The Bodyguard

Mr Forde had initially scoffed at these elaborate plans, but Logan reminded him that being followed was always the most likely way they'd be found and if Mr Forde insisted on physical update meetings, then it had to be this complicated. Licence plates would be regularly swapped on exposed vehicles, like the Range Rover currently sat on Mr Forde's driveway.

As he drove, he located a nearby pharmacy and bought the sleeping pills that Rebecca had named. With the little paper bag on the seat beside him, he replayed his meeting with her father.

No progress had been made at all. It didn't make sense to him. It was beyond his understanding what kind of complex trouble a hedge-fund manager could get into. But he didn't need to know. He just needed to keep Rebecca safe.

Upon his unfollowed return to the safe house, he located Rebecca in the garden. He watched for a moment as she walked slowly across the lawn, looking at her feet. He realised she was barefoot.

As if she knew he was watching, she raised her head and looked directly at him. A small smile tried to pull at her lips but failed. Logan strode over and held out the pharmacy bag.

"Just let me know if you have any side effects."

"Thank you."

"I've spoken to your father. There's no change."

The brief hope in Rebecca's eyes faded away as she nodded. Turning away, she continued her sensory walk. Logan wanted to say more, to engage her. Unable to think of what to say, he walked away.

~*~*~

The next few days passed quickly for Rebecca. With renewed effort, and help from the sleeping pills, Rebecca had set herself a new routine of writing and relaxing, and she now felt more at peace than she'd been since she'd arrived. She'd even found energy to practice some basic Pilates on the lawn.

To top it all off, she'd felt the concerted effort of the team to be more conversational with her. Previously, Simon had been the only one who'd she'd felt comfortable around. Now, she was familiar with Tommy's lop-sided smiles and Charlie's penchant for Dad jokes. The only team member she still couldn't crack was Logan.

Rebecca didn't know if it was deliberate, but their paths had barely crossed. She couldn't deny her disappointment, though she'd been mindful not to ask the others too much about his whereabouts.

When she had seen him, it'd been in passing. She'd seen him running in the grounds twice. His face had been set, determined. He exuded strength and stamina. She'd begun to open her window and enjoy the view at the same time every day. A time that happened to coincide with when she'd seen him run previously. When she realised that he didn't run at the same time every day, she'd been disappointed but kept the routine anyway.

Last night, as she'd been sat with some of the team after dinner, Logan had entered and grabbed a plateful as they were clearing up. He hadn't stayed, claiming work, and took his food with him. Whilst this wasn't unusual for the team, the notion that he was definitely avoiding her niggled.

Since receiving the laptop, she'd poured her pent-up frustrations into writing a selection of short stories. And without deliberately choosing to do so, she'd also created erotica fiction where Logan ravished her.

The more she wrote, the more graphic she'd become until it was entirely pornographic. She barely ever read back her own words, feeling embarrassed about them. Though she didn't delete them either. Just knowing they were there created a new layer of arousal in Rebecca, and she'd been masturbating daily since.

Initially, this had been satisfying enough. This morning, however, she'd been left lagging behind the satisfaction limit again. The aching need to be physically touched reared its troubling head again. And who knew when she could find relief again.

Over dinner last night, Rebecca had briefly considered flirting with Simon. He'd been friendly enough from the beginning that perhaps he'd cross that line. But even as they laughed together, she had to admit that she wasn't attracted to him. And no matter how desperate she was beginning to feel, she wasn't prepared to use anyone like that.

Twenty-four hours later, Rebecca sat at the dinner table again. As usual, she offered to clear the plates. As usual, her help was refused. Instead, she excused herself and wandered into the living room, losing two further hours of the day to a film on TV. Simon was absent the entire evening, and Logan hadn't shown his face, leaving Rebecca deflated.

After flicking through a few more channels, Rebecca gave up and headed to bed. Outside of her room sat Logan.

"What are you doing here? I thought Charlie had two more nights on the night shift?"

"He was feeling sick so I'm covering."

"Aren't you still feeling tired from the shift change?"

"I've had rest, I'll be fine."

"Ok, goodnight."

"Goodnight."

As Rebecca closed the door behind her, she realised that he no longer said her name at all. Not since the night she'd lost her temper about him calling her 'Miss Forde'. He'd stopped using that, thankfully. But aside from that first time when he'd sat on her bed, he'd not called her Rebecca at all. He'd just dropped it completely.

