Keep Her Safe, page 18
I ignore him and move forward, sliding my hand to his thigh and moving towards his dick. He grabs it instantly, preventing me from going further. “Shay. There could be anyone taking pictures from the front. Yes, your side and back windows are tinted but if anyone is in front of us they could see.”
“So? In case you haven’t been paying attention, I’m a free agent. I don’t have a boyfriend, and I’m not suggesting I fuck you while you’re driving. No one would be able to tell what I’m doing.”
He loosens his grip but still holds it in place against his leg. He drags his thumb over my knuckles gently and tingles shoot through me. God, I want him. And not just sexually but in the ways that make those gentle touches mean something. I don’t know how much time has passed as I stare at him with almost a dream-like expression when we pull to a stop in front of my gate. I frown when I realize he’s not typing in the code to let us onto my property but unbuckling his seatbelt.
“Stay here.” He commands and then he’s out of the car and jogging to the gate. I try to sit up to see what he’s picking up, which seems to be a large envelope taped to my gate. He opens it immediately, staring down at it with a look of worry and anger. Curiosity gets the best of me so I hop out of the car and start making my way towards him. “What part of stay in the car didn’t you understand?” he barks at me. Long gone is the gentle boyfriend who’d just been caressing my hand and in his place is my bossy bodyguard who is less than pleased that I didn’t listen to his order.
“All of it. What is that?” I nod towards what’s in his hands.
“Get back in the car.”
I put my hands on my hips and glare at him. “No, don’t leave me in the dark, Damian.”
“Shay…” His eyes scan our surroundings before he ushers me back and into the car against my protests and gets into the driver’s seat. He doesn’t say anything for the entire drive to my house and then he’s pulling me out of the car and dragging me to his guesthouse.
He slams the door behind him and tosses the file on the table. I’m just about to ask him again what’s going on when his lips crash on mine. He backs me up against the wall, caging me in with one hand behind my back, lifting me into his arms forcing me to wrap my legs around his waist. His hand slides under my ass to hold me up, while one hand is against the wall. “You have to fucking listen to me, Shay,” he says between kisses as his tongue licks its way into my mouth. “If I tell you to do something, it’s for your safety.” He pulls away and stares up at me.
“But you weren’t telling me anything. Since we left Cooper’s office, you’ve told me nothing and you’re freaking me out a little.”
“Not everything is for you to know right away. I don’t want you to be scared, baby. Don’t you trust me to protect you?”
“Yes,” I answer instantly.
“That means, sometimes you’re on a need-to-know basis. And I’m certainly not going to let you look at something I haven’t read over first.” He gently rubs his nose against mine and then down my cheek and into the crook of my neck. I moan when his tongue darts out to lick the flesh and I tighten my hold around his neck. “Some of the things I’ve seen…letters you’ve gotten, I wouldn’t want in your head. Not everything is for you to see firsthand.”
I swallow. “Do you really think I’m in danger?”
“No.” He shakes his head. “I’d never let you be in danger. I’ll do anything to keep you safe.”
Even though Damian has been on edge all day, he doesn’t seem that tense over the fact that I am going out tonight. The main cast of LA Dreams is set for a scheduled appearance at a very popular nightclub. We’d sign some autographs, take pictures, and stay for a few drinks. Veronica has already planted the idea of wanting to continue the night out after to somewhere more private and exclusive, but we’ll see how drunk I get and more importantly how horny I get. I expect there to be several questions about me and Paxton, but my PR team advised me to ignore them. Just keep smiling. Don’t respond. I haven’t posted my statement yet, and Gabe wants us to try the silent route at first to see what Paxton releases first. Honestly, I don’t care. There is speculation that the arrangement was fake and that I have someone or several someones on the side also, but for the most part, people seem to believe that Paxton cheated on me a lot.
Pictures are starting to surface and faceless Instagram pages are gaining traction of women claiming he’d slept with them. Pictures of him at clubs and on vacations that I knew nothing about were plastered all over every gossip site in the world. Some of them were clearly doctored but some of them look legitimate enough to make me wonder just how long he’d been cheating on me.
“I want you to wear this tonight,” Damian says as he enters my bedroom while I’m still getting ready. I’m wearing a black backless jumpsuit that shows more than a little cleavage that Damian seems to appreciate from the way his eyes devour me. “You’re gorgeous,” he says as he snaps a delicate chain bracelet around my wrist. He hasn’t had me wear the tiny chain that’s actually a tracker in some time. He must still be feeling a little anxious about everything.
“Really?”
“Really.” He gives me a pointed look. “This club is going to get crowded. This isn’t like when you guys go to Rush. There’s going to be a lot of people there. There’s already an hour-long wait to get in because people want a chance to meet you. You’re going to be taking pictures and signing autographs and…” he chuckles, “if I was your boyfriend, I could be closer.” He takes a step closer to me and pulls me into his arms. “I could keep you in my lap the whole night, and no one would dare fuck with you.”
“Is that something you want?” I sigh, as his lips trace down my neck and between my breasts. His tongue darts out and traces the same trail. “Oh god,” I moan when I feel my nipple between his teeth. I’m not wearing a bra and when I look down, I see he’s pushed the fabric to the side, exposing my breast, and his lips are wrapped around it. “To go…public?”
