Surface (Guarding Her Book 1)

by Anna Brooks

  “I’ll be right back.” Paisley stands. When I make no move to get up, she puts her hands on her hips. “You’re not following me to the bathroom?”

  I shake my head. “I can see everything I need to from here.”

  “Whatever. Be nice.” She sashays away, and I watch her walk to the restroom, loving the view.

  Once she’s out of earshot, I lay it out for Chad. “She might be fooled by your act, but I’m not. Trust me when I say you want to put a stop to it.”

  “What are you talking about?”

  “You don’t want to make me repeat myself, Chadwick Norwester.” He swallows, his eyes unblinking as I continue. “And I won’t, you understand me? She’s not yours, and she never will be. Stop trying, and we’ll be cool, but you keep this shit up, and we’re gonna have a problem. And trust this, you do not want to have a problem with me.”

  “I think Paisley can make her own decisions.” He sits up, puffing his chest out.

  I lean back. “She’s never gonna pick you.”

  “A solid foundation to a relationship is trust. She trusts me, and we’re building on that.”

  “Yeah, but buddy, she’s never gonna pick you. Not over me.”

  “If you think that, then why has she never talked about you? Where have you been?”

  He’s got bigger balls than I thought. “She’s been mad at me, but I fixed it. Doesn’t matter where I was; I’m here now. And I’m telling you, back the fuck off. She can be your friend, but she’s my woman, so for your own pride, accept that. ’Cause I’ve spent too long waiting to say that, and nothing or nobody is gonna get in the way.”

  Paisley

  I can’t stop thinking about Royce calling me beautiful this morning. His words go round and round without skipping a beat. If I was smart, I would have had some type of comeback, but he stunned me speechless, which I’m sure was intentional.

  Then his arm around me at brunch.

  And how his fingers wrapped around my waist when we were getting a new cell phone.

  His hand in mine while he drove us back here.

  Then those same strong hands massaging my shoulders while I was on the phone cancelling credit cards and figuring out how to get a new license.

  It’s been an emotional roller coaster for me, and I’m glad he’s given me some space this afternoon. But now that I woke up from my nap, I’m starved, and if my mouth is full of food, I won’t have to talk. Not that I don’t know what to say; it’s just that I’m nervous.

  Because I feel like my dream is coming true. And if I’m wrong, I’m pretty sure I’ll die. So the longer I prolong it, the longer I can continue pretending all the things he’s saying really mean what I think and hope and pray they do.

  “Can we order Chinese?” I ask him from my end of the couch.

  “Yeah, babe.” He pulls his cell out. “What do you want?”

  “Vegetable egg roll and an order of chicken and broccoli. Please.”

  After ordering beef and broccoli for himself, we go back to watching the movie when I feel a sharp pain stab me in my arm. I flinch and sit up.

  “You okay?”

  “Yeah. It just gets sore if I stay in one position for too long.”

  “Do you need a pain pill?”

  I shake my head. What I need is answers. Answers to questions that have been years in the making. I can talk about the past; I need to know. “Why did you leave?” It takes a mighty amount of strength for me not to slap my hand over my big ass mouth. But it’s been killing me for what feels like ever, and I want to know why.

  “I told you already, but I also told you I’d explain. You ready for that?”

  “Yeah. I am.”

  He doesn’t take his eyes off the TV. “You were sixteen. Almost seventeen.”

  “Okay.”

  “I didn’t want to go to jail because I can promise you that as soon as Erik found out, he would have had me arrested.”

  This isn’t helpful. “You’re so confusing.”

  “I wanted to fuck you, Paisley.” He takes a breath as mine is stuck in my throat. “I couldn’t be around you and not be able to touch you the way I wanted or hold you like I did last night. I’m very patient, but my limits were being tested.”

  I feel a tingle between my thighs, and a whoosh of air leaves my lungs. “What?”

  He finally looks at me. “Wanted you then, want you now, but I’m waiting for you to be ready.”

