N. Walters: Touch of Topaz

Now she was starting to get worried. What in the name of God was he doing?

John pulled out his keys, fitted one of them in the lock and opened the door. He pulled her inside and shut the door with a heavy thunk . The air inside was fresh, not musty, as though someone had recently aired the place out. The scent of pine-scented cleaner filled the room.

He released her briefly to turn on a switch. At least there was electricity. For that, she was extremely grateful. The room was large, a combination living area, kitchen and dining room all in one. The furniture was overstuffed and looked well-worn but comfortable. There were no knickknacks or personal items to soften the stark space. No pillows on the sofa and only a few tattered paperbacks on the shelf. It was spartan and obviously male.

Topaz’s patience had run out. She crossed her arms over her chest, drew herself up to her full height, using every inch of the three-inch pumps she was wearing to make herself even more authoritative. “I want to know what’s going on, and I want to know now.”

John stood before her in a pair of jeans that he’d obviously had for a while. They fit him like a second skin and were slightly faded in the knees and crotch area. Not that she was looking there. Of course, she wasn’t.

She pulled her gaze up toward his face. His leather jacket creaked slightly when he moved, revealing a tight black T-shirt beneath. His face was half in shadow and half in light, giving him a menacing look. She swallowed and took a half step back before she stopped herself.

She was being silly now. This was John, the man she trusted with her life.

Tension permeated the room until her nerves were stretched to the max. They stared at one another, neither of them blinking. Topaz was beginning to feel as though they were in a standoff of some kind, and she was determined not to give an inch.

John was the kind of man who could overwhelm a woman if she wasn’t careful. He wasn’t a bully, quite the opposite in fact. He’d be very protective of a woman if he cared for her, but his dominant personality would be hard for any woman to stand up to and he would gently but inexorably steamroll her into doing whatever he wanted.

“Well?” She couldn’t stand the silence any longer. She tapped the toe of her Christian Louboutin pumps against the wood floor and glared at him.

He took another step toward her and this time she held her ground. A smile played at the corners of his mouth. Topaz was suddenly overheated as memories of his mouth sliding over her neck, teasing her breasts and tasting between her thighs swamped her. This was no time for her to allow those erotic memories to come to the fore.

He raised one hand and slid his fingers over her cheek and she had to struggle not to close her eyes and simply sink into the gentle caress. “It’s simple, really.” He dropped his hand back to his side and she immediately missed his warmth.

Her hands tightened into fists to keep from smacking him. The man was making her crazy with his cryptic answers. “What’s simple?”

“I’ve kidnapped you.”

At first she didn’t think she’d heard him properly. She shook her head at him, certain she was mistaken. “You what?”

He put his hands on his hips and widened his stance, which made him appear even larger. “You heard me. I kidnapped you.”

“You can’t do that.” It was ludicrous. Absurd. He was a professional bodyguard for heaven’s sake.

“I already have.” He raked his fingers through his short hair and let out a large sigh. “Look, you’re tired and you need a few days rest.”

“I can do that at home.” She glanced around the cabin. “Probably better there than here.”

His eyes narrowed, and if his jaw clenched any tighter she was afraid he might damage his teeth. “I know it’s not what you’re used to.”

It struck her that she’d hurt his feelings. That he thought she was rejecting the cabin because it was rustic.

“Don’t be an idiot, John. It’s got nothing to do with the cabin. It’s lovely and has a rustic charm. But I have to get home.” It was sweet of him to want to give her a few days away. Really it was. But she didn’t have the time for it.

She ignored the pang of regret that gripped her and carried on. “We need to get back on the road.” She glanced at her watch. It would be late by the time they reached the city so she would cut herself some slack in the morning and go into work late.

“No.” His one-word reply brought her internal plans to a screeching halt.

“What do you mean, no? If you don’t want to drive, just give me the keys and I will.” She held out her hand, but he ignored it.

“No, I’m not taking you back to the city tonight.” He clasped her shoulders and pulled her toward him. She placed her hands on his chest to keep some distance between them.

“I don’t understand, John. Why not? Your job is finished and it’s time for both of us to get on with our lives.” She swallowed hard at the thought of never seeing him again.

The weeks they’d spent together had passed so quickly. Having a full-time bodyguard should have been an ordeal, but having John around hadn’t bothered her half as much as she’d thought it would. He’d slid seamlessly into her life until he seemed a part of it.

And that was the biggest danger of all. She could easily come to depend on him, and that just wouldn’t do.

“You’re right about that.” His fingers flexed around her shoulders. “The job is over so I can finally do this.”

He swooped down and caught her lips with his. His tongue plunged into her mouth and staked a claim. Heat suffused her body, racing in hot streams to her breasts and between her legs. Her fingers curled inward around his shirt and held him tight. His tongue boldly stroked hers. Not to be outdone, she did the same as their tongues dueled for supremacy.

When she finally tore her mouth away, she was breathless and more confused than ever. “This is insane.”

He shook his head. “No. This is the only thing that makes sense. I want you, Topaz.” He shrugged off his jacket and tossed it over the back of the sofa. Then he reached for her coat.

She took a step back and held the coat closed. “This is not a good idea.”

He cocked his head to one side and studied her. His eyes were burning with lust. She felt scorched by his gaze. “What are you so afraid of?” His gentle tone was at odds with the sexual tension that gripped him. His large body practically vibrated and she was torn between running from him and throwing herself into his arms.

He was the only man she’d ever met who confused her to such an extent. She had plans. Ambitions. And they didn’t include having a husband or a significant other, at least not yet. And even when the time came, she would settle down with a nice, ordinary man—a businessman—one she could easily understand. Not someone intense and demanding like John Knight.

“I can practically see the wheels turning in your pretty head. You’re already pulling away from me and putting up walls between us. Once we hit the city, you’ll find every excuse not to see me again.”

He tugged on her coat until she was forced to fight him or let him have it. She didn’t want to fight, so she let him have her coat. The time had come for one of them to be sensible about the situation. “You know as well as I do that great sex doesn’t make a relationship.”

“So you’re not denying that the sex was something special?”

Topaz shook her head, turned away from him and headed to the large picture window overlooking the front of the cabin. It was too dark to see much of anything. John stepped in behind her, his large body reflecting in the glass. She was a tall woman, even more so in her high heels, but he was so much broader than she.