Adriana has acted strange and rather standoffish since the two of us had our little moment in the theater room. I'm not going to pretend to know why, since I hardly know the woman, but it would appear she has some sort of commitment issues. Not that I thought she wanted to commit to me, necessarily, or found me as the commitment-worthy type, but she has definitely put some distance between her and myself since then.

It's been like a game of cat and mouse around her. One moment she's joking with me and flirting, the next she's rather serious or flat out ignoring me like I don't exist. That, to me, waved the red flag of serious trust and commitment issues. She doesn't want to get too attached so she pulls away before she can or before I pick up the inkling that she actually does, indeed, care about me.

Who knows, I may be way off base but everything she's doing hits a little too close to home. What she's doing I have been known to do in the past. I would probably be doing it with her right now if she wasn't already the one doing it to me. Can't say I've ever been on the receiving end and I can't say I like it either.

Today is one of those days where she's ignoring me again, pretending that I don't exist. It's kind of irritating because she's swimming in a bathing suit that barely covers her body and I would very much like her to acknowledge the fact that I'm here, that I, in fact, do exist. I want her to get out and paw at me, talk about all the dirty things she wants to do with me, like she's done so many times before. I want her to tease me in ways that only she knows how.

  But she isn't. And it's aggravating.

  I suppose her lack of acknowledgment is for the best though. It's not like anything can really become of the two of us. If she knew the reason I was here she'd probably want me dead and not naked. Not that she wants me naked. Not that I want to be naked with her. Fuck. Yes. Yes, I want to be naked with her.

This situation is entirely fucked.

I glance over to her soaking wet body as it slips onto a pool float. It's an action that has my eyes roaming over her for the millionth time this afternoon. Half of me wants to strip and jump in there with her. Wants to grab her and kiss her. Wants to bend her over the side of the pool and pound into her senselessly. Wants to feel both of her tits in my hands. My brain conjures an image of her bare chest, blonde hair hanging loosely like a veil around her shoulders. Those eyes. Those goddamn fuck me eyes, ones she gave me while her tits were in my mouth.

"I may have sunglasses on but that doesn't mean I can't see you eye-fucking me." Thank fuck. She's stopped ignoring me. Wait. Do I want her to stop ignoring me? "You're thinking about jumping in here and fucking me senseless, aren't you?"

Yes. One-hundred-percent. Right on the damn nose. Took the words right out of my skull.

I look around to make sure I don't have an audience before answering, "yeah, maybe I am. That bathing suit doesn't leave much to the imagination." Which has my filthy imagination going all over the place.

"You've already seen my tits and I'm sure you've seen many a naked woman. It's not like there's going to be much of anything in the imagination department anyway." I can practically see the eye roll she gives me through her sunglasses. What she doesn't understand is, aside from all the sexual shit she says and does, I am not supposed to want her. After getting to know her, that makes me want her even more. "It's all the same difference."

"No, it's different with you." I close my mouth immediately after blurting those words.

"What is that supposed to mean?" She raises her glasses to look directly at me, eyes holding mine in a questioning manner. "Please, bear man, do tell."

She hasn't called me that in days... Get a grip Braxton.

"I don't know. Nothing, I guess."

She looks disappointed before dropping the glasses back over her eyes. "See, naked people are just naked people. Once you've seen a handful of dicks and clits there's nothing really that gives the shock and awe factor. No one." Generally speaking she isn't wrong but sleeping with one person isn't always the same as sleeping with the next. Some people are different. Some people mean more, make you feel more than others. 

"I guess you're right." Those were the words I said even though I wanted to state otherwise. There was a big fat warning bell going off in my head that said not to touch on people meaning more or people being special. It was too close, too personal and something told me if I went there she may never speak to me again. Hell, she may even have me fired for permanent distance from me and I can't have that. Not after working this hard, for this long to be in the position I am in.

My objective doesn't change the fact that seeing Adriana topless had done things to me. She made me cave in even though I'd promised myself I wouldn't. I couldn't. But I had.

Then there was what happened after.

