His To Guard (Fate #6)

  “We are tourists.” Isaiah shrugged, leaning back onto his elbow. “We’re touring the place, right?”

  Kelli wore a matching visor along with matching flip-flops. Like last night and most of today while they’d been out there, she tried in vain to take a selfie of them together that she liked. Isaiah, of course, looked perfect in every single one she’d taken so far. It was maddening. Kelli examined her latest one with a frown.

  “What’s wrong with that one now?” Isaiah leaned in to take a peek at the screen on her phone.

  “I hate my smile,” she said, crinkling her nose.

  “What?” He sat up. “You have a beautiful smile, Kel.”

  She glanced up at him, feeling that strangeness only he could make her feel when he gazed at her in that way he’d done from the very beginning. It left her breathless.

  “You’re beautiful,” he added then kissed her softly, but like most of his kisses, it got deeper fast.

  Jesus! What he did to her. How could she possibly already be falling so hard for someone she’d known less than a full weekend? Oh, but she was. With every gaze, every kiss, every sweet word out of his mouth, she was falling fast. This was no line. Kelli had already given Isaiah everything he could possibly want, and he knew she expected nothing in return. Men like Isaiah didn’t need lines.

  “Thank you,” she said when he finally pulled away.

  She glanced down at her screen again. “What can you possibly not like about your smile?” he asked, staring down at her phone.

  Kelli tilted her head, trying to put her finger on it. She glanced up and, without thinking, started to say it. “Do I really look that insanely—?” She caught herself, her eyes going wide before blurting the rest out, and she saw the confusion in his eyes.

  “Insanely what?”

  Kelli’s face heated. That’s what it was, but she couldn’t say it; he’d think her nuts. The expression on Isaiah’s face became even more curious as he took her face in. Obviously, she was blushing like an idiot now. Oh God. How could she say it? She looked the same in every single one of them. This was mortifying.

  “Insanely what?” he asked again.

  “Nothing. Forget it.” She shook her head, taking the ice cream from him.

  “Oh, hell no!” he said with a laugh and reached for her phone, but she held it behind her back, and he pushed her back gently.

  “You’re gonna make me drop the ice cream!”

  “I’ll buy you another one.” He laughed, the curiosity still dancing in his eyes. “You can’t leave me hanging like that.”

  “Okay, okay!” she said as her giggling began getting out of control.

  The last time someone tickled her and she laughed this hard something even more mortifying happened. That wasn’t happening today. She’d die.

  “I just,” she started to say, feeling embarrassed again, but she couldn’t risk the possible alternative if he continued to tickle her. So she put up her hand before he could again. “I look so stupidly happy in all these pictures. I mean . . .”She glanced down, wincing because there was something else that smile could be interpreted as aside from happy—lovesick.“Gads! Look at that smile. My crazy bright eyes.”

  He took the phone from her to examine the photos closer. Kelli licked her ice cream, brushing a strand of hair away from her face when something caught her eye. A guy she’d seen earlier, who appeared to be shopping the boutiques like all the other tourists, for some reason had given her the creeps. They’d been in a woman’s clothing boutique, and he appeared to be utterly consumed with the scarves when she’d glanced at him. He wasn’t wearing summer clothes or even anything you’d wear to stroll a touristy place like this. He was in jeans, a polo shirt, and some kind of work boots—completely out of place.

  Their eyes had nearly met again later, but he turned away quickly and appeared quite taken by the kite selection at the vendor booth nearest to him.

  “Someone you know?”

  Isaiah’s words nearly startled her, but she managed not to jump. Glancing back at him, she saw how he peered at the guy. “No.” She shook her head. “I was just admiring the kites.”

  Now Isaiah peered at her for a moment then back at the guy again. Thankfully, the guy bought a kite and rushed off.

  “Let’s go make you even happier then.”

  Kelli turned to Isaiah, not understanding. He lifted her phone. “I like how happy you look in these. My smile in all of these is no less bright than yours.” He showed her one of the two of them earlier that day. “I think this one’s my favorite.”

