Safe With You

by DeMuzio, Kirsten

  He shook his head, “No way. I don’t trust anybody else to protect you.”

  “So we’re stuck in limbo for now?” I pouted. He kissed my frowning mouth gently and said, “There is one other option…we could tell your parents about our relationship….you know, full disclosure. And hope your dad doesn’t fire my ass on the spot…or worse.”

  My mouth fell open, “You’re going to ask my dad if you can have sex with me?” He winced, “Hell no. I don’t have a death wish.” His eyes softened and he brushed a lock of hair off my forehead. “At least not anymore…I could ask for his permission to date you.” My parents were understanding and loving people whose main goal in life was to make sure I was happy. I knew my mom would probably be okay with this, but I wasn’t sure of my dad’s reaction. He hadn’t been overly protective with previous boyfriends, but none of them had been very serious…or 7 years older than me…or my bodyguard…

  “I’ll talk to my mom this weekend. She can help me with dad if he’s less than understanding.” We were silent for a long time, just enjoying the feeling of being close. “So, can I ask you something?”

  “Anything,” he replied. “Do you talk to your parents often?” He didn’t answer at first and I could feel the tension in his body. “My mom calls every couple of weeks. Mostly small talk.”

  “Were you close with your brother?” He exhaled, “Yeah. We were close in age, so we had a lot of the same friends and played sports together.” I could hear the sadness and regret in his voice. “I should have stayed with him.” I ran my hands through his hair. “I’m sorry to bring it up. I just thought you might want to talk about it.”

  “It’s okay. I haven’t talked about it to anyone until you.” I snuggled into him and rested my head under his chin, playing with the dog tags he wore around his neck. I held them out to see the name Derek Hunter imprinted on them. “These are your brother’s,” I said quietly. He nodded, “Yeah, I never take them off.” I ran my fingers over them and then laid them back on his chest. “You can always talk to me, Wyatt.” He kissed the top of my head, “I know, baby. Same goes for me.”

  Wyatt stayed with me at least until I fell asleep, but he was gone when I woke up the next morning. I rolled over and stretched across the spot where he had been, inhaling the scent of him that still lingered on the pillow. I had slept late again, and I was loving it after having an 8:30 class this semester.

  I lounged in bed for a little while longer, until Lindsay barged into my room and flopped down next to me. “Hey, I didn’t know you were coming over so early?” Then I took a closer look at her face. “Lindsay, what’s wrong?” I asked sitting up. She threw both arms over her face, “Evan wants to see me.”

  “Evan? You mean Professor Edmunds? The asshole who cheated on his wife and screwed his student? That Evan?” Apparently I was talking a little too loudly, because Wyatt appeared in my doorway with a questioning look on his face. Looking at him taking up the doorway with his hair sexily mussed and his arms and his gorgeous eyes…I almost forgot what I was mad about in the first place. I mentally wiped away the drool and gave Wyatt a reassuring smile. “Sorry, we’re fine. Just girl talk.”

  “Okay,” he winked at me before walking away. Lindsay narrowed her eyes at me. “You slept with him!” She accused. I groaned, “Unfortunately not. But we’ll get to me later. Are you actually considering seeing him again?”

  “I don’t know. I mean he paid me a lot of attention and it’s not like I have any better options.” I gave Lindsay my best “are you kidding me” look. Lindsay was beautiful with her light blond hair and huge blue eyes and perfectly petite and curvy body. For some reason she never thought she deserved a good guy. Of course, in our world of politics and lawyers and bankers, really good guys were few and far between.

  She sat up forcing a fake cheery smile on her face. “Never mind, you’re right. I need to keep my distance from that one. So…I need details on your not sleeping with Wyatt.” I glanced over at my still open door and quickly got up to shut it. Lindsay listened intently while I gave her the details of what happened after we got home last night. I left out the part about Wyatt confiding in me about his brother – that wasn’t my story to share with anyone.

  “Hmmm, this is a tricky one, Tar. It’s very honorable that he doesn’t want to abuse his position, but do you honestly think your dad will be okay with this? He’s a lot older than you.” I started to reply, but Lindsay continued on. “You don’t want to test your relationship this early on. What you need to do is seduce him now before your parents get home and you never get a minute alone with him.”

