Protect Me - A Steamy Bodyguard Romance (You Can't Resist a Bad Boy Book 5)

by Layla Valentine

  “Tonight isn’t good,” I regretfully say.

  Zach’s lips press together. He looks as disappointed as a feel.

  “Can we make it a rain check?” I ask. “I really want to see you, I just…” I pick up his hand and intertwine my fingers with his. “Work calls tonight.”

  He nods. “I understand. Just don’t keep me hanging for long, all right? I made a dumb mistake the other day. I’d like to make it up to you.” His voice drops. “Over and over.”

  O…M…G. If I don’t get off this man’s lap and walk out of the room right this instant, there’s a good chance I never will.

  Hard as it is, I peel myself off his lap.

  “I’ll text you,” I promise. Just remembering that I now have Zach’s number gives me a thrill.

  He stands, watching me walk backward toward the door.

  “You better.”

  With a wave, I force myself out the door before I change my mind and tear my clothes off. Once back on the street, it’s easier to think a little clearer.

  So Zach and Ethan remember the ending of their friendship completely different. Either there was some kind of big misunderstanding…or one of them is lying.

  Either way, I’m going to find out what really happened.

  Chapter 10

  The hallway is eerily dark. I feel along its wall as I walk, my fingertips brushing along inch after inch of hard plaster. Finally, they fall against thin air. There’s a doorway here, and when I turn into it there’s also suddenly light.

  I’m in Zach’s office, and he’s here as well, standing by the window, quiet and waiting for me. But he’s not alone. Ethan is also here, sitting at Zach’s desk, rolling a paperweight around.

  But what are they doing together? They hate each other.

  “We did,” Ethan says, as if reading my mind, “but we realized that doesn’t matter. There are things that are more important.”

  He rises, and they both come to me, Zach pressing close to my chest and Ethan to my back. And now I know this must be a dream. This is too easy… It’s too much of what I want…

  But it also feels so real. Is my imagination really this good? Could it really make up something so sublime?

  Zach lifts my chin, his eyes gazing into mine. My heart pounds, full to the brim with something I’ve never experienced. Before I can even wonder what to call it, his mouth is against mine. It’s so familiar already. I know every curve of it. Still, I crave its taste. It’s a sweet delicacy I’ll never get tired of.

  As Zach kisses me, Ethan lifts my hair to burrow his face in the side of my neck. He sucks on the delicate skin there, making me moan into Zach’s mouth. Hands are on my waist, my stomach. They move over my hips and across my shoulders, too many of them for me to keep track of. I don’t know who is touching me where, and I don’t care. I just don’t want this to ever stop.

  When my pajama pants are pushed down, though, I know it’s Ethan. The sharp air hits my bare ass, but his hands are already there, covering and kneading.

  They move up, yanking my tank top over my head and forcing me to pause the kiss with Zach. Their mouths are quickly on me again, though, Zach claiming my tongue and Ethan lavishing attention on my ear. I’m fully naked between them, aware of every goose pimple rising across my skin.

  Zach works my mouth even further open as his hand slides down my torso and between my legs. I widen my stance, eager for his touch. He doesn’t disappoint.

  He’s inside of me with a smooth push, the wetness there making his entry flawless. I melt against him, pushing my hips in his direction. My upper back arches against Ethan, and he wraps his arm around my shoulders, keeping me in place, holding me up as Zach works me.

  “That’s good,” Ethan whispers in my ear. “You’re so good for us. Let Zach do what he wants to, baby.”

  I try to respond ‘yes,’ but only a moan leaves me. Zach pushes another finger between my folds, bringing it to three. I’m stretched wide, but I know that once he gives me what I’m really craving I’ll be nearly bursting at the seams.

  The tips of his fingers find the ridged spot deep in me, and he strokes at a steady pace. At the same time, Ethan reaches around and finds my hard nub. He flicks it, making me shudder before he presses against it in long, languid strokes.

  The pleasure pulses hard and fast, and before long I’m coming so hard I’m unable to stand up straight. Ethan and Zach keep me up though, locking me tight between their bodies.

