Page 12 of About Last Night

But as much as his face always mesmerized me, it was his hands that captivated and enticed me even more. He had thick veins along the backs of his hands, and his palms and fingers were callused. He was a man who had used his hands a lot, and I often wondered what he did in his spare time. Were the rough calluses from building something? Or from a career before he became a bodyguard?

I knew he was ex-special forces, but wasn’t privy to the details of his time in the military. I had so many questions, and I couldn’t ask a single one because it would cross a line that he had clearly drawn in the sand, as he should have.

He worked for me.

I needed to remember that he was a professional doing his job. The reminder finally sobered me up. I hated when people objectified me and yet here I was doing the exact same thing to him. I needed to get a hold of myself and treat him like I would any other employee that worked for me.

Thankfully, my backstage assistant chose that moment to come rushing over with a small bowl of almonds and a stick of string cheese. Every night since the night Wyatt had first asked her to get me a snack, she’d had something at the ready that my nutritionist would wholeheartedly approve of. She passed me the bowl and gestured for me to hand her my towel. I gave her a nod of thanks and then turned back to Wyatt.

“You ready?” he asked me, doing one last sweep before looking down at me.

I was not going to admire how tall he was.

I wasn’t.

“Yeah, let’s go,” I said and then popped an almond in my mouth so I wouldn’t say anything else.

We started walking toward the dressing room so I could change.

“Are you going out with the dancers?”

I paused, my steps stuttering slightly, but Wyatt—observant as always—caught it. Knowing he was watching my facial expression and could read me better than anyone else in my circle, I did my best to keep my face neutral. “The boss doesn’t get invited to those things.”

He frowned. “The barhopping a few weeks ago…?”

I shrugged. “I wasn’t invited. You assumed, and I let you think what you wanted since you said no to it anyway.”

He faced forward, but I caught his eyebrows slanted over his eyes in a stern frown like he was reorganizing information in his head. It was strangely endearing watching this man classify new facts in his brain. I could practically see the wheels turning.

I expected him to remain silent, but he surprised me. “You never go out much.”

“No, I suppose I don’t. Is that different from your other clients?”

“I’m not allowed to talk about other clients.”

My heart sank a little at that. For a minute it had felt like we were bonding, and as much as I was trying to remind myself not to find him attractive, I couldn’t deny it would be nice to feel like we were friends.

“But yes,” he said, his voice lower as we reached my dressing room. I spun around to face him as I pushed the door open with one hand, my snack still held in the other. His brown gaze drilled into mine. “You’re definitely different than I expected.”

My heart caught in my throat. “A good different, I hope.”

He didn’t say anything, his gaze locked on mine for a second too long, and then he gave one nod and broke our stare. “I’ll be out here when you’re ready.”

I swallowed thickly. “I’ll be just a few minutes.”

True to my word, I was changed and ready to head back to the hotel within five minutes. He gestured for me to walk and we fell in step together. The extra security at the venue pushed open the back door to where my car waited. Cameras flashed and I smiled and waved, prepared for this since they were always waiting after every show.

Even ten years into my career, it was still overwhelming to see all the flashing lights and hear the cacophony of voices screaming demands for my attention. Then there were all manner of things being shoved at me to sign.

I waved, but didn’t stop. Wyatt’s hand was braced at my back as he pushed his other hand out, using his body as a blockade around me.

A blur caught my attention a split second before a woman was moving forward and screaming at me. She moved to throw something at me at the same time that Wyatt hauled my body against his and spun us, protecting me with his body. The chaos lasted only seconds, security quickly catching the fan that rushed toward me, but as I glanced up into Wyatt’s fierce and protective gaze, time felt like it stopped altogether.

We were chest to chest, my nipples pebbled hard and pressed so tightly to him, there was no way he could miss them. Something sticky dripped on my hand that was partially on his hip, and when I pulled it closer, my heart sunk at the sight of red.

“Oh my God. Wyatt, you’re bleeding.” There was no way he could miss the panic in my voice as I frantically tried to spin him around to see where he was hurt. But there was no moving a man as big and sturdy as he was unless he wanted to be moved. Instead, he grabbed my hands and held them against his chest.

“Brynn, look at me.”