Cherishing Her: A Protector Office Romance Read online

  Like he was doing right fucking now.

  My destination was only about a fifteen-minute walk from the hotel, off a side street that was surprisingly clean and well-lit. Staring at the long line of men and women idling on the sidewalk to get in, I frowned absently as my gaze slid to the bruiser that guarded the entrance.

  I couldn’t even remember the last time I waited in a line for anything, let alone a club entrance, and I inhaled deeply to exhale heavily.

  The bouncer and I were the same height, and he watched me through narrowed eyes as I strode towards him. Recognition flashed in his dark irises and across his face before he reached for his little walkie-talkie.

  Hiding the little sliver of surprise that lodged in my chest, I only nodded as he opened the door for me wordlessly.

  Even after a lifetime, I still found it amazing that people recognized me almost everywhere I went.

  Leather and sex tainted the air, growing thicker and headier as I made my way down the hallway that led to the club’s main floor. Not just anyone could find this place, and I shirked off my jacket to hang it on a peg on the wall.

  Pulsing, low music reverberated up from the floor, and my palms tingled as I pushed open an otherwise boring looking, metal door.

  A deep, richly stained bar stretched to my immediate left, and the mingling floor spread to my right. Stalking down towards the center of the clean counter, I dropped into a leather-clad stool to signal the bartender.

  Ignoring everyone around me, my eyes fixed on the wall of alcohol before me as a woman in a form-fitting, purple dress came slinking towards me.

  “Just a beer.” Speaking up before she could even open her mouth, I twisted on my stool to finally take in the characters around me.

  Women in collars and scant lingerie prowled the floor in tall heels, their bodies flushed and glistening under the low lights embedded in the ceiling. Men lounged on couches, some alone, some draped in someone sweet, and the sexual tension was so thick I could taste it.

  Every club like this was the same, the same atmosphere, the same types, the same anxiety that pulsed in time with the music. My stiff shoulders finally relaxed some, and I rolled them hard to tilt my head back as familiarity wafted into my pores.

  “Here you go, Batman.” Whirling around to scowl at the bartender, my lip twitched at the snotty glare she sent me in return. The thick hairs on the back of my neck stood up, but she only flipped her long, blonde hair to strut off to another patron.

  Snatching my beer, I eyeballed the mouth of the glass bottle before lifting it to my lips.

  At least I can count on the fact that she won’t fuck with my drinks.

  Just like with my coat, I had a security in not worrying about other people. The communities were really respectful when it came down to it, and the bartender’s attitude was as far as she’d go. I’d seen it before, and I had no doubt I’d see it again.

  Casting my gaze at the floor, I necked my beer as the rush of annoyance in my chest drained to simply enjoying the place. My eyes narrowed, flickering from woman to woman in search for someone interesting to bury my frustrations in. Unlike many other clubs I’d been to, they didn’t wear masks to protect their identity, and that made picking one easier.

  But I wasn’t expecting to see a familiar face, drawn in boredom and disinterest, among those crowded in a corner on a loveseat. Straightening, tingles shot down my spine as I watched Hailey pick at her well-manicured, real nails. Even from across the room, I could spy her frown, and my lips twisted into a grimace without any direction from my startled mind.

  The man whose lap Hailey sat on was having some avid conversation I couldn’t hear with another man. My chest tightened, and my eyelid twitched when she tried to get his attention only to get waved off. Swiftly sliding to her dark green, four-inch heels, she gave him the universal sign to fuck off when he tried to grab at her waist.

  And God fucking damn was Hailey hiding some serious sexy underneath that unflattering uniform from earlier.

  My palms itched to cup her C-cup breasts as they jiggled from her deep saunter, and my fingertips tingled to pull aside her forest green and brown trimmed thong. Necking my beer greedily, I set the bottle down and hopped off my stool to make a bee-line for her before I even processed what I was doing.

  Need stiffened my cock and my strides, and my abdomen tightened as tension coiled in my legs. Within the time it took to blink, I was within reaching distance, and I grabbed Hailey’s wrists to blindside her. Her gasp sounded loudly in my ears, and she dug her nails into the back of my palms as the electricity coursing through me jolted my heart.

  She’s got sass.

  “Get off before I call sec—” Pinning Hailey to the wall, I secured both her wrists above her head and clamped my free hand over her mouth before I realized how incredibly fucking scared her tone was. Her wide, baby blue eyes only got wider when they met mine, and I pursed my lips tightly even while she went slightly limp.

  “I didn’t mean to scare you.” Leaning in to hoover up her heavy smell through flared nostrils, I murmured softly in Hailey’s ear. Her only response was to clamp her thighs together against mine, and I carefully released her mouth only to massage the pulse points in her neck as the throbbed wildly. “You’re okay.”

  “What are you doing here, Mr. Richards?” Mortification laced Hailey’s high-pitched squeak, and she sucked in a sharp breath that stole the heat from just underneath my collar. “I should go, this is bad. I- I’m going to get fired—oh, shit!”

  “Stop.” My command came out an unintentionally harsh growl, and I pursed my lips tightly even as she clamped her mouth shut. “I’m glad I caught you, Hailey. I just wanted to clarify… I’m not having the best day.”

  “What?” Blurting out her confusion, Hailey softened against me as a gasp rippled down her throat and against my palm. “Oh, the car… I wasn’t judging you or anything. I’m sorry- I know I should’ve ignored your phone call… you just looked really stressed and unhappy.”

  “It’s a long story. What about you, what are you doing here?” Forcefully changing the subject, I leaned back a little as fire raged in Hailey’s soft, blue eyes. They blazed in contrast to the deep red of her cheeks, and my fingertips crept up to circle just under her ear. Thickly lashed eyelids fluttered, and the thrilling anxiety in my gut intensified as her soft moan floated into my ears.

  “I- I met a… friend- but he’s been ignoring me, so…” My cock ached something fierce at her stuttering and stumbling, and I didn’t drop Hailey’s half-lidded gaze even as her next words nearly made me cum in my pants. “That feels ni-i-i-ice…”

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