by J. A. Bailey
Under Their Protection
J.A. Bailey
Copyright 2014 ©J.A. Bailey
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously and are not to be construed as real. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, organisations, or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.
“Slut.”
Ebony narrowed her eyes at Blake. “You’re just jealous because I wasn’t flirting with you.”
He shrugged, stretching the confines of his tight black shirt. His dark eyes twinkled with mirth. In his roadie gear, he could just be one of the guys who worked backstage but to Ebony he was so much more.
Firstly, he was her bodyguard. Secondly, he had to be the hottest man she’d ever set eyes on. Blake had worked for her for over a year now and knew her inside out. He’d seen her at her best and her worst. He’d followed her all over the world on her tours and watched her climb to the dizzying heights of fame. Throughout it all, Blake had stood stoically at her side and protected her from crazed fans and paparazzi.
Unfortunately he couldn’t rescue her from her writer’s block. Already late on producing her next album, Ebony risked being dropped by her record company.
“Come on, let’s get out of here. Or do you have more magazine interviewers you need to flirt with?”
She flicked a lock of red hair over her shoulder and pouted, deliberately trying to bait him. “Flirting is part of the job, as you well know. If I didn’t know better, I’d think you were jealous.”
Blake rolled his eyes and folded those thick arms. Thick arms that she had imagined wrapped around her many, many times. His expression remained stoic. Impenetrable. If only she could summon some kind of reaction from him. Even disgust. Then at least she’d know he wasn’t immune to her. Christ, she was lusted after by thousands—millions even. Men and women wanted her. Wanted to fuck her. She’d been voted onto so many hottest women lists, she’d lost count. But she didn’t care. Not if Blake didn’t.
“But you know better.” He leaned in toward her and hooked an arm around her shoulder in a naturally protective move.
Heat threaded through her—her body instantly in overdrive at his proximity. In spite of being backstage under the guise of a roadie instead of her bodyguard, he still smelled amazing. Christ, how could he remain so cool? Ebony knew it was his job to remain in control but didn’t the man ever let anything give?
“I need to stop off at the dressing room. I left my bag there.”
“Sure.” Blake kept his arm around her shoulders, fingers practically burning into her bare arm as they pushed past the musicians and technicians crowding backstage.
She peered up at the dark-haired bodyguard. True to his profession, he was bulky and athletic. Muscles shaped his black T-shirt. Yes, admittedly, she’d studied that form many times. But, in spite of spending so much time together, she’d yet to see underneath those tight tops. If she was honest, she’d spent plenty of time imagining what he’d look like topless.
Feeling hot and flustered, Ebony blew out a breath and pushed open the door to the dressing room. She paused. Her mouth dropped open. Her legs threatened to go from beneath her.
“Shit,” she whispered.
“Fuck.” With lightening movements, Blake had whipped her around and led her out of the backstage area.
Flashes of cameras lit the dark evening and screams of fans surrounded her. With hardly a moment to think, Ebony barely managed to hold onto her smile as she waved distractedly at them. Images of the chaos of her dressing room flashed in her mind. The words on the wall written in blood—surely not real blood?—rang in her head as if someone had whispered them to her menacingly. Whore. Slut. You belong in hell. I’ll put you there.
A word that had been teasing only a moment ago now jabbed at her, as if whoever had done it was putting a knife to her heart. How had they got in there? Security was really tight at the venue. A name like hers meant it had to be, otherwise they’d be swamped with wild fans.
Blake forcibly pushed aside several photographers and threw open the door of the black car awaiting them. Ebony found herself shoved in. He followed her, slamming the door shut and ordering the driver to move.
Cameras still flashed through the windows and people slapped their palms against the glass, trying to get her attention. Getting out of the road proved difficult with the crowds surrounding them and for the first time ever, she longed to bury herself away from the attention.
Blake wrapped a strong arm around her and pulled her into him. She ended up with her face burrowed against his chest. Against the strong heat of him, tremors took hold. His other hand came onto her back and began rubbing up and down. Obtusely, she realised it was the first time she’d ever been properly held by him. Yes, he touched her a lot in his role as her bodyguard but never like this. Never so intimately.
“Oh, my bag…” she whispered shakily.
“Screw your bag, Ebony. You’re not going back in there.”
“But—”
“I’ll send someone to fetch it.” Drawing slightly back from her, he reached into his pocket and pulled out his phone. “Send someone to the arena and if they haven’t already, get the cops over there. Someone broke into the dressing room,” he said to whoever had answered—one of her many assistants probably. “Her bag’s in there. Yeah, I know.” She peered up to see him scowling. “You think? Godammit. Okay, I’ll handle it.”
“What’s going on, Blake?”
“There’s been some letters,” he said tightly.
Ebony yanked herself out of his hold and glared at him. “What do you mean?”
“You’ve had a few recently. But we didn’t think anything of it. You know what it’s like.”
“No, Blake, I don’t know what it’s like. What do you mean?”
“You get a lot of letters, sweetheart. People love you and it makes them crazy.” He sighed and Ebony couldn’t help but wonder if she made him crazy too. Because her sexy bodyguard surely drove her mad. “But this one echoed the…words on the wall.”
