Bonus Track: A Protecting Mr. Fine Bonus Scene

I recommend reading this short after finishing Protecting Mr. Fine. Enjoy!

Boomer

After leaving Georgia and heading overseas, I was convinced the Stamper was either Zee’s previous business manager, Noelle, or his former gig partner, Bodhi Sorrentino.

But mostly I was focused on the former gig partner.

First of all, the guy was too friendly. All photos of him showed an impossibly sunshiny fake smile with a dimple like someone in central casting had asked for a host of the next annoying children’s program. You know the kind with the earworm intro song and the impossibly bright colors sewn in patches all over the man’s clothes and curtains and attitude?

No one was like that in real life. Hence, suspect number one.

Besides, I’d met Noelle many times over the years and she truly wasn’t smart enough to remember the Latin language existed, much less use it correctly.

Bodhi, on the other hand, had graduated from Yale, which made him the most likely culprit for the Latin. 

And it was clear he had plenty of reasons to want Zee running scared, too. The two of them had come up together, playing small clubs and pizza joints while they were still in school to try and get a foothold. After graduation, Zee had leveled-up. Bodhi hadn’t. Zee had found the money to invest in better equipment, headshots, and demos while Bodhi had wasted his time with a loser boyfriend. According to Zee, he’d tried to bring Bodhi along with him, but Bodhi’s deadbeat ex had convinced him to get a “real job” doing TPS reports for a commercial detergent company. 

If I’d spent five years stuck as an office drone while my friend was off following his dreams, I would have been pissed and jealous too. It made complete sense Bodhi would have come out of his corporate coma and decided he wanted what Zee had.

He’d spent the next five years trying to get it with only moderate success, while Zee’s career hit the turbo blaster. Now, after trying unsuccessfully to get in close with Zee again, he was taking out his anger on him with threats. 

It was obvious to just about everyone… except Zee, who was way too nice about this stuff.

So I was here in Dublin to find the proof.

I waited until well into the first set before I meandered into the large pub where he was playing with an up and coming folk band from Texas. The lead vocalist had family in Dublin, which was how they’d booked in to playing at this pub regularly for a couple of weeks.

After grabbing a pint at the bar, I found a seat off to the side at a stool by the wall. My first glance atthe suspect showed a pinched facial expression. He was in the middle of a complicated series of drum strikes but as soon as the vocalist came in, the drum rhythm evened out and suddenly the drummer’s face relaxed into… well into a dream-like expression of utter bliss. His eyes slid closed and his lips softened into a smile as he played the music from muscle memory.

My chest suddenly felt tight and I wondered if maybe I was experiencing heartburn from the burger I’d grabbed on the way over from the hotel. It wasn’t attraction—I wasn’t into guys, not really—but then again… it kind of felt like attraction. Like the time I’d run across Jennifer Lopez backstage at a music festival, coming out of the dressing room next to Zee’s. She’d been in a skin-tight costume that showed off her amazing body.

That’s what this feeling was like. Wobbly belly, slight tightening in my groin. Sudden interest in what the rest of him might look like. Within moments, I found myself glancing over all of Bodhi. The curving muscles of his biceps and shoulders, set off by only a navy tank. A faded flannel shirt lay in a heap on the floor next to him. His chest was broad but his waist was narrow. His thighs, what I could glimpse of them behind the drumkit, were muscular and slashes of skin showed through shredded jeans. I couldn’t look away until the last notes of the song rang through the bar. 

Why the fuck was my dick taking notice of a stalker? No. I refused. I firmed my jaw and narrowed my eyes. 

I was here for work. Here for Zee. His safety was my number one priority.

And if the suspect happened to also be a very attractive man, that was immaterial. Maybe he’d expected his charm and good looks to throw off suspicion, but I wouldn’t be fooled.

I closed my eyes and shook my head. The man was a pissant. Not a criminal mastermind. All I needed to do was get close to him and sweet-talk him into admitting he had a beef with Zee Barlo.

“Buy you another?” 

I glanced over and saw an attractive woman, maybe in her late-thirties, with red wavy hair smiling at me as she took the stool next to mine. She was lovely and looked exactly like the kind of woman I would have expected to see in a pub in Dublin. I smiled back at her out of habit. “Sticking with soda after this. Just came to listen to the band.”

She glanced at the small stage. “Oh my gosh, I love them too! I was here Friday and they brought the house down.”

“You’re American?” I asked in surprise at her accent.

She nodded. “Here for work. You?”

“Same.”

She took a sip of her wine. “What do you do?”

“He’s a bodyguard,” a honeyed masculine voice said. I glanced over in surprise to see Bodhi standing there with a grin on his face.

So much for subterfuge. And so much for my keen powers of observation. I hadn’t even noticed the man getting off stage. 

“And how do you know that?” I asked, too startled to deny it. Besides, he could have seen me at any time while I was on the job.

Bodhi was even more beautiful up close, which was strange. It wasn’t like I hadn’t seen photos of him in my research. I had plenty of them. I even had his Instagram and TikTok on my phone. But nothing prepared me for the charisma that seemed to come out of him in person.

“You’re in the background of one of the photos of Zee in People magazine. Sexiest Man Alive, indeed. I got a two-fer when I bought that one.”

I blinked at him. Was he… was he trying to charm me? Oh for fuck’s sake. No.

The woman walked her fingers up my arm. “I have a body that could use guarding.”

Bodhi pressed his lips together as if to keep from laughing. Meanwhile his eyes danced merrily. “He could use some company tonight, but it’ll have to be here at the pub. He’s on duty for a little longer, aren’t you, big guy? About…” He looked back at the stage, then his watch, then back at me with a grin. “Another hour and a half at least. We usually go till just before midnight.”