“No.” He grunts, letting my breast fall from his mouth as he moves back to his feet. “I know the kind of pressure that puts on you right now, and I know we aren’t ready for that.” He swallows and takes a step back, and I frown because things are getting icy despite the heat that was previously building between my legs. “We’re moving really fast.”
“Maybe because it’s five years of tension finally breaking,” I say, trying my best to argue that it’s not really all that fast. Both of us have been wanting the other this whole time. “I thought you wanted this?”
“I do.” He nods, scratching his beard. “It doesn’t mean we are ready to tell the world.”
“I didn’t say we should.”
He nods. “So, we agree then.” He backs up slowly. “I’m ready to go when you are.”
“Wait.” I don’t miss the longing in my own voice when he stops walking towards the door and turns to look at me. “Why do I feel like we just took a step back?”
He sighs and closes the space between us. “I need to be your bodyguard tonight. I can’t worry about kissing you or touching or fucking you. If it seems like I’m shutting down on you, it’s because I need to be able to do my job, Shay. I have to put that part of me that knows what you feel like out of my head.”
Club Euphoria is such pure chaos from the time we enter that even I’m slightly overwhelmed. Even though we have our own section, fans have flocked to us. They have the entire area surrounded, crowding around the red velvet rope separating us from the rest of the club. Women trying their best to get Derek and Jeremy’s attention for a potential fling and a few minutes of fame. The ones that aren’t, are just taking selfies with their backs to our section to try and get us in the frame.
We signed autographs and took pictures when we first arrived, but it would be mayhem if we tried to now. Damian is in our section with us but he is doing his best to stay out of sight. Yet, I’m hyper-aware of every time he moves. Every time he asks someone to take a step back and returns to his stance, wrists crossed in front of his groin, the heartbeat between my legs intensifies.
He’s so protective and dominant and sexy and it makes my knees weak.
Seated in the booth, I take a long sip of my vodka soda when I feel like I’m being watched. I’m used to having eyes on me, but something about this feels odd. Unnerving.
My eyes dart up to look around the club, but it’s dark. The only lights are the neon ones bouncing along the walls. Pinks and purples and blues swirl around the club in time with the bass of the speakers.
Damian is getting in my head. Everything is fine.
I stand up, trying to catch Damian’s eyes, and I don’t have to look hard because I see him staring at me, his phone in hand, pointing at the screen.
I grab my phone and I see his text as soon as I open it.
Damian: You okay?
I smile thinking about how well he knows me, how well he can read me. I know if I tell him about my moment of slight panic where I felt like someone was watching me he’d panic, so I lie.
Me: Yes. Just wish you could dance with me
Damian: You could dance for me
Me: What do you mean?
Damian: Pretend I’m behind you. Touching you. My hands wrapped around your waist as you grind that sexy ass of yours against me.
My mouth drops open and I squeeze my legs together as the carnal urge to run to him so we could do all of those things takes over. I slip my phone back into my purse, glad that I’m starting to feel my drinks and my inhibitions have lowered. My eyes find his and though I know I can’t hold his gaze the whole time without potentially causing questions, I hold them for long enough for him to know that I saw his text and I’m doing this for him. I raise my hands up above my head and bring them down, moving my hips in time with the beat that has slowed down and is now sexy and sensual and the kind of music you want to make love to. I drag my hands down the sides of my body and then up again, grabbing my breasts before running my hands through my hair, as my eyes flutter shut.
I turn my gaze back to him and drag my index finger down the valley of my breasts and I watch his eyes follow it, probably remembering the same trail he made with his tongue and lips earlier tonight. Our eyes haven’t left each other for several moments and I can tell it’s taking every ounce of control for him not to stomp over here and pull me into his lap so I can grind against him.
Lap dance on the way home. Got it.
He runs his tongue over his bottom lip and then his jaw clenches before he runs his hand over his beard dragging his thumb over his bottom lip.
My cunt flutters in memory of his beard dragging across the skin between my thighs, a delicious pierce as he fucks me with his tongue.
I continue moving to the beat, grateful that we’re in our own section and no one has tried to get behind me to dance. It’s crowded enough that no one probably notices Damian and me eye fucking each other but not so much that he can’t see every inch of me. His eyes, usually stone cold, have nothing but heat in them as he drags them over me in a way that lets me know he wants me.
He desires me.
I’ve never felt this way under a man’s gaze. Even Paxton’s. Maybe because at times he treated me like a trophy he’d won. One half of the power couple that was taking Hollywood by storm, whereas Damian looks at me like…I dart my eyes to Veronica who’s grinding against Derek like she has zero plans to adhere to their no fucking agreement tonight, and I recall something she said not too long ago.
“He looks at you like you’re his reason for breathing.”
I turn back to look at Damian, but when I do, someone is right in front of me, startling me. I look up to see Jeremy smiling down at me. His hands grab my hips as I take a step back and stumble slightly. “Easy there, you good?” He looks nice in his suit, a gray Tom Ford that makes him look worthy of a GQ magazine cover.
Fitting I guess, since he was on the cover last month.
