Page 18 of Unguarded

I move toward the back door as heat creeps up my chest and into my cheeks. I can’t bring myself to utter another word before escaping into the confines of my bedroom, shutting the door, and locking it behind me.

Fuck, fuck, fuck!

I nibble on my fingernails as I walk into the bathroom to turn on the water. I check my phone to see a text from Ember.

Ember

Well, if that doesn’t convince him to stay, I don’t think anything will.

The photographer’scamera flashes over my skin. The studio room of my house has natural light and plenty of room for the cameras and equipment, so that I don’t have to leave my house every time Sun Records needs a new picture for a T-shirt.

“That’s it, beautiful. Tilt your head back for me.” The photographer holds his camera higher, snapping more photos.

The pink stilettos I’m wearing pinch my toes, but I’m used to the discomfort.

“Turn your face left, look at the wall.”

I obey, my eyes meeting Cash’s as he observes from the door. He’s watching me, but his expression is unreadable. Since the incident on the patio, we haven’t spoken. My cheeks heat at the memory.

“Okay, darling, can we lose the jacket?” the photographer asks.

I’m only wearing a white lace bra underneath, but I shed the white leather jacket and toss it to the side. The matching miniskirt is riding up in the back, so I tug it down.

“Gorgeous, lovely. Lean forward.” Snap, snap.

Cash adjusts his cowboy hat. I’m dying to know what he’s thinking after what happened outside. He seems so stoic and unaffected by seeing me naked.

That’s why you hired him. That’s what you need.

It’s fucked up, but a tiny part of me is dying to know if he liked what he saw.

7

CASH

Monroe Blue has the body of a goddess. She’s the most irresistible woman I’ve ever laid eyes on, ever even dared to imagine. My attraction to her was already at a dangerous level for me to be able to do my job effectively, but now that I’ve seen her completely naked, I can’t get her glorious, bouncing tits out of my mind. The tiny dips and curves of her waistline to her shapely hips, framing her delicious-looking pussy, are going to torture me for the rest of my time on this earth.

And her thighs … her thighs would feel fucking delectable tightening around my face.

It took less than three seconds for me to stamp the image of her body into my memory, permanently.

She’s just a woman, just a gorgeous female client you’re being paid a shit ton of money to protect.

This. Is. A. Job. Nothing more.

She also has a boyfriend and is wildly out of your league.

Every straight man in his right mind sees her that way.

I’m not a slave to my desires, and I secretly pride myself on my self-control. Out of all my brothers, I’m the one with the level head. I think before I act. I make decisions based on logic and future repercussions.

For example, making a move on someone like Monroe would never end well for me; therefore, it’ll never happen. I won’t allow it to happen.

“That’s it, honey, so sexy. Let me fix this.”

If the photographer wasn’t clearly batting for the other team, I’d be questioning the intentions of his hands adjusting the lacey hemline of the tiny miniskirt the stylist team put her in. His fingertips graze just below her ass cheeks as he pushes the skirt up to reveal more of her skin. My jaw clenches as I take a tiny step toward them.

I try to slow my increasing heart rate by inhaling two deep breaths. He’s just doing his job.

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