Deceiving Bella: Book Eleven In The Bodyguards Of L.A. County Series

by Beauman, Cate

  “Yeah?” he said, turning back.

  “Tonight…I hope I didn’t make you uncomfortable. With the kiss and—”

  “Nah, it’s no big deal.” He walked her way, closing the distance between them until she could make out his handsome features in the street lamp. “We’re friends.”

  Whatever was going on between them was getting harder to fit into the “just friends” category, but that’s where he seemed to want to keep them, so that’s where they would stay. Eventually, the heat snapping between them could end only one way. She wasn’t foolish enough to believe otherwise—neither was Reed. But for now, leaving things status quo worked just fine. “Exactly. I know I can be a little overly affectionate sometimes…”

  He shook his head. “You’re perfect.”

  It was her turn to shake her head. “I am by no means perfect.”

  He smiled. “I like you just the way you are.”

  She returned his smile. “Thanks.” She glanced down at the grass, sliding her hair behind her ears before she met his gaze. “I probably won’t see you much until I get back from New York, so I wanted to make sure we were okay.”

  “That’s coming right up.”

  “Yeah. Thursday. I’m pretty booked up with appointments next week—trying to make up for missing yesterday. And tomorrow night, I have plans.”

  “We’re still on for cooking class though, right?”

  “I wouldn’t miss it.”

  “It looks like I’ll see you Tuesday—” He glanced over his shoulder toward the houses across the street when they both heard a quick click and hiss. His gaze snapped to hers.

  “The sprinklers,” they said in unison.

  Before Bella could react, she heard the familiar click—but much closer—and was beaned right in the face by a rush of water. Squealing, she blocked the frigid stream with her arms.

  “Come on.” Reed grabbed her hand and they ran, laughing as they did what they could to dodge the torrents pelting them on their journey to her door. “Well, shit,” he said as he gave his arms a solid shake, sending drops flying through the air.

  She grinned, staring at him as water continued dripping off him despite his efforts. “I guess it’s that time of year again.”

  “A little warning wouldn’t have sucked.”

  “They usually send an email when they’re going to fire up the sprinklers.”

  “I guess they forgot.”

  “Apparently.” She chuckled. “Want a towel?”

  He tossed a baleful look over his shoulder at the steady back-and-forth motion of the water. “That would be great.”

  She unlocked the door, following Lucy and Reed inside. “Towels first. Then I need to get Lucy her dinner,” she said as she moved toward the downstairs bathroom. “My poor girl is probably starving.”

  “How about you get us something to dry off with and I’ll put food in her bowl?”

  “You’ve got a deal.” She shivered in the air conditioning as she opened the small linen closet and grabbed hand towels for herself and Reed. She started back out and stopped when she spotted her blue silk robe hanging on the drying rack. Making quick work of changing out of her soggy clothes, she wrapped her bra-and-panty-clad body in one of her favorite pieces from the Abigail Quinn line, happy to be warm again. She hurried back through the living room and turned on the stereo on her way to the kitchen. “This is the best I can do unless I go upstairs for something bigger.” She handed off the soft cotton, smiling as Lucy dug into her evening meal.

  “This is fine.” He took it from her and wiped his face and arms. “Looks like you changed.”

  “Lucky for me, I washed some laundry this morning before work.” She blotted at the drops remaining on her cheeks and forehead. “I have a black one upstairs if you want to borrow it.” She sent him a teasing wink.

  “It’s just like that?”

  “Yup. And equally as comfortable. Abby’s a genius.”

  “Tempting, but I think I’ll pass.”

  Chuckling, she set down the towel and walked to the fridge, opening the door. “Are you sure you don’t want a sandwich or something? I have turkey and a little ham.”

  “Yeah, all right. Why not?”

  “If you’ll grab us the bread and a couple of plates, I have a salad in here too.” She pulled sandwich makings and condiments from the shelves and turned as Reed met her back at the island.

  “I saw two loaves, so I grabbed this whole grain.”