  The thought of how photogenic he was nearly had her eyes rolling. “Even in all the ones where you didn’t smile, like the one where you have that heart-stopping gleam in your eyes, you look unbelievably sexy. It’s so not fair.”

  He was about to say something when he glanced down at her phone. She’d silenced her calls earlier for good reason, but the name on the screen now popped up, and Isaiah read it then turned to her, handing her the phone.

  Her heart sped up every time she saw the name. He’d already texted her several times since that weekend had started. Each time she’d sent the auto-response message she’d set up just for him specifically a while back: that she was too busy to take his call but for him to respond to her text with specifics if it was an emergency. He knew what that was code for and he hadn’t all weekend, so she didn’t think it was anything important. It was probably just throwing him for a loop that she hadn’t responded to him yet as she normally would’ve.

  Once again she sent it to voicemail along with the auto-response text. When she glanced up at Isaiah, he was staring at her blankly. “Anything important?”

  She shook her head. “Nothing I can’t deal with later.”

  That profound gaze she’d seen plenty of all weekend hardened. He took the tiny piece left of her ice cream stuffed it in his mouth. Then he inched closer to her, moving her back onto the grass, his gaze going even harder—darker somehow.

  Kelli almost expected him to ask her more, despite how much he’d avoided asking her anything personal up until now. Instead, he kissed her.

  Hard.

  Just as she thought she’d imagined him trying to say more to her with his lovemaking a few times that weekend, his kiss practically spoke to her; then he did. “You’re not married, are you?” he asked against her mouth then nipped her bottom lip again hard, but it turned her on.

  “Of course not,” she said, trying to sound insulted, even if she felt more aroused than anything.

  “I don’t know anything about you, Kel, except that you’ve made one thing very clear: that you’re okay being here with me this weekend doing this.” He sucked her bottom lip then kissed her hard again. He stopped suddenly, pulling away to eye her. “But once this weekend is over, you can’t even give me your number. So don’t be insulted if I jump to conclusions.”

  “I never said I can’t—”

  “This guy’s called more than once this weekend: Saturday morning and again last night while you were sleeping. Gilbert your boyfriend, Kel?”

  “No.” This time she shoved him a little. “I wouldn’t be here if I were married or had a boyfriend.”

  He stared at her for a moment searching her eyes, before those beautiful lips stretched into a sinful smile. “That’s all I need to know. Let’s go get you a kite.”

  Monday

  Isaiah

  Isaiah had never been so grateful for his firefighter schedule than this weekend. He was counting on his four days off to have been enough to convince Kelli to at least give him her number, and it worked. It only made sense. You didn’t spend a four-day weekend with someone you just met if you hadn’t felt something. Who did that unless they were feeling the same insanity he was feeling already, right? It’s why he hadn’t been surprised when she’d taken his phone at the last second and texted herself something.

  “You have to understand this weekend is an absolute first for me,” she said, handing him back his phone then tapp
ing away at hers.

  Taking his phone back, Isaiah tried to play down the thrill it gave him to feel his phone buzz and know it was her. He glanced down at his phone casually. Seeing the photo she’d sent him—his favorite of them from yesterday—he couldn’t hide his smile. He leaned in, pressing his once again throbbing dick against her.

  “Isaiah!” Her eyes grew wide, but she smiled, nervously glancing around the parking structure. “No way. Not here.”

  “I have your number now.” He leaned in and kissed her again and again until he forced himself to stop. “I guess, after the weekend we had, it’ll hold me over until I see you again.”

  He reminded himself not to push. She’d changed her mind about not spending the night and ended up spending more than just a weekend with him. Now she’d given him her number, but she still hadn’t mentioned changing her mind about the no-relationships thing.

  Searching her eyes and feeling her body happily melt against his, he was certain he could change her mind about that now, too, if he just eased into it. While he didn’t want to call too much attention to how happy this made him, he did want her to know something.

