CHAPTER FOUR

NICK

That girl… Who actually goes after someone they perceive to be an attacker with nothing but a book?

It surprised me that I was kind of proud of her for having the balls to stand up for herself, but from a security standpoint, it was foolish and a move that should never be repeated. If I had been here to hurt her, she would be dead. I refused to let anything happen to her on my watch.

Alicia and I were going to have a serious talk about safety procedures in the very near future. Usually, I sat my clients down on day one and explained the rules, but Alicia had already been on her way to the Hamptons by the time Graystone sent the final paperwork through.

I was planning on having the talk with her as soon as I arrived, but proper protocol dictated that I coordinate with Graystone’s team before I did, and since he wasn’t here, neither was his team. Which meant that I was going to have to wait.

Lights came on in the bedroom that I knew to be Alicia’s from the schematics of the house that had been sent to me earlier. Her shadow fell over a large window that looked out over the yard and the ocean beyond it.

It was also a window that I really shouldn’t be looking up at, and that I seriously shouldn’t be peering at while wondering what she was doing in there.

Enough, I told myself. Familiarizing myself with my surroundings was the reason I was out here patrolling the grounds, and I had to get back to it.

And I would’ve, if Alicia hadn’t appeared in the window, silhouetted by the soft light of her bedroom and wearing nothing but a tiny, lacy negligee. It was a light pink one. The color perfectly matched the flush that had been in her cheeks earlier.

Fuck. She looked like an angel, especially with the way the light behind her caused her golden hair that fell in loose waves over her shoulders, to form a halo around her. I knew that I had to walk away, to carry on with my patrol. To get to know the property.

The problem was that I was rooted to the spot like someone had planted me there. My muscles locked, my heart pounded, and my cock hardened more with every second that I stood there staring. It wasn’t like I was doing it intentionally. I knew that I shouldn’t be looking at her, and I wasn’t looking at her, not really.

I just couldn’t see anything else. I’d developed a serious case of tunnel vision.

She started moving in a sensual, seductive little dance that I knew was for me. I actually had to put my fist in my mouth to keep from groaning out loud. My dick, on the other hand, wasn’t as easy to control as my groan.

The traitorous bastard was at full attention, straining against my slacks and begging to be set free. Which, of course, no matter how much I wanted to, I knew was entirely out of the question. The moral center of my brain was shutting down fast, however. All the reasons that I shouldn’t be watching her were fading into the background until the only thing on my mind was sex. With her.

The sultry music flowing from Alicia’s room entranced me, captivated me. It commanded me to stay and watch. I’d always been really good at following commands from superiors, and in that moment, Alicia fucking owned me.

Her hands moved to her sides, her hips swaying to the rhythm. My mouth dried up when she let her fingers dance all the way to her thighs, teasing at the hem of her negligee. She raised it slowly, as if she was about to lift it all the way off, to show me what I so desperately wanted to see.

When she reached the point where another millimeter would expose her panties, my breaths were coming so fast that I was panting. But then she stopped, letting the material fall back to her creamy thighs. I’d never been so hard, and I wasn’t even in the same room as her, let alone touching her.

Alicia didn’t stop dancing, however. She brought her hands up to the breasts I was dying to touch, cupping the sides of them before moving down over her stomach, all the way to her pussy. Her lips parted, and her head fell back.

She wasn’t full on masturbating or anything, but somehow, watching her lightly cup her mound and arch her hips forward was infinitely sexier. One hand stayed there, her hips still rolling in time to the music, but more urgently now.

Alicia’s other hand went to her left breast, her fingers spreading over the whole of it, squeezing before she brought her thumb and forefinger to her nipple and started toying with it.

Tugging down on the negligee, she revealed the top of her breast, almost all the way to the nipple I was sure would be puckered and pleading to be sucked. Mine were so hard they could cut diamonds, forget glass. My balls were growing tight and heavy, and the base of my spine already tingled. I’d never been so damn turned on in my life. I was so fucking close to coming that if I allowed myself so much as one touch, I’d have a huge mess to clean up.

