A/N

Hey, folks!!! ^_^

Check out Jordan's physique just on top of your screen.

I know, right???! XD

Try not to drool while reading.

(Casts a sly glance at Jordan sitting in a corner)

Enjoy this update, and let me know what you think, puhleeez???

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A/N: If you are re-reading this starting May 2024, please note that there are enhanced scenes and details for you to enjoy :)

I have also added some music recommendations in the Comments to help you be in the mood as our characters.

Thank you for staying all these years!***

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While trying to slowly move on from her disturbing experience at the gasoline station, Vee found herself engaged in a video call with Guy and Lenka. It was just their usual nonsensical conversations and this time, the two kept her posted on the latest events in the fashion industry and fed her with interesting developments in the love lives of their favorite models. They talked as though Jordan was not there to possibly judge their gossiping. It was when Lenka started asking for Jordan's whereabouts that they realized he was less than a meter away from Vee.

Quite reluctantly, Vee tilted her phone to get Jordan in the frame and for Guy and Lenka to see him driving. Jordan smiled at the camera and as a greeting, tapped the cap he was wearing before switching his eyes back on the road. Lenka noiselessly screamed at the camera in excitement while raising her arms in a manner that copied how Jordan's biceps looked while driving. Surprised and fearing that Lenka would suddenly scream and be unable to contain herself, Vee decided to end the call. Sure enough, just almost two seconds after they hung up, Lenka sent a message in their group chat saying that she "should start caressing Jordan's sexy biceps soon." Blushing profusely, Vee quickly hid her phone as though Jordan would dare browse through the messages and see what they were talking about. Now she couldn't stop her eyes from straying to his direction, glancing at how his arm muscles flexed every time he changed gears and steered the wheel. His fitted black shirt wasn't helping with concealing his rugged manliness.

"Your friends are nice," Jordan chuckled. "I thought they hated me."

He shook his head when he recalled how Lenka once looked at him from head to toe when they were first introduced, and even Guy simply shook his hand with no words. "Is Guy your boyfriend?" He casually asked.

Vee was sipping her pineapple juice when Jordan popped the question, and she almost sprayed what was in her mouth. She glanced at Jordan and saw him with a weird expression on his face. Judging by his look, it was obvious that he had not figured out that Guy was gay. Not that he was the first to have such an assumption. Guy had always dressed up like a straight man, acted like one, and only the closest people to him were aware that he likes men.

"Why do you ask?" She responded tentatively. She didn't want to be the person to reveal Guy's preference to someone outside of their circle. It was also their unspoken agreement in the group to always have Guy "pretend" as her boyfriend - a setup which was especially useful whenever they didn't agree with her date at events. She wondered if she could spill the beans, though.

Unsure if he had touched a sensitive topic, Jordan raised his right hand in surrender and decided not to push for it. He had always wondered, though. It was entirely usual that someone effeminate would work in the fashion industry - more so own a lingerie line, but Guy looked manly. He also always looked dapper. He didn't wish to judge anyone, and he learned that it would always be polite to ask instead. Guy's actions whenever Vee was around were what made him curious since the fashion designer had always shown protectiveness - almost like a lover. The label made him feel weird for some reason.

"Guy is special," Vee replied, sounding timid.

Jordan wondered why he felt an unpleasant sensation at the pit of his stomach when he heard Vee's response. He decided to drop it and just talk about something else. "Would you prefer to check in somewhere to rest? We've been on the road for six hours." He hoped he didn't come across with ill intentions.

"I can drive," Vee volunteered. She realized that Jordan must be tired by now. He declined her offer, though, stating that a six-hour drive was nothing compared to his duties as a soldier. "Well... Maybe we could spend a few hours in a hotel and rest. We aren't in such a hurry, are we?" The thought of lying on a soft bed was inviting.

Jordan agreed, but also reminded Vee that they were trying to keep a low profile to avoid the media - they could not step into expensive hotels and be feasted on. He saw the horror in Vee's eyes when he suggested highway-side motels. Even after assuring her that it would not be that bad, Jordan could still sense disappointment radiating from Vee. Understandably, it would be the Yates princess' first time staying at a less luxurious place. He didn't want her to stay longer on the road, though. He knew that the princess had always traveled in her private plane, and the thought of exposing her to further danger like what happened at the gasoline station still bothered him.

After another hour, Jordan finally maneuvered towards a familiar three-storey building. It was the motel where he had always stayed whenever he decided to stop for a break while passing the same highway road. The motel had a good variety of rooms which he felt would be acceptable for Vee. Upon reaching the reception, he requested connecting rooms.