  “Perfect.” Their fingers touched as he handed it to her and she smiled. “Somehow you’re still dripping.” She stood on her tiptoes and combed her fingers through his hair, brushing at the drops.

  “Don’t.” He stepped away and turned.

  She blinked her surprise, staring at his back.

  “I’m sorry,” he said, but he didn’t face her. Instead he walked to the French doors and looked out, his shoulders as rigid now as they were on the drive home.

  Unsure of what to do—of what was going on—she opened the bread and pulled out four pieces. “I, um, I guess I’ll make us turkey.”

  “We’re friends,” he said, turning.

  She set down the Dijon mustard, holding his chilly gaze. “I know.”

  “This thing that we keep doing. I can’t afford complications.”

  She nodded, trying to keep up with his scattered thoughts. Minutes ago everything was fine. Now it wasn’t.

  “I’m going to go.” He hurried through the kitchen to the living room.

  She followed, terribly afraid she was losing her new friend. “But what about your sandwich?”

  “We’ll talk tomorrow.” He opened the door and quickly shut it behind him.

  She stood where she was, listening to the music that suddenly seemed too loud in the silence. What had just happened? What did she do to make him so upset?

  Lucy pressed her weight against Bella’s side.

  “We should—let’s clean up.” Turkey on nice, thick whole grain sounded wonderful five minutes ago. Now she wasn’t hungry. Moving back to the kitchen, she started gathering items and putting them in the fridge while her mind raced. What complications had Reed been talking about? Was she pushing him— She gasped, whirling around when someone knocked on her French doors.

  Reed stood by the glass, his shirt plastered to him.

  She took a step toward the door, paused, then hurried to let him in. “What—”

  “I’m sorry,” he said, wrapping her up in a hug. “I’m sorry, Bella.”

  She returned his embrace, closing her eyes as she held on. “It’s okay.” She eased away. “Please tell me what’s going on. You’re too important to me to ruin our friendship, but I don’t know what I did wrong.”

  Clenching his jaw, he sighed. “You didn’t do anything.”

  “I must have done something.”

  “Bella.” He paced away and back, jamming his fingers through his hair. “I’m not looking for a relationship.”

  “I know. I didn’t think I was, either.”

  He shook his head. “I can’t be with you.”

  She ignored the sting of his words. “All right.”

  “We should probably spend some time apart.”

  Her throat clogged as tears filled her eyes. “Oh.”

  “You can’t keep touching me.” He stopped in front of her, reaching for her, then dropped his hand. “You can’t kiss me anymore.”

  She nodded, realizing they weren’t fighting. He was fighting himself. “Okay.”

  “It messes with my head.” He grabbed hold of her belt and yanked her against him. “Everything about you messes with my head.”

  She swallowed, staring into the heat radiating in his eyes. “I don’t know what—”

  He trailed the pad of his finger down her neck, stopping on her rapid pulse point. “I keep telling myself I’m okay with the way things are. We’re friends. That’s enough.”

  She gripped his wrists as their breath mingled. “Things are good—”

&n
bsp; He shook his head.

  She frowned. “What are you saying?”

  He moved his hands, tracing the outline of her robe. “Hell if I know. I have no idea what I’m doing anymore.”

  She let her palms wander up his muscular arms. “You’re confused.”

  “No. I’ve never been confused about how much I want you.” He leaned in and nipped her bottom lip.

  She whimpered as heady anticipation rushed through her belly.

  He tangled his fingers in her long locks and tugged. “Do you want this?”

  “Yes,” she whispered against his lips. “I want you.”

  He groaned and his mouth was on hers, diving deep—all flash and fire as he pressed her back against the counter.

  Her hands were in his hair, then running down his firm chest before sliding under his wet shirt.

  “Christ, I have to have you.” He parted her robe and sent it to the floor as he went after her neck and jaw with teeth and tongue. “I have to have you, Bella.”

  “Upstairs.” She walked him backward. “Upstairs.” She gripped his butt.

