Safe With You (5 page)

My exams went great, and I took a nice long nap in the afternoon before it was time to get ready
to go out.  I had to laugh when I came back to my room after showering and saw that Lindsay had already picked out my outfit and laid it out on my bed.  Sometimes I felt like her life size Barbie doll.  I spent extra time curling my hair and applying makeup before putting on a short flirty black skirt that showed off my long legs and a sparkly white tank top.  I was just slipping on my strappy black heels that added an extra 4” when Lindsay came in.  She looked glamorous as always in a red halter dress that contrasted with her light blond hair.  “You look awesome, Taryn!  Wyatt is going to love that skirt.”

“I don’t even know i
f he’s going to show up, Linz.”  Lindsay rolled her eyes and she grabbed her purse and checked her reflection one last time.  “Of course he’ll be there, Taryn.  He said he’d be there, and he’s totally into you.”  I followed her out of the apartment and hoped she was right – both about him meeting us tonight and being totally into me.  I really didn’t like going out and I knew I would be more comfortable if he was there.  In the short time I had known him, I had really come to feel safe with him.

We walked the five blocks to the club, and it was already packed when we walked in.  Lindsay recognized a few people she knew from school and we stopped to talk for a few minutes.  After Lindsay was pulled o
ut to the dance floor by some guy named Chad, I made my way up to the bar to get a drink.  I was sitting on a bar stool, sipping my Cosmo and people watching when I saw Ryan walk in.

His eyes swung around the club and
immediately landed on me sitting at the bar.  As he made his way through the crowd towards me, I hopped off the bar stool and looked around desperately for an escape.  Just before Ryan could reach me I felt a strong arm come around my waist and Wyatt’s low voice in my ear, “Wanna dance?”

“Yes, please.” 
I breathed a sigh of relief, both for being saved from talking to Ryan and that Wyatt had showed up.  He took my hand and led me through the crowd to the opposite corner of the dance floor.  The music was loud, so we didn’t try to talk.  It was a slow song playing, and Wyatt pulled me close with his hands on my hips.  I ran my hands up his arms and held on to his biceps as we moved to the music.

With my heels on I was closer to his height, and just right for
resting my head on his shoulder.  I inhaled his clean masculine scent and his left hand went around to the small of my back pressing me closer.  My fingers lightly traced patterns on the back of his neck and wound into his hair.  We stayed wrapped up in each other until the song ended, and he took a step back.  I reluctantly released my hold on him and let him lead me back to sit at the far end of the bar, affording us as much privacy as possible in the crowded club.

I settled myself on a high bar stool while Wyatt ordered a beer for himself and a Cosmo for me. 
I had abandoned my earlier drink at the bar in my haste to escape Ryan.   I looked up at him while we waited for our drinks, “I’m glad you came.”  He smiled at me, “I wouldn’t have missed a chance to see you, Taryn.”  His eyes were dark as he reached up to tuck my hair behind my ear and run his fingers down the side of my face.  I leaned my head into his touch and held his eyes a moment longer until the bartender set our drinks down.

“And thanks for saving me from Ryan…again.”  He frowned at the mention of Ryan’s name.  “He’s not getting the message, is he?”  I shook my head, “No. 
I mean he can’t really think I would go back to him.  I’ve made it pretty clear I am done.  But he’s not the best at taking no for an answer.  Like when he started calling me Ice Princess when I wouldn’t sleep with him.”  I rolled my eyes at Ryan’s stupidity and then froze at the anger I saw on Wyatt’s face.

“He said you were cold because you wouldn’t sleep with him?”  H
e asked in a low dangerously calm voice.  I shrugged and looked down, but he lifted my chin with his hand so he could look into my eyes.  “Taryn, you are the strongest person I know and you are anything but cold.  Ryan is an idiot.”  I stared at him, captivated by the emotion in his eyes.

He slowly lowered his head and pressed his lips to mine. 
Finally.  I sighed as I parted my lips and felt his tongue sweep over mine.  His hand came around to cradle the back of my head and he deepened the kiss, as his other hand caressed my knee and slid up my thigh and just under the hem of my short skirt.  My hands gripped the front of his shirt as I pulled him closer still, parting my knees so he could step between them, and I could feel his heart beating as fast as my own.  After what seemed like forever but was still too soon, he pulled back, breathing hard.  My eyes fluttered open and then closed again when he leaned down to kiss my neck right under my ear and whispered, “That didn’t feel cold to me.”  I giggled and shivered from the feel of his warm breath on my neck.

