I did my best in trying to listen to Drew talking about the history behind the buildings we were seeing, but the architecture and beauty of them was far more fascinating.

It wasn’t that Drew was a terrible tour guide, but he tended to get in the most boring details ever.

Though, I should suck it up, since we were stepping all over Brian's rules. He had told us to have fun in Madrid, stressing the city’s name. It was obvious he knew me far too well to understand I couldn’t be kept away from the beautiful buildings Spain had.

Drew and I saw some of the important attractions of Madrid, even crossing paths with Brian once, but of course we merely kept walking, instead of stopping on the side of the road and gawking at the cars passing by. I never understood why people did such things. Even if I didn’t know Brian personally, I wouldn’t have stopped there to wave and look. I knew for a fact that Brian wasn’t even looking out the window.

During our lunch, I had pulled up Barcelona’s map on my phone. Drew took his baseball cap off, running a hand through his short hair.

“Justin, I love my job.”

“Please. No one has to know we’ve been there.”

I had no idea how good I was at persuasion until Drew caved to my puppy eyes.

Our adventure in Barcelona was coming to an end. We had to catch the train back to Madrid, but according to Drew’s last phone call with some other Secret Service colleague, Brian had plans for dinner. He wouldn’t know I wasn’t in our room, waiting for him.

We were in the train on our way back when Brian called Drew, demanding he wanted to talk to me.

“Justin,” Brian snapped.

“Hey, Brian! How’s your day been?”

“When you get back, I want you in our room. We need to talk.”

“Uh, sure. I’ll be there in about two hours? Tops. There’s so much to see…” I shifted uncomfortably in the seat.

“Put Drew back,” he muttered, making me thrust the phone into Drew’s hand.

I tuned out their conversation, as I stared out the window, chewing on my lips.

“He knows,” Drew said once he hung up.

“How?” I whispered. I feared this outcome, because why else would Brian be so upset? He had been so happy that morning.

Drew leaned closer. “Don’t look – and by that I seriously mean don’t look! There is a man several seats behind us. He’s been following us the whole day.”

My heart stopped. I stared at Drew with wide eyes, feeling panic settling into my bones.

“I didn’t have the heart to put a stop to your enthusiasm. I knew Brian wouldn’t let me off the hook so easily. I put your life in danger when I didn’t follow you on the plane like he had instructed me.” Drew readjusted into his seat, his shoulders slumped. “So he had George following us.”

“Oh!” We weren’t targeted by some murderer. I punched Drew in the shoulder as hard as I could. “You scared the fuck out of me!”

He lifted a brow.

“I thought we were in danger!”

“Oh, we are. Brian could fire me over this. You’d be at the end of his wrath, too.”

“I’ll talk to him. Everything will be okay,” I said quietly. I had to talk sense into Brian.

I was aware that we had disobeyed a direct order from the freaking President, but Brian couldn’t expect me to stay put when we were visiting Spain. It had been a dream of mine to see the Dali museum, the churches, the Gaudi buildings.

When we stepped out of the train, George fell in step with us. He was the usual built for a special agent, but unlike Drew, he was wearing his suit and ear piece. He escorted us to a limousine outside the train station.

The ride to the hotel was filled with tension.

The day’s adventures were catching up with me, and I could feel my eyelids drooping, but sleep was the last thing I could think of. Brian was waiting for me in the room he had fought with all his security detail to have me in. No one had been happy to hear he wanted me in his private suite.

I felt small and stupid as I allowed George to escort me through the hotel. He knocked once on the door of our room, and when Brian opened it, George disappeared down the hallway.

Brian grabbed me by the elbow, pulling me inside. The door slammed shut in my wake.

He caught my face between his fingers, glaring daggers. “If you ever scare me like this, you’ll be in deep shit, Taylor.”

“What?” I grabbed his wrist, pushing his hand away. “Look, I’m sorry I made Drew step all over the rules. Don’t fire him, okay?”

Brian shot me an amused look, then engulfed me in a big hug. “When Ben pulled me aside after the meeting with the Prime Minister, telling me that you were headed for the train station…”

“What? You thought I was going to run away?” I laughed nervously. “I wanted to see Barcelona.” I placed my cheek against his shoulder, breathing into his scent. “I promise to always listen to Drew. Please tell me, I still get Drew as my bodyguard.”

“No way. I’m going to think of someone else. It was a mistake to assign Drew to you. You two get along too well, but he should have remembered his job when he agreed to forget my orders about not leaving the city without my knowledge.”

I gasped, pulling away. “You mean, if we’d have told you we were going, you wouldn’t be so upset?”

“Granted I allowed your trip…maybe, maybe not.”

“I got you something.” I fished for the shell bracelet in my pockets, then presented it to him on my open palm.

Brian touched the cowry shells softly, meeting my eyes. He pulled up his dress shirt’s sleeve. “Put it on me.”

I fastened it to his right wrist before he could change his mind.

“Thank you.” He kissed me slowly, his tongue doing sinful things. “Ready for dinner?”

“I thought you had plans for dinner?” I asked. “I'm going to shower and hit the bed. Don’t worry about me.”

“Justin, you are my dinner plans. You can go ahead and freshen up, but remember that we had reservation for nine. We’re already late.”

I dropped my hands, staring at him in shock. “You…we…public? I think…”

“Stop worrying. Go and freshen up.” Brian pushed me toward the bathroom.

#

The restaurant was one of those food establishments, I would have looked at, drooled over their food, then carried on to a street corner fast-food place.

