Wyatt's Guilt Read online

  She didn’t deserve any of the blame. He refused to allow her to share what he alone was responsible for. “You’re not getting it. I planned to hurt you, and I did.”

  “I got my heart broken by following it and making stupid choices. It happens. I grew up. I got over it.” She leaned so close to him that he could see violet flecks in her round blue eyes. “What I can’t understand, Wyatt, is why you didn’t.”

  He wished she’d ground him under her heel instead of absolving him. She was telling him to leave the past alone. If only she knew he hadn’t regretted having sex with her. He only regretted leaving her.

  Maybe if she had any idea how much he wanted her again, her contempt would flare up and she’d give him what he deserved. And he did want her. He wanted to put his hands on her satin skin and kiss every speck of shiny gloss from her lips. “I was over it until I saw you again,” he said evenly. “Now that you’re here, all I can think about is having you underneath me, surrounding me.”

  Instead of flattening with disgust, the purple specks in her eyes deepened, and her chest rose.

  This was not working. He was getting hard watching his words turn her on. He gave her one more chance to see what a horrible person he was. “You have two choices. You can let me take you against the side of this building, or you can slap me and go back inside.”

  Nicole had become much less gullible over the years, proven by the fact that she could see straight through Wyatt’s intentions this time. Even though the sexual images he was describing turned her on, his goal was to offend her deeply enough she’d turn violent or start yelling at him. As if bad choices could only be redeemed by punishment.

  Her plan to avoid him this weekend was an unqualified failure. She needed a complete reversal of strategy. She had to control much more than the conversation to avoid showing any vulnerability.

  Wyatt made her want to toss aside the no-nonsense workaholic she’d turned into and do something crazy. Preferably with him. Preferably naked. What if she did, while she was in control this time?

  She raised her hand, and he tensed. He didn’t flinch though. He was too much of a tough guy for that.

  She settled her hand gently on his sculpted cheek. The bristle of whiskers reminded her he wasn’t a man of smooth lines. She leaned toward him, brushing her lips softly across his. “How about that for a compromise?”

  The door next to them opened. A delivery guy stepped out. He gave Wyatt a short nod of recognition as he walked by with a half dozen pizza boxes.

  Wyatt immediately took her hand from his face and cursed under his breath.

  “Am I casting shadows on your reputation?” she asked. She didn’t care what the townspeople thought of her, but he was the police chief. Banging a woman against the side of a public building was probably frowned upon by the stuffed shirts that ran city hall.

  “Is that your intention?” he shot back. He marched inside the restaurant, tugging her hand.

  She had no choice but to follow him or be dragged along. “No, my intention is that we work each other out of our systems for good.”

  She hadn’t considered her words before she said them, but she immediately knew she’d picked the right course of action. She’d never been able to ignore Wyatt Truman. However, she could work him out of her system until he meant nothing to her. She’d done it before. Sort of.

  They arrived at the table before she could discern what he thought of her impulsive decision. Really, it was very simple. She’d throw herself at him as she had fifteen years ago. But this time she’d keep her heart out of the equation.

  “Everything okay?” his mother asked.

  “Everything’s great. We’re making sure we’re on the same page for our maid-of-honor/best man duties and speeches tomorrow,” she improvised. Wyatt had no reason to feel guilty. And she had no reason to allow the past to keep hold of her, making her afraid to return to her hometown, reluctant to visit with her soon-to-be sister-in-law because she had to endure an awkward reunion.

  “Wyatt’s very thorough,” his mother said with a smile. “He doesn’t like loose ends dangling.”

  “I’m certainly a loose end.” Nicole injected her voice with cheerfulness. She wouldn’t be a loose end for long, now that she had a plan for tying it up. She and Wyatt would have fun, no-strings sex without anyone getting hurt. In the process, she’d prove to herself that she was long over her high school heartbreak and Wyatt Truman held nothing over her. Maybe she’d even prove to him that fast, sweaty sex was a better remedy for guilt than a slap across the face.

