Chapter 4: Compromise

Raphael:

She was fucking gorgeous. Her pouted lips drooped just enough that they were begging for someone to lay claim to them. Her greyish eyes were anything but innocent, and yet still held a naivety about them. She was no stranger to having a stalker, or even the fear that it invoked within her. The idea of what she must have gone through—was going through—it curdled within my stomach and boulders rolled, ready to send my fists into someone’s face. She needed protecting. This was more serious than I thought, and if the police weren’t going to do a damn thing for her, I sure as hell would.

I wouldn’t let anyone defile her life anymore.

Not even my sorry ass.

“Are you serious?” Genevieve’s assistant gasped. What was her name again? She handed me her card earlier, but the moment my eyes had fallen on the vivacious goddess before me, my mind had veered. It still was off track, but not enough to know that I had work to do. I needed to be professional. I couldn’t get stuck with my dick out, mouth open, drooling over her. She was now our client. She deserved the respect and care we always gave them. Fucking hell, she deserved to be worshipped, men at her feet, begging for even a smile.

Nope. Don’t even go there. If I started wondering what she looked like with those strong, fierce eyes on me, a soft smile warming her features, I’d end up doing something I really, really regretted.

“Cancel all meetings you had for the duration of your trip here,” I continued. No need in diving into the hornet's nest of what I was serious about and what I wasn’t.

This time, to my honest surprise, it wasn’t the assistant that had burst out. Genevieve, her fiery disposition hitting me right where it counted. Down south. I tried to bite back the groan as she stood up, her breasts bouncing with the quick movement. Fuck, I wondered what they’d look like in my hands. They’d probably overflow and swallow me whole. And there goes my cock. It stood at attention; well, tried to anyway. My jeans made it painfully difficult, and I allowed it to. That’s what it got for disrespecting Genevieve in that way.

“Are you fucking kidding me?”

Why did her cursing sound like music to my ears? It warmed my chest and even had my lips aching to curl. This woman was dangerous for my state of mind. I shouldn’t have decided to take the case. I should have walked away. Vin and Gunner would easily have taken care of this situation, but I wanted it. That was the real reason. Not this job, or this career. No.

I wanted her.

Even as my client, I could still get close to her. Genevieve. Such a beautiful name. If I had decided to turn my back, to march right up to Jason and shove my resignation in his smug face, I would never see her again.

Somehow that very idea caused a twist in my chest. It was as though someone gripped my intestines, wrapped them around their fingers, and yanked. She was a stranger, yet I couldn’t keep my eyes off her. So wasn’t I the best man for the job?

Genevieve’s gorgeous gaze was now a pit of rage as she loomed over me. Her hands quaked next to her wide hips. “I know that it’s your job to protect me, but I can’t just hide away from the world and ignore my job.”

The urge to grab her wrist and place her right on my lap where my body screamed that she belonged, was almost too strong. I had to tread carefully here. The safest bet was to make sure she stayed clear of me, no matter how much I wanted her. She needed to be safe.

That’s why I allowed the next words to fall out and distance any chance we’d have together. Because that was the better option.

“Aren’t you a writer? Your job is to sit at your laptop and write, like a good girl.” I threw in the smirk free of charge, in order to punch home the statement.

It worked like a charm. The kindle of what could have been died instantly, Genevieve’s eyes vacant as she processed my words. Her assistant remained silent as we both watched her, her hands even paused in their movement.

The silence was broken when Genevieve curled her arms over her tempting chest and hardened her stance. “There’s more to it than that, and you know it. You’re just being an asshole.”

Well, I wasn’t expecting that.

“Genny, don’t. He’s here to help you.” The assistant stood and tried to pull Genevieve back, but her brow twitched at the woman’s actions.

“No. This is my life. I don’t care if you hired someone to follow me around. I’m not going to let them or any stalker stop me from working. And that means even going to these events.”

She had determination, which only fueled my raging hardon... of course. I wanted to lock her up in her room and throw away the key so that she couldn’t escape, but I knew better than that. Plus, she was a client, not mine to personally protect. I had to play it by the rules.

“You’re right. I can’t stop you from going out, but I urge you not to. We have no idea who that man, or woman, is yet. They could be anywhere. Know your every move. If they know you have a detail, they might amp up their tactics. We just don’t know yet. If you want to continue to appear at these events for your books, it’s only on one condition.”

I tried to bury my smirk as I watched her fight off an eye roll. “And what’s that?”

“We go with you.”

This time she balked at my statement. “Wait, like all three of you?”

“Yeah. You have a problem with that?”

Genevieve looked back at the assistant, her expression hard to read. What was the issue?

“Karoline, I already told you, didn't I?” Her voice was a whisper, but I still caught each word.

When she looked back at me, she refused to make eye contact, and her cheeks bloomed like roses.

“It’s just...um, the books I write,” she tsked and breathed in deeply, “they aren’t exactly classy.”

“Okay...?” What was wrong with that?

“If I have a bunch of men that looked like you guys following me around everywhere, readers might get the wrong impression.”

“And what impression would that be?”

“That I had my own personal harem.” Genevieve had stepped away and for some reason the atmosphere in the room grew cold with her distance.

Wait. Was that what she was worried about?

“Vin and Gunner will patrol the borders of the events, watching the exits. I’d be the only one close enough for anyone to notice.”

Genevieve looked back up at me once more, now, her eyes breathtaking. She was searching for any reason not to believe me.

After a minute, she sighed and nodded. “Okay, that’ll work.”

I allowed my shoulders to relax. She wouldn’t deny my small selfish need of being close to her. Good.

Her next words, though, left me unable to breathe.

“As long as one of you is okay staying in this room during the night...”