  When she finally paused for a breath, I jumped in. “I don’t want to play games with him, Linz. But I really don’t think my dad needs to know about this yet. He was not exactly thrilled about the picture in the paper.” Although seducing him was an intriguing idea.

  Chapter Eleven

  Midnight Swim

  Lindsay hung out the rest of the day, and we watched a marathon of Teen Mom. We sent Rosa home after lunch and ordered pizza for dinner. The guys joined us as we ate in the living room, not wanting to miss the season finale. Wyatt set his empty plate on the coffee table and leaned back against the couch where he was sitting on the floor in front of me. I reached down and ran my fingers through Wyatt’s hair and along the back of his neck. He took my hand and brought it around to press a kiss on my palm.

  Dominic looked over and smirked, “You guys make such a cute couple. Until Mr. Ross has you hauled off to Guantanamo never to be heard from again.” He got a “Fuck off” from Wyatt and a smack on the back of the head from Lindsay. Dominic just laughed and I couldn’t help a giggle from escaping. Lindsay joined in next and Wyatt looked at us like we were crazy. “Come on,” I said, “this is a pretty f-ed up situation.” He just smiled and shook his head.

  Not much later Lindsay left and Dominic went to hit the treadmill and weights in our home gym. “Do you want to go swimming?” I asked Wyatt. “I’ve always loved swimming under the stars.” He raised an eyebrow at me, “Taryn….” I grabbed his hands and pulled him up wrapping his arms around me. “It’s just swimming, Wyatt. You’re not afraid of swimming with me, are you?” He dropped his forehead to mine. “I’m very afraid of you,” he murmured.

  I stepped around him and slapped his butt, “Get your suit on and meet me outside…unless you want to go skinny-dipping,” I teased wiggling my eyebrows. “No, definitely not skinny-dipping,” he said firmly. I laughed as I went to my room to change. Wyatt said he wouldn’t sleep with me yet, but that didn’t mean we couldn’t have any fun. I chose my tiniest pale pink string bikini and piled my hair on top of my head with a few wisps down around my face. When I was happy with my appearance I headed toward the pool, stopping to make sure Dominic was busy in the gym.

  Wyatt was already in the pool swimming laps when I walked out. Okay, I wasn’t actually planning on serious swimming. The night was warm and the sky was clear. I loved being out here at night with the lights of the city all around and the stars in the sky. I sat down on the edge and dangled my legs in the water while he swam back towards me. He swam underwater right to the edge and grabbed my ankles pulling me down into the pool. I squealed and held onto his shoulders while I slid down his hard body until my toes touched the bottom.

  “Hi,” I breathed. He gave me that slow sexy smile that only appeared when I was around and ran one hand down my back and over my barely covered ass. “This isn’t much better than skinny-dipping, Taryn,” he murmured into my ear before kissing the spot right below on my neck. I shivered and wrapped my legs around his waist, pressing into him. “I can tell you like it,” I joked. “Oh, I like it. I like it a little too much,” he said in between pressing kisses down my neck and over my shoulder.

  I moved my hands up the back of his neck into his wet hair and tugged lightly so he brought his mouth back up to mine. He kissed me with such passion that I never wanted him to stop. This was what I had been waiting for, wishing for, dreaming of. Wit
h that kiss he showed me not just that he wanted me but that he cherished me. He walked us over to the steps and sat down with me on his lap, the water just up to our waists now. All too soon he broke away and I whimpered when his lips left mine. But then he kissed his way down my neck to the swell of my breast and my whimpers turned into moans.

  His right hand left my ass and moved my bikini top aside, and he sucked my nipple into his mouth. I arched my back to get closer and squirmed on his lap. “Wyatt, I need you…” He brought his mouth back to mine and his hands gripped my hips to stop me from grinding against him.

  “I swear to God, Taryn. You make me crazy,” he growled against my mouth. “Good,” I said breathlessly, dragging my nails over his broad shoulders. He grabbed me around the waist and turned around lifting me to sit on the top step so I was out of the water. I shivered from the breeze on my wet skin and then gasped as I realized what he was doing.

