2. Chapter Two
2
Evan
The only way to get this bodyguard out of my way is to make sure she never wants to come back – which is why my plans tonight involve a lot of alcohol. Brent’s sitting on the couch, Julia perched next to him, and he chuckles softly when I walk into the room.
“You’re still going on about this?” I groan.
He smirks and his shoulders shake with uncontained laughter. “I can’t help it, you actually thought she was a stripper. If only Ryker was here to badger your ass about it.”
I glare at him but don’t say anything.
It’s not my fault that her clothes clung tightly to her frame, accentuating her curves in all the right ways. The way she looked at me when I first opened the door, it was as though she wanted to take a bite out of me – and I was more than willing to let her do it.
More of a reason to get rid of her – aside from not needing a damn guard in the first place. Carmen is overreacting, like usual.
“Are you sure this is a good thing to do, man?”
I shrug. “Guess we’ll see.”
“Can’t you simply ignore her?”
If only it were that simple, then I’d be all for it. The moment I opened the door, though, I was nearly blown away at the sight of her standing in front of me. There was a small moment, looking into her bright blue eyes, that I recognized something about her, but I didn’t let it get to me.
She’s a bodyguard, I’m sure I’ve seen her hanging around some of the other musicians I know of and that’s where I recognize her from.
Back to the problem – she’s stunning… and off-limits as my bodyguard.
When Carmen, our newest addition to the staff since we fired Mack, told me that she’d be assigning me a personal bodyguard, I had pictured someone much different—someone with tons of muscles, at least six feet tall, and a broody personality who wouldn’t get in my way.
Instead, Mia showed up on my front porch with dark hair pulled into a tight ponytail and jeans, hugging every inch of her curves. Even her shirt dipped low at the neck, giving me a nice idea of what she’s hiding beneath the fabric – perky breasts just waiting for me to trail my tongue over them.
What noises would she make if I did just that? I’d imagine her hand would come to my head, back arching into my mouth, begging me for more, and I know that I’d gladly give it to her if only to make sure the moans last longer.
I clear my throat, sending the vivid image of her away, and run a hand through my hair. “I’m not letting someone follow me around.”
“You will if it’s what’s best for you,” Carmen says from across the room, her arms crossed in front of her with a frown. “Look, I know that we’ve got a lot to work on with me being new and all, but I want you guys to know that I’m looking out for you guys.”
“Do you really think I need a bodyguard, though?”
Raising Havoc has been getting more popular as the months go by, which means we get a lot of fan mail that includes women acting like they’ve never seen an attractive man before. There’s been plenty of times when a few of the fans were camped out in front of our house, practically salivating when we finally managed to step out of the wrought iron gates.
Even then, we never had to have bodyguards on our tails day and night.
Carmen sighs. “Yes, Evan, I do. I’ve seen the threats being made to you, and it’s only a matter of time before they get worse.”
“And Mia is the best person for the job?”
“If you would’ve looked at the file I gave you, which details her experience and qualifications, you wouldn’t have to ask me that question,” she mumbles.
“Yeah, yeah,” I mutter, then look down the hallway where Mia’s room is located. “She going to come out of there anytime soon? I’m getting impatient.”
Carmen rolls her eyes, then backs away slowly. “I still think you going out tonight is a terrible idea.”
“You and me both,” Brent states from his place on the couch.
I look at Julia, waiting for her to chime in like she loves to do, but she stays awkwardly quiet from her place next to him.
Having two women here was bad enough, especially when one of them is as sweet and bubbly – that would be Julia – and adding a third one into the mix was not what I’d had in mind.
Carmen disappears into her office, located on the first level of our home – she insisted she get a room here, that way she could get to know us better and pick up where Mack left off – and that’s when Mia finally chooses to make her own appearance.
I’m not sure what I expected when I had Brent go and let her know that we would be going out tonight, but it wasn’t this. She’s got a pair of black slacks on, hanging loosely over her legs and looking more out of place than I’d like. Even looking out of place, there’s this aura surrounding her that has me taking a couple of steps closer to her form.
She looks at me, blinks a couple of times, and then squares her shoulders. “Are you ready?”
There’s no sign of emotion in her gaze, which I guess is a good thing if she’s going to be following me around a lot, but it unnerves me that she can be so unaffected when I can’t seem to stop staring at her.
Her t-shirt is also black, clinging to her sculpted biceps, and there’s a small gold chain hanging from her neck that has an image I can’t see dangling from it. I try to squint, hoping it will make the image clearer, but it doesn’t help in the slightest. As if sensing where my stare is, Mia carefully pulls on the chain and tucks it beneath the fabric of her shirt.
“Yep,” I say, finally answering the question she asked a few moments ago. “Lookin’ good, babe.”
A smile fills my features when her cheeks heat up, a flush skating down the length of her neck and stopping at the neckline of her shirt.
Good, I need her to be riled up.
Her blank stare falters for a moment, revealing a set of white teeth that adds to her perfection, and she says, “You wish I was your babe.”
Is she flirting with me?
I shake my head and frown. “Let’s roll out.”
Brent and Julia go to follow behind me, but Mia throws an arm out and glares at them before taking up the space at my back.
Before I can open the door and walk out, she’s reaching out and pressing her hand against my chest. “Wait until I check things out.”
I roll my eyes at her. “No one would make it onto the property.”
She cuts her gaze to me, once again emotionless, and says, “You’d be surprised.”
