Moment of Weakness (Embracing Moments Book 1) (8 page)

Walking to my dresser, I pulled out a pair of black running shorts and a blue sports bra. After getting dressed, brushing my teeth, and fixing my hair into a messy bun, I packed my bag for yoga right away. It felt good returning to my normal routine, but as I glanced at the time on my alarm clock, I realized how far from normal it was. Normal would be running alone, not with someone whose job was to trail behind me. I blew out a heavy breath and flipped the light switch before closing my door and heading outside.

The golden light from the rising sun shone through the clouds, creating a breathtaking view. It was just one of the many reasons I loved running so early. I stood staring at it until my eyes drifted to the fountain. Roman stood on the other side, his back facing me. He was leaning against it, arms crossed over his chest. As I walked down the steps, he turned around.

“Hey,” he said in a gentle tone of voice. His eyes traced my figure, and for the first time in a long time, I felt self-conscious. My mind screamed at me to do something, but I didn’t know whether I should cross my arms over my chest or hide my mid-section. Compared to Roman’s attire, I was half-naked. He stood before me, wearing a white T-shirt and black nylon gym shorts. His shirt hugged his torso, showing off the planes of his chest and a six pack of muscles in his abdomen. Looking at him, I wondered where he kept his gun. Did he even carry a gun? If he did, it clearly wasn’t under his shirt. My eyes ran down his waist and fell on the slight bulge between his legs.

Oh good Lord. Not that gun, Julia.

Averting my gaze, I placed my ear buds into my ears and flipped to my play list. Too embarrassed to say anything, I took off down the driveway. I mean, what was I supposed to say? He obviously caught me eying his man goods.

Roman ran behind me, keeping a measurable amount of distance between us. This was the first time I ran with anyone. Megan hated running, and Robby refused to get up earlier than he needed to. Fifteen minutes had gone by, and I was nowhere close to being lost in my music. Roman running a few steps behind me made it hard to stay focused. I tried to concentrate on something else, but our encounter from the previous night played over and over in my head like an old record stuck on repeat. It took everything in me not to turn around and look at him. So picking up the pace, I pushed myself to run faster, putting an even greater distance between us. The light morning breeze blew against my face, reminding me how much I loved this. Nothing compared to breathing in fresh air while your feet hit the pavement. Although there was one feeling that was a runner’s worse nightmare. And, of course, it had to be happening right now.

The sharp pain in my lower right abdomen stopped me in my tracks. Grabbing my side, I took slow deep breaths.
A moment later, Roman appeared at my side. Sweat poured down his forehead, and the steep rising and falling of his chest indicated he was trying to catch his breath. “Everything okay?” His eyebrows narrowed in concern.

“Yeah, I’m fine.”

Roman reached in his pocket and pulled out his phone. “I’m going to call Theo to pick us up.”

“No! Please don’t!” I gasped, my fingers snaking around his forearm, almost knocking his phone from his hands. The last thing I wanted to do was go back to the suffocating confinements of the house. Roman looked at me, then down to my hand which was gripping his arm. My body must have been in worse shape than I thought because holy moly was I having trouble catching my breath. Roman’s hand brushed against mine, and the tingly feeling that started in my fingertips, spread up my arm. I expected him to release the death grip I had on him, but instead of removing my hand, he grabbed my other one and pulled me toward him.

What the?

If I thought I was having trouble breathing before, breathing now seemed like an impossible feat. I tried to pull my hands back from his grasp, but he gripped tighter and pulled me in even closer. His face was inches from mine. Dipping his chin lower, his cheek grazed mine as he whispered in my ear. “Would you trust me?”

I shot an eyebrow up at him, and a chuckle left his mouth before his serious expression returned. “You’re having trouble breathing. If you place your hands on the top of your head”—he wrapped his fingers around my wrists and pulled my arms up, resting my hands on the top of my head—“it helps open your lungs, allowing you to breathe easier.”

Gulping, I was no longer trying to catch my breath, but steady it. Thankfully, breathing was something you could do without having to think about it, because if I had to—right at that moment—I would have passed out from lack of oxygen.

As the moments passed and my breathing returned to normal, I realized neither one of us had made an attempt at moving. Roman’s gaze lingered on me, and even now, all hot and sweaty, he smelled so damn good. A tantalizing smell of fresh citrus and spiced wood. My heart beat wildly against my chest, and the cause had nothing to do with running. “Thank you,” I said, stepping back, breaking the tension building between us. A gasp of air left my lungs as I looked around. What were we supposed to do now? The stabbing pain was still clawing at my side, but I wasn’t ready to go home. Not yet.

Roman’s hand touched my shoulder, and all of my nerve endings jolted to life. Cocking his head to the side, he gestured for me to follow him. “I want to show you something. Follow me.”