  The shockwaves haven’t even subsided, and Zach is picking me up. Cradled in his arms, my elbows locked around his neck, our gazes catch. Everything I want to hear is there, silently being emoted. You’re mine, his eyes say. And you’re going to love every second of it.

  He carries me to the desk, where Ethan has already swept everything to the floor. The length and width of it are perfect for what he has in mind. Laying me down across the wood, I’m spread out for their viewing, a feast for the taking. I stay motionless, gazing up at them, my feet on the desk, legs open wide. They stand side-by-side, shoulders pressed together, hungry looks on their faces.

  I can’t tear my eyes away as they start to undress, losing first their button-up shirts and then their pants. Their lengths are thick and ready, pulsing. Ethan licks his lips, his gaze slithering from my head to my toes, then back up again.

  They seem to have an unspoken agreement, because there’s no fighting. No animosity. They work together in silence, Ethan stepping to the side of the desk. I reach for his dick, wrapping my fingers around its girth and absorbing its warmth. Ethan pushes his hips closer, nudging his length’s head against my mouth.

  I’m salivating, my mouth watering with greed.

  Eyes closed, I lick the very tip of Ethan’s head, swirling my tongue around it as I take it fully in. With one hand, I pump the base. Somehow, he becomes even stiffer.

  Zach’s hands are on my thighs, spreading them wide. I open my eyes and peer down the length of the desk as I bob my head on Ethan’s shaft. Zach’s lifting my legs, holding them up at an angle as he takes his dick to my opening.

  He slides in, smooth as butter, disappearing completely in my channel. Pleasure ripples up through me, making it easier to relax my jaw.

  With my whole body relaxed, taking both guys at once is no problem. Ethan and Zach are both buried in me to the hilt, one in my mouth and one between my legs.

  Zach lifts my legs higher, hitting a spot inside me that makes me cry out. My moan comes out gurgled, eaten up by Ethan’s dick.

  Faster and faster they pummel into me. Ethan twists his fingers in my hair, hand traveling across my hips. A sharp spank hits my swollen nub, and I yelp. He quickly replaces the short burst of pain with pleasure, though, rubbing me with just the right friction and pace.

  The pressure and pleasure build in me, and I’m moaning loud, my mouthful doing nothing now to quell my shouts. Zach and Ethan start groaning too, their delicious moans sending me over the edge.

  Zach takes over the stroking of my clit, and Ethan takes hold of my breasts, tugging and twisting my tight nipples. Each tug sends an electric jolt through me, making me arch my back and silently beg Ethan to keep touching me.

  With a cry that takes all my breath, I explode, the pleasure so strong lights flash before my eyes. I jerk, thrashing around in ecstasy.

  Bang!

  I sit up straight, my hands clutching the edge of my desk.

  My desk?

  Rubbing my unfocused eyes, I take in the apartment: in front of me, my desk lamp pointed at the open laptop. The dark window beyond reflecting my tangled hair and blinking eyes. And, on the rug, an empty coffee cup.

  A dream. That’s all it was.

  I knew that the moment I walked into Zach’s office and Ethan was there, but once the guys put their hands on me I conveniently let lucid dreaming slip to the side.

  But, I swear… I can still feel their touch. And in my pajama pants there’s a pounding, a crazed sore pulsing. Did I actually just…release in my sleep?


  “Oh my God.” I press my fingertips against my brows and shake my head. That’s never happened before. I wasn’t sure it could.

  Picking up the coffee cup, which thankfully didn’t break, I set it back on the desk. The computer’s screen has fallen asleep, and I hit the button to wake it back up. The browser with six open tabs pops up. It’s half past midnight, which means I couldn’t have been asleep for more than an hour.

  I do a quick scan of the sites I have open. Even though I knew a second search on Zach probably wouldn’t turn much up, I had to try anyway. There are about a million more hits on Ethan, but so far none of them have been what I’m looking for. Neither one of them is on social media. Their online presences, as far as I can tell, actually look curated.

