by Paige Tyler
He tossed the folded blanket on the couch, then stacked the pillow neatly on top of it. “You didn’t interrupt anything. I’ve been up for a while. I’ll get right on that coffee, though. You want some before you start your workout?”
Peyton’s eyes locked on his bare chest for one long moment before she mentally kicked herself for staring—again. Recovering, she shook her head. “No, thanks. Coffee and yoga don’t really mix well.”
Careful not to let her eyes wander anymore, she forced herself to walk into the kitchen. It might have been her imagination, but she thought she felt Noah’s gaze follow her. She resisted the urge to look over her shoulder as she ducked into the fridge for a bottle of water. Unfortunately, the blast of frigid air did nothing to cool her down. When she came out again, Noah had already put on his jeans and was reaching for his T-shirt.
Peyton didn’t know whether to be disappointed or relieved.
Giving him a nod, she hurried upstairs and into her workout room. On the same side of the house as her bedroom, both spaces faced the beach, though this room had extra big windows. It was an ideal space to work out in. Besides the mat she used for yoga, there was also a spinning bike, portable ballet barre, some free weights, and a television mounted on the wall.
Setting her bottle of water on the table underneath the TV, she popped in the DVD, then grabbed her yoga block and stood in the center of the mat. Hands in prayer, she took a deep breath. With its tranquil music and poses designed for strength and balance, yoga was her favorite form of exercise. As far as she was concerned, it was the perfect way to start each day.
Unfortunately, with images of a half-naked Noah constantly popping into her head, Peyton had a hard time focusing on what she was doing. That was the thing with yoga. It wasn’t something you could go through the motions with. You had to be present and in-the-moment, breathing through each movement. If not, you ended getting almost nothing out of it.
Knowing she needed to get Noah out of her system, Peyton gave herself permission to fantasize about her half-naked SEAL bodyguard for a few minutes. After thinking about what it would have been like to walk downstairs and join him on the couch last night—or even better, invite him up to her bed—she was able to clear her mind and get back to her workout. By the time she finished her regular thirty-minute session, she’d almost forgotten she even had a bodyguard.
She slipped from chaturanga smoothly into downward dog, really feeling the release in her lower back, when she sensed movement near the door. She glanced that way to see Noah standing there staring at her butt.
Pulse quickening, Peyton slowly lowered herself to her knees, then half-turned to look at him over her shoulder to see him eyeing her intently. She’d never had a man look at her that way, all heat and hunger. It made her feel warm all over, most of that feeling settling right between her thighs. As he continued to stand there without saying anything, she had to wonder how long he’d been watching her.
“Is something wrong?” she finally forced herself to ask, the words coming out a little less stable than she’d intended.
She watched as Noah gave himself a little shake, as if he’d just realized he was staring. “Oh. No. Everything’s fine. Laurissa’s here. She wanted to know if you had time to talk.”
“I always have time for Laurissa.” Peyton pushed herself upright and got to her feet. “But she already knows that. Why didn’t she come upstairs herself?”
Noah shrugged. “Because my sister is a weirdo, maybe? She walked in the front door and straight into the kitchen to grab a cup of coffee, then headed out to the back deck saying she’d wait for you out there. Hope I didn’t bother you by coming up.”
“No, of course not,” she assured him. “Feel free to come upstairs anytime you want.”
As they walked, Peyton swore Noah let her get a little ahead of him so he could sneak another glimpse at her butt, and she felt her body go warm again as she realized she liked it.
* * * * *
Noah had to admit he’d never given yoga pants much thought until he’d seen Peyton in them. The stretchy material hugged her curvy butt, not to mention made her legs look a mile long. She was so sexy in them that he could barely remember his own name. Which was probably why he’d forgotten that he was standing there in Peyton’s living room in nothing but his underwear. At least until he’d followed the direction of her gaze and noticed she was fixated on something south of his belt line.
It was an understatement to say Peyton was a beautiful woman. But wearing yoga pants—and blushing— she was damn near a goddess.
He’d barely managed to push the images of those sinfully sexy yoga pants out of his head when he went upstairs to tell Peyton that Laurissa was here, only to see her bent over in a position that should probably be illegal. He thought he might have to jump in the ocean for a while to cool off.
That had been over three hours ago. Laurissa had long since gone and Peyton had taken her sexy yoga pants and even sexier butt back upstairs to get some more writing done. The scary part was that even now he couldn’t get the image out of his head. It was possible the sight had been permanently burned into his mind.
Noah went back to reading Peyton’s book. Or at least tried to. Mostly, he sat there on the couch wondering what it was about her that had him so off balance. It wasn’t like he’d never been around a beautiful woman before. He had. Lots of them. But there was something about her that got to him.
The crazy part of it was that Peyton wasn’t really the type Noah normally dated. He’d never given much thought about his type before, but he realized he tended to go after women who were outgoing to the point of being loud. Like the kind of woman you’d pick up in a club—or one who might pick him up.
