“Okay, I can do that.”
Rowe turned toward his computer and started clicking on the mouse. “I’m also going to assign someone to watch your back.”
Liam’s heart skipped a beat as he immediately thought of Seth. That would be bad. He couldn’t have Seth acting as his bodyguard. That would be a nightmare. They couldn’t possibly spend time together again. Not when Liam so desperately wanted another night together exploring that perfect body.
But there was no way it would happen.
Rowe had to have at least a two, maybe three dozen bodyguards working for him. The odds of it happening were impossible.
Grabbing up his phone, Rowe tapped a button and waited. A slow smile spread across his lips, and Liam could guess who he’d called before he even said a word. “Hey babe,” Rowe drawled, his rough voice growing warm. “I saw that Garrett isn’t on the schedule for the next few days. I was gonna use him for a special project. Are you—”
His words cut off as he listened to his boyfriend’s reply, while Liam tried to ignore the heavy weight of disappointment resting on his chest. He hadn’t met Garrett, but Sven spoke very highly of him. Liked him a lot. Said he was incredibly skilled. He’d be perfect to help Liam.
So why the hell was he so disappointed?
“He was called out of town for what?”
Liam’s head popped up, and his heart gave an excited flutter. Garrett was out. Rowe turned to his computer and made a few noises as he continued to listen to his boyfriend. “Yep. Sounds good. Thanks!” Rowe hung up the phone and pushed to his feet, smiling at Liam. “I got just the bodyguard for you. He’s good at staying low-key and in the background, which I’m sure you’d prefer at the shop.”
Rowe rounded his desk and walked out of the office to the railing that overlooked the ground floor training area. “Hey, Seth!” Rowe shouted above the noise. “Get your ass up to my office!”
Liam’s breath froze in his lungs and he jumped to his feet.
Are you fucking kidding me?
His damn body was running hot and cold, unable to decide if it was excited or terrified at the prospect of seeing Seth again. But he didn’t have time to figure out which was winning, because Rowe returned to his office. Luckily, he didn’t seem to notice that Liam was in full panic mode.
“Seth is on his way up. He’s technically off for a few days, but I think he’ll be happy to help out Sven’s brother. Plus, this should be an easy job for him.” Rowe was trying to soothe any of Liam’s worries, but Rowe’s words were mostly white noise in his ears as he struggled to pull himself together before facing Seth.
There wasn’t time, though. Just as Liam was getting his brain to start working again, quick footsteps pounded up the stairs and down the hall. Liam swallowed hard, and Seth stepped into the room. The shorter man stopped dead, his eyes widening as they met Liam’s.
“Liam!” Seth said on a gasp.
“Hey, Seth,” Liam replied when he could get his tongue to function. God, he looked amazing. Yes, he was shiny with sweat, his face was flushed, and his hair was standing up, but it all reminded him of how Seth had looked right after they’d finished fucking. Simply, he looked absolutely gorgeous.
“You know each other already?” Rowe asked.
Thank God he spoke, because it was the only way to get Liam to stop staring at the way Seth’s T-shirt was sticking to his damp chest.
“Yeah, umm…we met at Sven’s wedding,” Seth said.
“Oh. Yeah,” Rowe said, though there was something in the redhead’s voice that left Liam thinking he wasn’t entirely convinced.
“What’s going on? Liam, what happened to your face?” Seth demanded. He took a step closer to Liam and out of the corner of his eye, he saw Seth lift his hand as if he was planning to touch him, but he stopped himself. Seth cleared his throat and ran both of his hands down the sides of his shorts.
“That’s what I need your help with. You mind if I reschedule your break and put you on Liam’s case for a little while?”
“No, of course not!”
Liam ignored the butterflies that launched into frantic flight in his chest. This wasn’t about Seth wanting to see him again. Seth was a good person, and he was happy to help out his boss. Or maybe help out Sven’s brother. It had nothing to do with him.
“Shut the door, and we’ll fill you in.” Rowe returned to his desk, and Liam dropped down on the couch. Seth remained standing while Rowe recapped what Liam had told him over the past several minutes. It wasn’t easy looking up at Seth as Rowe laid the problem bare, but with each glance up at Seth’s face, his expression grew darker.