My cheeks flush at his question. I should have anticipated it, but I didn’t think about also having to answer this question. I let my selfish need to know if I was competing with his ex-wife get the best of me. Not that there’s a future for us to worry about. I could lie, but I don’t want to. I opt to tell him a partial truth. Hopefully, he won’t push for more info.
“No, but got close once. What do you do for work?”
“I work at a security company. What about you?”
“I’m the office manager of a medical device company.” I take a sip before continuing, my curiosity piqued. “A security company? What does that entail exactly?”
Ian scoots closer to me on the bed. “We organize andwork security for events and install high-end security systems in homes and businesses. We also do personal security for celebrities and politicians. Or anyone with enough money to hire us. That is a part of the business we are still trying to grow more.”
“We? Do you own the company?”
He shakes his head and takes a drink of coffee. “My two friends do. But I do a lot more work on the actual business side than the other employees. So, it’s a we. I started working with them not long after they started it, so it has been just the three of us and our receptionist slash office manager until more recently when we got enough business to start hiring more people.”
I frown at his answer. That doesn’t seem fair to him. “You do all this work, but you don’t get an ownership cut of the company? That doesn’t really seem right. Do you have an employment contract that you can renegotiate to include that? You should get what is due to you.” When he doesn’t respond, I cut my eyes in his direction. He’s staring at me with the goofiest grin on his face. “What? Why are you looking at me like that? This is important.”
He closes the distance between us and slips his arm over my shoulders. Pulling me into his side, he kisses the top of my head. “It’s hot when you get all riled up like that. Especially when it’s in my defense.” He studies me for a moment, and I find myself smiling. “Normally, I’m the one doing the defending. I have to admit, that kind of turned me on.”
I playfully pinch his nipple, and he grunts a laugh before taking my hand in his to prevent me from doing it again. He rests my hand on his large, solid thigh, his palm rough and warm against my skin where his hand is on top of mine. Goosebumps flare across my skin.
It’s weird how comfortable I feel with him already. Anywoman would obviously be physically attracted to him because he’s insanely hot, but there’s just this…quiet strength to him that speaks to the part of me that’s been running on coffee and fear for the last few years. Being a bodyguard fits him, much like being in the military. The muscles alone make him intimidating, but there’s something behind his eyes that makes him even scarier to go up against. I saw it with the guy in the bar.
But the way he treats me and touches me calms every frayed nerve ending that’s been destroyed by what’s been going on in my life. Like nothing could go wrong when I’m with him.
Which is an insane thought. I, of all people, know how quickly everything can go wrong. Yet I relax into him as I continue drinking my coffee, lost in thought and the contentment I’m feeling. Ian’s fingers trail up and down my bare arm, and his cheek rests on the top of my head. Despite sleeping late into the morning, my eyes drift closed. My body relaxes even more as consciousness slips away. Until the sensation of Ian pulling the coffee cup from my grasp brings me back, and my eyes pop open. “I’m drinking that.”
Ian’s chest shakes beneath me with a deep laugh. “Seemed like you were falling asleep to me.”
I push myself up, breaking our connection. Ian frowns as his arm slips from around my shoulder. “No, I’m awake. I just need more coffee. Lots of it.”
His frown lessens as he makes a move to get off the bed. “I’ll go get you some more. I’ll also try to figure out some food to order for us. I’m starving, and I haven’t gotten groceries in a while, so I don’t have anything to cook.”
“I’ll come with you. I want to be nosy and see your house in the daylight.” I go to follow him out of bed when I freeze, remembering that I’m naked. As I glance over at Ian, hisplayful smirk is back in place. “Can I borrow, like, a t-shirt and sweats or something?”
He juts his chin toward the dresser on the far side of the room. “Top drawer and third drawer. Help yourself to whatever you want.”
When he doesn’t leave the room and instead crosses his arms across his broad chest while watching me, I roll my eyes, flip the sheet back, and climb out of bed. His eyes flare as they rove my body while I walk across the room, desire evident in his ravenous stare.
As someone who’s always felt not good enough because of my lack of height and abundant curves, when Ian looks at me like that, those insecurities start to slip away. How can I argue with a man who looks like that when he is so obviously attracted to me? If the tented sweatpants he’s now sporting are any indication.
Might as well play into this.
Swaying my way to the dresser, I open one of the drawers he indicated. I choose a pair of loose sweats that look like they will fit my hips and butt. With my back still to him, I slide the drawer closed and bend over to slip my feet into the legs of the sweats.
My grin hurts my cheeks when I hear Ian mumble a pained, “Jesus fucking Christ, woman,” from behind me.
I straighten and pull the sweats the rest of the way up. When I open the top drawer to get a T-shirt, Ian says, “I’ll meet you in the kitchen.”
I chuckle at his gruff tone. His footsteps trail off as he walks farther down the hall. Quickly pulling on the shirt, I follow him, trying to tame my eagerness.
This will be the best weekend I’ve had in a while, and I can’t wait to see what else comes from it.
5
Ian
“You can’t just put downanotherdraw four!” Maggie yelps as I place my card on the pile.
I throw my hands up. “I literallycando that. It is in my hand, which means I can put it on the table when I see fit.”
