Page 21 of Stuck with a Billionaire Rockstar

God, could he be any more off-base with his flirting?

I steal a glance at Julia, making sure I keep track of her reactions to him, and she scrunches her nose at his question. “Uh, I’m actually here with my friend and would rather spend my afternoon with her. Thanks for the offer, though.”

The guy chuckles, and Julia hisses, causing my eyes to fall to where his hand is still wrapped around hers and I can tell he’s still gripping it tightly. I’m going to explode if he doesn’t get the hell off her. “Come on, just for a little bit. I could make it worth your while.”

“She said no, or do you not understand that word?” I mutter while crossing my arms and straightening my spine. I’ve known to intimidate many people because of all the tattoos covering my body paired with my height and muscles, so I expect one of the guys to back down when I ask the question.

I’m surprised when the idiot groans and throws his head back. “Don’t you have somewhere better to be? Get out of here, dude.” He looks to his friend and punches his arm. “Can you believe this guy?” Meanwhile, the friend looks more uncomfortable by the minute as he darts his gaze between the two of us, and I smirk at the fact.

“No, actually, because you’re touching someone who doesn’t belong to you or want you for that matter. She’s told you no, and that should be respected.”

He smiles, then throws a wink in Julia’s direction. “She’s just playing hard to get, that’s all.”

Mallory snorts but otherwise doesn’t say anything. That’s not my style, though. “Or she’s trying to let you know, respectfully, that she belongs to someone else.” I take a couple of steps closer to the four of them, planting myself in the middle of their group, and glare at the stranger in front of me. “Now, take your hand off my girl before I make you.”

His smile drops, and in its place is a snarl. “Whatever, she’s not actually that cute anyway. Have fun.”

As the two guys walk away, Mallory tugs on my arm, and I look at her over my shoulder. She’s got a frown on her face, eyes darting between me and her best friend, then asks, “What the hell was that about? ‘Take your hand off my girl?”

I wave a hand in Julia’s direction and sigh. “Clearly, he wasn’t going to let her walk away; I had to think of something that would get him to back off.” That’s what I want to keep telling myself, but the truth is I didn’t like seeing another man’s hands on her when I just had them all over her last night.

When I look over at Julia, she’s got her hand clutched against her chest as she rubs the sensitive space where the stranger was holding it, and I walk over to her with my lips tipped into a concerned frown. “Julia, are you okay?”

She takes in a few shaky breaths, then nods with a small smile. “Great,” she says happily, but she notices the unconvinced look on my face and leans forward. “Really, Brent. I’m good.” Julia taps Mallory’s arm and hikes a thumb over her shoulder toward the trail that leads back onto the resort. “Can we just head back, maybe get something to eat? Not really feeling this anymore.”

I can tell Mallory was wanting to enjoy the sand and water, but she shrugs as if it’s nothing and says, “Sure, babe, whatever you want to do.” Before my sister walks away, she lets Julia walk ahead of her and leans into me to whisper, “Thanks for doing that. The guy was a total creep and not at all the type Julia would go for.”

“Guess I’m useful after all on the trip, huh?”

Mallory smiles and sticks her tongue out at me, something we used to always do as kids, then says, “Don’t get your hopes up on that, but you’ve redeemed yourself a bit.”

My gaze follows Julia’s frame as she walks slowly along the sand, trailing her bare feet in it slowly with each step she takes, and I peruse the rest of her body. She’s got this bright yellow bikini on that looks more sinful than the other one did, showing off every single curve she has, but I’m not sure she notices at times, and I have to bite back a groan that’s desperate to escape.

I watch the girls disappear around the corner, making sure those guys don’t decide to follow them now that I’m not there, then turn back to the ocean that’s crashing ahead of me. I’ve built this reputation as the bad boy in our band, but the truth is I’m much more caring and considerate than my fans give me credit for.

There’s nothing bad about me.

I help when people are in need, I’m loyal to a fault, and I wear my heart on my sleeve. That’s why I can’t trust what this situation with Julia is making me feel. I’ve been burned before when my feelings got more intense than they were supposed to.

There’s not one woman I’ve come into contact with who didn’t just want me for the fame and fortune that comes alongside me. Is there a chance that Julia is nothing like those women? Absolutely, there is, and I want to believe that about her, but what if this is a ruse to get part of my fortune? What if there’s something more manipulating and vindictive under her shy exterior that no one else can see? That I’ve been missing all these years of knowing her.

I’ll make myself go crazy if I keep having these thoughts, but it’s the one thing I can’t stop thinking about. I barely slept because of the same thoughts last night, wondering what I can do to distance myself from Julia after I’d just offered to help her. That would paint me in a bad light, and that’s not what I want to do.

What I want is something I can’t have, and that’s Julia moaning my name as I slam myself into her.

Everything about this situation is telling me I either need to be honest with her, or I need to run away as fast as I possibly can because neither of us are walking away unscathed.

How do I distance myself when I can’t keep myself from looking for her in a crowd of people?

11

Julia

It’s a few hours later when Mallory and I walk through the restaurant doors, but there’s something hanging in the air that I can’t put my finger on. Mallory wasn’t her usual talkative self throughout most of the day after our run-in with those guys on the beach, which is concerning, and that’s why I’m going to ask her about it once we get to a table.

There’s a large crowd of people waiting in the entrance, forcing me and Mallory to squeeze through the bodies to get inside.“Hi!” One of the hostesses behind the counter says, giving us a small wave in greeting along with a bright and welcoming smile. “How many for you tonight?”

Mallory nudges my shoulder with a frown and shakes her head. “Maybe we should try to go somewhere else,” she mutters.

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