Guarding His Heart Read online

  Which made Mark’s life potentially about a million times more dangerous.

  Drunk Christian didn’t seem to mind that Mark had scared him earlier. Drunk Christian had no problem with getting close to Mark, so close that Mark could smell beer and sweat and something else, something distinctly Christian.

  “You should go to bed,” Mark said. Which really wasn’t okay. It wasn’t the way he would normally address his client. Honestly, it was none of his business what Christian did here, if he went to bed or not.

  The young man shook his blond head.

  “No way. I want to watch a movie. A stupid comedy. Come watch with me!”

  Christian suddenly reached out and took Mark’s wrist, tugging him in the direction of the living room. Mark gave a soft groan, hating that he was going along with this.

  What was the harm? Hopefully Christian would fall asleep during the movie, and then Mark could go to bed. That would be good. Keep him from making an idiot of himself, or worse, taking advantage of someone who was drunk.

  “Fine,” he decided. He could keep saying no, but what was the point? Christian had always said he needed a more casual relationship than any of Mark’s other clients had. Maybe this would calm him down about that a bit.

  Mark sat down, and it felt good. He was used to standing for long periods, of course, but his feet appreciated the break. It felt strange and weird and wrong to be sitting with his client right there, of course, but he figured he was just going to need to deal with that.

  He did shift over a little when Christian flopped down beside him. Only it was so close, that it was really almost in Mark’s lap. Which was an intriguing thought but that just made him more sure than ever that he should stay away from that temptation.

  Far, far away from it.

  Which was, of course, pretty much the last thing he could do, since his damn job involved being around the source of his temptation pretty much all the time.

  Christian had picked a brainless comedy, something that didn’t take a lot of thought. Mark hadn’t seen it before, so he was glad for that. It wasn’t going to be all that difficult to follow the plot.

  Which was good, because in between watching out for threats to Christian, dealing with his own attraction to the young man, and kicking himself for that attraction, he didn’t have a lot of mental energy to follow a convoluted plot.

  “Hey, Mark?” Christian asked, after a few minutes had passed.

  Mark turned to look at him, and that seemed to be exactly what Christian wanted, because the moment he did, Christian was taking his hand. Before he had enough time to even figure out what was going on, much less whether it should be or not, Christian was leaning in to kiss him.

  Only maybe that was all bullshit, the part about him not being able to stop it. His reflexes were superb. Certainly better than those of someone who was drunk. Maybe he had enough time to stop it, and just didn’t. In fact, given his training, that was certainly the case.

  Christian’s lips were warm and soft, and tasted just a little of beer. When they pressed against Mark’s lips, it felt like time stopped, stood completely still. Nothing else mattered. Kissing Christian was all there was in the world.

  With the softest of groans, Mark wrapped his arms around the other man. For just a few seconds, he let himself experience the sweetness that was kissing a beautiful young man, a man he’d been unable to stop thinking about from the moment he’d met him.

  The kiss was better than any other that he’d experienced. Christian knew what he was doing, and Mark found himself pulling the young man close, enjoying the heat of his body against him, giving in, just for a moment, to the pleasure and arousal that his neglected body told him in no uncertain terms that it was feeling.

  However.

  Christian was drunk, and Christian was straight (or so Mark had assumed until now) and Christian was his client. All of these were very good reasons for him not to be kissing this man. Good reasons for him to let go, to back away, to stop this before it went further.

  Mark wanted so very, very badly for it to go further. As far as Christian would allow.

  However, Mark had ethics. He had a code of things that he believed, that some things were right, and some things were wrong. Making out with a drunk young man, that was wrong. Especially in their current situation.

  So he pulled away. His lips were tingling, and his cock, in his pants, was throbbing like it could explode any second. But he forced himself away and took a deep breath to try to get himself together, to gather his willpower up, to resist, if Christian wanted to continue.

  He almost lost all of that willpower the moment he saw the beautiful young man looking at him, lips slightly swollen from their kisses, eyes huge and bright. He knew that all he had to do was take Christian. That the pretty young man was ready. That he was just waiting for Mark to pull him close again and do whatever he wanted to him.

  Cursing inside his head, Mark pulled away from Christian.

  “Now I really think it’s bedtime,” he said, and cursed himself for how suggestive the words could sound, if one were in a certain frame of mind.

  Judging from how Christian grinned at him, he was in that very mind frame. He shifted closer to Mark, and his voice was low and husky when he spoke.

  “Bed sounds good to me.”

  If there had been a time when doing the right thing had been this difficult, Mark couldn’t remember it.

  “You need to sleep this off.” Mark honestly believed that. If Christian were seriously drunk enough to want to make out, and more, with his own bodyguard, then he definitely needed to get some rest.

  “Take me there.” Christian’s full lips traced the sound of the words, making them sound inherently seductive. Honestly, when Christian turned on the charm like this, Mark sort of felt like he could make anything sound sexy.

  A request to take him somewhere, though, that sounded good. Way too good. He would love to take him. Show the boy what it was like to sleep with a man. They’d know soon enough just how straight or not Christian was …

  He rose to his feet. The best idea, he figured, was to do as Christian asked. Bringing Christian to his room would be tempting in the short term, but all he’d need to do was get through that and he was home free.