The woman looked back and forth between us. “I don’t understand. Are you two…?”

“No,” I said with a laugh. “I’m straight.”

“Shame,” Bodhi said with a wink before making his way over to the bar to grab a bottle of water and then heading back to his spot behind the drums.

I stared at him as my stomach continued to twist. What exactly was he up to?

As the musicians prepared to start their next set, the woman leaned in. Her floral perfume wafted over me, but I wasn’t interested. Bodhi was right. I was on the job, not looking for a personal connection of any kind. I shifted slightly on my stool.

“God, aren’t they amazing?” she went on. “I saw them for the first time in Buffalo last summer and oh my gosh, you’ll never guess who was in the audience! Do you like Shaboozey?” 

She pulled out her phone and began scrolling through her photos until she found a picture of herself posing in a bar with a guy I didn’t recognize. Both of them were grinning at the camera. Bodhi’s band was in the background of the photo with Bodhi clearly visible at the drums. 

I started to look away and make a vaguely impressed comment when something else in the background of the photo registered in my brain and I took another look.

“When exactly was that?” I asked, peering at the photo more closely. Just beside the woman’s head in the image, a television mounted on the wall of the bar displayed a banner about a pipeline. I couldn’t make out any of the other words, but I remembered the story of a pipeline explosion had hit the news the same weekend Zee had been stamped in San Diego and LA.

She blinked as if startled by my sudden intensity. “I… I don’t remember?”

I held out my hand for the phone. “Would you mind me looking at the timestamp in the photo data? Or I can tell you how to find it. And could you email it to me?”

She crinkled her forehead in confusion but handed me the phone. “You want to know when I saw Shaboozey?”

After navigating to the metadata, I confirmed it was taken the same day Zee was stamped. 

Well, shit. Bodhi had an alibi. 

And judging from his banking details, the man certainly couldn’t afford to pay someone else to do it for him.

Apparently his guilt wasn’t obvious at all. I’d been completely wrong.

I quickly sent the photo to a dummy email account I owned and handed the woman her phone back. “Um… not exactly. But I’m sure her music is great, if you say so. I’ll have to look her up.”

She narrowed her eyes at me. “Shaboozey’s a guy.”

“Oh.”

Apparently that and my decided lack of interest in her was enough to make her give up and move on to someone else, and I couldn’t bring myself to feel disappointed about that. 

Especially not when the music started again.

I watched Bodhi as he played the rest of the final set. He seemed good at what he did—though I knew jack shit about playing the drums—but more than that, he seemed to have a passion for it and I appreciated someone with a passion.

I appreciated it a lot.

Frankly, more than I’d thought was possible for me to appreciate another man.

Knowing he had an alibi for at least one of the stamping incidents changed everything. While I watched Bodhi play, I noticed his open joy. His body language was relaxed, his eyes were bright, and his mouth was wide with a grin most of the time. The man was clearly happy being exactly where he was. He definitely didn’t seem like someone who was bitter enough about his situation to threaten anyone.

And fuck, was he good looking. Charisma radiated off him in waves, making it hard to look at anyone or anything else, especially when he was playing. My heart thumped wildly in time to his drum beats and my head swam with confusion and—I had to call it what it was—overwhelming lust. Something about the man called to me, twisted me up inside, made me want. He was a meteor dashing across the night sky from out of nowhere, and suddenly I was making wishes for things I’d never considered wishing for.

It was more than just being around an attractive man—I worked with Zee Barlo, for Christ’s sake—it was something specific to Bodhi. Something magnetic and inescapable. 

In between songs, I opened up my email account and sent the photo to Violet, explaining the conversation I’d had with the woman and the context of the photo. My boss quickly texted back with a few clarifying questions before promising to run it down.

Violet: We can’t let him off the hook based on just this, but I’ll find a way to confirm he was there now that we know where to look. Good work. Sniff around a little more and see if you can determine if he has a motive regardless.

I sighed. How the hell was I supposed to do that? Then again, if it meant more time with the beautiful man… 

“Buy you a drink?”

This time it wasn’t the woman asking. I turned to see Bodhi smiling at me. It looked like the band had finished for the night and he was finally free for my inquisition.

“Sure, thanks.” I said, feeling uncomfortable with him this close. He was still dressed in only a tank and jeans. The edges of his hairline were damp with sweat and his skin was flushed from the effort of playing and the heat from all the bodies in the pub.

He gestured to one of the bartenders who handed over a couple of pints of beer. Bodhi turned back, holding one of the pints out to me. “Mind if we sit outside? I need a little air.”

I took the beer and followed him wordlessly until we exited out of a back door and into an enclosed patio. Most of the handful of people outside were smoking, so we headed to the opposite side of the patio and took a seat on an old picnic bench that had definitely seen better days.

“You gonna tell me your name?” he asked with a teasing grin. “I’m assuming you know I’m Bodhi Sorrentino.”

I cleared my throat. “Brant Godina. Everyone calls me Boomer.” 

He shot me a grin so wide and welcoming, it nearly made me choke on my beer. “Nice to meet you, Boomer.”

I stared at him. The man had dark brown hair, mussed from his hours on stage, and a lean face that could have been intimidatingly handsome. But when he smiled, it completely changed the landscape. His hazel eyes brightened, his dark eyebrows winged up, and a barely-there dimple edged one cheek. If he knew I was there working, why would he be so friendly and welcoming?

“How’s Zee?” he asked before taking a long pull off the glass. I watched his throat move as he swallowed.

“Huh?”

“It seemed like something was going on with him in Atlanta. I tried to get in to see him after his set but your colleagues wouldn’t let me.”

