Does she think all I would ever want is a moment with my mouth on hers?
“Barrett,” I mutter, forcing myself to pull slightly away.
Her eyes soften. Beg.
Fucking begs.
“Please,” she whispers, one of her hands slipping behind my neck and putting pressure on it.
Urging me closer to her.
Fuck if I don’t let her pull me, and then our mouths touch.
It’s fucking electrifying, something I wasn’t expecting. In every scenario I’d fantasized, I’d suspected kissing Barrett would be a slow melding. Instead, a bolt of lust surges through me and my eyes roll to the back of my head.
She gasps in surprise, and I know she feels it too. I know it because her hand grips the back of my neck hard, holding me to her.
Fuck me.
This has to stop, but… maybe we can let this go on for just a moment more. My head slants, her mouth opens farther, and my tongue invades. Barrett’s fingers move into my hair, gripping hard and holding me tight. One of my hands moves to her lower back to press her tighter to me, and I don’t spare a moment’s guilt over the erection that’s starting to occur.
Goddamn, it’s an excellent fucking kiss, even if it is so very wrong.
I pull back, my hands going to her shoulders to hold her away from me. Her chest is rising and falling, lips wet and swollen, and expression one of utter confusion.
“We can’t,” I say in explanation.
Confusion morphs to hurt, and that causes my chest to squeeze again.
I shake my head. “Barrett… it’s not a good idea. I can’t afford the distraction.”
Hurt gives way to anger, and her eyes flash hot. “I am not a distraction.”
“That’s not what I meant,” I growl, pulling her slightly closer to me with my hands at her shoulders. Leaning down, I put my face in front of hers. “I mean I can’t get lost, and that fucking kiss right there made me want to sink down with you and never come up. I can’t lose focus. My job is to protect you and nothing else.”
Immediately, understanding dawns. Relief fills me when her face softens. She nods before lowering her gaze. “I get it. And I’m sorry I came on to you.”
“It was mutual,” I say, rushing to her defense.
Stubbornly, she tilts her chin up. “I started it by asking you to kiss me,” she insists.
We stare at each other until she gives me a halfhearted smile. “It was a damn good kiss, though, right?”
“Words fail to describe it,” I assure her.
Smile widening, she leans against the pillows and my hands fall from her shoulders. My fingers want to continue to grasp onto her, but I reluctantly let go.
Slowly, I rise from the bed and take a much-needed step back. She avoids eye contact by reaching for the bottle of water.
“Can I get you anything else?” I ask.
She shakes her head, eyes darting to me a moment. “I’m good.”
“Okay, then,” I murmur, knowing I need to leave but not wanting to take that step.
Barrett takes a sip of water, re-caps the bottle, and sets it down. Her eyes lock with mine. This time, she stares boldly with a slight smile. “I’m good, Cruce. Thanks for checking up on me.”
I give her a short nod and turn on my heel, leaving the room without looking back. Pulling the door behind me, I once again leave it open just a few inches in case she needs me.
CHAPTER 10
Barrett
I busy myself with pulling the clothes out of my suitcase to repack it. Last night while searching for something to sleep in, I discovered Cruce’s packing skills, well… frankly, they suck. He did nothing but toss everything in, smash it down, and zip it up.
I finally just dump it all out on the bed, carefully folding everything into segregated piles to make sure I have enough for our upcoming Caribbean “vacation”. While my biggest fear would be that he forgot to pack underwear, I’m amused to find he emptied what has to be my entire lingerie drawer. There are over twenty matching sets of panties and bras, most lace and delicate silk. It’s one of my guilty pleasures and sadly underutilized.
A knock sounds on the front door of Cruce’s apartment, and I head through the living room to open it. It’s unlocked and anyone could walk in, but I imagine manners supersede.
I smile when I find Joslyn standing there.
“Just doing a quick check to see if there’s anything you need,” Joslyn says as I step back to invite her in. “I can do a quick run out to the store.”
“I don’t think so,” I say, having been through most of my clothes. Not like I needed anything dressy. The casual dresses, shorts, t-shirts, and jeans will work fine on a private island. “Are Cruce and Kynan still down with their… um… prisoner?”
When she nods, I turn for the bedroom to resume packing. Cruce said we’d be leaving before noon, which is fast approaching. Joslyn follows behind. Once we’re inside, she casually starts helping me fold the remaining items.
“Sure brought a lot of lingerie…” Smirking, she gestures toward the stacked sets on the bed.
I roll my eyes. “That was Cruce. When he said we were leaving in a hurry, he meant it. He packed for me. As you can see, it’s pretty easy to guess where his mind was.”
“I imagine that’s most men’s minds,” Joslyn replies with a laugh.
It makes me chuckle. “I get it. Time was of the essence, and he was in a rush.”
Silently, she folds a t-shirt and places it on a similar stack. By the way she’s chewing on her lip, I deduce she wants to say something, but it’s obvious she isn’t sure if she should tell me her thoughts.
“What is it?” I ask.
She shakes her head as if she’s going to deny my curiosity, but I’m not having it. “Tell me.”
Her shoulders lift as if she’s unsure, but her gaze is direct. “I think there’s something between you and Cruce.”
Instinct says to deny, deny, deny, but I hesitate. Why lie? It’s not like it’s a big deal or like she’s off base. There isn’t anything I should be embarrassed about.
Besides, I’m not sure she’s wrong.
“We had a moment last night,” I admit, smoothing out a wrinkle in a shirt so I don’t have to look at her. It may not be embarrassing, but…my belly still dips when I say, “Or rather… in the wee hours of the morning.”
“Oh, do tell,” she says, eyes wide with interest. She sits on the edge of the bed, laundry forgotten. “Because I was serious when I said I sensed something between you.”
“We… um… well, we kissed.”
“You kissed?” she exclaims loudly. Gleefully, she claps with clear delight.
“Yes,” I murmur, hoping my lowered voice will encourage her to do the same.
“I knew it,” she whispers fiercely. “I knew he was attracted to you, and I figured he’d make a move. Although, I imagine fraternizing with clients might be frowned upon in this line of work, but still… I’m all for the romance of it.”
I shake my head, not willing to let Cruce take the blame—or credit. “He didn’t make the move. I did.”
She blinks a few times, mouth slackening in clear surprise. “Oh, well… nothing wrong with that.”