During the ride to the restaurant, I discovered Brian had closed it so we would be the only two people dining in there. The Caddy parked in a back alley.

Brian touched my hand before I could open the door. He shook his head.

Will Vance opened the door for me, ushering me toward the back door. Not far behind, I could hear Brian and Ben following us.

The staff greeting us was professional and didn’t bat an eye at who was in their restaurant. They led us to a table already set.

“You can start by bringing us the wine,” Brian told the man waiting on us.

I looked around, amazed with the beautiful place and the architecture. I noticed Ben and Will a few tables away, stoic and on alert.

“So how was your day?” I asked, trying to sound as casual as possible.

“Not nearly as exciting as yours,” Brian said, smiling.

“Oh, come on! I said I was sorry.”

“I understand you want freedom to do whatever you want, but unfortunately, not when you’re here with me.” Brian pulled his chair closer to mine, taking one of my hands. “I’ll understand if this isn’t the way you want to live your life.”

“Would you shut up? This is exactly how I want to live my life – because I get to experience it all with you! I promise to be more careful and listen to Drew when he says we can’t disobey your orders.”

“As subtle as an elephant,” Brian said, chuckling. “While you were showering earlier, I’ve been thinking. You can keep Drew, but I swear to God, if you as much as leave his side for anything, I’m going to assign Trevor to you.”

“Who’s Trevor?” I was almost afraid to ask.

“Trevor is the best I have after Ben. He’s a former SEAL.”

“Oh, fuck.” Those guys scared the fuck out of me. “I promise to be a good boy.”

Brian nodded, relaxing back in the chair.

The waiter brought us wine and appetizers. I picked at the food, keeping small talk with Brian about his day. In turn, I told him a little about my day. He seemed captivated by my story.

“So what’s next on the agenda?” I asked, during second course.

“We have Rome, then London, Paris, and a few other cities. I usually have at least one day off in every city. We’re going to see how often we can do this, because even in my off days, I have meetings.” Brian sipped from his wine. “I’m dreading the campaign back home.”

“You’d be gone a lot, huh?”

He nodded. “You’re more than welcome to tag along if I don’t bore you to death during this trip.”

“I’d love to accompany you, Brian. It’s not like I have a contract anymore. I could use some time away from painting.”

“Besides, you plan on picking up reviving Rage,” he said, amused.

“If the ideas we get aren’t worthy, I’m not doing it. That was something I agreed to do for money during college, and because Michael loves comics, and there weren’t enough gay superheros out there.”

.

.

.

Back at the hotel, I gave Brian a massage that ended up relaxing him so much he fell asleep. I didn’t mind, because I knew how tired he was.

In the morning, I felt Brian kissing my mouth, but I was too sleepy to focus on his words. It was hours later when I managed to get out of the bed.

I wasn’t sure where to find Drew, but I didn’t have to look too far. He was in front of the door of our suite. I felt horrible, knowing he had stood there, waiting for me.

“Hey,” I greeted, running a hand through my hair.

“Good morning,” he answered curtly. “You should grab a jacket, as well. It’s windy today.”

I ducked back inside the room and returned with my leather jacket. “Are you mad?” I had to know.

“I have no idea if you’ve ever had an argument with Brian, but let me tell you one thing: it’s not pretty.  It’s not because he’s who he is. It’s because I caved to your Bambi eyes and had no self-control.”

I chuckled, but stopped shortly. We stepped into the elevator. “I’m sorry, Drew.”

Drew kept his head held high, eyes hard.

“Is it okay if I ask at the reception what sightseeing do they recommend?” I asked, unsure. Now, I would probably ask even if I was allowed to use the restroom. I hated that Drew was in trouble because of me.

“No need. I’ve got a list of Brian-approved things we can do.” He pulled out of his jacket a piece of paper.

I snatched the list, reading Brian's messy handwriting.

Museo Reina Sofia – that was something I had planned on visiting.

Prado Museum – we had seen it the previous day, before the impromptu visit to Barcelona

Royal Palace and Gardens – could be interesting

Puerta del Sol – we had seen it in passing. I even got a picture of it.

Museo Thyssen-Bornemisza: Fine Arts Museum – I couldn’t help but smile. It was the third museum on the list. Brian knew the way to my heart.

Basilica de San Francisco el Grande – the last building we had visited yesterday, before heading for the train station.

“We’ve got some museums to see,” I told Drew.

He smiled, walking outside the hotel.

I stopped in my tracks when I noticed Brian's limo outside. “What’s this all about?”

Drew nodded, pressing a hand to his earpiece. “I have Warhol and I’m headed for the town,” he murmured into his sleeve.

I snorted. I liked my new code name. I had always admired Andy Warhol.

“We’re taking the bus,” Drew told me, just as the sliding doors of the hotel opened again.

Brian was accompanied by an elegant woman, smiling and looking jovial. I had come to know him so well, that I could tell how fake the smile was. His eyes caught mine, one of his eyebrows raising.

Drew pulled me out of the way, pushing me down the street.

I glanced back over my shoulder, to see Brian by the limo’s backdoor waiting for the woman to get inside. He seemed to have a hushed conversation with Ben.

“I didn’t manhandle him,” Drew snapped, pulling out the earpiece.

I laughed, hooking my arm around his. I grinned at him when he shot me an odd look.

“So we’re taking the bus,” I said casually.

“I have tickets for our ride. We just need to figure out where’s the bus station. On the map it didn’t look that far from the hotel.”

Brian’s limo spent past us, and I couldn’t help but feel butterflies in my stomach. Who would have thought I would fall so deeply?