I blinked and inhaled a sharp bite of cold air to clear my head. “Oh. He’s fine.”

Bodhi barked out a laugh. “Ah. Sure. Fine. Sounds like him. Zane always did like to put on a brave face, poor guy.”

I tried to focus on the reason I was there. “What do you mean, poor guy?”

He shrugged before leaning his elbows on the table and holding his pint between his hands. “I feel bad for him. The stress of his fame must be killing him. He’s a gentle soul. But he’s also…” He let out a breath. “Too generous? I don’t know how to describe it. He’s always trying to help others, even to the point of neglecting himself.”

“Would you do a better job of handling the fame?” I asked, trying not to sound accusatory or anything other than curious.

He laughed. “Hell no. I’m terrified of fame. Don’t get me wrong, I love meeting big-name artists and getting access to some fantastic musical opportunities, but I’m not sure how I’d handle the kind of fame he has. I like being able to sit out in a beer garden without being accosted by strangers clamoring for my autograph or a selfie.”

“Do you wish you were his drummer?”

His smile dimmed. “Uh no? I’m not really a pop rock guy, in case you haven’t noticed. It was one of the reasons we went in different directions after college. Well, that and the fact I was dating a narcissistic asshole who didn’t appreciate my having good-looking gay male friends and who thought I could better support our shitty-ass lifestyle with an office job.” Bodhi twisted the glass in his hands. “Boomer… what’s this about? Is Zane in some kind of trouble?”

I noticed he’d switched from calling him Zee to Zane. It reminded me Bodhi had known Zee for a long time, since before he was even close to becoming famous.

“Possibly,” I said, watching him carefully. “There are always low-key threats when someone is as famous as he is, but we’re trying to determine if one of them is more serious than the others.”

“Fuck,” he said, leaning back from the table and running a hand through his hair. “How can I help?”

“Did you resent Zee for being able to pursue a music career when you couldn’t?”

His forehead crinkled. “No? Because I could have, if I’d wanted to. A girl I knew at school had a folk group at the time that was getting plenty of gigs. She asked me to play with them and I said no. Have you heard of The Wandering Pines?” He lifted an eyebrow.

Everyone had heard of The Wandering Pines. They had several hits out and had been at some of the same festivals Zee had played at. “Do you regret turning them down?”

He smiled again. “Not one bit. As much as I hated my job after college, it allowed me to stay in town and be there to help my mom when my grandmother got sick. She spent three years with increasing heart troubles, in and out of the hospital and doctor’s appointments. It was rough on my mom. I’m glad I could help, and I got to spend time with Nana before she died. Thank god for that because Nana was the one who told me to kick Kip to the curb. Wise woman.”

He winked at me before taking another sip of beer. The gesture made my chest feel strange.

I ran my fingers down the cold glass even though it was cold as shit outside. “When was the last time you were in California?”

Bodhi’s eyebrows furrowed. “February, maybe? Let me see.” He pulled out his phone and scrolled around on it before glancing back up at me. “February eleventh I flew to San Francisco. We did three nights there before heading to Tahoe for a gig. Why? Tell me what’s going on, Boomer. You’re starting to worry me. Is Zane in serious trouble?”

He surprised me by handing me his phone. It was open to his calendar app where I could see the gigs he mentioned.

“You’re welcome to search whatever you want. I’m starting to get the feeling you think I’m involved in whatever it is you’re investigating.”

I held his phone in my palm as I met his eyes. “You’d let me look through your phone?”

He nodded. I could see the earnest concern for his friend written on his face. “Definitely. I don’t have anything to hide and I’ll do anything to make sure Zane is safe. Do whatever you need to do. Except… well…” He pressed his lips together before giving me a goofy grin. “Maybe don’t look at the bookmarks in my browser, okay? No one needs to get embarrassed here, and I’m sure my choice in certain sites would send your poor straight eyeballs into places they’ve never been before.”

I stared at him in shock. What kind of person allows a stranger to dig around in his phone? And why did his mention of porn sites make me suddenly very aware that my pants didn’t fit right?

I opened my mouth and shut it again. 

Images of Bodhi watching men have sex, of Bodhi alone in a hotel room with nothing but internet porn to keep him company, flashed like colorful brain confetti through my mind.

“I’ve seen porn,” I said stupidly.

Suddenly, my cheeks felt like they were on fire.

Bodhi lifted an eyebrow. “Oh? And what kind of porn do you enjoy, Boomer? Maybe we should exchange bookmarks and see who blushes first? Oh wait, I already win that game and you haven’t even looked yet.”

“I have to go,” I said, thrusting his phone at him and shoving myself up from the picnic table.

“I’m sorry if I made you uncomfortable,” Bodhi said quickly, sounding worried.

“No, no. It’s fine. It’s not that.” It’s because suddenly I want to see you naked. I want to touch you. I want to find out what it feels like to make you hard. To make you come. To taste your sweet fucking smile.

Rogue thoughts peppered me like buckshot, thoughts I hadn’t had before and didn’t know what to do with.

I stumbled out of the table and toward the little fence gate leading to the street.

“Boomer?”

I waved my hand over my shoulder but didn’t look back. “Thanks.”

And then I bolted for my hotel.

Bodhi

I stared after him in surprise.

When I’d first noticed Boomer watching me in the pub, I’d been shocked. I’d recognized him as one of Zane’s security team not because of the People Magazine photo but because I’d noticed the man in person at two different events. 

