Chapter 3
Chapter Three
A jax
The man standing before him stole the breath from his lungs. His face . Rugged was the first word that came to mind, with his auburn shadowed, square jaw and sharp cheekbones that sloped like arrows pointing to lips that were the most interesting shade of natural pink. Lusty gallant was the description that came to his mind, his mind notching on how incongruous that soft pink was nestled in such a masculine face. The lips of a muse.
His whimsical thought didn’t surprise him; he was firmly in a writing stage, which always made him observe everything closely. Think outside the box.
The second word that came to his mind was… magic .
His new bodyguard wasn’t human. There wasn’t anything about his appearance that gave him away, but his aura of magic was so strong, Ajax felt it prickling along the surface of his skin. He’d always been aware of the people who were different—even had one in his band. And he’d also grown up with a preternatural best friend. Just knowing about the world they tried to keep hidden had inspired a lot of his songs.
He looked the man over. Though his last two boyfriends had been more of the suit-wearing type, Finn was just the rough-edged kind of guy Ajax had always found attractive. Tattoos snaked around his exposed arms and peeked out from the neck of his tight black T-shirt. His dark auburn hair swept back off his forehead in a faux-hawk, one of the buzzed sides showing the outline of a small lightning bolt. And damn, he was built, with a broad chest and the kind of thick, meaty thighs Ajax wanted to see bare pretty damn badly.
Well, that was new.
He frowned. This might actually be a problem.
It had been four months since he’d sent his ex packing, and he hadn’t been laid since. Well, longer than that, since he hadn’t been able to bring himself to touch Alan after what that asshole had pulled. But Ajax had always gone long periods without sex. He was used to it. And he certainly wasn’t used to feeling attraction right away.
This new bodyguard exuded sex without effort. Ajax could only imagine what he’d be like if he were actually focused on it. And Ajax’s body had perked up the second Finn had walked toward him. Marveling over this new feeling, Ajax cleared his throat, realizing he’d just been standing there, staring.
“Come in,” he finally said. “I’ll show you around. Explain what I’ll be doing.” He started walking through the main living area, which was filled with warm autumn colors. It had a brick fireplace, beige couch that had turned out to be pretty damn comfy, and two brown recliners. When he’d looked at the rental online, the soft tones had pulled him in. Nothing to take away time from his imagination. Plus, lots of surfaces for his candles.
He took Finn down the hallway to the separate kitchen. It was a big room, with double ovens, a wide brown granite-covered island and an even bigger refrigerator than the one he had in his New York apartment. “Feel free to keep whatever you want in here. One of the things I’m doing on this sabbatical is learning to cook. How would you feel about being a guinea pig?”
Finn’s big presence made the large kitchen feel smaller. The man stood with his arms at his sides, his coffee-colored eyes pinned on Ajax. “I love all food, so I’m game. But if we want to eat in often, I can cook a few things. Mainly pasta and steaks, but I have a couple of good chicken recipes. Unless you’re a vegetarian?”
Ajax grinned. “I used to be, but it turned out to be a phase for me. I like my steak a little too much.” He walked to the counter next to the refrigerator and picked up a stack of papers. “I just printed out all these recipes because I’m apparently old school. I get annoyed trying to cook with recipes using my phone.” He smiled again. “Already ordered all the ingredients—shopping out is too much of a pain for me. Tonight, we’re having these beef roll-ups. Sound good?”
“Sure. Anything with beef makes me happy. But you don’t have to feed me. I can fend for myself.”
“It’s more fun to cook for two than one. Plus, I need a taste-tester.” He set the recipes down. “The band stays on the go a lot, so I’ve spent the last six years eating out and was craving a change.”
“From the looks of this place you rented, you could probably afford a chef.”
“I could, but I’ve never been good about strangers in my home.”
Finn tilted his head. The sunlight streaming in from the windows made his rich auburn hair pop. “Yet you hired me?”
“Protection is necessary—and believe me, my location will get out eventually, and you’ll have problems on your hands. We should have a few weeks, though. But the fans…” He paused, watching Finn’s expression change to concerned. “I love them, don’t get me wrong, but some are so intrusive. They constantly try to contact me, and a few have even gone so far as to contact my parents. One guy showed up at their house.”
“Showed up at your parents’ house,” Finn repeated. “Wow.”
“Yeah, this one is someone I have to keep an eye on. He keeps sending me demos. I get a lot of those for some reason, and I do listen to some, but this one annoyed me so much by bothering my parents, I refuse to listen to his songs. He won’t give up, though.”
