I nod, plucking my hand from his kindly. “Yes, I’m his security.”
He studies me. “It’s a big job for a female, and that’s not meant in an offensive way. I think it’s super. Why’d you do it?”
My heart warms a little, because he’s the first person that’s ever been kind about my role.
“I just wanted to stand out, you know?” I smile.
“Yeah.” He laughs, reaching over and placing a hand on my shoulder. “I know the feeling.”
I don’t flinch away from his touch, but it is a little awkward. He steps closer, almost wrapping his arm around me as he talks, like we’re long lost friends. Maybe Michael isn’t just interested in chatting.
“What about you, Michael, what do you do?” I ask, trying to step away from his grabby hands.
“I run the hotel in L.A.”
“So you work for Jax? Lucky you,” I say sarcastically.
He nods, letting me go and then leaning in close so his mouth is near my ear. “Let me tell you a little secret … he’s actually great to work for.”
I laugh, because I couldn’t imagine that being true. I’ve seen Jax angry and I’ve seen him in boss mode. He’s hardly easygoing.
“You think that’s funny?” He grins.
“I’ve been working with him a while now, and I didn’t think I’d ever hear someone say those words.”
He chuckles. “Jax is a hard man, but he’s a fair man. That’s all we can really ask for.”
“You make a valid point.”
I glance over at Jax and he’s watching me, dark eyes stormy. Oh boy, Jaxson Shields can be jealous, it would seem. I look away quickly, because his expression makes my skin tingle.
“So are you from around here?” Michael asks, straightening back up and staring at my lips. Oh boy.
“Denver.”
“Ah, right, of course, that makes sense.”
Before I can answer, Jax steps up beside me. “Michael,” he says, his voice steely. “Good to see you.”
Oh boy.
Michael reaches out and shakes his hand. “You too, Jaxson. It’s been a while.”
“How’re things on your side of the world?”
Jax is standing beside me, and I swear I can feel the fury radiating off his body. Possessive doesn’t even cut it. I won’t lie, it makes me feel warm inside, knowing he cares enough to be concerned about what I’m doing and who I’m talking to.
“Very good.”
“Good to hear,” Jax says, grabbing my elbow. “Don’t mean to be rude, but I need to speak with Delaney.”
Michael nods and smiles at me. “Lovely to meet you, Delaney. Maybe we can chat again later?”
I smile. “Of course.”
Jax pulls me towards the kitchen where the food is being prepared. We pass Duke on the way and Jax grunts, “I need to have a word with Delaney.”
“Is everything okay, Mr. Shields? Has she done something wrong?”
I throw Duke a look, but his eyes are on Jax.“It’s nothing to worry about, we won’t be long.”
Duke nods, staring at me then back at Jax. God, is he suspicious? Jax making a little scene wouldn’t be helping.
We enter the kitchen and Jax strides through until we step into the large food storage room at the end. He steps in, barks at everyone to stay out, and then slams it shut, locking it. He spins on me. “What were you doin’ out there?”
I blink.
“Pardon me?”
“With Michael.”
“Last time I checked, it was called having a conversation.”
He backs me against a shelf and puts his hands above it, trapping me in. “It didn’t look like a conversation.”
I stare at him. “You’re acting crazy, you know that, right?”
He glares at me. “I don’t like when another man puts his hands on you.”
Inside I’m squealing with happiness that he feels this way, but on the outside, I’m acting as if he’s crazy and I’m doing absolutely nothing wrong. Which, I’m actually not. I was just being polite with Michael. Okay, so he put his hand on me a little much, but hey, it wasn’t sexual, at least it wasn’t for me.
“He was being friendly, Jax.”
“No,” he growls, pressing his hips to mine. “He was trying to charm you.”
He probably was, but I’m not going to admit that to Jax.
“Even if he was,” I say. “It wasn’t working.”
“You were letting him touch you.”
“Oh, you mean like you let that blond woman touch you?”
He flinches and his eyes narrow as he brings his face closer. “She’s a business associate, and I gave her no indication I liked her touching me.”
“You were grinning at her!” I protest.
“I was being polite because she’s a huge contributor and she slipped a damned phone number for a client I asked for into my pocket.”
I snort and press my hands to his chest, shoving back. “Jaxson Shields, you need serious medical help—your way of thinking is warped at best. The situation is exactly the same. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I have a job to do.”
I step out of his hold and glare at him. “And by the way, I don’t like being told what to do.”
Then I exit the space and wait for him to accompany me. Lucky for me, Duke is striding in just as we’re walking out, so Jax is unable to push this any further. I smile at Duke as he approaches, and he studies Jax and then me. “Is there a problem here?”
“No, Jax was just going over something I didn’t do correctly, it was nothing major, Duke,” I lie.
He looks to Jax and Jax acts as if we were actually discussing something like that, not arguing about who is more jealous than the other person. “Yeah, all good,” he says, almost sounding bored. “I have a speech to make.”
He breezes past me, and Duke and I both follow. I hope our excuse was enough to stop Duke asking questions, or even being suspicious, because that’s the last thing I need right now.
No one can find out about Jax and me.
Not right now anyway.
* * *
The night is long and the meetings and events seem to go on for hours. By the time we’re done, it’s past one a.m. Jax orders the cleanup and then all of us head up to the penthouse to rest. Because security is so high, we all decide we can take a break and have a much needed sleep. No one is going to get into this apartment without one of us waking up. Not to mention they’d have to get through three of us to reach Jax. It takes a bit of rearranging, but we manage to create enough sleeping space. Duke and Devon crash out first, snoring in a matter of minutes. They’re probably exhausted.
Jax is in his room, no doubt already sleeping after doing some brooding about the night, so I take the time to have a much needed shower. I’m not like the men, where I can just throw myself into bed and sleep. I need to unwind and allow myself to relax, so I gather all my awesome-smelling shampoos, conditioners and lotions and head into the bathroom, closing the door softly.
I strip out of my clothes and peer into the mirror. God, I look a mess. My hair is dull and my eyes are tired. I need to wash it and give myself some life back. I pinch my cheeks and then sigh as it does nothing but make me look like I have some kind of allergy. I give up and step into the shower, and spend the next twenty minutes making myself feel good again. When I’m done I pull on a nightie and panties, and head out.