I Can See You — 18+ 🌶️

Kenzi’s new bodyguard drove her to distraction. Or insanity. It all felt the same to her lately. All her thoughts? He owned them all. It was pathetic, really. But she never could resist the lure of a confident man. He wasn’t arrogant but never faltered in the face of her celebrity and all it entailed. No, he swept through the world as if he owned it, keeping her safe and embedding himself into the fabric of her inner lusty musings.

He was beautiful, though she could only see half his face due to the surgical masks he wore to protect his identity. It didn't matter; something about him drew her into his orbit. She couldn’t take her eyes off him when he entered a room.

For weeks, she had stolen glances and tried to engage him in conversation, and when that didn’t work, she pointedly ignored him. Her new bodyguard was somewhat impervious to her usual tricks. He looked at her to ensure she followed, only touching her to help her into or out of the myriad of vehicles she found herself inside.

He would sit across from her, crystal eyes locked on the window as she scrolled through her phone and pretended she wasn’t watching him. He was tall and well-built, filling out the black suit most delightfully. And those goddamn eyes.

She felt she was being pinned in place every time they met hers. She knew his first name, Tyler, but she hadn’t asked for his last name as she wanted him to tell her.

He hadn’t much to her dismay. Last night, she performed the ultimate show of her tour, and he had been in her line of sight during the after-party. She wore the skimpy leotard she’d worn for her closing song, dancing and drinking with her tour mates, while he watched her every move like a hawk.

His gaze had been a scalding brand on her back, her face, and when she’d gone to the bathroom, he’d shadowed her every step, and her ill-advised lust had run rampant. All she could hear was her heartbeat in her ears, their thunderous echoing footsteps as they walked down a dim hallway, and the leash she had kept on her wandering mind snapped.

The things she saw inside her head had almost taken her legs out from under her. Tyler brushed past her to check the bathroom was empty; in her mind, he turned, grabbed her by the throat, and shoved her up against the wall, mask pulled down before he kissed her stupid.

She was almost gasping for breath when he did, in fact, turn to her, but all he did was nod and hold the door open for her. She’d ducked under his arm, slammed the door, locked it, and spent frantic minutes trying to calm herself down. He smelled like spice, heat, and something smoky that did nothing to cool the embers burning low in her stomach. The party after that had been a blur of faces, Tyler’s unrelenting gaze, and a profound awareness of his closeness in the car ride home until she’d collapsed into bed.

It had been a highly frustrating time for Kenzi, and she had resorted to daydreaming, which had soon transformed into the filthiest dreams she’d ever had. He was always faceless in her dreams—a blur with sapphire eyes that could have devoured worlds with the burn in them.

The moment from the night before had left her flustered and on edge all day. And it was all made worse because he was her solo guard tonight and would haunt her house while she failed to sleep. The rest of the guards stationed themselves around the property and guarded her mother while she carried out some of the trickier aspects of her daughter’s fame. She had eaten a lonely dinner while Tyler checked the house was intruder-free for the umpteenth time that evening.

As she curled up on the couch, mindless reality TV shows playing to drown out the thoughts racing in her head, he appeared in the doorway and spoke some of the few words he was willing to give her. She idly wondered what he would do if she touched him.

“All is secure. I’ll do another check while you sleep.”

She nodded, forcing a smile as his eyes skipped over everything in the room but her. “Thank you. If you need anything to eat or drink, take it.” She always offered, and he always shook his head and said...

“Thanks. I have all that I need.”

Biting back a groan, she nodded again and turned back to the TV just before her veneer of a smile slid off her face, and she was back to scowling at her phone.

Lana: How’s it going with Tyler? ;-) Have you seen what’s under that suit yet?

She only told Lana about her silly little crush and trusted the woman with her life, as she’d been there long before the world knew Kenzi’s name. Chuckling bitterly, she tapped out a brief reply and snorted at her answer before she tossed the phone aside.

Lana: Just grab him by the tie, use it to lead him straight to your bed... then call me in the morning to tell me EVERYTHING!!!

Not that simple, though she dearly wished it were. He worked for her; his job was to protect her, and she knew the many reasons she shouldn’t even try it. Even so, she wanted him. Her growing attraction took up a lot of real estate in her brain, despite knowing he might never reciprocate her secret emotions.

He took his duty as a bodyguard seriously. They were to ensure Kenzi remained amongst the living, even if that cost them their lives, a fact she did not take lightly and did all she could to make up for that risk. Once before, she had given in when attraction bloomed between her and a guard. It had ended in disaster, and he still liked to tell the tale of their short time together to news outlets.

Her life was one giant fishbowl, and everything had to be kept secret until she was ready to deal with the world interfering. He would either reject her and look for a new client, or he’d accept, and she’d go through all the shit again and become a national lightning rod for slut shaming.

Still, she could sense him behind her. Like her entire nervous system had attuned to his, sparking alight whenever he drew close, her mind filled with maroon smoke once more. The night outside her window was black velvet, and though she couldn’t see anything, she knew her guards were out patrolling and would glance through the windows to ensure she was okay. She decided to call it a night when Tyler called her name for the first time, and her heart jumped into her throat, very much enjoying the way it rolled off his rusty tongue.

“Kenzi, James needs me for a moment. I won’t be gone long. You have your pepper spray?”

She rolled her eyes before she could stop herself, her heart sinking a little at his leaving even for a little while, and hurried to cover it. “Yes. That’s fine. I’ll see you in the morning.”

There was a snappish tone to her voice, and she cringed internally as his eyes filled with confusion, but she stalked off before he could question her. She felt his stare until she climbed the stairs and bolted inside her bedroom, face burning red. Slumping against the door, heart rattling and head shaking, she cursed her hormones and thought she would have to fuck some sense back into herself one night when he wasn’t on Kenzi duty. Maybe it would take the edge off, and she would realize how stupid she was acting.

