Page 35 of Hayden's Stalker

“Hi, Gabriel. Nice to meet you, too.”

Sebastian perks up and grins at our friends. “Well, here comes tonight’s entertainment.”

My jaw tightens, and I nudge him with my elbow as I see Blake walking toward us.

“Huh? Blake? Why?” Gabriel looks at Sebastian, obviously confused, and I could kill Sebastian.

“You’ll see,” he smirks in response.

Blake stops in front of Tatiana and rakes his gaze over her from head to toe again. His body is ramrod straight and I can tell by his posture that he’s annoyed. I’m nervous that he might say something to offend Tati.

“Can you move so I can sit next to my boyfriend? Thanks.”

The way he says it makes it clear that it’s a demand rather than a request, and my jaw tightens as I wait to see how Tati will respond.

“Unfortunately not. In a place like this, I need to be by Hayden’s side at all times.”

“We can move up, and you can sit between Sebastian and me,” I suggest.

“Yes, please do,” Sebastian grins at Blake before his eyes dart between the three of us, and I could definitely kill him right now.

Tatiana shifts along the banquette and I move up to make room for Blake. I end up sitting directly against Tatiana, with no space between us. I can feel her against me, and every one of my senses is filled with her. She gives a tiny gasp as our bodies touch that I would never have heard if I hadn’t been tuned in to her.

“So, this is Tatiana. You’re Hayden’s new bodyguard. How does that work?” Blake asks, and he sounds far too casual for him.

Tatiana uses that coolly professional tone when she answers. “I stop him from being hurt.”

“How? You don’t look like you could stop anything.” Blake shrugs his shoulders and sounds skeptical.

I wish he would drop it because he’s being rude to her. He’s doing exactly what I guess a lot of men do to Tatiana. Assume she’s incapable of her job when I’m sure she is. Her body has stiffened next to me, and I’m annoyed that this is how the conversation is going.

“I assure you that I am highly capable of keeping Hayden safe, but hopefully, you won’t ever have to see me use my skills in person,” she smiles at him.

“You’ll have to excuse me if I don’t believe you. I want proof that my boyfriend is going to be safe under your care,” he scoffs.

“Wow, rude.” Gabriel shakes his head.

“Blake,” I growl at the same time.

He turns his gaze to me, and I glare at him, but he gives me a sad look and says, “I just care about your safety, Hayden. If this woman can’t keep you safe, then you need someone who can.”

I appreciate that he cares about my wellbeing, but I still really fucking wish that he would be a little more tactful with the way he’s questioning Tatiana.

“I’mnotgoing to prove anything to you, Blake Stirling. Hayden has contracted my services, not you. If he wanted a demonstration before he did that, he would’ve asked for one.”

She turns to look at me, and I’m taken aback by it. Her crystal blue eyes stare into mine, and her annoyance is blatantly obvious in her body language, but she manages to direct none of it to me.

No, for me, she has a calm and pleasant tone along with a clear, meaningful expression as she asks, “Wouldyou like a demonstration, Hayden?”

“Um, I’m all good, thanks,” I manage to say, uncomfortable with being put on the spot like this.

“Great. Well, if that changes, let me know.” She looks back at Blake. “I'm always happy to reassure my clients. However, I don’t have any time to pander to someone who isn’t my client, particularly when I’m in a public place.”

Tatiana turns her gaze back to the club in general, looking at the scene in front of us as Blake replies.

“I’m sorry for caring about my boyfriend’s wellbeing. Is that such a crime?”

I’m fucking over this. Why can’t he drop this conversation now? He seems determined to get the last word in, and I wish he’d let it go.

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