  “I haven’t even left your side yet, and I can hardly wait to see you again.”

  For a moment, he’d begun to think maybe that last comment was a mistake. Maybe he should’ve just let her go before she changed her mind about giving him her number. Her smile seemed to wane. Then it was as if something came to her and her eyes brightened.

  “Chemistry.”

  He leaned his forehead against hers, beyond relieved that she wasn’t taking anything back and a little alarmed about what she did to him this fast. But he had to ask. “What about it?”

  “You can’t force chemistry to exist where it doesn’t.”

  Pulling away, he searched her eyes again. She lifted a brow, and he continued to search, confused by this. Was she saying it hadn’t existed for them? That was bullshit. He’d never felt a chemistry like theirs in his life. Hadn’t even known it was possible to feel so much for someone as fast and as insanely as he had. His smile began to flatten; then her eyes brightened and she added more.

  “Can’t force it in the same way you can’t deny it when it does.” She chewed the corner of her lip and smiled even sweeter. “It’s something my mom said to me once. It stuck with me mostly because I never really understood it—until now. The chemistry between us is undeniable.”

  Isaiah had to squelch the urge to groan. Instead, he kissed her softly. “Can’t argue with that,” he whispered against her lips.

  For a moment, he stopped and gazed in her eyes as he had so much all weekend. He brought his fingers up to touch her long dark tresses. The night he’d met her, her hair was straightened sleek and sexy. After their first shower together, she hadn’t done anything to it and he’d fallen in love with her soft natural curls.

  Even now, she appeared fresh-faced and pure because she hadn’t reapplied her makeup all weekend or that morning. Isaiah sighed. He’d already seen something in Kelli it’d normally take weeks maybe months to see in other girls: her vulnerable side. Unlike the sexy siren he’d locked eyes with that first night at the bar, he’d since been treated to her sweet and timid smiles. The genuine excitement he’d seen in her eyes more than once that weekend held such innocence each time he’d made his pitch to her about staying yet another night.

  As much as he’d tried to not come on too strong—too pushy—he couldn’t help searching in her eyes. All weekend he’d felt as if she’d been trying to convey something to him through her profoundly enraptured eyes. Maybe she was feeling the same thing he was, each time they fell into a trance like the one they were in now.

  “What is it about you, Kel?” he whispered, and her sweet little brow lifted. “What is it about you that made this weekend feel like I was spending it with someone I’ve known for so much longer? Not someone I just met on Friday?”

  Her eyes widened a bit and she shook her head. “I don’t know, but it’s why I made that stupid remark that first morning with you about us pretending to be on our honeymoon. Who says that to a guy she just met the night before?” Her exasperated expression made him laugh. “I’m serious,” she insisted, even as the humor danced in her beautiful eyes. “That’s like rule number one in the women’s dating bible. It’s grounds for getting your woman card revoked! I felt like an idiot the moment the words slipped out.”

  Continuing to laugh, Isaiah kissed her softly on her forehead. “You get a pass this time,” he said, once again getting caught in her mystifying eyes, “only because I actually get why something like that would slip. It makes me feel less crazy about what I was feeling all weekend—like I was spending a romantic weekend with my girl.” Her eyes widened as he shook his head. “It’s the damnedest thing. Okay, maybe my bride would be pushing it, but I’d go as far as to say this is what it feels like for couples who’ve been together for years.” He raised a playful brow because her face had tinged with color when he said his bride was pushing it, so he added, “Fiancée wouldn’t be unheard of. Couples who are together long enough to feel as unusually comfortable as we did this weekend are usually engaged, right?”

  To his relief, she nodded and didn’t appear to be spooked, so he kissed her again. Forcing himself to let her go after a few more lingering kisses and to not be so pathetically obvious about how much he hated to say good-bye, he finally did. Another thing he’d also forced himself to do was not ask her when he’d see her again. But he did want at least a clue about how she was feeling in terms of getting together again because already he could hardly wait.

