by Teagan Kade
He smelled like musk and sex. My sex to be exact, and that turned me on again. I was about to ask for seconds when I saw him glance at the clock and groan as he rolled onto his back. “I have to go. I was supposed to meet Hammer in the gym fifteen minutes ago.”
I sat up, dragging the sheet against my chest. I could just imagine what I looked like with my hair standing up all over the place. “Shaun! He’s going to be looking for you. He’ll call your room. Why didn’t you say something instead of doing… that?”
He rolled up on his elbow and tugged at the sheet I held. “Because that was a hell of a lot more fun than getting yelled at by Hammer about what happened last night.”
I kept the sheet tightly tucked under my shoulders. “You can’t let anyone know you were here, Shaun. Get out of here and get to that gym.”
A shadow crossed over his face. “Why exactly can’t anyone know I was here?”
I blew out a sigh of frustration as I ran my hand over my hair in an attempt to bring it under control. I knew it was a lost cause. “Because this isn’t something that is okay. I told you that already. I’m not supposed to be sleeping with my clients.”
A wicked grin appeared. “To be fair, there wasn’t a lot of sleeping last night.”
Groaning, I got up, taking the sheet with me. I couldn’t help but sneak a peek back over my shoulder. Damn, the man was so good-looking it should’ve been illegal, not to mention his cock was as impressive in the daylight as it was the night before. And what he could do with it…
Calm down, Tori. Jesus.
Giving myself a hard mental shake, I reminded myself of what I was supposed to be doing. Quickly, I gathered up Shaun’s clothes, which were strewn all around the room, and tossed them on the bed beside him.
“Seriously, this is bad,” I sputtered, trying to make him understand.
He was up out of bed and had his arm around my waist before I even realized he moved. He pulled me hard against his lean body and growled in my ear. “If this is bad, I don’t want to be good.”
There was a part of me that wanted nothing more than to swoon against him and let him have his way with me, any way he wanted, but the logical part of me knew someone had to have the level, rational head in this situation.
Pushing gently against his chest, I moved away from him. “You need to get to the gym. Listen, we can talk about this later, but it’s important nobody finds out about this, okay? It’s my job, Shaun. My credibility is on the line here.”
I could tell by the way his jaw worked he wasn’t happy about what I was telling him. I should be flattered a man as drop-dead gorgeous and famous as Shaun Nichols seemed interested in something more than a one-night stand with me. But right now I could only think I was up shit creek without a paddle if my boss found out about it.
“Please?” I hated to beg, but I needed him on my side.
He started to get dressed. The room was awkwardly silent as he pulled his clothes on. He was ready to go in less than a minute, probably some kind of record. Why did I care if I was the one kicking him out? But I could tell he was hurt by the expression on his face.
I tried my best appeasing tone. “Listen, we can talk about it later, okay?”
“Fine,” he said. He was out the door moments later. Suddenly, I felt like the world’s biggest bitch, and that was after the best night of sex I could recall in my life.
I sighed and glanced at the clock. Shaun wasn’t the only one who was running late. I focused on what I needed to accomplish for the day. I’d find a way to talk to Shaun later.
Come the afternoon I found myself on the bus headed for Des Moines, Iowa and Shaun’s next fight, which was in two days. I boarded the bus first. Shaun and Hammer came a little later, and based on the looks of murder and frustration on their faces, practice hadn’t gone well.
Later, Shaun appeared to be dozing in his seat and Hammer was in the rear of the bus on his phone. That left me at the front of the bus with the always unpleasant Nigel stuck having the same argument we’d had several times over the last week.
“Nobody wants to see him with a bunch of pasty-faced cancer kids hanging on him,” Nigel said. He rolled his eyes. “That’s depressing, and a load of bullshit.”
I crossed my arms over my chest. “As in you think they’re faking their cancer, Nigel?”
He rolled his eyes again. “Shaun is young, in his prime. People all over the world want to live vicariously through him. They want to see him out having a good time and getting a load of hot-ass pussy.”