  He had the idea that, in the morning, Christian wouldn’t be nearly as flirtatious. He wasn’t drunk enough that he wouldn’t remember this, and hopefully, the embarrassment would keep him from trying anything again.

  The more Mark had to resist this beautiful man, the more difficult it got, and he didn’t see that changing anytime soon. His willpower was seriously stretched, and he just had to hope that it wouldn’t completely break.

  “Come on, kiddo,” Mark said, deliberately keeping his voice light, though he wanted to growl out the words. But that wasn’t what this was. He wasn’t taking this man to bed for a fun time. He was taking him there because that’s where he needed to go. To sleep.

  Christian draped himself over Mark, and when his hips, just for a second, came into contact with Mark’s body, Mark would have been willing to swear on a stack of Bibles that the man was hard. It didn’t matter, he told himself. It didn’t matter. Nor did it matter that Mark was equally hard.

  When they got to Christian’s bedroom, the aroused, drunken young man fell down into bed. As he did, he wrapped his arms around Mark, trying to pull him down with him.

  If Mark lay down on that bed with Christian, it was all over. He had been tested more than he ever could remember having happened in his life. Everyone had limits. He hadn’t come up against his own limits many time in his life, but this was an exception.

  So he dodged Christian’s arms, and at the same time, he eased the young man down until he was comfortably lying in bed.

  Christian pouted at him. There was nothing else that he could call what the younger man did. He looked up at Mark imploringly, eyes wide, lips pursed and pouty. It was far too compelling, far too adorable.

  “You didn’t c
ome to bed with me,” Christian complained, and Mark shook his head. No, he hadn’t, and no, he wouldn’t. Never.

  Or, at least, not when Christian was drunk. Which was, when he thought about it a little bit, much different from ‘never’.

  “Go to sleep,” he told him, and he pulled the blanket over the younger man’s body, which helped, because it covered it. Christian was far too sexy otherwise.

  Although he looked pretty adorable, all snuggled up under the covers. Still sexy, but in a different way. A way that threatened to tug at Mark’s heartstrings in a way that Christian’s overt sex appeal didn’t.

  Mark turned away, because sitting around staring at the young man as he slept was, well, more than a little creepy. Besides, he had his own bed to get to. It was quite late, and he had to be ready for anything that happened.

  He had already moved on, even if he hadn’t left the room, so he was quite surprised when he felt a hand close around his wrist, when he looked back to see that Christian had sat up a little in his bed and was propping himself up with one elbow.

  “Stay,” he said, and his tone was plaintive. Almost begging. More than anything, in that moment, Mark wanted to give up, to let it happen, to fall into that soft bed and see just how far Christian wanted to go.

  Why he said what he did, he wasn’t sure. It was a terrible idea. Christian’s grip was weak enough that Mark easily could have broken it, after all, and Christian wouldn’t be able to keep Mark here if he really wanted to go.

  “If you still want me to stay tomorrow, when you’re sober, I will,” he told him. He wanted to say more. How he would give Christian the ride of his life, if he let him. But he figured even what he had said was bad enough.

  Well. There was always the very strong chance that Christian, in the cold light of day, would never even come close to considering taking him up on that. Whatever weirdness had come over the young man that had caused him to kiss Mark, it wouldn’t be able to withstand the weight of sobriety.

  Yes, that was definitely the most likely outcome. And it seemed to work, because Christian nodded and let go of Mark’s wrist, falling back into the bed. His head even miraculously managed to find the pillow.

  Before more than a few seconds had passed, Christian was out. He looked different asleep. Peaceful. Still, it wasn’t Mark’s style to sit around and watch, so he slipped out of the room before he could get enthralled.

  What would it be like, he thought to himself, as he walked through the house making sure everything was locked up, to have Christian all tired out for him? To be able to keep him in bed, keep him busy, until he passed out, not from alcohol but from sex?

  Mark knew he could do it, if Christian wanted him to. Hell, he could have done it that very night, if he didn’t have ethics. Damn ethics. He could have made it so good that Christian got hooked.

  Or he sure the hell could have tried, anyway.

  He was going to have to come to grips with the fact that Christian wasn’t straight. Mark didn’t know if Christian thought he was or what, but with what had just happened, he had to change his mind. Alcohol or not, no straight guy would come onto another guy like Christian had just come on to Mark.

  It had been much, much easier when he’d thought that Christian was straight. Now that was one reason not to touch the younger man that was completely gone. Of course, there were still so many, but …

  Groaning softly, Mark made his way to his guesthouse. He shut the door, checked to make sure that his phone was plugged in, ready for the text that would have him back on duty, and then fell into bed.

  His mind was made up. He was just going to sleep. No matter how hard he was, how those kisses had turned him on, he absolutely was not going to do anything about it. He had felt so guilty the previous night, and he wouldn’t do that to himself again.

  Especially not now that it would be encouraging himself to think something actually could happen with Christian. It was more of a bad idea than ever, and that was definitely saying something.

