CHAPTER EIGHT
TIFFANY
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My vibrator turned up the next morning, and he tried to intercept the parcel as I suspected.
I was almost mortified.
“No,” I snap when he tries to take it out of my hands.
“Do you know who the sender is? Plain packaging is a red flag. What if it’s something dangerous?” Jayden insists.
The only dangerous thing in the house that day was my hormones and the scorching heat that had me losing my damn mind whenever he was near.
Or even down the hall.
Or in my dreams.
God, I hadn’t been able to think straight since meeting Jayden Rogers, Air Force pilot and all-round sexy menace.
“Trust me, you do not need to see what’s in this box. Jayden, I need you to walk away.” I hold up a palm as my cheeks blush deeply.
That’s when I realize he’s fucking with me. He knows exactly what’s in the box. The way his eyes drop to it, then back up to mine, full of sizzle, tells me everything.
God, does he feel this thing between us, or am I alone in my fantasies?
Three days later, I’m used to having Jayden in my home and have relaxed somewhat, our attraction notwithstanding. So, when he shows up in the morning, I’m outside doing Pilates by the swimming pool when he arrives.
“You do this every day?” he asks, lowering himself onto one of the sun loungers.
“Yes, normally before you arrive, but I slept in today,” I admit.
“Why?” He stiffens as I lift my legs and do a scissor move. “Did something happen? I haven’t been informed.”
What happened was I tried to go to sleep and ignore the ache between my legs. Making myself come while thinking about my bodyguard didn’t seem like a healthy thing.
By half past midnight I was twisting and turning, half dreaming of him. I tossed back the covers and walked around the house.
Then tried again.
By two am I ripped the new vibrator out of my drawer and gave in.
“No, just had a coffee too late in the day.”
Jayden nods, undoes his black blazer and takes it off, rolling up his shirt sleeves.
Christ in a handbasket, does he need to do that?
I flip over and start stretching my back. It’s probably a very unattractive sight, but at least I can’t see him.
When I glance up, his eyes are on my ass.
I smile to myself and duck my head.
A minute later, I hear clanging.
“What are you doing?” I sit up and find him leaning over my now upturned sun lounger.
“Tightening the screws. It was wobbly.”
I stand and walk over, peering down over his shoulder. “Was it?”
“You should get changed,” he grumbles.
Later that day, the Californian heat is off the charts. While my air conditioning is doing a good job, we are both feeling the heat.
Not that he’d admit it, but his tie is undone, the top button popped, and his hair is messier than usual.
God, he’s insanely handsome.
“I need a swim,” I say, wiping my forehead as I walk into the kitchen wearing a bikini and holding a bunch of beach towels. “Why don’t you join me?”
“Excuse me?” He blanches as if I asked him to donate sperm or something.
His gaze roams over my body almost angrily.
“Swimming. In the pool.” I point. “Heard of it?”
Jayden stares at me.
“Don’t you swim?” I bunch my brows.
“I swim,” he snaps. “I was in the Forces. I know how to swim.”
“But you were a pilot.” I shrug.
I get an eye roll for that. “We don’t all spend our days flying around in the air. I was a sniper—”
My brows fly up. “Really? That’s hot.”
I regret my words, especially when he snaps again.
“It’s not hot. I took fucking lives.”
Oh god.
“Sorry, I didn’t mean...actually, I don’t know what I meant. You’re right.” I shake my head, ashamed.
He lets out a sigh and takes a towel out of my hand. “I’m sorry. You shouldn’t know that shit. Go get in the pool. I’ll join you, as it’s hot as hell. And I’m a Texas boy.”
I smile, and he tilts his head, all get going.
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JAYDEN
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I SHOULD NOT be in the pool with Tiffany Stallone, but the truth is, the heat is insane today here in Los Angeles and I desperately wanted to get out of my suit.
I’d been eyeing the blue water for the past hour when she strolled into the kitchen in a red string bikini.
Fuck me.
I’d nearly choked on my soda.
Then I told her I was a sniper. What a goddamn idiot. She doesn’t need to know that. Nor did she deserve my reaction.
I get it, girls think military guys are hot. We know it. They know it. And we take advantage of it.
How do you think I’ve gotten laid more times than the average Joe?
It’s not from being a decent guy.
So, I made an apology and grabbed a towel, then stripped down to my boxers. I’ll be going commando for the rest of the day. Which may not be a good thing if Tiffany keeps making the moaning noises she’s currently making.
“God, that feels good.”
Please stop.
“I thought it would be heated,” I say, after diving into the water.
“God, no. I love the chill when you first get in. I know that’s weird.”
“Me, too,” I admit.
She grins at me stupidly, and I wipe the water off my face, then push away onto my back.
“So how long were you in the Air Force?” Tiffany asks, swimming near me.
“Nearly ten years,” I reply, flipping over and doing some strokes. Keeping a distance from the string bikini is my main objective after cooling down.