  I wouldn’t put it past either one of them to have a legion of interns carefully monitoring the web, looking to dispel any rumors or unsightly photos. Both men are that precise and thorough.

  I’ve hit a wall. It’s probably time to give up, but I can’t just yet. These men, two strong people who I’ve already come to admire so much… I can see perfectly how they would be best friends, and I just can’t get my head around their falling out.

  Next to me, my transcribed notes from the morning’s interview sit, waiting to be written into a full article. I’m not ready yet, though. There’s no heart to the information I’ve collected. Or there is, but it’s just not enough.

  Pushing my chair back, I shuffle over to the kitchen area and refill the mug with cold coffee. While it nukes in the microwave, I go back to the desk and check my email.

  My heart flips at the sight of a message from Ethan.

  Heard you got a second interview with Zach. Well done. Just remember what I told you, Noelle, and be careful.

  The message was delivered around 10 p.m. Five minutes after that, there’s a second one from him.

  By the way, I can’t stop thinking about you.

  That makes me smile and wakes me up more than a hot cup of coffee. Now the only thing that would make this moment better would be hearing from Zach as well. Or, better yet, having him here.

  I still don’t feel guilty about hooking up with the both of them. And what’s weirder is that I think I’m starting to feel less conflicted about it.

  My memory drifts back to the dream, to the feel of their bodies pressed against mine. What happened was a figment of my imagination, but could real life be just as good?

  I run my bottom lip across my teeth, my core heating up. It’s nothing but a fantasy, this idea that both of them would want me at the same time.

  I’ve never had something like that before. I’m not even sure how one goes about making that happen. Considering Ethan and Zach hate each other, the chances of them sharing me is about as good as Hell freezing over.

  Still…if they were to make up…

  A delicious shudder goes through me. I shake it off. I can’t be thinking about things like that. Digging up the truth is something I’m doing for other reasons. Not only do I want to know Ethan and Zach better, I genuinely want them be friends again.

  And if, somehow, someway, something did happen between the three of us…

  Nope. Not going there. It’s late, and I’m being weird. Plus, the microwave is dinging.

  The coffee is hot, and there’s work to do.

  Chapter 11

  The second time I fall asleep, it’s not at my desk, but in my bed at around three in the morning. Though I haven’t set an alarm, I’m awake by eight, the weekdays at the Franciscan having already made it impossible for me to sleep late.

  Packing up my computer and notes, I book it downstairs and to the coffee shop a few blocks away, hoping a change of scenery will help reset my brain. There’s a pounding in my temples, and an even worse one between my legs. Hours later, I’m still thinking about that dream—and not much else.

  I close my eyes and lean back against the exposed brick in the coffee shop. The cacophony of early morning customers, milk steaming, and baristas calling out orders helps me chill out.

  At this point, with very little information up my sleeve other than what Ethan and Zach have provided me with, I’m not really sure what I’m doing. Once I discover the truth—if I discover the truth—what am I going to do with it? Am I going to let them know?

  On the table next to my laptop, my phone buzzes. My eyes snap open, and I instantly reach for it. Zach? Ethan?

  It’s Claire.

  SOS. I’m outside your place!

  I reply to her text, telling her where I am. Five minutes later and she comes into view on the other side of the glass, wearing a tight dress, a motorcycle jacket, and giant sunglasses. She ducks her head and lets her hair hang over her face as she enters the coffee shop.

  “Hey,” she mutters, pulling out the chair across from me.

  “Hey. That’s an interesting, um…choice of…”

  She pulls the sunglasses off and gives me a pointed look with mascara-smeared eyes.

  I put it all together.

  “Oh. You didn’t go home last night.”

  Claire sighs and helps herself to my coffee. “Nope, but it’s not what you think.”

  “Spill, then.”

  “Remember I told you about that guy I met on that new app? The writer?”

  “Yeah.”

  “We went out last night.”

  “Keep going.”

  A couple girls walk by, stealing glances at Claire. She slips her sunglasses back on.

