“You should eat a real breakfast. Not that protein shake bullshit,” he says, breaking the silence.
I glance over my shoulder at him, acknowledging his presence for the first time. Well, outwardly, at least. My body is finely tuned to his, and I couldn’t be any more aware of him if I was whacked upside the head with a stick.
“I happen to like my protein shakes,thankyouverymuch.” I wince at how petulant and snippy I sound. “Sorry,” I apologize. “I’m just grouchy this morning. Didn’t sleep well,” I say in explanation.
He comes up behind me and crowds me up against the counter, pinning me with his hard body.
“Why didn’t you sleep well?” He’s so close that I can feel his breath along my skin as he speaks. Goosebumps pebble on my skin at the intimate feeling.
“J-just didn’t,” I stutter.
No way am I telling him that I slept like crap because all I could think about was how well he fucked me yesterday and how much I want a repeat. Or that half the night was filled with sex dreams about all the various ways we could get down and dirty.
Nope. Definitely not telling him all that.
“Surely there has to be a reason…”
“Just a restless night. Lots on my mind.” There that was truthful enough to be believable but not giving any of my erotic fantasies away.
His lips glide slowly up and down my neck. Not really kissing me, just a sensual tease of his mouth on my skin. “I was restless last night too,” he says, those tantalizing lips of his brushing against me with every syllable. “All I could think about is your tight little pussy and how I want to bury myself inside it until all you know is me.”
I shiver at his words because that’s what I want. Desperately.
Before I can respond, his phone rings, breaking the moment. I don’t know if I’m upset about it or thankful because things are getting confusing between us. Lines have been blurred and I have no idea where we stand. I’m chicken enough to not want to know.
“Fuck. I’ve gotta take this.”
I nod, taking a breath for what feels like the first time since he came up behind me.
“What?” he snarls into the phone. Obviously displeased with being interrupted. But from what? What was his end game? Was he going to take me again? Was he just teasing me? I’ll never know, and that’s a good thing.
Right?
He wanders off to the living room so I can’t hear him speaking, and I go back to making my shake. Lord knows I need the distraction. I down the protein shake and then head back to my bedroom to finish getting myself together for the day.
I’m already dressed and ready to go, but I need a few minutes of alone time to get my head on straight. It’s time to remind myself that whatever happens between us means nothing. It’s just a casual thing that happened between two people in a fake relationship.
He’s just my bodyguard. Nothing more, nothing less.
Once I feel like I’m back on even ground, I go in search of Jasper. He’s in the kitchen drinking his coffee with a scowl on his face.
“Everything alright?”
Instantly the scowl is gone. It’s like he’s pulled a mask over his expression. One second he’s scowling and looking ready to murder someone, the next he’s smirking and looking all sex on wheels. Talk about whiplash.
“Everything is just fine, sweetheart. You ready to head out?”
“Yeah. Are you sure I can’t run? You could just meet me at the school…”
His eyes flare with worry, and I know he’s not going to let me. A small part of me wants to push back against him, but the wiser—someone is stalking you part of me—knows he’s just trying to keep me safe.
“I can’t let you do that.”
“But-”
“No buts. My word on that is final. It’s not safe.”
“Why not? Did something happen?” Fear shoots through me and, all of a sudden, I feel like I can’t catch my breath. What exactly was that call about? He sounded angry with whoever he was talking to. I chalked it up to him being upset that we were disturbed. But maybe something else has happened…