Page 12 of Her New Bodyguard: Colton

JULIA

Being so close with a man I barely knew should have made me nervous. Yesterday, it would have. But Colton was so caring and sweet that I didn't feel the need to be.

I heard him going around the cabin checking the doors and windows while I changed into a huge baggy t-shirt that he lent me. It wasn't a very sexy nightgown, but I had never tried to be sexy in my life. Tying my hair up in a messy topknot, I turned on the bedside lamp and slipped into bed.

"May I come in?" Colton asked through the bedroom door.

"Yes."

He checked the window and his gun in the drawer, then casually stripped off his clothing down to his shorts. I could tell that he was ex-military by the way he draped everything neatly over a chair, ready to jump into his clothes in a split second if necessary.

Colton slipped under the covers and held out his arms for me. I snuggled right in, reveling in the way our bodies fit perfectly together.

"If you need anything during the night, just say my name," he said. "Don't ever worry about waking me up."

"If I get too clingy, just shove me away. I've never slept next to anyone before, and this feels…mmm. Really nice."

"You should cuddle against me as long as you like, Julia."

He reached over and turned off the light, then pulled me close. It was so intimate feeling his breath along my cheek, and his heartbeat as my hand pressed to his chest.

Fingertips brushed my hair away before soft lips lingered against my forehead. "So beautiful." Colton's deep voice was even sexier in the dark.

My chin tipped up to his, our lips barely an inch apart. I wanted to ask him for a goodnight kiss, but wondered if that would seem strange. When we were at the police station, he'd told me that if I wanted something, I had to take it.

My hand glided from his bare chest, up his throat, to tangle in the side of his thick hair. As Colton's lips met mine, it felt natural. Like it was meant to be.

His hand pressed against my lower back, holding me tightly against him as my lips parted. His tongue delicately tasted mine, exploring, testing my reactions. My soft moan must have aroused him, as I felt something lurch in his shorts right between us.

Every part of me felt electrified. Like I was vibrating.

"You're delicious," he whispered. "The things I would do to you if it were our fourth or fifth date…"

Laughing, I appreciated that he kept things light. "What do people normally do on a first date?"

Colton's fingers slipped through my hair, tilting my face to his. A sliver of blue light from the alarm clock reflected in his eyes. "I would kiss you goodnight at your doorstep, then go home and dream of you."

"What if it was a first date and we were sharing a bed?"

His chuckle was so sexy that my hips shifted restlessly. The warmth coursing through me wasn't something I could just switch off.

"We can do absolutely anything you want, gorgeous. You're in charge."

I loved that he was completely in control without being controlling. I loved the way my heart fluttered, making me think that love was already brewing.

My hands skimmed all around his shoulders, his sculpted arms, caressing him as he kissed me again. Our bodies fused together, his hand on my hip, his leg over mine. My thighs spread, eager to release some of the heat gathering there.

"I've never wanted anyone as much as I want you." Colton's soft, indistinct words sent fire through my belly.

"I want you, too," I whispered back.

"I would never forgive myself for taking you tonight," he breathed. "Even though my feelings for you are already…" His head shook, brushing our foreheads together. "It's too soon."

A tiny whine escaped my throat before I could hold it back. There was no way I could sleep with this growing desire surging through me.

"May I touch you, baby?" he asked softly.

I melted at the word. "Yes."

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