Adam

I don't think Selena would want to be at the mall, if she knew what was in those letters. But her parents didn't want to freak her out, so they spared her the details.

But I've seen them.

Roxie explained why this job pays so much, and it wasn't because Selena is the daughter of the man who owns the largest chain of pharmaceutical companies in California. She has a death threat over her head. Her parents have investigators working hard to find the people who are trying to harm her, which means as annoying as she's determined to be, I have to stay focused.

I round into the underground parking lot of the mall, stuck behind a line of traffic with other people trying to do the same thing. Worst time to go shopping, really. The whole town is here like it's a Black Friday sale.

I turn the car off and walk around to open Selena's door, but she beats me to it.

"I can open my own door, thanks." She gives me an incredulous, almost offended look.

I scowl, but let it go for now, scanning the parking lot over her shoulder. Every spot is occupied. There's a few people inside their cars, either on their phones or eating. Shopping bags rustle left and right, conversations murmuring in the distance, and car honks echoing on the other side.

"Will you be okay? Or do you need to me to hold your hand?" Selena raises a teasing eyebrow at me, studying my behavior like my paranoia is amusing her.

"Hilarious, you should be a stand-up comedian," I say with a dry voice, still distracted, and lift my palm to hover over her low back. "Stay close to me at all times."

"You wish." She struts ahead, drawing my attention unintentionally down to her hips.

Dude, for such a little thing, she sure has curves. I quickly break my gaze and stride until I'm beside her. We cross the street and reach the mall doors, and I reach my arm over her shoulder to open it for her.

As soon as we enter, we're inside the makeup department, and a mixture of perfumes being sprayed left and right hit my nose. Here comes the fucking headache. I'm glad at least Selena doesn't wear anything strong, otherwise it'd be a nightmare.

I watch as her bare, slender shoulders visibly tense, lifting slightly up to shield her neck. She wraps her arms around herself and picks up the pace, rushing to get through the crowd of sales people spritzing the perfume bottles in every direction.

She sighs in relief as soon as we're out of there, and looks left and right the wide mall.

"Do you know where to go?" I wonder.

"Of course." She forces her tone to be casual, confident. But the way she bites down on her bottom lip and the wrinkle she gets between her eyebrows say otherwise.

One of the booths that sell random crap in the middle of the mall is filled with toys that make obnoxious sounds. Selena grimaces at a squeaking unicorn that goes off like an annoying alarm.

Two guys in their early twenties check her out from head-to-toe, their eyes sparkling like she's a piece of meat as they approach. But as soon as they notice me, they shit their pants and speed-walk in a different direction. Selena doesn't notice, of course.

"Uh, you know what we need first? Alcohol." She twists left and I don't miss a beat before I follow. "Yeah, okay." She talks to herself. "Let's have a glass of wine to calm the nerves, then we can continue. Sounds good. Good idea."

Okay, then. A little weird, but...we all talk to ourselves, I guess.

She heads straight to some outdoor restaurant, filled with greenery and small light fixtures. Judging from the crowd, it must be an upscale, expensive place. Plus, it's the least crowded, compared to the fast-food places around it.

Selena orders a glass of white wine and truffle fries, I get coffee. The waiter places our order on a tiny round table, which is the perfect size for Selena, but it's awkwardly unfitting for my size.

I lift my hips off the chair, trying to sit more comfortably and Selena starts to cough while taking a sip of her drink.

"Maybe slow down?" I lean back, spreading my legs under the table. The back of the chair is digging into my spine and honestly I want to break it in half, but I force the annoyance down.

Her face is bright red as she covers her mouth, coughing violently. Her breasts slightly shake with each cough, flushing the same shade. Seriously, how sensitive is this girl?

"I guess, we're going to be drunk shopping, huh?" I ask with zero excitement.

"I hope so." She gulps down the rest of her wine, then shudders and shakes her head. Her arms prickle with goosebumps. She doesn't make eye-contact for a couple of minutes, quietly munching on her fries, seeming lost in thought.

I appreciate the break, scoping our surrounding and everyone. I also send a quick text to Leah asking if she's okay, she quickly replies yes and asks the same thing back.

"I have a question for you." Selena brings my attention back. She narrows her glossy eyes at me that are now slightly hooded with alcohol. Her blinks are a little slower too. Wow, from one glass? "Why the hell did you decide to be a bodyguard? Out of all the things in the world?"

