Chapter 16
Ensley
I wasn’t sure what to do with myself, now that Thorn had gone.
After he left, I remained in bed for several minutes, surrounded by the scent of him. My bed was still warm from his presence, and I thought I could still feel him around me in the room.
I knew I shouldn’t have slept with him, but the previous night had been like a gift. Before he touched me the way he did, I didn’t think I would ever be able to sleep again. Then, after the orgasm, I felt like I had the best night’s sleep in a long time.
No other man, and especially not Ryan, had made me feel the way that Thorn had. Despite looking the way he did, despite his lifestyle; with me, he had been gentle and thoughtful and selfless.
Sleeping with him had been good for my mood, but it was bad because now potentially, he could be working for me. I sat up in bed with a jerk when I thought about whether being together might have affected that decision. He had told me the previous night that he would take it upon himself to keep me safe, even if the rest of the MC didn’t agree, but that was before anything happened.
There was a very good chance that he might have changed his mind now. What if he didn’t want to get into the complication of working for someone he had slept with? I had his cock in my mouth this morning, I had gulped down his come-that was a pretty personal thing to do. We had already crossed all the boundaries of a professional relationship.
I was beginning to feel miserable again. When could I leave my apartment again? It was a Sunday, so it was okay for me to stay in, but I had work the next day, I had appointments to keep. If Thorn didn’t want to provide protection for me anymore, I would be scared to even step out of my house.
I guess I could hire a protection service. Several celebrities in the area had their own security detail. But would a professional security detail really deter Ryan?
I showered listlessly, and changed into a fresh summer dress and did my hair. That was an hour gone, and there was still no word from him. I was anxious again. I was itching to pick up the phone and call him, but I didn’t want to come across as someone who was too clingy. I didn’t want him to think that I had turned into someone whiny and needy just because he had slept in my bed the previous night.
I walked around the house, tidying the place up. I put all the letters away. Ryan’s letter was already in the bin where Thorn had thrown it, so I didn’t have to worry about it.
I looked at my phone again, scrolling through the call list-just to see his name on my screen when the phone rang. It was Thorn calling.
“Hey,” he said to me, and I could already feel the butterflies in my belly. Just his voice was good enough to calm me down.
“Hi,” I replied and perched myself on the arm of the couch.
“Are you doing okay?” he asked. I couldn’t believe that he was still so concerned and polite towards me.
“Yeah, I’m fine. I haven’t left the house if that’s what you’re wondering,” I said, and I could feel the tops of my cheeks flushing.
“Good. Well, I wanted to call you and let you know that I spoke to my brothers and the club has unanimously agreed to take you up on your offer,” he said. I stood up again with a jerk. My heart was racing in my chest. My face was pulled into a wide smile. It was possibly the best thing I had heard all year!
“Really? Thank you, Thorn, for convincing them. I’ll always be grateful to you for this,” I said, and I was pacing around the room again.
“You can stop thanking me now, Ensley, I’m officially your employee. Everything I do, I’m getting paid for,” he said, and I felt a quick sag of my heart. What did he mean by that exactly? Did he make me come last night as a part of the deal too? To make me feel safe?
“Of course, yeah, how do you want to be paid? How much?” I said. It seemed like Thorn had already discussed the figure with his friends because he gave me a number quickly and I agreed to it. I didn’t care about the cost right now. I had the money, and I wanted to use it to keep me safe.
“You can pay me in cash,” he added, and I agreed to that too.
“So…” I began to say, but he cut me off.
“We’re just going over a few things now. We’re going to try and find out where the motherfucker is hiding and then smoke him out. I don’t want to just hang around and follow you everywhere you go. Eventually, I would like to eliminate Ryan as a problem from your life,” he said, and I could feel my mouth going dry. Eliminate? Did I just get a contract kill on Ryan? I didn’t know exactly what he meant by that, but I tried to brush it off.
“Okay, thank you…sorry, that’s great, Thorn,” I said, fumbling with my words, which made him laugh a little.
“You sit tight there, princess. I’ll come over to your place soon. I’m taking up the first shift,” he said.
His words were like music to my ears. Even after the call had ended, I couldn’t get the darn smile off my face. The last few words he had said, were enough to set my body on fire. He was still calling me princess. Maybe I did mean more to him than just a job.
Even though I had spent all morning trying to convince myself that being with him had been a bad idea, I couldn’t help but be excited now that I was going to see him again. I felt like a foolish girl, way in over her head.