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Noah winced at Bobby’s well-aimed innuendo. His friend knew him too well. “Call me when you have the information, wise guy.” He disconnected the call before Bobby could give him any more flack.
He glanced at the clock—thirty minutes had passed since he’d left Natalie upstairs. Figuring he’d check on her before Bobby called back, he headed up to his room. She hadn’t completely shut the bathroom door, and he didn’t care for the silence that greeted him.
Slowly, he pushed open the door. “Natalie?” he called softly, not wanting to frighten her but concerned about her not responding.
No answer, so he stepped inside, his gaze immediately drawn to the woman who’d fallen asleep in his tub. She was submerged to her neck, her head resting against the rim, and there were just enough bubbles to keep her decently covered—and to preserve his sanity. Thank God.
He hunkered down next to the tub and gently skimmed his fingers over her warm, flushed cheek. “Natalie, honey, wake up.”
Her lashes fluttered open, and she smiled up at him drowsily. “I fell asleep,” she murmured.
“You most certainly did.” Standing, h
e grabbed the big fluffy towel hanging over the brass rod so he could leave it within reaching distance for her before he bolted back out of the bathroom. “You need to get out of the tub, get dressed and into bed.”
Just as he turned back around to face her she stood up, without wearing an ounce of timidity, or anything else for that matter. His breath left his lungs painfully and the last bit of his fortitude fled as he stared in pure male fascination at the rivulets of water sluicing down her centerfold body.
Mouth dry, his avid gaze followed the sleek trail of moisture, taking in her plump, full breasts tipped with dusky pink areolas and nipples as hard as pebbles that all but begged for him to nibble, lick, and suck. He was certain he could span her waist with his big hands, and she had the sexiest navel he’d ever seen. The dewy thatch of dark curls between her thighs teased his imagination of what lay beyond, and those endlessly long legs of hers were made to bring a man to his knees and tempt him to sin.
He was the furthest thing to a saint when it came to her, and his cock twitched, throbbed, and swelled full to bursting. She was every hot, lascivious fantasy he’d ever envisioned. Every carnal thought that had passed through his mind. Every erotic daydream he’d ever had.
And reality, in all its breathtaking glory, beckoned…
“Noah?” She shivered, and goose bumps dotted her smooth, wet flesh. “You’re looking at me as if you’ve never seen me naked before.”
Oh, hell. Shaking himself out of his lustful stupor, he summoned a playful grin. “Honey, that’s just the kind of effect you have on me.” That much was the truth.
Her fingers fluttered along her belly, and her breasts quivered at the brief, absentminded touch. “You have that kind of effect on me, too, and you’re not even naked.”
He swallowed a groan. Resigned to remaining in the bathroom with her, he kept his eyes safely above her shoulders and opened the towel for her. “Step out of the tub so we can get you dried off.”
She did as he requested, and he briskly swiped her dry from neck to toes, ignoring her pleasurable moans while reciting baseball stats in his mind to keep himself distracted from the task at hand. Finding the shirt he’d given her earlier, he yanked it over her head and waited for her to push her arms through the sleeves, then handed over her panties for her to slip into.
Once she was decently covered and she’d unclipped her hair, he led her back into the adjoining room. His movements were quick, efficient, and economical, with no room for anything sexual to intervene. He pulled down the covers on the bed, patted the cool sheet, and she obediently crawled up onto the mattress.
Despite the magnitude of his longing for her, his actions were as honorable as the oath he’d made to protect and serve his country when he’d joined the Marines. He pulled the covers up to her chest, and just when he thought he was in the clear and would escape the room without further incident, Natalie wrapped her arms around his neck and looked up at him with a sultry invitation in her gaze.
She drew his head down and skimmed her lips along the corner of his mouth and across his cheek, her breath warm and sweet. “Come to bed with me,” she whispered.
Every cell in his body screamed yes. Heat flashed through him, making him ache with raw desire, and he clutched the bedspread in his fists to keep him grounded, physically and mentally. He knew without a doubt she didn’t have sleeping on her mind, and he also knew he was precariously close to giving in to what they both wanted so badly. It would be so, so easy to crawl under the covers with her and sink deep into her willing body. To lose himself in her heat and softness and finally quench the feverish hunger burning inside him.
He couldn’t be so selfish with his needs, not when there was so much more at stake—foremost the risk of her regretting having sex with him once she regained her memory. With his hormones rallying in protest of his decision, he strove to let her down gently, in a way she wouldn’t construe as an outright rejection.
“I’m expecting a call from Bobby.” Unwinding her arms from his neck, he placed a kiss in each of her palms. “You get some rest and I’ll be back up in a little while, okay?”
An adorable pout puffed out her bottom lip, but she issued no argument, just sought for a kernel of reassurance. “Promise?”
He nodded, unable to refuse her simple request. “Yeah, I promise,” he said, sealing his own fate when he’d originally intended to crash on the couch downstairs for the night.
Satisfied that he’d return later, she snuggled deeper beneath the blankets, sighed and let her lashes drift shut.
Noah went back to his office, knowing it would be hours until he joined Natalie in his bed. He wanted her deep asleep and unaware of him before he dared to slip under the covers with her.
Ten minutes later Bobby called back with the information Noah was waiting for.
“This guy isn’t stupid,” Bobby said, a thread of disgust in his voice. “He paid cash for the flowers and gave the cashier what I highly suspect is a bogus name and an address that isn’t his.”
Surprised, Noah asked, “You ran a check already?”
