“But I thought we might get naked, just like Adam and Eve, so natural....”

I gasped. I’d forgotten all about that part of my conversation with Scott! Utter humiliation. I curled into a tighter ball.

“Oh, come on. You haven’t even thanked me yet.”

“For what?” I asked, still not looking.

“For saving you from snogging that plonker. You didn’t really fancy him, did you?”

My cheeks burned, and I was glad to be turned away from him. I kept my mouth shut.

“So that’s it, then?” he asked. I ignored him. “I always wondered what it would feel like.”

That made me curious enough to turn to him.

“What what would feel like?” I asked.

“Rejection.” He seemed in the midst of a revelation.

“What are you saying? That no girl has ever told you no?”

“Not one.”

Well, that explained a lot.

“And what about you?” I asked. “Haven’t you ever stopped or said no to a girl?”

He laughed as if I’d said something ridiculous. “Why would I do that?”

“Lots of reasons,” I said. “Never mind, just go to sleep. We have a long day tomorrow.” I turned away from him again, punching the thick pillow and laying my head down.

“I suppose I did refuse one, but she doesn’t count,” he said.

“Why not?”

“Because she was Neph.”

Discomfort gnawed at me.

“This must be the part where I take a cold shower?” he asked.

“Good idea.”

When he was in the bathroom with the water running, I jumped down and changed into my pajamas. Then I leaped back into bed and chanted to myself, Don’t think about the kiss. Don’t think about the kiss. Impossible.

I lay very still with my eyes closed when he came back in the room. A clean-scented steam passed over me. I listened as he rummaged around the room for a few minutes, then I heard the door to our room open. I sat up in bed and saw Kaidan in the doorway.

“Where are you going?” I asked, just as he was shutting the door.

He looked up. “I have to work.”

Why did I feel so stunned, and a little offended, too?

“Have to? Or want to?” I challenged.

“Why should that matter, Anna?” he asked dryly. “I’m going now.” He made a move to shut the door.

“Where will you go?” I called out.

“I’ll go visit the girl at the front desk, just as she suggested. So unless you’ve changed your mind... ?” His eyes held a promise of seduction, and I shook my head.

I had not changed my mind. There would be nothing more going on in this room. But I wanted him to stay. I looked down at the itchy comforter.

“Didn’t think so,” I heard him mutter. Then he switched off the light and closed the door hard.

I lay there trying not to imagine what the girl at the front desk looked like, and how his lips would soon be on hers. I growled in frustration at my own stupidity, and flipped to my other side.

I wished I could fall asleep and put this episode behind me, but no matter what I tried I couldn’t get comfortable. I considered turning on the television, but I didn’t want Kaidan to know my traitorous heart was waiting up for him.

An agonizing two hours later, he came back and I lay very still, pretending to sleep. He went straight into the restroom to wash up. A few minutes later he climbed into his bed and got quiet.

“Anna?” His voice was low. Of course he knew I was awake. I didn’t answer, but he was undeterred. “Did you at least enjoy your first kiss?”

I wanted to tell him to shut up, but the burst of anger tapered away.

“Just go to sleep, Kaidan.”

I chewed the inside of my lip, confused. Why couldn’t I stay mad at him? Thinking about what he’d just been doing filled me with a range of dreadful emotions, but anger was not one of them. I had no right to be angry. It’d been stupid to assume he wouldn’t work while we were on this trip together.

I was relieved to have him back in the room. He sighed, and after a while it was clear he wasn’t going to say anything else. The tension dissolved.

That night I tossed and turned, replaying my first kiss at least a thousand heavenly times.

CHAPTER ELEVEN

A HEALTHY FEAR

Neither of us had thought to set the alarm, but the bright sunlight coming through the thin curtains worked fine. I stretched and kicked the tangled bedsheets away, turning to see whether Kaidan was awake. His eyes were blinking open, too. He yawned, causing me to yawn as well. I could have used another few hours of sleep, but this would have to do for now.

Kaidan leaned back against the headboard with his eyes closed. Each lean muscle was noticeable under his tanned skin. I got a decent tan in the summer, but nothing like him. It made me wonder about his heritage, which could have been anything from Italian to South American. He probably didn’t even know himself.

While his eyes were closed I stared unabashedly. His shoulders were rounded and his forearms tight. His entire torso was a sight to see—a toned chest angling downward to his abs with a slight ripple, but he wasn’t cut in a way that might make a girl feel self-conscious of her own imperfections. His waist went down in a vee at his hips, where it met the hotel blanket.

I tore my eyes away when he stirred. From the corner of my eye I saw him throw the blankets easily aside and scoot to the edge of the bed by the window. He stood up, facing away from me, and raised his arms for a glorious stretch. When I looked again my eyes landed on his bare behind.