Chapter Five – Alex
From the edge of the VIP area, I watched as Olya tossed her head back and burst out laughing at something her friend had just said to her, her dark hair falling in a shimmering waterfall down her back. In the dim lights of the bar, her skin seemed to glow with a deep warmth, her brown eyes glittering with golden flecks...
I drew my gaze away from her quickly and returned it to the club in front of me, reminding myself what I was meant to be doing here. I was here because I wasn’t meant to let her out of my sight – I was meant to keep a close eye on her and make sure nobody got close to her, nobody who might have meant any trouble, at least.
Though this bar was hardly the meeting spot for anyone who would have wanted to cause her harm. She was just hanging out with a friend from high school – shed filled me in when I’d been driving her over, in the car her father had gifted us for the job at hand, though I could tell she resented having to share anything at all with me. I couldn’t blame her. She clearly didn’t like the idea of having to sacrifice her freedom like this, no matter whether it was for good reason or not.
The bar had been relatively quiet, and the two girls had been led right up to the VIP area the moment they had arrived, probably because people knew exactly who she was. She might have liked to think she could just slide under the radar, but there was no way people weren’t aware that she was an Antonov, and acted accordingly.
I doubted she even clocked it anymore, the way people treated her, as though she was different from everyone around her. It had likely happened her whole life, so much so that it had become part of the background noise, not something that was worth commenting on. I had noticed a couple of guys shooting looks in her direction, but she didn’t seem to notice them at all. I got the feeling that must have been pretty standard for her, too.
She hadn’t mentioned a boyfriend to us, but maybe she just didn’t want us to find out that she had someone special in her life. I figured we would find out eventually. Not that it mattered to me for any particular reason – no, I just wanted to make sure we were doing everything we could to keep her safe, and if that meant keeping watch of the men who showed interest in her, then we would make it happen. I knew she was going to do her best to keep it all from us, keep her secrets, but living together, it wasn’t as though she would be able to hide them for much longer.
She finished off her drink – how many had that been now? Three? She’d had a few cocktails, that was for sure, and this place poured them strong. When she got to her feet to hug her friend goodbye, I noticed she was swaying slightly on her feet, and I fought the urge to go over and offer her some physical support – I knew she would have just brushed me off and told me she was fine, that she didn’t need my help, even though it was clear she kind of did.
I followed her and her friend to the door, and they said their goodbyes – the friend shot one last look at me, and I could tell she was less than impressed that they’d had someone watching over them all night. Shit, that wasn’t my problem, not by a long shot.
I made my way towards Olya, who glanced up at me and giggled when I got close.
Oh, have you come to take me home in my carriage? she asked me sarcastically. Now it’s past midnight?
You’re drunk, I told her, taking her arm and steering her to the spot where I had left the car. She rolled her eyes.
Tipsy at worst, she replied, but she didn’t pull her arm away from mine. I couldn’t help but notice the way the dress she was wearing hugged her generously curvy figure, the shape of her wide hips beneath the fabric...
Okay, well, you need to get home, I told her firmly. I wasn’t going to let myself get distracted by the way she looked, not a chance in hell. I had a job to do, and I knew Solomon would be expecting us back by one, when his shift started, or he was likely to come out looking for us.
Fine, she replied, and, when I went to open the back seat of the car, she climbed right in the front, next to me. Fine. I didn’t care where she sat, as long as she was willing to get home already. I made my way to the driver’s side, pulling the door shut behind me, and felt her staring at me as I pulled the car out of the parking lot and into the quiet streets.
You didn’t meet anyone tonight? she asked me. I glanced at her, surprised.
I was there watching you, I reminded her. Not exactly looking to meet anyone.
Oh, I bet you got a few looks, she teased me. I frowned. I didn’t know what she was getting at, but this was the most I had seen her smile in my presence since I had met her. Maybe I should go along with it.
Why do you care? I shot back, a little more sharply than I intended to. She lifted her hands defensively.
Hey, I’m just making conversation, she laughed. Sorry, do you have a girlfriend at home or something? I guess she’d have to be pretty chill, what with you living with me...
What do you mean? I asked.
Come on, she giggled. Living under a roof with all of this?
She gestured down at herself playfully. I couldn’t help but look over at her again, at the generous few inches of cleavage showing above the neckline of her dress.
No, I don’t have a girlfriend, I replied, quickly turning my attention back to the road. And even if I did, she would know that this is just a job to me.
Oh, you’re no fun, she complained.
I’m not trying to be fun, I replied calmly. I’m trying to do my job.
