“Fine. I feel loads better now. And sorry for making your first couple of days here so weird. I promise I’m not always this much trouble.”
“Now, why don’t I believe that?”
Standing, I readjusted my sweats, hoping she could ignore the boner that still hung heavily against the thin material.
“Right, best go do some work. See you later, Frankie.”
She offered me a small smile as she tucked her hair behind her ear, looking deliciously innocent.
“Behave.”
“Yes, sir.”
Christ.
The crew and security staff filled the back room in the venue we were playing tonight. Addi introduced me and I’d spent the last fifteen minutes explaining how the new system would work. The green room would now be for the band only—no groupies and no crew hanging out. We would have a dedicated area outside where they could escape for a while as well. Each band member would now have their own team of security, so they always knew who was looking after them and no member of staff would be allowed to work if they weren’t wearing their pass.
I thought I’d get lots of resistance and complaints, but everyone seemed to welcome the new arrangements and the structure of it all. I gave them their instructions on who was taking which band member—Ed would be in charge of Grayson’s team, Rob would look after Tanner along with me, Eli would take the lead for Maverick, and Neo would take care of Frankie. I tried to ignore that I’d chosen the only openly gay member of my new team to look after Frankie.
A few hours later, I was at the side of the stage watching the band again, only tonight I didn’t even notice the boys. Tonight, my eyes were fixed on Frankie as images of the last few days with her flashed through my mind and I struggled to keep my cock and my heart under control, not understanding why both of them were betraying me.
Chapter 4
Matt
Itwas5.00amand after a restless night, I gave up trying to sleep and hit the gym. It was hard to find time to exercise being on tour and I needed to burn off all the pent-up energy I was carrying around with me. New job, new people, trying to make my mark on the team I was managing without making them all hate me, sleeping in a different place each night, keeping the band safe and her… Frankie, who seemed to consume most of my waking thoughts. It was a lot.
Pulling on some shorts, I didn’t bother with a t-shirt, as I knew the hotel gym would be empty. I slipped on my trainers and took a bottle of water from the mini-fridge before stepping into the elevator to go down to the 5th floor.
The gym was large, and I welcomed that the only noise was the low hum of the air conditioning, which was on high, chilling the air and covering my skin in goosebumps.
Setting the treadmill to 10km, I started running. It had been a while since I’d pushed my body and today felt like it would be the only way to excise Frankie from my mind.
For years, the only person I’d thought about was Emma. She was my everything. Then came Alfie. I used to worry that I wouldn’t have enough space to love someone as much as I loved her, but when he arrived, I swore my heart doubled in size. Losing them left me with this giant, useless, damaged heart, and I’d worked out as a way to direct my anger and pain somewhere. I’d bulked up. A lot. When I started working in the clubs, I barely had to lift a finger to sort problems. People took one look at me and decided to not bother fighting back. It’s why I shaved my head and lost my beard. It helped me command respect in my new job, but it served another purpose; I didn’t want to be DCI Howells anymore. The man who left his family to be murdered while he was off playing hero. I wasn’t sure even my wife would have recognized me these days.
I’d set the running machine to a high incline and ramped up the speed, so the sweat dripped from me, my feet pounding hard as I tried to escape my agitated mood. I was about 4km into my run when the door to the studio at the side of the gym opened as someone exited, and I saw her.Frankie.Balanced on her forearms, her face was close to the floor while her body curved upward, legs hanging forward over her head in a weird, distorted C-shape.
Dressed in tiny shorts and a sports bra, her hair was platted into two braids, and sweat glistened on her skin from the effort of holding herself perfectly still.
I couldn’t tear my eyes away, mesmerized by the sheer strength and power of her body. I was so transfixed that I forgot I was running and stumbled, nearly landing on my ass. Taking a breath, I lowered my gaze and tried to refocus on my run as the door slowly closed. But not before I saw a fit, tall man move to kneel down next to her, pressing his hands on her stomach and lower back, mouthing something to her that made her laugh.
Red mist clouded my vision as rage rushed through me. I wanted to be her bodyguard and check she was okay, but it wasn’t my job. She had Neo. Whoever was laying their fucking hands on her would have been vetted and someone from her security team would be close by. I couldn’t kill everyone who got near her, no matter how much I wanted to… in a professional capacity, obviously.
Instead, I ramped up the speed and ran until I thought my legs might give way.
When the machine beeped and started to slow, she still hadn’t come out of the room, so I turned it back on and kept running. I ran another 3km before the door opened and she made her way out with the unknown man. Hugging her, I heard him tell her to make sure she hydrated before he left.
I waited for Neo or one of the other security team to step out, but she appeared to be alone. Pushing the emergency stop button on the treadmill, I jumped my feet to the sides, while the belt slowed. Frankie’s hand was on the gym door, about to leave, when I shouted her name. She turned with a gasp, her eyes wide as she stared at me.
She looked so beautiful that I lost my voice. Then the memory of Emma steamrollered through my mind, reminding me that I was here to do a job and no matter how my body reacted to Frankie, my heart only belonged to two people. The thought of them both made it easier to slip back into work mode and right now, this very famous woman was alone in a hotel gym, without anyone protecting her.
“What the fuck, Frankie?” I yelled across the space.
Frankie
Iwasbroken.Broken.Ninety minutes of hot yoga and my body was exhausted and exhilarated in equal measure. Yoga was my happy place. The calm in my crazy life. Brandon, my personal trainer, traveled around the UK with me, helping me burn off the food I loved so much, so I could keep the rock star body everyone expected me to have.
I refused to change what I ate, so working out six days a week was a price I was willing to pay. Although right now, everything hurt, and I felt like I needed a gallon of water to replenish the amount I’d sweated out during our session. I was desperate for breakfast, coffee, a shower, and a glass or three of ice-cold water. The last thing I expected to hear was my name being yelled across the room.