He took a deep breath and let it out slowly, shaking his head.
“I’m amending my earlier statement about you.”
His eyebrows knitted together. “What statement?”
She chewed the tip of her thumb and smiled. “You aren’t cute; you’re absolutely adorable when you’re flustered.”
“Would you cut that out?” He laughed.
A schoolgirl giggle popped out. “We’re on the run. Where else am I going to get my entertainment?”
He stopped and looked at her, a smile tugging at the corners of his lips. “I’m not entertainment.”
She shot him a glance. “Oh, I beg to differ. You’re hysterical. A little hair gel, and you’d be rock-star entertainment.”
Suddenly, he pulled her into an alleyway and pressed her against the wall, using his body to block her from anyone who might be passing. His aftershave filled the air between them, and she discreetly took a deep breath. Yowzers, he smelled good—leather and citrus? Whatever it was, it was yummy.
“Is everything okay?” she asked.
Through the space between his arm and the wall, he cut his gaze to the other side of the street. “I think so, but I want to be sure.” For a few more minutes, he kept his gazed trained to the street across from them.
“Is he gone?”
“I think so,” he said as he returned his attention to her.
The second his eyes met hers, it was as though the world had fallen away. Her pulse jumped with the sudden charge in the air. Had she ever felt this kind of attraction to anyone before? Not that she could recall. Nothing so consuming as this.
And now he was staring at her with such intensity it made her breath catch. He swept her hair over her shoulder and leaned in. “You are so beautiful.” His fingertips ghosted across her cheek. “I’ve never seen a more perfect woman in my life. And intelligent, witty. You’re just…perfect.”
Her breath came in short puffs as her heart raced faster. She knew he was speaking from his heart. She could feel it. He seemed to study her face and then cupped her cheek as he brushed his thumb across her lips. “I have to keep you at a distance.”
“Are you telling me that or yourself?” The question fell out of her mouth before she knew what she was saying.
Those dark-blue eyes clouded over, and he said, “I don’t know.” In the next breath, his lips lowered to hers, and an all-out blaze rushed through her blood.
She slid her hands up his muscled chest, around his neck, and threaded her fingers in his hair. Never had she wanted anyone like she wanted him. He felt so good, smelled so good, and his lips were better than chocolate. And she had never thought anything could be better than chocolate.
He pressed his hand into the small of her back and pulled her closer. “I shouldn’t kiss you,” he whispered as he captured her lips again and deepened the kiss.
Oh, he should kiss her. He should kiss her like this all the time for eternity. The need and desire she felt for him was so overwhelmingly powerful that she thought her heart would break if he let go of her.
Their lips moved together until hers felt raw and bruised. When he pulled back slightly, he kept his cheek against hers and, breathing hard, said, “I shouldn’t be doing this.”
Lexi nearly panicked. She didn’t want him pulling away again. What could she say? “Then we won’t talk about it. If it happens again, it does. If it doesn’t, it’s okay.”
He leaned back and caught her gaze. “Lex…”
No, she couldn’t lose him. Not yet. She touched her fingers to his lips and shook her head. “No. Why don’t we go to the motel room, and you can get some rest?”
His eyes searched hers, and a small smile played on his lips. He tipped her chin up and pressed a kiss to her forehead. “That’s probably a good idea.”
Jake pushed off the wall and tangled his fingers in hers as they made their way back to the motel. Lexi felt like she could float. He’d kissed her. He’d kissed her like he wanted her as much as she wanted him.
She’d said she wouldn’t kiss him again, though, and she wouldn’t. Why had she said such a stupid, stupid thing? At the time, it seemed like a good thing to do, but now? What if he never kissed her again? The thought was a like a raincloud settling over her heart. To never feel his lips again? Or the hardness of his body against hers? She’d be miserable.
When they reached the motel, they took turns showering. Jake came out from his shower and dropped onto his bed. “I’m glad I’m not moving. Although, I’ve been driving so long, it kind of feels like I still am.”
“Me too,” she said and lay on her side, facing him and propping her head in her hand. She’d move to her bed after he went to sleep. “I have to get back to California. I have my residency, and I didn’t work eight years to get to this point and blow it.”
Jake rolled his head to look at her. “I’ll make sure you’re back in time for that. Trust me.”
She slipped her fingers into his hair and said, “I do.”
His eyes slid shut. He took a deep breath and shuddered as he released it. “I can’t sleep ten hours again.”
“Okay.” She knew if she argued, he’d make her stop. She also knew that if she let him sleep as long as last time, he might not let her keep doing it, and he needed sleep if he was going to keep them both alive.
He moaned and pressed his head into her hand. “That feels so good.”
Not as good as knowing she was helping him. “I can tell.” She smiled.
In seconds, his chest was rising and falling evenly, and anytime he became restless, she’d whisper, “It’s okay. You’re safe.” He would settle down, and she noticed the more she did it, the less restless he became.
The first time she’d spent the afternoon running her fingers through his hair, it made her deliriously happy to be so close to him. He was putting his life on the line for her, and this was her way of giving back.
He rolled onto his side and wrapped his arms around her, pulling her close and burying his face in her neck.