  He moaned and turned in the living room, stopping and pushing her up against the wall, cupping her breasts and teasing her nipples with several strokes of his thumbs through the silky barrier.

  She purred her satisfaction, letting her head fall back, enjoying the sensations as she went after the snap on his jeans. “Let’s go upstairs.”

  He clutched her ass and yanked them fire to fire. “In a second.”

  She tugged his pants, fighting them down past his hips and thighs, and reached for him, gripping him in her hand.

  “God,” he hissed next to her ear as a flick of his wrists sent her panties to the area rug. “How about the couch? It’s closer.”

  She throbbed for him, ready to explode just from wanting. “The couch. Yes, the couch.”

  Holding her gaze, he lifted her up. “I need to be inside you.” He sank her down onto him, and a grumble erupted in his throat.

  She clutched at his shoulders and moaned, welcoming the way he filled her so perfectly.

  “How about right here?”

  She wrapped her legs around him and opened her mouth to tell him he could have her wherever he wanted her, but her words dissolved into a cry of ecstasy as he pounded himself inside her.

  He gripped her hips, angling himself deeper, kissing her wildly, until she stiffened with another orgasm and he let himself go.

  She clung to him, shuddering, as their gasps for air filled the room. “That was really…”

  “Fast.”

  “Intense.”

  “We didn’t make it to the bed…or the couch.”

  She shook her head. “Not quite, but I’m not complaining.”

  He grinned.

  She stared into his eyes as she caressed his cheek, well aware that he was holding himself so he stayed nestled inside her. “We weren’t exactly responsible.”

  “No, not exactly.”

  “I’m on the pill.”

  “I know. I saw yesterday when I was getting your medication.”

  “I’m always safe. Condoms. I have some in my nightstand drawer.”

  “I’m big on protection. Always use it.” He glanced down at their current situation. “There’s a first time for everything.”

  She smiled.

  He smiled back before it faded and he rested his forehead against hers, sliding his fingers through her hair. “What are we doing, Bella?”

  Hadn’t she asked him that just the other day? “I don’t know. Do you regret this?”

  “No.” He kissed her, cupping her cheeks and gliding his tongue over hers tenderly. “Not at all.”

  Her heart stuttered. “How do you feel about going upstairs?”

  He pulled himself free of her. “I think I like the idea of doing this horizontal.”

