Mel poked my side, drawing my attention away from Brecken. “Judging by how Devon reacted to whatever was in my bedroom, I get that I’m in serious trouble. I appreciate what you guys want to do for me, but I couldn’t even afford to get myself out to Portland after my flight was cancelled. I definitely don’t have the kind of money it would take to hire you guys to keep me safe.”
Brecken confirmed he understood the significance of my reaction to the break-in—and that Hadley told him why I wanted the plane—when he insisted, “Your money’s no good here anyway, Miss Bisset. Devon won the right to be your knight in shining armor, after all.”
9
MELISANDE
Itilted my head back to stare up at the building as Devon turned into the garage. “Nice place for a safe house. You weren’t kidding when you said that you guys don’t spare any expense.”
“I’m glad you like it.” He flashed me a grin as the gate lifted to allow us inside. “But this isn’t a safe house, sweetheart. I live here.”
“Oh.” I was trying not to read too much into his decision to bring me here instead of a safe house, but my heart—and hormones—weren’t in the mood to be logical.
His gaze slid toward me as he took the circular drive up to a higher floor. “My building is secure, and the system on my condo is top-of-the-line. Nobody will be able to get to you here.”
“I’m not worried. I trust you to keep me safe.” But after all the flirting we’d done this weekend, I was hoping that wasn’t the only reason he’d chosen his home. However, that concern disappeared when he led me to the master bedroom after giving me a tour of his condo—including the two guest rooms.
As he set my luggage on the bench at the end of his bed, I took a deep breath and pulled his masculine scent into my lungs. “You want me to stay in here?”
“Absolutely.” He flashed me a smile over his shoulder. “I want you to be as comfortable as possible, and this mattress is the best.”
I walked over to the side of the bed and trailed my fingers over the navy-blue comforter. “Where are you going to sleep?”
“I’d prefer to be here with you.” He moved close and pressed a finger under my chin, tilting my head back until our gazes met. “The odds of anyone getting in here are beyond slim, but it would still be better for me to stick close to you.”
“We’d be sharing this big bed purely for my safety, of course,” I drawled, my lips curving into a grin as a slight thrill raced up my spine.
He returned my smile. “Absolutely.”
The sensual gleam in his dark eyes contradicted his agreement, giving me the courage to go after what I wanted. “But what if I had an ulterior motive?”
“I guess my answer would depend on what kind,” he murmured, his hands gliding from my shoulders, down my arms, and to my hips.
My cheeks heated as I suggested, “The kind where we put your top-of-the-line mattress to the test.”
“I don’t want you to do anything you’ll regret later.” His fingers flexed against my hips. “You’ve had a rush of adrenaline, which fucks with your ability to be clearheaded.”
“This time, you’re the one who’s wrong.” I gripped the front of his shirt in my fist and pulled him closer. “Sure, knowing that whatever happened at my apartment is bad enough that you wouldn’t let me get so much as a glimpse inside my room is probably part of why I’m acting out of character. But onlybecause it reminded me of how we never know what’s going to happen next, making me more clearheaded than ever.”
“You’re killing me here, sweetheart.” He dropped his forehead against mine and sighed. “I’m trying to be a good guy.”
His reaction made me bolder. “You don’t need to hold yourself back to prove that to me. We’re on what has to be the longest date in the history of the world, going on almost forty hours. I already know how amazing you are. And if you break that down to normal date time, we’ve gone out about ten times already. That’s way past the third date rule. In most relationships, we’re behind the curve when it comes to getting physical.”
“Oh, really?” He grinned before gently brushing his lips over mine. “We can’t have that, now can we?”
I smiled against his lips. “Nope, we really can’t.”
He picked me up and laid me on the mattress, tugging my shoes from my feet before kicking off his own. When he stretched out next to me, goose bumps spread across my skin everywhere we touched. Our first kiss, just a moment before, was the barest touch of our lips. But the second was so much more. This time, he devoured me. His tongue swept inside to tangle with mine, leaving me breathless.
When he finally ended the kiss, my need for him was an ache deep in my core. “Whoa.”
He leaned close, gliding his lips up my jaw as he whispered, “Think of all that time we wasted on our ten dates when we could’ve been doing this the whole time.”
“It’s a good thing you finally listened to reason,” I teased, letting out a little gasp when he lifted my shirt over my head.
He winked at me before pulling his shirt off, too. “You haven’t seen anything yet.”
I’d known he was built, but his chest exceeded my fantasies. I stroked my palms along the ridges of his muscles. “I definitely have now.”
