Chapter 2
It turned out that he was serious about following me to the after-party, even after he had managed to ruin my entire evening. It didn’t even seem to faze him that I had given him a striptease and admitted I wanted to come on him.
I spent a few hours mingling at the hotel bar and making my rounds with friends and colleagues. Tonight had a solid turnout. Even some friends from overseas had come.
I made a point to ignore Jake, despite him following behind me all evening long. Of course, it would've been much easier if my brain hadn't apparently decided to become obsessed with his existence. Everywhere I turned, I knew exactly where he was.
“By the way, Dawson, you haven’t introduced me to your friend yet.” Emmanuel, a model friend of mine from France, pointed at the shadow behind me.
Emmanuel was eyeing Jake in that way he did whenever he spotted a hottie.
I made a very mature face.
“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” I said, waving my hand dismissively. “There’s no one there.”
Emmanuel gave me the strangest look. He forced a smile on his face. “Oh. Is that so?”
People usually went along with whatever ridiculous thing came out of my mouth. Sometimes, I even made a game of seeing just how far I could push it. It was amazing what people were willing to agree to when you were rich and famous.
Not like that annoying brick wall behind me, who clearly hadn’t gotten the memo.
“Right, well,” Emmanuel said after a moment. “I still haven’t made my rounds for the evening. I think I’ll go and say hello to everyone.”
“Suit yourself,” I said, taking a sip of my drink.
He left, and I made it a point to turn my back to Jake, pretending to be interested in the coming and going of the party guests that had filled the hotel bar.
Shadow Man approached me from behind, and I sneered as he appeared in my peripheral vision. How unfortunate.
“You know—” he started, a trace of smugness in his tone. “— Pretending I don't exist would be far more convincing if you stopped checking for my reaction each time you said something.”
My mouth immediately betrayed me. “I didn’t look at you.”
A small smirk flickered on his lips. “Whatever you say.”
I gave him a sidelong glance. “I didn’t,” I repeated.
“Uh-huh. Sure.”
I sighed as I brought my attention back to the room, deciding it was better to keep pretending he didn’t exist. I took another sip of my drink and continued to ignore him, which was frustratingly difficult when I could feel him staring at me with that stupid, attractive face of his.
“I want you to know,” Jake started, “that I find you very compelling.”
I nearly spat out my drink.
The wall of muscle didn’t stop there. “You should know that the only reason why I didn’t let you finish was that I didn’t trust myself to keep control of the situation.”
Did he really just go there? Didn’t he realize we were in a very public place right now?
“Excuse me,” I said after swallowing the liquid in my mouth. “But what the fuck are you talking about?”
Jake’s jaw tightened. He looked torn, as if he were debating whether he should keep going. I should have been happy to see that this guy had some sense of feeling. I should have been relishing the fact that he looked somewhat uncomfortable. But I didn’t.
Which sucked because I really wish I did.
“I care about doing my job well,” he said, “but you’re more distracting to me than I anticipated.”
My heart rate sped up, much to my dismay. I crossed my arms over my chest and shrugged. “Well, you missed your chance, and you have no one else to blame but yourself.”
I was pretty proud of myself for that one.
Jake turned to me, his expression turning heavy. “So it wasn’t just a game to you either. Part of you wants me too.”
My eyes widened. That wasn’t what I had just admitted, was it?
Jake took a step closer, his hand brushing against mine. His voice dropped into a heated whisper. “One time, Dawson. No expectations. No assumptions. We find out if the chemistry is real.”
I stared up at him. Was he suggesting what I thought he was?
I caught a whiff of his cologne because of how close we stood to each other. He smelled of cinnamon and sandalwood, earthy with a hint of spice.
I took a moment to regain composure. My fingers curled around my drink, the only thing keeping me from doing something incredibly stupid.
I looked at him suspiciously. “How do I know you won’t change your mind again?”
Jake watched me for a moment, with that mysterious, unreadable gaze of his. The one I realized I was actually starting to find really hot.
He shook his head. “I can’t prove it to you,” he said. “But I can give you my word. The rest is up to you to trust me.”
I licked my lips. Trust him? Was this what this all boiled down to?
“Fine,” I said as I turned. “This party is starting to drag on anyway.”
I made my way toward the exit, Jake tailing behind me as he always did, all while my brain was screaming that this was a terrible idea.
Unfortunately for me, though, my body had already made up its mind.
◆◆◆
As Jake quietly shut the hotel room door behind us, I took a moment to finish processing what I had just agreed on.