I hated it when men were vulgar, especially when that vulgarity was directed at the opposite sex. To me, it spoke volumes about their maturity level. In Nigel’s case, I also thought he was deliberately speaking like that to get a rise out of me. I hated to admit, it was working.
“People connect to emotion. Genuine, authentic emotion. They like people who are like them. They like people they feel they can relate to. It’s a scientifically proven fact. Now that Shaun has opened up about his family, his image is getting better. Reporters are asking him less about his love life and more about the issues that are important to him. He looks like a hero.”
“He looks like a do-gooder, and nobody wants to fuck a do-gooder,” Nigel said.
“Are you always this crass?” I snapped.
“Are you always this delusional?” he sniped back.
“What the fuck is going on up here?” Shaun appeared in between. “I can hear you all the way at the back of the bus. I was trying to get some shuteye. I didn’t get a lot of sleep last night.”
I averted my eyes hoping Nigel wouldn’t notice the heat rise in my cheeks. I knew exactly why Shaun didn’t get any sleep last night.
“Your new PR agent wants you to do a stupid hospital wing ceremony something or another for cancer research in Des Moines,” Nigel said. “On the other hand, I have an appearance lined up for one of your sponsors. Flowing liquor and babes. A much better event if you ask me.”
“I wasn’t asking you,” I said. It was harder and harder to maintain my cool with Nigel. The man was vile, but I had to work with him for Shaun’s benefit. That was the only thing stopping me from telling him to fuck off.
“Slow down a second,” Shaun said. He dropped into the seat next to me. I didn’t move any closer to him, but I could feel the warmth radiating off his body. I itched to run my fingers through his hair to straighten it where it had fallen down across his forehead. It made him look years younger than his twenty-seven. “Explain to me what’s happening.”
I took a deep breath expecting Nigel to interject himself into the conversation, but then I realized Shaun had directed the question to me. Damn him and his mesmerizing blue eyes.
“I found out about an event at a local hospital in Des Moines. They are opening a new cancer wing, and it happens to coincide with the dates you’re in town for your fight. I made a few inquiries and they’d love to have you there at the ceremony to perform the ribbon cutting. It’s exactly the kind of appearance we need to make people believe this is a cause you believe in and are dedicating your time and energy toward.”
Shaun had already started to nod as I spoke. “Sounds good.”
I smiled with triumph. His return smile was lazy and smug. It held a load of promise that made my toes curl. Apparently his earlier frustration with me had dissipated. I wasn’t sure how much talking we were going to be doing once we reached our destination.
Nigel cut in. “Unfortunately, or fortunately, in my opinion, you have an appearance scheduled for one of your sponsors at a bar downtown. They’re introducing some new flavored liquor or some bullshit, and they want you there since you’re going to be in the area.”
Shaun looked back and forth between us, settling on Nigel. “I think the thing that Tori’s got lined up is better for my image.”
I tried not to look too gleeful at the expression of disbelief on Nigel’s face. “Shaun, this is one of your best sponsors. So far they’ve been willing to overlook your other... indi
scretions.”
“Then I’m sure they would understand and agree with my decision to focus my limited time on repairing the image they’re paying for. Send a photographer to the fight with some samples and I’ll let ’em take a picture of me downing it after the fight, like it hits the spot right after a hard day’s work.”
I was impressed. Shaun was learning fast. I nodded in agreement. “It’s directly tied to his fight, and they’ll get prime positioning, especially if he wins.” I caught Shaun’s look and quickly corrected myself. “When he wins.”
Nigel slammed his hand down on the table. I couldn’t help but jump. “This is fucking idiotic. You want me to tell your best sponsor that you’re picking a suit and a bunch of boring, sick people over the opportunity to party it up on their dime with women hanging off you ready to suck your dick if you just said the word?”
