Page 38 of How To Tempt A Bodyguard

The thought cut off as he heard her stir.

He didn't turn around. Kept his eyes on the basin, on his own reflection: haggard, unshaven, dark circles under his eyes.

"You didn't sleep." Her voice was rough with morning. Soft in a way it hadn't been before. Stirred him in a way it hadn’t before.

"Slept enough."

He heard the rustle of blankets. The creak of the mattress as she sat up. He could picture her without looking. Hair tangled from sleep, the blanket clutched to her chest, those violet eyes still hazy with dreams.

He didn't turn around.

"Matthew."

"We should get moving. Cobb will have the carriage ready by—"

"Matthew. Look at me."

He didn't want to. Knew what would happen if he did. The wanting would surge back, the memory of her tongue tangling with his, her desperate pleas, the way she'd bucked against his cock, nearly driving him to fuck her and render her speechless. He'd barely survived the night. He wasn't sure he could survive looking at her.

He turned anyway.

She was exactly as he'd pictured. Hair a dark tangle around her shoulders. Blanket pulled up to her collarbone, hiding everything he'd seen last night. But her face was bare. No mask, no performance. Just Florence, watching him with an expression he couldn't read.

"About last night," she said.

"Doesn't need to be discussed."

"I think it does."

"It was a mistake." The words tasted like dust. "You were upset. I took advantage. It won't happen again."

Her mouth fell open. "Is that what you think happened? You took advantage?"

"Didn't I?"

"No." She said it without heat. "I kissed you. I asked you not to stop. If anyone took advantage, it was me."

He shook his head. "You were vulnerable. You'd just woken from a nightmare. I should have bundled you up and ordered you to go back to sleep."

She let out a breath that was almost a laugh. "And you think I would have complied? I knew what I wanted. I still know."

The words hung in the air between them. I still know.

He looked away. "It can't happen again."

"Why not?"

"Because I can't protect you if I'm thinking about…" He swallowed. "I can't do my job if my head's not clear."

"Your head seemed perfectly clear last night. You were... thorough."

His rod twitched. He remembered being thorough. Remembered the sounds she'd made, the way her thighs had clamped around his head, the salt sweet taste of her on his tongue.

"You are thinking about it, aren’t you?" Her eyes danced with mirth.

He narrowed his eyes, reminding himself to be the stubborn bastard he’d always been. "Stop."

She began to walk towards him. "Why? Because you can’t handle my feminine wiles?" She had heat in her eyes, the brightness that began from her gaze then eventually led to screaming his name.