  She nodded, staring into his eyes as he lifted her in his arms, much like he had last night, but tonight everything was wonderfully different.

  ~~~~

  Reed carried Bella upstairs, smiling when she let loose a long satisfied sigh and rested her head on his shoulder. “Oh, yeah?” he asked.

  “Mmm,” she said, snuggling closer. “I was just thinking about how happy I am that it’s sprinkler season again.”

  He laughed. “That played a pretty integral part in the way things turned out tonight, huh?”

  She sighed again and nodded. “I’ll never think of that click and hiss in quite the same way.” Grinning as he chuckled, she pulled his mouth to hers, kissing him, making that little sound in her throat that drove him crazy.

  He stopped in the hallway, taking them both deeper into the kiss, hungry for her taste, eager to touch her all over again. This wasn’t supposed to be happening. He wasn’t supposed to feel this way about Nicoli Caparelli’s daughter. In less than a month’s time, he’d managed to break every single rule of a deep cover operation. Tonight’s infraction was considered the worst of the worst—and he didn’t care. As he breathed in Bella’s shampoo and felt her skin pressed to his, nothing else mattered.

  “Take me to bed, Reed.” She drew away enough to stare into his eyes. “I want you in my bed.”

  “I’m not going to argue with that.” He walked to her room, pausing for her to switch on the dim overhead light, and set her on her feet by the bed. He let his hands trail down her body, looking his fill at the mostly naked woman he couldn’t get enough of. “You’re so damn beautiful.”

  She smiled. “You’re not half-bad yourself, handsome.”

  “No.” He cradled her face, wanting her to see he meant what he said. “Everything about you is beautiful, Bella. Everything.”

  Her eyes went soft as she leaned her cheek into his palm. “Thank you.”

  He kissed her again, needing her in a way he’d never needed anyone. “How do you feel about us ditching the rest of our clothes?”

  She grinned. “I definitely think we should.” She lifted his shirt over his head, and her smile vanished as her gaze wandered from the indented circular scar below his collarbone to the one on the right side of his waist. “Reed.”

  “Occupational hazards.”

  “Bullets,” she whispered, gently stroking both of his healed wounds, then added a kiss to the ugly puckered crater inches away from his heart. “Your blown cover.”

  He closed his eyes, absorbing the warmth of her tender gesture. “He was a bad shot.”

  “Good enough to hurt you.” She pressed her lips to his marred skin again, then to his neck and chin as the pads of her fingers wandered over his body.

  He steamed out a long breath as he palmed her breasts through silky fabric, watching her nipples respond to his featherlight teasing.

  “Mmm.” She snagged her lip with her teeth.

  He held her gaze, tracing her firm, sensitive peaks, then reached around to work the clasp free and let her bra join his shirt on the floor. “God, Bella,” he whispered, bringing his mouth to her breast.

  She brushed her fingers through his hair and moaned.

  “You taste so good,” he said, giving her other breast equal attention, circling his tongue around her nipple and gently tugging.

  She sighed, trailing her hands up and down his back.

  He eased her onto the bed, kissing a trail down her stomach and hips, making goose bumps appear as he explored her soft skin the way he should have done the first time around.

  “That feels good.”

  “Good.” He lay on his side next to her and slid his fingers down her thigh and back up, touching her the way he’d yearned to for weeks, making her arch and moan. Dipping into her wet warmth, he pushed deeper, playing her until her muscles clenched and shuddered. He kissed her, continuing his work, knowing she was close by the way her hips jerked with his movements.

  “Reed,” she gasped, staring into his eyes. “Reed.”

  He kept his pace steady, drawing out her pleasure, watching her eyes go blind as she fell over the edge.

  Her c
ry was quiet, stunned—sexy as hell.

  He took her up again, fast, relentlessly, finding a primal satisfaction in her husky scream.

  “No more. No more,” she begged, breathless and flushed, squeezing his hand with her firm thighs. “Your turn. It’s your turn. Let’s take off your pants.”

  He fought his damp jeans and boxers down his legs.

  “Much better.” She gripped him in her hand, and he sucked in a breath through his teeth as she stroked him.

  The teasing was torture. He had to have her right now. “Come here.” He pulled her against him and rolled, pressing her into the mattress. “How’s this?”

  She smiled. “Good.”

  “I’m thinking we should go for great.”

  “I’m all for great.”

  He grinned and kissed her, sliding inside her, their twin gasps filling the air. Clasping her fingers, he pushed their hands up and under the pillows as they moved together, her hips rocking in time with his lazy thrusts, until her breathing grew unsteady. She urged him to move faster, but this time he was in no hurry.

  “Reed. Please.”

  “Are you ready?”

  “Yes,” she choked out. “Yes.”

  He picked up his pace, kissing her deeply as he took them both over, swallowing her moans as her fingers clutched at his. He rested his head in the crook of her neck, inhaling her high-end perfume as he fought for his breath.

  She stroked her hands along his sides. “You said we were going for great, but I kinda think we made it to fantastic.”

  He lifted his head, grinning. “They’re both acceptable adjectives.”

  She laughed. “And to think I was looking forward to Malcoms tonight. Who knew I should have been looking forward to this?” Wiggling her eyebrows, she nipped at his ear.

  He smiled, twisting a long lock of her hair around his finger. “We certainly changed things.”

  “Is that a problem?”

  He stared into her eyes—Nicoli’s eyes—and thought of Joey, of what he was going to have to do to make this entire situation right. “Not for me.”

  “Good.” She brushed her fingers through his hair, then moved to trace his ears. “Why did you walk out on me tonight?”