“
Wow, Taryn, nice performance,” I heard a familiar voice say, and I snapped my head around to see Ryan watching us and slowly clapping his hands.  “Congratulations man.  You got farther with her in five minutes than I did in three months,” Ryan sneered at Wyatt.  Before I could lift my hand to slap that slimy smile off his face, Wyatt grabbed him by the front of his perfectly pressed shirt and spun him around, pressing him to the wall with his forearm on Ryan’s throat.  “Stay the fuck away from her or you will be sorry,” he growled.  A tall muscular guy I didn’t know but who looked familiar appeared at Wyatt’s side and grabbed the arm that wasn’t cutting off Ryan’s air supply.  “Easy, Hunt.”  Wyatt shoved his arm against Ryan’s throat one more time before releasing him to collapse coughing on the floor.

He took my hand and led me through the crowd and out the door.  His jaw was tight and I could feel the tension
rolling of his body in waves, so I just squeezed his hand.  We were both silent for a while before I said, “Thank you for that.  I was going to slap him but I’ve never slapped anyone before, so it probably wouldn’t have been as effective as your kung fu maneuver.”

He chuckled and ran his free hand through his hair.  “I’m glad I didn’t scare you.  I was already pissed off that he
won’t leave you alone, and I just couldn’t let him get away with insinuating that … “ He trailed off.

“You didn’t scare me.  Actually that was pretty hot
.  I’ve never had someone defend my honor before,” I laughed.  He turned to face me, bringing my hand up to his lips.

“You deserve that,
Taryn, and so much more.”  His expression was so serious and almost sad that my chest ached and I instantly wanted to comfort him, even though I was confused by his emotions.  I stood up on my tiptoes and kissed him softly.  The kiss quickly became more urgent as my hands fisted in his hair holding his mouth to mine.  He groaned and wrapped his arms around me, pressing our bodies tightly together.

He
twirled me around to the building we were standing next to, pressing my back against the wall and running his hands up and down my sides.  I breathed his name as he broke away to nip at my earlobe and kiss his way down my neck.  One hand moved over my flat stomach and up to caress my breast through my thin tank top, while the other ran down over my hip and gripped the back of my thigh hitching my leg up.  I moaned and rocked my hips into his, feeling how much he wanted me.

“Fuck,
Taryn, what are you doing to me?” He groaned dropping his forehead to mine, still breathing hard.  I shivered with the thought that I could make him lose control as I tried to catch my breath.  That seemed to bring him back to reality and he rubbed my arms, “Are you cold?”  I shook my head, “No, I’m definitely not cold.”  He smirked at me, “No, you’re not.  Come on let’s go back inside before I forget we’re in the middle of the sidewalk.  There is something I need to tell you.”

Chapter
Six

Surprise

Before we even took a step, flashbulbs started going off all around us and some lady shoved a microphone in my face.  “Taryn, how do you feel about your father running for President?  Do you think he would approve of your raunchy PDA on the streets of New York?”  I was blinded by the lights and heard Wyatt curse as he put his arm around my shoulder and pulled me quickly back inside the club.

I was in a daze as I stared at Wyatt with wide eyes.  He motioned to the guy who had pulled him off Ryan earlier and
he came over to us instantly.  Wyatt spoke lowly to him, glancing back at me, before the guy walked over to where Lindsay was dancing.  I felt like everything was in slow motion as the other guy and Lindsay came back over to us.  Over Wyatt’s shoulder I saw Ryan sitting at the bar, smirking at me.  Wyatt turned to follow my gaze and his eyes narrowed.  “It was Harper.  He tipped off the press to Taryn’s location.”  The other guy shot an angry glance in Ryan’s direction.

Wyatt addressed the mystery guy,
“The cars are on their way.  I will take Taryn to her parents’ place – it has the most security.  You take Lindsay back to their apartment so she can pack what they’ll need.  We’ll meet you shortly.”  My mouth was still hanging open as I looked from the mystery guy to Wyatt to Lindsay.  Lindsay looked just as confused as me.