This annoyed her. Was he so pig-headed at sticking to his professional rules that he still couldn't bring himself to call her by her first name, even after she'd broken down in front of him? Really? The urge to break his hard shell swelled within her.

The glow of her laptop screen caught her attention. The screen saver was active. All it took was a touch of the mousepad, and the raunch-filled word document sat open and exposed. She'd not bothered setting a password. She assumed her privacy was respected. At least, that's the reason she gave herself.

Rebecca's mind raced as her eyes darted between the door and the screen. Had Logan been in here at all? Did he check the windows before taking post? Did he see the laptop and peek? Had he read any of it?

She touched the mousepad and his name appeared in a detailed description of him bending her over the kitchen table and ramming his cock deep in her soaking wet pussy.

Rebecca's heart pounded against her chest. Her throat dried. No, he couldn't have. He wouldn't have. Logan had seemed his normal self just now. Surely if he'd read it, he would've had something to say. This was Logan after all. But then again, exactly because he was Logan, his professionalism could be on full power NOT to address it.

As Rebecca sat and stared at her words, she became increasingly aroused by the idea that Logan had in fact read it. That he might be sat on the other side of the door thinking about all he'd read. That as he'd read it, his cock had hardened. Maybe he'd even been tempted to wank, here in her room.

Rebecca groaned at the mental image of Logan naked. As the low noise reached her ears, she hushed in embarrassment. Then a new thought emerged.

What if she deliberately made noise? What if she masturbated right here and now whilst he sat outside? Would he come in to check on her? Would he be overcome with lust that she'd finally be fucked the way she desperately wanted to be?

Pushing herself over the edge of reason, Rebecca stripped and climbed onto the bed.

~*~*~

As Rebecca closed her bedroom door, Logan rolled his shoulders to relax. He'd managed to avoid her since the day he'd met her father. At least, up close and personal.

He'd noticed how her mood had improved and it made him smile. He was relieved she was managing to find her stride. Her father had pissed him off with his throwaway comments about her behaviour. From their first meeting, it was clear that Mr Forde really liked to lay it on thick that his daughter was a mooching spoilt brat.

Logan wished he'd better pre-empted Rebecca's need to keep busy and provided the laptop of his own instigation, as well as foreseen her need for more social interaction. Whilst she may not be the laze-about she'd been painted to be, there was no denying that her normal life was heavily doused in social media. And who was he to demand she blindly accept this sudden isolation without it affecting her.

Not that he could bring himself to be a bigger part of that. The truth was, he didn't trust himself at all. He couldn't see how spending more time with her would result in anything other than unnecessary angst for him.

He'd noticed her at her window again a few days ago when he was running. And again, he'd had to stand under the cold shower trying to wash away the image of her spaghetti-strap vest clinging to her curves. The third time he'd seen her at her window, he'd had to do a double take as he thought she was naked. It turned out to be a pale-pink strapless top. He swore she was wearing less and less each time. At that point, he vowed to run during dinner time, which she was now attending every evening.

He'd been unusually annoyed when Charlie had been found throwing up earlier. Temptation to swap the personnel rotation around so that he himself didn't need to cover this shift had been strong. Frustratingly, his ingrained mantra of being professional refused to let him ask one of the other members of team who'd had less sleep.

So here he was. He'd finished the previous book and had chosen a biography of a famous explorer this time. Armed with determination to not be distracted, he flicked the book open.

He hadn't reached the end of the first chapter when he heard something. Freezing, he waited. It had been faint and unrecognisable. Silence followed. Reaching for his radio, he quietly checked in with the team. All was clear.

Taking a deep breath, he dismissed it and glanced back at the page. The sound repeated. Still quiet though louder than before. And longer. Logan stood. When he heard it again, he honed in and took a step in its direction. Four sounds later, he stood outside of Rebecca's door.

Now closer, he heard clearly for the first time. She was moaning. Logan' protective instincts fired and he reached for the door handle. She seemed to be having another nightmare.

Rebecca moaned louder. Logan's fingers froze on the handle. He was wrong. Her moans grew louder, punctuated by what he suspected was gasping. She wasn't upset. She wasn't dreaming. She was masturbating.

