Page 23 of Stone
She grimaced. “What are the options? You mentioned staying here, but I could also check into a hotel.”
“I’m not leaving you alone, so take that into consideration,” he said. She arched a brow. “If you want a hotel room, that’s fine, but I’ll camp outside to make sure you stay safe.” He’d rather be inside, but he’d be far too distracted by Juliana in bed in the same room.
“There’s one more option,” he said hesitantly.
“Go back to my place?”
His brows slammed down. “No, why would you think I’d suggest that? They know who you are and where you live. I’d never put you back in their line of sight.”
She cocked her head. “What other option is there?”
He cleared his throat. “My place.” Both her eyebrows shot up. “I have a guest room. A few, actually,” he rushed on. Whether his rapid speech was meant to reassure her or not give him time to consider how much he liked the idea of her in his house, he wasn’t sure. “I don’t think they know who I am, so they shouldn’t come looking for me. But even if they do, the house is set upthrough an LLC and not in my name, so would be hard to find. And if they did find it, it has excellent security.”
She stared at him. For a very long time. He forced himself not to shift. When a full minute passed and she said nothing, he sighed. “Forget it,” he said. “Why don’t you stay here? You can take a room in the east wing. It’s private, but you’ll still be around other people. Security is top-notch here, too.”
“Why?” she asked.
He frowned. “Why what?”
“Why are you doing all this to help me? Why would you invite me—and whatever danger I may bring with me—into your home?”
It was his turn to stare, a tiny hurricane swirling in his chest. “You know why,” he finally said. “You may not be ready to admit it yet, and I don’t actually blame you for that, but you know why.”
Her lips parted, and her wide eyes stayed fixed on his. He didn’t see doubt there so much as confusion. And wariness. The former he sympathized with. He didn’t exactly understand what was going on between them either, even though he knew it was critical that they let it unfold. The latter look—the wariness—however, he didn’t care for at all.
Reaching for her hand, he rose, pulling her up with him. Then looping his arms around her waist, he held her tight enough that their bodies touched but he could still see her face. Her soft curves pressed into him; her delicate hands rested on his chest, one over his heart. And they fit. He’d never doubted they would. But experiencing it—feeling her hips below his, her breasts pressed against his chest, how his arms fit around her perfectly—was another thing altogether.
“I don’t understand it either,” he said, going for complete honesty. It was clear to him that she didn’t trust the situation,and in his experience, honesty went a long way in building trust. He only hoped she’d see it that way rather than as a burden.
“I don’t know what this is between us,” he continued. “But it feels important. It feels like if I don’t give it everything I have, I’ll regret it the rest of my life. I don’t know what that means, though. Are we meant to be lovers? Truthfully, I hope so.” Her soft laugh elicited a grin from him. “Are we meant to be more? Or are we meant to get over this attraction and be friends, maybe even best friends?” He believed it was all of the above. That they were meant to become both friends and lovers, but he was only one part of the equation. Relationships took two people, and Juliana was her own woman. “Either way, I’m not willing tonotsee where it goes. I’m not willing to forgo this adventure because I don’t know how it ends.”
She studied him, the lines around her eyes tight. “I may have a target on my back. It may be more of an adventure than you bargained for.”
The concern in her voice stopped him from blowing off her comment, and again, he went for full honesty. “I enlisted at eighteen. I was Delta Force for almost eight years. I’m not in any way downplaying the danger you might be in, but I doubt it’s anything I haven’t seen before.”
“That may be true, but I wasn’t the cause of it back then,” she countered.
“You’re not the cause of it now.”
“I may not be the corrupt politician or police lieutenant, but you would not be in this room right now, fighting off a headache—yeah, don’t think you can hide that from me—if it weren’t for me.”
He fought a smile at the stern look she shot him. His headache had dulled to a low throb, not nearly as bad as before lunch, before her little massage, but he liked her concern.
“If it weren’t for you, I also wouldn’t be thinking about what our future might look like and whether you’ll like my house, and how you feel about pets, or what I might cook you for our first dinner. Or our first breakfast,” he added, pulling her tighter against him. “There are a lot of things that wouldn’t be happening if not for you. A lot of things that Ilikethat are happening because of you. This situation with Gregor and Lowery and Polinsky is a moment in time. I’m more focused on the other stuff. It’s what will matter to us at the end of the day.”
“Easier said than done,” she muttered, but some of the tension had left her body, and her fingertips now caressed the cotton of his T-shirt.
“So you have choices for tonight. What would you like to do?” he asked.
Her gaze lifted from where she’d been watching her own hands and met his. To his utter shock—and delight—she slid her hands around his neck and pulled him a few inches forward until his lips met hers. She kissed him, a sweet, fleeting touch, then drew back. Her gaze flickered up, then she pulled him back again. This time, holding him close and tilting her head to give him better access. He didn’t hesitate to deepen their connection, and he teased and seduced until she opened to him.
Heaven, he thought as their bodies melded and their tongues tangled. The mechanics of the kiss were the same, butnothingelse was. Her scent wrapped around him, growing stronger with the heat they created. Her body curled so naturally into his. His heart raced with each tiny sound of pleasure that came from deep within her throat. He’d had first kisses before, but none had felt so poignant, so important.
A raucous laugh filtered from the lodge room, reminding them they weren’t alone. As one, they each tempered their movements, slowed their kiss, then finally pulled apart.
He lifted a hand and ran his thumb along her swollen lower lip, fighting a smile at the dazed look in her eyes. A look that shot to the core of his soul.
“Your place,” she said on an exhale.
