Page 17

“You okay, hon?” she asked with a breezy innocence.

I grunted in reply, willing my dick to deflate instead of trying to punch a hole through the inseam of my Tom Ford pants.

One side of Saint’s mouth tipped up into a lopsided grin, and her gaze skated away, warming as it fell on the Neanderthal standing behind me. “Hunter,” she breathed, moving into his waiting arms before leaning up and kissing his cheek softly. “When did you get back?”

“This morning,” he murmured, his mouth going slack as he took in her face, hair, and dress approvingly. “Never seen you looking sexier, babe. I need to take more overseas roles if this is what I’m treated to when I come home.”

“Overseas?” she chided. “You’ve been in Canada.”

I almost snorted my disgust.

Obviously, you didn’t need brains to be a movie star these days. Hunter may have been an action hero, but in the words of Gambit, Hunter Page was thick as pig shit.

God only knew what the fuck Saint saw in him.

“Been in Thailand, too, remember,” he chided back, his eyes coming back to me and dancing with humor. “My girl gets so into her music and songwriting that she forgets where I am most of the time.”

I folded my arms across my chest and let out another grunt .

He snaked a hairy-assed arm across Saint’s shoulders while holding the other one out toward me. “Good to meet ya. I’m Hunter.”

“Ice,” I replied, taking his fingers and giving them a firm squeeze.

He squeezed back sharply. “Thanks for looking after my girl.”

A cocky grin slid across my face, and I squeezed harder, making him wince before I dropped his hand.

“Saint’s a dream to look after. Enjoyed every second so far.

Shame you’re away working so often, and someone else has to do your job, but then, at least I’m military trained, whereas you just act the part. ”

“Oh, I dunno,” he rumbled. “I fought MMA for five years. I think I could handle a bit of CPP. I’m actually bigger than my bodyguards.

It’s a running joke between my fanbase. My security’s more likely to get shit when we’re out than I am, but the studios insist.” He shrugged.

“You know how it is when you make millions of dollars per movie—Oh, that’s right. You don’t.”

My eyes narrowed on his.

His eyes narrowed right on back.

“I do okay,” I assured him.

“Yeah,” he agreed. “I’m sure you do.” His stare softened, and he glanced down at Saint. “Come on, babe. The sooner we get there, the sooner we can leave. I know how much you hate these parties.”

Saint glanced up at him before her stare drifted to me. “Are you two okay?”

“Course,” he told her with a casual wave of a hand.

“Perfect,” I reiterated, squaring my shoulders to make myself appear as big as I could next to the behemoth motherfucker who had Saint on his arm, then added, “I’m a huge fan.”

“Great!” Saint said brightly.

Hunter Page’s beard twitched .

I grunted again and started for the door, muttering, “Let’s go.” I pulled it open and held it, ushering Saint through, then as Hunter approached, I ‘accidentally’ let it go.

Page darted forward and caught it with his hand, his eyebrow hitching questioningly. “Hand slip?” he asked coolly.

I almost retorted, not as badly as earlier when I beat one out to memories of your girlfriend , but instead, I muttered, “Somethin’ like that,” before taking Saint’s arm and helping her into the waiting limo.

I gave the driver (who I’d already vetted) a chin lift as she hustled her ass inside and moved onto the back seat.

I bent down and slid in beside her just as the other door opened, and Hunter poked his head through. “Budge up,” he ordered. “Need to get my ass in, and I’m a lot bigger than Iceman.”

“Fatter, more like,” I mumbled under my breath, letting out a loud ‘oof’ when Saint’s elbow dug sharply into my ribs.

“What’s gotten into you?” she whispered angrily.

I sniffed, turning my head to look out the window. “Dunno what you mean. I’m perfectly fine.”

“Jesus,” she murmured, her pink, glossy lips plumping into a cute little pout.

Shifting in my seat, I covered my burgeoning cock with my jacket just as Hunter leaned forward to tell the driver the name of the club we were headed to.

When he leaned back again, his hand went to Saint’s smooth, tanned thigh, and he looked down at her and smiled.

My ribs tightened, and suddenly, I struggled to breathe. My eyes glued to Page’s hand, and I waited for the big, hairy fucker to slide it higher just so I could stop the car, drag him out, and beat the shit out of him .