I frowned. I didn’t want that happening in any instance with any appearance, whether Shaun planned to do them or not. I felt a wave of possessiveness roll through me and then admonished myself. We hadn’t defined what had happened between us the night before, and it certainly didn’t give me any rights or claims over who Shaun could be with. Still, I liked to think this was something more than a casual fling. Even after the way I reacted that morning.
“Quit being an ass, Nigel,” Shaun said. “I said I’m doing Tori’s thing, so tell the sponsor whatever they need to hear to make it right. That’s your job. Handling my appearances and all my PR should be going through Tori anyway. Make sure they have her contact info to check this kind of stuff moving forward.”
The look on Nigel’s face was priceless. I schooled my features to remain neutral. Nigel had purposely been denying me an introduction to the Shaun’s sponsors ever since I started. I ran my fingers along my notebook trying to look as innocent as possible. “That would make things easier. I mean, if I controlled Shaun’s appearance schedule then we wouldn’t have any duplication like this moving forward to worry about managing.”
“What the hell, Shaun?” Nigel said in a strangled voice. “I’ve given you everything. I’ve been there for you. I am the one who has the relationships with the sponsors. This doesn’t make any fucking sense.”
Shaun leaned forward in his seat. His tone was stone cold. “Nigel, your job is to be my manager. You book my fights. You keep the sponsors happy by doing all the glad-handing. You manage my business affairs. PR isn’t your strong suit, and I think that’s obvious with what’s happened since Rio. Tori’s my PR agent. Anything with the press or marketing goes through her for approval starting now. We clear?”
“Crystal.” Nigel stomped to the back of the bus and sat down facing away from us.
Shaun leaned back in his seat and a push of air came out of his lips.
“Thank you,” I said. “It’s going to make my job a lot easier if I’m not getting cock-blocked every time I turn around.”
“You’re welcome,” he said. As he looked at me, I could tell he wanted to touch me. I forgot to breathe for a second. He cleared his throat and got up. “I’m sure you have work to do. I’m interrupting. I’ll let you get to it.”
I nodded, but I felt the loss of his heat as he moved away. I pulled out my laptop and did exactly what I was supposed to be doing for once. I worked.
I was stiff and exhausted when the bus pulled up outside the hotel hours later. It reminded me I hadn’t gotten a lot of sleep the night before either, but I didn’t mind the sweet soreness I felt between my legs.
Shaun didn’t look at me as he and I checked in next to each other. We were the last ones, having let Nigel, Hammer and the rest of Shaun’s small entourage check in first.
I took my key and slowly made my way to the elevator, well aware Shaun was right behind me. We stood in silence next to each other as the doors opened in front of us. I stepped in and hit the button for the ninth floor. Shaun gave a quick nod to indicate he was on the same floor.
As soon as the door closed, Shaun was in my space pressing me back against the wall. His lips were hungry and full of need as his weight settled against me. It took my breath away in the best possible way. I felt all the pent-up need in the electricity between our lips. He kissed me with everything and my tongue answered him in kind. His fingers found my tightened, stiff nipples and he teased them through my silk shirt. I moaned against his lips.
“Be with me, tonight,” he growled against my lips.
I could only nod mutely. I didn’t have any energy or willpower left to fight him, and he knew it. As soon as he had my approval, he pulled away from me. It was none too soon, as the doors opened to the ninth floor.
Gasping for air, I saw Nigel standing there obviously waiting for the down elevator. His expression turned calculating as he took in my ragged state and Shaun’s stiffened stance.
“I was just ready to go get something to eat,” Nigel said. “Anybody else hungry?”
I pulled my roller bag out into the hallway moving around him. “I’m ordering room service.”
Shaun moved out after me. “Me too. Thanks anyway.”
Nigel stepped into the elevator and gave us a smirk. “Your loss.” The doors closed, taking him from view.
“That was close. We have to be more careful than that,” I whispered to Shaun.
“What room is yours?” he asked, ignoring the rest. His hungry eyes flashed down my body. I sensed he was mentally undressing me with his eyes. “I’m staying with you tonight.”
