I slammed my mouth down on hers, telling myself the whole time that I was only kissing her because I had to keep my cover. That this wasn’t real. Didn’t mean anything. But the second her soft lips gave in to mine, I knew I was full of shit. I might be doing this to keep my cover, but I was also doing it because I wanted to see what she tasted like. To hear her little sounds of pleasure.

Her lips parted to let out a little moan, and I swooped in, entwining my tongue with hers. She gasped, almost as if she’d never been kissed before, and then melted against me. She wrapped her arms around me, urging me even closer, and my hands fell to her hips. Unable to help myself, I pressed my cock against the soft curve of the side of her ass, reveling in the feel of her softness pressed against my hardness.

Fuck, I wanted her.

Tearing my mouth free, I took a ragged breath and held her still. She kept trying to wiggle in my lap. If she kept that up, this would be more than a cover kiss. It would be a cover fuck. I tightened my fists on her and opened my eyes. She did the same, looking back at me with smoldering blue eyes.

Well, that answered my question from earlier.

Her swollen red lips begged to be kissed some more, but I tamped down the urge. I had to remember the game. Stay on course. “Shit. I shouldn’t have done that. Pretend it never happened.”

She blinked at me, the heat fading from her eyes and being replaced by confusion. “Why?”

“Speaking of favorite words…” I mumbled under my breath. I rubbed the back of my neck and sighed. “Was that motive enough for you?”

“Y-Yeah, I guess so.” She licked her lips, her gaze on my mouth. “I didn’t know…didn’t realize you were thinking about kissing me. I wasn’t expecting…that.”

She sounded so innocent right now. Had she ever been with a man? I couldn’t imagine a girl that looked like her still being a virgin…but then again, with her father, it was definitely a possibility. “Well, I’m a guy. We’re always thinking about—” I broke off, swallowing the word sex. “Kissing. Surely you’ve been kissed before.”

“Of course,” she quickly said, her cheeks red. “Tons of times.”

Tons? Why didn’t I like the sound of that? “Oh really?”

“Really. You’re hardly the first guy to show an interest. I’m not some meek little virgin girl.”

She had to go and tell me that, didn’t she? “Good to know.”

I set her on her feet and stood, my heart pounding in my ears. That kiss had been a huge mistake. An even bigger mistake than accepting this assignment in the first place.

She pressed her fingers to her lips and looked at me. “So that’s why you’re being nice to me? Because you want to kiss me?”

“Occasionally.” I forced a nonchalant shrug. She had to think I wanted her, but I couldn’t actually have her. What a fine line I walked. One step too far to the left and I would be a goner. “I’m a guy. I’m always in the mood to kiss someone.”

“Anyone will do?”

“Pretty much.”

“Oh. I see.” She cocked her head. “So that’s your motive.”

I dragged a hand through my hair and started for my door. “Sometimes there isn’t a reason or a motive. Sometimes it just happens.”

“Not in my life.”

“Well, maybe you need a new life.”

“Maybe.” She bit her lower lip. “It’s not that easy to just trust someone, especially when you don’t even know them.”

I swallowed the guilt choking me back. I knew she was suspicious, and she had every reason to be wary of me. I was a fraud. A phony. A fake. And most of all? An asshole for kissing her under false pretenses. “Why are you so damn suspicious of everyone and everything?”

She didn’t follow me, but put her hands on her perfect hips. “I don’t know.”

“Why are you glowering at me like I drowned your kitten in front of you?”

“Because I thought we were friends.”

“We are.”

She lifted her chin up. “Friends don’t kiss friends then say shit. You obviously don’t like me very much, so I’m going to make this easy for you. I’m leaving—and you’re staying.”

“No, you’re not.” I rubbed my eyes. Unbelievable. Instead of fixing this screw up, I’d managed to make it worse. “I’m your ride.”

She pulled out her phone and put it to her ear. “Yes. I’d like a cab, please. It’s an apartment building. Brick with patios and balconies. I’ll be outside.” She rattled off my address, an address I didn’t even know she’d be able to figure out, and then slid the phone back in her purse. “Problem solved. Now go away.”

She sat down on the curb, her back to me, and promptly ignored me. I hesitated. Should I do what she wanted and go inside to come up with a plan? Or should I try to fix this now? The urge to bang my head against the wall was almost as strong as the urge to pull her into my arms was. She looked so alone sitting there and staring out in the road. I approached her slowly, uncertain how to tackle this.

“Look, I’m sorry.” I sat beside her, my leg touching hers. She shot me a dirty look, but didn’t move away. “I didn’t mean to kiss you. Not because I don’t want to, but because I just want to be friends.”

“Then why did you kiss me?”

“Because I couldn’t stop myself,” I admitted. It was one of the most honest things I had said to her all day. “But I should have.”

She finally looked at me again. “Why can’t you kiss me? What’s so wrong with it? I mean, if you want to, why is it bad?”

Good question. “It just is. In my career, I could be gone at any second if they call up my unit. I can’t have relationships.”

“That’s bull.” Her hands tightened on her knees. “If you don’t want to be with me, just say it. Don’t give me half-assed reasons why you can’t.”

“I don’t want to be with you,” I said, my voice coming out harsher than I intended. I reached out and closed my hand over hers, trying to soften the blow. “Not in that way, but I do want to be friends.”

“I’ll think about it.” The cab pulled up and she stood. Her hand on the door, she glanced at me over her shoulder. “But if you want to be friends, keep your lips off mine from now on.”

“Deal. Still want to surf?”

She hesitated. “Not today. I have a headache. See ya some other time.”

And with that, she closed the door in my face and left me standing on the curb. My phone buzzed, and I pulled it out. Her father, of course. The man had impeccable timing.

Things going well?

I tightened my grip on the phone and typed fast. I got it covered.

Good. Don’t forget the rules.

The ones I’d already broken? As if I could.

Later that night, after Finn kissed me and dissed me, so to speak, I came out of the bathroom in a pair of frog jammies and found Marie sitting on my bed, a short dress in her hands. Since Marie was already wearing a way-too-short black dress, I could only assume the tiny blue dress in Marie’s hands was for someone else. That someone else better not be me.

I raised a brow and eyed the contraption. “What’s up?”

“What’s up is you’re going to lose the froggies and slip into this.” Marie tossed the dress at me and I reflexively caught it. “And we’re going to go party. And for once in your life, you’re staying.”

I held the dress to my chest. “I told you, I don’t like parties.”

“That’s because you never drink at them, I’d bet.” Marie stood up and gave me a little push toward the bathroom. “But tonight, you are. I’ll get you something good, and we’ll party the night away. Monday classes start, so we’ll have a boring week. But tonight?” She shoved me into the bathroom. “We dance!”

As the door closed in my face, I flinched. Marie might be pushy—literally—but she had a point. The week ahead of us would be long. Would it be so wrong to let loose and have some fun tonight? Look at all the other stuff I had already done since getting here.