The first had been back in January in New York. Zane had attended a football game, and I’d spotted him in the corridor outside of the box, but it was Boomer who’d gotten my attention. I’d caught him squatting down, accepting a Giants ball cap from a little boy who’d asked if Zee could sign it for him. The big, muscular bodyguard had looked heartbreakingly gentle with the boy. For an older man who appeared gruff most of the time, he’d suddenly become a total sweetheart.

I’d only witnessed the scene in passing. I’d been there with friends and hadn’t had time to stop and try to see Zane, let alone follow up on the identity of his hunky bodyguard. But then I’d seen him again at a folk festival in July in Newport. Zane hadn’t been playing, but had shown up without advanced warning to watch some of the bands. His arrival had caused such a stir, one of his security people had to whisk Zane away while another stayed to get in the face of an overzealous fan. The gorgeous (and intimidating as fuck) security guy who’d gotten the fan to meekly back down had been the same sweetheart who’d helped the kid.

Boomer.

He was the reason I’d bought a couple of issues of People Magazine when the story about Zane had come out. Because that sexy bodyguard had been in the background of one of the photos somehow looking gruff and sweet at the same time.

So I had a low-key crush on a stranger, and when I’d noticed that same stranger in the crowd tonight, my fantasies had gotten a turbo-boost.

Maybe there’d been something in the way I’d engaged with the guy that had scared him off. He was definitely straight. I didn’t get the feeling he was homophobic, but I’d tried not to flirt with him, and he’d still bolted like I’d set his feet on fire.

Seriously disappointing all around.

I blew out a breath and sipped the rest of my beer before going back inside, securing my instruments, and heading back to the temporary flat I shared with my bandmates.

The next night, Boomer was back. He didn’t stick around to talk after, so I assumed he was surveilling me for some reason. The idea he thought I meant any ill will toward Zane was upsetting. I adored Zane. I’d never met a more generous human in my life. Hell, he’d helped pay my Nana’s funeral bill after she’d passed away. I didn’t know for sure it was him, but there’d been no one else in my life who would have done it, and I knew Zane to be an anonymous giver in certain circumstances.

The third night Boomer came back, I didn’t let him sneak off.

“Did I offend you the other night?” I asked, going up to him during a set break. “If so, I’m sorry.”

He scratched the stubble on his jaw. “No.”

I inhaled slowly in hopes of keeping myself from snapping at him. I wanted an explanation. I needed to know why he’d bolted after our first meeting. “Did you get the information you needed about Zee?”

Boomer nodded. “My boss is looking into it.”

I’d met rocks who talked more. I gritted my teeth. “Okay. Good.” I turned to head back to the stage when a warm hand clasped my wrist.

“Bodhi…” His voice was low and hesitant. I turned back to face him, leery of what he would say. “I… uh. Would you… could I…” He inhaled and exhaled before meeting my eyes and firming his jaw. “I’d like to buy you a beer after your set.”

His eyes were heated, as if… as if he was interested in me. 

But hadn’t he said he was straight? 

“If it’s an apology beer, you don’t need to bother. And if you’re offering in hopes of asking me more questions about Zee, it’s unnecessary. I already told you I’m happy to help. No beer needed.”

He shook his head. “It’s neither of those things.”

I tilted my head and studied him, looking for any evidence to pin my hopes on. “What is it, then?”

Someone bumped me from behind, pushing me into Boomer’s personal space. He gripped my hips to keep me from falling into him. The feel of his strong hands on my body made my skin prickle with awareness. His hands clenched, fingers digging into the side of my ass. The pulse jumped in his neck and my eyes remained riveted on it, as if searching for clues that he was feeling any attraction or if the tension was all one-sided.

“Hey!” he barked at the man who’d bumped me. “Watch where the fuck you’re going.”

I was close enough to smell cologne on him, close enough to catch a whiff of the beer he was drinking. Close enough to want to lean in and run my nose along the edge of his jaw.

Someone muttered an apology behind me and Boomer grunted an acknowledgement.

I stood up straighter and shook off Boomer’s touch. “Y-yeah. I’ll meet you after and you’ll tell me… whatever it is you want to tell me.”

I felt his eyes on me as I made my way back to the stage and took my position behind the drums. My skin still felt tight from his nearness. Why was I so attracted to an older straight guy? It made no sense. There were plenty of beautiful men to hook up with here in Dublin, and I could usually take my pick late at night after a good set.

But for the past couple of nights, I hadn’t wanted anyone other than my imaginary fantasy with Boomer.

The final set of the night passed like the spread of thick molasses—slow and thick, but sweet too. I shot glances at Boomer periodically and noticed his eyes rarely strayed from me. By the time I met up with him by the door to the terrace, I was hot and restless, wishing I could tell whether there was any chance at all with the man.

Boomer handed me a cold beer and I took a deep gulp.

“I need to know where you were on June ninth and eleventh.”

I blinked at him. He looked angry but I got the feeling it wasn’t anger at me. The knowledge he hadn’t stayed after to get to know me better was still disappointing.

After swallowing the beer, I pulled out my phone and looked through my calendar. “Buffalo, New York. I was with this group. One of those nights was at a bar and the other was at a music festival.”

“Can you prove it?”

“Yes. Can you tell me why? Did something happen to Zane? Is he okay?”

Boomer nodded. “He’s okay. He received threats in person on those days. We’re trying to account for anyone who had a beef with him.”

“I don’t have a beef with him.”

Boomer sighed. “So you say.” I opened my mouth to try and convince him, but he reached out and grabbed my hand. “And I believe you. I just need proof. I can’t tell them that my gut tells me you’re sincere.”

I pulled my hand away so I could shoot off a text to the PR company the band used and ask for photos, video, or any other coverage we had of those nights. “I understand. I’ll get you the proof.”

“Thank you.”