“What made you...I shouldn’t ask.”
I shouldn’t insist she asks, but I’m curious, and a part of me likes that she wants to know more. “You can ask.”
I figure she wants to know why I left.
“Why would you want to be a sniper?”
Ah.
Fuck.
That.
“It’s less bad guy that it looks in the movies.” I lie. “The Counter Sniper team protects US air bases around the world and provides support where needed.”
“Like bad guy stuff?” Tiffany brushes her hands over her dark hair like she’s a fucking Bond girl.
She better not dive underwater and glance at my crotch, or we are both in trouble.
Somehow, we’ve both treaded water and gotten closer.
“Bad stuff happens.” I rub a hand over my left pec, forcing away the memory that’s threatening to return.
“Is that why you left?”
“No, I really wanted to change my career so I could hover at the back of a room and listen to people talk about pink lipsticks.” I grin, unable to help myself.
Tiffany laughs, and as she does, her eyes sparkle, and the water running down her neck draws me like a moth to a flame.
“Which one was your favorite?” she plays along.
You.
I run a hand through my hair and shake it like a dog.
She squeals and dives under the water. I laugh, feeling a type of joy I haven’t in ages. When she tries to pop up, I playfully dunk her.
I go down with her to make sure I didn’t scare her, but she darts away like a damn mermaid.
I pursue her.
When my arms wrap around her, pulling us both out of the water, we gasp, draw in our breaths while laughing. Then it’s just me and her, holding onto each other, water dripping off us and our mouths way too close.
That’s when it hits me.
Our mouths are the least of my problems. My dick is hard, crushed between us, and there is no hiding what’s going on.
“Tiff,” I rasp, fighting the urge to kiss her, shaking my head.
We can’t do this. I’d have to tell Ryder, tell Josh, and they’ll remove me from her detail.
“I can feel you want me.”
“I think we both know I do.” My voice is rough, and I can’t seem to let her go.
She waits.
I close my eyes, relishing every inch of her soft body, the feeling of her in my arms, against my muscles.
When I open them, I see the rejection in hers.
“You know why I can’t.”
Tiffany nods and gently wiggles, so I let her go.
Then I watch her swim away.
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TIFFANY
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I SHOULDN’T BE disappointed because I could see Jayden wanted to kiss me—more than kiss me—but I am.
I could feel it.
You’d think I learned my lesson when I was younger. After all, it would only be sex. Then what? I’d have to find another bodyguard.
I couldn’t have Jayden here day after day if we banged, could I?
I think I need therapy. I’m reading into things way more than I should. Watching him upgrade my security system and telling me he’s getting it monitored had my pulse racing.
“Jayden—”
“Don’t argue. If something happens, I won’t come to your fucking funeral.”
“Don’t curse.”
“Don’t die.” He glared at me.
I’d walked out of the room, confused.
No one had spoken to me like that before. It was almost like he cared.
I wasn’t going to die, anyway. The thief wanted the diamonds, and they got them. There had been no other sign, and even the detective working on my case said there had been other diamonds stolen in the city over the past six months.
He’s a sniper.
Why does that make me want to jump his bones?
It explains his calm, controlled manner. The way he’s difficult to ruffle—except when it comes to my security system—or get a smile out of.
I know people expect me to date some musician or actor, but for the past year I’ve been single and over the same kind of guy. Honestly, they’re all narcissists, more interested in their social media and hair than me.
When Jayden wakes in the morning, I bet he rolls over and fucks the woman in his bed before checking his notifications.
I’ve been pressed against his body three times this week and can tell you whoever is lucky enough to feel that big, hard thing inside them would not be lacking in pleasure.
God, I bet he knows how to make a woman scream.
His lips are full for a man, and I can’t take my eyes off them when we’re close. The way they quirk when he fights his smirk but fails. The hint of dimples threatens to destroy me.
When we leave the house, Jayden walks far too close, always touching my arm or lower back. I know he feels me shudder, and it’s like we are having this silent conversation constantly.
I want you.
We can’t.
I know.
But let’s fuck, anyway.
Now we’ve said it out loud.
The silly thing is that it doesn’t feel resolved. It doesn’t feel over at all as I step out of the shower and head downstairs to find Jayden dressed in his black pants, no shirt, and rubbing his hair dry.
“Hey.”
“Hi,” I smile. “Listen, I—”
“I want to stay on,” Jayden says lowering the towel. “Unless you feel uncomfortable.”
“No,” I shake my head. “I want you to stay. I want a lot of things, but I don’t want anyone else doing your job.”
We stare at one another for a long moment, then he nods.
“I’m going to head out early. The team is outside and you’re staying in, right?” When I nod, he pulls on his shirt and starts buttoning it. “I have to go into the office for an hour. I’ll be back tomorrow.”
I lean my hip against the island and soak up every last inch of skin before he tucks the shirt in.
I’m such a perv.