Page 1 of My Bodyguard’s The Boss

CHAPTER 1

Another night, another giggly twink who bought into the tough guy rumors, Austin thought to himself as he led the guy through the front hall.

A decade ago, he would have been excited about it. He’d spent a lot of time at the gym getting buff, not to mention all the agonizing hours under the needle for his tattoos. The makeup team hated his tattoos in his first few acting roles, but over the years, he had been so typecast they let him keep them. They fit his aesthetic: big, badass bruiser ready to torture the good guy, or drive a car off a cliff, or whatever the movie needed him to do.

Austin wasn’t winning any Oscars. But he always had a job lined up. And no matter what the tabloids said about his famous father—superstar actor-turned-politician, Burt Wayne—Austin had earned every cent of his money.

Not that anybody cared. Tabloids, fans, even his agent—they only gave a shit about him if he kept up the facade. At first, it was fun. But Austin was well into his thirties now, and it was getting a little old.

Especially when he brought home guys like this.

The guy he’d picked up at the bar—Austin was pretty sure his name was Ryan—giggled and traced the knife tattoo on his upper arm. “What does this one mean?”

That tattoo had been a flash sale he’d only gotten to fill in space. But if there was one thing Austin was good at, it was selling his role. He flexed, watching Ryan’s face light up as the muscle shifted under his touch.

“Got that one after I won a knife-throwing match,” Austin lied.

Ryan gasped. “Was that with your brother? I heard your dad got you two to do wild things when you were kids. I was surprised Lev went into modeling instead of doing something fun, like you.”

Austin kept smiling as he led Ryan into the living room. His little brother Levi hated being called Lev, but somehow it had stuck when he started his modeling career. Something he absolutely didn’t get on his own and was happy to share in interviews. He’d gotten his first modeling gig after their dad called in a favor.

“Sure,” Austin lied. “Knife throwing. Hiking with backpacks full of rocks. Lifting weights with those rocks once we got up to the top of the mountain.”

It was bullshit, but it wasn’t entirely bullshit. Their dad had been hard on them, but he never broke out any knives or loaded their backpacks with rocks. He just got a home gym installed and had them both take up wrestling in high school. And there was the constant stream of “what a man should be,” which he’d mostly calmed down on in his old age, to both their relief. That had been hard to grow up with, especially after both brothers realized they weren’t straight.

“Wow,” Ryan said, running both hands up Austin’s muscled arms. “I bet you could bench press me. Like, literally.”

“Probably,” Austin said, his third lie since he walked in the door. He was big, but a lot of that was genetics. Plus, he had put a lot of effort into toning, making his muscles look bigger than they actually were. His gym trainer always said that if he wanted to get really strong, he should eat more. But that wasn’t what the studios wanted, so he stuck with his boring steamed chicken and kale salads.

Then again, he considered as he and Ryan came to a stop in front of the couch. Ryan was pretty small, with no hidden muscle to weigh him down. And Austin had picked up more than his fair share of lovers over the years.

“Want to try it?” Austin offered.

Ryan grinned and nodded.

“Tense your core,” Austin told him. Then grabbed him by the back of the knees and the back of his shirt, hauling him up over his head.

Ryan shrieked joyfully. When Austin lowered him back down, he was giggling again.

“Wow,” Ryan gasped. “What a rush. You’re so strong.”

“That’s me,” Austin agreed.

Ryan swayed into him, his cheeks flushed, and his head tilted coyly. “So… now that you have me at your mercy, what will you do with me?”

Austin forced himself to keep smiling. Ryan seemed nice enough, but Austin was so damn tired of everyone wanting him to be dominant. The sex was fine. Fun, even. But he’d learned a long time ago to quit asking for anything… unexpected. People just looked at him all confused and even a little betrayed. Like a guy who looked this big and scary, a guy they had seen play mob bosses and evil world leaders on so many big screens, could never want to be on the other side of things for a change.

Besides, Austin reminded himself as he pulled Ryan closer. He’d worked so hard to make people believe he was that big, scary guy. He couldn’t be mad he was so good at it.

“I think I’m gonna—” Austin started.

A throat cleared behind them.

Ryan yelped. Austin sighed and turned to see his evening bodyguard looming next to the couch, hot and unflappable and huge as ever.

Dominic Sheath’s massive size had been a worry for his agent. She had been concerned that people would see him standing next to Austin and realize that Austin wasn’t that big after all. But Austin had insisted on him. He liked feeling small, for once.

“Dominic,” Austin said. “What did I say about making noise when you walk?”