To confirm, Rebecca groaned again, hissing'yessss' as she breathed.

Fuck! Logan mouthed silently. His cock strained against his pants. He'd gone from zero to one hundred in a split second. His fingers slowly released the door handle. A voice in his head told him to move away. Instead, his forehead rested against the doorframe. Closing his eyes, he listened.

Rebecca was growing more vocal. Logan silently encouraged her. Her breathless pleas repeated more frequently. She begged, though for nothing specific, as if insatiable. Then she spoke his name.

Logan's breath caught as his eyes flew open.No, no, she didn't, he denied. Did she know he was here, practically pressed against the door? Had he been caught? Panic blurred his mind for a moment.

And then reason kicked in. She alreadyknew he was out here. Maybe not so close, straining to hear her, but still. And there was no doubt she'd gotten louder. His stomach flipped. Shewanted him to hear.

His mind raced. She'd never masturbated before. At least, not when he was duty. Not loud and obvious like this. What was she hoping for? Did she want him to burst in and fuck her? His cock was ready to explode. He feared that for the first time ever he'd cum in his pants.

Lust radiated around him. His breath came ragged as he continued to listen. Rebecca's noises were building. She was close. Fire raged within him, pleading him to go to her. All it would take was to open the door. He'd see her, naked and wet, spread-eagle on the bed. She'd beg him to claim her. She'd be his.

Logan gripped the doorframe and silently begged her to cum. He needed to be released from this divine torture.

With frantic repetitions of agreement, Rebecca obliged. Her orgasmic cries tore from her throat, and he imagined her delicious body shuddering.

Slowly releasing his unsteady breath, Logan quietly stepped away. Unable to sit down with his raging hard-on, he stood at the window and looked out into the darkness.

The floor fell quiet, and he prayed she'd fallen asleep. He didn't know how much more he could take. This woman was going to be the death of him, he was convinced. He wondered if blue balls could genuinely kill a man.

Eventually, his erection waned and he returned to his seat. But he couldn't silence the little voice reminding him of one seemingly key fact: she'd wanted him to hear.

~*~*~

Rebecca blinked. Daylight lit up the outline of the curtains. Another successful night's sleep caused her to grin widely. As her brain kicked into gear, memories of the previous night came back to her. Her cheeks burned and she buried her face in the pillow, chuckling.

Had she really done that? Had she really masturbated and cum with such abandon? When she'd first started, she was unsure if she'd commit to it. Yet the more she touched herself, the more she imagined Logan hearing her, the more aroused she'd become.

Her pussy had gotten more wet than she could remember. Her body had been on fire. She'd been disappointed that he hadn't burst through the door and fucked her there and then, especially after she'd moaned his name, though it hadn't stopped her from finishing. And she knew there'd be no way he didn't hear it.

There'd be no way he didn't hear it.

Rebecca's smile froze.

He'd have heard it, there was no doubt. But what if he hadn't liked it? What if it had annoyed him? Offended him? He hadn't taken her invitation, after all. He hadn't risked the opportunity. She'd been so caught up in her own fantasy that she'd assumed he'd like it. Or at least arouse him, which was surely the same thing? But what if she'd been wrong. Foolishness washed over her.

Swearing out loud, Rebecca punched at the duvet as she scrambled off the bed to shower. Under the hot spray, she lectured herself about behaving so stupidly. It was one thing to enjoy fantasies in her own private way, such as her writing. But to try and force it in reality? Especially when he'd not given an ounce of evidence that he'd respond positively to it.

She'd tried to play a game with him. And she'd failed. At least she had her answer now. Not that it helped her recent raging libido. Regardless, she'd deal with that another way. Logan was firmly returned to her Fantasy box.

An hour later, Rebecca lay on the lawn cloud watching. The urge to be in an open space beat her need to eat breakfast. And she wasn't ready to run into Logan yet.

It had been over a week since it'd last rained and the stubbly grass itched at her skin. Still, the clouds were happy to play, offering her lots of shapes. With the crook of her arm shielding her eyes, she didn't notice anyone joining her until their shadow passed over her face.

"Hey, Bex, how's your morning going?" Asked Simon as she sat up.

"Slow but good, thanks. Is everything okay?"