I slipped the phone back in my jeans. “Thank you. For believing me.”

He made a frustrated huffing noise and looked away. “You, um. You seem like a stand-up guy.”

I couldn’t help but smile. “That your gut talking again?”

The edge of his lips quirked up but he didn’t look at me. “I asked around.”

We sipped our beer in silence for a few minutes. The tension felt impossibly thick, and I wondered for the millionth time if I was the only one feeling it…

But of course I was. Boomer was straight. Couldn’t have been clearer about it, in fact. 

This was pointless. I needed to go to bed and get some rest. Stop waiting around like a pathetic puppy hoping for a belly rub.

“That all you need?” I asked, taking my final sip of beer and moving to stand up.

Boomer looked up in surprise. “You leaving?”

I gave him a gentle smile. “Yes. Otherwise I’m going to put the moves on you and make you very uncomfortable.”

He stood up and nearly tripped in his effort to get out of the picnic table. “Wait. Wait.”

I walked around the table to face him. “Thank you for caring about Zane. I know it’s your job, but he’s lucky to have you.”

“I want to kiss you,” he blurted before pressing his eyes closed and groaning. “Fuck, I’m sorry. I know you probably aren’t interested in an older sort of straight—mpfh.”

My brain cut off before his apology. Boomer, the hot bodyguard I’d been fantasizing about, wanted to kiss me? I didn’t need any details.

I pressed my lips to his to shut him up, reaching up with my hands to grab his face. Boomer melted against me. His strong arms came around my back and pulled me closer. After a moment, he tilted his head and deepened the kiss. His large hands roamed up my back and down to my ass. He may never have been with a man before, but it didn’t seem to hold him back from touching me with confidence.

We kissed for several minutes before I pulled back. “Maybe you’re, ah… not so straight tonight?” I asked breathlessly.

“You’re not an experiment,” he said quickly. “I don’t want you to think that I—”

“What am I then?” I smiled at him, curious about his motivation but feeling instinctively safe with him.

“Beautiful. Talented. Kind. I… I can’t seem to get you off my mind. I don’t want… I’m not a hook-up guy.”

I lifted my eyebrow at him causing him to sputter and blush deep red. On the older gruff man it was about the most endearing thing I’d ever seen.

“I mean I am. I do want that. Of course I do. You’re sexy as hell. I just wanted you to know that wasn’t all I wanted.”

I wound my arms around his neck and stepped closer into him. “Do you want to come back to my place? It’s a little crowded, but I can kick my roommates out.”

Boomer leaned in and pressed a kiss against my cheek. “Come to my hotel instead?”

I grinned at him. “Sounds perfect.”

We moved toward the gate to the street while Boomer pulled out his phone to order a ride. As we waited, he reached for my hand and toyed with my pinky and ring finger as if scared of claiming the entire hand. 

“I thought you were straight,” I said softly.

“So did I. I mean… mostly. I’ve had… thoughts. Fantasies. I assumed it was common. But I like women mostly. I’ve never done anything with a guy. Hadn’t particularly wanted to. Until now.”

When the car drove up, Boomer stepped up and opened the door for me, ushering me in before closing the door and moving around to the other side. Even though I assumed this was gentlemanly habit left over from dating women, it was nice.

We rode in silence the few miles to the hotel and when we got out, Boomer surprised me by putting his hand on my lower back as we walked into the hotel and up to the elevator bank.

“You tired from playing?” he asked.

“Not too tired,” I teased.

He smiled. “Good.”

“I have the next two days off,” I added.

He glanced over and met my eyes as we stepped into the elevator. “I know.”

Boomer

I was nervous, but not scared nervous. Excited nervous.

As soon as I opened the door to the hotel room and guided Bodhi inside, I made the decision to be completely transparent with him. 

“I told you as much as I can about the threats to Zane. You were a suspect—I mean, technically still are, according to my boss—soI shouldn’t be doing this,” I began. I was a little worried about what me being here meant for my job… and even more worried about what it meant for my fucking moral compass that I didn’t give a shit about the job I loved at that moment.

Bodhi glanced at me in surprise, studied my face for a moment, then nodded, offering a sweet smile of understanding and regret. “I get it,” he said before turning toward the door.

“You definitely don’t.” I grabbed his hand and spun him around, desperate to keep him from leaving. My hands came up to hold his face while I kissed him. The whimpering noise he made as he melted against me was enough. 

There would be no regrets.

I murmured into his lips, “I don’t want you to go.”

In fact, I wanted him to stay. Desperately. For as long as I could keep him. 

This maybe should have been more shocking than it was. The attraction I’d felt for him the first night I’d watched him play hadn’t precisely been the first time I’d found a man attractive, but it was definitely the first man I’d ever been so attracted to that I couldn’t dismiss or ignore it. The first man I’d ever wanted to act on my attraction with. The first man who’d made it genuinely impossible to fall back on my “straightness.”

And while this was physical attraction—definitely that—it was more than that, too. Something about Bodhi Sorrentino had called to me from the first moment I’d laid eyes on him. He was warm like sunshine, sweet as candy. A feeling in my gut unlike any I’d ever felt was screaming that this man was it. Somehow, Bodhi was important. 

I didn’t believe in love at first sight. That shit was for greeting cards. But I’d been in some dicey situations in my time, especially when I’d served in the Middle East, and I’d learned to trust my gut. I was trusting it now.

Last night, I’d been strict with myself, trying to keep professional distance—something that had never been a problem in the past—but my resolve to stay impartial crumbled more with every second I spent in his presence. I’d already decided earlier tonight, even before he’d confronted me, that I couldn’t let Bodhi leave again without making a move and letting him know I was open to more. 

