Chapter 14
DAWSON
Icouldn’t look anyone in the eye.
Which was kind of fucked up, given what I did for a living.
Still, after that argument with Iain and then Brodie’s comments in the car, I was sure that my expression would give me away. In more ways than one.
Of course, I hadn’t told Iain what was really bothering me because I didn’t want to face what I was feeling.
I hated the idea of him fucking anyone but me.
There, I finally admitted it.
Christ, I was a walking stereotype. The bodyguard falling for his client. Ugh.
I had no business being possessive over him. He was my detail, not my lover.
And Brodie hadn’t been wrong either. I was a total power top. But his comment about Iain made me wonder. As argumentative as Iain was, all I could do now was picture him as a sassy bottom.
Talk about shit timing.
“Boss?” Lennie called out.
“Yeah?”
I turned to my colleague as we reached the club’s VIP room. The guys headed for the bar, and Lennie and I stood on the periphery.
“Everything okay?”
I nodded. “Of course.”
Lennie stared at me like Regan had earlier. Did my poker face need work?
“Brodie really got you good.”
“He’s a troublemaker. Him and Iain. But I’m used to the teasing.”
I waved it off, but inside, I was a fucking mess.
I watched Iain as the boys ordered their shots. The bartender leaned forward and gave Iain a smile I knew all too well. Iain was looking to get laid tonight, and suddenly, I couldn’t imagine remaining unaffected.
What didn’t bother me a year ago was suddenly a problem I didn’t know how to solve.
Iain and I were a disaster at the best of times, never mind if we crossed the professional line. I had control; fuck, I loved being in control. But this heat that was now flashing between us… I hadn’t counted on that. And I didn’t know if I should try to put out the flames or fan them higher.
I’d never met anyone who challenged me the way Iain did. It was heady, exhilarating, and scary as fuck.
“Is it just teasing?” Lennie asked.
“Of course. Nothing is going on.”
“Well, you’re looking at that bartender like you’re going to eviscerate him. And not in the usual bodyguard way.”
“After that incident in New Orleans—”
“The guy’s just talking to him.”
The bartender was flirting. And I wondered if he would end up as Iain’s fuck buddy for the night. Just the thought made my stomach clench painfully.
I tore my glance away from my detail and looked at my colleague and friend.
“Daws, it’s me. I know you, and I know him. Something’s changed. What’s going on?”
I bit my lip, unsure if I should say anything at all.
“I’m telling you this as a friend, in confidence,” I started, and Lennie nodded. “Ever since the break-in, when I got put back on Iain’s detail last month, well, our arguments are still passionate, but different. More intense.”
“Oh, fuck.”
“Nothing has happened. Or will happen. I’m sure this is just me needing to go out and get laid. It’s been a while.”
“We’ve all witnessed how he flirts, but I just thought it was his way of trying to distract you.”
“It is. Or it was,” I paused. “I don’t think I’m the only one who’s feeling the shift between us.”
“Best to tell Regan to switch you back to Brodie.”
“For what reason?”
Lennie grimaced.
“Exactly. She’ll want to know why. If I say anything at all, I’m done. Maybe kicked off the team for good.”
“She wouldn’t do that.”
“If my… feelings become an issue, I’ll tell her. And who knows, maybe it’s time for me to do something different. I can’t work this job forever.”
I turned my attention back to the boys.
Ronin dragged Faise off his barstool and pointed to the dance floor. After a brief back and forth, Ronin swatted Faise’s ass, and Faise ran after him. Xavier followed them. Brodie and Van stayed behind, lost in each other as usual.
And Iain? He was pouring back the shots, one after another. He put on a good rockstar show, but the man could not handle his liquor. At least, not the hard stuff. He was gonna be sick as fuck if he wasn’t careful. And drinking that much made me worry about things like the ability to consent.
Before I knew it—before Lennie could warn me—I was stalking off toward the bar and slid in beside Iain.
“Slow it down. It’s tequila, not water.”
Iain paused but refused to face me.
“You really are the biggest pain in my ass, you know that?” he snapped and threw back the shot.
“I wish.”
Iain choked on his drink and spewed it all over the bar top.
The bartender, the cute guy with a perfect smile and big blue eyes, looked surprised and slightly horrified. I nearly rolled my eyes. I’m sure he’d witnessed much worse.
Iain grabbed a napkin and wiped his mouth. “Funny.”
