Page 45 of Hearts at War

Harsh, shrieking beeps sounded in my ear. To the side, on the nightstand, his alarm clock blasted an interruption.

Stop!

I wrenched back, panting and gasping at him with wild eyes. If his clock hadn’t gone off, I wasn’t sure how much longer I would have dismissed my rational thinking. I might not have wanted to stop at all, too carried away on this sudden lust attack.

“What the hell are we doing?” I screeched. I couldn’t accuse him of kissing me. Nor could I take the fault and word it as though I’d made this mistake on my own.

We’d declared each other the enemy. We were not supposed to kiss or cuddle or—

Argh! What the hell is wrong with me?

He reared back too as I stumbled out of the sheets and blankets.

“Wait—” He reached out to me as I frantically tried to escape at the same time he leaned over to smack his hand on the snooze button.

“No. No wait.” He couldn’t possibly expect me to hold on and want more. We shouldn’t have even started this at all.

“Caref—” He got onto his knees, crawling after me.

Too late. I wasn’t careful. I was freaked out at the fact I could’ve made such a colossal mistake of kissing him, all because I’d woken up horny from dreams about being in bed with a man. Caught up in the mess of the bedding, I fell to the floor.

“Are you—” He slanted over the bed, lower his hand to help me up.

“No!” I fought the sheets and blanket as he kneeled on the bed. If he touched me... I wasn’t sure if I’d slap him away or slink right back into his embrace.

“I— We had no business doing that.”

“I know. We shouldn’t have.”

I blinked, not strong enough to make eye contact with him in the face of my panic and horror. Fighting to stand and kicking his linens aside, I wrenched my sweater free from the blob, mildly surprised he was agreeing with me.

“I didn’t intend...” He sighed and ran his hand through his hair.

“Never again,” I warned. Holding a finger at him, I checked that my phone was in my sweater pocket. “That is not going to happen ever again!”

I couldn’t believe I’d caved. Being caught in a sexy dream was no damn excuse. I knew better.

Ashamed that I’d surrendered and furious with myself that I hadn’t been stronger to resist him, I turned and ran out of his cabin. I was better than this. I knew how to show gratitude. He was owed at least a thank you for letting me stay the night, but I couldn’t, wouldn’t face him right now.

Outside, after I closed his front door after me, I sucked in a deep lungful of air. It shocked my system. It cleared my head. But as I let my shoulders sag and closed my eyes, I could still taste him on my lips.

Fuck.

I had no business kissing another man. I had no business kissing Roarke. Not so soon after all the hell David put me through.

Not ever again.

I started off from his cabin, walking as quickly as I could in the early dawn light. Fog hung close to the ground, but it was light enough that I could pull my phone from my pocket and see the text that had just come in.

Todd: You have a spare key in a small rock at the northeast corner of the cabin.

Todd: Sorry if this message didn’t come sooner.

I huffed a wry laugh.

I was sorrier my common sense hadn’t come sooner.

Kissing Roarke was the last thing I needed to deal with in my life.