Lexi touched her cheek to his and breathed him in. He was making a mess of her emotions. All her future plans were made with no consideration of being involved with anyone because there hadn’t been anyone worth thinking about. But Jake…he was a man worth moving mountains to stay near.
Then reality came knocking. This wasn’t real. She couldn’t change her plans based on a few days on the run. This was two people put into a stressful situation, and once their ordeal was over, they’d be over. As much as she hated thinking it, she knew it was true.
Yes, that kiss…that kiss was incredible. Yes, she was falling for him. In the end, though, she was practical. She had her training to complete, and he would move to another assignment. In a few months, he probably wouldn’t even remember her. Hopefully, after a few gallons of ice cream and a new gym membership, she wouldn’t be able to remember him either.
Chapter 12
The sun was a just peeking over the horizon as Jake yawned and rolled his head from side to side. He had spent the night driving and wondering if he should risk skirting the border of Mexico to save time or take a wide berth to give himself some distance in case Faustus found them. He didn’t want to chance Faustus grabbing Lexi and running for the border, which is what Jake would do if he were in the man’s shoes.
Leaning his head back against the seat, he shot a quick glance at Lexi as she slept. Instantly his thoughts were back to their kiss. He pulled her into that alleyway to shield her from what might have been a threat, and the next thing he knew, he was kissing her. What was he going to do now? He had no business doing that, but the second his eyes met hers, all rational thought escaped him, and he was lost in her.
Those gorgeous bright-blue eyes were staring up at him in wide wonder, and those perfectly shaped lips were right there, so soft and begging to be kissed. She’d said she wouldn’t kiss him, and there he was, sending mixed messages. What was his problem? He’d never experienced this level of temptation before. Why
Lexi? What was it about her that had every defense crumbling when she was near?
He had no answers except he couldn’t do that again. It would crush him if he hurt her, and giving her a false hope that there could be anything between them was wrong. As much as he wished he could be with her, the stress of the situation was feeding into her emotions. She might think she felt something for him, and there could be a grain of truth to that, but he knew what she was destined for, and that wasn’t him.
Rolling his shoulders, he decided it was time for a break. At the next gas station, he pulled in front of a pump and cut the engine. The old truck wasn’t getting horrible mileage, but with the backroads he was taking, it was better to fill up every time they stopped.
With a deep breath and a stretch, Lexi sat the back of her seat up. “Where are we?” she asked through a yawn.
“Alamogordo, New Mexico.”
“Oh, it’s pretty here for being in the desert. Look at the mountains.”
He smiled. “Yeah, it is. We’re not too far from the White Sands National Monument. People go dune sliding there.”
She gasped. “We have to do that.”
“No, we don’t. We need to get a bite to eat, rest, and get back on the road.”
Her bottom lip jutted out, and she turned on the saddest eyes known to mankind. “Please.”
No, they couldn’t. “If Faustus—”
“He’s not caught up to us yet. He can’t possibly know where we are. Will it really hurt to take an hour and let me see the sights?” Somehow, she managed to give him an even sadder look.
Geez, he was so dead. “Okay, but a half-hour. Then we move to the next town and find a place to rest. Alamogordo isn’t huge, but it wouldn’t be out of the realm of possibility for Faustus to find us here.”
She grinned and wiggled in her seat. “Yay!”
Was it possible she was cuter today than she was the day before? “Easily amused.”
With a quick unclip of her belt, she closed the distance between them in the small cab of the pickup and braced her hands against the seat with her face pointed up at him. “I love being easily amused,” she said, her voice low.
In a blink, his heart was racing, and it was hard to breathe. He couldn’t kiss her again. He couldn’t, but his body had a mind of its own as he pressed his hand against the small of her back, pulling her closer and touching his lips to hers.
The same explosion of fireworks from the day before bloomed, and he was lost in her softness and warmth again. It was more than just him kissing her. It was the way she responded to his kiss that made his blood boil. How she held onto him like she was as desperate for him as he was for her.
His heart raced as she melted into him with a tiny moan. It was music to his ears. He couldn’t remember anyone kissing him like this. Not with such need or passion. He left her lips, tasting her as he left a trail of kisses along her jaw and down her neck. Her skin was like satin, and he could feel the vibration in her throat as she moaned again.
When his lungs begged for air, he set his mouth against her ear, breathing hard. “We’ll fill up with gas, grab a bite to eat across the street, and then I’ll take you to the see the White Sands, okay?”
“Okay,” she said as she nuzzled his neck with her nose. “Good thing I’m easily amused, huh?”
A laugh rumbled out of him. “Let’s go, Ms. Maheras.”
She leaned back and smiled. “You have to call me Lexi or Lex from now on.”
“That wasn’t the deal.”
“I know, but you will, won’t you?”
He wanted to say, “I’ll give you my heart on a platter and anything else you want,” but instead, he nodded and said, “Yes, I’ll call you Lex or Lexi from now on.”
Her smile grew, and she said, “Thank you.”
After he filled up with gas, he parked the truck at the little diner across the street. They quickly ate and then drove to the monument. With the entrance fee paid, he purchased a couple of saucer sleds—at her insistence that he slide too—in the gift shop, and they headed to the dunes.
