My tempting bodyguard

Igniting my body

The following day when I woke up, I felt worse than I've ever felt, but better than I deserved. As I opened my eyes, I was painfully reminded of my poor choices last night, as a searing headache rolled through my head. I shut my eyes again and hid under the blanket, trying to go to sleep again to sleep this off. It was futile, though, because I needed to go to the bathroom really bad, and I was so hungry that my stomach almost ate itself.

Sitting up seemed to be a bad choice, as the headache got worse. I dragged myself to the adjacent bathroom and took some pain meds, did my business, filled up the tub, and sat in. I would like a shower, but a bath sounded like the better choice. I probably sat there for two hours before I felt good enough to leave.

I threw on gym shorts, an oversized t-shirt, put my hair in a messy bun, and went to the kitchen to get myself some food. Ungracefully, I plopped down on the sofa, halfway laying on it, as I leaned back my head and ate with my eyes closed.

"Mornin'," I heard from Nick, and I waved my hand with the sandwich in the air, like a kind of hello. I didn't even bother opening my eyes to look at him, but I guess he was standing by the door like he usually was. It was a bit unnerving, though, because he wasn't there when I came, but now all of a sudden he is.

"How was your night out?" Nick asked, and I groaned.

"The part I remember was good," I replied, my mouth full of food.

"And what do you remember?" he asked, genuinely interested in knowing the answer. I felt the sofa dip beside me, and I moved a bit to make some more room for him and finally opened my eyes to look at him.

"Well. We danced, drank a lot, kissed some dude, and then I...." I started telling, but stopped as I remembered I basically threw myself on him in the club. My face flushed profusely as I saw the slideshow of memories in my head, of me being hands-on on his face, trying to get him to dance with me, and telling him that he was hot.

"Oh," I whispered, looking down on the half-eaten sandwich in my hand. It's okay Ava; it's not weird telling your bodyguard that he is hot. It's not weird. I can recover from this, I just need never to drink again. Or look at Nick. It's perfectly fine. I tried reasoning with myself in my head, but the actual thought that screamed the loudest was 'f**k!'.

I shifted uncomfortably and dared a look at him. He had his eyebrows raised, still waiting for me to finish.

"AndthenIhitonyou and that's it," I said, rushing the first words. Before he could answer, I went to the kitchen again and made myself some coffee to escape for a bit. I made him some too, because not doing so would be rude. I sat back down beside him and handed him the mug, as I sat with my legs crossed under me. He took the mug and chuckled.

"That was hitting on me? It was a bad try," he said, and I took a sip of the mug to hide my embarrassment.

"You tried harder when you asked me to stay in bed with you," he followed up, amused. I looked at him with shock on my face.

"I did not!?" I asked with a shrill voice, to which he just nodded, no expression on his face. Just when I didn't think it could get worse. Man, I was a horny drunk. A thought crossed my mind, and I looked suspiciously at him.

"You didn't, though, right?" I asked, my eyes narrowed. He laughed. Actually laughed. I don't know if I should be offended by that or not. I looked down on the mug in my hands, trying not to ogle at him like a creepy teenager. He was stunning when he laughed.

"Ava," he said as he stopped laughing. I met his eyes and followed his movements as he took my mug from my hands and sat it on the table. He leaned towards me, spread out his hand on my chest, and pushed me firmly down on the sofa so I was on my back. I was too stunned to do anything, and I let myself be pushed. Nick shifted so that his knee was placed between my thighs, as he hovered over me. I held my breath as I looked at him, a bit nervous about what he was doing.

"What are you doing?" I asked, my voice barely audible. He leaned his weight on his hand beside my head and smiled mischievously down at me. I felt his other hand slowly trail from my chest, over my breasts, and down to my stomach, his eyes on me, assessing me all the time. My breathing quickened, and I looked at his hand, which continued downward.

"Nick," I protested weakly as his hand went under my t-shirt and barely let it fly over my flat stomach. He let his finger barely run under the waistband of my shorts, slowly going back and forth. His hand wasn't near my private parts, but it may as well have been, the way I was panting.

