Page 15

“That sounds like joining the military wasn’t your first choice.”

“Maybe not at first, but it grew on me,” Kage said. At least at this point his tone had lost some of the typical edge.

“Your father?”

“How astute of you.”

“You don’t need to be that way with me. I was just commiserating with you. My father wants me to work with him and I’ve fought him every step of the way, taking every job I could to keep from being forced into saying yes.”

I noticed a souvenir store and moved toward the door. He stopped me before I could push it open.

“Not so fast.”

“I doubt there’s anyone waiting inside on the off chance we’ll stop by because we really need saltwater taffy.”

Kage lifted a single eyebrow but allowed me to walk inside.

“It’s a tourist thing.” He trailed right behind me as I moved from aisle to aisle. Every so often I touched something, a silly glass figurine or a conch shell. When I reached the hats, I laughed and pulled one off, the bright pink color immediately creating the reaction I knew would happen.

He wrinkled his nose.

I shoved it on anyway, placing my hands on my hips and swinging from side to side. “Is it me?”

“You’re not a pink girl.”

“I’m not, huh?” I returned the hat to the hanger, selecting a black one instead. With Bermuda stamped on the front, it was at least more subtle than many of the other garish ones. I wound my hair and shoved it underneath. “Is this better?”

His nod was likely the only approval I’d get. Sighing, I moved toward the sunglasses, selecting a pair that reminded me of my great big savior. “Try these on.”

“I don’t need them.”

“Humor me.”

His jaw clenched, but he snatched them from my hand. Once they were on his face, I took a deep, wheezing breath.

“You look hot. Perfect for you. You need to buy them. And these. My treat.” Even my brightest smile wasn’t working on him.

I slipped on the shades, determined to not let him bother me.

At least I’d had a lovely walk in fresh air.

I grabbed a couple of tee shirts and a stupid island-style dress just to sleep in if nothing else.

With the purchases made, I watched as he pulled out a wad of Bermuda dollars, saying nothing to the clerk as he paid for the items.

Hat and sunglasses didn’t alter his method of operation. He was ready at any second to grab his weapon.

“What kind of girl am I?” I asked absently as we walked another block. My knee was starting to ache again, something I tried to hide. He’d force me to return to the room and the break might keep me from going looney-tunes.

Every time I asked him a question, he sucked in his breath as if I was asking him to repeat the Gettysburg address or something. Was it so difficult to answer my questions? Maybe he just loathed being coerced into babysitting some rich bitch.

“Primal colors.”

His answer wasn’t what I would have expected. “Primal. Reds. Blacks. Blues?”

“Yes.”

At least he was answering me. I should be grateful for small things.

“You’d be right. My favorite color is red, but black will do.” I glanced down the street, noticing a restaurant on the corner. “What about that one? Do you think we could have dinner there?”

“That will do.”

“Why is talking with you like pulling teeth?”

“Because I need to maintain a distance from you. From anyone I extract. It’s not just you.”

“Why? You’re not my permanent bodyguard. As soon as you drop me off in New York, you can be on your way. We’ll never see each other again. I thought at least we could have a conversation.”

“We’ll talk as necessary.”

Every step he took screamed of his military background. He was polite in opening the door for me, even remaining behind me as we were ushered to a table. While I appreciated the kind gestures, I put my foot down when he tried to pull out the chair for me.

“Thank you, but no thanks. I’ve been on my own for a long time and I’m perfectly fine taking care of myself.”

His brow furrowed and I thought he was going to argue with me. He didn’t, just ripping out the chair opposite me and thumping down. He was so powerful that I was surprised when the chair didn’t splinter.

“There’s nothing wrong with independence while allowing a man to be a gentleman.”

I don’t think his words could have surprised me any more than they had. “You’re right. You’re absolutely right, but if you won’t talk to me, then why bother extending other courtesies.” I removed my sunglasses, taking a longer look at him.

The fact I was attracted to him remained a crazy thought in my mind. He certainly wasn’t interested in me.

“Fine. Then I won’t.” He picked up his menu.

So did I.

The tension could be cut with a dull spoon.

There was nothing I hated worse than the silence between us.

“My father was a military man. So was my grandfather. I was expected to join. I wanted to go to college. My father refused to pay for it. I had a choice. I could go into the Navy and try and get scholarship money or find a way to work through college. I figured the Navy would work and I’d get out as soon as possible. At least those were my intentions.”

“What changed?”

“I don’t know really. I found some peace that I’d never found before in being regimented. That stuck with me. When I started excelling, saving several soldiers’ lives, I was noticed and offered a spot with the SEALs. I decided to take it.”

“Now that you’re out, how do you feel?”