Lucky for him, the car jolted, and his hand fell from my woman’s leg.

I sat back in the seat, trying to breathe through the heat rising inside my chest, but instead, I felt as if my fucking brains were about to explode.

My jaw clenched, and I prayed to God I still had Kennedy Stone’s number programmed into my phone because unless the big man himself threw me a miracle, I had a feeling my ass would be sitting in jail by the end of the night.

If Hunter Page touched my woman one more time, I’d likely be up on goddamned murder charge.

—————

Trick gave me a nudge and nodded toward the DJ booth.

“Who’d have thought that Hunter Page, of all people, could DJ as well as save the Earth from an alien force sent to wipe out all of mankind?

” He stared across the packed dancefloor at the man in question, who held earphones against the side of his head while his fingers rested on the record he was in the process of turning.

The bassline of an old Calvin Harris and Rihanna dance song thumped through the speakers, and the crowd began to go wild.

The music seemed to make the room throb with heated energy that was synchronized to the crowd’s movements. As I scanned the room for threats, my gaze landed on Saint, her figure shimmering in pink under the flashing lights.

Most of the people here were fans of Dischordium and were primed, ready, and waiting for their rock god idols to take the stage to perform a few singles from their new album.

It was an industry party, but Dischordium and a few local radio stations had been running competitions for some fans to win VIP tickets to the event .

It was a good idea. The publicity it courted bordered on rabid, and of course, the event had become the hottest ticket in town.

Everybody who was anybody clambered for tickets, and I’d already recognized a sultry blonde pop starlet wandering around in a barely-there dress, hanging onto the arm of her young actor boyfriend.

Other bands, probably friends of Noah and the boys, were here too, along with DJ Raven, who was the official compere, though it seemed she’d given up her booth to Hunter Page while she got a drink and mingled.

“He’s a hairy fucker, right?” I asked.

Gambit’s lips hitched slightly. “His mother didn’t give birth to him; she crocheted him.”

“He reminds me of a fat Hairy Styles,” I muttered, my face a glower.

Trick joined in the banter. “Bet his starsign is Haries.”

Ghost chuckled. “He’s got the crowd goin’, though. Look at ‘em all, throwing their hands up in the hair.”

Gambit gave me a nudge. “Don’t worry, mate. He’ll be hair today, gone tomorrow.”

Trick busted a gut.

I snickered, my smile fading as I caught sight of a sparkly pink figure rocking it out on the dance floor with Talia, who wore a red, strapless dress that left even less to the imagination than Saint’s did.

“Can’t believe she’s seeing that goon,” I muttered for the thirty-seventh time that night.

Gambit shrugged. “I always thought he was gay.”

“Hunter Page? Gay?” Trick blustered. “Get the fuck outta here with that bullshit. He saves the goddamned world three times a year.”

“You can still be gay and save the world, asshole,” Gambit shot back. “Anyway, it’s not a big deal. I just always got a bear vibe from him.”

“Really?” Trick asked, cocking his head as he studied my nemesis.

“Yeah, but it’s not like I’m an authority on it,” Gambit muttered, scanning the crowd.

My eyes flickered over to the area where Saint was dancing, and my mouth went dry.

She was sure giving me a run for my money.

I nearly had a damned conniption when I opened the door to Hunter Page. It wasn’t like he was some wannabe asshole who was way out of her league; he was actual competition.

She’d been back in my life for just over twenty-four hours, and already my head was full of her, and my heart was in pieces because if she had a boyfriend and they were solid, I didn’t stand a fucking chance.

Page may have been a hairy fucker, but he was still a good-looking dude.

Women all around the world lusted after him, so what chance did I fucking have?

Still, I couldn’t give up. I’d found something worth having, and I knew how rare and precious that was. How could I walk away from the one woman who filled me up? How could I turn my back on my second chance?

Fighting for her was a given. I’d fight to the fucking death if I had to, except I had to go up against an adversary who was worthy of Saint. Hunter Page was a millionaire heartthrob for fuck’s sake, so I’d have to get creative if I wanted the best man (namely me) to win.

A movement caught my eye, and the hair on the back of my neck stood up. Some young teenybopper dude sauntered onto the dance floor with his entourage, who immediately began pushing people out of the way.

