“Where’s your room?”
“Last door on the right,” I directed when he turned down the hall.
The bathroom light was still on, providing a soft light illuminating the bedroom. Holding me with one arm, he threw back the covers with another and deposited me in the center of the bed. Nathan tucked the covers up around me as I sank into the pillows.
“Are you leaving?” I asked, wanting him to stay.
“I’ll take the couch.”
“Really?”
“Unless you want me to go.”
I lifted up the covers, inviting him in. “I want you to stay.”
He stood there looking down for long moments. “Fine. But no funny business,” he said as he stripped off his shirt. “I got a reputation to protect.”
It was the perfect opening for a smart-ass comeback. Too bad I was too busy staring at his incredibly chiseled chest to make one. I was pretty sure he didn’t have an ounce of fat on him. His dog tags hung between his sculpted pecs, giving them even more definition. And he had a tattoo—the letters USMC spelled vertically down the side of his well-defined abs.
I was almost sorry when he slid between the sheets because I couldn’t look at him any longer.
I said almost.
The feel of him against me was even better than the picture he made standing beside me. I threw an arm across his waist, my fingers flirting with the waistband of his pants.
“I’m only staying because you’re feeding me pie for breakfast,” he said a moment later.
I smiled into the darkness. “And here I thought you never lied,” I said.
He laughed. “Technically, it’s not a lie if you already know the truth.”
“What’s the truth, Nathan?” I whispered, tucking myself closer to his side.
“There’s nowhere else I’d rather be.”
No more nightmares bothered me that night.
26
Nathan
Sunlight filtered through the drawn shades in the room, casting a golden glow over the entire space. Honor was lying right next to me, her entire body pressed up against mine. It was the first time I’d ever slept in a bed with a woman the entire night.
Usually, when I was in a woman’s bed, it wasn’t for sleeping, but for sex. And yeah, I wanted to have sex with Honor so badly I could barely think straight. If she was anybody else, I would have had her naked in less than two hours.
But she wasn’t like anyone else.
I turned and took in her sleeping face. Her head was turned toward me and dark chestnut-colored hair was spread out across her pillow, one long strand falling over her eye. One of her hands was tucked between my arm and my side and the feeling of her fingers curled against my bare skin sent another wave of longing through me.
I needed a cold shower. But I wasn’t about to get out of this bed. I guess I was going to have to take my torture like a man this morning. Hell, I was going to like it.
Her skin was unlined and smooth, with cheekbones that were high and broad, creating a heart shape out of her face. Her lips were a pale peach color and were just slightly parted in her sleep. From this angle, it appeared the swelling around the bottom was gone.
Kissing her last night had been fucking awesome.
It took everything in me to restrain myself, but I knew I had to go slow. We’d only known each other for a short time and the circumstances of our meeting had not been… traditional. Some man had just abused her and I wasn’t going to push her any further than she wanted to go.
In sleep, she sighed contentedly, and I brushed the wayward strand of hair away from her face. A guy like me could get used to a girl like her.
Her eyes blinked awake and the blue orbs focused on me, her lips curling into a smile.
“Hey,” I said, brushing at her hair again.
“Hi.”
Was that a hint of shyness in her tone? I turned onto my side and slid down so we were face to face. Then I went in for a kiss.
“Wait!” she gasped, burying her face into the pillow.
“You didn’t complain last night,” I muttered.
Her giggle was muffled against the pillow. Then she said, “Mooony brooothhe.”
“What?” I laughed, trying to make out her words.
She lifted her face. “Morning breath!”
I grunted. “I got it too. Now come over here and give me a smelly kiss.”
“No!”
I arched an eyebrow, but she wasn’t looking at me. She was still hiding in the pillow. As gently as I could, I hauled her up across my chest and grasped her face between my palms. “Kiss me.”
I didn’t wait for her to obey. I went and got what I wanted. At first she tried to kiss me timidly, barely opening her mouth, almost giving me a chaste little kiss. Yeah, that wasn’t cutting it for me. So I kissed her one way and then changed direction and went the other. Using the tip of my tongue, I licked across the center of her lips and she moaned, giving me the perfect opportunity to slip inside.
After that, she forgot about her supposed morning breath and kissed me with a reckless abandon that actually made me forget to breathe. I was a guy. I was supposed to be in control of the situation. But Honor had taken over the driver’s seat and was leading me around with every single stroke of her hot little tongue.
Her hands began to explore my chest and her feather-light touch drove me wild. I couldn’t help the way my hips thrust up off the mattress against her, and I froze when my erection brushed up against her belly. I didn’t want to scare her.
She didn’t act upset. In fact, she liked it. Her hips automatically drove forward to meet mine.
My eyes shot open.
Yeah, I was a strong guy, but I wasn’t a freaking saint.
I gave her one last lingering kiss and then pulled back and looked up into her face. Her cheeks were flushed and the swelling around her eye was almost completely gone.
I lifted my head and pressed a kiss to the corner where it was most bruised. “How ya feeling?”
She grimaced. “Sore.”
“It’s always worse the next day.”
She laid her head against my chest and groaned. Then she stilled. “What’s the matter?”
“You’re not wearing a shirt.”
“I’m offended you just noticed.”
“Oh, I didn’t just notice,” she purred. Her lips began pressing kisses up the center toward my neck.
I swear she left a trail of flames in her wake. I groaned. Heat licked up my thighs and my rock-solid length jerked in response. I don’t think I’d ever been so hard. It was almost painful. All I could think about was driving myself deep inside her until all the lust within me was spent.
When her teeth closed around my earlobe, I pulled her away. “You have no idea what you’re doing to me,” I ground out.
She smiled a lazy, sleepy smile. “I think I might have an idea.”
I swatted her bottom. “Get off me, woman.”
She titled her head and squinted at me. “You sure you’re not gay?”
I snatched up her hand and pressed it to the evidence of me