Wyatt moved directly in front of me and bent down slightly.  He gently held my shoulders and looked into my eyes.  His
eyes were full of worry as he said, “Taryn, I will explain everything soon.  But right now we need to get you to your parents’ apartment.  Do you trust me?”  I didn’t understand anything he was saying, but I did trust him.  I nodded and he pulled me in for a quick hug, kissing the top of my head.

“Okay, that’s great that you trust him.  But you’re not shipping me off with this guy who could be a serial killer for all I know
,” Lindsay snapped with her hands on her hips giving the guy a look up and down.  The guys exchanged a glance and Wyatt said, “Lindsay, this is Dominic Abruzzi.”  He paused for a moment like he didn’t want to say any more.  He exhaled and continued, “We work for Roland.”  He was watching me carefully for my reaction.

My mind was spinning as it processed what he had just said.  Roland Westwood was my father’s oldest friend and owned a private security firm.  Wyatt had told me he worked in private security, and I
suddenly knew that Dominic looked familiar because I had seen him around over the last few weeks.  All of Wyatt’s strange behavior over the last month suddenly made sense - his backing out of dinner after my dad called, him not being free to be in a relationship with me, all the times he said he had something to tell me.  As the realization of what was going on hit me, I dropped my hand from Wyatt’s and took a step away from him.

“Holy shit,
Taryn!  Wyatt’s your bodyguard,” Lindsay said.  I heard her and had already come to the same conclusion, but I couldn’t look away from Wyatt.  His expression was pained as he looked down at his empty hand I had just released.  Tears filled my eyes, but I looked up to the ceiling and blinked them back.  Dominic’s phone beeped and he checked it before saying, “The cars are here.  Let’s go.”  Dominic led Lindsay outside first where she smiled and posed for the photographers.  He rolled his eyes and dragged her into a black SUV.  Wyatt put his arm around my shoulder and tucked me into his body, shielding my face from the flashes of the cameras.  He opened the back door of a second black SUV and helped me in before climbing in behind me and shutting the door.

I turned to look out the tinted window a
s we pulled away from the club and tried to sort through my emotions.  I was pissed that my dad didn’t tell me he had security following me, and I was pissed that Wyatt hadn’t told me either, especially after we had started this – whatever it was.  But more than anything I felt heartbroken that maybe this thing between Wyatt and me wasn’t real.  Was he just using me?  In my heart I knew he wouldn’t do that to me, but my head wondered if I was just being naïve.

I could feel Wyatt’s eyes on me and the silence between us was heavy, but I didn’t want to talk to him with another one of Roland’s men in the seat in front of us driving.  Wyatt sighed heavily and I saw him rub a hand over his face from the corner of my eye.  “
Taryn,” he said quietly, “I need to call your dad and fill him in on the situation.”  I nodded, still not looking at him.  He pressed one button and held his phone up to his ear.  Apparently he had my dad on speed dial.

“Mr. Ross,
it’s Hunter here…Yes, she’s fine.  She was at a club tonight and the press showed up.  It seems they had been tipped off about Taryn’s location as well as your rumored run for President…We don’t know for sure, but we suspect Ryan Harper gave away her location…Yes, sir.  I feel the same way about him…We are on the way to your place.  She’s here with me now…”  He held the phone out to me, and I snatched it from him and held it to my ear.  “Dad.”

“
Taryn, are you okay?”

“Yes, I’m fine. 
Although I don’t like finding out from a reporter that you’re running for President.  And I don’t like that you didn’t tell me you had me under surveillance,” I snapped.  “Taryn, darling.  I’m so sorry.  I knew you wouldn’t like the idea of security and I didn’t want to upset you during your final weeks of the school year.  I have not decided about running yet.  Your mother and I were planning to discuss this with you soon.  Someone leaked it to the press.”

“
It’s okay, Dad.  I just wish you would trust me to handle stuff like this.  I’m not fragile.  I’m not going to break down at the first sign of stress.”  From the day they brought me home, my parents had always protected me from anything potentially upsetting or stressful.  Lindsay had done the same.  Nobody noticed that I was an adult now.  Wyatt was the only person who had seen that I am strong now.  My heart clenched thinking that the one person who really saw me wasn’t who I thought he was.