As they were ushered to the second floor, Vee couldn't help but look around at how compact the motel was. The lobby was significantly smaller and the hallways were shorter, but neat. She realized that while it wasn't perfect, the place didn't look as bad as she had imagined. When she reached the door to her room, Jordan used the key card and opened it for her. He explained that he would just be next door, and that there was a door connecting his room to hers which he would keep unlocked.

"Just knock if you need anything," he told her before he disappeared into his room with Jacket trailing behind.

Vee closed her main door and locked it before scurrying to the bed to test it out. Wanting to finally stretch her long legs, Vee plopped onto the bed which surprisingly was bouncy and comfortable. She looked around the room while lying down spread-eagled.

While the room was small, it was cozy enough - it didn't have any windows or a terrace, though. The connecting door which Jordan has mentioned was next to the bathroom door. Earlier, Vee heard it being unlocked from the other side as Jordan had promised, but she realized that it was still locked from her end. She told herself to unlock it later on.

Before she could eventually fall asleep, Vee decided to take a shower. She got up from the bed and went straight to the bathroom, and she felt glad when she saw a bathtub. Remembering that she had not had the chance to shower after jogging that morning, she felt the need to reward herself with a long bath.

Jordan's POV

As time went by, I started to doubt if I had made the right decision to get connecting rooms instead of just one. Since Vee and I had left the gasoline station earlier, I've noticed a black car following us and I'm sure that its driver and possibly its passenger would follow us in this motel, too. I have a bad feeling that the person or people following us are not media men, since we could have already been part of gossip news a minute after confirming that it was Vee and I who were at the gasoline station. Vee's friends didn't seem to have heard anything about us from the news, and it confirmed my suspicion that the person who attempted to plant a recorder on Vee could have been someone else. Why they would do it and who would be interested in tracking us was another question, and I'm wondering if it would be safe to let Vee out of my sight. I deliberately didn't tell her what I had noticed since I had seen how shaken she was with the fact that she had easily fallen prey to a stranger earlier and I'm sure it would stress her out all the more. I also didn't want to appear like I knew that we were being followed in case we still had eyes on us.

After a quick shower, I whipped my mobile phone out and contacted Frank to send him the car's plate number so he could do some research. He said that it would take a few minutes before we could get the details, and as expected he diverted a serious inquiry to something ridiculous as discussing how I managed to last more than six hours without touching a woman who was inches away from me.

"I'm not a pedophile, Frank," I snapped when I finally decided to answer his call and make his mocking voice be heard. I listened as he laughed hysterically. "The girl is barely twenty-three," I reminded him, in case he was planning something naughty. I could clearly remember how starstruck he was while talking to Vee back at the camp.

"She's an adult at twenty-two, Jordy!" Frank cackled from the other line. "What, you see her as a child?! I can't believe that." I rolled my eyes. Man, some part of me was also disagreeing. "Oh, yeah, man, you being fifty makes a big difference."

If I had my rifle and Frank was in front of me, I could have pulled the trigger. He always found my age as something to joke about, being a couple of years younger than me. Most of the soldiers at the camp had gotten married upon reaching thirty, and me close to being thirty-one made everyone suddenly excited.

I've been branded as a ladies' man, and it made everyone see me as a good guinea pig for their theory - once a man gets married, it would be the end of his womanizing ways. So far, the theory has appeared true to everyone who had already tied the knot, and they are now looking forward to me getting a "game over" sign. Not that I was really a player. I liked dating women, but it didn't mean that I just dumped them without notice. Before I even started going out with them, I always made sure that they were aware of my intentions. Why am I even trying to defend myself?

"You're diverting my attention, asshole," I grunted as Frank continued laughing on the other line. "Who owns the plate number I sent you?"

One thing I like about Frank is that he could be a total jerk but a useful colleague at the same time. He instantly switched to being the latter when my tone became more serious. He told me that the information he found didn't make sense since the plate number of the car he researched belonged to a regular private employee who was a Russian national.

"I've done a little background check for you," Frank said, "and the guy doesn't seem to be involved in any business. Boris Oslov is a plain employee." He explained that the car owner works in a lumber company as an accountant, has two teenage kids, and is married to a plain housewife who is suffering from breast cancer. Oslov's income is not enough to cover for his family's expenses, and their health insurance is not enough for his wife's chemotherapy. His boss, the owner of Connor Lumbers appears to have lent him a significant amount of money just recently, and in return, Oslov was working extra hours.

"Tell me more about Connor Lumbers," I demanded as I browsed through the photographs which Frank sent to my email. Not one of the Oslovs looked like the person who approached Vee earlier. I could hear Frank typing away on his keyboard, and a few seconds after, sent me pictures of the Connors.

"Bingo," I almost jumped when I saw one of the photographs.

