Redek (Barbarian Bodyguards Book 2) Read online

  "And you can just control it? You can turn it on or off whenever you want? I thought you would have asked the intruders questions about who they were and what they wanted."

  "It's not that simple. When I'm in a rage I have complete tunnel vision. They were going to hurt you, so I killed them. I don't have the ability to hold back."

  She chewed her lip, pressing padding to his wound and beginning to wrap bandages around it. "You might need stitches," she warned. "They're deep cuts."

  "My skin is different than yours, it'll heal," he assured her.

  "So... you could hurt me when you're in this rage?" She couldn't get his slitted amber eyes from her mind, the thick cracks in his skin revealing so much muscle he could have snapped her like a twig. He still could, without being in a rage, if he wanted to.

  "I'd never hurt you. The tunnel vision isn't like that. I still know who's friend and who's foe, it's just when I've identified the foe I can't hold back."

  "That's interesting." She wasn’t sure he believed it. When he’d looked at her with those amber eyes, it was as though the man behind them was completely absent.

  "It's why my race became bodyguards in the first place. Suytov Securities isn't actually run by a Suytovian. It's run by someone who became interested in our culture and saw a way to put our differences to good use. We used to be either mercenaries or farmers, but our rages can't last long enough for an all-out battle, and farming makes no use of it at all. Bodyguarding, where there's normally a short incident, is the perfect use."

  She listened with rapt attention, putting the finishing touches to his bandage. "I'm done," she said. "Does it feel okay?"

  "I can barely feel it. It looked worse than it was."

  Now without a task, Maddie wrapped her arms around herself. Just around the corner was a dead assassin with two knives stuck in his throat.

  "You okay?" Redek asked.

  "Not really." She dug her fingernails into her upper arm. "I never thought I'd have to see something like that. I thought I was safe here."

  "You are safe. I'm not going to let anything happen to you."

  "I believe you. It's just, it's hard to feel safe even when I know you're here. Someone pointed a gun at me. I had to fire a gun." A shiver ran down her spine.

  "Damien will increase security even more after this. You'll be even safer."

  "You don't think he'll give me another bodyguard, do you?" she asked, eyes wide.

  "You wouldn't want one? It would be safer."

  "I don't want another one. I just want you." She'd gotten so used to it just being the two of them, even though it had only been a few days. She already knew Redek well enough to know if someone else was around he'd completely shut down. That she'd gotten through to him this much at all was a miracle.

  Redek's gaze burned into her, and heat rose in her cheeks.

  Maybe that had been too big of an admission without her realizing it.

  His jaw was set and she looked at his lips for just a second, feeling guilty for even thinking about what it would be like to kiss him right now.

  "Maddie—" His voice was deep and gravelly, and the knot of desire in her stomach only grew.

  Then the sound of the front door slamming downstairs rang through the house.

  Redek was immediately back to business. "Stay here," he said, handing her his remaining gun. "Don't be afraid to shoot if you have to."

  Maddie nodded toward the laptop, though. "It's just Damien. And police."

  Police were looking at the body, and Damien was looking around frantically, presumably for her. She watched him leave the living room for the stairs, and handed the gun back to Redek. "I've decided I don't like guns," she said, glad to have the metal out of her hands. "Naïve to not want to learn how to defend myself, I know," she muttered, but she remembered the feeling of pulling the trigger, of knowing that she might be about take someone's life, and shook her head. "I don't like it."

  Redek nodded but didn't verbally respond. He was distracted, burying himself away from the surface. It was hard to believe he was even the same man when he looked at her again. The fire from his eyes had died, replaced with a cold and unfeeling gaze.

  Maddie knew not to say anything. She began to pack her first aid supplies back into the box as Damien burst into the bedroom. "Maddie? Maddie, are you in here? Oh, Lord."

  "I'm in here," she said. "What happened? Are you okay?"

  She hadn't seen him since she found out about Redek's instructions to keep things strictly professional with her, and she was surprised by the sting of bitterness even after what had just happened.

  "I'm fine. I was in my study, and they must have missed it when they were looking for you. Are you okay?" He gave her a quick once-over, but she wasn't injured at all. Just shaken.

  "I'm fine. Redek didn't let them get anywhere near me."

  Damien gave Redek a once-over now, lingering on the arm wound. "Yes. I saw your handiwork, I'm very impressed. I'm pleased you kept her safe."

  There was a beat of silence, and then the police were in the doorway, talking about taking statements.

  And that was that. They went through the motions of having their statements taken and moving their essentials into the manor house where they'd stay until her house was clean again.

  The entire time, Redek was a rock beside her. He didn't say anything, he didn't touch her, and his mask never faltered, but he stood close enough that she could feel his heat, that if she stumbled he would have been able to steady her immediately.

  It was exactly what she needed, and the only thing that kept her sane as the day dragged on.

  5.

  REDEK

  Redek hated the manor house. His room was much bigger, much more ornate, but he felt even more under Damien's watchful eye there, and he spent their entire week-long stay with his hackles up, never relaxing.

