Chris’s stomach lurched.
Jesus, what was going on with him?
The Australian bodyguard took a step forward and extended his hand. “G’day, Mr. Huntley. Liev Reynolds.”
Chris looked at the offered greeting, one socially accepted between men throughout the western world. His mouth grew dry.
The Australian chuckled. “I’m not into fist bumps. Sorry.”
Chris blinked, the realization he hadn’t shaken Reynolds’s hand hitting him with sinking horror. “Sorry,” he blurted, snatching the man’s hand just as Reynolds was retracting it. Hot licks of tension shot through him at the hasty contact, spearing into his groin. His cock throbbed. “Sorry,” he repeated, ignoring the unnerving sensation as he shook Reynolds’s hand with an up-and-down motion he knew was borderline frantic. “I’m jet-lagged.”
Beside the Australian, Bethany raised one straight red eyebrow.
Reynolds laughed, returning Chris’s shake with a firm, steady grip. “No worries, mate. I can only imagine what it’s like flying halfway ’round the world. Rhodes told me to go easy on you.”
Chris’s gut clenched. He gazed up at the taller man, wishing to fuck Aslin was here right now so Chris could beat the shit out of him.
Goddamn it, thanks to the Brit, he was about to spend the next seven days in the constant company of a sexy woman who wasn’t interested in him and a…a…fuck, there was no other way to describe Liev Reynolds but sexy as well.
Sexy.
Jesus, what the hell was going on?
Chapter Two
The day that Liev Reynolds told his older brother Ian he was bi-sexual, he’d lost almost everything that was important to him. Ian, older by three years and his only sibling, had told Liev he was sick. Told him he needed help. Told him their parents would be disgusted and thanked bloody God they were dead and not here now to be embarrassed by their youngest son.
From that day, Ian refused to see him or talk to him. The only contact Liev now had with his family was with his brother’s teenage daughter. She didn’t care her uncle slept with both men and women because he took her to the concerts her parents refused to take her to, picked her up from the inner city clubs when she and her friends couldn’t get a taxi, and—in her words—was, “awesome and wonderful and smart and naughty”.
Liev still wasn’t sure what the
naughty
part meant, but he suspected it had something to do with the fact that deep inside, his dux-of-the-school niece wanted to rebel against her parents’ strict, no-nonsense upbringing. The closest she got to that rebellion was defying her dad’s demands she not interact with her
sick
uncle.
When all was said and done, Liev didn’t give a rat’s arse what Ian thought, as long as he got to spend time with Caitlin. If his brother cut him off from the only living relative that cared for him…well, then Ian would see just how angry his
sick
brother could get.
Liev’s sexuality hadn’t stopped him being a highly awarded firefighter. Nor had it stopped him protecting not only the country’s leading politicians but the world’s biggest rock star as well. Acting as one of Nick Blackthorne’s bodyguards whenever he toured Australia was the highlight of Liev’s professional-protector career and more than once he wished he could share the achievement with Ian. They’d both been Blackthorne fans. But the last time Liev had worked alongside Aslin Rhodes in guarding the performer, Ian had hung up before Liev could even say g’day.
Which meant there wasn’t a hope in hell he was going to call his brother and tell him he was now going to be the personal bodyguard of, according to Caitlyn, Ian’s favourite sitcom star. Not a bloody hope in hell.
Nor was he going to tell his brother the American actor was so bloody good-looking it was a wonder Liev’s cock didn’t burst free of his jeans. Fuck, he’d hoped this wasn’t going to happen again. Seems like he’d hoped in vain.
He’d never told Aslin Rhodes he’d been sexually aroused by Chris when Rhodes had asked him to watch over Chris when the actor had been in Australia last year. There hadn’t been a need. He hadn’t met Chris, just guarded him from a distance, as instructed by Rhodes. Rhodes trusted him. They’d worked side by side numerous times. Rhodes knew he was bi and didn’t care.
What would his friend say if he knew Liev was now standing in the actor’s living room, doing his best to appear nonchalant when he was really wondering what the man’s cock would feel like in his hands? In his mouth?