The man at the gasoline station was bearded and had grayish hair judging from his sideburns while the one in the photograph was blond, but I am good with profiles and I could clearly remember his mole on his left ear. Frank sent details about the man and he turned out to be Lucas Connor, one of the five sons of George Connor, owner of the Lumber company. Lucas is in his late thirties, no known wife or children, and a car enthusiast. All the information didn't give me a clear picture yet as to why Lucas would want to track Vee, though, and I think it would be better to simply ask her about it and find out what she knows and see what her opinion would be like. I know it would freak her out again, but I figured it was best for her to know what was going on.

I approached and knocked on the door which connected our rooms but she didn't respond. I twisted the door knob but the other side was still locked. Should I just break this door down?

It has been more than two hours since we arrived and I still haven't heard anything from her, like demanding food or clothes, or being moved to a more luxurious room. I'm sure that she had taken a long bath earlier when I heard running water from the bathroom - but that was a couple of hours ago. I cursed myself when I realized that she didn't have clothes to change into since I stubbornly refused to drop by her house to get some.

I should have told her that I found it useless to go back to her house and pick up clothes, I sighed.

Her clothes all looked fancy and would defeat the purpose of us trying to do ordinary things during our "vacation" but I dared not tell her earlier. I couldn't even explain why I had found her outfits disturbing when she had tried a few. No, it wasn't because she didn't look good in them - some other brain in my nether region was telling me, she would look great without those clothes on!

I felt the same weird sensation I had felt earlier slowly creep up my chest again and I immediately killed it.

I could recall offering her my extra clothes which I had always kept in my trunk, and I was planning to give her my shirt now - but she wasn't answering the door. Jacket growled at me as though saying that Vee might have fallen asleep. I willed myself to believe that Vee was just in her room resting, and that I was just being paranoid. I really can't feel at ease without seeing her, but I can't just barge into her room and surprise her. I finally decided to call the reception and made strict orders to inform me of any orders and services that Vee would ask for, just to be sure that she wouldn't encounter any stranger while I couldn't watch over her. I also asked Jacket to stay close to the connecting door so he could listen to any unusual sounds from Vee's room. After all my preparations, I finally decided to have some rest as heavy rain started falling outside.

I feel like it hasn't even been a minute since I closed my eyes when I was suddenly awakened by Jacket's low growls and insistent patting. By instinct, I grabbed the loaded pistol from under my pillow, jumped from the bed, and aimed at the direction of the movement I sensed to my left.

"Oh, sh-" something crashed, followed by hurried footsteps.

As my eyes were adjusting in the dark, I could make out the image of a person in front of me. With only one big stride and I closed our gap, then I extended my arm and pressed the nuzzle of my pistol against the face of the person in front of me. I pressed forward and the trespasser got pinned against the wall and whimpered.

I could smell a lavender scent emanating from the person.

It smells...?

I gave Jacket a hand signal to move. He made a swift jump to reach for the light switch on the far end of the wall and I squinted as brightness filled the room. Ready to pull the trigger, I added pressure to my pistol which was pushing against the skin of my prey.

"Who the fuck sent you?!" I growled even before I could process what was in front of me.

I had switched my fighter mode on, and with the anticipated danger before I had taken a nap earlier, my subconscious had activated my protective instincts and reflexes. I cast a quick glance at the connecting door which was ajar before turning my burning eyes back to -

"Oh, fuck!" I cursed loudly as I wasn't prepared for what I had seen as soon as my mind realized it.

Pressed against the wall, whimpering, Vee stood frozen to the spot, clutching my shirt which I had meant to give her earlier. She was wrapped in nothing but a bath towel, her long, wet hair sticking to her exposed arms. Her horrified eyes looked like green orbs ready to explode with tears.

I quickly retracted my pistol and again cursed as I saw it leave a mark on her forehead where I had forcibly pressed the nuzzle. I put it away and carefully placed it on the desk next to the door. I slowly raised my hands for Vee to see, and approached her with much caution - a striking contrast of how I had brutally approached earlier, thinking that I was facing an enemy.

Dammit! Why didn't I recognize her silhouette?!

Vee was unmoving and I could bet that she was even trying to stop her own breathing, too scared to make the slightest noise. Her eyes were unblinking, still locked at the pistol which I had abandoned on the desk.

"Venera - it's okay... look at me..." I tried to sound as calm as possible as I tried to reach for her. She visibly trembled as though trying to sink herself into the wall as I approached.

I mentally cursed myself again when she jumped at my touch, finally bursting into tears.

A/N

What do you think? :-)

Apologies for some rough language right there... Try to get used to it, since the characters are meant to be like that :-P

Thanks for understanding, and please let me know how you all are feeling!

* 'Til the next update!