  He was relieved when they got to move back to Maddie's house in the gardens.

  They'd still spent some time together, but their walks in the garden were restricted to within the view of the house because of Damien's paranoia that another attack might happen.

  Redek was suspicious of the entire arrangement. He didn't like the odds that an attack would happen just a few days into his appointment when the last one hadn't been for thirteen years. He didn't like that they'd somehow gotten through the supposedly impenetrable fortress of Damien’s compound. He didn't like that Damien spied on his ward twenty-four seven and didn't want her to have friends.

  The whole thing stank.

  When he'd asked Damien if there was any information on who the attackers had been, or how they'd gotten through the defenses, Damien had told him that it was a matter he was sorting out with his other security company. He said he didn't like to discuss matters like this with too many ears, even after Redek had argued that it would help him guard Maddie better.

  He didn't like it.

  He couldn't do anything about it without losing his job, but he didn't like it at all.

  His attempts at shutting Maddie down and staying away from her weren't doing much better, either. He couldn't get her voice from his head saying that she didn't want anyone else, the feel of her hot hand on his forearm as she wore her sincerity on her sleeve.

  So when they walked in the gardens together during the day, he talked to her as if she was a friend, even if it was directly against his instructions. He told her about his life, about the places he'd visited for work, and she was enamored by every story.

  She was so desperate to escape the life she had at the compound it made him deeply sad.

  All he wanted was to help her, but he couldn't without sacrificing everything himself.

  Back in her house, he followed her around as she looked in every room, seeing what had been moved and changed. She made a face when she entered her bedroom. "They cleaned."

  Her gaze shifted to where he'd murdered the intruder. The wallpaper and carpet must have been replaced to get rid of the blood, but they'd gotten
the exact same patterns.

  "I'm going to be sleeping in a room where someone died."

  "I'm sure Damien wouldn't mind if you wanted to keep staying in the manor house."

  "No," she replied immediately. "I want to be here. It's just a bit weird, that's all."

  "If you wanted to swap rooms I wouldn't mind."

  She smiled at him, and trying to stop his skin prickle with desire was impossible. "Thank you. It's fine, though, really. I like having the upstairs room. I like the view."

  "Okay. If you change your mind, though."

  "I'll let you know. I think I'm going to just chill. You can stay here, or do whatever. I don't mind."

  He wanted to sit on the end of her bed and talk for the rest of the evening, but the light on the camera in the corner winked at him, and he forced himself to leave. He'd just read. That always passed the time.

  He didn't know if enough books in the world existed to pass the rest of this job away without him giving into temptation, though.

  He hadn't even taken his day off this week because he was worried about leaving her alone. Not just because of attackers, but because of Damien, too.

  ***

  Redek was woken in the middle of the night by a shout from the bedroom above him. "No!" Maddie was screaming. "No! Stop. Please, please, no."

  He was on his feet immediately, charging up the stairs and bursting through her doorway expecting to see people dragging her out of the window and into a ship to carry her off.

  She was just having a nightmare, though. The beginnings of his rage died down. Her face was scrunched up and her legs kicked against the covers as she tossed and turned. "No!" she cried again, sobbing and cowering from an imagined foe.

  Redek didn't hesitate before sitting on the edge of her bed and holding her shoulders to stop her thrashing, trying to bring her out of the nightmare without scaring her more.

  "Maddie," he said softly. "Maddie, wake up. You're just dreaming. It's okay."

  She came out of the dream with a start, scrambling back against the headboard and then lifting her top and straining to see over her shoulder at something on her back.

  She rubbed her spine and took a deep breath. "Sorry. I woke you up."

  "It's okay. Are you all right?"

  "It was just a dream. It's a dream I've been having since I was a kid, you'd think I'd be used to it by now."

  She flicked her bedside lamp on and turned around, lifting her top.

  He opened his mouth to ask what she thought she was doing when he saw it. There was a thick scar on the center of her back, purple and silver. He'd reached out and ran his fingers down it before he realized what he was doing. "How did that happen?" he asked, pulling his hand back like he'd been burned.

  "It happened when my parents were killed. They attacked me, too, and this was the result. I've always had dreams about what happened. They're not real, it's not possible, but I guess my mind has to fill the gaps in my memory with something." She turned around and dropped her shirt again, cheeks flushed. "Thanks for waking me up. It's always nasty."

  "What happens in the dreams? You don't have to say, if you don't want."

  "I don't mind. They've always been with me. People in white coats come into my room and strap me down, and I see them with a knife coming to cut me open. I can't feel the rest of my body, but I'm awake, and then they cut me. I normally wake up then. I didn't get that far this time, you woke me up just when they'd strapped me down."

  She shivered and Redek frowned. "That's awful."

  "It's just one of those things. It doesn't happen that often."

  She tilted her head, looking at him. "You must have seen so many awful things, doing what you do. Do you ever have nightmares?"

  He shook his head, scarily aware of how close they were. He was still perched on the edge of her bed, his thigh pressed against hers, the thin comforter the only thing separating them. "I've never had nightmares."