After kissing him earlier, my fate was sealed. I wanted him so badly, I hadn’t allowed myself to even hold his hand in the car because I worried that once I touched his bare skin, I wouldn’t be able to stop. 

I was a powder keg…and Bodhi Sorrentino was a spark.

“You sure?” The hesitancy in the man’s voice told me I had my work cut out for me if I wanted to show him how I felt. 

Fortunately, I was up for the challenge.

“So fucking sure,” I whispered back.

Bodhi reached for the edge of my sweater and pulled it over my head before yanking at the hem of my undershirt. I could barely stop kissing him long enough to let him undress me. My fingers were greedy. They snuck under his shirt and down his pants. 

I wanted to feel all of him. Wanted to explore his body and learn what made him gasp and beg for more.

My hands went to the front of his jeans, but I fumbled. 

“Your hands are shaking,” he said, pulling away and frowning down at my hands.

I held them out between us. Sure enough, they were shaking like I was having a low blood sugar attack or something, but the sight only made me grin. “I’ve never wanted anyone this badly,” I confessed.

His smile was so fucking sweet. “Really? Why me?”

I closed my eyes and inhaled slowly, palming my dick at the same time. Words weren’t always my strong suit, but for him, I’d try. “You’re hot as fuck. Surely you know that. The way you play. Flat out. Your arms swinging and head bobbing to the music. You shine brighter than any star in the sky. And you have this… this magnetic energy that pulls at me. It reaches inside me and makes me feel good. Your eyes close sometimes and you just smile. Like the music is everything. It’s… you’re… intoxicating.”

“The music is everything,” he said, running his hands up my bare chest and over my shoulders. “But this is pretty fucking good too.” 

I reached out to pull his tank off. His arms and shoulders were seriously impressive. His nipples were flat brown discs that made my mouth water. I leaned down to kiss one of them and relished the sound of his hiss in response.

“Not just that,” I murmured as I moved him over to the bed and nudged him down onto it. I quickly pulled off my pants while he did the same. “I… I watched you. Not just on stage. You’re talented. Happy. The way you look at me… it’s like you actually see me. And that’s pretty rare because my whole job is about fading into the wallpaper, you know?” I shook my head and rolled my eyes. “This sounds stupid, but… you’re just really fucking nice. Kind. I can see it in your eyes and in your smile. In the way you talk about people. In the way you talk to me. And you’re hot. Yeah, I said that already, but it’s true. And I liked… I liked what you said about being there for your mom when your grandma was sick.”

Once we were both stripped down to our underwear, I crawled over him and began dropping more kisses on his abdomen and chest, his arms and hands, his neck and jaw. His cock swelled behind the fabric of his briefs and I reached down to palm it. It was strange feeling another man like this, but knowing he was hard for me made my head spin in a good way. A really fucking good way.

“Don’t know what the fuck I’m doing,” I admitted with a huff, squeezing and stroking him. “Gonna embarrass myself.”

Bodhi wrapped his legs around mine and before I knew what was happening, I was on my back with Bodhi leaning over me. “Maybe I could show you a few things?” 

“Fuck,” I breathed. “Might have to do it fast. Just seeing you like this on top of me is making my balls ache.”

He moved down my body with his tongue and began peeling my boxer briefs down. My cock was hard and ready. As soon as he put his fingers around it, it jumped in his hand. Sure enough, the tip was wet, smeared with the precum that had left an embarrassing spot on the cotton.

Bodhi leaned in and ran the side of his face along the shaft, watching me with heat in his eyes.

My breathing sped up. “Fuck, please.”

He stuck out his tongue and began to tease me with it. I threaded my fingers in his hair as I watched him lick and suck me. 

My pulse thundered in my ears as my chest heaved up and down. Seeing Bodhi between my legs was surreal.

“Bodhi,” I croaked. “You’re going to make me come.”

He grinned at me and shook his head. “Not yet.” Then he moved down to nose my sac, tonguing my inner thigh and blowing hot air between my legs. 

I groaned at the ceiling as he pushed my legs further apart. His fingers teased my taint and the crease where my thigh met my body. I couldn’t keep still. “Bodhi, fuck. Please.”

He moved his face between my legs and ran his tongue down my balls to the skin behind it. The intimacy of the act made me feel exposed and vulnerable, but somehow I trusted him.

More broken pleas escaped my mouth as I wondered whether I could reach for my cock to finish myself off. My body was on the knife-edge of coming.

He blew across my asshole, making me clench instinctively but also wonder what it would be like if I let him play with it. I knew right away I wanted that, but I also knew there was no way I’d make it long enough for him to try.

Before I could beg him again, he moved up and sucked down my cock again, causing me to shout in surprised pleasure and arch back in relief. It only took two deep swallows, where I felt the wet heat of his throat around me, before my orgasm finally came roaring home.

As soon as I began releasing, he pulled off and continued to jack me as he sat up and reached for his own cock. “Just like that, Boomer, fuck. So hot. So fucking good for me.”

Something about those words made my body shudder again. I wanted to be good for him. Wanted to please and pleasure him. 

He came with a shout, hot spunk landing on my lower belly and groin. I watched in fascination as it coated the tip of my cock and slid down into the hair of my happy trail. I reached out to touch it before pulling my finger to my lips to take a taste.

Bodhi’s eyes heated as he watched. “Damn.”

I pulled him down on top of me and kissed him hard and deep. The feeling of his strong body on top of mine, all flat planes and hard muscles, was different but so fucking good.

His muscular legs moved between and around mine as he shifted to get more comfortable. He smelled like beer and sweat and sex. His strong fingers clasped my chin and moved it exactly where he wanted it.

