He kissed her and she lost her train of thought. Her body was too busy glowing for her to think straight anywa.
She was screwed.
Mommy, how did you meet my daddy?
Well, you see, sweetheart, I met your daddy and five minutes later we were naked. What can I say? It happens.
She really needed to stop, but damn, he was just too good at the whole kissing thing. The whole sex thing was right up there, too, because heaven help her, the man was hard again and already moving against her, slowly stroking her.
Her body responded to his, so she gave up worrying about the future for the time being. She clung to him, making love slow and easy this time, but no less satisfying.
And that, she suspected, was only the beginning of her problems.
CHAPTER 7
Noah still hadn’t figured out how to tell Alyssa the truth, and it was eating him up inside. Now that they’d had sex, he didn’t want to think about the emotional ramifications of his deception. If he’d thou
ght she was mad at him before, she’d likely kill him when he finally told her she’d just had sex with someone she didn’t actually know.
Yeah, that was a conversation he couldn’t wait to have.
God, he was screwed. She’d never forgive him, because to her, everything about him would be a lie. If the situation were reversed, he doubted he’d be so quick to forgive, either.
Sunset had come and gone hours ago. After a quiet dinner at a local hole-in-the-wall Mexican restaurant and a couple of margaritas a little too heavy on the tequila, Alyssa had suggested they walk back to their hotel via the beach. He’d agreed, hoping the salt air would sharpen the dull edge caused by the tequila. And while he was wishfully thinking, maybe he’d find a magic cure to alleviate the sting still on his tongue from the hottest freaking salsa he’d ever encountered. The spicy dip had been served as an appetizer with warmed, homemade corn tortilla chips. She’d devoured the dish as if it were nothing, but two hours later, his chest and mouth were both on fire. So much so that he’d made a quick stop at a corner drugstore for a bottle of antacids. Alyssa had tossed a box of condoms on the counter. A little late, he’d thought, but when she’d said, “No sense adding dumb to stupid,” he’d kept his mouth shut and paid the bill.
Now he sat with his ass on the sand, his feet bare and his pants rolled up to his calves, courtesy of Alyssa, who’d insisted they chill for a while and listen to the waves. He was all for communing with nature, but not when they were the potential target of a couple of hired guns he’d bet were still trying to track them down. Still, he hadn’t been able to deny her when she’d smiled and batted those baby blues at him. As a bodyguard, she sucked at the job. As a woman, slowly but surely, she was wrapping him around her little finger.
And he wasn’t minding all that much.
She sat between his legs with his arms wrapped around her. Her back rested against his chest, her head nestled just below his shoulder. Her shoes were parked next to his and her miniscule purse was tucked inside his suit jacket, which he’d placed over her shoulders when she’d shivered in his arms.
“I love the sound of the surf,” she said. Leaning to the side and looking up at him, she smiled. “Nice, huh?”
His heart rate picked up a notch at the affection shining in her eyes, compoundinghis guilt tenfold. For the flash of an instant, he saw them sharing many moments like this one. But then he remembered he was a liar and she’d probably never speak to him again once she found out, so he quelled that thought.
Yet, he couldn’t shake the words of caution he’d heard his father speak so often to him and his brothers. Beware the woman who captures your imagination, because she too shall capture your heart. Or some such wisdom, usually spoken after one of them had caught his mom and dad being playful with each other.
He pushed that thought aside and gave the fingers of Alyssa’s left hand, entwined with his, a light squeeze. “Yeah, it is,” he agreed. “A fire pit would be nice, though.” Maybe it was his East Coast blood protesting, but June on the beach was chilly once the sun went down, even in Southern California.
She let out a sigh and pulled his arms tighter around her. “We should probably talk about earlier.”
“Which part?” he asked cautiously. They should probably talk about a lot more than that, but until he received word to the contrary from his supervisor, coming clean was out of the question. He’d make it up to her, he vowed. Somehow.
“The part where we had sex—twice—without a condom.”
“Ah. That.”
“Yeah. That. Doing the deed without protection was incredibly dumb. I’m clean, but you could be a man-whore for all I know.”
He laughed. “Not even close.” He wasn’t exactly a monk, not by any stretch of the imagination, but as a rule, he didn’t go in for casual sex. Respect for women had been instilled in him by both parents, and the lessons had stuck.
“My last relationship ended over a year ago,” he admitted. “I haven’t been with anyone since.”
“That’s good to know,” she said. “But I haven’t been in a relationship in a while, so I’m not on birth control. There just wasn’t any need.”
“Oh, shit.”
“That’s one way to put it,” she said dryly. “Especially since I think I might be ovulating.”