Page 9 of Just a Bit Guarded

“If you’re quite done, you’re supposed to be at the charity event,” said a familiar voice. “Five minutes ago.”

Gadiel sat up and turned toward the voice.

Will was leaning against the doorway, his ever-present inscrutable expression firmly in place. As always, he was dressed impeccably in a dark suit, tall and handsome and perfectly put together. His perfect bodyguard. Ugh, something about his perfection made Gadiel’s fingers itch with the urge to ruin it. He would love to make Will lose his composure for once.

“I didn’t know you were my PA,” Gadiel said, arching his back as he stretched.

Will didn’t even glance at his naked body.

Gadiel nearly scowled. Surely no man wasthisstraight?

“I’m not your PA,” Will said in the same dry voice. “But I’ve been given your schedule, because I’m your bodyguard and I’m supposed to be where you are supposed to be. Which is not here.”

“Fine, give me five minutes to shower and then we can go,” Gadiel said, slipping out of the bed and heading to the ensuite.He might or might not have swayed his hips a little, but when he glanced over his shoulder, Will wasn’t looking at him at all.

Gadiel pursed his lips and entered the bathroom.

In the shower, he scrubbed his body viciously, reminding himself that helikedScott, who was everything he wanted. It didn’t matter to him at all that his insufferable bodyguard didn’t find him attractive. Summers was straight; of course he wouldn’t find him him attractive. It was fine.

The only reason he felt so bothered by Summers’s indifference was because his plan hadn’t worked. His bodyguard didn’t seem disgusted or uncomfortable—at least not enough to quit.

It looked like he needed to change his tactics.

Chapter 5

Will was generally pretty good at reading people.

He’d had to be. After the car crash—after losing his parents and siblings—he’d been grief-stricken and angry for a long time, but he’d quickly learned to hide it. His mother’s estranged brother, the uncle he’d rarely seen before, had been kind enough to take him in, but he detested public displays of emotions, finding themplebeian. So Will had shoved his anger and grief down and given his snobbish relatives what they wanted: a quiet, nice boy who kept to himself and didn’t get in the way. That had inevitably made him more reserved.He’d stopped talking much, preferring to watch people instead of being the one watched and judged.

As years had passed, he’d forced himself to be more sociable, but he still preferred solitude to crowds, and he found sociable, outgoing people exhausting. That was why he could take Scott only in small doses, no matter how fond of him he was.

Truth be told, at first Will had pegged Gadiel as the sociable type, similar to Scott. But the longer Will watched him, the more curious he felt.

Gadiel could be very mercurial. He could be bratty, loud, and full of energy one day, and then withdrawn and quiet the next. It was flabbergasting—and oddly fascinating. Will foundhimself watching the boy constantly, trying to understand what was happening in that pretty head of his.

It soon became clear that Gadiel was nowhere near as outgoing as Scott was. In fact, most of the time he could be found by himself, reading a book on his e-reader—that was, if he wasn’t putting on a lewd show for Will’s sake.

Will had nearly laughed when it happened. Did the kid really think he was going to buy his fake moans? It had been obvious what was up. The little shit wanted to get rid of him. He wanted to make Will feel outraged and disgusted enough to quit.

Will had been more amused than outraged. He certainly wasn’t going to give the kid the reaction he wanted. So he had acted like Gadiel’s little show hadn’t bothered him in the slightest, and since then, the kid had clearly decided to change his tactics—if the thoughtful looks he had been giving Will all day were any indication.

Will looked back, not bothering to hide that he’d noticed Gadiel’s looks. That didn’t seem to deter or bother Gadiel; he continued gazing at him all day long, so they often ended up in a strange staring contest. It was one of the most bizarre experiences of Will’s life.

In the end, he was the one who blinked first. “Did you stare all day long at your other bodyguards too, or am I just special?”

Gadiel didn’t look embarrassed, his eyes still fixed on him. “No,” he said after a moment. “But to be fair, my previous bodyguards weren’t half as pretty as you.”

Will fixed his tie, unsure what to say.

Gadiel snorted softly. “Don’t worry, I’m not coming on to you, Mr. Straight. I’m not into you.” He suddenly grinned, thewide, genuine smile turning his face ten times prettier than it normally was. “You probably figured out I was faking it yesterday, right?”

“Yes,” Will said, feeling oddly unsettled by that smile. He much preferred the bratty, mouthy version of Gadiel to this smiling, charmingly honest one.

“Thought so,” Gadiel said, nodding. “Anyway, I came to the conclusion that there is no point antagonizing you or trying to drive you away.”

“Really,” Will said flatly, raising his eyebrows. What a turn. That was surprisingly mature of him.

Gadiel gave him another unbearably pretty smile. “Yes. It would be more efficient to simply bribe you.”

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