Perfume drifted through the foyer, a mixture of smells from women and men. There was laughter somewhere to my right and clicking heels. It reminded me of my days as a guard here when I’d watched every client as carefully as I could. You never knew who would be the one to cause trouble because sometimes it was the most innocent-looking people. Once we had a woman who was no taller than five-foot-five demand a professional who was unavailable. When she didn’t get her way at seeing him, she’d argued until we were called in to lead her outside. She’d fought the entire way and managed to get Rover, another guard, in the knee with her sharp heels. He’d needed five stitches.
I didn’t have to wait long for someone to approach me, but it wasn’t Darcy. Lemonade drew closer to my side, her protectiveness obvious in the way her body nudged my knee. She was tense, too.
“Sir.” The deep gruff voice made me stiffen. “I’ve been asked to escort you from the premises. Please follow me.”
“No.” I straightened and petted Lemonade on the head. “I’m waiting to talk to someone.”
“And Mr. Winters is too busy. I’ve been asked by the front desk to escort you out, so don’t make this more difficult than it needs to be.” He placed his hand on my shoulder and it was massive and heavy. His hold was tight, a warning that he would drag me out if necessary. When he tugged, I reacted on impulse, thanks to the self-defense classes I’d gone to since I’d become blind. While I’d had them before, it was different without my sight because I had to use my other senses instead. I swung my cane and it hit the bodyguard in the thigh, sending him to his knees with a groan of pain—or at least that was what the sounds that followed my attack led me to believe. Pushing to my feet, I gripped the cane hard, ready for another swing if I needed it.
The sounds of heavy footsteps told me more men were coming.
“Stop!” Darcy’s sharp tone sliced through the air, and his fancy shoes clicked on the stairs as he practically ran down them and straight to me. He grasped my arm tightly. “Oh my God. Are you all right, Brooks? Did he hurt you?”
The man on the floor groaned, and I almost felt bad for him.Almost. He was only doing his job, after all. Not so long ago, I’d been doing the same work.
“I’m fine.” I reached out and touched Darcy’s hand that held my arm. “Nothing I couldn’t handle.”
The guard grunted, and scuffling told me he was forcing himself to his feet. Darcy let go of me, and he spun around before I could stop him.
“Don’t youeverput your hands on him again unless I’ve given you direct permission. Who told you that you could touch him?” he demanded, anger wrapping around every word that left his mouth.
The guard stumbled over his tongue as he tried to talk. “I’m sorry, sir. Patton—”
“Patton isn’t in charge.Iam. Get out of my sight before I have your ass thrown out instead.” The anger warped into fury, and if I didn’t know how sweet he really was, I might be afraid, too.
“Yes, sir.” The guard shuffled away, his shoes heavy on the polished floors.
I gripped my cane in my palm again, the smoothness a comfort as relief slid through me like warm chocolate in my belly on a cold night. For a moment I’d thought it was Darcy throwing me out, and my plans to speak my mind had been shelved. But it hadn’t been, and he was here now, in front of me, breathing so deeply anyone would believe he’d run a marathon.
“I’m so sorry that happened,” he whispered after a few long seconds. “I hadn’t realized Patton would call security. Don’t you worry, I will handle that idiot as soon as we’re done.” He was back to touching me, but this time he slid his fingers through mine, and I happily squeezed his. “What are you doing here? I thought… I didn’t think I’d see you again. I said the safeword.”
“I know you did, but that only ends our scene, sweet prince, not what we have. I wanted to give you a small break to think about what you wanted.” I winced. “My intentions were pure, Darcy. I wanted you to relax and unwind, but I didn’t realize that I’d only make you more anxious by taking you away from the hotel. It was unfair.”
“No,” he said, stepping in closer until the warmth of his body soaked into mine. I couldn’t help but tuck my cane away again and curl my arm around his back, touching the spot just above his ass. The suit he wore was softer than I’d imagined, but I didn’t doubt it was an expensive brand, probably Italian. “I enjoyed our time away, Brooks, but I doubt we’ll work. We’re both so busy, and the Courtesan needs me. I can’t turn my back on this establishment.”
“I wanted to come here and tell you something.” Pressing my forehead to his, I sighed. “If you don’t want to see me after this, I’ll never come back again, I promise.”
He let out a breath that sounded suspiciously like disappointment. “We have an audience. We can go to my rooms.”
He went to turn, but I grabbed him to stop him from moving. I tugged him back toward me and shook my head. “No.”
“No?” he asked slowly, as though not quite believing what he’d heard.
“What I want to say, I want to say here.”
“Brooks—”
“I care for you, Darcy Winters. I remember seeing you for the first time. It was my second day at the Courtesan, and I thought you were the most beautiful man I’d ever met.”
“Did he work here?” a small, feminine voice asked someone else.
“Ohh. I remember him now. He was that beefcake bodyguard. Wow. What happened to him?” a male mused. “I don’t remember him being blind.”
I ignored them both, keeping my focus on Darcy. Sliding my hands into his, I smiled. “Everyone told me to stay away from you, that you were mean and always annoyed, but they didn’t see what I saw. You were,are, a hard worker who takes pride in your job. You were the reason this place was so popular, and I’d never in my life seen anyone like you. I loved the fact that you knew what you wanted, and that you expected it done in a timely manner with perfection. I thought that was the sexiest thing I’d ever seen.”
There were a fewawwsto my left. I squeezed Darcy’s hands and dragged him even closer. Cupping his cheek, I stroked my thumb along his jaw.
“I want you, my sweet prince, that’s why I bid on you. That’s why I had to have you, otherwise you would never have known who I was.”