  On his way to take Nicole to her motel, Wyatt stopped by his house to pick up the suitcase and laptop she’d left inside. “Stay in the truck. I’ll run in and grab your things,” he said, as he pulled into the driveway.

  “Aren’t you going to invite me in for coffee?” She was flirting with him, just as she had behind the restaurant.

  “No.” Fortunately, she didn’t know how much he wanted to invite her in. He had two nights and one day to get through. He’d protect her and send her away again. At the very least, she deserved that much.

  “We could skip the coffee part.” She batted her eyelashes and laughed.

  The laugh sucker punched him, just as it had in the squad car earlier. “I’m not going to make a move on you.”

  She was Zane’s little sister. Zane was marrying his twin. He wouldn’t do anything to upset Julianne on her wedding day. And having Zane beat the hell out of him for the things he’d do with Nicole if she walked inside his house again would definitely upset Julianne.

  “Lucky for you, I’m looking forward to being the one who makes all the moves this time,” she said.

  “I’m trying to make up for the past, not repeat it. Stay here.” He ran into the house and closed himself inside. Leaning against the door, he sucked in a deep breath. Usually, doing the right thing was the natural choice for him, but with Nicole, it took all his willpower.

  Calm and in control, he returned to the truck. He put her luggage behind the seat and then got in. Nicole finished adjusting something on the rearview mirror.

  “What are you doing?” he asked.

  “Giving you a souvenir.” She shot him a smug look.

  The glow of the houselights revealed a silhouette of pale lacy fabric hanging from his mirror. He nearly choked on his tongue. “You took off your underwear?”

  “There’s only one way to know for certain.”

  Chapter 3

  THERE WAS MORE THAN ONE WAY to know. He liked her way better, but he did it his way. Wyatt reached up and crushed the panties in his fist. They were still warm from her body.

  He yanked his hand back, leaving the fabric dangling from the mirror, and threw the truck into reverse. He had to get her out of here before he tried her way and they both regretted it. “I’ll walk you to your door at the motel, but I’m not going in with you. I’m not having sex with you. And I’m not going to be your weekend fling.”

  “Gee, keep talking like that and a woman could get the impression you don’t find her attractive.”

  “I find you attractive, but I don’t sleep with every beautiful woman I’m attracted to.” As soon as he parked in front of the motel, he bolted from the truck before he could lean across the seats, slide his hand up her skirt and sink his fingers into what he knew would be highly addictive, hot, silky sweetness.

  He stalked around the vehicle and held her door open. Doing his damnedest to keep his gaze on her face, he tried not to watch how high her skirt rode up as she scooted toward him. He couldn’t take a self-preserving step back without running the risk that she’d flash someone. So, he blocked her from view while he soaked up her heat and lilac scent.

  “Change your mind about that coffee, hot shot?”

  He smiled in spite of himself. She’d called him by that name in high school too when as the baseball team captain he’d put every ounce of effort into also being the team superstar.

  She placed her hand on his arm and smiled in r
eturn. “I knew you’d come around.”

  “N-No.” Sweat trickled down the back of his neck, and his palms were so sweaty the suitcase handle slipped as he lifted it from behind the front seat. When he’d made the vow to keep his distance, he had no idea he’d be tested to this extreme. “I’m doing the gentlemanly thing and walking you to your room.”

  “Ah. If you carry my bags too, will I have to tip you?”

  “I thought the panties were my tip.” He slammed the pickup door and watched through the window as they swung back and forth from their perch on the mirror.

  “They were complimentary.” She led the way to the outside door to her room.

  He squeezed the handle of her suitcase so hard his knuckles ached as he followed, but at least he kept his hands off her.

  Once in front of her door, she turned to him. “Let’s take care of our loose ends and finish off this lust we’re both feeling.”

  Before he could set down her suitcase, let alone think, her soft curves pressed against him. She wrapped her arms around his neck, and her warm lips roamed over his.

