Her stare fell to his lips, and he could feel them tingling.
“I didn't say it was a good idea, Leo. But it sure as hell sounds like a lot of fun. Look at what we do to each other. I’m so turned on I could fuck you right now.”
What a dirty mouth, and he loved it. Would she talk dirty in bed, too? Tell him how to treat her? His cock was throbbing, pressed up against the fly of his jeans and screaming to be set free.
Abby was with the royals until dinner.
Don't tell me you're really considering this.
But he was, God help him, he was. Abby wouldn't even have to know Charlotte was here.
Abby. Shit. “The woman who's here with me on the ship might end up working for HERO Force.”
“So don’t tell her I’m Logan’s sister. Problem solved.”
“It’s not that simple.”
“It is if you let it be, Leo.”
He still held her shoulders, and she leaned into him, keeping up the pressure. He was just about to give in to his desire when it struck him.
She will be your downfall.
He froze. He was on the cusp of attaining everything he’d ever wanted, more than he’d ever thought he deserved, and having sex with Logan’s sister would be the thing to start the avalanche he knew was coming.
All of it would go away. His promotion. HERO Force. The only things he’d ever been good at. He had to make her understand.
“I don’t want to do this, Charlotte.”
“You don’t want to?” She raised her eyebrows and leaned back. Her cheeks flushed and she was more beautiful than he’d ever seen her, even as he watched his words register on her features.
He’d hurt her feelings. He could feel it, feel the air between them growing cold, and he longed to reach out and take it back, make it better. “I’m sorry, Charlotte.”
She moved to the other side of the room and turned on him. “You are so full of shit,” she said, pointing her finger at him. “You want me so bad you can barely keep your dick in your pants. Why don’t you admit you’re a coward who’s too afraid to go for what you want instead of pretending you don’t want to fuck me? Because clearly that isn’t true.”
His feet were moving, his better judgement no longer in control of his body. She was fiery, and an answering fire leaped to life inside him. “Fine. I want you, Charlotte. I want to fuck you so badly I could push you down on that bed and hike up your skirt and ride you until you scream.
“But I don’t want to alienate your brother, who you know full well would be upset as all hell to know you’re here, and I don’t want to screw up this mission because I’m distracted or because I left a newbie in charge so I could get laid, and I don’t want to lose Jax’s respect right before he makes me commander of HERO Force. It’s too important to me. Can’t you understand that, Charlotte? Or does that just make me a coward?”
She walked to the couch, picked up her purse and turned toward the door, looking back as she reached for the knob. “I’ll see you around, Leo.” She walked out, slamming the door behind her.
“I’m sorry,” he said to the empty room. “Fuck!”
6
There was a warm summer breeze, the smells of saltwater and sunscreen instantly reminding Cowboy of the beach. He walked along the wooden pool deck, his eyes searching for Abby among the arms and legs that lined the area like a line of can-can dancers.
Finding her, Cowboy stretched out on a lounge chair beside her. He was still in shock, unable to believe Charlotte was not only on board but propositioning him for a week of unbridled sex.
And he’d just turned her down.
He gestured toward the pool, where the royals were swimming together. “Anything interesting with these two while I was gone?”
“Not really. There was a guy here earlier who was watching them rather intently, but he might've recognized them.”
Cowboy nodded. “I'm surprised how little that’s happened, considering their wedding was just all over the tabloids in every grocery store in America.”
“Does anyone read those things?”
