Protecting Mr. Fine (The Billionaire Brotherhood, #4)

by Lucy Lennox

In my new assignment, I’d make sure there were no feelings involved whatsoever.

famous last words

Protecting a popular rock star from overeager fans when no one would be trying to take him out with sniper fire from across the red carpet… presumably? This would be a walk in the park compared to my previous assignment.

ugh yessss bodyguard x rockstar is my fuckin favvvvv baby!!!!

No matter what obstacles landed in his path, Zee Barlo made sure to tell everyone on his team he was fine. But over time, I began to see that Zane Hendley was not fine. Zane Hendley was bending over backwards to look out for everyone except himself. Zane Hendley was killing himself to make sure to be fine so that everyone else around him thrived. Zane Hendley was terrified of letting anyone down. Zane Hendley was the walking definition of a person who set himself on fire to keep everyone around him warm.

“…and if you ask me,” she went on, “the secret affair Landry’s having isn’t with Zane.”

it's with kenji!!!!!!!

He shivered. I tried not to move my hands over his bare back and shoulder to warm and reassure him, but if wanting him could keep him warm, the man would have been on fire.

As I lay in bed that night, staring at my darkened ceiling, though, the winds weren’t whispering a goddamn thing. All I knew for sure was that Zane was not fine… But that I would make sure he was, as soon as possible. Even if it fucking killed me.

It’s a little-known fact that bears can end up in some tricky situations. Their relentless pursuit of honey sometimes results in a sticky mess. But bears never get hung up on these awkward moments. They know a little embarrassment is worthwhile when they end up with something sweet.

lmao these stupid fuckin facts are killing me.

I felt more than heard Bear shift his weight behind me again. Suddenly, I felt light-headed and vaguely sick. Ryan Galloway—my Bear—the man I had a secret and all-consuming crush on, had just found out my most embarrassing secret. I was a world-famous rock star. And a complete and total virgin.

oh this is tooooo fuckin good

As long as I was touching Zane Hendley, I could relax a little. Because Zane was okay… And finally right where he was supposed to be.

Bears can be intense when it comes to things they love. They’ll travel miles, risk danger, and even chase off rivals to claim what’s theirs, whether it’s a favorite fishing spot, a berry patch, or a honey tree. But sometimes, that passion gets the best of them, and they’ll go further than they should, driven by pure instinct. When a bear loves something, they go all in, even if it means losing a bit of control.

As soon as my lips touched his, I knew I’d made a terrible mistake. Not only was I putting my job in jeopardy—which I only cared about because I could lose access to Zane—but I’d also opened up a Pandora’s box by learning just how soft and pliable his lips were. Just how incredible he tasted. How sweet the sounds he made were. How much I needed more.

If my opportunity to shoot my shot only came once, then I was fucked. Because I’d blown it. I’d kissed him out of the blue. With no buildup or romance first. No way of determining whether he would accept my interest or not.

UGHHHH RYAN UR SO THOUGHTFULLLLL I COULD DIE it’s sooooo cute

He wanted my honest emotions? He wanted me to be real with him and not fine? Then he needed to know I was angry. That I was mad as a fucking wasp. That I was a whole nest of wasps, in fact, and they buzzed with restless intensity under my skin. What was I supposed to do with this feeling? Of wanting him, getting a single taste of him, and then learning there were no more tastes coming? And how was I supposed to act normal and pretend it hadn’t happened?

I was like a pathetic emo teenager, sitting alone in the darkening room, strumming my feelings out on a guitar.

“You don’t have to stay. Maybe we can call someone like a visiting nurse or something. You don’t have to⁠—” “Shut it, Zane,” he’d said firmly. “No one takes care of you but me.”

I was already dressed fairly comfortably, but I was wearing jeans that would show if I got a Bear-boner… which was definitely going to happen since Lou didn’t seem to be joining us and since that kiss was still seared directly into my brain.

Lmao not the bear boner. Sometimes Zane talks like he’s 19

Hence… Secret Sauce. It’s kind of like Truth or Dare. Or maybe more like… Truth or Horseradish.”

Bear thinks truth or dare is going to stop himself from kissing Zane again? Bitch I don’t think so!