  “You what?” Why can’t I comprehend what he’s saying? I don’t get it. “Ready for what?”

  “More.”

  I stand and pace because I need to move. My dream really isn’t coming true, is it? No. This is a joke. Did Erik put him up to it? Is this part of his plan to keep me safe? To make me think Royce really likes me so I stay close. Yeah… that makes more sense. I mean, there have been movies about it, so it’s not that farfetched.

  Bodyguard “falls in love” with his client, but it turns out he was just doing his job, and the best way was to pretend he liked her. That’s exactly what’s happening right now. I know it.

  His arms clamp around my shoulders, scaring the shit out of me since I was so far gone in my own head.

  “Breathe.” I look into his eyes, and they ground me. I’ve always loved his eyes. So unique with a black ring around the deep green, I often found myself getting lost in them whenever I was close enough to see them. “This is one of those things we need to talk about.”

  “How many things are there total now? Because I don’t know how much I can take, Royce.”

  He pulls me to him, and I happily wrap my arms around him. Everything has always been better with him around. It’s like when he’s near, the world makes sense.

  “Let’s see. One was where you were going the morning you got away from me, so that’s done. Two is to explain to you how me being assigned to you happened.” Assigned… I flinch at the word, and he kisses the top of my head. “You’ll get it soon, baby, I promise. Three is how the rest of your time here will play out. Four is how things are gonna be once we get back home.”

  He leans back and gently pinches my chin. “And five, which I think is the last, is all about how I’m done waiting for you, and I’m about to take what’s been mine since the very first time I did this.”

  His mouth comes down on mine, and his hand slides up until his fingers are in my hair. This is not just a little peck or a placating kiss… this is an actual kiss. I lose myself in how good it is and grab the back of his shirt with my good hand as our lips work against each other’s.

  Oh God, he can’t be faking this.

  His tongue pushes into my mouth, and the moment I feel it against my own, I moan, already so turned on. No matter that he’s the first guy to do this, it feels so fucking right. He slides his arm around my waist and pulls me impossibly close as he slants his head and deepens the kiss. I’m completely lost to him as he explores me. His hand slides up and down my back while the other closes over my hair and tugs my head back.

  “Fuckin’ beautiful,” he whispers against my lips before they disappear down my exposed neck. His teeth join the party, nipping at my skin, and I push into him. Walking his fingers up my side, he skims my breast right before pinching my nipple.

  The new sensation makes me gasp, and I finally, finally know what that feels like; to have my entire body on fire from his touch. He yanks the top of my shirt down and sucks the stiffened bud through the material of my bra. I barely have time to register how good that feels because he’s tearing my shirt down the front.

  He drops the material, pulls the cups of my bra down, and palms my heavy breasts. “So fuckin’ beautiful,” is all I hear before he’s devouring me. His mouth leaves a mark, and without taking his eyes off mine, he makes another one on the other side.

  “Royce,” I plead with him. I don’t know what I need; I just know I need more. And I need it now.

  He growls against my skin and bends slightly. Next thing I know, I’m against the wall and when my legs wrap
around his waist, his hardness makes my heart skip a beat. I’m finally, finally feeling him where I know he belongs, and he grinds into me. “Oh my God.” I toss my head back. “Kiss me.” His lips are on mine as I push into him, swiveling my hips to get the friction my body is begging for. What it’s been craving for years.

  A knock on the door makes me squeak in surprise, but it doesn’t even faze him. “Royce.”

  “I’ve got you.” The words are said against my mouth. “Come for me, Paisley.”

  I’m close, and it is so good, so much better than I could have ever imagined. My eyes are closed, and when he pinches my nipples, I explode. “Royce!”

  “Good girl.” He encourages me as the sensations overtake my body, and I become lax against him. His heavy breaths come out in short bursts against the heated skin of my neck. “You don’t even know it yet, but you’re gonna like it rough. You moaned for me every time I gave you just a little bit of pain. I can’t wait until I can sink my cock in you and spank your ass.”

