Bedded by Her Bodyguard(6)
Fortunately, he had time to consider his options. The one thing not optional by the end of this trip was returning without her taste on his lips.
Chapter 2
“Oh, this is stunning, Isaac!”
Mindy’s profile between the spread curtains made him want to walk up to her and glide his hand down the perfect white arc of her neck. While he set down her carryon at the base of the bed, she gazed out the picture window of her hotel room.
“When I lived in New York City with my mother, only a handful of people we knew had a view like this—overlooking the entire city from above.”
In St. Petersburg, from the hotel room’s vantage point, few buildings rose above eight or ten floors at the most, very different from New York City. The view looked down over everything. The glistening river flowing into the Baltic Sea. The gold tops of spires knifing into the sky.
“Extraordinary,” he agreed.
As she stared out at the scene, Isaac gazed at her with excruciating longing. He stood in her room, yet he couldn’t touch her. Her profile was lit by the ambient glow of the light below, yet he couldn’t caress the flawless curve of her cheek.
Then she let out a tremendous yawn. “I don’t get how sitting in airports while we waited for our flights or being on planes for the past twenty hours makes you exhausted, but I’m ready to crash.”
Disappointed, he’d wanted to spend time talking with her in the hotel bar, but she looked like she might fall asleep on him. Tangled in sheets in his bed, that would be hot. But in a foreign hotel bar filled with people they didn’t know…not so much.
“Fair enough. What time do you want me to wake you up?”
She nibbled her lower lip as she thought. “I guess I can’t order a wakeup call. I wouldn’t know what they were telling me in Russian.”
“I’ll solve your problem.” He grinned. “I’ll knock on your door. Or call you on your cell phone in the morning.”
“I forgot about that.” She grabbed her phone and scrolled through her apps. “Here it is, in my ‘tools’ section. I’ll set my own alarm.”
“Now you’re depriving me of the privilege of seeing you in your pajamas.”
“Isaac, that’s no help. I have no clothes, remember? I’ve got nothing to sleep in.” She seemed terribly distressed at the thought.
“Right,” he replied dutifully. “Sorry. We’ll fix that in the morning.”
Glancing at the bed with a look of longing that had nothing to do with him, she let out another monstrous yawn. “So you’ll wake me up if my alarm doesn’t work?”
“I will.”
“Thanks, Isaac.”
The way she said his name gave him the sensation of honey gliding down his back. Warm, smooth and sensual. Hell, he needed to leave her room.
Now.
Before he did something completely inappropriate. Like toss her onto the bed and kiss every inch of her body from head to toe.
“Goodnight, Mindy.” He closed the door behind him until it latched.
When he heard the sound of blankets rustling, he swallowed a groan. Tonight would be hell on his libido. Knowing she slept naked in the room next to him.
Maybe a shot of chilled vodka was exactly what he needed, followed by a cold shower. His fingers reluctantly slipped from her door handle, and he went in search of his native salve.
*
The next morning, as Mindy dressed in her rumpled clothes from yesterday, she remembered how sexy Isaac had looked last night. The stubble on his jaw. His dark bedroom eyes. She’d wanted him to stay, but that would’ve been all sorts of trouble.
While Helen had thrived on gossip and drama, she’d always warned Mindy to keep it out of the office. Probably good advice, but last night, even her mother might’ve had a moment of weakness. Although Mom had experienced a late-life revelation about her sexuality—after her parent’s divorce and a midlife crisis—Mindy suspected that Isaac could inspire even the staunchest lesbian to consider going straight for a night. Just to see his gorgeously muscled, tanned body naked between her thighs. She shivered and her nipples tightened.
As she finished buttoning her blouse, she also recalled the memorable view of him in the swimming pool at a recent company party. The way droplets of water had slid down his big shoulders. And the unforgettable muscles defining his abs.
“Mmm-mm.” She shook her head, extracting herself from that memory. After she tucked her blouse into her pencil skirt, she found a comb in her purse and worked the tangles out of her hair. She and Isaac needed to work together closely during this trip. Caving to temptation might be thrilling in the moment, but the awkward day-after would be tough to endure. Isaac Atlas was way out of her league. She wasn’t even on the same ball field in the same zip code.