, I would’ve sworn I heard the imposing bodyguard growl. But when I looked over my shoulder, all I saw was his back as he went down the stairs.
THE BACK DOOR OF THE club flew open and a drunk chick stumbled out.
She smiled up at me. “What’s your name?”
I spared her a glance. Big tits, tight ass, round hips. She was hot, but she sure as hell wasn’t classy. I scanned the alley again. “Does it matter?” After watching the classy brunette get hit on one too many times, I’d told Preston to get his ass upstairs. He could scare off Satan with a single fucking glance.
The drunk chick twirled her hair. “Mine’s Meadow.”
“Fan-fucking-tastic.” I didn’t give a shit what her name was. I’d told Collins to take the front, and I was outside the rear entrance of the club getting a breather from witnessing the shitshow of pansy fucks hitting on the classy brunette that was playing out upstairs.
The drunk chick took in the entourage of expensive vehicles parked in the alley. “So what kind of car do you drive?”
Jesus Christ. “If I’m pounding into your cunt, are you really gonna be worried about my ride?”
Her eyes went wide in fake offense. “I was just making conversation.”
“I was just working.” And trying really fucking hard to do my job without shooting someone.
Her face scrunched up in confusion. “What do you do?”
Was she blind? “Security. Go back inside.”
She didn’t get a clue and leave. “Like a security guard?”
“No.” I wasn’t some fucking mall rent-a-cop. “Personal security.”
Her face lit up. “Like a bodyguard!”
What the fuck did she think I was doing outside the back of club at oh-one-hundred on a fucking Thursday? Trolling? “She wins a prize,” I deadpanned. “Have another drink.”
She smiled and swayed on her fuck-me pumps. “I already had a few.”
Goddamn, this night was getting longer. “No fucking shit.”
She giggled. “I love margaritas.”
Ch
rist. Fifty bucks I could have her on her knees, sucking my cock in two minutes flat, which I maybe would’ve considered before an innocent, sexy-as-fuck and too-damn-good-for-me brunette fell into my arms and looked up at me like I was a goddamn king. Now she was all I could think about, and this drunk chick didn’t come close to measuring up. Besides, I was on duty, and despite what everyone thought about me, I wasn’t a complete trigger-happy dick. “Go back inside and find someone else.”
She pouted. “I’m not looking for someone else.”
I smirked. “And I’m not fucking you tonight. Run along.”
Relentless, she smiled. “Another night?”
I dragged my gaze, slow and purposeful, down the length of her just to test myself. Nope. I was still obsessing about a stunning brunette with diamond earrings who smelled like innocence and bad decisions.
Looking decidedly less drunk, the Meadow chick whipped her cell phone out. “Come on, it’ll be fun. What’s your number?”
I smirked. “Nice try.”
“Definitely a bleeder,” Collins spoke through the comm. “Walk away.”
The fuck classified every woman as either a bleeder or trouble. In his book, women either bled your checkbook dry or caused you trouble. Hearing the gossip about his background from some of the guys who worked at Luna and Associates with me, I wasn’t surprised by his attitude.
I touched the comm. “Where am I gonna walk to?” The alley behind the club only had one way in and one way out, and I was over the bullshit inside, so that left me nowhere.
Meadow’s face scrunched up. “Who are you talking to?”
“Don’t worry about it.” I pulled out a cigarette and lit it.
“You smoke?” she asked incredulously.
I blew smoke over her head because I was a fucking gentleman like that. “Only when I’m bored.”
She made a face. “No one smokes anymore.”
“Good thing I don’t give a shit what other people do.”
“People vape now,” she continued, like I gave a damn.
“I don’t.” I wasn’t a fucking pussy. If I was gonna suck down nicotine, I was going old-school.
She looked at me like she was solving a math problem in her head, then she reached for my cigarette. “All right, I’ll have a drag.”