That doesn’t mean you can’t have some fun too, she protested. You need to relax! Next time we go out, you should have some drinks with me. I bet you’d be a good dancer...
I couldn’t stop myself from snorting with laughter at the thought. I appreciated the vote of confidence, but I couldn’t exactly move without making a fool of myself.
See, look, that’s the first time I’ve seen you laugh!” she pointed out, stabbing her finger in the air in triumph. I’m already making you laugh. I bet I could get you dancing, too...
Trust me, I replied. You wouldn’t want to see me dancing.
Oh, don’t worry, she shot back. I bet we could have some fun...
She trailed off, letting the words hang in the air between us. Was she flirting with me? That was what it felt like, but I knew it just had to be the few drinks she’d had, nothing more than that. Because there was no way in a million years she would actually have been interested in me, not with how she had been acting all this time. No, she hated my guts, just as much as she hated Solomons, and she wasn’t going to forget that. She was just teasing me, seeing if she could throw me off my game and get me giving up on all my good senses.
Maybe, I replied, trying to keep my tone as diplomatic as possible. The last thing I wanted was for her to get it into her head that I actually thought she was hot. If there was one thing I knew would get Solomon and me fired in an instant, it was Maxim getting it into his head that either of us were attracted to her. He was a protective father, not the kind of guy who was going to let a pair of bodyguards live with his daughter if he thought they were into her.
We arrived back at the apartment building, and I helped her up the stairs – she was wearing these stupidly high heels, and she nearly took a tumble as she made her way up the first flight. I had to put my arm around her waist to keep her from toppling over backwards, and she fired a look at me over her shoulder.
See? she murmured, cocking an eyebrow. I knew you could move.
Fuck. Standing this close to her, I was able to smell her perfume, something sweet and floral and a little musky. I pulled back once I was sure she was steady on her feet again, pulling myself together. I couldn’t let her get to me, I just couldn’t. It would have been a disaster, and I knew I had to stop myself from letting this go any further than it already had.
Once she was in her bedroom, I headed through to the bedroom, where Solomon was waiting for me.
You ready to go to bed? he asked, yawning. I can take over now if you want...
Yeah, that would be great, I muttered, heading right through to the bathroom. I didn’t want him to see how flustered she had gotten me – I knew he would have teased me about it, and I didn’t want to deal with it right now. I just wanted to take a shower, get to bed, and forget this night had ever happened.
I turned on the shower full blast and stripped out of my clothes quickly, the smell of her perfume still lingering on my skin. You know the worst part? The worst part was that she must have known what she was doing to me. She struck me as the kind of girl who loved to tease, loved to use the power of her sexual appeal to get men bending to her every will. No wonder she had turned it on me.
And no wonder it had worked as well as it had. I stepped beneath the water and found that my cock was already hard just from her flirtation in the car. Shit! I needed to get myself together...
It was just the tension of the last few days rising up to get the better of me, I was sure of it. The sooner I could get this under control, the better. I wrapped my hand around my erection, and closed my eyes, trying to get my mind off of her – but, as I stood there beneath the water, she was the only thing I could think about.
My mind drifted to her, to the thought of her in that dress – bending her over, rolling up the hem to show off her gorgeous, thick ass. Sliding my hand between her legs and listening to her moan, telling her to be loud for me, to show me how much she wanted me...
I groaned, knowing all too well that she could probably hear me a few rooms away. I would write it off as her imagination if she asked me about it, but here, now, the thought of her hearing me actually sent another shockwave of lust and pleasure through my body. God, yes...
I gripped my cock a little tighter, stroking slowly, picturing her legs in those heels, how they would buckle and tremble as I moved inside of her and took her closer and closer to the edge I could tell she craved so fucking badly. How I would sink my hands into her hungrily, groping her as she belonged to me, gripping onto her like I couldn’t get enough, like I couldn’t even come close to getting enough, slamming myself deep inside of her up to the hilt until...
The orgasm spasmed through my whole body, my toes curling, my thighs clenching, and my jaw tensing as my seed spurted from the tip of my cock. I groaned again, the sound echoing off the walls of the shower around me.
I slumped back, breathing hard, as the pleasure coursed through my body and then began to fade again.
I had to hope that was the end of it – that I wasn’t going to get pulled into anything more in the way of desiring her. But, even as I stood there and allowed the water to rush across my body, I got the feeling it wasn’t going to be that easy.
And I got the feeling that this wasn’t going to be the last time I got myself off to the thought of her in the shower like this.