  He moved back down running his hands from my knees up my thighs, pushing them apart. He followed his hands with hot kisses up my inner thighs. I leaned back on one hand while the other fisted in Wyatt’s hair urging him closer. He chuckled lightly and moved the fabric of my bikini bottoms aside and I felt his breath on me.

  I didn’t think it could get any better than what he’d done last night, but I was wrong. The man could work wonders with his tongue and almost embarrassingly soon I was begging him, “Wyatt…I’m so close.”

  “I know, baby…let go for me.” His words sent me over the edge and he didn’t stop until my body stopped quaking and I gave a gentle tug on his hair. I laughed as he rose up to kiss me. “I’ll never want to stop doing that, baby.”

  “Thank God,” I sighed. He pulled me back into the water with him and I rubbed my body against his feeling him hard against my stomach. He put his hands on my shoulders and I knew he was trying to put some distance between us. But there was no way I was letting that happen again. I would tie him up if I had to…hmmm, interesting thought.

  I took his hands off my shoulders and put them back on my ass. “I am taking advantage of you tonight, Wyatt. I’m not letting your hard work go unrewarded.”

  “Taryn…” he started. “Sshhh,” I said pressing one finger to his lips and trailing my other hand over his chest and down his rippled abs to the waistband of his swim trunks. He groaned and gripped my ass tighter when my hand moved inside his trunks and slid over him. He buried his face in my neck, his breathing harsh, while I brought him as much pleasure as he had given me.

  When we finally got out of the pool much later, Wyatt wrapped a towel around me and placed a kiss on my forehead. “Stay with me tonight?” I asked. He laced our fingers together and squeezed, “Nothing could keep me away.” That night I slept better than I could ever remember, wrapped in Wyatt’s arms, snuggled against his chest, his breath rustling in my hair.

  I was alone again when I woke up and was slightly pissed off about that until I heard my mom’s voice down the hallway. Oh, shit. I sat up quickly and looked around for any evidence that Wyatt had stayed in here with me. I breathed a sigh of relief that my mom hadn’t walked in to find me sleeping in the same bed as my bodyguard. Against Wyatt’s wishes I had slept in only a tank top and panties. I had wanted as little as possible between us.

  So, now I pulled on my short robe and belted it around my waist before leaving my room. I found my mom, dad, Wyatt and Dominic in the dining room chatting and drinking coffee. “Hi!” I said giving her a hug and my dad a kiss on the cheek. “Hi sweetie, I’m glad you decided to join us before lunchtime,” she teased. I rolled my eyes and glanced over at Wyatt. He had a polite smile on his face and nodded at me.

  “Mr. Hunter was just giving us the details of your exciting time trapped here in the apartment,” my dad said and I nearly choked on the coffee I was sipping. Dominic reached over and thumped my back, “Yeah, he was just saying we needed to get out today because you’ve been so bored here.”

  “Oh, right,” I replied and caught Wyatt’s mouth turn up in just the slightest smirk. “So we can go do something today?” I asked wanting the conversation on safer ground.

  “Yes. I thought we could have a girls’ day. Shopping and lunch with Lindsay and Lisa. How does that sound?” My mom asked me.

  “It sounds perfect, Mom. Are you working today, Dad?”

  “As much as I would love a girls’ day, I do have work to do,” he joked.

  We met Lindsay and her mom, Lisa, at the restaurant. Over lunch I grilled my mom on everything that was going on with Dad and his decision to run for President. She said exactly what he had already told me – that he hadn’t made a decision yet, and we would need to discuss it as a family because it would mean big changes for all of us. I knew he had always wanted this, and his popularity was at an all time high right now. I also knew the only reason he wouldn’t run would be to spare me the public scrutiny. I made the decision then and there that I couldn’t let that happen.

  Wyatt and Dominic had come out with us, of course, and it was hard to remember to act like he was just my bodyguard. However, after we got up to leave and my mom took a good look at Wyatt’s ass and then raised her eyebrows at me, I didn’t think I needed to pretend anymore.

  “Did your mom just check out his ass?” Lindsay whispered to me when we got outside. I covered my mouth with my hand and nodded. “I think she knows. I just hope she keeps it from my dad.” The rest of the afternoon was spent shopping and catching up on gossip from Lisa before going home to a wonderful dinner prepared by Rosa.

