Colette’s hands were shaking as she took her shower. She couldn’t remember if she’d put conditioner in or not before realizing instead she’d washed her hair twice.
Her brain was completely focused on one thing. Tavis. The way his hands had felt in her hair and on her back. The way he’d held her against him as if he needed to pull her tighter so he wouldn’t lose her. The way he kissed her like they hadn’t seen each other for years and would soon be parted again.
She’d fought this attraction for days. For two weeks. She’d tried to deny it, and she knew he had too. They were failing. It was over. He would be in her space constantly now. She was both glad and nervous at the same time.
How the hell was she going to share a bed with him and not jump his bones? She would be humiliated if she tried to make a pass at him and got rejected. There would be no way she could face him the next day.
She needed to rein in her arousal, which was hard while running her hands up and down her body through the slippery soap. Was he standing outside the bathroom door? Probably. Which meant she couldn’t stroke herself to orgasm without him knowing. She wasn’t quiet enough for that.
When she turned the water off, she was feeling more desperate than before the shower. On top of that, she’d entered the bathroom without anything to wear. Shit.
She took her time combing her long hair out, putting on moisturizer, brushing her teeth. Finally, she had nothing left to do and opened the door wearing nothing but the towel wrapped around her.
Tavis was sitting on the edge of her bed. He looked up and swallowed. “Hey.”
She pointed toward her dresser. “Forgot to bring in pajamas,” she mumbled before drawing in a deep breath and meeting his gaze. “Actually, I don’t own pajamas.”
He lifted both brows and then rubbed his forehead with two fingers. “You did mention you were going to sleep virtually naked that first night. I wasn’t sure you were serious.”
“Well…yeah.”
“Okay, not tonight.” He pushed to standing and headed for the door. “Put something on. Anything. I don’t care what. I’ll wait in the hall.”
She watched as he rushed out of the room and shut the door as if fire was chasing him. In a way it was cute. She might have laughed if this situation weren’t so serious.
She padded across the room, yanked open a drawer, and grabbed panties and a T-shirt. She didn’t own anything that would totally cover her ass, but this would have to do. After hurrying back into the bathroom to hang up her towel and put on the meager clothing, she scrambled into the bed and under the covers.
This entire dance was unnecessary. She should have simply dropped the towel, pushed the issue, and put an end to their awkwardness. It was only a matter of time before they ended up in bed together. Why bother to put off the inevitable?
She cleared her throat. “Tavis?”
He opened the door slowly until he saw her under the covers and then came fully into the room. The man was wearing loose sweatpants and a T-shirt. He flipped off the light before coming over to her side of the bed.
For a moment, she held her breath, wondering why he was heading straight toward her, but then he reached over her head and unfastened the mosquito netting. Duh.
After releasing all four corners, he lowered himself onto the opposite side of the bed and sighed as soon as his head hit the pillow. There was just enough light coming from outside for her to watch him rubbing his temples again as she rolled to face him.
“I hate this awkwardness,” she murmured.
He turned toward her, leaving several inches of space between them. “We have chemistry. It’s undeniable. But—”
“Why must we add a ‘but’ to it? It’s been two weeks. We’re stuck together for six months. That’s a long time. How long do you think we can keep our hands off each other?” Bold words coming from her, but she meant them.
He smirked. “About one more day probably, but humor me so I can take that day to think.”
She stared at him, taking in his expression—half serious, half humored. “And this will accomplish what? Do you think you can talk yourself out of climbing under the covers between now and this time tomorrow?” she taunted.
He chuckled. “Doubt it, temptress.”
She slowly smiled.
“What’s that look for?” he asked, brow furrowed, grin still in place.
“My new nickname? Trading princess for temptress? I think I like it.”
He groaned and dropped onto his back to stare at the ceiling.
A loud crash followed by an animal squealing made both of them sit upright.
Colette gasped. What the fuck was that? “Tavis?” she whispered loudly, heart pounding.
He jumped to his feet, grabbed a gun from the bedside table next to him, and moved silently and swiftly toward the bedroom door. He glanced back. “Don’t move, Colette.”
She nodded. She was too scared to move an inch anyway. “Be careful,” she mouthed, though she doubted he heard her. Suddenly, for the first time in her life, she was glad to have a bodyguard.
She wished he hadn’t shut the door behind him as he headed down the stairs because she couldn’t hear a thing. All she could do was sit there, fisting the sheets, panicking, eyes wide and pinned to the door, ears straining to hear any sound at all.
Seconds ticked by that seemed like minutes. A door shut. She thought it was the front door. Did he leave? He wouldn’t go outside, would he? This wasn’t a horror film where the hero hears a noise and heads toward the danger.
Finally, she heard his footsteps on the stairs and he was back in the room, shutting the door again and rushing to her side.
He set the gun on her bedside table and sat next to her before grabbing her shoulders. “It’s okay. It was the neighbor’s cat. He must have come in the front door while it was ajar and we didn’t see him. He knocked the lamp off the end table. It must have scared him to death. I shooed him back outside and locked us in tight.”
“A cat?” She was struggling to absorb all of this. “Seriously? And you think it scared him? What about us?” She was shaking.
