Chapter 17 #2
“Do? I’m going to watch.”
She started to choke on the piece of strawberry she’d put in her mouth.
He immediately pulled over and started patting her back. “Spit it out, Maya. Spit. It. Out.”
The strawberry came flying out of her mouth. But it didn’t land in the hand he was holding under her mouth. Nope, it flew through the air and landed with a splat against the windshield. Then it slid down the windshield, leaving a film behind it.
Awesome.
That was just freaking awesome.
“Are you all right? Have a drink of water.” He leaned over to grab her water bottle which was on the floor at her feet. That put his face way too close to her lady bits.
And yes, she called them lady bits. It felt strange calling them anything else. She’d once tried to give them a name, but Gertrude just hadn’t sounded right.
Don’t react.
Do not react.
He’s just trying to help you. Even if his shoulder did rub against your breast and your nipple hardened.
Oh heck!
She was wearing a sports bra and a thin long-sleeved T-shirt. It was kind of obvious that her nipple had gone all hard.
“Here you are. Sip.” He sat back up and held the straw part of the bottle to her mouth. She wrapped her lips around it and sucked.
Was it her imagination or did his eyes darken? Was he aroused? Was that why he was just sitting there, staring at her?
Maybe he felt the same way she did . . . maybe he couldn’t resist this pull between them.
“Here, take the drink bottle.”
Or maybe he’d just been waiting for her to take the drink bottle from him and she’d been staring at him like a zombie.
Huh, perhaps she really was zombie Maya.
Awesome.
“Are you feeling better now?” he asked.
She nodded as she lowered the drink bottle. She’d stopped drinking a while ago, but hadn’t wanted to move the bottle away since she didn’t want to talk to him.
“Are you sure?” he asked.
Another nod. She stared at the piece of strawberry. She wanted to grab it and tuck it away, but she couldn’t seem to move.
Had he seen her nipple?
Embarrassment flooded her. Had he sensed her arousal?
Dear God. This was terrible. It was a disaster. It was nipplegate.
Or maybe strawberrygate was more accurate.
“Like that, huh?” he murmured as he pulled into a parking spot by her work. How had he known where she worked? If she could actually talk, she’d ask him.
He turned to her, making her tense more. What did he mean, like that?
“Don’t stress, Maya. Everything is going to be okay.”
Those words shouldn’t have made a difference to her stress levels. Telling someone not to stress was ridiculous. It never worked . . . only she felt her breathing grow easier, her chest become less restricted.
It was nuts.
She was nuts.
“Take a deep breath, let it out slowly. You’ve got to go teach a class now and you need to be nice and relaxed. Another one. In. Out. Very good. You’re doing so well.”
Yay her! She knew how to breathe. Something other people managed to do without coaching.
Then she remembered why she’d choked in the first place.
Crap!
“You can’t come in with me,” she managed to get out as she stared out the windshield.
David would flip.
She’d get fired.
And she needed to keep this job. At least until she rescued those puppies. There was another puppy yoga class on Saturday. She couldn’t just leave them to their fate.
“I’m coming in,” he said firmly.
“My boss won’t like that.”
“He’ll just have to get over that, then, won’t he?” he replied calmly.
That was okay for him to say. He didn’t have to deal with David on a day-to-day basis. Although she guessed he would be for the foreseeable future.
With a groan, she reached for her door handle.
“Wait.” He reached over and grabbed hold of her arm. She froze.
Not again.
She really needed to get more comfortable with his touch.
Oh, you’d like that, wouldn’t you?
Shut up, devil Maya.
“What?” she snapped, without really meaning to. But she had to get away from him. His scent filled the car. She couldn’t describe it exactly. Sandalwood with a hint of something else? Cinnamon and vanilla? Or was it caramel?
“We need to talk about some rules before we go in there.”
“Now?”
“Now,” he said firmly. “First rule, you don’t get out of the car until I come around and open the door.”
“Seriously?” She turned to gape at him.
“Yes, I am being very serious. I’m talking about your safety. Which is literally my job.”
Right. She was a job.
She shouldn’t forget that.
Just do what he says without arguing.
And now good girl Maya was here. Maya wasn’t sure which one she preferred. The angel or the demon.
“Next rule. You don’t leave a building without me. We go in there, I stick to you like glue. But, if for some reason we get separated, you do not leave. Same at your house. Understand?”
“Yes, I understand.”
“But I will be sticking to you like glue. That means that I walk close to you. I stay close to you. If you want to go somewhere, you talk to me first.”