  I knew Wyatt would never venture into my room with my parents here, so after putting on pajama shorts and a t-shirt and brushing my teeth, I went across the hall to Wyatt’s room. I saw Dominic down the hall headed into the kitchen and he smirked at me. “Sleep well, Miss Ross.” I rolled my eyes at his use of my formal name and slipped into Wyatt’s room closing the door quietly behind me.

  I heard the shower running in his bathroom, and I really wanted to go join him. Instead I climbed onto the bed putting my phone down on the nightstand and flipped on the TV, finding something on HGTV. A few minutes later I heard the shower shut off and Wyatt came out with just a towel wrapped around his waist. His hair was wet and wild and there were droplets of water still on his chest and arms. When he saw me he paused rubbing another towel over his hair and his mouth tightened.

  “Taryn, what are you doing in here?” I snapped my eyes up from where they had lingered on his chest. “What?” He chuckled lightly and shook his head at my obvious ogling. “You shouldn’t be in here. Your parents are right down the hall.” I scooted off the bed and walked over the stand in front of him tracing my fingers over the defined muscles of his stomach.

  “Actually their room is way on the other side of the apartment. Sooo….” I trailed off as I leaned forward to lick a drop of water off his chest. He gripped my upper arms tightly, but didn’t push me away, and he warned me in a low rough voice, “Taryn, baby, you can’t do things like that. I only have so much self-control and you’ve almost used it all up.” I had really just intended to hang out for a while, so I backed away with my hands up in surrender.

  “Okay, okay. I’ll behave.” He released my arms and placed a kiss on my forehead before grabbing a pair of boxer briefs. His hand was on his towel, but I stopped him before he could let it drop. “If you want me to keep my hands to myself, then you need to get dressed in there,” I said pointing to the bathroom.

  Chapter Twelve

  Hidden Camera

  Later after introducing Wyatt to the joys of House Hunters, we lay snuggled together on top of the covers, both on our sides facing each other with our legs entwined. I was running my fingers through his thick hair, and his hand was tracing patterns on my upper thigh. “Can I ask you something?” He said. “Of course,” I replied.

  “Why me?” He said in a voice laced with hesitation as if he needed to ask the question but was afraid to hear the answer. “When we first met I sensed that you don’t open up easily, and Lindsay ment
ioned that you only really trust your family.” I raised an eyebrow, “Lindsay, huh? What else did she ‘mention’?” Now I was the one afraid to hear the answer.

  “Well…she might have warned me not to hurt you. Threatened me actually.” I laughed imagining my petite cousin going up against all 6’3” of Wyatt. I realized Wyatt was still looking at me intently and he really needed my answer. I rose up on my elbow and traced a finger over his eyebrow and down his cheek.

  “Why you? It’s kind of hard to explain, but I’ll try. Lindsay was right that I don’t really let anyone know me, really know me. But right away I knew, I just knew, that you would be different. I was certainly intimidated by your hotness at first.” Wyatt chuckled at that. “My hotness?” I nodded, “Mmm hmm. Hot Coffee Guy.” He outright laughed at that.

  “Seriously though, I remember the first time I looked over and you were looking right at me. It was like you could see right into my soul. That might sound silly, but for me it was an instant connection. For whatever reason, I trust you more than I’ve ever trusted anybody. I don’t know what it is, Wyatt. I just know I’ll never want to be with anyone else.”

  I had been looking down during my little speech and now I peeked up through my lashes to see his reaction. He was so deep in thought I could almost see the wheels spinning in his mind. “So why me?” I turned his question around on him. His eyes came back into focus and he gazed at me like he was seeing me for the first time.

  “I’ve told you what my life has been like since my brother died. It was like the world was in shades of gray, until I saw you. You were in vibrant brilliant color. The more I saw you and then talked to you, the more my world filled back up with color. I knew it was wrong to want you, but I couldn’t stay away. I couldn’t go back to living without color. Without you.” My eyes filled with tears at his beautiful words, and one escaped to fall down my cheek. Wyatt brushed it away and then traced his thumb over my bottom lip, following it with a gentle brush of his lips against mine.