Brent felt himself harden at the memory.
“I’m telling you, you were great.” He checked his watch. “What time do you think we’ll be able to get out of here?”
Raj straightened his shoulders and his earlier confidence returned. “Why? Are you in a hurry to get me home so you can have your wicked way with me?”
Brent chuckled. “Enough.”
Raj leaned in close, so close he felt the man’s breath fan over his face like a warm summer breeze. It was Brent who eyed the room to see if anyone was watching them.
“Of you, I’m certain I will never get enough.”
Brent was at a loss.
How many times could he tell Raj he wasn’t interested?
And what was the point?
Especially when Raj didn’t believe it any more than Brent did himself.
“Rajkumar!”
Raj rolled his eyes then turned and put on his best game face.
“Later, lover,” he whispered in an aside, before he sauntered back to the set and the waiting director.
The softly spoken words wrapped around Brent, caressing him like a satin sheet. He wasn’t sure how much more he could take of Raj’s playful flirting. His willpower was already damn near nonexistent. If Raj continued his pursuit, Brent was in serious trouble of being caught, but he carelessly and quite foolishly wondered if that would be such a bad thing.
Chapter Twenty Eight
Raj threw his keys on the hall table and turned to Brent, unable to keep the smile from his face. He had filmed the last scene of the very last movie he was to star in and was now officially unemployed.
He’d never felt so happy.
“No threats in over a week,” he mused aloud. “That has to be a record. Do you think whoever was sending them has given up?”
Brent ran a hand through his thick brown hair and pursed his lips. “It’s possible, although, in my experience, psychos like that don’t just give up and go away. They get more and more intense until they achieve their goal or until they are caught.”
A heavy, grey raincloud threatened to overshadow Raj’s good mood. “So you think this is some sort of calm before the storm?”
Brent sighed and scratched the back of his neck. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to worry you. I sincerely hope it’s not. Maybe the guy has moved on to someone new.
“Who knows what goes on in these people’s minds? We’ll give it another day or two and, if nothing new transpires, I’ll speak to Jack about lowering the number of guards we have on each shift.”
Raj certainly hoped that would be the case. He was tired of having so many men follow him around on a daily basis. It made him feel like some diva with a damn entourage.
“Do you think that’s a good idea?” Rahul said as he approached.
Raj threw his hand to his chest in surprise.
He hadn’t heard his agent approach.
“Rahul…you scared me. I didn’t know you were coming here today.”
Rahul gave a sharp nod of his head. “I thought I told you. I’ve got some offers on the table I want to speak to you about. A few television interviews and a couple of magazine deals.
“I think it would be a good idea to raise your public profile for the build-up to the new films being released, especially as they are to be your last.”
Rahul turned to Brent. “What were you saying about lowering the number of Raj’s guard?”
Brent scowled at Rahul.
Raj could tell there was no love lost between the two men. Raj had to admit he didn’t much care for Rahul himself. Even though he was good at his job, Raj couldn’t fail to notice the disdain in the man’s eyes for his lifestyle. But it seemed more than that between Rahul and Brent—there was real dislike there.
Raj had to wonder whether Rahul would have given him the time of day if he hadn’t made him so goddamn rich.
“We don’t need any more men on this than is necessary. If Raj is no longer under threat then two guards will be sufficient.”
“Really?” Rahul sniffed. “And that’s your decision to make, is it?”
“It is the sensible decision,” Brent ground out.
“I think you’re forgetting who pays your wages.”
“Just who is the damn security expert here?”
Raj watched Brent’s hands clench into fists at his side. He knew he had to defuse the situation before it got ugly. He could see the color rise in Brent’s cheeks as he glared at Rahul.
“I happen to agree with Brent,” Raj said to his agent. “There is absolutely no need for me to have four guards if I don’t need them.
“You know how much I hate all of this fuss. I would much rather walk around unguarded.” Raj raised his hand when his agent opened his mouth to argue his point.
“I know that isn’t practical. I am simply saying that the fewer men following me around the better. Two men will be more than enough if there are no more threats.
“Please respect my wishes on this, Rahul.”
Rahul nodded but he didn’t look happy. Raj could practically see the vein in his forehead pulse before his eyes.
“As you wish.” Rahul nodded and turned to leave. “I’ll wait for you in the office.”
Raj waited until his agent had disappeared through the door to the office at the end of the hall, then he stepped closer to Brent, placed a hand on his shoulder and waited for him to meet his gaze.
“Please don’t let Rahul upset you. I know first-hand how argumentative and condescending he can be at times, but you shouldn’t take it personally. I’m sure he is only looking out for my best interests.”
“And his own,” Brent growled. After a moment his eyes softened. “It’s not only that I don’t like the man—I don’t trust him. And until we know who has been threatening you, it’s my job to be suspicious of everyone, and that includes Rahul.”
“You don’t honestly think Rahul could be behind the threats, do you?”
“I don’t know, but right now, I’m not ruling anyone out.”
“Fair enough.”