“Oh my God.” She put a hand to her mouth.
“I think this is a real threat, Ebony, and we need to get you some more security. I’m going to call in the best.”
“And that is?”
“Walker Vaughn.”
***
Walker eyed the large cream mansion with its pillars and tall windows and shook his head. Why famous people lived so extravagantly and then complained when people invaded their lives, he didn’t know. Still from what Blake told him, Ebony might be rich and famous but she was scared to death by all of this. Blake wouldn’t work with a bitch of a woman and it was clear he cared for her welfare.
How much he cared for her remained to be seen though. It was unlike Blake to stick by a woman’s side—even a client—for so long. But each time they’d met since he took this job, Walker could tell his best friend was in a little too deep with this woman. What was so special about Ebony Rose, he wondered. Yeah, he’d seen her photographed enough. Yeah, she was a hot little number. I mean, damn, she’d been in Maxim magazine in only a tiny bikini and that was enough to fuel many of his fantasies but Blake…Blake never showed interest in women. Not since his ex-wife had broken his heart.
Knowing Blake, even if he loved the women, he still wouldn’t do anything about it. Maybe Walker could come in and mess things up a bit. He couldn’t help wanting to loosen Blake up. The guy deserved some happiness after that cheating bitch hurt him so badly. A
nd when she’d hurt him, she’d hurt Walker. They were like brothers. They trained as bodyguards together and worked together as much as life allowed them.
Blake answered the large black door, a look of relief coming across his face. Oh yeah, his friend clearly felt more than professional concern for his client. Blake was never unsure of anything.
“Good to see you, Walker.” Blake slapped him on the back and Walker took a moment to look around.
In spite of the grand outside, the place was decorated relatively simply with a modern touch. Wooden floors, elegant sculptures and a few contemporary paintings decorated the entrance hall. It looked carefully put together and Walker doubted Ebony had been the one to do it.
A flash of red hair and leather came running up to him and a hand thrust out. Walker’s jaw dropped open. While photos of her had probably been photoshopped to perfection, nothing prepared him for meeting Ebony in the flesh. And what beautiful flesh it was…
Snapping his jaw shut and forcing his body to stay calm, he allowed his gaze to trail down her. A tight leather skirt surrounded long, pale legs. An even tighter T-shirt with some faded lettering on it carefully followed the lines of a pair of amazing breasts and a small waist. But it was her face that really drew his attention. Drew his cock’s attention, he thought wryly.
Sparkling blue eyes, cute as hell rosebud mouth, hair the colour of sin. While magazine photos smoothed her to perfection, nothing could put across the pure vibrancy of the woman. Something about her just screamed how amazing she’d be in bed. The kind of face Marlowe spoke of. A face to launch a thousand ships.
Now he understood why Blake cared so much.
“Hi,” she said breathlessly, her husky voice curling around him. For the effect it had on him, she may as well have curled a hand around his burgeoning erection. “I’m Ebony. Thanks for coming.”
Walker took that hand, the softness of it conjuring images of it on his skin. He risked a glance at Blake and noted the tightening of his jaw. His friend could read him well. If he wasn’t careful, Ebony wasn’t going to be the only one in danger.
“Nice to meet you, Ebony.” He grinned—his most charming smile. How far could he push Blake? Walker just couldn’t help himself.
Ebony and Walker stared at each other, her hand still in his, and a flicker of interest sparked in her eyes. He saw her breasts rising against the black cotton and part of him hoped he was responsible for that.
“I’ll show you to your room,” Blake bit out suddenly and they broke apart. “Then I’ll introduce you to the security staff and brief you.”
“Sure.” He tried not to smirk at Blake’s warning expression. “Ebony, I’ll see you in a bit. I’d like to talk with you about this threat if that’s okay?”
“Oh yes, definitely.” She threw a peek at Blake and an adorable blush crept into her cheeks. “I mean, of course. Whatever you need…to do…um…your job.”
Christ, the woman was definitely feeling some kind of attraction toward him. But if he wasn’t much mistaken, she had a thing for Blake. Walker was an expert at reading people. The way they stood close and shared looks spoke of a intimate bond. Did Blake even realise that though? Knowing his hard-headed friend, probably not.
“Come on then,” Blake bit out.
“See you in a bit, sweets.” Walker winked at Ebony, loving the way her cheeks coloured further.
Blake was already storming up the stairs so Walker had to jog to catch up. He led him to one of the end rooms and pushed open the cream door.
Walker whistled as he followed Blake in. Modern glass lamps, a large leather bed and a plush cream carpet set off the—what colour what that? Duck egg?—blue walls.
“Nice. I can see why you’ve stuck around for so long.” He wandered over to the long sash windows and gazed out over the rear gardens. Ebony now stood chatting with a gardener. “View’s not bad either.” He turned to his glowering friend. “Where’s Ebony sleeping?”
“Room next to me.”
“Well, that’s no good. I need to be closer.”
“I don’t think so.” Blake folded his arms across his chest and Walker smirked.