It was quite the trek up the sand, and she’d picked a pretty tall dune. “Oh, I think my calves are going to be complaining later,” Lexi said.
“You’re probably right. Mine might as well.”
She scoffed. “Doubtful. When you aren’t on the run, you work out…what? Every day, a few hours at a time? I bet your calves are like ‘bring it on.’”
Jake threw his head back and laughed. “I work out, but…okay, yes, every day, but only two hours. I do cardio one day and weights the next.”
“Yeah, like I said, this is no sweat for you.”
He picked her up around the waist and jogged the rest of the way up the dune. “Better?”
“Show off.”
“I was helping you out.” He grinned.
She lifted an eyebrow. “Right.”
“Are you going to stand here giving me a hard time, or are you going to slide down?”
“Slide down,” she said and set her sled on the sand, holding it with her foot to keep it from tumbling down. “Coming?”
“I don’t know if this is a good idea. I’m a little too big for this sled anyway.”
Lexi pinched her lips together. “Put that sled down and get your butt on it. You’re sledding down this dune with me, even if I have to wrestle you into it.”
“Oh, really? You think you could do that, huh?”
“Absolutely.” She smiled as she held his gaze.
He laughed and set his sled down, planting himself on it as she did the same.
“At the same time, right?” she asked.
“Fine.”
“Okay, on three.” She counted, stuck her legs out in front, and leaned back, holding onto the front of the disc and lifting up like the gift shop attendant advised.
It was great until they neared the bottom and her sled banged into his, making him tip over. In a blur, he rolled the last few feet down and hit the bottom with an oomph, knocking the wind out of him.
In an instant, Lexi was kneeling over him. “I’m so sorry. Are you okay?”
He sat up, shaking his head, trying to clear it. “I’m fine, but, man, it’s hard at the bottom.”
She took his face in her hands. “Are you sure?”
“I promise; I’m fine. It wasn’t that far down, and believe me, I’ve taken harder falls.”
Lexi dropped her hands. “Fine, Mr. Tough Guy. Ready to go again?”
He smiled. “Real original.”
With a brush of the back of her hand across his cheek, the moment turned serious. “I like that smile.”
What was she talking about? “It’s just a smile.”
She shook her head. “No, it’s not.” Her gaze held his, and she leaned in. “It lights up your face.” Then her gaze dipped to his lips, and his heart sped up. “You have a great smile.”
He could swear she wanted to kiss him, but she was holding back. Then he remembered that she’d said she wouldn’t kiss him again. All he wanted was for her to kiss him. He shouldn’t. They didn’t have time for kissing or sledding or anything else, but anytime she was close, the world fell way and there was nothing left but her.
“We should probably trek back up that dune if you want to sled some more,” he said.
As her gaze lifted to his, she slowly nodded. “I guess so.”
Why couldn’t he fight this attraction he had to her? Where had his professionalism gone? But the longer she held his gaze, the faster his heart pounded, and every ounce of him was begging to hold her again. He slipped his hand behind her neck and pulled her forehead to his lips. He shouldn’t want to kiss her, but he was so drawn to her.
Still, he’d kissed her twice now, and both times he knew he was wrong to do so. This woman had so much to offer, and she needed to offer it to someone worthy of it. If he cared about her as much as he thought he did, he’d control himself until Faustus was taken care of. Then he’d extricate himself from her life and move on t
o the next assignment.
He loosened his hold on her and leaned back. “Ready to slide again?”
She nodded, looking as dazed and disappointed as he felt. “Sure.”
In one swift motion, he stood, pulling her with him, and picked up their sleds. “Should I carry you again?” he teased.
“No, but you can try to keep up,” she said as she turned and sprinted up the dune in the footholds they’d made on the way up.
As he watched her bound up the dune, he realized he was no longer falling for her. He’d already fallen. There was so much more to her than her beauty. That quick wit, the way she challenged him, and how she took care of him was deep and powerful and life-altering.
It wouldn’t last either. He knew how these assignments played on the thoughts and emotions of those involved. What he felt was real. He knew that because he’d never felt this way about anyone before. Lexi, on the other hand, had no idea. Plus, she had her life mapped out.
She’d spent eight years preparing to be a surgeon. How would they even make it work? Could they? He didn’t see how. Long distance relationships were hard to begin with. Adding a volatile situation that amped up emotions would only make it worse after spending days alone together.
The hard reality was…his job didn’t afford room for love or being loved. No matter how much he wanted it.
Chapter 13
In Lexi’s mind, backroads were the worst thing ever made. They’d left the monument and hit the road again. What normally would take a few hours was taking two nights’ worth of driving because Jake was so paranoid that Faustus was going to catch up to them.
It was driving her insane. Just as they hit the thirty-minute mark into their nightly drive, Lexi turned in her seat and huffed. “Okay, I’m going nuts. Yes, I know the monument was supposed to help, and it did, but I need to do something to pass the time. So, I’ve decided you’re the most fascinating thing in the car, and I’m going to ask you questions now.”
The Bodyguard's Fake Marriage (Sweet Fake Marriage Romance Book 3) Page 8
