Page 164 of Naughty Dreams
Yes, Roy knew there were plenty of reasons to keep heavy security on him indefinitely. But he was a fixer. They could bring in more experienced people to beef up DJ’s existing security. Maybe Warren would be interested. His previous burnout on celebrity jobs, which had sent him to corporate work a decade ago, seemed to have been reversed by the job with DJ. He’d been bitching about the corporate work and how much more fun it had been to work with a rock band.
Roy hadn’t responded, so DJ decided to address what he thought Roy’s silence might be about. “I don’t want to cramp your style or stick you in a dead-end job with no challenges. If you train your people to do what’s needed, there’s no reason you couldn’t take other gigs on occasion. I was just thinking I could, you know, be your primary client.”
DJ’s phone chirped on the table. Annoyance crossed his face at the interruption, and then another deeper emotion. “It’s an appointment reminder. Moss is bringing a new guitarist by to jam with me, see what I think of him. Trey went back to New Orleans, but Sy is staying.”
“Figured that was the way it was going to turn out. New guy look good?”
“Moss thinks so. The demos he sent are decent. Don’t want to do it, you know.” A shadow crossed DJ’s expression. “But I’m going to need another permanent guitar player, plus a temporary one until my hand’s back in action. You haven’t answered me, about the job.”
Roy met his gaze. “Let me think about it, okay?”
“Sure. But I can match whatever anyone else will offer to pay you. Keep you in your stock of identical suits. Can you hang out? Stay a while?”
“Gilda’s surgery is coming up. I need to get some things squared away at home before I go be with her for that.”
The flicker in DJ’s gaze, the slight tightening of his jaw, said it was a lame excuse, and Roy was busted for it. But when his face went smooth right after, DJ did what he’d done countless times to protect himself from someone getting close enough to hurt him. Assumed the façade.
As his Dom, Roy would have called him on it, but because he wasn’t acting like his damn Dom, even as they were both floundering in the things that weren’t being said, he deserved the emotional straight arm.
“That’s right. Thanks for the reminder. I’ll send her a basket of all her favorite things. Marjorie and she have become BFFs, so I guess that’s how I’ll hear how you’re doing going forward.”
The edge of the knife had slipped in. Roy’s own jaw tightened. “DJ…”
The sliding glass door opened, and Moss poked his head through it. His gaze landed on Roy, sitting in the water in his shorts. Because he wasn’t an idiot, he picked up on the tension. “Uh, hey there, Roy. Good to see you. DJ, I’ll take Dillon to your home studio. Let him get accustomed to the set up before you jam.”
“Sounds good.” DJ held Roy’s gaze without looking away. The door thumped closed.
DJ got out of the water and reached for his towel, his back to Roy. “Guess we both have things to do, right?”
As he turned toward Roy, he was drying his chest and abdomen with the towel. Roy wanted to do that for him, explore the bruised area with a gentle touch to make sure he was doing okay.
“Yeah. I’ll probably spend a few days with her, help her with her recovery.”
“Makes sense.” DJ put the towel to the side, and offered Roy another one, his gaze passing over the neatly folded clothes Roy had left on the chair. “You should wear jeans more often.”
“DJ.”
DJ’s lips curved in a tight smile. “Guess you keep saying my name to remind me that you’ll never call me Dory again.”
“That’s up to you.”
DJ sent him a searing glance. “Really? Okay. Can you tell me what’s going on so we can stop doing whatever fucking bullshit we’re doing at the moment?”
Roy’s temper spiked, but he pushed it down. He reminded himself to be what he always was in moments like this. He used the towel and put on his jeans, grabbing the shirt and pulling it over his head. Putting on armor.
Then he turned and faced DJ, giving him his best,we’re okay, steady and in control look.
“This is difficult for both of us. You hired me for a job, and we got close during it. But the job’s over, and ninety-nine percent of the time, that means whatever we felt will fade away with it.”
“That’s howyoufeel? That all of it’s just gone? What we felt and did together?”
“No, not what I meant. I mean it tends to go in that direction. I care a lot about you, DJ, and I wouldn’t want to cause you that kind of pain. In six months, if we feel differently, let’s revisit it. But putting a pin in it for now makes sense, right? Gives you time and space to know what you want.”
While he and Roy had tussled, DJ’s sunglasses had come off, but he’d retrieved them before he sat on the steps. Even so, Roy could feel his stare through the tinted lenses.
“You told Luis you’re not my security detail anymore. But that’s how you’re acting.”
DJ stepped close, bringing them toe to toe, thighs almost brushing. His damp, chlorine scent was in Roy’s nose. DJ took off the glasses and stared into Roy’s eyes. So close, that beautiful mouth, the long body. Roy’s hands closed into fists. DJ’s gaze dropped, noting it. He tilted his head, chin angling as he studied everything about Roy, starting at his toes and heading up until he reached his face.