  He instinctively returned the kiss. His tongue tangled with hers and probed the sweet recesses of her mouth. He pressed his knee between her legs, riding her skirt up those thighs he’d denied himself from ogling moments ago.

  He denied himself too much. He needed this woman, her lush body against his, her legs wrapped around him, her bold tongue tasting him.

  She pulled back, so that their lips were barely touching but her pelvis was molded to the proof of his desire. “Coffee?”

  His body begged to accept the invitation to finish what they’d started. But he’d made a promise to himself and to her. He would honor it. He wouldn’t take the chance that he’d hurt her again. “No.” He stepped back. “Good night, Nicole. Sleep well.”

  She gave him a look of blatant frustration as she slid her key card in the door. “It’ll serve you right if I do. After all, I’m not a teenager with my heart on the line. What happened to your take-me-against-the-wall or slap me attitude?”

  Wyatt took another step back, not daring to get any closer to her or the bed behind her. “You’re a forever girl.”

  “Well, you sure didn’t think that the last time you slept with me, and I haven’t done anything to change your mind since then.” She slammed the door between them.

  She’d finally delivered the equivalent of a slap. But Wyatt didn’t feel like she’d settled any score, and he knew for a fact he wouldn’t be able to follow his plan to keep his distance for the rest of the weekend.

  The wedding ceremony was sweet and tender. No guest would have any doubts about Julianne and Zane’s commitment and love for each other.

  Wyatt did his best to keep his gaze on the bridal couple. The other alternative was to focus on Nicole who looked so freaking hot in her strapless, purple bridesmaid’s dress. The possibility that she might not be wearing underwear was driving him crazy. The possibility that she was and might take it off for him later drove him more insane.

  She licked her lush, glossy lips when their turn came to walk out of the church together. Wyatt stepped toward her, offering his arm and a tentative smile. Her answering smile blossomed wider until she was beaming at him. She curled her fingers around his elbow, as if she was his other half—his better half to be precise.

  He kept Nicole by his side after they reached the end of the aisle. She hugged her brother hard and said something in his ear that Wyatt couldn’t hear. Then she turned to Julianne and hugged her just as fiercely. Wyatt’s parents joined them, and then everyone was hugging and talking and laughing at once. More well-wishers joined them, and Wyatt found himself shaking hands and hugging relatives and strangers, alike.

  “Get closer, you two, and smile for me,” Aunt Mable commanded, holding up her ancient camera.

  Wyatt’s cheeks ached from the permanently jovial expression, but he gamely wrapped his arm around Nicole’s waist and posed.

  “I think people are forgetting which couple just got hitched,” Nicole muttered through her obligatory smile.

  Yeah, people like me, Wyatt thought.

  Soon afterward they were hustled outside to the waiting limousine. With each additional person that climbed in, Nicole scooted a bit closer until her hip and side were pressed firmly against Wyatt’s, her body heat seeping through his too-warm tux. And still, he hoped for more people to crowd in and give her a reason to sit on his lap.

  The door closed, and Nicole reached around him to help Julianne adjust her dress, her chest so close to his face that his chin nearly rested in her delectable cleavage. Forcing his gaze away from the temptation of her full, round breasts, he glanced up and found himself caught in the crosshairs of Zane’s glare.

  “I promised my wife—” Zane’s face softened, and he seemed to lose his train of thought. He smiled tenderly at Julianne. “My wife,” he repeated. “I love the sound of that.”

  Then he shifted back to Wyatt. His smile disappeared and his eyes turned hard again. “I promised my wife I wouldn’t start a fight with you today, but if you take advantage of my sister, all bets are off tomorrow.”

  “Understood,” Wyatt said. He needed Zane to hit him now and knock some sense into him. Tomorrow might be too late.

  “What is it with you men?” Nicole demanded. “I’m a big girl. No one is taking advantage of me. If you haven’t noticed, I’m trying to take advantage of him.”

  Zane didn’t glance at her, as he continued to drill Wyatt. “Do I have to ask your intentions?”