Why are women always trying to analyze me?

I lift the small espresso cup to my lips and take a sip, not really interesting in starting this conversation.

"Did you go to school?" She tilts her head.

"Look, sweetheart. We don't need to be friends, and you don't need to know about my life. I'm just here to do my job, alright? So let me do it and go about your business."

A little harsh, perhaps. But the boundaries need to be set. Especially around intoxicated women.

"So let me get this straight." She seems unfazed, her tone taking a sharp edge. "You get to know every private detail about my life, but I can't even ask you some basic questions?"

"Yeah, pretty much."

"I don't think so. That's not going to work."

"Well, good luck, 'cause you're not getting rid of me."

"Yeah?" A mischievous smirk colors her lips, her eyes glinting evil. "Alright, let's go shop."

I assume she's going to torture me with shoes, purses, or another makeup store. But that's not at all what happens.

This girl goes straight into a kinky sex shop where they sell all kinds of role play lingerie and BDSM toys. It's dark inside like a nightclub, with neon lights lining up the shelves. There's an entire wall of pink dildos. All the mannequins have chains around them, with latex and leg spreaders.

I don't know what to do with my eyes, where to look, and I don't like that it's so dark, because it makes it harder to detect any incoming threats. But on the positive side, the store is quite empty. There's only Selena and two store associates, so I give her a little bit of distance to shop for whatever the hell she came in here for.

"Do you have vibrating panties?" she boldly asks the associates like I'm not even here.

"We sure do." The woman sings, grabbing a little box from the shelf. "It has multiple settings and patterns, and you can operate it on your phone." She sneaks a sly glance in my direction, her lips curving in the corners. "Or your partner can control it with his phone, it works long distance as long as there's wifi."

Selena doesn't notice that the woman is staring at me. "What else do you recommend?"

"Well, what are you into?"

"That's a good question." She chuckles awkwardly, leaning on one hip.

Don't look, don't look. Don't imagine things. Stop.

"Adam." She jolts me out of my head, and I focus back on her cunning face as she holds a neon pink dildo contraption in one hand, waving the thing at me. "What do you think of this?"

"The color's not really my style." I deadpan.

"No? Do you have other colors?" She innocently asks the associate, who gladly hands her a black replacement. "How about this?" Her smile spreads wider as she steps close to me. The little shit knows I'm uncomfortable. She's doing this on purpose. "Will this feel good, you think?"

I glance at the curved silicone and pause, then slowly look back at her. "Do you really want my opinion?"

"100%"

I hold back a smirk and brush past her to face the shelves. If she wants to get under my skin, I'll just show her that she'll have to try a lot, a lot harder to make that happen.

I grab a stainless steel butt plug set that comes in three different sizes, a burgundy leather collar and leash set, a leg harness with cuffs, and black silk blindfolds.

"I'd start with these." I look at her calmly, placing the items on the counter between us.

"All of these?" Her lips part open in slight fear and surprise.

"Mhm."

"At the same time?"

"Probably." I could imagine her on all fours, getting fucked raw with a butt plug in her ass, wrists cuffed by her sides, holding the leash in my hand to make sure she can't lie down.

She slides the blindfolds away like they have a disease all over them, and picks up the rest.

"You don't like the blindfolds?" I ask.

"Hell no. I need to see what's going on."

"No, you don't." My voice comes out dark and sadistic. It's unintentional, but the intimate setting we're in doesn't help. Her scared and vulnerable curiosity doesn't help.

Her phone vibrates in her purse, flipping the tension like a light switch. I break away, sucking in a sharp breath, not realizing my face had gotten hot in the past minute.

"Marc?" She frowns, bringing the phone to her ear. Her eyes go wide at whatever her fiancé says on the other end. "What? What do you mean? You didn't tell me any of this!"

I step closer, my professional guard back on. I narrow my focus on Selena's expressions. She hangs up, her eyes tearing up with anger as she shakily breathes.

"What's wrong?" I ask.

"Apparently I'm late to my own engagement party."

A/N
And bring on dramaaaa! Also, can you guys tell this is going to be the kinkiest dynamic I've written so far? Like, you don't even know...

But it's going to be such a slow burn, muahaha