She nodded. All of this seemed fairly straight forward. Although she had a feeling she would get tired of it quickly.
“If you get a bad feeling at any time, you tell me. If anything happens that makes you feel scared or uncomfortable, you tell me.”
“All right,” she whispered. “Is that all? I’m going to be late.”
“Yeah, and this one is important.” He reached out to grasp her chin, turning her to face him.
She closed her eyes. She couldn’t deal with any of this right now. Not on the amount of coffee that she’d had.
“Open your eyes. Look at me. You don’t have to talk. Just listen.”
Yeah, listening had never been her strong point.
Actually, that wasn’t true. Obedience had never been her strong point. After her mom died, rebelling was the only way she’d gotten her father’s attention.
She knew it was stupid, but she’d been fifteen.
She’d been lost and alone and the one person she’d thought would be there for her . . . had abandoned her.
So it took a lot for her to force her eyes open and stare up at him.
“You’re doing so well. I know this is a lot. But I need you to hear me. If there is a situation, if there is a threat to your life, I need you to promise that you will do exactly as I tell you to do. Understand?”
Maya nodded.
“No, Maya. I want you to mean this. You are to do as I say or there will be consequences.”
What the heck did that mean? Did he mean that she’d get hurt? Maybe die?
Nothing could happen to her . . . she didn’t have anyone to look after her babies. Those sorts of thoughts kept her up at night.
She’d thought about asking Livvy . . . but she seemed to have a lot on her plate with her kids.
What about Millie?
Huh. That was a thought. She didn’t know her well, but it was obvious that Millie liked animals.
Plus, Millie didn’t seem to mind the . . . unusual. Just look at Mr. Fluffy. He wasn’t a standard dog.
“I’ve lost you, haven’t I? Back to zombie Maya.”
“I’m not a zombie,” she told him. “I was just thinking about what to do with my babies if something happens to me.”
The hand on her chin tightened, making her eyes widen.
“Nothing is going to happen to you. Do you hear me? That is why I am here. To ensure your safety. And I will keep you safe.”
He’d come on too strong. He could see that now.
But the idea of something happening to her had those embers of anger inside him flaring up. Burning brighter.
He couldn’t let them turn into flames.
Control. Be in control.
Maya kept shooting him strange looks as they headed into the yoga studio.
He wished he hadn’t reacted so intensely to her words, but just the thought of something happening to her made his fury spark.
Control.
She’s a job. Nothing more.
However, it was hard not to admire her. She was strong and brave and clearly caring. Compassionate.
“You’re late, Maya!” An older guy with thinning dark hair stormed out of a room. He was tanned, but the sort of tan that you got from a can rather than being outside. Not that there was anything wrong with that, only he had gone for an orange tint that just looked odd on him.
He was fit and muscular, his clothes stuck to him like a second skin. Everywhere.
Jesus did he not know that they could all see his dick through those tight pants? That was disturbing.
“Yeah, sorry, David. I have something I need to talk?—”
“No time, your class is about to start and if you still want to have a job by the end of the day, you’ll get in there.” The guy clapped his hands imperiously.
Who the fuck did he think he was?
Did he really just clap his hands at Maya? Matthieu watched as she put her hands on her hips and glared at him.
“I’d already be in there teaching my class if you’d shut up and listen to me.”
Matthieu’s lips twitched. There was his spitfire.
“Did you just tell me to shut up?” David moved forward until he was in Maya’s face. He wasn’t much taller than she was, perhaps a few inches. But he was trying to use them to his advantage.
Matthieu stiffened. How was this girl surrounded by such assholes? Did she somehow attract them?
Well, at least she had him now to keep her safe from them.
Yeah, but how long will you be around to protect her?
That didn’t matter. What mattered is that right now she needed help and he was here to give it.
Stepping forward, he placed his arm around her waist and lifted her back before sliding between them. He glared down at David who gulped and took a few steps back.
“Who . . . who are you?”
“This is what I was trying to explain,” Maya said with exasperation. “I’ve got a situation. Matthieu is my bodyguard. He’ll be at work with me for the foreseeable future. That’s all. Let’s go, Matthieu.”
She attempted to walk past them both, but David, the asshole, couldn’t seem to let her go. Reaching out, he grabbed hold of her wrist.
Matthieu reacted on instinct. He grabbed the other man’s wrist and tugged on it sharply.
“Ouch!” David cried, cupping his hand to his chest. “What are you doing? You hurt me!”