If only he knew I wasn’t joking.
Then he stood up and turned to me. “This truce we had going this morning? It’s over. I’m going to join my friends on the dance floor. Do your job and follow me, but if you so much as try to interrupt when I’m having a good time, I will insist that you be reassigned.”
I stared down at his big brown eyes and knew that if I said anything else, I would push him away for good. Iain’s defense mechanism was back up again.
Biting my tongue, I nodded.
He walked over to Brodie and motioned for him and Van to head down to the dance floor. Lennie and I followed them, pushing through the crowded room.
We moved through the mass of writhing bodies, the smell of sweat and cologne overwhelming.
I stood on the periphery and watched the band as more and more people crowded around them.
My nerves were running high and hot, but that wasn’t unusual in this type of situation.
We had to be prepared to act in a split second if things got out of hand.
There were a shit ton of bouncers in this place wandering about so that gave me some measure of comfort. Professionally speaking.
Personally?
I was irrationally jealous of every man who sidled up to Iain. One man was more stunning than the next, and it hit me how foolish I’d been to think my reaction to him could be reciprocated.
He could have any man he wanted. And he did.
Soon, two guys were dancing with him, one at his back and one at his front, and fuck me, this was torture.
I watched as the guy in front of him ran his hands up Iain’s chest and neck. Their heads leaned closer, and the man cupped Iain’s face.
And Iain? He wasn’t pulling away.
I tapped my earpiece. “Xavier, Quinn, one of you get down here ASAP and sub for me. Lennie’s in charge.”
Lennie gave me the okay signal, but his expression was concerned.
Once I spotted my colleagues headed toward me, I made a beeline for the stairs and the VIP room.
I couldn’t watch Iain anymore. I just couldn’t.
Then I berated myself for reacting at all. I’d seen Iain make out with his fuck buddies before, and it never bothered me.
“Stupid. Get yourself under control,” I whispered to myself as I headed for the bathroom.
I splashed water on my face and took a few deep breaths. I could do this.
Iain was a job, just a job.
Despite repeating that mantra over and over, I couldn’t bring myself to walk out of that fucking bathroom.
Iain
I was going out of my mind.
But not for the reason you might think.
I had not one, but two sexy guys rubbing themselves all over me.
What more could I ask for, right?
How about a decent hard-on? My cock was barely interested, and I was so freaking angry at myself that I wanted to scream. A half hour ago, I was hard as a rock while arguing with Dawson, and now this.
Fuck that man for screwing with my head.
Both of them.
The guy in front of me grabbed my face and leaned in to kiss me, but I turned at the last second, and he licked my neck instead.
Not that I was paying attention, since my eyes were on Dawson.
He looked like he was about to tear through the crowd and throw me over his shoulder.
A part of me hoped he would do exactly that.
Then he was leaving the dance floor, leaving me, and my brain snapped into gear.
He never left his post and not in crowded places like a club.
Something must be wrong. Really wrong.
“I gotta go,” I yelled, pushing away from the twosome surrounding me.
Quinn passed Dawson and took his place on the dance floor.
I was about to bypass Lennie to head upstairs when he grasped my arm. “Don’t. Leave him be.”
“What?” I yelled out.
Lennie shook his head. “Don’t start something with Dawson that you have no intention of finishing.”
“What the hell are you talking about?”
“I see the way Dawson looks at you, Holls. And the way you look at him. Something is going on between you two.”
I shook my head, unwilling to believe him. Or myself. It couldn’t happen.
Even though I was already thinking about Dawson more than any other man who had come into my life, and we weren’t even lovers.
“He never leaves his post,” I blurted out. “He never leaves me.”
Lennie nodded. “And that right there should tell you everything you need to know.”
Was Dawson jealous of the guys I was dancing with? Is that why he left? And why did that thought make my blood run hot and my dick throb? I’d never been one to be turned on by possessive behavior before. No one staked a claim on me. I didn’t belong to anyone but myself.
But the way my heart was now racing out of control, it seemed my body more than liked the idea of belonging to Dawson.
“I need to talk to him.”
“Don’t fuck him over, Holls. He doesn’t deserve it.”
Lennie had a point. Even if I did feel something for Dawson and him for me, it would go nowhere. He had a job to consider. And fucking around with my bodyguard was just asking for trouble neither of us needed.
“Take me back up to the bar,” I said to Lennie. “And get an NDA ready.”