11. Chapter 11
eleven
“ I f you want to invite her in, I’ll give you space,” Lina said, surprising Curtis. She gestured with her chin to where Marie had gone. “But you better make your decision quick. She’s almost at the gate.”
Curtis’ brows rose at her words, a little peeved at her innuendo. “Is that what you think of me? That I want to bang every pretty face?”
“You banged that one already,” Lina said as a matter-of-factly.
He didn’t deny it. “We had fun. We’re just friends now.”
“Like the woman running out of your apartment yesterday?”
This time his brows jammed together at the bridge of his nose, thinking back to yesterday and who was she talking about? It flooded back to him.
Jill.
“Shit, was that only yesterday?” He rubbed his hands over his face in disbelief.
“A lot happened since,” Lina said, sounding shockingly understanding instead of judgmental of him for forgetting whom he slept with just twenty-four hours ago. Or was it thirty?
“Jill and I scratch each other’s back—so to speak—when we need to. No strings attached.” Curtis wasn’t sure why he felt the need to explain himself.
Lina just shrugged. “This way?” She gestured to the lit path toward the other side of the property.
Curtis started following her when he stumbled over his own feet. “Whoa.” He grabbed her shoulder.
Lina deftly steadied him by putting an arm around his waist. “Not drunk, huh?”
“I’m not that drunk,” he insisted and threw an arm around her shoulders. “Maybe I just like having you around to catch me when I fall.”
She finally laughed at his cheesy line. “Where’s this studio you’re sleeping in, anyway?”
He grinned. “Why Lina, can’t wait to get me to bed, can you?”
“You got that right.” Her amused response was an improvement in their dynamic.
After months of trying to get her to break out of her security-team-leader persona during the last tour, he’d gotten a few smiles out of her. But she hadn’t made it easy on him. She had the hardest will to break. She was the Untouchable, after all.
They reached the studio and climbed the short stairs to the door.
“The key’s in here somewhere.” Curtis started patting his pockets, then he had a bad idea he probably shouldn’t try with Lina. But his buzzed brain made him bold. “Try my left front pocket. I can’t reach it.” It was the side pressed against her.
Lina eyed him with suspicion, but Curtis just looked at her innocently. She dipped a hand into his pocket and stopped at the midpoint just around his pelvis.
“I didn’t realize guy’s pockets go so deep,” she murmured as she dove lower. “What do you do with all this room?”
Curtis sucked in a breath as her palm pressed against his crotch, almost brushing his boys as her fingers searched for the key. But in a flash, the pressure left him.
“Found it.” She brandished the single key and stuck it into the lock.
Curtis bit his lower lip to quell the stirring in his nether region from her touch.
You ’ re playing with fire, you dumb fuck.
He was very aware Lina could break his arm if he made a move she didn’t like. And though every outer sign said otherwise, every fiber in his body sensed she wouldn’t mind his touch.
They walked into the spacious studio. Brandon’s unfinished projects had been pushed aside, providing a space for a wall bed that was usually cleverly hidden in the shelves when it wasn’t needed. Lina walked him to the bed, untangled herself from him, and was about to sit him down on the mattress.
“I’m fine, you know.” Curtis faced her, refusing to sit.
Lina gave him an indulgent smile. “Sure.”
“I’m buzzed, not drunk,” he argued.
She had to crank her neck up to look him in the eyes since he’d closed the distance between them. “You don’t have to prove anything, Curtis.”
“By the way, what did Popo say to you?” he asked.
“You don’t speak Mandarin?” Lina questioned.
“Not really. Mom wouldn’t speak it at home, so Callie and I only knew the little Popo would teach us when she visited. It never stuck.”
“I see.”
“So, what did she say?” he asked again.
“That’s between your grandmother and me.”
“Seriously?”
“She just asked me to keep you safe.” Lina gave him a tiny smile. “You should rest.”
“What are you gonna do?”
“I’m going to walk the property, check in with Pierre, and make sure everything is quiet and secure,” she said.
“Aren’t you gonna sleep?” he asked.
“I slept.”