"Yeah. I was going to ask...it kinda goes against our protocol but you seem cool so..."

"What is it?"

"It's Tommy's 50th birthday today. So would it be okay with you if we did a cake and balloons at dinner for him?"

Rebecca brushed off her skirt as she stood. "I'm confused. Why are you asking me?"

"Technically you, or your dad rather, is our employer, and so we have no right to do anything personal whilst on a contract. We wouldn't want to do anything that makes you feel unsafe or disregarded."

"I think it's a great idea. Are you baking the cake?"

Simon laughed loudly and Rebecca couldn't help chuckling at the sound. "I guess that's a 'Hell, no', then."

"Exactly. I think Tommy would appreciate not being presented with a pile of slop on his birthday. I'm on grocery duty this afternoon so I can sort it then."

"You're going out?"

"Yeah."

Rebecca sighed, fighting the pointless urge to ask to tag along.

"I'm sorry I can't offer for you to ride along," Simon pre-empted.

"It's ok. Thanks for checking, I'm looking forward to it."

"Thanks, we all appreciate it."

"Has Logan cleared this?"

"Uhm, not yet."

"Maybe you should have checked with him first, good luck with that." Rebecca pulled a face.

"He's not that bad."

"Really? He's not the cold machine who won't even let me explore the grounds beyond this patch of lawn?"

"He's not a cold machine," Simon frowned, "he has strict codes for a good reason. I've worked with him for ten years, and he's the best boss I've ever had."

"I'm glad he's a good boss to you, but I don't see what you see. Hopefully you get to do what you want later."

"Thanks, Bex."

Walking back to the house, they discussed the kind of cake Tommy might appreciate the most. As they reached the door, Rebecca decided it was time for brunch and headed to the kitchen.

Three hours later, Rebecca found herself in the kitchen again this time searching for a snack. As she rummaged through the sparse fridge, she idly wondered what time Simon would be returning with the food. And if Logan had approved the cake distraction.

Picking a yogurt and an over-ripe banana, Rebecca sat at the breakfast bar. The house had been extra quiet today. In fact, no-one had been around since she'd last seen Simon this morning.

The longer she dwelled on this fact, the more unnerved she became. She tried to reason with herself that they were all just busy. But her damned imagination wouldn't stop picking at the curled edges of her reasoning. Rebecca forced herself to finish the food and clear away before going to reassure herself.

She headed to the control room first. When they first arrived, Logan had chosen the dining room to set up the comprehensive equipment needed. Rebecca had rarely gone near the room as it unsettled her that all of this was for her.

Standing in the doorway, it was clearly deserted. Rebecca's heart thumped harder.

"Do you need anything?"

Logan spoke quietly from behind and Rebecca yelped, jumping away.

"Fuck!" She swore, clutching her chest, "what are you doing creeping up on me?"

"I wasn't creeping," Logan frowned, "I walked normally."

"I didn't hear you, sorry."

"Were you looking for anyone in particular?"

"No, yes, no..."

Rebecca hadn't yet recovered from the fright so her thoughts wouldn't align. Breathing deeply, she shook her head and started again. "I thought I was alone in the house, and it freaked me out. Where is everyone?"

"Simon and Riley are shopping. The rest are either off-duty, so probably sleeping, or on their monthly refresher training in the library."

Rebecca nodded, not trusting herself to speak again. Realising how close she stood to Logan, she felt the need to escape. She moved to step past him. His hand seized her upper arm. Despite his grip being gentle, it immobilised her.

"Are you okay?"

In her ears, his voice had dropped an octave. A shiver ran down her spine. She couldn't look at him. The shame of what she'd done last night still prickled. Praying her voice didn't crack, she replied.

"I'm fine. Like I said, I just freaked myself out for a moment."

"We wouldn't leave you alone, Miss Fo..."

Rebecca yanked her arm away with a disgusted snort and walked away. In her room, she slammed the door behind her. Slumping down onto her bed, she closed her eyes and focused on breathing. She needed to get this entire stupid situation under control.

She'd embarrassed herself and had to take it on the chin. This wasn't his fault, and she couldn't take her annoyance at his lack of interest in her out on him. Like a fucking inexperienced virgin.

At the bathroom sink, she splashed cold water on her face and spoke to her reflection.