“Do you have someone to go through all your mail and emails? That sort of thing?”
Ajax nodded. “I have a great assistant. Anton stayed at my house in New York to keep up with all that. Since I’m not going to be around for six months, he’s only working one day a week. He normally travels with me everywhere, so he deserved the time off.”
“My employer told me you were here to work on a solo project.”
“Are you familiar with Back to Chaos?”
“I am. You guys are incredible. I’m a new fan.” He chuckled. “But a non-intrusive, regular sort of fan.”
“We like that kind.” He winked, then walked toward the hallway. “Come, I’ll show you more. It’s going to be really boring for you here, I’m afraid. I’m working on songs, so I’ll be pretty focused.”
“Don’t worry about me. Just do your thing and pretend I’m not here.”
Like that would be possible. Finn had the kind of presence that couldn’t be ignored. Just being around the bodyguard had him sporting a semi, which was highly unusual for him. He usually had to get to know a person before he started feeling desire for them. That’s why this felt so new. And intriguing.
Well, he had wanted to write some sexy songs, so maybe he could use this to his advantage. He did have the lips of a muse, after all. Plus, Ajax liked the way Finn walked. Long, sure strides that were strangely graceful for such a tough-looking guy.
Ajax opened the door to the studio. “In addition to the high fences around the property, this is why I rented the place. The studio has great acoustics, soundproofing, and came with the recording gear. But I’m mostly writing now, so you’ll find me on my guitar or keyboard with notepads. Get used to the notepads because I leave them everywhere. You’d think it would be easier to cart one around to keep everything contained, but I never do anything the easy way. Oh, and the candles. I have a thing for them, so there are always some lit wherever I am. Hope you like the scent of vanilla.”
“I smelled vanilla before I even got into the house.” Finn looked around the studio. “So, what made you decide to work on solo music?”
He shrugged. “It’s just something I needed to do. The songs I’m working on don’t really fit BTC, so it was time to branch out.” He moved away from the studio door and down the hallway. “This will be your room. Thanks for upending your life to stay here for so long.”
Finn glanced around the decent-sized room with its four-poster bed and two dressers. The owners had decorated it in subtle blue shades, making it a calm and restful area. He nodded his approval. “I’m used to staying with clients. I’ll be here on the weekdays with another of our protection specialists switching out with me on the weekends. You’ll like Ivor. Everyone does.”
“I’m sure I will, though it’s going to take some adjustment. I normally have someone, but he decided to get married, open his own firm, and break my heart. Was with me five years, so we got really close.”
“Were you…together?”
“Together?” Ajax asked lifting an eyebrow as he clued in to what Finn meant. “Oh no, Jake was one hundred percent straight. I just meant you get close to someone with that much time. We became good friends. I’m happy for him, though.” He pointed to the end of the hall. “My room is at the end. This house sits on three acres, and it’s completely fenced, but with all the trees, it’ll be easy for fans to find hidden places to jump the fence. Once they figure out I’m here, and they inevitably will no matter how safe I play it, they’ll start intruding. You’ll also be dealing with paparazzi.”
“I can handle it. Don’t worry.”
He certainly looked like he could. Ajax was having a bitch of a time not ogling the man. Instant attraction to this degree was just so new. He had occasionally had the random hookup, though he never seemed to get out of them what others did, but it had been a long time. So maybe that was it. Maybe he was feeling touch starved.
Messing around with an employee was a bad idea, though, so he pushed that thought aside and shoved his hands into the pockets of his jeans, curling his toes on the hardwood floor. “So, do whatever it is you do. I’ll be around if you have any questions.”
“We’re good.” Finn dropped his bag onto the floor of the bedroom and turned to walk down the hall. “I’ll go out and get the lay of the land now.”
“You do that,” Ajax murmured as he watched Finn walk away from him with a confident, quick stride. When he was out of sight, Ajax went into the studio, shut the door, and slumped into the chair in front of the wide desk that took up half the room. Being around attractive men was normal in his line of work. Hell, every member of his band was good-looking. Fans and groupies surrounded them most of the time, yet not once had he had this sort of visceral reaction to someone.
He could use this.
Grabbing a notebook and pen, he moved to the small loveseat in the corner and stretched out, throwing one leg up over the back. He closed his eyes as a slow, sensual beat came to mind, his foot tapping out the rhythm in the air. He let his reaction to Finn fill his mind and soon, the words started to flow.