  “I gotta catch up with life today,” he said with a smirk. “Kind of neglected a few things this weekend.”

  She nodded with one of those timid smiles he loved so much now. “Trust me. I did too.”

  “I work tomorrow,” he said, unable to keep from pecking her sweet lips one last time. “So is Wednesday too soon to check in with you again?”

  A strange gleam flickered in her eyes for a fleeting moment before she nodded. “Wednesday’s fine.”

  Already he was smiling in relief. Though he would’ve happily called her tonight and again tomorrow from the station, he didn’t want to overwhelm her too fast, so he’d wait at least until then to contact her—but not a day longer.

  Chapter 2: Giving up

  Wednesday

  Kelli

  It wasn’t even nine in the morning yet, and already Kelli’s heart had been racing every time her phone beeped or rang. She wasn’t sure if Isaiah would be texting or calling, so both notification sounds made her anxious. The back room of her busy salon was pleasantly quiet as Kelli flipped through the photos of her and Isaiah on her phone for the hundredth time.

  Dedra, one of the stylists, walked into the back with a big smile. “Ms. Agnes is here for her nine o’clock with you.”

  “Thanks.” Kelli slipped her phone into the pocket of her tunic.

  Already Isaiah had her doing things she normally wouldn’t do, such as take her phone out on the floor with her. It was a distraction, and her clients deserved her undivided attention. But she couldn’t help it. The day Isaiah said he wouldn’t be calling until Wednesday, she remembered thinking I have to wait until Wednesday?, but she’d dared not say it. Kelli had since decided maybe she could take a chance. Maybe she was just being paranoid about feeling as if she were being followed or watched. Technically, nothing that could be proven to have anything to do with her dad’s associates had actually ever happened. If anything, she’d just be extra diligent.

  “Hi, Agnes.” Kelli smiled big at the elderly woman, feeling guilty about not being able to reschedule her weekend appointment until now.

  “How are you feeling, honey?” Agnes reached out and clasped her hand between both of hers.

  “Oh, much better thank you.”

  Kelli brought Agnes around the salon chair and waited for her to hop on. As she tied the cape around her neck, Kelli gave Agnes a quick update on the bug she’d h
ad that weekend and why she’d had to cancel all her appointments. Feeling her phone buzz in her pocket had her heart fluttering immediately as it had all morning each time it went off.

  She glanced up into the mirror and met Agnes’s sweet eyes. “Would you like me to bring you a cup of coffee or tea? Water?”

  “Coffee would be great if it’s not too much trouble.”

  “Not at all,” Kelli said, already reaching into her pocket. “I’ll be right back.”

  Eve had been off Monday and Tuesday, and Kelli hadn’t spoken to her since Friday. Her friend eyed her suspiciously more than once today. She did it again as Kelli walked into the back room, smiling a little too big. Not ready to address Eve’s playful suspicions just yet, she glanced down at the phone screen instead as she hurried to the coffee maker. Her smile waned a bit when she didn’t recognize the number on the text with no preview. She’d already labeled Isaiah’s contact information and even added a photo of the two of them to it so it would pop up whenever he called or texted. Curiously she hit the envelope and read the text that nearly stopped her heart.

  You might wanna tell your new boyfriend what he’s gotten himself into . . . Kelli.

  Kelli’s eyes were immediately on the phone number again. Whoever it was made sure she wouldn’t mistake this for a wrong number. It was only after examining the number closer that she noticed it wasn’t a full seven digits. With her heart still thundering for an altogether different reason, her mind raced to think of what, if anything, she should respond. Finally, she asked the most obvious question.

  Who is this?

  Dedra rushed into the back room again. “Girl, were you getting Ms. Agnes something to drink?”

  Kelli looked up, feeling bad, and slipped the phone in her pocket then opened the cupboard to grab a cup. “Yes, coffee.”