“How come he has a key to get in here?”
Raj shrugged. “He comes around so often it seemed like a good idea to give him one.”
“Is he the only person with a key?”
“No, several people have a copy as well as the code to the alarm. There’s the security company that takes care of the cameras, of course, my mother, my housekeeper and a few others that work for me in some capacity or other.”
Brent frowned. “Can you indulge me and make another list?”
Oh, Raj could indulge him all right, but he doubted he and Brent had the same idea in mind.
“It’s already been done. The list of people who have access to the house was included with the names of employees Rahul sent to your office.”
Brent frowned. “Strange. Jack didn’t mention anything about that. I wonder why?”
Raj shrugged. “I guess it slipped his mind. Will you still be here after I finish speaking with Rahul?”
Brent checked his watch, his eyebrows raised. “My shift doesn’t end for another two hours. Why?”
Raj stepped closer to Brent.
Damn, the man smelled incredible. He leant forward until his lips were all but touching the lobe of the bodyguard’s ear. He wanted to take it in his mouth, to trace it with his tongue, to make Brent moan.
“I was hoping for a little one on one time, if you know what I mean.” Raj slid his hands down Brent’s back and gently but firmly squeezed his ass.
Brent’s eyes widened in surprise then he chuckled and shook his head. “Do you ever give up?”
“Never.” Raj grinned mischievously. “Besides, I don’t think you want me to give up. I think you enjoy me chasing you as much as I enjoy doing the chasing. And rest assured, I will catch you in the end.”
And when he caught him Raj had no intention of letting go.
Brent sucked in a breath.
He didn’t reply but the look in his eyes told Raj he didn’
t doubt him for one second. Raj was sure that if he looked down he’d see evidence of how much his words had affected Brent.
Raj turned, smiling to himself as he made his way to the study.
There was no doubt Brent was cracking under the pressure. It seemed Raj’s constant advances were working. Now it was time for him to prove to Brent just how good they could be together, and prove it he would, at any cost.
Chapter Twenty Nine
Folding the newspaper in half, Brent threw it on the coffee table and let out a long, deep breath.
Fuck.
What the hell was he going to do? He thought back to Raj’s breath, hot and teasing against his neck and ear while they’d stood together in the hall, and his dick started to get hard.
Raj’s lips had been inches from his.
He’d been seconds away from turning his head and capturing them, seizing them in a heated kiss that Raj would have felt all the way down to his toes. He remembered only too well how good they tasted, how perfectly they fit around his own, how Raj’s kisses were both soft but firm at the same time, and deliciously insistent.
It was becoming too difficult to be around Raj on a daily basis and not give in to his desire for the man. Maybe he should remove himself from the job, after all. It would be better for both their sakes, but he knew he wasn’t strong enough for that and he definitely didn’t like the idea of handing Raj’s safety over to someone who might be careless with it.
The crux of the matter was that Brent wanted Raj, but he wanted a lover with whom he could share his life. He wanted someone who could be open about the way they felt about him, and that in no way described Rajkumar Khan.
“Penny for your thoughts?” Raj’s sexy drawl sent shivers through Brent’s body.
He stood up when Raj walked into the room, turned to meet his gaze and frowned, trying desperately to control the way his body reacted every time he heard Raj’s voice or saw his face.
“No, wait… I don’t think I want to know,” Raj said.
“It’s time for me to go.” Brent crossed the room and stopped in front of Raj. “I’ll see you tomorrow at eight.”
“Wait. There’s somewhere I need to go tonight. I was hoping you’d come with me.”
“Oh? There was nothing in the schedule you gave us.”
Raj shook his head.
“I know. I hadn’t planned on this trip, but it’s important to me, very important, and I’d like you to be there.”
Brent should have just said no and let one of the other guards accompany Raj, but the thought of spending extra time with him excited Brent more than he wished it did.
What came out of his mouth in no way resembled a negative.
“Okay, I’ll come with you.”
Raj let out a long sigh. “Thank you. I appreciate it.”
“Where are we going?”
“You’ll see,” Raj said cryptically.
Chapter Thirty
Thirty minutes later Brent was strapped into the passenger seat of Raj’s brand new Ferrari.
Not only had he refrained from saying no, but he’d agreed to accompany Raj alone, giving the other bodyguards the night off.
How the hell had Raj managed to talk him into that?
Brent had to seriously rethink his choice of career because he clearly wasn’t of sound mind.
In his present condition he shouldn’t even be guarding a dog, let alone a human being. Jack would serve his ass to him on a plate if he found out about his careless mistake.
“Where are we going?”
“Not far, about an hour outside of the city.”
Brent frowned.
That wasn’t even an answer.
“I don’t think this is a good idea.”
“You said that twice already.”
“Well, it’s not.”
Raj shrugged and kept his eyes on the road.
Brent folded his arms and watched the city roll past in a haze of ochre dust. “Did you grow up in Mumbai?”