I fucking loved it. Loved being manhandled by someone in bed for the first time.

“Tell me I can stay.” His words were rough and a little hoarse. I pulled back to meet his eyes. There was vulnerability in his expression which surprised me.

“I’d be pissed if you didn’t.”

Bodhi’s eyes searched mine. “Regrets?”

“Fuck no. You?”

His beautiful, bright smile reappeared. “Fuck no. I want more.”

I blew out a sigh of relief then hesitated. “I… might need a little time before round two.”

He pressed his lips together and nodded. “I’ve heard it’s hard once you’re over fifty. Well, not hard exactly…”

I shoved him to the side and climbed on top of him. It was clear he was joking which put me at ease. “I’ll have you know I’m forty-six. Only just.”

Bodhi’s hands moved down and squeezed my ass. His facial expression returned to his usual happy, teasing grin. “I always liked an older man. Maybe I’ll share my internet bookmarks with you after all and you can see for yourself.”

I leaned down to kiss him again. His lips were full and lush, distracting as fuck. 

When I finally pulled back, he caressed the side of my face. “Why didn’t you go home with the pretty redhead the other night?”

I huffed out a laugh. “Because there was a prettier brunet on the stage?”

He gazed at me with tender affection, emotion that made me hope like hell he’d be willing to give me a chance at more than one night. “I felt your eyes on me while I played.”

I settled down half on top of him and rested my head next to his shoulder so I could watch him. “Couldn’t keep from staring.”

We stared at each other for a little while, fingers teasing each other’s skin.

“Why didn’t you go home with someone else?” I asked after a few moments. “I saw three different guys approach you.”

Bodhi dragged a fingertip along my arm, up and down. “I saw you over-tip Cassandra when that large party shorted her.”

I blinked at him until realizing what he was referring to. “The server? Those guys were dicks. They’d been harassing her all night and then they didn’t leave her a tip? Fuck that.”

He snorted softly. “And then I saw you step in front of that lady who was trying to get Vernon’s attention in between sets last night.”

That one I remembered. The woman had been obnoxious, trying to get the violinist’s attention between every song and set. “The poor guy needed the men’s room. If someone had been harassing you like that lady was harassing him, I’d hope someone would play interference for you, too.”

“You’re a nice guy, Brant Godina,” he said. “I felt you watching me, but I was watching you, too.”

I leaned up and kissed him again, feeling my cock stir to life already. Before long, I was humping the poor man’s leg and wondering what to try next.

“Will you fuck me, Boomer?” he asked. His face was flushed and his eyes lust-drunk. The man was fucking gorgeous like this, half-pleasured and half-desperate. Just the suggestion of wanting me inside him made my dick impossibly hard.

“Fuck yeah. Do you have lube? Condom? What do we need?”

He laughed before reminding me it was my hotel room. 

“Shit,” I said. “Wait. I have a condom. Lube… fuck. I have lotion?”

He winced. “Maybe not hotel lotion. We can go get some lube tomorrow.”

Bodhi’s words stopped me in my tracks. “Tomorrow?”

He smiled and wrapped his legs around me. Our cocks pressed together as he arched up into me. “Yeah. Tomorrow.”

I leaned down and kissed him again, imagining the hot squeeze of his body around my cock.

When I finally pulled back to suck in a breath, I realized there were a million other things we could do before then. I moved down his body, stopping to pull his nipples into my mouth and tease them with my teeth.

I took my time with him, relishing every little sound he made and hitched breath. When I finally put my mouth on his dick, he was begging me to make him come.

The more he begged, the longer I took getting him there. And by the time his hot spunk finally landed on the back of my tongue, my own orgasm crashed over me, all consuming. I was turned upside down by this beautiful musician, twisted sideways with the desire to see him happy.

And I knew somehow, despite our different jobs and hectic travel schedules, we would find a way to give it a real shot.

Because Bodhi Sorrentino was a beautiful man. The brightest star in the sky. And all I wanted was to stay caught in his orbit.

Epilogue – Bodhi

My stomach bunched with nerves as my hand gripped the leather carry-on bag on my lap in the SUV’s backseat.

“I still can’t wrap my head around it,” Zane admitted, throwing a giant grin over his shoulder at me from the passenger seat. “Our Boomer. With a guy.”

I glanced out at the snow-covered fields as we bumped along the long drive toward the sprawling house in the distance. “You sure your friends are okay with me staying here?”

Zane flapped his hand. “Yeah. Dev and Tully’s place is huge. There’s plenty of room. I told you they even let me set up a temporary recording studio so we’ll be all set to play around with some stuff this week. See what you want to work on first.”

Ryan shot Zane a look. “Maybe go easy on the guy. He looks a little car sick.”

I closed my eyes and bit back a groan.

Zane’s voice softened. “Shit, Bodhi. Is that true? Want to roll down the window?”

“I’m fine. It’s not the car.”

“He’s nervous to see Boomer,” Ryan said, glancing at me worriedly in the rearview mirror.

Zane frowned. “But why? The guy won’t stop talking about you. It’s all ‘Bodhi this’ and ‘Bodhi that’ which, for a guy who didn’t used to say much, is pretty funny.”

I tried to take a deep breath. “It’s one thing to talk about being together when it’s just a pipe dream. I’m worried he’ll change his mind when he hears I left the band.”

Zane continued to frown as he glanced at Ryan and back to me. “Was I not supposed to tell him?”

I stared at him. “Zane. We talked about this. I asked you to let me tell him.”

“Yeah, like three weeks ago when I first made you the offer! Shit, Bodhi. I assumed you’d told him by now. Why wouldn’t you?”

