Page 9 of Get Undressed With Me

She hesitated, and Gus silently berated himself. He wasn’t here to argue with her. She just brought it out of him.

“I can send you money for the repairs.”

Fuck, this wasn’t what he was going for. He shook his head.

“I’m not here for money.”

“Well, whatever this is, I’m not in the mood. Just spit it out so I can tell you no, and we can move on with our lives.”

She had a point. But he had no intention of letting her go anywhere.

“Can we move this to the car?” He pointed down the street to his hybrid. “I’d prefer not to have someone live stream us arguing.”

“So you admit we’re going to argue,” she deadpanned.

Gus sighed. If there was one thing to know about Brittany, it’s that she wasn’t afraid to cause a scene, especially when she was angry. And she had clearly decided to be angry at Gus.

He sent a significant glance toward the other people exiting the train station, some throwing the two of them curious glances. Gus wasn’t a face that most people would know, but Brittany was a popular influencer, and her thousands of followers knew she was here. Gus had done his homework since getting the text from Val. Brittany documented a lot of her life online. And even though she was careful not to post about personal details, such as travel arrangements, she had been promoting her upcoming panels and appearances at Kickoff. Which meant her stalker could already be here, waiting.

Gus didn’t like that.

She followed his gaze around, suddenly uneasy, her eyes flitted across the people exiting the train, and he could see her internal debate, which was when he made his move. She may not want him there right now, but if she was doubting her safety in the public space, it was time to relocate her somewhere she would feel secure.

With a swift grab, he took her suitcase with one hand and planted the other on her back, ushering her toward his SUV, never pausing. If you paused with Brittany, she would sense your hesitation and react accordingly.

“Hey, asshole, hands off.”

Gus immediately lifted his hand from her back but still kept it hovering as he led her steadily toward his vehicle, listening to the familiar click of her heels. Which was ridiculous because she had just been on a train, and normal people didn’t wear those fuck-me heels to travel. But that was Brittany.

When he got to the SUV, he stowed her bag in the back and shut the door before turning to face her. Gus was glad to see that, while she was clearly irritated, she didn’t seem angry. That was good.

Their eyes locked in a staring contest, and Gus refused to lose. Gus knew she wanted to tell him to fuck off, but she also didn’t want drama to leak online, and the street had just enough people to be wary of someone filming them. She was caught and she knew it. He could see it in her cold, ice-blue eyes, and he felt the sensation of her gaze run down his spine. Brittany had a way of being the sexiest woman in the room while also making you feel like she was the most dangerous predator you’d ever met.

“Gus, I’m not going anywhere with you. My security detail will be here any moment.”

“I am your security detail.”

She paused at that, surprised, no doubt making the exact same face Gus had made when he read the file.

“Is this some kind of joke?”

He shook his head. “I wouldn’t joke about that.”

She glanced around, thinking fast, and Gus braced himself. She knew what he did for a living, even if he didn’t share too many details with her or Robbie. And for all that they weren’t really friends anymore, they had been once, so she knew him. He wouldn’t lie about something like safety.

Finally, she nodded. “Let’s get this over with, then,” she tossed over her shoulder as she headed to his passenger door. He just managed to beat her there with his longer stride, opening the door for her before her hand could even reach for the handle. When he shut her door and walked around to the driver’s side, he tried to control his sigh of relief. This was going to be a long weekend for both of them.

Brittany was quiet, watching as he climbed in, buckled up, and, after checking that her seat belt was on, started driving.

“I’ll call the company in the morning and request a different detail,” she finally said, breaking her silence.

“We’re short-staffed. Daryl’s wife went into labor.”

“It’s you or nothing?”

“Basically.”

She drummed her fingers on the door, and Gus could feel the rhythm on his skin. He scanned the mostly empty streets for activity, but it was still the day before Kickoff, and the town was quiet. But then Gus thought about what he had read in her file, and he felt his blood heat just a bit.

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