Peyton wasn’t that kind of woman. He’d met her less than twenty-four hours ago, but he already knew that much about her. Yet, he was fascinated by her. Her quiet sensuality, the way she seemed surprised by how sexy she was, the blush that tinted her skin every now and then. Things he’d never imagined being attracted to, were the things knocking him off his feet and telling him to try someone who wasn’t his type at all. Someone unique. Someone he might actually consider having a long-term relationship with.
Someone who was depending on him to keep her safe.
Someone he was sure who wasn’t looking for her bodyguard to make a move on her.
The power dynamics alone made the situation nearly untenable.
On top of that, there was the whole Navy SEAL thing. He’d dated lots of women who were intrigued at the idea of being with a SEAL. They liked the visual of having a boyfriend in a dangerous line of work. But in his experience, that thrill rarely kept them around for long. Having a boyfriend disappear without notice, missing dates, birthdays, dinners with friends and family without ever being told where he’d gone was stuff few women could put up with for long. He doubted Peyton would be any different.
Noah leaned forward, dropping the book on the table and reaching for his mug of coffee, shaking his head when he realized it was empty. He’d been so busy thinking about Peyton, he didn’t even remember drinking it.
He was heading for the kitchen when he heard a thud from upstairs. He stopped in mid-stride, tensing. Then he relaxed again. There was no way someone could get in the house without him knowing. Even if they could, he doubted they’d be ballsy enough to do it in the middle of the afternoon. Peyton had probably dropped something.
He made it all the way to the fridge this time before he heard another thud, louder this time. Okay, maybe he should go check on her.
Noah jogged up the stairs, taking them two at a time until he felt a little twinge in his knee, which made him slow down. But he still moved as quickly as he could, making his way silently down the hall to her office. For the second time that day, he stopped in the doorway and stared transfixed.
Peyton was dancing around the room in shorts and a tank top, her feet bare, her iPhone in her hand, buds in her ears, and her back to him. Noah thought the yoga po
se he’d seen her in that morning was sexy, but watching her hips wiggle to whatever music she was listening to was hot enough to make him go hard in his jeans.
Noah knew he should go back downstairs. Peyton wasn’t in danger. If anything, he was the one at risk here. Watching her shake that cute little butt was damn near killing him.
Besides, if he left now, she’d never know he was standing here like some kinky voyeur.
But then Peyton twirled around to face him. She jumped, her eyes going wide. Color crept into her cheeks as she yanked the buds from her ears.
“I didn’t mean to startle you,” he said. “I heard noise and came up to check on you.”
“Oh.”
She transferred her phone and buds to one hand, then reached up with the other to tuck her long hair behind her ear. Noah wondered if it felt as silky as it looked. The urge to find out was so strong he had to shove his hands in the front pockets of his jeans so he wouldn’t do something crazy.
Peyton gave him an embarrassed look. “Sometimes when the words aren’t coming as fast as I’d like, I get up and dance. Sorry I worried you by making so much noise.”
“Don’t be sorry,” he said. “You dance great.”
She blushed again, deeper this time. “Now you’re making fun of me.”
He shook his head. “No, I’m not. You have some serious moves.”
She ducked her head a little “Thank you.”
With the apologies and compliments out of the way, Noah told himself he should go downstairs, but he couldn’t make himself move. That probably had something to do with the way Peyton was standing there gazing into his eyes, her lips slightly parted, her face still flushed.
He wasn’t even sure how many times his phone rang before he realized what the hell was making so much noise.
Shit.
Noah dug his phone out of his pocket and put it to his ear without even checking to see who it was. “Bradley.”
“Noah, thank God you answered!”
His hand tightened reflexively on the phone, his heart beginning to speed up at the anxiety in his mother’s voice. “Mom, calm down. What’s wrong?”
“The sink in the kitchen started leaking and I’m afraid it’s going to flood the whole house,” his mother said in a panicked voice. “Can you come over and fix it? And don’t say you’re working because I know you’re still on medical leave.”
Noah glanced at Peyton with a frown. She was regarding him curiously, concern in her blue eyes. “Yeah, I’m on medical leave, but that doesn’t mean I’m not working. I’m doing something important right now and I can’t just up and leave. You’re going to have to call a plumber.”
“A plumber?” His mother sighed. “You know how long it takes to get anyone to show up in this town. What am I supposed to do until they get here? Why can’t you come over? What are you doing that’s so important?”
“I’m doing some work on the side while my knee heals up and I can’t get away right now,” he said again, kind of shocked Laurissa hadn’t already told their mom about the bodyguard gig. “If you’re worried about the house flooding, turn off the water.”
“You know I don’t know how to do that.” Another sigh. “Fine. If it floods the house, it floods the house. But if I drown, it will be your fault.”
It was Noah’s turn to sigh. Sometimes his mother was a complete drama llama. “Mom, it’s not going to flood the house and you’re not going to drown. Now, I have to go. I’ll call to check on you later, okay?”
“What was all that about?” Peyton asked as he hung up.
Noah quickly filled in the parts of the conversation she hadn’t heard.
Peyton frowned. “Your mom’s right. It could take hours for a plumber to show up. Besides, they’ll charge a fortune. It’s silly for her to pay all that money if you can fix it.” She eyed him. “You can fix it, right?”
