Burly
I grip her waist to hold her still before I unload in my jeans. “We’ll have your security team trail us, all right? You’re safe with me, but I want someone watching your back at all times until we catch the perp.”
Her nod is solemn, that full lower lip caught between her teeth.
God, I’d like to reverse our positions and fuck her hot little body up against the kitchen counter, make her shake for my dick the way she trembled for my tongue last night. I’d have to give it to her raw, no barriers. This possessiveness I feel for her wouldn’t allow a single thing between us.
I clear the hunger from my throat. “Give me an hour. I need to make some calls.” Over the top of Angelica’s head, I eyeball the manager. The security team sent me the lists I requested and I’m going to put them through my government database this morning, see if Angelica’s recent guests or anyone in her employ turn up any hits that I didn’t dig deep enough to find the first time around. But right off the top, I don’t like the way the manager called the perp a stalker. It was premature. “Why don’t you go put on some actual clothes?”
Frowning, Angelica looks down at her body. “These are clothes.”
“That is underwear, baby.”
She giggles, runs a finger down the center of my chest and struts away, her ass moving like a dream in those shorts. “I’ll be out by the pool. Come get me when you’re ready.”
As soon as she sets foot out of the kitchen, I’m on the phone to her security team, ordering them to form a perimeter around Angelica. Not taking any chances with her. In fact, just having her out of my sight for a matter of minutes makes me start to sweat. So I complete my work as quickly as possible, making calls ahead to the studio where she’ll be rehearsing and doing her photo shoot this afternoon, adding security measures, eliminating any personnel that don’t need to be present. And lastly, I open my email from her security team and start the process of running searches for any criminal history or aliases.
There is an email in my inbox from Joe and I start to open it, but I catch sight of Angelica through the living room window. She waves at me, gesturing for me to come outside, bouncing on the balls of her feet. With my heart lodged beneath my jugular, I can’t do anything but go to her, leaving the email unopened.
* * *
“Oh my gosh, this is even cooler than I thought it would be,” Angelica breathes, shielding her eyes from the California sun, the valley sweeping out below, dotted with mansions. “Wasn’t it worth the hike?”
To see her this happy? Fuck yeah it was.
I’d have walked a thousand miles to make her smile. To see the exhaustion lift from her shoulders, the way it did on our short walk to the Hollywood sign. I grunt in response to her question, making her laugh. “I missed your grunts, Murph.” She slides me a look, pink filtering into her cheeks. “I missed your honesty, too. The way you call things exactly as you see them.” Her throat works. “I don’t encounter a lot of that anymore.”
“How’s that?”
“It’s nothing,” she laughs, but there’s a line between her brows.
“It’s not nothing.” I step in front of her to block the sun, tipping her chin up until she’s looking at me. “Are you happy here, Angelica?”
“Of course I am!” she says too quickly. “This is everything I’ve ever wanted. A multi-record deal, shows in every corner of the globe, people who love my songs…”
“But?”
She blinks and looks down. “But what?”
I lift her chin again. “I’ve known you a long time, kid. I know when you’ve got something on your mind. Get it off.”
“So commanding,” she whispers, turning her head to kiss the inside of my wrist. “You were the same way in my bed.”
My cock pulses hotly. “I thought what happens in the dark stays in the dark.”
She doesn’t even bother to look contrite. “I may have lied. A little.” She turns heavy lidded, her voice dropping to a whisper. “I would have said whatever it took to get your hands on me.”
“Jesus Christ. Are you trying to get tossed up onto my dick right now?” I growl, putting light pressure on her jaw until those fantasy lips pop open. “I can tell you’re trying to distract me from the real conversation.”
“Isn’t it working?”
“Like a charm.” It costs me a Herculean effort to stop touching Angelica and put space between us, but I’m well aware of her security team hovering a hundred yards away. If they see me pawing at Angelica, they’ll probably assume I’m attacking her because no woman in their right mind would subject themselves to it willingly. Especially a sweet, intelligent, drop dead gorgeous celebrity like Angelica. “Answer me again,” I rasp, adjusting the bulge in my jeans. “Are you happy?”