I was divided between wanting him to go further, and wanting him to stop. I knew I should stop him because that was the sensible thing to do. He was my bodyguard, for one. And I didn't know if I could trust him yet. His hand inched slightly lower, and I sucked in a sharp breath as if he had burnt me. He leaned close to my ear, and I could feel his breath on me. I was so focused on his hand that slowly slid over my skin above my private area, that I barely heard his words when he spoke.

"When I f**k you, I will make sure you remember it. Last night you weren't capable of remembering s**t. So no, Ava, I didn't stay in your bed," he said, retreating his hand from my shorts, and pushing himself off of me.

It took me a moment to register his words, and when I did, I yanked myself up into a sitting position, only to see he was no longer in the room. I breathed deeply and ran my hand through my hair. What the hell just happened? When he f****d me? Like he thought he would do that one day or another? I leaned my head in my hands, groaning at myself. I had let him do that; I didn't even try to stop him. And why did I feel so horny when he didn't even touch any of my important parts?

My body was on fire, and I was pretty sure I was wetter than I've ever been. I bit my lips, wondering why he had done that. A simple no would have sufficed. And the whole teasing me bit? Was it just to give me a taste?

This whole thing didn't exactly strengthen my beliefs in him being a proper bodyguard. He didn't really act like one. Well, not all of the time anyway. Was I being paranoid? Or was there something to my suspicion about him? I needed to talk to my father about Nick just to calm my paranoia. But first, I needed to...sort myself out, if you know what I mean. I went to my room and did just that, and I even slept some more after that.

***

I was feeling heaps better when I woke up again. Looking at the clock, it was already evening. I quickly got dressed in more appropriate clothes and went to find Nick. I heard him talking on the phone, so I took my time standing behind the corner to man up while he was busy. Come on, act like nothing. Show him you're unaffected by what happened earlier. Rise above it, I said to myself. I took a deep breath and rounded the corner just as he finished up his phone call. He gave me a once-over as he said goodbye to the person on the other end.

"I'm going to my father for the evening," I announced, meeting his eyes, putting on my best blank face. I know I was acting childish, but I just didn't want to show him how much he affected me earlier. Nick nodded and gestured for the door.

"Okay. Let's go," he said, and we both went outside. I went to lock the door but saw that Nick was already beating me to it. Weird, I had my key in my hand. I eyed the key he had and furrowed my brows, but I decided it was probably a bodyguard thing: safety first, or something.

The car ride was silent, and it annoyed me that Nick didn't say anything. It didn't seem like he had to pretend to be unaffected because he probably was. Nick parked the car, and I turned to him before I exited.

"I need to be alone with my father for a while," I informed him, and walked out. Nick stayed a few steps behind me. Inside, I was met by Liam, who probably saw me on the security cameras. I ran to him like a little girl and hugged him with all my might, and I heard his laugh. God, I've missed that sound. I've missed him.

We spent a few minutes catching up, as he had informed me that my father was closing up a meeting. He told me about a badass fight he had been in, and where he had won, of course. I rolled my eyes and laughed at him as he showed me his battle scars. Only he could make this an exciting story and boast about it. And make it sound like a good story, rather than what it actually was, a story about murder. But that's one of the things I liked about Liam; he always focused on the positive.

My father came out of his office upstairs, and winked at me as he led out the people through the backdoor. He usually had people entering and exiting the backdoor, and that's how I knew it was shady business. He came to meet me with a broad smile, and looked me over to see if I was okay.

"Creed tells me things have been good and that you had quite the night last night," he said with a wink, and I flushed.

"He told you?" I asked meekly, holding my breath.

"Yes, he informs me of everything," he replied, and I glared at Nick, who was standing by a wall in the living room, giving him the full view of the house. Nick met my eyes and shifted uncomfortably, and cleared his throat. Nodding, he said

"I report on your whereabouts and actions regarding your safety. The rough details, Miss". Miss? Am I all of a sudden miss now, in front of my father? I let my breath go in relief and give Nick a last glare before turning my attention to Liam, who is covering his mouth with his hand. But I see his shoulders shake, so I know he's laughing. I glare at him too to shut him up. Did he know something more? Or did he read between the lines?

