A Reclusive Heart (Hollywood Hearts #2)(27)
Author: R.L. Mathewson

Her thoughts kind of drifted off as her brain registered the feel of Nick’s mouth on hers. As she tried to figure out what was happening he reached up and gently cupped her face in his large hands. His lips moved tenderly against hers and she couldn’t help but relax against him. The kiss was tender, sweet and did funny things to her stomach and it was also perfect. She honestly could not have hoped for a better first kiss.

He pressed one last kiss against her lips before pulling back. She opened her mouth to say something only to find her mouth covered with his again, this time with a pained groan that had her toes curling.

“Don’t let them bring you down, Jamie,” he whispered against her lips before pulling back.

“What was that for?” she asked in a daze as she fought against the urge to throw herself at him for another kiss.

“Now you don’t have to worry about going out tonight for a kiss. Go relax, take a hot bath and get some work done,” he said, taking the keycard out of her hand and opening the door for her and giving her a gentle shove inside the room before closing the door and leaving her slightly confused.

It didn’t take long to figure out that he’d done that to get her mind off of her family drama. It was kind of sweet, but the fact that it had been done out of pity and probably to get her to focus back on work kind of spoiled it, but not enough to stop her from smiling as she went about doing exactly what he asked her to do.

Chapter 13

This was sure to be an awkward moment, Nick decided as he stood outside of Jamie’s door. What the hell had he been thinking last night? He had no business kissing her, but even knowing that he couldn’t force himself to regret doing it. As much as he would love to say that he did it for her, he knew the kiss had been for him.

All day yesterday he’d struggled against the urge to reach out and touch her, hold her and kiss her and when she looked so damn miserable standing in front of her room yesterday he couldn’t help himself. He’d kissed her. It wasn’t wild or out of control, but it had been the most pleasurable kiss of his life. The kiss had been simple and controlled, but still managed to leave him hard and aching for her.

He’d shocked even himself by walking away from her last night when everything in him screamed to take her to bed. It would have been easy. She was desperate to lose her virginity and for the first time in his life he was more than eager to take it. He’d never wanted a virgin before her, but he wanted her. He wanted to be the first man to touch her, taste her and take her until she could barely scream his name and that was why he walked away from her.

Jamie was not the screw and leave kind of woman. She was the type of woman any man, besides him, could happily do forever with. She might think that she can handle ha**ng s*x with a man and never see him again, but he knew her well enough by now to know that wasn’t the case. She might be able to go through with sleeping with a man she didn’t know the first time, but he knew the moment it ended she would be racked with guilt. If the guilt that she slept with a guy didn’t get to her then the loneliness afterwards would.

This type of life wasn’t for her. She needed to wait for a guy that loved her and wanted to take care of her. Wasting her virginity on some loser she met at a bar was only going to cause her pain. He couldn’t let her do this and it had nothing to do with the fact that he didn’t like the idea of another man touching her.

He knew he was just worried about her because he felt responsible for her in a way and that was why he didn’t like the idea of some ass**le touching her. It had nothing to do with jealousy because he didn’t get jealous. When she announced that she was going to hit a bar last night to get that first kiss and he wanted to put his fist through something it was because he didn’t want to see her hurt.

It was his job after all to make sure that she was safe. He had no problem teaching her about sex, especially if it kept from doing something stupid like trust some ass**le. He’d teach her and discourage her from doing anything stupid. She was a timid little thing so he didn’t think it would take all that much to get her to stay clear of men while they were on tour. When they got back he would ask Dana if she knew any decent available men for his little recluse. Of course he would have to meet them first to make that they were good enough.

Before he could do any of that he was going to have to break her heart. He wasn’t looking forward to it, but it had to be done. There was no doubt in his mind that the little recluse probably thought that last night meant more than just a kiss between friends. She probably had her heart set on the two of them becoming involved, but that couldn’t happen. He didn’t do relationships and she shouldn’t accept anything less.

With a sigh he knocked on the door. He really had no idea how to do this without hurting her. He’d never cared before about letting a woman down, but his little recluse was his responsibility and he was surprised to realize that she was indeed becoming a good friend. Of course he’d let her down gently. It really was the least that he could do for her.

Jamie opened the door and he prepared himself for her tears, but all he got was a warm smile. Of course she’d be happy to see him, he realized, feeling like an idiot. She probably spent the entire night doodling his name all over her notebooks and imaging what their kids would look like. It was sad, cute, but sad.

“Hey, Nick,” she said, smiling. “I’m so glad that you’re here.”

He couldn’t help but sigh. Of course she was happy to see him. Maybe it would be best to quickly explain that last night’s kiss had meant nothing. Sure, he’d be destroying all her hopes and dreams, but it was for the best.

“I’m starving,” she said, walking past him as she pulled the door shut behind her. “I was just about to head downstairs and grab something to eat. Do you think that we have time to grab breakfast before the signing?” she asked as she headed for the elevator.

“I think we should talk about something first,” he said quietly as he tried to think of a way to break it to her without breaking her heart. Sadly, he just didn’t see any way around it. He was going to break her heart, but he’d do it quickly. It surprised him that he actually cared if he hurt her, but he figured that was because he genuinely cared about her, another surprise, but one that didn’t matter at the moment.

“Okay,” she said, pulling her beautiful strawberry blond hair up into a messy bun. “But can we talk while we walk? I’m starving,” she said, pressing the elevator button.