Raj shook his head and took a left turn, honking his horn at a driver who tried to cut him off. Brent was starting to get used to the constant horn-honking in the city—although he still didn’t understand its purpose, other than to irritate and give him a permanent headache.
“Then, where are you from?”
Raj took his eyes off the road for a moment and turned to face Brent. “About an hour outside of the city.”
Brent’s eyes widened. “We’re going to where you grew up?”
When Raj didn’t answer the question, their destination and the reason for going there suddenly became crystal clear to Brent.
“Shit. You’re going to tell your mother you’re gay, aren’t you?”
Raj gave a quick nod of his head. “It’s time she knew the truth.”
“Why did you ask me to come with you?”
“I need the moral support…and I want you to see how serious I am about you, about us. I’d really like it if you gave me a chance and I know you’ll never do that while I’m still in the closet.
“I figured telling my mother would be a good place to start.”
“Look, Raj, I know what I’ve said to you about this, but, this is something you need to do for you, because it’s what you want and you’re ready for it. You can’t do this for me.”
“I’m not doing it for you. Well, not only for you. I’m doing it for me and for my mother. After all these years I think she deserves my honesty. I’ve spent too much time hiding who I really am and lying to her. She deserves better than that.”
Brent nodded, appeased. That was fair enough.
“How do you think she’ll react?”
This time Raj kept his eyes on the road.
When he spoke, Brent couldn’t fail to notice the crack in his voice.
“Badly. I’d like to think my sexuality would make no difference to her, and that she can accept me for who I am.
“But I don’t think that’s going to be the case. I know her too well to understand that she doesn’t approve of homosexuality and doesn’t tolerate it.”
Brent sighed. “I sincerely hope you’re wrong.”
Brent pulled out his cell phone then called Jack to tell him where they were going and that he’d given the other bodyguards the night off. He got the address from Raj and relayed the information to his friend. Jack chewed his ear off at first about guarding Raj alone but, when Brent asked him to drop it, Jack didn’t push.
When he hung up the call he turned to look out of the passenger window.
He wished he could think of some way to comfort Raj or at the very least to tell him that everything was going to be okay, but he couldn’t do that. The sad fact was that many parents could not accept their children were gay and never would. Brent had several friends in London whose parents hadn’t spoken to them for years after they’d come out.
Brent had been one of the lucky ones.
At seventeen he’d told his mother he was gay after agonizing over the decision for weeks. His mother had beamed at him like he’d just told her he’d won the lottery. She’d gotten straight on the phone to tell all her friends. Brent had sat there in amazement while he listened to her gab on about how they could go shopping together and he could help her pick out new shoes.
Like that was ever going to happen.
It had taken Brent’s father a little longer to get used to the idea, but only because he couldn’t understand it. He kept pointing out actresses on television and asking, “Don’t you think she’s attractive?”
But not once had his father shouted at him or in any way made him feel bad about himself. Yeah, Brent had been lucky.
“What about your dad? Is he around?”
“He passed away a few years ago—heart attack.”
“I’m sorry to hear that.”
“The sad thing is, out of the two of them, my father would have been the most accepting. He had such a great attitude. Live and let live. He didn’t have a mean bone in his body. I regret not tellin
g him before he passed.”
“There’s no point thinking like that. You can’t change the past. You just have to make the right choices now.” Brent put his hand on Raj’s knee. “Are you sure this is the right choice for you?”
Raj turned to Brent and smiled at him before returning his concentration to the road. He took one hand off the wheel, covered Brent’s hand and squeezed.
“I’ve never been more certain of anything.”
Brent nodded. “Then I’ll support you in any way that I can.”
“Are your parents still around?” Raj asked.
Brent nodded. “Yep, and they’re just as annoying as ever.”
Raj chuckled. “You don’t mean that.”
“No, they’re wonderful actually, and I miss them. They’ve been talking about coming here to visit me. They might bring my annoying little sister with them, too.”
“That would be nice.”
“Yeah, I’d love to show them around Mumbai. I think they’d like it here.”
For the rest of the journey Brent remained quiet, lost in his own thoughts. Several times he turned his head to study Raj’s profile. The more time he spent in Raj’s company, the more he liked him and the more time he wanted to spend with him. He was starting to believe there could be a chance for them to be together.
If Raj was going to these lengths to prove himself to Brent then shouldn’t he give the man the benefit of the doubt?
“We’re here,” Raj said, pulling Brent out of his thoughts.
Brent looked out of the window and the spectacular view caught his breath. “Wow. This place is incredible. Where are we?”
“Alibagh. I spent a lot of happy years growing up here.”
“I can imagine.”
“If you look to the left you’ll see Kolaba Fort, just the other side of the water.”
Soon the large fort came into view, looming over the ocean in the twilight. “It’s impressive…beautiful actually.”
Raj nodded. “When we were young, my brother and I use to wade through the water to get to it. We’d play there for hours, pretending to be pirates. But you can only get across on foot in monsoon season, and at low tide. Once, we lost track of the time and the tide rose. We were stuck there all night.”
Bollywood Bodyguard Page 12