There was the way her body had practically melted against mine after I'd touched her. There was a vulnerable look in those grey-blues. It let me know that no not everyone is the same to Adriana. Some people do, in fact, mean more and that's why she'd tried to run away from me after.

Maybe that's just wishful thinking? Maybe.

After another silent half hour she's hopping off of the float and swimming her way to the staircase inside of the pool. She begins drying herself off and I am grateful for it as I hear Brooks and Torey off in the distance getting closer. Adri has given them an ample amount of space. I would almost venture to say she's avoiding them entirely.

Torey had moved into the guest house with Brooks, along with most of his things, which I couldn't be any happier about. Torey had almost recognized my familiarity once. I couldn't risk Brooks thinking the same thing after meeting Tristan. My brother and I have a lot of similarities. We don't look exactly alike but it is apparent that we are brothers.

That moment Torey had gotten the phone call about Tristan I thought he knew. The way his angry gaze had shifted directly to mine, asking for my gun, I thought he was going to blow me away right then. Fortunately, the tree sustained the majority of the damage along with a few men. Adriana had made sure Torey didn't come for me. In a way she'd been my protector that day, not the other way around.

Adriana wraps the towel around herself and heads inside. I follow a few feet behind her, giving her more space than usual. I've sensed the fact that she needs the extra distance. Once she's inside her room I stand outside of it trying hard not to think about how she's stripping on the other side of the door.

The sun is starting to go down now which alerts me that my shift will soon be up. Adriana's favorite guard Thomas will be in for the night. I check the time on my left wrist which tells me that he will be here any minute to relieve me. A loud muffled shriek comes from behind me which has me entering the room without knocking. I'm met with a man struggling to hold onto a naked Adriana. I whip out my gun and aim it at the man but he puts his own to her temple. Her eyes are wide, panicked as they hold mine.

"You're going to be okay, Adriana." Because I will behead this man if he hurts her. I train my eyes on the intruder. "You and I both know how this ends, buddy. You're not going anywhere with her. You're leaving in a body bag."

"She comes with me or she dies." He backs away slowly toward the balcony where I'm assuming is where he had come from, gun pressed solidly to the side of Adriana's head. He says something for only her to hear and it makes water spring to her eyes.

A movement over his shoulder has me seeing Brooks slowly making his way into the room. He has a finger over his lips, holding up a hand to make sure I don't alert Adriana's captor. Faster than I can even process, Brooks disarms the man, frees Adriana while simultaneously shooting one of the man's kneecaps out. She launches herself directly into my arms, clinging to me with a sob. I wrap an arm around her while putting my gun back in its' holster.

"It's alright. You're alright." I murmur the words into her hair as I encase her with both of my arms now. The man is screaming in agony on the floor as Brooks detains him, using one of the ropes that held thick curtains back. "Come on, let's get you dressed."

"Yes, please do." Torey picks up Adriana's towel off the floor and chucks it at us as he strides into the room. "Seeing my sister naked is in the list of top five things I never want to see. Now who do we have here?" Torey stalks toward the body on the ground as I wrap Adriana's towel around her. There's immediate recognition in the man's eyes and his face visibly pales at seeing Torey. He looks like he's seeing a ghost. "Did you all think that I would be that easy to kill?" Torey lands a solid kick to the man's stomach and then another. "I am going to have fun with you." More men enter the room and Torey looks between all of them, he's wearing that sadistic mask I had seen him on him twice before. "Pick him up and get him into the basement. Bano and I here are going to have a little chat."

"Torey maybe you shouldn't—"

"Brooks, now is not the fucking time." His tone menacing, making Brooks flinch away from him. "Get him into the fucking basement. Now." The words are a malicious growl which has the men picking up the man and dragging him out of the room, also dragging his blood all over Adriana's floor. A murderous looking Torey follows them, stalking out of the room without another word.

"You got her?" Brooks asks, looking from me to the trembling woman in my arms and back again.

"Yeah, I got her." He nods, leaving us alone.

A/N:
Happy Monday!

I finished my goal of 40K on Saturday! Now I'm going over the next few chapters of word vomit so that I can update as frequently as I can. Hope you're enjoying the chapters!