While Blake definitely outdid him height wise, Walker maintained his strength by working in the field. He’d only just returned from an intense case in Afghanistan. He was willing to bet the only action Blake had seen in a while was the gym. And the gym was a sloppy substitute for being in the thick of it. Even if Blake looked as strong as ever, Walker felt confident he could take him.
“If she needs me, I should be close by.”
“Ebony is not going to need you at night. Besides, she’ll have me in the room next door.”
“Geez, Blake, you’re being awfully territorial. What am I here for if not to help you protect her?”
Walker heard Blake’s heavy exhale. “We’re up against a psycho and I fear it’s not going to end well. For one, I need your investigative skills and for two, I want some more muscle around for when we’re out and about.”
“You said you’d received letters and someone had broken into her dressing room.”
“Yeah, at the damned Diamond Arena. You don’t get much tighter security. In spite of trawling the CCTV we still can’t figure out how they got in.”
“Had to be a member of staff then.”
“Yeah, we’re doing checks on everyone who was in or out but that’s a huge venue and there’s a lot of staff.”
“So we’re waiting?”
“Pretty much, but this is escalating quickly. It started with letters—the same old shit—but that break in…there was words written in blood. Blood, Walker. The cops analysed it and it’s male. That’s all we know.”
“Right.” Walker narrowed his gaze at Blake and studied him for a moment. “What’s going on, Blake? There’s more to this. I can tell.”
Walker could practically hear Blake’s teeth grind. “There’s been phone calls to her mobile—she doesn’t know about them—and…and photos of us.” He lowered his gaze.
“Compromising photos?”
“No!” Blake snapped his head up. “Our relationship is purely professional. But I spend a lot of time with Ebony. She likes to take a break every now and then and I’m pretty much the girl’s only friend. We were meant to be incognito.”
“Shit.”
“Yeah, exactly.”
“Right, so we just need to keep her safe until the cops have done their digging.”
“Yeah, and I’m hoping you can do some research of your own.”
Walker nodded. “No worries.”
“Great.” Blake’s wide shoulders dropped a little and Walker grinned. He’d been right. There was so much more to this than just a job.
Walker sat on the bed and eyed his friend. “So…Ebony is pretty damned hot. It’s not surprising she’s drawn unwanted attention.”
“Don’t be thinking of mixing business with pleasure,” Blake practically growled.
“Why not? I bet she’d be amazing in the sack.”
His friend took a step forward and Walker grinned. He’d always been good at riling Blake.
“We need to be concentrating on protecting her. Not fucking her, Walker.”
“We? I didn’t say anything about sharing her?” Walker chuckled. “But you know it wouldn’t be the first time. Remember Paris?”
Blake’s face broke into a reluctant smile. “Oh yeah, Monique. Quite a woman.”
“Not a patch on Ebony though.”
“Stay away from Ebony.” Blake thrust a finger at him. “Concentrate on the job.”
“Is that what’s stopping you from making a move? The job? Because you know it’s bullshit that you can’t watch a client and be sleeping with them. I’ve slept with plenty of mine and I’ve never fucked up a job.”
“I don’t need distractions.”
Walker shook his head. Blake had always been a by-the-book kinda guy. But lusting after Ebony wasn’t going to do him any favours. Scratching that itch would probably make him a better
bodyguard. Walker always felt if there was more at stake, it made him a better bodyguard, which is why—if a client was interested—he had no qualms about sleeping with any of the beautiful women he protected. Not that any held his interest for long. At thirty-two, he could do with finding the one who did. He was getting too old to be travelling the world and having flings.
“Blake.” Walker stood and regarded him gravely. “You’re already distracted.” He strolled over to the window once more. “That gorgeous women down there is a distraction enough and I’m willing to bet you spend half your time wondering what it would be like to be buried between those lush long legs.” He glanced over his shoulder at him. “You need to find out, my friend. Because, if you don’t, I’ll find out for you.”
Walker braced himself for the inevitable fist that would come his way.
***
Blake tried not to picture Ebony’s legs wrapped around him as she perched on the high bar stool in the kitchen. He tried not to imagine burying his cock in between those thighs. He attempted not to get turned on at just the thought of kissing those luscious cherry red lips.
But he failed.
While Ebony talked with Walker about all her upcoming commitments, Blake could only sit and admire and dream. Walker’s words kept ringing in his mind. Would it be better to act on his attraction to her? Though attraction seemed too mild a word. She consumed him. All he thought about was Ebony. Yeah, they spent a lot of time together—more than most married couples probably—but it wasn’t just that. He’d spent plenty of time with other attractive women and not had this problem.
There was something about her. Her outgoing personality hid a vulnerable girl, one who was soft and took pleasure in small things like trips to the seaside and eating Chinese takeout at midnight. He’d done all those things with her and seen how she could switch from funny—and a little outrageous—to sweet and kind. And, damn, he liked both sides. A lot.
And of course it didn’t hurt that all that was wrapped up in a ridiculously fuckable package.
So over a year of torturing himself and trying to remain professional, and now Walker was threatening to stroll in and whisk her off her feet. And he’d do it. Walker had the looks and the charm. Blake might be broodingly attractive but women never failed to fall for the golden boy’s quick smile and even quicker wit.