I stared at the window as Ryan pulled the vehicle to a stop. Since I knew Boomer was here in Majestic visiting Ryan and Zane, I’d been surprised not to see him at the airstrip. He’d told me he’d pick me up, but it had only been Zane and Ryan there waiting.

Boomer and I hadn’t seen each other in person in six weeks, since his visit to see me in New York over New Year’s. We’d had an amazing four days together, with over half the time spent naked and alone in my bed and the rest of the time spent giving him an abbreviated tour of my favorite parts of the city.

As much as I’d wanted to talk to him about figuring out a plan to be together more permanently, I’d been too scared to bring it up. And when Zane had contacted me to offer me a job with his new recording studio, I’d jumped at the chance. Not only would I finally have unlimited access to a high-end studio to record my own music, but I’d also have the ability to consult with Zane on the business side of production—something I was very interested in.

He’d also offered me the ability to work remotely, which meant I could move to Los Angeles to be closer to Boomer…

If Boomer was interested.

Which was why I was terrified of his reaction.

“It’s fine,” I said, mostly to myself. “I’m sure it’ll be fine.”

Ryan let out an exaggerated sigh. “That fucking word. It’s contagious.”

Zane’s laughter almost lifted my spirits, but then I saw the front door open and Boomer come out.

He looked amazing, dressed in jeans and snow boots with a dark green sweater, a gray coat, and a brown and red plaid scarf twisted haphazardly around his neck. He looked harried, like he’d just gotten in from chores outside.

“Fuck,” I breathed.

“It’s going to be fine,” Zane promised with a kind smile. “I’ve known Boomer for a bit, and I’m telling you, he’s a different guy since he met you.”

“He didn’t come to the airstrip,” I murmured.

Ryan and Zane exchanged another look. “He had an important call to make. Maybe get out of the SUV and ask him about it.”

I opened the door and stepped out. The air was frigid and clean. White-coated mountains shot into the clear blue sky behind the house and Dev and Tully’s land seemed to stretch out for miles all around us.

As soon as Boomer saw me, his entire face changed. Gone was the harried look, and it was replaced with a joy so clear, so all-encompassing, my nerves scattered away like flakes of snow on the breeze.

“You’re here.”

I nodded before dropping my bag and leaping at him. He caught me with strong arms around my back as I kissed him for all I was worth. He smelled like himself, familiar and comforting but also sexy as hell.

“Boomer,” I whimpered into the side of his face. “Missed you so fucking much.”

He moved his lips around to catch mine again. “Me too, baby. Let me look at you.” He pulled away a little and cupped my cheeks. “I quit my job.”

I stared at him. “What? When?”

“Just now. I had a video call with Violet to go over the details, which was why I couldn’t come to get you. The call was supposed to be this morning, but her day went sideways.”

“What happened? Why?”

I could see hesitation in his eyes and a little fear. “I don’t want to be apart from you. I thought… I thought maybe I could find a job in New York and—”

I made an incoherent noise and leaped into his arms again, hugging him tightly and trying not to laugh and cry at the same time. “Me too! Me too.”

It took us a little while to calm down enough to figure out what the other one was saying. Boomer pulled me into the house and down a hallway to his bedroom. Then he sat me on the small loveseat and took my hands in his. “So we both took jobs with Fairytale Recording Studio?”

It was too good to be true. I could feel my eyes filling. “Are you mad?”

He let go of my hands and held my face. “Bodhi, I’m in love with you. As soon as Zane told me you were coming to work for him, I knew what I wanted to do. I was worried you’d be upset with me. That you might think I was moving too fast or putting pressure on you.”

I shook my head, dislodging the tears. “I’m in love with you too. I don’t want to be apart from you anymore.”

He kissed me so sweetly, the tender way I’d come to realize was reserved for me and me alone. “I will still have to travel sometimes. I’ll be on Zane’s detail with Ryan. Even though we’ll be reporting directly to Zane now—well, I will be. I’m sure Ryan has his own… situation—anyway, I’ll still work as part of Zane’s personal security. But you’ll always be able to reach me and you’ll always know I’m coming home to Majestic. To you.”

“Where are we going to live?” I asked with a silly grin. “This house is killer. Think we can just stay here?”

Boomer began peeling my winter layers off me. “Zane and Ryan have already scheduled construction to begin on their house and recording studio when the ground thaws. It’ll take a while, so they’re living here temporarily. Zane’s friends introduced me to a couple in town who have an apartment for rent. I thought we could go check it out this week and see what we think. It’s within walking distance of the cafe and grocery store, so you’ll be able to get a bagel and coffee whenever you want. They also have delivery pizza and Chinese.”

I grinned at him, a swell of complete and total joy making me feel superhuman. “Just like New York, huh?”

He laughed and began to shrug off his own winter wear. “Maybe more gay men per capita here, though.”

As soon as he’d thrown his coat off to the side, I tackled him. “Think Zane knew about us when he named his company Fairytale?” I teased. 

Boomer grinned, his hands already roaming all over my skin under my clothes. “I’m guessing it was probably after his hit song… but it fits, doesn’t it?”

It did. It fit perfectly. And then Boomer made it even more perfect. 

“I wished for you, you know. The first night I heard you play. I had no idea what I was doing wanting you that way—a man, a suspect—but I couldn’t help it. Something in me recognized something in you, and the circumstances didn’t matter.” He pulled me more tightly against him. “You were meant to be mine, Bodhi.”

After several more kisses, I came up for air and the certainty of what he was saying settled into my bones. The strange events that had brought us together didn’t matter as much as the love that kept us together. “And we’ll live happily ever after,” I whispered as he tugged me into bed. 

And we did.