Pretty Girl

“Sit,” he tells me, pulling out a chair.

I drop into it. “I really shouldn’t,” I tell him, wanting the cheeseburger but knowing I have a shoot tomorrow.

“You can do anything you want, pretty girl.” The way “pretty girl” rolls off his tongue makes butterflies come to life in my stomach. I don’t know why I care so much that he thinks I’m attractive, but I do.

I pick up the cheeseburger, smiling at him before I take a giant bite. The taste fills my mouth and I once again can’t fight the moan. I don’t care, though. I keep eating.

He touches my arm. “Not too fast. Don’t make yourself sick,” he says with another one of those deep chuckles. I put the cheeseburger down and reach for some more fries. What’s done is done. They will have to just deal with it tomorrow. For some reason, for the first time I find I don’t care. All my focus is on the mysterious attractive man in my hotel room. No, not my hotel room.

“What happened to my room?” I ask, popping another fry into my mouth.

“I wanted you close to me.” My eyebrows draw up at that. I study his face. “To keep you safe,” he adds, pulling my foot into his lap. I stare at him, shocked by the action, but he starts to rub it nonchalantly.

“Oh god,” I sigh. His big hands work the aching muscles in my feet. “How did you know?” I drop my head back. Being on my feet all day in different heels wreaks havoc on my feet.

“If you stop eating, I stop rubbing.”

I lift my head and smile. “Not sure that’s a threat.” I reach for a piece of chocolate cake and a fork. I’ve already come this far, what’s a little more.

“You kept rubbing them together.” He gives me feet a squeeze and then continues to rub them. “So, I knew they must be aching.”

“Thank you. I know it’s not your job.”

“Told you. Here to take care of you. Keep you safe.”

I lick my lips, getting the frosting off them, before taking another bite. I feel shy all over again. He keeps talking about taking care of me. No bodyguard I’ve had before has said or done these things. Not even Ben.

I try to remind myself he’s paid to do this. He is just being extra nice. Though he doesn’t look like someone who goes out of his way to be extra nice. He looks more like does whatever he wants. “There’s only one bed,” I blurt out. Holy crap, I can’t believe I said that. I look down at my cake, trying to fight the blush I know is making a return.

“I noticed,” is all he says in response and keeps rubbing my feet. I go back to eating my cake.

“Did something happen?” I ask when I realize he never told me why Ben was gone and I now have two guards instead of one like normal.

“You got a stalker.”

I look at him and shrug. “And?”

Jax’s face hardens and his grip on my foot tightens. I know I’ve said the wrong thing.

Chapter Four

Jax

My body tenses at her lack of reaction to having a stalker. It reminds me once again of not only her innocence but how she doesn’t pay enough attention to what is happening around her, like me being her dressing room. It only solidifies in my mind that she needs someone like me in her life.

I take a calming breath. Maybe those things aren’t so bad for her to have if I’m around to protect her. I like the idea of her not knowing how dark the world can really be. I want to keep her innocence intact, as it should be. It’s refreshing.

I place her foot on the floor. I don’t know what came over me to have grabbed it to begin with, but when I saw her rubbing her feet together, I knew they hurt and I had to make her feel better. The need to do so was uncontrollable. Before I knew what I was doing I had her delicate feet in my lap and was rubbing them carefully.

I’ve never paid attention to a woman’s feet before, but hers are perfect. Small and delicate. Soft all over. Her toenails are painted a petal pink. Petal pink? I can’t believe I even thought that but I do. It’s her. She’s shifting something inside of me.

I pull my chair close to her, spreading my thighs so that she is between then. I lean into her, lifting my hand to swipe the small piece of chocolate cake from the corner of her mouth. I bring my thumb to my mouth and taste the chocolate, wishing I could taste it on her. Her tongue sneaks out over the spot I’d just touched, making me wonder if she’s thinking the same thing.