I turned and started down the hall toward my room. This was one fight Shaun had clearly won by a knockout. It seemed a waste of energy fight it now, not when we both knew I was going to lose.
Chapter Ten
Shaun
“I hate this tie,” I said, tussling with it, frowning at my reflection in the mirror.
“It’s blue and non-distracting. You look handsome and put together,” Tori said with a sniff as she tapped away at her phone. She sat in a chair next to me with her crossed leg swinging absently. This was one thing I had learned to accept about Tori in the two weeks since our relationship had progressed to the next level. She was always working, but she was damn good at her job.
“And you are beautiful,” I said, reaching over to run my hand along the underside of her calf. I felt her defined muscle twitch under my touch. She pulled her leg away from me as she straightened in her chair. A warning flashed in her eyes.
“Quit it,” she said in a hushed voice as she glanced around to see if anyone was walking past the open door to my dressing room.
“Relax. Nobody’s around. It’s just us.”
“You can’t do that, Shaun,” she said under her breath. “No touching outside the bedroom, remember?”
I leaned toward her across my chair. “You are the only woman I’ve ever met who complains about a little PDA.”
“If I was your girlfriend, that would be different. But I’m not. I’m your employee and your PR agent.”
“Well, do you want to be my girlfriend? Is that what you’re hinting at?” I asked the question casually even though inside I was wound up tight, like I was in the ring with a wicked right hook coming at my jaw. It was something that had been bothering me more now that Tori and I were inseparable after hours, but she always held herself at a distance from me during the day.
“Shaun, we’ve talked about this,” she said. A small pleading note had entered her voice. “My job.”
There it was. The sucker punch right to the gut. “That’s right. The job. Which takes precedence over everything else about us.”
She stood up and moved closer pretending like she was adjusting my tie. “We are just getting things back on track for you. I’m starting to get the right kinds of phone calls from people wanting you to meet their kids, speak to their loved ones, and share your story with their support groups. The press is eating it up. What would it look like if it got out you were screwing your PR agent? Suddenly, all of that goodwill we’ve created would be called into question, not to mention I would get fired
from a job I happen to love. Is that really what you want?”
I reached up and stilled her hands. I felt the slight wobble of her stance as she looked at me with those wide, doe eyes I wanted to drown myself in. “I just want you.” That was the simple truth. It didn’t want a label or anything else. What I needed to know was if she at least felt the same way. If her job wasn’t a constant thorn in our sides, did she think that what was happening between us was the real deal?
We both heard the footsteps behind us announcing the arrival of someone. Tori’s attention was about to be stripped away again. “Tori,” I whispered, urgent.
She cast her eyes downward and broke away from me. Her phone was out in her hand a moment later just as the assistant PA came into view in the mirror behind me. “Mr. Nichols. Ms. Kenwood is ready for you.”
Georgie Kenwood was the host of the most highly viewed late-night entertainment show in the country. Tori worked double time to land me a coveted spot in the night’s line-up of guests.
“Terrific,” I said, trying to show the appropriate level of enthusiasm. I stood up and followed the PA out into the hallway. I barely heard what she said as she led me through the maze of hallways and rooms to the backstage waiting area. I saw Georgie on the monitors above our heads giving her opening monologue to the audience. They ate out of the palm of her hand.
“You nervous?” the PA asked.
I snorted. “When you’ve been on one TV talk show, you’ve been on them all.”
“Georgie is excited about meeting you. She apologizes she had a prior commitment that ran over so she couldn’t meet you personally before the interview.”
“It’s no problem,” I said, mentally shaking myself. I had to get my head in the game. Everything happening with Tori was starting to cloud my thoughts. I straightened my collar and the cuffs of my sleeves as Georgie called my name.
I pushed through the heavy curtains in front of me and was momentarily blinded by the bright studio lights. As Tori kept coaching me, I made sure the smile was on my face as I emerged. I raised my hand to the studio audience. I heard the cheers and the catcalls, and waved even as I made my way over to the low stage where Georgie waited to greet me.
