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“I’m rich.”
“And that would somehow make taking advantage okay?” He snarled. “I don’t run my business like that. So, no. Regular fees. We can put Quinn and Gidget on the emails—see if we can track down the source. You can give them a timeline of everything that’s happened, give them access to your accounts.”
“Do you need a list of all my social media accounts?”
“Sure. But they’ll have them fast anyway.” The corner of his mouth turned up. “You’re kind of famous around these parts. I know we’ve got several employees that swear by that app thing you created.”
The exaggerated cowboy drawl almost made Geoffrey smile, but he still felt too raw. “I really would prefer Sven.”
Green eyes rolled. “I’ll tell you what I’ve told the others. I am not running a fucking dating service.”
Geoffrey looked at Andrei, who stared at Rowe impassively. Everyone in the city knew the famous Lucas Vallois had fallen for his Romanian bodyguard. They’d even announced their engagement before Christmas the previous year.
“When can I expect Sven to arrive at my house?” Geoffrey asked, not ready to give up.
“Someone drugged you, took you home, and undressed you, Geoffrey. You’re not leaving here without protection.” Rowe frowned at him for several seconds before a soft sigh slipped from his lips. “Stick around while I see what I can shuffle. You can give Gidget all your information, answer a few more questions, okay?”
The first bit of relief he’d felt today fell on him like a warm, welcoming blanket. Geoffrey closed his eyes and took a long, deep breath.
“Hey,” Andrei said softly.
Geoffrey opened his eyes and focused on the handsome Romanian who looked like he’d started to touch Geoffrey’s arm, his hand still hovering in mid-air.
“I wasn’t raped,” he said, his voice barely above a whisper. “I’m not afraid of being touched.”
“Just because this person didn’t physically hurt you doesn’t mean you weren’t harmed. You didn’t give your consent, Geoffrey.” Andrei laid a gentle hand on his arm and squeezed. “Your personal space was invaded. That’s huge and it’ll leave you feeling off balance and scared and more than likely jumpy. Not being afraid of touch isn’t the same as being startled when you are.”
He nodded, glad for the comfort.
“You know where to find Gidget?” Andrei asked.
Geoffrey nodded. He gave the COO a shaky smile, then looked at Rowe. “Thanks.”###
Sven Larsen tossed a towel around his neck to soak up the sweat from the self-defense class he’d just finished teaching. As the men and women milled around chatting and laughing, movement on the second-floor landing caught his gaze. He watched Geoffrey walk into the IT department. Which was basically a big room with lots of computer screens, Jennifer Eccleston, and Quinn Lake, the two intelligence specialists—though his boss called them hackers. Everyone also called Jennifer, Gidget, but Sven had never figured out why. Frowning as he followed the blond man with his gaze, he took in the wan complexion, the wrinkled khaki shorts and black sweatshirt that swallowed his slight, taut frame.
A sweatshirt. In summer.
He recognized shock when he saw it.
Sven had been alerted that something was off when Geoffrey had walked past him earlier. He hadn’t even looked in Sven’s direction and if there was one thing he could rely on when it came to Geoffrey Ralse, local golden boy extraordinaire, it was his full attention.
The man flirted outrageously, let inappropriate comments fly constantly from his pretty mouth, and then, there were the hands.
It was like he had more than two—as fast as they could slip inside a gaping tank top or under the loose hem of shorts. Sven had learned to wear tighter utility gear because Geoffrey never wasted an opportunity to grope.
And though Sven hoped it didn’t show, every one of those touches felt like they seared his flesh. He spent most of the time the man was around trying to look at anything other than the sexiest pair of plump lips he’d ever seen in all his thirty-four years. And they were always releasing the most suggestive words—ones that lit a fire that was both desire and annoyance.
By the time Geoffrey left his classes, Sven was sweating beneath his Under Armour a lot more than usual, and he was ready to shut the man up. With his mouth.
But that would never happen.
He still stared in the direction Geoffrey had disappeared, concern tightening his gut. From Geoffrey’s scared expression and the thunderous one on Rowe’s face when he shut his office door behind him, Geoffrey was now a client. That made him off limits even if Sven didn’t have strict, personal reasons.
From day one, he’d noticed something behind those blue eyes that told him there was much more to the man than the rich, club boy persona he showed the world. And boy, did he show the world. He constantly posted pictures of himself on his different social media accounts. Sven had looked. Possibly more than once. And he felt damned ridiculous for wanting someone who looked like he was barely legal—even though Sven knew he was in his late twenties.