  “Everything seemed fine at dinner, and then when we went back to his place. He was doing everything right. The music was good, the wine was great…”

  She’s pausing for dramatic effect—something Claire loves to do.

  Taking a deep breath, she plunges on.

  “And then he started talking about his ex-girlfriend. One it turned out he only broke up with four days ago. He started crying, Noelle. Crying. On my shoulder. I was sitting there patting him.”

  “And then you had sex?” I ask between chortles.

  She snorts. “And then he fell asleep on me. While still crying, I need to point out. That’s why I look like this.” She gestures to her face. “I get to do a walk of shame, except there was nothing to enjoy in the first place.”

  “Why didn’t you just leave?”

  “I tried to once, but he latched onto me in his sleep and begged me not to. At least I think he was sleeping.” She frowns.

  “Maybe he was half-sleeping, and he thought you were his ex-girlfriend.”

  “Ugh. You’re right. He probably did.” With a groan, she drops her head into her hands. “This is such bullshit. Has dating always been this hard?”

  I sigh. “I don’t know, but don’t feel that bad. It’s not easy for any of us.”

  “That’s easy for you to say. You’re seeing two guys.”

  “I feel like ‘seeing’ is kind of a stretch.”

  Her lips twist. “Whatever. You’ve still hit the jackpot, and you know it.”

  I don’t say anything. Maybe the sudden influx of male attention in my life looks great, but the complications that have come along with it are pretty daunting.

  “Can I have one of your guys?” Claire pouts. “Please, Noelle? Please?”

  “Be careful what you wish for,” I laugh.

  “Anything has to be better than having a grown man cry on your shoulder.” She stands up. “I’m getting coffee, and then I have to go pick up a new dog.”

  “What kind?”

  “A Great Dane.”

  “You’re going to walk a Great Dane in those?” I eye her high heels.

  “Girl, after what I endured last night, I can do anything.”

  She gets her coffee, and we say goodbye. I’m just about to get back to my computer when my phone receives another text.

  Zach.

  Just seeing his name makes me all warm and giddy.

  Ready for another drink?

  Smiling, I compose a response.

  It’s Saturday morning.


  It takes less than a minute for him to write back.

  Right. So… Brunch?

  Biting my lip in pleasure, I take a moment to debate. My brain is fried, and it’s not like my hours spent researching have taken me anywhere. It’s the weekend. I want to let loose, enjoy myself. And I want to see Zach.

  Plus, if I’m lucky, he might just be willing to talk about Ethan again. It’s not a guarantee, though, so I won’t push it… Only remain open to it.

  After a few more texts, we set up a time and a place, and I rush home to shower. This time I don’t linger under the spray, indulging in fantasies. Real life is waiting for me.

  I choose a yellow sundress, a color everyone says goes great with my hair and skin tone, and do my makeup natural. An hour later and I’m at the designated spot, a French restaurant that Zach picked.

  I linger on the patio, near the wicker chairs and techies drinking press pots of coffee, my stomach aflutter with butterflies. Though I’ve spent a number of hours in Zach’s presence at this point, what’s about to happen here is different. This isn’t an interview. It isn’t a hookup. It’s a proper date.

  And it has me grinning like crazy.

  The soft touch on my lower back makes me spin around. Zach’s full glory—dimples, sparkling eyes, knee-shaking scent and all—overwhelms me. I can barely get my mouth open to say anything.

  “You look…” His gaze goes down my dress, but it’s a quick once-over, one that feels merely appreciative and not lascivious. “Beautiful,” he softly finishes. “Should we get a table? Inside or out?”

  It feels so perfect, so romantic, the way that he keeps his arm extended, gesturing for me to go forward as the hostess guides us to a table outside. He even pulls my chair out for me, waiting until I’m settled to take his own seat.

  “Thanks for meeting me. I know it was kind of last-minute.”

  I laugh. “Says the tech mogul.”

  There’s that side grin. Pressure mounts between my legs, and I cross them in an attempt to quell my desire.