I launched off the wall that had served as my vantage point and immediately began to move toward Saint and Talia, who were still fucking around on the edge of the floor. The good news was, they’d been joined by Sam and Jolie Fontaine, so at least the girls had a dude with them .

The thick bassline of the song pumped through the speakers.

Bodies moved in time to the resounding beat, and the air became fraught with anticipation.

Hunter was doing well to keep the crowd engaged, but they weren’t here to see him.

Everybody was waiting for the band, and I could feel they were getting impatient.

I watched Saint dance with a carefree abandon that drew the eye of every man in the room, and it was affecting me to the point of distraction.

My cock had been semi-hard since she walked down the stairs at her house.

I didn’t know whether I wanted to take my jacket off and hide her away from the world or bend her over the nearest table, lift her sparkly little skirt over her high, round ass, and show everybody, including Hunter Page, exactly who she belonged to.

Instead, I did neither because I was Saint McClure’s goddamned bodyguard, and giving the entire club a peep show would be frowned upon. My job was to stay in the background and observe, so that’s what I did, all while keeping an eye not only on Saint but also on the crowd enveloping her.

A buzz went around the room as the stage lights cut out completely.

The club sat in darkness, except for the beams of light shining over the crowd, highlighting the men now standing on stage with their instruments at the ready.

Noah leaned toward his microphone and, in a low voice, said, “Hey. We wish you all a good evening and wanna welcome everyone to our new record launch.”

Shouts and catcalls filled the air as the crowd bellowed their excitement.

“Lemme introduce you to the band,” he continued. “Meet Styx, Blue, Griff, and Jax, I’m Noah, but you know us better as... Dischordium.”

The echo of the drummer beating his sticks together three times clicked through the room before a thumping beat began to resonate.

Then, Blue’s fingers began to fly up and down the fret of his guitar as he played us a sweet riff.

The bass player, Jax, began to slap a rhythm over his strings, and Noah’s rich, raspy voice began to sing.

The crowd went wild. Bellows and shouts filled the ether, along with the pulsing energy, and the entire room began to move in time to the music.

The thudding bassline was so heavy I could feel it reverberating through my chest, and my foot began to tap. The crackle of electricity in the air sent a warm shiver down my spine, and the deep, rich tone of Noah’s voice filled the room as he belted out how he wanted to rock some chick’s world.

Throughout this, my eyes never left Saint.

The way she moved with raw energy had me captivated.

Her presence was magnetic, drawing eyes and hard-ons alike.

As the crowd cheered along with Dischordium, I found myself caught in a whirlwind of emotions because seeing Saint so happy and carefree made me realize she was a ray of light who chased away the shadows just by being in my life.

Over the next hour, Noah and the boys whipped the crowd up into a frenzy. Their new album was more up-tempo than the last. It was a blend of heavy rock and funk, and their fans lapped up every note played and every word sung like they were witnessing the second coming of Christ.

After they’d finished playing their brand-new single that was about to hit number one on the Billboard charts, Noah held up a hand to address the crowd.

“We’ve got a real treat for you tonight, folks,” he began. “Gotta special guest in the audience. Someone who’s supported us since the days we played for three people in backroad honkytonks in Wyoming.”

The crowd roared .

“Me and the boys would love it if she came up on stage and sang with us,” he continued. He threw out a hand, and a single spotlight landed directly on Saint. “We’re lucky to have Saint McClure here, but she may need a little encouragement.”

Saint froze.

Cheers and yells filled the air, and a low chant began to cut through the ether.

“Saint. Saint. Saint. Saint. Saint.”

My back straightened because this was a new development.

The night had been uneventful, but I’d had no trouble staying close and accessible in case she needed me. Saint going on stage to perform posed a problem, though it was something I could easily work around.

The chants became louder and more frenzied until, eventually, Saint handed her drink to Talia and began to move toward the stage.

I moved, too, slipping through the crowd until I walked at her back.

Her neck craned, and her eyes landed on me, softening with relief at my presence.

My heart warmed. I loved being that for her, loved being someone who brought her peace, because she was that for me too, even though tonight Saint was driving me crazy in that dress. My balls were so fucking blue with need for her that they felt like they’d explode.

Very soon, Saint McClure was gonna know exactly who she belonged to, and it wasn’t Hunter ‘hairy-assed’ Page.