Total pages in book: 42
Estimated words: 39245 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 196(@200wpm)___ 157(@250wpm)___ 131(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 39245 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 196(@200wpm)___ 157(@250wpm)___ 131(@300wpm)
A strange sort of excitement filled him, though it was slightly tinged with wariness. He looked forward to meeting Ajax, especially after seeing how dynamic he was on stage, and after hearing such deeply moving music and lyrics. But that hint of wariness came from just having finished a job with another famous person who turned out to be the absolute worst sort of human being.
As he slung his bag over his shoulder and headed out, the anticipation took precedence, so he decided to give this rock star the benefit of the doubt.
The house was thirty minutes outside of the city. Douglas firs, maples and western hemlock trees grew thicker the closer he got to the place. Once he found the driveway, Finn pulled up to the gate and rolled down the window to hit the intercom. Took a couple of minutes for an answer.
“Yes?”
The man’s voice was just as deep when speaking as it was when he sang.
“Finn Kelly from Protective Solutions. You were expecting me?”
“Sure. I’ll open the gate.”
Finn followed along the driveway, parking in the circular section in front of the house, a sprawling one-story gray brick villa. The double front doors opened as he was getting out of his truck.
The man who stood in the doorway looked so far removed from the man he’d watched in those videos, wearing loose jeans and a T-shirt that didn’t quite meet the low waist of his jeans. His hipbones were exposed. His feet were bare. His brown hair fell in wiry waves to his collar in the back. Eyes narrowed on him as Finn stopped at the bottom of the two steps that led to the porch.
Ajax had a poet’s face with sharp cheekbones and nose, and the sexiest cleft chin Finn had ever seen. The musician tilted his head, and sunlight sparkled in emerald green eyes.
A brush of awareness swept over Finn’s skin, which surprised him, made him study Ajax a little more closely. The man stared back, his eyes widening slightly as his gaze ran down Finn’s body then back up.
When he smiled, Finn held his breath.
That smile transformed an already pretty face into something spectacular. It was a true smile with nothing fake about it. A smile that proved Finn didn’t need to be wary. There was a sincerity there his last client had lacked entirely. A depth of character Finn had already glimpsed through his music.
This man, this human, was something special, making this job suddenly very, very interesting.
Chapter Three
Ajax
The man standing before him stole the breath from his lungs. His face. Rugged was the first word that came to mind, with his auburn shadowed, square jaw and sharp cheekbones that sloped like arrows pointing to lips that were the most interesting shade of natural pink. Lusty gallant was the description that came to his mind, his mind notching on how incongruous that soft pink was nestled in such a masculine face. The lips of a muse.
His whimsical thought didn’t surprise him; he was firmly in a writing stage, which always made him observe everything closely. Think outside the box.
The second word that came to his mind was…magic.
His new bodyguard wasn’t human. There wasn’t anything about his appearance that gave him away, but his aura of magic was so strong, Ajax felt it prickling along the surface of his skin. He’d always been aware of the people who were different—even had one in his band. And he’d also grown up with a preternatural best friend. Just knowing about the world they tried to keep hidden had inspired a lot of his songs.
He looked the man over. Though his last two boyfriends had been more of the suit-wearing type, Finn was just the rough-edged kind of guy Ajax had always found attractive. Tattoos snaked around his exposed arms and peeked out from the neck of his tight black T-shirt. His dark auburn hair swept back off his forehead in a faux-hawk, one of the buzzed sides showing the outline of a small lightning bolt. And damn, he was built, with a broad chest and the kind of thick, meaty thighs Ajax wanted to see bare pretty damn badly.
Well, that was new.
He frowned. This might actually be a problem.
It had been four months since he’d sent his ex packing, and he hadn’t been laid since. Well, longer than that, since he hadn’t been able to bring himself to touch Alan after what that asshole had pulled. But Ajax had always gone long periods without sex. He was used to it. And he certainly wasn’t used to feeling attraction right away.
This new bodyguard exuded sex without effort. Ajax could only imagine what he’d be like if he were actually focused on it. And Ajax’s body had perked up the second Finn had walked toward him. Marveling over this new feeling, Ajax cleared his throat, realizing he’d just been standing there, staring.