What it would feel like to penetrate the actor’s arse and fuck him senseless?
Bloody hell, this was a first for Liev. Men turned him on, just as much as women, but never ones who were famous for their scorching heterosexuality. And when it came to heterosexuality, Chris Huntley was as scorching as they came.
Fuck it.
“How long have you known Aslin for?”
Chris’s question yanked Liev out of his disquieting contemplation. Slipping his hands into his jeans’ front pockets, he smiled at the actor. “Eight years. We both worked out at the same gym whenever he was in Sydney. One day, the support bodyguard Rhodes used when Nick Blackthorne was in the country was unavailable and Rhodes asked if I’d be interested.”
“So you are used to guarding celebrities then?” a familiar female voice asked.
Liev turned to face the little bundle of fiery-red efficiency beside him. He’d shared numerous conversations with Chris Huntley’s personal assistant since Rhodes recommended him for this job. Bethany Sloan was clipped, precise and efficient. And nothing like he’d expected her to look. She looked like she belonged in a fantasy book about fairies and sprites. If fairies and sprites carried smartphones and iPads and moved with economical poise and determination, that was. There was a tightly contained sensuality about her Liev found intriguing. “I am.” He offered the P.A. a reassuring smile. “Groupies and fans don’t worry me much. I’ve also already spent some time guarding Mr. Huntley.”
“You have?”
Liev swung back to the actor, steadying himself against the churning heat in his gut looking at the American caused. “When you were here last year filming
Dead Even
. Rhodes asked me to watch over you while he was trying to find the person responsible for the attempts on your sister’s life.” He grinned. “From a distance, mind you. He was very adamant about that. No one was to know I was there.”
The actor ran a slow inspection over him, from head to toe and back again. Liev resisted the urge to shift his feet. The scrutiny was ambiguous but unsettling all the same. If Liev wasn’t careful his bloody dick would give away
how
unsettling. “Well, you did a good job,” Chris said, narrowing his eyes as he studied Liev’s face. “I don’t recognize you at all. And I know I’d—” He stopped. “And I don’t forget a face.”
Liev accepted the compliment with a nod of his head. The actor had intended to say something else, but what? “Thanks, mate.”
“So you think you’re the right man for the job?”
Bethany’s calm question sent an unexpected finger of tight anticipation down Liev’s spine. Whether it was because of his sexual attraction to her boss or the fact she had a thoroughly sexy American accent, he wasn’t sure. With the way his body was behaving, he was beginning to think this job wasn’t a good idea after all. The pay was phenomenal for seven days’ work. But was it worth walking around with a semi for the duration?
It would be so much easier if he were in some kind of steady, committed relationship. But he didn’t do steady, committed relationships.
Giving Bethany a wide grin, he nodded again. “I’m the man for the job. Aslin Rhodes wouldn’t have recommended me if I wasn’t.”
“That’s true,” Chris said. “When it comes to protecting those he loves, Rhodes is almost manic.” The actor pulled a face. “That sounded much more impressive and far less weird in my head.”
Liev laughed.
Chris grinned.
Liev wished he hadn’t. The man’s smile was everything Liev liked in the expression. It showed off Chris’s white, even teeth. It formed tiny laugh lines at the edges of his brilliant-blue eyes. It hinted at a shallow dimple in his left cheek. It was relaxed, cheeky and infectious, and Liev knew he was going to have a hard bloody time not picturing it later that night in the shower.
And in bed.
Yeah, taking this job probably wasn’t a good idea at all.
“May I get you a coffee, Mr. Reynolds?”
Liev dragged his gaze from Chris’s face to focus on Bethany again. She was studying him with an ambiguous expression, her eyes slightly narrowed.
“Or a beer? A drink?” she went on. “The bar is fully stocked and I am quite proficient at mixing any drink you’d like.”