  The moan that tears through me is something I’ve never experienced before. All the times I used my vibrator or my hand, I thought of the ways Royce would make me feel. Pictured him on top of me, inside me. I’d get wet just thinking about him getting hard, and now that I just got off on it, I realize how mediocre the fantasy really was compared to reality.

  God and that was just with our clothes on. If he gets me naked and does what he said, if he spanks me…

  “See. Just me talkin’ about it—” Another knock and Royce curses under his breath, then yells, “Coming.”

  I can’t help the laughter that bubbles to the surface, and he kisses me hard and fast before unwinding my legs from him. I’m thankful he leaves to get the food so I have a second to gather myself. I look down at my naked chest and pull my bra up.

  He ripped my damn shirt down the front. That was hot in the moment, but now, I pull the pieces together, and as soon as I hear the door close, I hurry down the hall to grab a new shirt. Royce intercepts me with an arm around my waist. I let out an oomph.

  “Where’re you goin’?”

  “I need a new shirt.”

  He lifts me, and I hit his arm, laughing. “Put me down.” He stops at the mirror attached to his dresser. “What are you doing?”

  “Look.” I watch as he parts the shirt again, and his fingers graze over the marks he left behind. I shiver from the gentle touch, and he smirks, giving me his dimples. “You know what this is, right?”

  “A hickey?”

  His chest rumbles behind me. “No, baby. I marked you. You’re mine.”

  Chapter 5

  Royce

  “Ahh!” Paisley yelps at the top of her lungs and jumps into my lap.

  I grunt and set my beer down next to the dirty dishes on the coffee table. We ate the rest of our Chinese food from last night for dinner tonight. “Why did you want to watch this dumbass movie again?” She’s hid behind her hands the entire time while I’ve been guarding my nuts from when she freaks out.

  “I don’t know.”

  I reach over her to grab the remote, but she stops me. “Don’t. It’s almost over.”

  “Woman, you’re not even watching it. And as much as I like you on my lap, I’d rather be able to use my dick later.”

  She stills on me and then crawls off. “Oh, my God, did I hurt you?”

  “If I say yes, will you kiss it and make it better?”

  “Yes.”

  That’s all it takes for me to go from my perpetual state of semi hard to stiff as steel. “I was joking, Paisley.”

  “I’m not.” She lowers herself to the floor and reaches for my shorts.

  I put my hands on hers, and she looks up at me, blue eyes pleading to suck my cock. Jesus Christ, she couldn’t be any better. My dick twitches at that face, an image I’ve jacked off to more times than I can count. But I can’t let her do this. Not yet, at least. “Stop.”

  “No.”

  “Things between us are moving really fast, precious. I don’t want to rush this part for you.”

  She tries to move her hands, but I don’t let them budge. “I’ve wanted to do this with you since I was fourteen. I’ve wanted to do everything with you. It’s not too fast.”

  “Have you ever done more than kiss a guy before?”

  Her hair curtains her face when she shakes her head.

  “That’s good, precious. Trust me. I love that you stayed sweet for just me. I love that I’m the only one who will ever see your pretty pussy, and I love even more that I’m the only one who’ll know what you taste like… how tight you are. My cock will be the only one in your mouth, and it makes me so fuckin’ hard just thinking about how deep you’ll take me down your throat.”

  She squirms around, and I know I’ve got myself a bad girl. I couldn’t believe how responsive she was up against the wall and how much she got off on a little pain. I love that. I love everything about her. She’s absolutely perfect for me, and finally being with her makes me even more of a crazy bastard than before.

  “Come up here.”

  “Why?”

  “Because it’s about time for me to see if you’re as sweet as I imagine.”

  Her head pops up, and her mouth forms an O. “That’s why. You… the last time I saw you… you said stay sweet for me. I didn’t realize.” She shakes her head as if to clear her thoughts. “You really did want me back then?” Her voice unsure but her eyes glossy as she finally figures it out.