  He tossed and turned after making that decision, though, and the whole time, his cock never softened. He waited and waited, he did his best to ignore it, but nothing helped. He was as swollen, as sensitive, as ever.

  Well. Wasn’t it better to jerk off than to go back into Christian’s room and see just how serious the pretty young man was about letting Mark into his bed? Yes, he would feel guilty, but not as much as if he didn’t and his behavior suffered for it.

  With that decision made, he grasped himself. It took only a very few quick, desperate jerks of his hand before it was all over.

  Then, he was able to sleep.

  Chapter Six

  Christian

  Christian very seriously considered never coming out of his room. Ever. Or at least not until enough time had passed that no one thought he was famous anymore.

  He wouldn’t need a bodyguard then. Mark could leave, and then, maybe, in time, Christian could force himself to open the door to his bedroom and scurry out.

  Christian was just flat out amazed with himself. How could he do something like that? He had been drunk, yes, but not drunk enough to forget. Not drunk enough to have any real excuse for hitting on another man.

  More than that, too, he remembered how Mark had reacted. He remembered how he’d left, even when Christian had asked (begged!) him not to. He was pretty sure Mark had kissed him back, and he remembering smugly thinking about how hard Mark was, he’d been pleased with himself for arousing him.

  Thankfully, though, Mark hadn’t pushed it. Thankfully. Right?

  It was Mark’s behavior that made him realize that he probably could leave the room, after all. That if he wanted, he could just pretend it had never happened, and Mark would do the same.

  And he was right. When he nodded to Mark, Mark nodded back, without even the slightest trace of an expression on his face. Mark wouldn’t make him think about this ever again. He could ignore that this had ever happened.

  His behavior was nothing but an anomaly, a strange thing that had happened only once and never would again. He could go on with his life, and Mark, thankfully, was smart enough not to think there was anything more to it.

  As the days passed and as Mark and a veritable horde of security people got Christian’s house fully fitted out with cameras, motion sensor lights, and probably more things that Christian didn’t really understand, very slowly, Christian’s relief in the matter turned to something else.

  He had been fascinated by Mark before, but as he saw how the other man worked, as he realized that Mark was, in fact, completely willing to be a gentleman, when he remembered how Mark hadn’t taken advantage of him while he was drunk, he started to think of him more than ever.

  His house was safe, because of Mark, too. Because Mark ordered the security team around with confidence and dominance that, frankly, started to turn Christian on.

  It started to confuse him, because he’d never been this drawn to another man before. Certainly not a man as strong and forceful as Mark. He did his best to push the feelings away. He even considered finding a pretty girl to take to bed to shove Mark firmly out of his head, but the idea didn’t appeal.

  Which was weird all in itself. One of the best things about becoming a bit of a local celebrity was that it had been a lot easier to get laid. He knew he could do it, and without any problems at all.

  The point was, she, whoever she was, wouldn’t be Mark. And even if it made no sense to him, it wasn’t just some random hook up that he wanted. Even if he had, though, he couldn’t even seriously think about taking anyone to bed but Mark.

  That idea, though, started to become one he was obsessed with.

  * * *

  As the days passed and turned into weeks, as the preparations for going on tour swung into full force, Christian tried to lose himself in his music, in practicing, and even in writing a few new songs. After all, there would have to be an album after this one.

  Most of all, though, he tried to push Mark out of his mind.
He tried to keep busy enough that the older man became nothing more to him than what he was supposed to be, Christian’s bodyguard.

  Until one night when he was lying in bed, far aware of the humming throb of arousal in his own body. Aware of how damn hard he was, and aware, too, that his own hand wasn’t going to do it for him. He’d been jerking off way too much, and it wasn’t going to be enough.

  And that’s when it was all suddenly too much.

  Even though he’d been drunk, Christian had remembered what Mark had said. How he’d heavily implied that he would be interested in sleeping with Christian, but only if he still wanted it when he was sober.

  Was it possible that the offer still stood?

  Once he’d allowed the idea into his head, it was impossible to banish it again. No matter how much he tried, he couldn’t stop thinking about it.

  For another hour, he tried. He made all sorts of excuses. Mark was probably asleep. He worked hard, after all. Even if Mark was awake, he probably hadn’t meant it when he’d said that Christian could come to him when he was sober. And even if he had meant it back then, it had been a long time since then.

  It was pointless. His body knew what it wanted. It didn’t make any sense at all to Christian. He’d never wanted a man before. But Mark, it seemed, was different, and it seemed inevitable that he would finally raise himself to his feet, put on some comfortable clothes, the first he laid his hands on that were easy to put on and would therefore be easy to take off.

  As he dressed and headed out of his room, one thought comforted him. Either way, this would be over tonight.

  Maybe Mark would turn him down. Then Christian could let go of this ridiculous obsession. Or maybe Mark wouldn’t, and Christian would know, finally, what it was like to sleep with him. Then he could move on, go back to taking advantage of all the perks to being a semi famous rockstar.

  In short, either way, he would get this out of his system. And that was what comforted him as he walked barefoot across the lawn.

  It had only been a month since he’d first met him. Since Mark had saved him. Funny how much the man had gotten into his head since them.