Finally, she found her voice. “What are you doing in here?”
“I thought that was fairly obvious.” His fingers unsnapped his jeans, and his mouth quirked in a half smile that was both mischievous and challenging. “I’m getting ready for bed.”
The rasp of his jeans’ zipper filled the room, and her faithless body swelled in anticipation. “In here? With me?” She sounded prim and haughty, but didn’t care.
Neither did he. The humor glimmering to life in his eyes expressed his disregard. “Yes, in here. With you.”
She moved toward the bed, trying to maintain a semblance of calm when she was feeling entirely too reckless. She clearly remembered what had happened in this bed with him in the darkest hours of the night, how she’d woken to feel the heat of his body along the back of hers as he claimed her in such a primitive way.
She couldn’t risk letting that happen again, and refused to make their situation any more complicated than it already was. “What’s wrong with the couch in the living room?”
“Too far away if something should happen during the night.” As if his statement ended the discussion, he hooked his fingers into the waistband of his jeans and pushed the denim over his hips and down his long, muscular legs. Just like that, he shucked his pants. Just like that, he stood before her in nothing more than a pair of sexy, white briefs that hugged impressive male anatomy in a state of semiarousal.
She jerked her gaze up, preferring the relatively safe territory of his bare chest. “Letting you stay here and pretend to be my lover to protect me is one thing, but sleeping in the same bed wasn’t part of the plan.”
“Tonight, it’s strictly business.” He tossed the frilly pillows aside and pulled down the covers. “And it’s not as though we haven’t slept in the same bed before.”
A flood of warmth suffused her cheeks at his blatant reference to last night, but she refused to give in. She jutted her chin stubbornly. “Last night was… different.”
Irritation touched his features, and for a moment she thought he was going to argue and tell her that last night wasn’t any different than tonight, that the desire and need was still shimmering between them.
But he didn’t say any of what they both already knew. Giving his head a shake, he ignored her feeble protests and slid in between the sheets and covers. “C’mon to bed, Paige,” he said, giving the pillow beside him a light pat. “I’m dead tired after today, and I swear I don’t have a lascivious thought in my head.”
His mouth recited the lie easily, but his gaze was far more honest. Those rich brown eyes said he wanted her, but they also reassured her that he’d respect her wishes and wouldn’t touch her except to protect her. Believing him, and trusting him, she didn’t issue any further objection.
She set her alarm for 6:00 a.m., turned off the lights and crawled into bed. As she lay there in the darkness listening to the odd night sounds from outside, she admitted to herself that she was glad he’d insisted on staying in the bedroom with her. Not only did she not want to be alone, but he made her feel safe and secure.
Within ten minutes Josh was asleep, his breathing deep and even. She spent what seemed like hours tossing and turning. Every time she closed her eyes or started to drift off, images of last night stole into her mind, making her ache, making her restless and aroused. And despite every valid reason not to, she wanted to feel Josh inside her again, filling her, giving her everything her body and soul hungered for.
He kept his promise and stayed on his side of the bed. Didn’t so much as allow an arm or leg to cross the halfway mark. She should have been glad, but resented his willpower when it appeared she had none.
Gritting her teeth, she rolled to her side, facing the gorgeous man sleeping so peacefully beside her. A man who’d given her so much and had asked for so little in return. A man she’d fallen in love with, but who was all wrong for her for so many different reasons.
She reached out to touch his chest. Halfway there she urled her hand into a fist and pulled it back, knowing he’d only be inviting trouble and complications she didn’t need if she allowed her emotions to interfere with the important decisions she’d made.
A lump formed in her throat, followed by stinging ears, which she valiantly tried to blink back. God, she was so confused and torn about her feelings for Josh-his almost desperate need she had for him-and about her decision to leave him as soon as circumstances all- owed.
It couldn’t be any other way. She refused to let her heart overrule her head this time, refused to give herself to another man who lived on the edge of danger and isked his life on a daily basis. She swallowed thickly nd valiantly tried not to think of the possibility of be- ing pregnant with Josh’s child, or how that would irrevocably change the plans she’d set for her future.
Somewhere between midnight and the edge of dawn he finally slipped into a deep, exhausted sleep-but her dreams were of Josh, and the emptiness of living without him.
PAIGE GLANCED out the passenger window of her Volvo as Josh drove her to the Wild Rose the next morning. When she’d asked if she could drive herself while he followed in his Thunderbird, he’d told her that they’d be using her car until the case was over, since he didn’t want to chance someone tracing his license plate. She’d been unable to argue with his logic, and his vehicle was parked safely in his garage. He’d be escorting her to and from work, or anywhere else she requested. End of discussion.
As much as she appreciated Josh keeping her safe nd protected, she hated depending on him, and disliked the complete control he seemed to have over he life. It reminded her too much of Anthony’s dominating, manipulative ways.
She knew this predicament was different from he marriage, and temporary, but that didn’t make her do spise the situation, or her dependence on Josh, any less Her privacy was a thing of the past, and being under twenty- four-hour surveillance made it difficult to so out thoughts, feelings and decisions that were becoming increasingly more tangled and complex.
Paige nearly jumped out of her skin when Josh reached across the center console and rested a hand on her knee, just below the hem of her navy skirt. Damn. If his purpose was to get her attention, he certainly had.
“You’re awfully quiet this morning,” he commented his deep voice filling the interior of the vehicle with rich male tones, made more intimate by the close confines on the car. “Did you sleep okay?”
His thumb absently stroked the outside of her thigh and Paige’s nerves screamed in awareness. What one would have been construed as an innocent, comforting gesture now caused excitement to ripple through her. And the most disconcerting thing was, she liked the sensation and enjoyed his caresses. Now that she knew the kind of intense pleasure Josh was capable of giving her, her body seemed to crave his touch, and responded to it eagerly.
She dragged in a deep, steadying breath in an effort to rein in her provocative thoughts. “I slept wonderfully,” she lied, unwilling to share just how restless he night had been, or how flustered and aroused she was currently feeling, all from his touch. “I just have a lot of things on my mind.”
A lazy smile curved his mouth, but his expression reflected the warmth and care she’d always cherished with their friendship. “Such as?”
He nodded, and finally lifted his hand from her leg as he drove through an intersection, allowing her to breathe easier. “I spoke with Reynolds early this morning, and he’s set up a female undercover officer to meet us at the Wild Rose. Her name is Liz Forster, and not only is she a dedicated cop, she comes at the expense of the department. Feel free to put her to work.”
She crossed a leg over the burning imprint left by his hand. The swish of silk on silk echoed in the vehicle, sounding incredibly sensual to her own ears. “I couldn’t possibly do that.”
“You need to treat her like a civilian, Paige.” He made a turn onto Harding Avenue, where her shop was located along Surfside’s main commercial drag. “She’s a decoy, there to protect you when I’m not around, but she needs to look like just another employee. That means you or your assistant should train her accordingly, so she blends in.” His firm tone brooked no argument.
“All right,” she agreed as he pulled her car into a vacant parking slot in front of the Wild Rose and cut the engine. The dress shop was located between a chic hair salon and a quaint coffeehouse, which gave her a nice overflow of tourists to supplement the local patrons who frequented her boutique. “I suppose I can keep her busy helping Pam rearrange the front window display.”
“Whatever you need, she’ll do, as long as you stick nearby.” He turned toward her, his expression granite hard. “If you leave the shop, for