“Bethany is quite proficient at everything,” Chris said, dropping into the sofa. He rested his calf on his knee, stretching his arms along the back of the piece of furniture. “She has my days planned down to the last second.” He tossed his personal assistant a quick smirk. Liev couldn’t miss the warm affection in the look. “When am I going to the bathroom next, Bethany?”
Bethany flicked the slim gold watch on her wrist a look. “In two hours and fifty-four minutes, Mr. Huntley.”
Chris grinned at Liev again. “See?”
“That drink, Mr. Reynolds?”
Liev shook his head. “Thanks, but no. A coffee will be fine. I’m a teetotaler.”
“Really?”
Liev returned his focus to Chris, his chest squeezing a little at the actor’s relaxed sensuality. “My parents were killed by a drunk driver when I was young. It had a profound effect on me.”
Chris’s expression turned dark. “I know what it’s like to lose your mom and dad. It sucks.”
Liev nodded. “It does.”
A strained silence stretched across the room, made all the more tight by the way Chris’s stare held Liev’s. Liev knew about the murder of Chris’s parents twenty years ago. Aslin had filled him in on the situation in preparing him for the job. It was one of the reasons Chris didn’t like being swarmed by fans, one of the reasons he preferred to remain out of the public whenever possible. The guy may be one of the funniest men on television, but when it came to his personal life he was a homebody.
Liev liked that.
What’s that mean? You sizing him up for something more than just being your boss? Ha. You’re deluded, dickhead.
“How do you take your coffee, Mr. Reynolds?”
Liev started at Bethany’s calm question. He drew in a slow breath, forcing his heartbeat to slow down. Being this on edge wasn’t going to cut it. He’d be jumping at shadows after a day if he kept this up. Not the ideal state for a bodyguard to be in. “Black is fine.” He smiled at the tiny bundle of constrained efficiency. “Espresso if that’s possible? And it’s Liev, not Mr. Reynolds. Please.”
Bethany’s pink-glossed lips twisted as she digested his requests. For the first time, Liev noticed just how full her lips were.
Christ, mate. Stop looking at everyone in here with your dick, will you?
“Take a seat, Liev…” she indicated the armchair opposite Chris, “…while I get your espresso.”
Chris chuckled. “She likes you, dude. I’ve been asking her to call me Chris since my sister and Rhodes employed her.”
Lowering himself into the plush leather chair directly across from Chris, Liev scoped out the immediate layout of the room. The harbour-facing wall was made entirely of four glass concertina doors—now open to allow the breeze from the water to flow into the living area. The balcony had no ground access, something Liev had noted as he walked the jetty on arriving. The architecturally impressive home was three stories. On the top floor were the three bedrooms, the master bedroom facing the harbour with glass concertina doors and a smaller balcony. The first floor comprised the living areas, kitchen, laundry and office. The ground floor was the entry foyer, a guest bedroom, fully kitted-out gym and a massive, completely sound-insulated hundred-seat home cinema. Liev had pulled some strings with city-council—thanks to his contacts as a volunteer firefighter—and procured the plans of the building before arriving, studying them until he knew every square inch. He knew where all the windows and doors were, the easiest ones to gain access with the aid of a ladder and those the sensors of the built-in security system didn’t detect.
He also knew, thanks to a quick phone call, some fast-talking and a little flirting, the security system’s deactivation code. How easy it was to gain those four numbers still made his gut clench. He’d already had a rather terse conversation with the manager of the security firm, pointing out how exposed their clients were if their staff gave out vital numbers to anyone who could spin a convincing story. The last thing Liev would do before leaving today was change the number to something else.
If he could procure it with a bullshit tale of being a visiting relative who wanted to surprise the owner, any of Chris’s more determined fans could as well.
Better to be safe than sorry.
“So,” Chris’s voice drew Liev’s attention back from the details of the job, “tell me about yourself. All Rhodes said about you was, and I quote,
I’d trust him with my life, he’s a scary sod when he needs to be and more powerful than he looks
.” The actor snorted, his gaze roaming over Liev with such intensity Liev had to suppress the urge to squirm in the seat. “Which means you must be stronger than the Hulk ’cause you look goddamn invincible.”