He Desired a Bodyguard

Chapter 1 of the Dark Bodyguard Pleasures series.

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***

My attention was arrested by an intriguing job ad. A man was seeking a bodyguard...

I was no fighter, but I felt the impulse to go for it. Maybe I would get lucky. Plus, something about the guy's photo drew me to him.

It was raining that day, and I couldn't be bothered to take out my umbrella. I hoped my thick hoodie would be enough.

Soon, I arrived at a flashy new building that was apparently the guy's headquarters. I snorted at the shining exterior. Who knew what secrets the man was hiding?

The guards let me in. The receptionist was a buff and handsome blond man; he greeted me with a cordial smile. Then he showed me to the elevator and told me to go to the top floor: 17. Seventeen sounded like an odd number, but it probably wasn't important.

When I exited the elevator, I met the secretary, who was also blond. He was a gorgeous model, and though I was in my late 20s, he made me feel like a little boy.

The secretary shot me a grin full of perfect white teeth. He brushed a strand of gold hair across his forehead, and that was when I glimpsed his strong biceps, which I could only dream of attaining.

Not for the first time, I wondered what folly had brought me to this place. But there was no turning back now. I was determined to meet that man from the ad poster.

Daniel, the supermodel secretary, led me to a private office. He knocked gently.

"Sir, the applicant has arrived!"

A gruff voice responded, "Let him in."

Daniel's smile seemed to freeze, for some reason. In a low voice, he whispered, "Our boss may be a bit -- odd, but don't let that stop you." With that, he winked, and left me to the mercy of the man behind the doors.

With a deep breath, I pushed inside.

It was like visiting a lion's lair. The air conditioning was abnormally cold. A man sat with his back to me in a swivel chair.

I cleared my throat. "Mr Finch?"

"Please, call me Liam."

He finally spun around. Liam Finch was wearing glasses, which caught me off guard since he wasn't in his photo. Not that it made him any less hot. He possessed thick black hair, green eyes, and a sense that he could penetrate into your secrets if you weren't careful. Liam said, "Tristan Wilde?"

"That's me." I dipped my head with courtesy.

He gestured for me to take a seat in front of his desk. That was a relief, since my legs had turned to jelly.

Liam stared at me, assessing. "Are you aware that this is for a bodyguard position?"

I hid a smile. "I've learned a bit of karate before."

"Do you think this is some joke?" Liam asked. But it was clear that he wasn't offended.

So I leaned forward. "Do you want me to demonstrate what I can do?" If I were still read as a woman, I would flash him my tits now to see his reaction. But I didn't have any -- at least not anymore. He probably wasn't into those anyway.

With his eyes still fixed on my face, Liam said, "Yes. Impress me." He clapped twice, and a secret door swung open behind him.

My jaw dropped. Not only because he had a clichéd secret room, but he also had it painted black. Black as a stone. It reminded me of a studio drama room.

The man got up and stood beside me. I was surprised that he was only a bit taller than me, since most guys were much taller than my small stature (unfortunately). Not that I would ever let my guard down around Liam Finch.

Without thinking, I blurted out, "Will you be fighting me?"

To my even greater astonishment, the guy burst out laughing. "Seriously? Will I fight my own bodyguard?"

While the iron was still hot, I asked, "Have any other applicants arrived yet for the position?" I was too hasty, perhaps, but I wanted to know.

At that, his amused expression became closed off again.

"That is none of your business, Mr Wilde."

I loved it when he called me Mr Wilde, because it sounded like Oscar Wilde. But still, I had to correct him.

"Please, sir, call me Tristan."

My (hopefully) future boss rolled his eyes. "Okay, Tristan." His gaze snapped into the dungeon-like dark room. Was it actually a dungeon? Liam said, "If you dare, step inside. I'll send some adversaries to test your mettle soon."

Warily, I glanced at this sexy man. Despite my quip earlier, I wouldn't mind fighting him. It would give me an excuse to touch him, or better yet, for him to touch me. I moved with caution toward the room.

At my hesitant manner, he shot me a demonical grin. "Do you have concerns about staying in there all by yourself?"

The dark room gave me the creeps, but I didn't want this bastard to know that. So like a fool, I accepted.

"I'll be perfectly fine. How can I be your bodyguard if I can't even handle my master's private room?"

My "master's" grin widened. And he replied in a silky smooth voice. "I won't be long."

I marched into the mirror-black room, and the boss clicked it shut. Impulsively, I tried the doorknob, but of course, it was locked. Liam's footsteps echoed into the distance.

This place was painted black all over, but it had dim lights dripping down from unknown sources.

The lights weren't strong enough to illuminate anything properly, so I could only catch glimpses of things. Not that there was anything to see in this bare room. There didn't seem to be any equipment, either, which disappointed me, for some reason.

I felt a draught in the room, yet there were no windows. This wasn't a horror movie, though, even if it seemed like one. A while longer, I finally did find a piece of furniture -- a simple small chair in the corner. I sat, hoping my weight wouldn't trigger any ominous incidents.

But speaking of ominous, the door suddenly clicked and creaked open. My heart was stuck in my throat.

A tall, reedy man stood in the doorway, and my eyes were momentarily blinded by the light coming in from the office.

The man wore a black cloak, and had a pale face and black hair. He looked like a sleazy Dracula.

It was a shame that my "adversary" wasn't my hot future boss, but rather, an amateur vampire guy.

He hissed through his teeth. "The name is Vic. You're just a stripling lad. I'll give you one last chance to give up."

But I puffed up my chest. "I ain't no coward." I wasn't entirely bluffing.

Vic hissed again, then leapt into the dark room and locked the door.

***

I watched my opponent in the dim, eerie light. He didn't seem to have any weapons on him, so I wondered if it would be a hand-to-hand combat. I grimaced. It would be great to use weapons, to make up for my lack of brute strength. I did have some choice knives.

But maybe my future boss didn't want us to spill blood in his precious room. From what I could tell in this terrible lighting, there were no stains of any kind, not even blood. Or perhaps he had a great clean-up team.

Vic rubbed his chin as he eyed me up and down. A salacious grin stretched across his pale and sickly face.

"How would you like naked wrestling?" I froze. "Or are you too shy to do it with a complete stranger?"

I rubbed my arms and frowned. "I'm not afraid of you."

It was as though he hadn't heard me. "If you're worried that your willy will be smaller than mine, don't worry. It's too dim here to see such details." He chortled.

After a moment of hesitation, I gritted my teeth.

"All right. But promise me there will be no strangling, punching, kicking, clawing, or biting. Just pure and simple wrestling."

In the weak lighting, I thought I saw a gleam in his eye. "Yes, pure and simple wrestling, ha ha ha."

Little did I know that our wrestling would be nothing like I had imagined.