Tavis tipped his head back and forth. “Well, all of us, yes. You okay?” He slid his hands up and down her biceps.
She shook her head. “Nope. Not even close. That cat stole eight of my nine lives.”
Tavis nodded. “Not going to lie. I was freaked out too.”
“No. You’re not allowed to freak out. You’re the bodyguard. Don’t tell me shit like that.”
He gave her a lopsided smile. “Well, I don’t mean I was exactly scared for my life or yours so much as concerned about your fear. I knew you were scared.”
She drew in a deep breath. He was right. “See?”
“See what?” he asked, brows coming together.
“Life is short. You never know what’s going to happen. We should probably go ahead and have sex. What if one of us gets hit by a boda-boda tomorrow?”
He chuckled. “Nice try. I promise I’m good at my job. We’ll both live through tomorrow. I’ll look both ways to make sure no motorcycle is in our path.” He leaned forward as if to kiss her forehead, but she tipped her head back and brought her lips to his instead, causing him to kiss her full on the mouth.
It was underhanded, but it worked. Tavis gripped her arms tighter as he tipped his head to one side and deepened the kiss, consuming her like he had earlier. The same fireworks went off. It hadn’t been a fluke.
Eventually, he jerked back, breaking the connection with a groan. “Temptress,” he grumbled.
“Is it working?” she breathed.
“Yes.” But he followed that word up by rising and releasing her to round to the other side of the bed. He dropped down hard on his back, making the entire bed bounce. His chest was rising and falling as he tossed an arm over his eyes.
She twisted to face him, staring down at him, waiting. When he didn’t say a word or move a single muscle other than the rise and fall of his deep breaths, she finally cleared her throat. “Tavis?”
“Give me a second, hon.” His voice was soft, controlled.
She nodded even though he couldn’t see her. She wasn’t playing fair. How could she tell him stories about how she’d hit on previous bodyguards for the fun of it to annoy them and then do essentially the same thing to him? He couldn’t even know for sure if she was serious or just a raving bitch. He probably suspected the latter.
Finally, she slid back under the covers and lowered her head to the pillow, facing him. “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have done that. It wasn’t fair. I won’t do it again.”
He dropped his arm and rolled toward her, his hand coming up to cup her face. His thumb grazed over her cheek. “No reason to be sorry, and it will totally happen again. And you’re not alone in this attraction. Don’t read me wrong.”
“Okay,” she murmured.
“I need you to understand that sleeping with you puts me in a difficult position. Technically, I could get fired.”
She widened her eyes. “How the hell would my dad know we were sleeping together?”
“I’m not talking about your dad. I’m talking about my bosses at Holt. I’m not in the habit of lying to them. They’re my friends. My teammates from the SEALs. We don’t keep secrets, least of all about women. They would haul my ass home and replace me before the sun set if I told them I’m attracted to you.”
“Oh.” Well, shit.
“And the truth is I don’t want to leave you here with someone else. I’m uneasy about your situation. Hopefully my gut is wrong, but something is crawling up my spine that’s got me on edge.”
She licked her lips. “You think I’m really in danger?” She’d never really believed that at any point. Not even last week when… She shook the reminder from her head, not wanting to discuss what happened last week.
Richard Tillerman. The son of a wealthy banker. A man her parents wholeheartedly approved of and had pressured her to date. If they only knew what a smarmy piece of shit the guy was.
She didn’t honestly believe Richard Tillerman was a danger to her, and discussing his constant advances would be embarrassing. Tavis would want to hear every detail, which would open a can of worms she wasn’t interested in opening.
Colette shook Richard from her mind and focused on Tavis as he answered her. “I don’t know. Something just feels off, hon. I don’t usually get this rattled. Maybe it’s because I care about you, but I think it’s more than that. I can’t put my finger on it.”
“You think the break-in…”
He shrugged. “Don’t know. Could be random. Lots of things could be random.”
She closed her eyes and enjoyed the feel of him touching her.
He leaned in closer, so close she could feel his warm breath on her face, smell his minty toothpaste. “I need you to be safe. I can’t keep you safe if I’m distracted by climbing under the covers and following my dick.”
She met his gaze. “I get it.” I don’t like it, but I get it.
He kissed her gently and pulled back. “Do not misread me, Colette. I’m into you. Make no mistake. It’s wrong on so many levels, but it’s true. Let me protect you. Hold your temptress side at bay for a bit, okay?” He gave her that damn half grin again.
She sighed. “Okay.”
“Thank you.” He gave her yet another quick kiss and backed off, releasing her. “Go to sleep.”
“Sure,” she murmured. As if that were an option right now. Her heart was racing. Her nipples were stiff. If he weren’t in the bed, she would absolutely masturbate to take the edge off. So, to add insult to injury, not only was he going to keep his hands to himself, but he was forcing her to do the same.
Ugh. She dropped onto her back and took several deep breaths.
He chuckled.
She jerked her head in his direction. “What’s so funny?”
“You are, temptress.”
She groaned and rolled away from him, pulling her knees up and plumping her pillow. Damn infuriating man.