“I barely touched you,” Matthieu replied dismissively. “You do not touch her.”
“I could sue you!”
“You touched her first. Without her permission. I was just removing your touch. Wonder what people would think of you touching your female employees?”
“It wasn’t like that.” David’s eyes darted around.
“You could have hurt her,” Matthieu countered. “And you don’t get to touch her. Ever.”
“You cannot just bring a bodyguard to work, Maya! I was willing to overlook that incident the other day with that ridiculous dog, but this is just too much. I am going to have to let you go.”
Maya stiffened.
Personally, he thought that she could do a lot better than this place and this asshole.
“Fine, let’s go.” Matthieu grabbed her arm and turned them to guide them out.
“Matthieu,” she whispered. “I can’t. Not yet.”
Not yet? Did that mean she had plans to leave at some stage?
“You don’t need to work for that asshole.”
“I know that. But I can’t leave yet.”
“If you’re worried about money . . .” he trailed off, unsure what he’d been about to say. That he would support her?
You’re her bodyguard, not her man.
“Of course I’m worried about money, but that’s not the real reason.”
What was the reason?
He looked down at her, but as usual she had her gaze on her feet.
“Wait!” David called out.
“Keep walking,” Matthieu told her. As he’d suspected, David had been talking out his ass. He’d likely wanted her to beg him for her job.
And he wasn’t going to allow Maya to do that. Certainly not to this dickhead.
She glanced up at him, but did as he ordered. A ridiculous sense of pleasure filled him.
He liked that she obeyed him.
“Maya, I said wait!” David ran around in front of them and Matthieu brought them both to a halt, glaring down at the jerk.
“What is it, David?” Maya asked, sounding bored. “You made your views on Matthieu clear, you told me I was fired, so I’m leaving.”
“You can’t just leave!” he cried. “You have classes to teach.”
“You fired me,” she said incredulously. “Did you seriously expect me to stay and teach a class after that?”
“Yes! I know you need this job. You should have apologized and given in,” he whined.
Seriously. This dick was unbelievable.
“She’s not doing that,” Matthieu told him. “She doesn’t need this job and it will be safer for her not to work here. So we’re leaving.”
“No! No, wait! If you leave, so will my clients.”
Hmm.
“What?” Maya asked.
“They love you. They’ve made it clear they come here for you.”
Interesting.
He bet that Maya hadn’t known that.
“They do?” she whispered before straightening her shoulders. “Well, of course they do. I’m a good teacher.”
That was his girl. He held back his smirk. “So, what should you be doing right now?”
David glared up at him. “Telling Maya to get her ass to class.”
“No,” he replied. “First, you do not talk about, look at, or think about her ass. Second, you apologize and ask her to stay. With a bonus to sweeten the pot.”
David’s mouth opened, then closed. Then he did it again, his eyes bugging out. He kind of reminded Matthieu of Dougie. Except Dougie was cute and sweet and not a dick.
Unlike David, who was.
Matthieu still had half a mind to tell this guy to get lost and walk Maya out of there.
And if Maya were his he’d have done just that.
But she wasn’t. And when he left, she had to go back to her life. This life.
So it wasn’t his right to interfere too much in her life.
But that didn’t mean that he didn’t want to.
“You cannot demand a bonus!” David cried. “That’s impossible! I can’t afford that! Who do you think you are?”
“She’s the woman who brings in all your customers,” Matthieu told him as he leaned in. “Just think about what would happen if we kept walking.”
David swallowed heavily. “Fine. I’ll give you a five percent pay rise if you stay.”
“Done. Let’s go.” Maya walked quickly away, but Matthieu gave David a look.
“Maya, wait for me,” Matthieu ordered before turning to David. “I’ll be watching you. If you even step a foot out of place, I’m going to make your life a living hell.”
David swallowed heavily. As he’d suspected, the guy was a bully. And when he was confronted, he caved like a coward.
Matthieu walked over to where Maya was impatiently tapping her foot. “Maya, wait?”
“Yes. You’re not supposed to leave my eyesight.” He shot her a look. “So lucky that you obeyed me or you’d be in trouble.”
She raised her hands in the air. “You keep saying I’m going to get into trouble, but I don’t know what you are talking about. What sort of trouble?”
The kind that was going to make it hard for her to sit. But he didn’t say that. He didn’t need her freaking out on him.
“Come on, you’re late for class.”
“What did you say to David?”
“That is none of your business. Let’s go.”