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JANE AWOKE to the sound of Luke getting dressed. She rolled over and watched him in the moonlight for a moment before glancing at the clock. It was nearly five in the morning. He’d slept over, and she couldn’t quite say why that thought gave her such a thrill—or why the thought of his leaving left her feeling vaguely panicky.
He must have heard the change in her breathing from sleeping to wakeful, and he turned to find her watching him.
“I need to go home and get ready for my meeting.”
“Can I make you some coffee?”
“No, don’t get up. I’ll grab something at my place.” He sat down on the edge of the bed and leaned over, then placed a soft kiss on her lips.
She found herself actually sort of glad she’d accidentally sent that e-mail earlier. It meant she’d gotten to spend the night burning off all the sexual energy that had built up inside her, and now she felt mentally prepared to resist Luke’s charms for as long as it took. She’d be able to focus completely on writing again, let him do his job of protecting her, and all would be well. Maybe she could even stop feeling like such a hypocrite all the time.
“Lock the door behind me, okay?” Luke said as he stopped in the bedroom doorway.
Jane crawled out of bed and grabbed her robe from the back of the bathroom door, then followed Luke out to the foyer. He gave her another lingering kiss before he left, one that left her imagining they were a real couple.
Jane went back to the bedroom, flopped down on the bed and sighed. She could smell Luke’s sage-and-leather scent on her pillow, which wasn’t going to help her put him out of her mind. Instead, she hugged the pillow to her and made a mental note to wash the sheets later, after she’d gotten another few hours of sleep.
But her brain wasn’t ready to sleep. Instead, Luke’s challenge to her the day they’d met popped into her head. He’d told her he wanted a chance to prove her wrong. And she’d been confident enough in her relationship theories to think he didn’t stand a chance.
So now what? Had she really been so horribly wrong all these years? Had her advice to countless women been misguided and prudish? The sad truth was, she had no idea.
How had having sex with Luke influenced her life in the past two days? It had been incredibly pleasurable, that was for sure, but she couldn’t say the impact on her had been altogether positive. For one thing, sex was suddenly all she could think about. For another, the long-term repercussions had yet to be determined, and they were bound to be negative, weren’t they?
She tried to imagine what kind of future she and Luke could have—her, a woman who firmly believed in restraint and moderation in all matters sexual, and him, a guy who unleashed passions in her she didn’t even know existed until two days ago. She’d never seen a relationship that started out based on sex, like theirs had, grow into a lasting love.
Maybe, subconsciously, she’d been setting them up to fail and prove her relationship theories right by hopping into bed with him right away. Maybe under other circumstances, they might have a more promising future…or not. She honestly couldn’t imagine being in the same room with Luke without lusting after him. No, theirs was a relationship doomed from the start, born of sexual urges gone unchecked.
Jane tugged the covers up tight against her chest and wondered if she could continue following her desire for Luke for a short time—all in the name of field research, of course. The idea sounded unethical, at best. What she should do was just cut the sexual relationship off before it snowballed into an obsession. She’d gotten it out of her system as of last night, she hoped, at least enough to move on and let Luke be her bodyguard and nothing more. Feeling at peace with the decision, she forced all thought from her mind.
As soon as she closed her eyes, the phone rang. Jane’s heart pounded double-time at the unwelcome sound, and she immediately thought of the threatening calls that had stopped since she got her number changed. No, this couldn’t be. It was likely just Luke, calling from his cell phone for some reason, since he was the only person who knew she was awake.
Smiling, she picked up the phone on the nightstand. “Did you forget your underwear?”
On the line, she could hear breathing. “I know your bodyguard just left,” an unnaturally low voice said.
Jane’s stomach did a flip-flop, and she felt a cold chill run through her. Her first instinct was to slam the phone down, but she sat frozen with fear. Whoever this creep was, he was watching her, and he knew she was alone.
“Where are you?” she asked, surprised at the steadiness of her own voice.
“I’m close.”