  Hauling her up, I kiss her hard and slow just like I did last night in my bed. It was a strength I didn’t know I had, but we made out for hours before we finally fell asleep. I miraculously kept my hands above her waist the entire night.

  And right now, she opens for me without hesitation, and I play with the sensitive skin just below her navel. Between kisses, I tell her, “Yes, baby. I wanted you then.”

  She pushes me back just enough to look into my eyes. “Then why did you leave?”

  “Do you really want to have this conversation now?”

  Without wasting a beat, she says, “Yes. All you said was you wanted to fuck me. I need more than that.”

  I try to calm my dick down, then slowly stand and walk to the window. “Your dad is just a small, insignificant part of the reason, I want you to know that. I respect him, but nothing and nobody will keep us from being together. Not anymore.”

  “Are you going to tell him?”

  Turning around, I laugh. “Pretty sure he already knows how I feel, but yeah. I’ll tell him when we get back because you’re going to be spending the night regularly.”

  “So you left because I was too—”

  “Tempting,” I finish her sentence. “Too tempting. It was like dangling a piece of meat in front of a starved lion.”

  “I’m a piece of meat?”

  I shake my head. “No. You’re like a diamond. Beautiful and precious.”

  My cheeks stretch when I smile. “I don’t know if I’ll ever get used to hearing you say that kind of stuff to me.”

  “Hmm.” I take the few steps to the couch. “Will you let me show you then?” I hold my hands out.

  “Show me?” She places hers in mine, and I haul her up.

  I bring my finger up to trace her jaw. “Yeah.” My thumb glides across her lip, and I slide my hand to the back of her neck and pull her face to mine.

  “Do you get it now? It wasn’t that I wanted you, it was that I wanted you too much.”

  “Yeah, I get it.”

  My lips find hers, and our tongues duel in a dance that makes my knees weak. Her hands slide up and wrap around my neck as I bend down to lift her.

  When I lay her on my bed, she raises her arms above her head. Her ankles cross, and she rubs her thighs together, already needy. Perfect. I crawl over her and lower myself so I’m covering her; our bodies fit together like they were made to. My forearms rest on either side of her head, and as much as I want to finally taste her, seeing her gaze up at me, trusting me to walk her t
hrough this, isn’t something I’ll ever forget.

  Her lips part on a soft pant, and the pulse in her neck races. Not able to wait any longer, I trail open-mouth kisses down the column of her neck. Reaching between us, I grab the hem of her shirt and pull it up.

  Her back arches as I remove the clothes from the upper half of her body. I grab each of her perfect tits in my hand and feast on them for a moment before I lick my way down her stomach.

  Once my mouth reaches her belly button, she raises her hips. I look up, and the shy way she bites her lip makes me insane. I reach behind me and take my shirt off, then pull her jeans off.

  “Fuck, Paisley.” I run my fingers between her slick folds. I knew she went to the salon every month, but I didn’t actually know what she was doing in there. “You wax?”

  “Yes. I read an article once about it.”

  The primal need in me to fuckin’ claim her takes over, and I dive between her thighs.

  “Oh, my God.” She tries to bring her knees together, but I reach up and push them open.

  Without taking my mouth off her, I slide a finger inside her and groan at how amazing she feels. Tight and wet and fuckin’ hot. Mine. I get lost in tasting her. Feasting on her, I’ll make her feel so fuckin’ good she’ll never want anybody else.

  I slide a second finger in with the first, and her thighs shake. “Royce.” Her breathy moan causes a jolt that makes my dick leak with desire for her.

  “Yeah, baby. I’m right here.” I raise my eyes enough to catch hers. She licks her lips and then runs her fingers through my hair before she pushes my face back down. I chuckle against her clit before I suck it again and continue to fuck her with my fingers.

  Her back arches, and her thighs shake as she tightens around my fingers. I hold her still with an arm across her belly, my free hand tweaking her nipples as she comes for me. She calls out my name once more, and then as she’s coming down, I kiss up her belly and run my tongue along the seam of her lips. “Sweeter than I could have imagined.”

  Paisley