“Fuckin’ finally. I’ve been trying to get a hold of you all mornin’,” Rachel snapped.
“Why?”
“Check ya bloody messages, Bear Bear. You’re in the spotlight again.”
The warmth in my chest rapidly cooled, because I could think of only one reason why the media would suddenly be interested in me again.
I pulled the phone away from my ear, opening the several message notifications Rachel had sent me in her attempts to wake me up. I scrolled to the first one, my heart in my throat as I opened the link.
“New Bodyguard or Something More for Lorens Heir?”
I swallowed, scrolling down to see a picture that had been taken last night of Harper and me at dinner, our hands held over the table as we looked at each other in a way that couldn’t be mistaken as anything but romantic.
Fuck.
I went back to the chat, finding two other links to similar tabloids and the same picture.
I ended the call on Rachel while she was still speaking. Harper was awake now, rubbing his eyes as he sat up in bed.
His smile faded as he took in whatever must have been displayed on my face.
“What is it?” he asked.
I swallowed, chewing my lip as I joined him back in the still-warm sheets. I didn’t know how to tell him we’d just been outed to the world, so I handed him the phone.
His eyes locked on the screen. I couldn’t read his thoughts. His face was blank even as he scrolled to the end of the article.
He placed the phone on the nightstand, hooked his finger under the chain around my neck, and used it to lead me over him.
“Fuck me,” he demanded.
“The article—”
“Fuck me, Benny. That’s outside. I don’t want to think about outside. I just want to be here, inside this room, with you and only you. Only we matter here. So fuck me.”
Any further attempts at talking about the article were quickly silenced by his lips over mine. I let him lead me, let him take what he seemed to need from me in this moment.
I fucked him, giving him everything as he demanded it, harder and faster, until we could think of nothing but our raw, urgent need for each other.
Then we showered in silence, dressed, and left this room behind.
There were a few reporters lingering outside the building as we left the lobby.
Harper stopped in his tracks when he spotted them and their flashing cameras.
I was about to go and fight every single one of them, but then his hand was gripping a fistful of my hoodie and using it to yank me down to him.
Our lips crashed together, and Harper held nothing back as he kissed me for the whole world to see.
When we parted, he smiled, and placed a softer kiss to the tip of my nose.
“Your move, old man,” he whispered.
forty
Harper
CARS.