  "I wish I didn't."

  "I probably should have nightmares. I think it says more about there being something wrong with my brain than yours."

  Maddie met his gaze unabashedly. "I don't think there's anything wrong with you."

  They looked at each other a bit too long, and Redek pulled back, standing up.

  Maddie snatched his hand, pulling him back down and pressing her lips against his.

  He'd seen it coming, he had faster reflexes. He could have stopped her, but he didn't.

  He cupped her face and kissed her softly, opening his mouth and prompting her to do the same. He knew she couldn't have kissed anyone before and he was gentle, even though his blood ran hot and his cock was already stirring in his pants.

  She was eager, pressing her chest against his and copying his mouth movements, looping her arms around his neck.

  When he opened his eyes he saw the camera pointing straight at them and pulled back with a jerk. "Shit, the cameras."

  Maddie kept her arms looped around his neck, following his movement so she was practically sitting in his lap. "It's off," she said, pecking him on the lips. "It's off because I wanted to touch myself, thinking about you in that bedroom beneath me," she murmured.

  That should have been his opportunity to stop and realize what he was doing, but he groaned at her words and kissed her again, harder this time. His hand was laced in her blonde curls. He ran his tongue against her bottom lip, and was rewarded with a shiver.

  She tried the same movement, and it went straight to his cock. He laid her down, and she was the one who tangled her legs with his, running a finger down the arms she'd spent so long staring at since they first met.

  He'd thought she'd be nervous about kissing him, about being in her bed with him. He'd spent more time thinking about this happening than he wanted to admit. But she wasn't—she was excited, fingers exploring every inch of him and kissing him without hesitation.

  When those fingers reached his cock and ran a single finger up the length of his hard shaft through his pants, he was the one worrying about moving too fast. He moved her hand away, but raised the heat a notch, doing his own exploring. His fingers explored up from her hip to her breast, where he rubbed his thumb over the hard nipple peeking through her pajama top. She gasped, breaking the rhythm of their kiss, arching her back into his hand.

  He slipped his hand beneath her top and kneaded both breasts, rolling her nipples between his thumb and forefinger and flicking them. Each time she writhed against him.

  His cock was so hard it was painful, and he was having to make a conscious effort to keep control. If it had been anyone else, anywhere else, and he was this turned on, he would have had her on her knees and been fucking her senseless by now, but with Maddie he had to take his time.

  He wanted her to feel cherished. He wanted to touch every inch of her, to learn her body.

  He wanted her to feel the best she'd ever felt before.

  Eventually he could take it no longer, though, as she palmed his cock through his pajama bottoms. He had to taste her.

  He broke their kiss and began kissing down her neck, wary not to leave any marks as he went. He pushed her top up, and she arched, pulling it off altogether and throwing it on the floor.

  Her tits were perfect. He palmed the right one, and took her left nipple into his mouth, sucking gently. "Oh my God," she whimpered, hips rolling against his stomach, which pressed against her as he teased her tits.

  It got to the point where she was begging to be fucked when he finally kissed lower to where her shorts clung to her sex, soaked through.

  She was completely unembarrassed even when he pulled them from her legs and licked from slit to clit. She pushed herself further into his face, spreading her legs as wide as they would go. "More," she begged.

  He licked her clit with a flat tongue, index finger teasing her entrance. She was so wet that it slipped in without resistance, and she moaned loudly. It was a good thing their little house was so far away from the manor.

  He didn't know when
he'd started thinking of it as their house.

  He curled his finger, pushing in a second and licking her harder. She arched her back, rolled her hips, and her breathing was so sharp he worried she was about to hyperventilate. Her fingers were painful in his hair, anchoring him to her pussy, but it only made him harder, and he wouldn't have wanted to move anywhere anyway.

  When she came apart she clamped her thighs around his head, moaning his name and breathing hard.

  "Holy shit," she muttered, releasing his head with a quick apology.

  He pressed a kiss to each of her inner thighs and came back to the top of the bed. She kissed his lips and her hand went immediately to his achingly hard cock, but he stopped her. She was exhausted. "It's fine," he said. "You should get some sleep."

  She stretched like a cat and then snuggled into his side. "Sure?"

  "I'm positive."

  "I'll make it up to you next time."

  He rubbed his thumb against her bicep, trying desperately to push away the shame that reared its head.

  She glanced at him, but she didn't say anything, even though she must have known what he was thinking.

  "Will you stay here tonight?" she asked. "The cameras will be off all night. We can cuddle."

  He didn't have the power to say no. They got under the comforter together and Maddie draped her body over him. He wrapped a large arm around her waist, and played with her hair.

  Maddie fell asleep in minutes, her palm pressed against his stomach and her face buried against his neck.

  Redek was wide awake, and spent the entire night wishing he could enjoy the sweet moment instead of being taunted by the question, What the fuck was he going to do now?

  6.

  REDEK

  By morning he'd reached his decision.

  It had been obvious all along what he should have done the moment he first saw Maddie and realized how easily he was going to fall for her. The moment it stopped being a regular job he should have left.