“You’re really gonna stay up?”
“That’s my job.”
Curtis studied her face. It looked so calm and capable. But he’d seen more in it when she’d thought no one had been paying attention. Miss Lina Cheung was very good at keeping her feelings under this unruffled surface.
He so wanted to ruffle her.
“Don’t kick my ass, please,” he whispered a warning.
“For what?” she frowned.
“For kissing you.”
Curtis only allowed a split second for her to comprehend his words before he dipped his head and captured her mouth with his. Her hands rose in a flash as if to push him, but they stopped mid-air and grabbed his sweater instead.
Slipping an arm around her, Curtis pulled Lina against him and fused their lips together. His eyes shuttered as fireworks exploded under his lids and created a chain reaction of mini-bursts throughout his nervous system. And it wasn’t even Lunar New Year just yet.
Now I ’ m in double trouble.
Lina’s brain short-circuited when Curtis folded her into his heat, his hand pressing against her back, his mouth exploring hers. Men’s unwanted advances usually were met with her fast reflexes. No one stole a kiss from Lina Cheung.
Except Curtis Bisset, apparently.
Obviously, Lina could’ve stopped him before he’d even moved an inch, but her muscles betrayed her.
Listen to what your body is saying, Lina.
The voice of her Uncle Ed—her martial arts sensei growing up—echoed in her mind. He’d shown her that sometimes she needed to let her body take the lead in a fight, not her head. Well-trained limbs remembered movements, reactions to actions, and a lot of times moved better without the brain overthinking the next steps.
At this moment, her body didn’t want to defend itself. It wanted Curtis’ touch.
Giving in to her needs, Lina reveled in the feel of being pressed against his hard form and in the taste of him. She fleetingly thought he tasted like wine—complex notes with just a touch of sweetness. But none of that really mattered with the way her whole system was humming with excitement.
As abruptly as he’d stolen the kiss, he stopped short and pulled away.
Lina stood still, but not exactly feeling the ground her feet were on, deprived of his warmth and the touch she’d known she would like. The humming still overwhelmed all of her senses as she just tried to breathe.
Curtis stared at her with questioning eyes, but one corner of his lips twisted upward. “Wow,” he said under his breath. “Lina…”
Lina didn’t move a muscle.
“Phew, that is…” Curtis blew a breath, dropped onto the bed dramatically. “You’re right. I need to sleep this off.”
His words kicked her out of her daze.
He ’ s drunk .
Lina’s gaze fell on Curtis’ figure lying on the bed with his eyes closed, still fully dressed.
“You must be joking,” she murmured.
Is he asleep?
She bent over him to check his breathing, but an arm went around her and pulled her down. This time, she didn’t abandon her training. She didn’t fight Curtis’ half-asleep move, but rolled with it, using the momentum to spin him into the middle of the bed. But it also made her straddle his waist.
The man had the audacity to peel back his sleepy eyes to peer at her sitting on top of him. The lazy grin he sported made her want to kiss him again and also smack him in the face. He placed a hand on her thigh but didn’t move it.
“I love this, but I don’t think I’m in the right shape to make this good for either of us,” he said.
The hard evidence Lina could feel under her said otherwise. She believed Curtis Bisset could fuck anybody in any shape or form—drunk or otherwise.
You better remember that, Lina .
Not responding to his drunken allusion, she flipped away from Curtis and was ready to leave his sorry ass sleeping with his shoes still on. She might be his bodyguard, but she wasn’t his nanny. And she definitely wasn’t one of his groupies.
“Lina.” Curtis’ hand grabbed her fingers as she was about to walk away.
The teasing tone was gone, replaced by a soft plea in the way he said her name. After taking a calming breath, she allowed a glance back.
“Thank you,” he said softly. The glassy look in his eyes seemed to clear for the few seconds he looked at her. “Thank you for watching over me and my family.” Then he closed his eyes, dropped her hand, and rolled to his other side to sleep.
Lina’s irritability lost steam at the sincerity in his voice.
Damn you, Curtis . How am I going to look you in the eyes come morning?