“Probably, but—”
“Then it’s settled. Call and tell her we’ll come right over.”
He lifted a brow. “We will?”
Peyton nodded. “You said you go where I go, right? That means I have to go with you.”
“What about your writing?”
She made a face. “I’m stuck anyway. That’s why I was dancing around before, remember? Getting away from the keyboard for a while will help. Call your mom while I go change.”
Noah opened his mouth to stop her, but she’d already left the room. Damn, it seemed Peyton could be a force of nature when she wanted to be. Shaking his head, he took out his phone and called his mom—who was thrilled to hear he was coming—then went downstairs to wait for Peyton.
She came down ten minutes later dressed in a long, flowy, colorful skirt and sleeveless top. Damn, she made Boho look awesome!
“Do you have your hard drive?” he asked as he held the door open.
She patted the huge purse she had slung over one shoulder. “It’s like that credit card commercial. I never leave home without it.”
Crap, between her coming with him to his mother’s house and him making sure she had her book with her, it was like they were a couple.
As they walked to his SUV, Noah automatically checked the area for threats. He didn’t expect anyone to try anything with him there, but years of training and instincts couldn’t be ignored.
He glanced at Peyton as he backed out of the driveway. “Thanks.”
“For what?”
“Running over to my mom’s with me. I promise I’ll fix the sink as quickly as I can.”
“Don’t worry about it,” Peyton said. “I’ve loved your mom from the moment Laurissa introduced us at our first parents’ weekend in college.”
Noah felt a smile tug at the corners of his mouth. “Sounds about right. Everyone who’s ever met my mom falls in love with her.”
Peyton laughed. “Which is why I’m at her house so much with your sister. Which makes me wonder how it is that I’ve never met you in person before now.”
He winced. He already felt crappy enough about not visiting his mother very often, especially since he certainly lived close enough. “I know I don’t get over there as much as I should, but with my job, it’s tough. I’m either gone on missions, training, or too worn out to even want to leave my apartment.”
“I guess riding sharks while chasing nuclear submarines can be exhausting,” she said.
“Riding sharks?” Noah kept one eye on the road while glancing over at Peyton, sure he must have heard her wrong. “What are you talking about?”
Peyton laughed. “It was just something Laurissa said yesterday about the kind of stuff you do in the SEALs.”
Noah could definitely believe his sister saying something like that, mostly because he never told her anything about what he did for a living. His mom and sister worried about him enough. “I’ve done some crazy things as a SEAL, but I’m pretty sure I’ve never ridden a shark. I think I’d remember that.”
“I think she got you confused with Aquaman.” Peyton laughed again, then regarded him thoughtfully. “What made you join the Navy and become a SEAL?”
Noah opened his mouth, intending to give Peyton the standard line about wanting to serve his country and patriotism. But while both of those things had played a part in him joining the Navy, they weren’t the deciding factors. And for some reason, he wanted her to know the real reason he did.
“Did Laurissa tell you about our dad bailing on us when we were kids?”
She nodded.
“The part Laurissa probably didn’t know is that he took everything he and my mom had in savings when he left.” Noah tightened his hold on the wheel. Just thinking about it pissed him off. “Mom worked double shifts at the hospital where she was a nurse to make ends meet, but with no child support, we weren’t in the best of situations. She did her best not to let any of it affect us, saying it was her responsibility to take care of us. She wouldn’t even let me get a part-time job to help out until I was seventeen. She was too afraid it’d interfere with school.”<
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“Wow.” Peyton shook her head. “I always knew your mom was awesome, but I think I underestimated her.”
Noah chuckled. “Yeah, she’s all that and a bag of chips. But no matter how great my mom is or how hard she worked, she couldn’t replace all the money my dad took. Something had to be sacrificed and that something was our college fund. There simply wasn’t enough to send two people to school. Hell, there wasn’t enough to send one.”
Peyton looked at him like he was the fuzziest puppy in the litter. “You went in the Navy so Laurissa would have money to go to school? That’s so sweet I want to hug the stuffing out of you.”
He shrugged, thinking he might like getting hugged like that. Especially if she was the one doing the hugging. “I have to admit, the move wasn’t completely altruistic. Truthfully, when I graduated high school, college would have been a waste for me. My head wasn’t in the right place for it. The military seemed like a more logical choice at the time, so I went to a recruiter and, as the saying goes, the rest is history.”
“Why the Navy?”
“My grandfather was in the Navy,” he said. “He’d tell me stories all the time about it when I was a kid, so I didn’t have to think too hard about which branch of service I wanted to join. My grandfather would never have let me live it down if I joined any of the others.”
She smiled. “I bet your grandfather was very proud when he saw you in your uniform the first time.”
“He was. He passed away shortly after that.” Noah swallowed hard. “But at least he was able to see me graduate BUD/S—Basic Underwater Demolition/SEAL training,” he added, knowing Peyton would have no clue what the acronym stood for.
“I’m sorry,” she said quietly. “You sound like you miss him very much.”
“Yeah. He was more of a dad to me than my real father ever was, even before he walked out.”
He’d never told anyone that, not even his mom, but it was true.