Page 2 of Rock Me

“No.Fucking.Way.”Another thing about Dan.He invites us—his people—to speak our minds, which is why I have no problem expressing myself now.“If you are telling me I’m now bodyguard to Summer Michelle… that’s a hell no.”

Dan runs a hand over his cropped short salt-and-pepper hair.“I’m not finished with the explanation, although now that you’ve put together who’s involved…” Dan hits a key on the laptop, and Summer’s picture jumps onto the screen alongside a girl I remember from the show as well, Tawny Renee.

My visceral reaction to Summer’s photo doesn’t bode well for this potential assignment.I haven’t seen Summer in years, but looking at her is like a punch to the gut and a kick start to my groin at the same time.The publicity photo accentuates her glossy black hair, still long, still curling over her shoulders in a glorious silken wave.Her golden-brown eyes stare back at me while her pink lips are glossed in a pretty pout.And I distinctly remember having those same lips wrapped around my dick while her tongue did her best to make me come.

Damn.How had fate landed her back in my lap?

Okay, bad choice of words, I think, and cringe.

“You with me?”Dan asks.

Beside us, Jared and Ava are silent, no doubt either enjoying my discomfort or uncomfortable themselves with the situation I now find myself in.

“I’m listening,” I mutter to Dan.

The older man nods.“Vague threats have come to Jade Glow’s people regarding picking Summer for the opening act, so Orion Motors, the sponsor of her world tour, wants to hire protection for both women just to be safe.”

“Are you giving me a choice of who I get to protect?”I ask.Neither option appeals.Tawny was a spoiled brat with constant demands, but for some reason, Summer liked the other girl.The two were friends.Maybe that should have been my first clue to steer clear of Summer Michelle.

“No.There’s no choice for you.We’re the best in the business, and Jade’s people want us to look out for Summer since the threats focused solely on her.Unfortunately we have no other bodyguards to offer, at least for the moment, so they hired another firm for Tawny.You going to be okay?”

Since I don’t have a choice, I nod.

“Good.Everything else you need to know about the case is in the file,” Dan goes on.“Her itinerary is in there as well, so you’ll know where to meet up with her later today.She has a series of events lined up over the next month.You’ll stick close.”

“How close?”I ask warily.Some cases involve daytime surveillance only.

“Summer lives on the West Side in a one-bedroom walk-up.No doorman.No protection.So we’re talking twenty-four-seven cover.”

Of course, we are.Because why should I catch a break?

We file out of the room.I’m tense and really pissed at this latest assignment.

“Ben, wait up,” Ava calls out to me.

I’m not in the mood to talk, but I slow my step and wait for her to catch up with me.

“Hey,” she says, placing a hand on my arm.“Are you okay?”Concern flashes in her gaze and expression.

“I’m fine.”

She eyes me as if she isn’t quite sure she believes me.“And this assignment?I know it can’t be easy for you.Dan knows it too.He’s just cornered without anyone else to send in your place.”

I nod.“I get it.And I can handle it.”

“I never said you couldn’t.I just know you had feelings for this woman and—”

“And nothing.I’ve been burned and lived to tell the tale.I learned my lesson.”Which Ava knows, since I opened up to her in a drunken moment when the team was all available for a night out.

“Okay.Just know I’m here for you.Call if you need to talk or blow off steam.”She squeezes my arm again and walks away.Those of us who work for Dan are a tight-knit group, and I value our friendship.

My job is important to me; it always has been.I take pride in protecting people, be it basic security as I did when I was younger and a few years after leaving the police force behind or now with Alpha Security.I won’t betray the people who mean so much to me.

As for Summer?I shake my head, the memory of that time still possessing the power to hurt me.In the tight world of the television show, the staff and talent were together twenty-four seven.It was easy for us to sneak away often, and although our time together was brief, I believed we had a deeper connection.Something I honestly thought could turn into more over time, or else I never would have violated the terms of my contract.Not for a quick lay.Unfortunately, she betrayed me for reasons I still can’t fathom, and it burns in my gut because I should have known better.

I saw my father humiliated and betrayed by his wife, yet he took his wife back the first time, only to be cuckolded again by Rita with the same man—his longtime friend and partner.In the end, Nate Hollander lost a lot more than his pride.He lost his business as well.He was a broken shell of a man after that, and I’ve sworn never to repeat my father’s mistakes… only to find myself screwed over by a woman.

Summer Michelle was my undoing four years ago, but I am determined not only to keep my distance but to make certain that I am the one calling the shots this time around.