He looked out the window, staring at the street. “Lost. I’ll give you a single piece of advice, Juliette. Don’t allow your father to talk you into anything. Ever. This is your life. You have only one. Try and remember that.”

As he slowly turned his head, he allowed the walls to come down if only for a little while. In his eyes I saw dedication, respect, and so much intelligence. But I also saw something else.

Pain. Tremendous pain.

The walls were returned, locked in place. His advice wasn’t anything I hadn’t heard before from friends and colleagues, but coming from him, the words and meaning were entirely different.

With him, everything was difficult.

As we ordered, he constantly scanned the restaurant just like he’d done on the street.

Even when our drinks came and finally our food, he remained completely on edge.

When I finally got up to go to the bathroom, he reacted, immediately standing.

“The corridor is right there. I’m not going to do anything stupid,” I told him.

“It’s not you I’m worried about.” He trailed behind me, glancing down the short hallway before nodding.

He was looking for a back entrance.

His actions should scare me, but they didn’t. They were comforting. I moved inside, using the bathroom and washing my hands. I’d never met anyone like him. He was hard edged, but there was so much furrowing inside of him. He made me want to learn more about him. His story.

The reason behind his anguish.

A private man, he’d never open up to a girl like me.

I dried my hands, tossing the paper in the trash and barely looking as I moved into the corridor. As soon as I stepped into the dining room once again, a pair of hands grabbed me.

It took me a solid beat to realize Kage had pulled me into his arms, spinning me around so I faced the wall near the bathrooms. His hand gripped my jaw, his thumb pressed against the outside of my lips.

He’d startled me to the extent I didn’t say anything or ask him what was going on.

Somewhere inside, I knew he was hiding me from plain sight, potentially worried about someone looking in through the windows.

The girl inside of me who’d dreamt about finding the perfect man peered up at him with hope this was something else entirely.

He stared at me for a few seconds. Up close, I basked in the reality of just how handsome he truly was, rugged in every way. Something about the way he was holding me screamed of domination. This man knew what he was doing and took what he wanted.

I’d never been attracted to a man like that before.

Until now.

His head descended and the moment our lips touched, everything around me faded into shadows.

There was no sound, as if the entire world had just stopped spinning.

His scent was just as powerful, masculine and full of testosterone, kissed by the shower gel he’d used earlier.

His mouth tasted like the single whiskey he’d allowed himself.

Delicious.

Just like the man.

I brushed my hands up from his abdomen, crunching the fingers of one hand around his shirt while slowly sliding the other arm around his neck.

Leaning in, I moaned into the kiss as he opened my mouth.

My hand found his thumping heart and I envisioned just how incredible it would feel lying naked next to him.

I craved his callused hands stroking me, his mouth consuming mine. I longed to feel the weight of him pressed against me, one leg between mine.

His mouth was firm and I opened mine wider, maybe giving permission for him to taste more of me.

When he slipped his tongue inside, I mewed and arched my back.

His stubbled beard prickled my skin, the excitement of kissing him creating a throb between my legs.

The way he held me sizzled every nerve ending and shooting stars matched the wild intensity as electric current rolled through every cell and muscle.

The way he tasted me was sweet at first, just another taste of the gentleman lying dormant inside of him. But as he dominated my tongue, I was reminded how controlling he could be. This time, I craved his rough handling, the thought of relinquishing control more enticing than it should be.

At least with him.

He wasn’t stopping, sweeping his tongue back and forth and for the first time in kissing a man, I felt lightheaded. How many times had I been kissed, yet I’d never felt anything like this before. An explosion of heat and fire burning so rapidly that I feared being consumed.

But when he broke the kiss, I wanted him to do it all over again.

I clung to him, taking short breaths as we both stared into each other’s eyes. There was a sense we’d crossed the line, but it was all pretend.

Even though I could see lust in his eyes, he quickly shut it down, lifting his head so our lips couldn’t possibly find their way back to each other.

His eyes bounced back and forth across mine as his expression hardened.

I did the same, noticing how his muscles were strained against the tight confines of the material. Without thinking, I dragged my tongue across my bottom lip, savoring the taste of him.

The big, brooding soldier had just awakened a part of me I’d tossed aside, searing my skin while scorching the earth under my feet.

He took a step away, his deep breath more labored this time. I wanted so much for him to do it again, but he rubbed his thumb across my cheek as if it was for the last time and pulled away.

Without saying a word, he lifted his head and glanced out the window.

“We should go.”

As with all beautiful things, this would come crashing to an end.

The single touch was meant as a deterrent, a ploy.

Yet I felt something even more incredible than the kiss.

Neither of us was pretending.