Chapter Four Oliver
"This place is hopping," Sienna says as we get out of the car.
The Sandbar & Sips sign with the neon wave hangs diagonally across the front of the beach shack facade. Tiki torches line the perimeter of the outdoor bar and restaurant. It’s packed like it always is at nine on a summer night, which means things are only going to get rowdier by the minute.
“Does it look okay to you?” I ask.
“Looks good to me.”
This is the most conversation we’ve had since I got up from my nap. It's not for lack of trying on Sienna's part. I'm still too overwhelmed by her and afraid of fucking up that I can't let my guard down for casual conversation.
She rambled about golf and sports when we sat down to eat the flatbreads she made us for dinner. They had roasted veggies and heaps of cheese and were damn good. Halfway through, she gave up trying to get me talking. I can't blame her.
At least she gave up on conversation with me. When I went up to my condo to get a few things, she must’ve put on the charm with the twenty-something summer-job lobby guy because he was grinning ear-to-ear when I came back down.
Is that how she talked to men when she was an escort?
Doesn’t matter.
I need to focus on my job. Tonight my job is to be a lovey-dovey bodyguard boyfriend. I put on my boyfriend smile and place my hand on the small of Sienna’s back.
“Oliver,” one of the bartenders shouts when we reach the back patio. I know him from the off-season when I come here voluntarily. “What are you having?”
“What would you like?” I ask Sienna.
“I’ll have a margarita.”
“Salt?”
“Nope.”
“Two margaritas, no salt,” I call back.
There aren't any seats available, but we find a tall table along the side of the patio. I stand close to Sienna, facing her to signal possession to any dude who checks her out, and every dude in this place is going to check her out at some point.
"Keep your eyes on me," I say, leaning toward her so the words stay private. Our bodies are only inches apart, and the desire to get even closer hits me acutely. I’m like a moth going headfirst into the bug zapper.
"No problem." She smiles flirtatiously.
"Good. So what were you telling me earlier about playing golf when you were a teenager?"
"I didn't think you heard me."
"I heard you."
While the server sets down our margaritas, Sienna tells me about attempting golf when she was younger.
We say cheers and clink glasses. The drink is soothing cool. I take a long sip. “They make a good margarita, don’t you think?”
“I do.” She places her glass on the table. “So, how did you end up working with Darcy?” she asks.
I'm inclined to brush off the question. It's deeper than casual conversation, and I don't like going there. Unfortunately, we need to appear to everyone in this bar like we're going deep. I take another sip of margarita. "She heard about me leaving my former job and told her boss to hire me.
"Before Sunbreak Security I was working for the Brenner County Police. It was my first job out of the academy. There was an internal review of the department that revealed inconsistencies in evidence collection. I wasn’t surprised at who got implicated.
Internal Affairs had a field-day with my department.
The politics of it all made quitting imperative. "
Quickly, I scan the patio for threats and return my gaze to Sienna.
“I was going to move to another part of the state maybe get a job in another department, but I knew Darcy from an investigation she did into a coastal smuggling ring.
She got her boss, Sloane, to offer me a job, and I've been working for at Sunbreak Security since.”
“What made you get into law enforcement?” Sienna looks at me like she’s so wrapped up in what I’m saying that nothing and no one could tear her away.
I open my mouth to give the right answer and catch myself. When people ask, I tell them I always wanted to be a cop. They buy it. All boys want to be cops at one point or another. But the way she’s poised to listen makes me feel like I can talk without her judging. Damn, she's a good therapist.
“I didn’t want to end up like my brother.”
She sips the margarita, nodding.
I sneak a glance around the patio and tell her about growing up halfway across the state with an elementary school teacher mom and ophthalmologist dad. I talk about my older sister Megan, her husband and the kids. I explain how my older brother Ethan went through bouts of depression growing up.
“In college, things went from bad to worse. He went to school in Alabama. Ended up getting involved in drugs and illicit stuff. Eventually, he was arrested for possession and attempted robbery. My parents got him lawyered out of doing jail time.
“His school kicked him out. Then he was in and out of rehab for a few years. He’s clean now. Well, mostly clean. And he has a great girlfriend. He works for my uncle’s construction business. And because of him, I ended up becoming a cop. Then an ex-cop and onto security services.”
“Your family is amazing to be that supportive." She brushes a lock of hair behind her ear.
Is she actually flirting with me? Or is this part of the lovey-dovey act? Funny thing is, I don’t care. I'm doing my job monitoring the patio, and the margarita is chilling me out. I'm enjoying myself. “How about your family?”
“They’re supportive of what I do. They know what I do online with the sexual wellness videos on social media. They tell everyone I’m a family therapist. They don’t know about the escorting. I could never tell them. At the time, they thought I was living in Houston and waitressing.…”
Her gaze shifts At once, her body tenses and pure fear widens her eyes.
I snap to where she's looking. A guy stands at a tall table across the patio with his gaze fixed on us. I shift to see him through the dozens of people between us.
He’s almost my height. Dark hair, receding hairline.
Fit but not muscled. He’s got an alcoholic’s gut.
His expression is still and steady. Shadows around his nose and mouth make me think of a mammalian predator.
His eyes have the dark depths of a creature who achieves sustenance through death. “Is that Blake?”
“Yes.”
I move closer to Sienna. The assignment is to make this ludicrous asshole stalker stay the fuck away. I put a finger under her chin and tilt her head upward. “It's just you and I. We're the only people on the patio. He means nothing.”
“Okay.” She wraps her arms around my midsection.
Her touch sends shockwaves across my skin. My dick gets heavy and needy. “Sienna, I’m going to kiss you now,” I whisper.
“Okay.”
I slant my head and brush my lips against hers. My woman. He has to believe she’s mine. I cup her nape and shift one leg forward, bringing her into the curve of my body. Her breasts press against my chest. My body jerks with the onslaught of lust and adoration. This is too real. It feels too good.
She gasps in a little sound that hits the feral part of my brain.
Why the fuck not?
I let the raw, primal desire I’ve been holding onto unleash itself in delicious sweet and sour open-mouthed kisses. Her hands come to the sides of my face. Our tongues roll. Unruly, hungry noises come from my throat.
Who am I? The bodyguard? The man? Her man?
“Are you alright with this?” I ask against her mouth, not letting the kiss end.
“God, yes.” She arches against me, her leg brushing the side of my thick, tender erection.
I can’t control the achy grunts from my throat. What’s happening? This is the kind of make-out session that has legs. It leads to bed and losing my virginity to a woman who rocks my world.
But my job.
This is my job.
I run a hand down her back to the top of her ass where that delicious curve begins—
“Sienna,” a man beside us hisses. “It’s been too long.”
Instinctively, I put my hand on the Glock tucked inside my waistband holster.
Blake glares at Sienna.
How did I let him get this close? What the fuck was I doing?
Kissing my client. Losing my focus.
Never again.