Justin Sweet’s violent new security. What is the teen idol hiding from his fans?
Two attacks in two weeks! Innocent delivery person injured!
New rumors come back to life as major star draws the line: off my property… or else!
Gray felt sick to his stomach, literally nauseous. As he scrolled through the screenshots, he saw all the old hateful rumors, scrawled out in large fonts and flashing graphics. And time after time, rumors about this mysterious security guard at the mansion were at the center of it all, like Gray was some violent sociopath on a crusade.
“I didn’t even hurt the guy last night,” he said, his voice tight. “I just slapped his face a little. He was the one who broke onto your property!”
Jameson retrieved the phone, then tossed it aside. “I know,” he said. “But it doesn’t matter. What’s fair doesn’t matter.” Pain ached across his eyes, and his shoulders were hunched up in a tight ball, which tore Gray open. “All they care about is getting their headlines. At least no one has a photo of you. And it sounds like the reporters you tackled are all claiming that the guy who beat them up was much bigger.”
“I’m so sorry. Fuck, Jameson, I should have known better. I might get away with that bullshit back in Albany, but I shouldn’t be doing it here.” Guilt gnawed at Gray, followed by a wave of self-doubt. He had been fooling himself, acting like he was good enough for Jameson, when in truth he wasn’t even good enough to be Jameson’s security guard. He had no business curling up in that bed. He hadn’t earned feeling so good.
Jameson lowered his phone. He had a dazed look in his eyes, but he nodded, resigned. “It will pass,” he said. He blinked a few times quickly, then pursed his lips to let out a slow breath. “I’ve been through this a million times before. It sucks, but it passes.”
Gray tightened his jaw. “It’s not okay. I made you a promise, and I didn’t keep it. I just made things worse.”
Jameson pulled himself up, then took Gray’s face in his hands. Gray startled at the touch, but he let Jameson hold his gaze. “Listen to me, Gray. I wouldn’t take anything that happened back, okay?”
Gray laid his hand on top of Jameson’s. “You wouldn’t?”
“They can try to knock down my door all they want, but they won’t get this.”
The room went still. Gray felt reluctant. Little voices whispered that he was a fuckup, no better than his grandfather and the rest of his lowlife family. He was a disappointment to everyone he cared about. But the longer Jameson’s hand pressed against his cheek, the more the objections started to melt away, something even more urgent taking shape.
Gray leaned forward, then planted, at last, a kiss on Jameson’s lips. Their connection lit him up, and they both fell back to the bed as their bodies met. Gray pulled Jameson closer and traced his hand down his side while Jameson whimpered, the pleasure of his soft kiss washing over the morning.
“They’ll never touch this,” Gray agreed, whispering the words against Jameson’s mouth. “I promise I won’t make that mistake again. I’ll be responsible, I swear.”
“Don’t,” Jameson answered, then laughed. “I mean, you should be responsible, sure. But the only promise I want from you is that you won’t change. You’re good for me, Gray. You reminded me that I can still have fun. Even when the world is about to come crashing down on us, I can still have fun.”
Gray noticed the way Jameson saidus, and his heart jumped. “I promise.” He pushed his hand through Jameson’s hair, which was mussed from sleep. It felt strange to hear Jameson say that, about wanting Gray the way he was. But Jameson knew himself, that was clear, and Gray wasn’t about to argue.
“You ready for breakfast? I can cook if you need to call your publicist. And I’ll keep an extra eye on the security cameras today, just to make sure things stay quiet, so you can relax.”
Jameson laughed softly. “I wish it were that easy. Things are usually a bit more complicated at this point.”
“More complicated?”
He nodded toward Gray’s phone. “Can you link into the front gate video feed from that thing?”
“Sure, no problem,” Gray answered. The software was new for him, but it only took a second to find the right feed.
“Oh. Shit.”
The image was blurry, but there was no denying what was happening. A good number of vans and cars had parked themselves along the road outside the gate, and it looked like more than a few reporters were broadcasting with the driveway behind them.
“Am I looking at what I think I’m looking at?”
Jameson pulled his knees up to his chest with a sigh. “The morning crowd is usually pretty well-behaved, but if no other gossip breaks by noon, the afternoon crowd might get rowdy.”
“Aw, fuck,” Gray swore. “You weren’t kidding.”
Jameson smiled, then leaned forward, taking Gray in one more kiss, slow and soft and indulgent. When he pulled his lips back with a smack, he laughed. “Thought I’d get one more taste in, while we had the chance.”
Gray rubbed the back of his head. “I guess I should get down to the guest house and keep an eye on the feeds.”
“I’m sure my publicist is already on the way,” Jameson answered. “She can help walk you through the ways we handle a crisis once she gets here.”