“Yes!” I nod, trying to look around him to see Damian but Jeremy is too big, his shoulders too broad and I can’t see around him without making it too obvious.
“I’m glad we both have a second. How are you doing…with everything with Paxton?” Concern finds his face, the areas next to his eyes crinkling in that familiar way they always do. His green eyes are warm and comforting and I press a hand to his chest.
“I’m fine. All good.”
“I hope you know I didn’t say anything…”
“I know, J. You’re my vault.” I wrap my arms around him in a hug. He holds me tighter and drops a kiss on my forehead before letting me go with a final squeeze and moving into the crowd. I turn my gaze back to Damian who looks at me and then towards the crowd where Jeremy disappeared and then back to me.
I shake my head as discreetly as I can because he can’t possibly be jealous. Of Jeremy?
I reach for my phone planning to text him when Veronica grabs my arm and pulls me into a hug. “Let’s go dance in the crowd,” she shouts into my ear. She smells like her signature Prada perfume and what is that—Fireball? I blanche at the smell. Oh God, she’s going to be puking by the end of the night.
I look towards the very crowded dance floor and then back at Damian who’s looking at me like he knows what Veronica suggested.
No, he mouths.
“One sec,” I tell Veronica, without looking at her. I make my way through the section, passing through other tables filled with other TV and movie stars and social media influencers with the number of followers they might as well be considered celebrities until I make my way to where Damian is standing.
I pull my hair over one shoulder and fan myself. “I can’t go dance?”
He looks towards the crowd. “Jeremy seemed a little handsy.” He’s still looking away from me and I hate that I don’t know what he’s thinking.
“Damian, look at me.”
“No.”
“Why?”
“You know why. I wear my feelings for you all over my face.”
Oh? “And what feelings are those?”
“This is not the time for this conversation. Can you answer my question?” he asks through gritted teeth.
“Are you jealous?”
“I think he has feelings for you.”
This isn’t the first time I’ve heard this theory. There were times Paxton shared a similar sentiment.
“Jeremy? No. You’re just feeling territorial.” I take a step closer. “Do you need to mark me to make a point?” His eyes snap to mine and drag slowly down my frame, letting his eyes linger on my breasts before moving back up and over my head to scan the room.
“I don’t think going in the crowd without me is a good idea.”
“Do you want to come dance with me then?” I already know his answer but I want to tease him.
“Also, not a good idea.”
“You’re being difficult.”
“This place is a madhouse,” he retorts.
The back to back shots of tequila I took with Veronica are starting to hit me and it’s making me feel a little reckless so I turn on my heel without another thought and make my way to the entrance of our section. I feel him right behind me and then his arm reaches out to shield me from the people attempting to touch me. A path somewhat clears and I make my way through the crowd smiling and waving through all of the flashes.
Jeremy appears, standing in front of me and people go wild at the fact that they’re so close to their favorite on-screen couple. I hear people chanting for us to kiss or for him to propose or some equally romantic gesture. I roll my eyes playfully at the cheers when he leans down and whispers in my ear, “What do you want me to do?”
I shake my head. “Nothing.” I laugh because Jeremy and I never engaged in any fake PDA and I’m not about to start now. “I have to go to the ladies’ room.” I’m filled with excitement knowing that the VIP bathrooms are private and one stall and it would allow me some alone time with my man.
Jeremy looks over my head assumedly at Damian, “I’ve got it. I’ll take her,” he says, and Damian steps between us probably because he doesn’t know what Jeremy is talking about or more importantly where he’s taking me.
“No, you don’t. I think you’ve forgotten how this works,” Damian says.
Despite the dull roar of the club, I hear the bite in his tone and if I wasn’t starting to feel a little drunk, I might try to diffuse the situation. But I want him a little keyed up. I want him to not care that we’re in public and fuck me in the restroom because he’s jealous and wants to remind me who I belong to.
I didn’t forget but I love his caveman side and I’m happy to see him starting to surface.
“Relax, Hunt. She’s just using the bathroom.”
“It’s fine, J. I’m good. I don’t need two escorts.” I laugh, trying to insert comedy into the situation when I know Damian is feeling anything but humorous.
He nods, looking at Damian and then back to me. Five years of friendship, and close to five drinks tonight and I’m not totally sure I understand the look he’s giving me. Luckily, I don’t have to give it too much thought when Derek shows up with a beer for him and says something in his ear that I don’t hear.
“They want us for pictures. Can I steal your man for a bit?” Derek jokes and I roll my eyes, trying to bite back the smile that Damian is probably seething behind me.
“Go, please. Get out of my hair.” I wave them off.
Some of the crowd follows them, and though some follow me as I make my way towards the restroom, they stop once Damian closes the curtain behind us that has its own security in front.
I don’t say anything as we make our way down the long hallway of one stall unisex bathrooms. The bathrooms all have doors that go from floor to ceiling for a reason, and I open a vacant one and walk inside. It’s not huge but large enough for a toilet, sink, and a small loveseat in the corner. It’s clean and smells of lavender. Damian settles in front of the door, his back to me and I let out a loud sigh.
“Get in here!”
“No,” he grunts.