Even though she’s already stepped out of the house, there’s still an imprint of her touch left on my chest that confuses the hell out of me. My skin is on fire, burning with a desire I have no business having and that I know should be tamped down immediately.
While she spends the next couple minutes making sure everything looks good surrounding the house, I tap my foot impatiently on the floor with Brent’s stare boring a hole into my side.
I narrow my eyes at him. “Should I have invited Jace instead?”
Jace is the new lead guitarist for the band, something that happened when Ryker made his exit after being the subject of Mack’s abuse of power.
Instead of touring the country with us, Ryker’s creating a happy life with Wren in Arizona, and I couldn’t be happier for him. I’ve always believed in love but never openly went for it because I believe it will land in front of me when the time is right.
The time was right for Ryker, and there’s nothing that could make me mad about that.
It’s been tough getting used to Jace’s presence, especially since he’s the type who doesn’t like to talk too much – he’s a killer on the guitar, though, so I can’t complain.
Brent scoffs. “You know he never would’ve come, or else you’d have asked him regardless.”
He’s got me there, and I know it.
“Alright,” Mia says in the doorway. “We are good to go.”
“Great, glad we’re safe,” I mutter while pushing past her.
She scoots into the passenger seat, leaving me, Brent, and Julia to slide into the back, and I glare at her head as the driver eases our car down the long driveway. Her head darts in every direction as we head down the busy main road, eyes cutting through the darkness as if she can see what no one can, and I watch her with fascination.
That’s not good .
***
We’re a couple of hours into the night, and I’ve had entirely too much to drink, so it only makes sense that I stumble up to Mia, who’s sitting straight on a lone stool facing the crowd. She doesn’t so much as glance at me as I lean against the banister next to her, and I sigh loudly in hopes that it will gain her attention.
“You’re grumpy,” I slur.
Her shoulders straighten, but she still doesn’t look at me.
“Oh, come on,” I say, nudging her shoulder lightly. “Let me see those pretty blue eyes.”
That gets her attention, except not in the way I was hoping. She glares at me and says, “I’ve got a job to do, one that seems to become more difficult when you won’t stop downing shots like they’re water.”
“Ooh, feisty,” I say with a chuckle. “I like it.”
When I reach forward to brush a strand of her from her shoulder, she flinches away from the touch and stands from her stool with a frown. “This is inappropriate. I think it’s time that we head out. You’ve had enough fun, and I’m already going to have to help you to the car.”
“The night is young!” I say as she makes her way down the set of VIP stairs, heading right for Brent and Julia who are enjoying themselves at the edge of the crowd.
She doesn’t look at me over her shoulder and taps on Brent’s shoulder. He nods in response, then tugs Julia with him as they start their way up the stairs toward me. Mia’s lips don’t so much as twitch with a smile, that emotionless facade shining brightly in front of me, and she crosses her arms.
“Let’s go, man,” Brent says. “We’ve had enough for tonight.”
“Whatever,” I mumble and shake from Mia’s touch when she tries to steer me toward the exit.
If she touches me anymore, I’m afraid I’ll make a big mistake.
The car ride is full of tension as I silently stew over the demand to leave the club, the feeling only heightening when Brent and Julia jump out of the car to head inside the house. Our driver has also stepped out, heading straight toward his living quarters on the other side of our property, and now it’s only me and Mia inside the vehicle.
She sighs heavily, eyes scanning the space like she’s done every time we go somewhere, then climbs out of the car slowly. I fumble with the door handle, eagerly trying to catch up to her, then frown at it. Mia’s frame spins, and she shakes her head before marching back over to my door.
I nearly fall out, but her harsh grip keeps me from plummeting face first to the ground and she lifts me up like I’m a feather. The house is quiet when we get inside, save for my heavy footsteps as I let her lead me through the halls to my room.
There’s a scent floating in the air around her, one that I wouldn’t have guessed she would have with that cold exterior she seems to exude, and I can’t help but inhale it. It’s something tropical – maybe coconut – and it’s enough to have me leaning further into her to get closer to it. I feel her body tense against mine, but she doesn’t stop walking.
What is wrong with me right now?
She comes to a stop in front of my door, pushes it open, then walks me to the edge of my bed before depositing my large frame onto it like a sack of potatoes.
“Shouldn’t you be more careful with me?”
Mia rolls her eyes but doesn't respond to my question and instead says, “Make sure you take the Tylenol sitting out for you. You’ve got a long day tomorrow.”
Right. I almost forgot that we’ve got an interview with a big radio show, which I’m sure is bound to be a bunch of questions about our former manager Mack. Even after months of him being gone, no one has seemed to get over the fact that he was doing us dirty while working for all of us.
I watch as Mia heads for the door and says, “Wait.”
She stops but doesn’t turn around to look at me – I wonder why.
“Stay here with me.”
It’s not what I wanted to say, but with the alcohol swimming through my veins, that’s what came out. I hold my breath, waiting patiently for her answer, and she takes a calming breath before spinning around to face me.
Her eyes glitter so beautifully under the pale light from my bathroom, like it’s exactly what she wanted me to say, but the shine is replaced with a glare that ruins the moment.
“That’s highly unacceptable, Mr. Knight. Please get some rest, for both of our sakes. Goodnight.”
Then, she walks out, and I’m left thinking about what it would’ve been like to have her lying next to me. There’s still something about her that seems familiar like I’ve met her before, but I can’t figure out from where.
Maybe once the alcohol wears off, it will come to me.