"I need to talk to you," I said, looking at my father and gesturing towards his office. He nodded, and we went inside, me taking a last look behind me to make sure that Nick didn't follow. I sat down in the chair across his desk as he sat on his own.

"Nick. You said you approved him yourself. What does that mean?" I asked, crossing my leg over the other. My father furrowed his brows and leaned forward on the desk.

"It means I did the work myself. Background check, references, interview. All of it. Is he causing you any problem?" he asked, boring his eyes into me to try and see the truth.

"No, he isn't. I was just wondering. Where has he worked before? And for how long has he been with you?" I continued prying, putting on a curious face. I was curious, but I didn't want my father to be suspicious.

"It doesn't matter where he was before. But I know the people he used to be with, and they vouch for him. He has been with me for a few months, and I have nothing bad to say about him. Why are you asking all these questions?" he told me, and I leaned back in the chair, thinking. Shrugging, I continued,

"I was just wondering why you put Nick on me, and not Liam like before," I said, using that as an excuse to ask all of this. Even though I genuinely wondered.

"I know you said you had other work for Liam, but does that make Nick more or less qualified than Liam of protecting me?" I asked, c*****g my head.

My father also leaned back in his chair and seemed to think about his answer for a while.

"Creed was the one who suggested it, actually. To guard you instead of Callum," he said, refusing to call Nick and Liam by their first names.

"He believes that guarding the same person for such a long time makes you attached and less vigilant. Both Callum and I agreed. And besides, Callum has the skill to blend in everywhere, making him more suitable than Creed. I'm sure you have noticed that Creed is a little bit less...jovial," he said, and I almost scoffed at his words. You could say that.

I furrowed my brows at the thought of Nick himself suggesting that he should guard me. And Liam agreed? Nick probably has a good point about the whole getting attached thing, cause Liam and I have become good friends... But it kind of hurt that Liam agreed that easily.

"I can assure you, Ava, Creed is an excellent man, and I wouldn't assign him to you if I didn't trust him. But if there is anything you aren't telling me, you need to speak now," he said, stopping my train of thoughts. I nodded a bit at what he said. He was right, my father knew what he was doing, and he wouldn't trust anyone that easily. I was probably being paranoid cause Nick was different than Liam.

"No. There isn't anything else. I just miss Liam," I said, giving him a shy smile. He smiled back, and stood up and came over to me.

"I know. I think he misses you too; he asks a lot about you," he said, making me happy. I hugged him as a thank you and stood up.

"Oh! You got any clue about why people were shooting at us? And who they were?" I asked, looking at him with hopeful eyes. He stared blankly at me for a few seconds before he nodded.

"We know who they are; they are not strangers to us. But we haven't managed to locate them yet, to resolve the situation. We're still being careful." he said and patted me on the back as he guided me towards the door. I didn't like thinking about what he meant with 'resolve'.

"This is where Liam comes in handy. Guarding you so much over these years; he has gone under the radar. He is working on this, and doing it well," he informed as he opened the door. Crap. I know Liam probably knows what he is doing, but I still worry about him. I went to Liam and hugged him.

"I am a little disappointed that you gave me up so easily, but be careful, whatever you are doing," I whispered, hiding my face in his sweater.

"I know, but it had to be done. And I am careful," he answered lowly, and I believed him when he said he was careful. I nodded and stepped away from him.

"You can call, you know, instead of hassling my father for information about me," I joked, smiling. He shrugged his shoulders and looked at my dad with amusement.

"What, hassling your dad is one of my favorite moments of my day, and you want to take it away from me?" he said, feigning hurt. I laughed and went to the door, hearing my father say to Liam that if he weren't such a pleasant asshole, he would kill him. This made Liam laugh too, and I shook my head.

I usually saw this side of Liam, but I knew he had another side to him as well. I've heard how he talks to my dad and the other men when they don't think I'm not listening—all business, stiff, and formal. And I know that he has killed people. I loved that he wasn't that with me, though.