The Princess and the Bodyguard by Morgan Ashbury Page A

go away, she swatted at it. A deep, male chuckle had her opening her eyes. Early evening shadows draped the room, but the man looming over her needed no illumination.
    “About time you woke up.”
    She smiled, the teasing in Peter’s tone tickling her senses as much as the finger he’d teased her nose with. “I couldn’t have been asleep that long this time.”
    “No, only about twenty minutes. We should be thinking about heading back.”
    She turned her head towards the clock. Nearly five-thirty. She hadn’t had lunch, and her tummy rumbled. But food wasn’t what she wanted most at the moment. She’d heard his words, softly spoken as she’d drifted off to sleep that first time. Ma coeur . My heart. She clutched the words close. A very nice first step.
    “All right. I’ll think about it. In the meantime, why don’t you kiss me?”
    “Because every time I do that, I wind up taking you again. Or we take each other. And right about now, I’m thinking you might be a bit tender.”
    True, she’d registered the slight discomfort almost as soon as she’d opened her eyes, but she really didn’t care. It was the type of discomfort she’d like to feel on a much more regular basis, like every morning, and to have this man responsible for it.
    “Taking care of me again?”
    “Yeah. Can’t help myself.”
    “I’m not the pampered princess the tabloids would have you believe. I don’t mind a little discomfort. Especially if it means being here, like this, with you. Guess what? I am a whole hell of a lot happier than when you tossed me on this bed.”
    “Rachel—”
    “Oh, I know. Men always want to run away from any sign of emotional involvement. You’ll just need to deal with it, Peter.”
    “I will, huh? Well, we men are shallow creatures. Only interested in a fast lay. Are you expecting me to go against type?”
    “I think I am. You’re too strong a man to allow yourself to be stereotyped.”
    “True. But that first time did go by pretty damn fast.”
    “And you were prepared, which means you’re always walking around with a condom in your wallet,” she agreed, waiting to see what he would say to that.
    “I will have you know, Red, that I’ve been going around with a condom in my wallet since I hit puberty. One of the few things my Dad told me to do that made sense.”
    The look of indignation on his face prompted her to tease him. “Then that must have been one very old condom.”
    “Smart-ass. As it happens, I only put that one there a few days ago.”
    His voice had softened, and Rachel felt her heart turn over. She put her arms around his neck.
    “So I got to you, hmm? Afraid you couldn’t control yourself around me?”
    “Yeah. Hurricane Rachel. You got to me, all right.”
    The touch of his hand on her face felt so loving . She wished she could read the emotion in his eyes. She so very badly wanted to tell him she loved him. Fear of rejection held her back. How could he possibly love her? The mistakes she’d made in her life loomed large in her mind. She hadn’t done anything of value, she hadn’t contributed to the betterment of the people around her in any way at all. Although she liked to say she wasn’t spoiled or pampered, she knew that, really, she was.
    She couldn’t see that she’d done anything to earn Peter’s love. She didn’t know how long it would take to do that, either, but it had become her number one goal in life.
    In the meantime, she had him here, now.
    “I’m glad. I’m very glad you stopped fighting me.”
    “Are you? Even when I tell you I don’t share?” Peter’s arms tightened around her, as if he couldn’t help himself. “I don’t know how long we have together. Maybe this is something that’s going to burn fast and hot, and will be over before we know it. But while we are together, we’re exclusive.”
    She tamped down the automatic spurt of anger. How loose did he think she was? Where had this man been these last two years? Did he not have