I didn’t realize I was smiling. I would’ve figured those muscles in my face would’ve atrophied by now.
But I felt the smile fade as I studied her face. And I wasn’t gonna be responsible for what I said next. At least, my brain wasn’t. My heart was now working overtime, pumping blood to my dick, post-haste.
“You are extremely sexy.”
And there it was.
My dick made me say it.
“Is this you being honest with me again?”
“Yes.”
“Who are you, Ronan Sterling?” she asked, whisper-laughing a little.
“Ronan Sterling,” I said stupidly. All that blood rushing to my junk was making me stupider by the second.
“You are the most mysterious person I’ve ever met.”
“Really?”
“Really.”
“Is that bad?”
“It’s not bad,” she said. “It’s annoyingly intriguing.”
“I annoy you?”
Obviously I annoyed her. She just told me so. But like a pubescent idiot with a boner, I wanted her to keep talking to me, even if I had to pull her hair to get her to do it.
“Who cares?” she said after a moment. “More importantly, you don’t bore me.”
“Do men usually bore you?” The thought of her with any other man seriously made me want to punch out the windshield, but if she was gonna tell me that no man but me could hold her interest, I’d fucking take it.
“Absolutely.”
My cock throbbed.
“And yet, you have so many of them around…”
Stupid.
Stop talking while all your brain cells are starved of blood.
“Are you saying I’m a player?” she asked me, cocking her head and looking at me sidelong. I couldn’t tell if she was offended or if she was being coy. My wires were all crossed with this woman.
Client. Damsel in distress. Ball breaker. Lover.
I wanted all of her all over all of me, and my dick wouldn’t let me forget it.
How did we end up trapped in this car?
Because you’re an idiot and you should’ve walked away from this job on day one and asked her on a date instead.
“That’s the name of your band, right?” I swallowed, desperately striving for casual deflection. “The Players.”
“I like a lot of people around,” she said, unapologetically. “Variety, right? They say it’s the spice of life. And yes, people bore me. And yes, it’s a problem.”
I considered that. My dick was now throbbing like I’d slipped on the world’s tightest cock ring, and I knew it was gonna make me keep saying very stupid things.
I just couldn’t stop saying them.
“Maybe you bore yourself.”
Her jaw dropped, but then she smiled a little. “What the hell does that mean?”
“Well… often the things we dislike about other people are the same things we dislike about ourselves.”
“And there you go, being mysterious again. Now you’re wise, too? I’ll need to add that to the list.”
“What list?”
“You know, your list of fabulous qualities.”
Yeah, my heart was beating way too fast now. I liked it way too much that she liked me. I could barely hear from the blood rushing through my ears.
My whole body throbbed.
It was like my heart was punishing me for waking it from its lengthy hibernation.
“I didn’t know there was a list,” I said. My nipples were hardening. Goosebumps were breaking out as I warmed from the inside. I was starting to sweat.
“You knew there was a list. It’s in your dossier.” She tapped her head. “And don’t be false modest. That’s definitely boring. But you’re probably half-right. I’m afraid of boring myself, maybe.”
“You’re afraid of ending up with a boring man, and having to cut him loose?”
“Sweetheart, I cut men loose all the time.”
God, I loved it when she called me sweetheart.
I wanted to lick that beautiful pale neck of hers and tell her to do it again.
“So…” I cleared my throat. “You’re afraid of finding one you really like and boring him?”
“Oh my God.” She laughed, heartily. “I think that would be the ultimate in failure.”
I laughed too, a little.
“Look at that, I made you laugh,” she said. “Not boring you so far?”
“I don’t think it would be possible for you to bore me. Have you ever found a man who didn’t bore you?”
Christ. When did I become such a fucking idiot?
Was it the moment I met her?
Or was I always more stupid than I’d thought?
Questions for future contemplation. When I wasn’t stranded in a car in the woods with Summer Sorensen and a hard-on.
“Sure,” she said. “A few times.”
“Did Ashley Player bore you?”
Holy fuck. Why didn’t I just whip out my dick and ask her to jerk me off while she described her favorite memories of all her exes?
Was I a masochist now?
She gave me a long look. “What do you think?” She sighed. “Ashley Player is not a boring man. That’s pretty self-evident.”
“You loved him.”
“Yes, I loved him. Fuck, did I love him. I still love him. He’s one of my best friends.”
My newly-revived heart cracked open and a small death rattle coughed out.
I’d never felt so fucking jealous of another man in my life.
She’s not with him anymore.
She’s with you in a car. Stop being an idiot and kiss her.
“Have you ever loved anyone like that?” she asked me.
“No. Not like that.”
I didn’t say anything else on the subject, and she went silent. Normally I might’ve enjoyed the silence, but I needed to keep her talking. My dick insisted that I keep her attention on me.
I liked having her full attention. I liked not competing with everyone else around her.
But I wasn’t sure what to say.
I’d agreed to protect her, and I knew I was getting distracted—by her. Wanting her in my bed. In my fucking lap, right now.
Even with all the blood slamming to my cock and my balls throbbing, I knew the right thing to do, as soon as fucking possible, would be to assign her another bodyguard. Someone else to do what I was starting to wonder if I could even do at all, when I so badly wanted her.
But then I’d