Sometimes in quiet moments like this, when Bear wasn’t doing anything particularly amazing—not growling at someone to back off, or comforting me in the middle of the night, or even kissing me senseless up against a tree, but just being his own, sweet, intelligent self—the overwhelming like I felt for him swamped me.

This!!!! This is SOOOO important. genuinely liking the person without any of your own bullshit in the way? That’s golden.

How freaking great was he, just as a person? How freaking lucky was I, that I got to have him in my life?

Those guitar-player hands never failed to make my heart skip a beat.

“I would never consider sleeping with you… as anything other than a dream and a goddamn privilege. I certainly wouldn’t consider it harassment of any kind.”

His need was nothing to mine because I needed Zane Hendley like I needed the Earth to keep spinning around the sun. Like I needed plants to keep producing oxygen. Like I needed winter’s snow to melt and fill the rivers and lakes so I could drink my fill.

I kissed him then, full on the lips. Blood roared in my ears and thundered in my veins. He wanted me. He wanted me. He wanted me.

His eyes flicked frantically between my eyes and mouth before he leaned in to kiss me firmly but quickly. “I need to know what you’re thinking.” “I… I’m… I’m thinking you’re, like, even hotter naked than I imagined?” Bear closed his eyes briefly as if in relief. “Thank you. But that’s not what I meant.”

he had another think coming.

still can't believe the phrase is "has another think coming" and that people actually use it correctly. that's so wild lmao i thought it was "thing" until like late last year.

So I would give him what he wanted. What I wanted. And then I would let him go when we left this little sanctuary, even if it meant watching him fall for someone else one day. Because that was what you fucking did for the people you loved. You took a bullet for them, literally or figuratively.

ugh like this is cute ofc but the self-sacrificing? babe come onnnnnn

My brain was a kaleidoscope of images of things we could do—positions I could put him in and parts of his body I could taste and touch. I reveled in the privilege of giving him pleasure. He was mine to enjoy, mine to guide, mine to relish.

ebullient

love lucy's writing because i always learn new words!!

Because I had a feeling when winds whispered fortune onto him, they would blow my own happiness to smithereens.

She’d told me I had the voice of an angel and a heart two sizes too big.

“Fine, skip the love part and tell me the nasty part. I’m listening.”

“Right. Anyway, here’s the situation with B-Ryan.” I cleared my throat. “We hooked up.” Landry blinked sarcastically, if such a thing was possible. “You don’t say. The way he ran to comfort you during your nightmare and looks like he wants to rip my hands off with his meaty paws anytime I happen to touch you gave me zero clue this might happen.” He held his hands up to the camera and turned them back and forth. “If I didn’t like you so much, Zane, I’d never risk these beauties in the presence of your growly lover boy.”

“That’s why Uncle Landry’s mantra is fuck only for fun. F-OFF.”

“Everyone seems to think I’m a tiny newborn baby who needs to be protected from the world.

ummm probably because you fuckin act like it?

I leaned in and kissed him on the cheek. He was so fucking sweet and kind and selfless. I wanted to burn the world down if it would make it easier for him to live in it.

As soon as the hug was over, I quickly pressed the button on my watch and glanced at Boomer, who’d appeared at Bodhi’s elbow. He was glaring at Bodhi with a death stare not unlike the ones Bear gave me when he’d warned me not to do something, which was kind of interesting.

Yeah they’re fucking

I shook Bodhi off and pressed the button on my watch. Suddenly, it felt like everyone was touching me, and Lou was distracted, talking to Ryan on her ear mic. “I’m fine,” I told Bodhi. “It just got a little chaotic there for a second.”

This is stressing me the fuck out whyyyyyy are people so annoying and incompetent???

“I’m so in love with you I can’t breathe. If something happens to you, my life will simply… stop. I can’t… I can’t let anything happen to you, Z. You’re…”

“See, this is why I stay away from entanglements. The pining. I fucking hate pining. It’s beneath my dignity, and quite frankly, it’s beneath yours, too. You’re better than this.

We need to talk about the future, and I need to feel your skin under my hands.

“How are you going to juggle the sports program with protecting me?” I asked, playing around with his fingers in the hand I held. “Easy. You’re not leaving my side.” Landry snorted from where he stood gazing out at the snow-covered landscape, nearly invisible under the cover of darkness. “Now you’ve got him, keep him barefoot and pregnant, Ryan. Atta boy.”