I also found that I couldn’t move. My feet were rooted in place by the entry hall.
Jake stopped next to me, a question in his eyes. “Are you—”
“There’s satellite television and free wifi,” I spoke quickly. “Do whatever you need to get comfortable, just don’t go through my things. I’m going to take a shower.”
I didn’t wait before turning and heading into the ensuite bathroom.
Inside, I took a second to compose myself, setting both hands on the counter and glaring at my own reflection.
What the fuck was I thinking? Was I actually going to have sex with my bodyguard?
My mind was still at war with the idea, even while my body ached with need.
What was it about him that I found irresistible anyway? Sure, he was good-looking, but that rarely had been enough for me in the past.
It was something else, something I still couldn’t quite put my finger on.
All I knew was that I both loved and hated how he always seemed to one-up me at my own games. He didn’t put up with my bullshit, but he also never stopped me from trying. There was this magnetic push-and-pull dynamic unlike anything I'd ever experienced before.
I was allowed to be myself, until he decided otherwise.
And that was really fucking hot.
“Jake?” I called out. “Could you come here for a moment?”
Jake didn’t answer me, but the bathroom door opened moments later. He stood at the doorway, waiting for whatever I said next.
Hell, I wasn’t even sure what was going to come out of my mouth at this point. All I knew was that my body was screaming for him, so loud that it drowned out every part of my mind that still resisted.
I held onto the edge of the counter, gazing at him through the reflection of the bathroom mirror. “Closer,” I said with a sudden tremble in my voice.
Jake stepped inside.
Mustering up some strength, I let go of the counter and turned to face him. I reached out and touched his cheek with my palm. “Just this once,” I said.
Jake’s gaze was impossible to decipher. “If that’s what you want.”
I nodded, licking my bottom lip as I ran my hand down his cheek, neck, and chest. My fingers traced the length of his torso, following the natural lines of his body.
His gaze grew heavy as he stepped closer, wrapping his hands around my waist.
With a fistful of his shirt in my hand, I dragged him down to kiss me.
Jake’s arms closed in around me, lifting me and settling me down on the counter. It was the kind of thing that could only work smoothly when you had big guns like him.
He kissed me back with a roughness that only managed to make my ache burn brighter. Our lips parted as our tongues took turns exploring each other’s mouths.
Breathy, heated sounds escaped us as we kissed. His large hands felt up my thighs, while mine found their way under the fabric of his shirt.
Hurriedly, I yanked it off of him, nearly taking his head with it. I threw the shirt aside and started running my hands all over his chest.
He was even sexier than I'd imagined, all tanned, sculpted muscle. My cock seemed to agree, given how tight my jeans felt.
“Let’s try something,” Jake said, voice low.
I flashed him a quick look. Couldn’t he see that I was perfectly busy feeling up his gorgeous man chest, in this perfectly hot moment?
“Like what?” I asked.
Jake caught both of my wrists, halting me. I was caught off guard by the strength of his grip. “Submit to me,” he said, voice deepening. “Just this once.”
Excuse me?
“Excuse me?” I repeated the thought in my head.
Still holding a firm grip on my wrists, he didn’t so much as blink. He waited, watching me with his dark, smoldering gaze.
I cleared my throat, my cheeks turning warm. “I, uh, don’t see why we should—”
“You’re scared,” Jake observed, then nodded. “I understand. I’m asking for a lot.”
My jaw dropped open. “Afraid?” My voice rose into something pitched and squeaky. “I’m not afraid.”
“But think about it, isn’t some part of you tired of always performing? Tonight, you could try something different. You could try letting someone else take control.”
I stared at him as though he had grown a second head. “Are you being serious?”
Jake cracked a smile. “Why wouldn’t I be?”
Perhaps it was his effortless confidence that made my heart skip a beat. “And you think you’re the right man for the job?”
Amusement danced across his features. “Don’t you?”
I did. I totally fucking did. “No.”
Maybe my lie was written all over my face because Jake laughed.
Red, hot embarrassment crept up my neck. I was grinding my teeth, fighting against myself.
“Listen, I won’t make you do anything you aren’t comfortable with,” Jake said with a certain steadiness. “Normal, vanilla fun is okay too.”
The thought that I might waste this one opportunity to fuck my hot bodyguard with vanilla sex didn’t seem so enticing all of a sudden.
“Just this once,” I blurted. “That’s what we agreed on anyway.”
Jake’s gaze grew heavy. He nodded. “Just this once.”