He watched her like he was memorizing her, and it kept confusing her. He spoke to no one. Not even his colleagues. The other guards mentioned him solely to recommend him and point out his overqualification. He was distractingly silent, an enigma made into a man, and utterly clueless to her secret imaginings. It pissed her off as she skittered over to her four-poster bed.

Throwing herself down on the plush mattress, she muffled her groan into her pillow and willed her face to cool down. Idiot. She was an absolute imbecile to think she had the right to be mad at him for doing his job well. Repeating it in her head did nothing to stifle the pornographic images in her thoughts. She was going mad observing him, imagining all the ways he could take her apart and put her back together, desperately trying not to feel what she was feeling.

But it was useless. He was in her head, in her home, and wouldn’t leave. She wasn’t sure she wanted him out. No, she wanted him in. She wanted him in so deeply that she forgot her name and could only scream his. So deep she would forget what a terrible idea it was, and skin and teeth and grasping hands erased the fear of being caught.

Maddening, that’s what it was. She rolled onto her back with a huff as flame flared in her core, and she heard him returning to the house. She fancifully thought she could feel him moving around, silent and purposeful as he combed the house for threats to her, and she pressed her thighs together, annoyed with the constant burn.

Her heart kicked up a racing beat as she heard him slowly climb the stairs. He rarely came up here unless she was asleep. He tried to give her as much privacy as he could, which only endeared her to him more. She sat bolt upright as his steps came toward her door. This was new. She wasn’t entirely sure what to do when he knocked on her door.

Panic bloomed out of control, like an invasive vine had taken root in her lungs and was strangling her from the inside. Her hands shook, wide eyes burning holes through the door like she would see through it if she only stared hard enough. Holding her breath, sure she had imagined it, she bit her lip to trap a squeal as he knocked again, harder this time. Before she could stop herself, she spoke the words that sealed her fate.

“Come in, Tyler.”

With a weighted pause, the floorboards outside her door creaked as he shifted on his feet, and her chest was screaming for air as the door slowly slid open and he darkened her doorway. Scrambling to her feet, Kenzi eyed him warily as he came inside and left the door open. She wasn’t sure how she knew, but something was different; his usual cold aloofness was gone, and he almost looked nervous; she liked it. It put him on similar ground to her and made her brave.

“Is everything okay? You look worried,” She said, arching a brow and waiting for him out as he seemed to struggle for words behind the mask.

He looked away from her, a hand lifting to scratch at the back of his neck, and she had to bite her tongue to keep from snapping at him to speak. She hated feeling so unsure and had never felt so unhinged around a man, despite what the media claimed. It annoyed and picked at her pride that he was so quiet and immovable. But tonight, she felt in the air that something had changed, and her skin buzzed slightly like a current ran underneath the surface as he finally gave voice to whatever it was he’d been thinking about. And her flimsy hope he’d come to ravish her died a bloody death.

“You seemed upset earlier. Do you have any complaints about my service?”

Sighing, she shook her head and looked away, breaking the intense eye contact he’d reeled her in with, “I’m not upset. You do a fine job. Don’t worry about that...” She trailed off, glanced at him again, and found him frowning, but there was a spark of something she didn’t recognize in his lovely eyes. Then he had to open his mouth again.

“You sound upset. Is there something I should know? Something you’re worried about?”

“I’m not upset!” She cursed inwardly; her high-pitched shout only made his eyes darken more, and they shimmered with humor at her expense. Backtracking, blaming him, she went on, “I wasn’t upset until you came in and said I was! Everything is fine; you are doing fine, and I think I’ll sleep upstairs tonight.”

She grabbed her robe and pulled it on, feeling too exposed in her shorts and tank top, before she pushed past his towering frame and left the room, practically running for the stairs when he followed. The upstairs suite was mainly for guests, but she slept there when the weather was crazy. Tonight, it was her that was out of control, and she needed to lock herself in and get over this stupidity so she could look him in the eye again.

She was halfway down the dark hallway when a firm hand wrapped around her upper arm and hauled her to a stop. Whirling, long blonde hair flying around her face, she glared at him and immediately stopped at what she saw. Her body tensed as her eyes took in his mask-less face.

His lapis eyes glinted in the frail light filtering through the window. And she hadn’t pictured him with a neat beard, but it suited him, and she suddenly wanted to scratch her nails through it. She curled her hands into fists to keep from doing that as he crowded her and raked his eyes over her face. The blood in her veins stilled as he lowered his head and breathed deeply, restarting again when he tilted his pretty head. Her temper sparked at his ongoing silence, and she tried to tug her arm out of his grip, but he only held her harder until she gave in and huffed.

“What? This isn’t part of your job description, Tyler.”

He wasn’t afraid of her; she knew that, and when she met his eye, a spark caught in their azure depths, quick and hot, and she relaxed an inch.

“Can you please explain why you’re upset? I’m not leaving until you do. I take my job seriously, Kenzi.”

Oh, fuck her gently. Tomorrow, she was issuing a PR statement to inform the world that only he could call her by her name. The sound was rich and rough, smooth and harsh all at the same time. It lifted the hair on her nape, sending butterflies flying in her stomach. She registered his comment late, and immediately, her emotions shifted back to outrage.

“I don’t have to tell you anything. I want to sleep, and you’re keeping me from it.”

He sighed, a shake of his head as his mouth curled into a smirk so sensual she wanted to whimper as her dirty dreams played in her mind with vivid clarity.

“No, you’re lying. Tell me the real reason, Kenzi. I’m not leaving until you do.”