So, I just stood there, fists clenched and mouth watering, watching the show she was putting on for me and already bracing myself for an epic case of blue balls. A fucking bad one. Alicia swirled around, shaking her perfectly heart-shaped ass. Her negligee rode up over her thighs, the curve of her cheeks soon becoming visible.

One of her hands slid between her legs, stroking her thighs before she brought it up to grab a handful of her ass. She reached back with the other, spanking herself lightly.

Holy fuck.

Alicia spun again, facing me as she continued to dance. My cock was throbbing, hard to the point that it was painful. I’d never come in my pants before, but I was dangerously close to it. If I kept watching her, I was in serious trouble.

Walk away, Harden, I ordered myself. But I didn’t move. Not only because I wasn’t convinced I’d be able to walk in my state, but because try as I might, I couldn’t tear my eyes away from her.

Headlights swept the wall in front of me, and my head snapped back, drawing my attention immediately to the fact that I was standing in a client’s backyard, practically drooling as I watched her dance for me. The reality of the situation dawned on me as Graystone’s limousine pulled in to the driveway, followed by a dark SUV that was sure to be carrying his security team.

I took a few deep breaths and pictured the unsexiest thoughts I could muster up to calm my raging dick. Then, I went to meet them.

“Mr. Harden,” Graystone said as he gracefully exited the limo. “Thank you for being here. My team wants to do a quick debrief inside. Care to join us?”

“Of course,” I said.

It was my first time stepping foot inside the house, and I had to admit that I was impressed. The place rivaled most of the places I’d been in, and considering my clientele, that was saying something. It had vaulted ceilings and dark wood furniture, with gleaming white tiled floors and spacious rooms. It was comfortable, managing to be both homey and imposing at the same time.

Alicia came barreling down the spiral staircase that looked like something out of the Great Gatsby. I was relieved to see that she had covered up with a thick robe, but my dick twitched from knowing what she had on beneath it.

“Daddy,” she cried. “You’re back!”

Graystone pulled her close for a quick hug, then released her with a stern expression fixed to his features. “I am. But really sweetheart, you shouldn’t be prancing around the house in your PJ’s. There are men around now.”

Alicia stuck her tongue out at him teasingly, giving him a pointed look. “You’re a man.”

“Who happens to be your father,” Graystone smiled. It was sort of strange to see a man like him joking around with his daughter. Until his gaze fell directly onto me. “The other men around the house for the time being, however, are not.”

Alicia’s eyes followed her father’s, shining with mischief as she met mine. “True.”

Fuck. She was a saucy one.

Yet another thing that I liked about her. Keeping my expression tight, I turned to Graystone. “The debrief, sir.”

His team was waiting for us, having continued to the living room while I’d stayed with him and Alicia. He nodded, carefully examining me. I kept Alicia in my peripheral as she stepped away from us, giving us a wave and a brief, “See you later.”

When she disappeared into what I assumed was the kitchen, Graystone turned to me. His voice edged with steel. “Beautiful, isn’t she?”

I nearly swallowed my tongue. Was it possible that I’d slipped up? That he’d managed to see what I really thought about her in my eyes or something? I gave myself a mental shake.

No, it wasn’t. I knew that because firstly, I was a fucking professional and a king at my job, and secondly, because if he did know, my body would be well on its way to floating out in the ocean somewhere.

“Excuse me?” I asked stonily.

Graystone inclined his head to the spot Alicia had disappeared from. “Alicia, she’s a beautiful girl.” This time, it was a statement, not a question. “It goes without saying, but I’ll say it anyway. You’re here to guard her, not to fuck her.”

The man was nothing, if not direct.

“That’s not going to be a problem, sir. I’ve already told you my number one rule. I don’t get personal with my clients. Feelings get in the way of the job.”

And I meant it. I wanted her. Fuck, did I want her, especially after that little show she’d put on. But that didn’t mean I was going to do anything about it. I was nothing if not capable of controlling myself.