  He opened his mouth to say “no intentions.” He blurted out a single word without hesitation or thought of consequences: “Honorable.”

  “What’s honorable?” Nicole repeated in confusion.

  “They better be,” Zane said, clearly not convinced, “or my knuckles will be planted in your face.”

  “Can you please shut up my Neanderthal brother?” Nicole pleaded with Julianne.

  “My pleasure.” Julianne hooked her arm around Zane’s head and pulled him down until they were locked in a fervent embrace, oblivious to the groomsmen egging them on and the photographer’s flash capturing their passion for posterity.

  Wyatt continued to sit in shock over his promise to Zane. It was the perfect solution. If his intentions were honorable, he didn’t have to push Nicole away. He could love her—and love her well—without hurting her or letting anyone hurt her again.

  Neither of them had married or were involved in relationships, and he didn’t think it was by coincidence. They might not have realized it at first, but maybe both their subconscious minds knew no one else was right for them.

  He slung his arm around Nicole’s shoulders. She tipped her face toward him, her confusion and embarrassment from moments earlier morphing into pleasant surprise. “Did the wedding turn you into a horny sap?” she teased.

  “I just figured out I was approaching you the wrong way.”

  “Oh yeah?” Her blue eyes sparkled with humor. “And what’s the right way, seeing as I’ve been playing so hard to get?”

  “The way you deserve.” He bent his head and captured her lips, silencing her with a kiss.

  “I like your way,” Nicole murmured.

  She would like it even more. He’d make sure of it.

  Nicole snuggled in Wyatt’s embrace as the final notes of the last slow song of the night died away. The evening had been magical. After all these years and the pain he caused, she’d come full circle to her original teenage belief that Wyatt would make an amazing boyfriend. If her heart ached because he wouldn’t belong to her permanently this time any more than he had before, she wouldn’t dwell on it tonight.

  “Is it too soon for me to invite you to spend the night at my place?” he whispered against her ear.

  “Too soon? I’m the girl who gave you her underwear to wrangle an invitation out of you last night, remember?”

  His answering kiss melted her thighs and came dangerously close to melting her heart.

&
nbsp; She made a quick call to the rental company to make sure her replacement car would be delivered to Wyatt’s house, not the motel, in the morning and told them to leave the keys in the mailbox. Then she slipped into his truck and spent the ride attempting to persuade herself she wasn’t nervous.

  It didn’t work. She wasn’t sixteen anymore, but she was afraid she would bore him with her lack of imagination and let him make all the moves, as she had before.

  As soon as they were inside the house, Wyatt backed her against the door and kissed her, as if he couldn’t wait another moment.

  “Coffee?” he asked.

  “No. Just you.” The intensity of her desire scared her. Having him take her immediately against the door was a good way to remind herself they weren’t special to each other. They were fulfilling the basic bodily need for sex, without guilt, vulnerability, or heartbreak.

  “I’ve wanted to do this all night.” He covered her breasts with his warm hands, pushing them up against her dress. He dipped his head and slid his tongue into her cleavage.

  “Oh.” She pressed her back against the door, hardly able to breathe as sensations flooded her. His whiskers rubbed against the sensitive, exposed skin. She clasped the top of his head and pulled him closer. Her dress got in the way, so she let go of him to tug at the zipper.

  Wyatt looked up, his gray-blue eyes wide with surprise. She wasn’t sure why. He couldn’t expect her to have sex fully dressed. She preferred a full body experience.

  “Start working on your buttons.” She kicked off her shoes and pushed her dress down her hips, then nudged it to the side next to her footwear.

  Instead of loosening his collar, he stepped back and inspected her strapless bra and lace panties, both plum colored to match her dress.

  His refusal to say anything or to pounce on her nearly naked flesh worried her. Her body was far from perfect, the opposite of model thin in fact, but she thought they were in this together. Now the possibility he might reject her loomed large, and uncertainty engulfed her.