He took off down the road.

Kicking a stone across the road, I followed him. Something was happening here. Something was changing between Roman and me, and I didn’t want to be left standing there questioning it. After walking a few minutes down the tree-lined road, Roman walked off and headed straight toward a slight clearing in the brush. Pulling aside a few branches, a dirt pathway appeared. He stepped aside and swung his arm out, waiting for me to pass.

I cast him a befuddled look and stood in place. “You’re kidding, right?” There was no way I was going in there. Nope. Definitely not.

His eyebrows pinched together. “No, what I want to show you is back this way.”

Okay. He was officially crazy. “No way,” I said, shaking my head. “That right there”—I pointed toward the path—“That is some serious
Wrong Turn
shit.”

He looked confused. “
Wrong Turn
shit?”

“Yeah. You know that movie—
Wrong Turn.
Where a group of friends get stuck in the woods and are hunted by a group of cannibalistic mountain men.”

“Are you serious?” A deep laugh rumbled from his chest. “You watch too many horror movies, Miss Parker. Come on.” He stared at me, waiting for me to move. When I didn’t, he continued speaking. “I can assure you, there are no cannibalistic mountain men in there. Besides—I’m here—I won’t let anything happen to you. I’d lose my job if I did.”

If he was trying to be funny or cute, it wasn’t working. Okay. Maybe it was working a little. “Fine!” I huffed, walking past him. A lopsided grin appeared on his set of full lips. There was a reason I stuck to the main roads. I didn’t like roaming around aimlessly in the woods, but for some odd reason, I trusted him. Roman walked in front of me, leading the way. We walked for a good ten minutes, and the stabbing pain in my side had started to subside.

The path led to an opening, and Roman stepped to the side, allowing me to have full view. A few feet ahead was a small pond, surrounded by pink and blue flowers. Two weeping willow trees sat along the edge where the water met the grass. It was beautiful. I couldn’t believe I lived in this town my entire life and had never seen this place. I walked over to the edge of the pond and knelt down. Taking my socks and shoes off, I slipped my feet into the warm water.

“This place is amazing,” I said, looking over my shoulder at Roman. He still stood next to the pathway, his eyes focused on me.

“Not all woods harbor cannibalistic mountain men, Miss Parker.” He flashed me a quick grin.

“Ha-ha . . . go ahead, make fun of me all you want. It doesn’t bother me.” I turned back around, redirecting my attention back to the pond. Roman walked over and lay down in the grass beside me, placing his hands under his head, his shirt hiked up, revealing the dips of his abs. The dirty part of my brain wondered if he had those sexy indents on either side of his hips. The thought alone had my cheeks feeling like they were on fire. Unable to look away, my eyes watched the rise and fall of his chest with every breath he took. It was the most relaxed I had ever seen him.

“How did you find this place?” I asked, picking one of the small purple flowers and rolling it between my fingers.

“I found it one night while I was running. I checked; it’s considered public property so we’re not trespassing.”

That thought hadn’t even crossed my mind, but it was good to know. Scooting back, I lay down next to him and closed my eyes. Being so close to him had the muscles in my stomach twisting into little tiny knots. And for the life of me, I couldn’t figure out why.

“So what’s your story, Roman?”

“Story?”

“Yeah, your story. Everyone has a story. Something tells me you’ve got an interesting one.”

He was quiet for a moment and then answered. “Some stories, Miss Parker, are better left unpublished.”

Although a slight bit of disappointment hit my chest, I knew firsthand how true that statement was. Few people knew my own story, and I preferred it that way. The only person who knew everything was Lacey, and even that felt like one person too many at times. An awkward silence saturated the balmy air. I stared up at the sky, the sun now in full view just above the trees.

Roman’s voice broke through the silence. “You and Theo . . . You seem to be close.”

I wasn’t sure if that was a question or statement, but I answered anyway. My lips quirked up as I thought about Theo. “Yeah, I’ve known him my whole life. My father, Theo, and I, we’re all each other has.” I rolled to my side. Roman was still flat on his back, absorbing my last statement.

“So how old are you?” I asked, biting my bottom lip. It was a nervous habit I couldn’t break.

His eyes traveled to mine. “Does it really matter?”

I swallowed, trying to wet my drying mouth. “Well, considering I’m forced to spend my entire summer with you, and I know nothing about you, yeah, I would say it matters.” A moment passed.

He let out a heavy sigh. “I’m twenty-five.”

Wow. My assumption was right. He was young. Now I was curious. “What made you want to do private security?” Roman rolled to his side, his face close enough I could feel his minty breath fanning my cheeks. The muscles in my stomach twisted even further.

“I didn’t have much of a choice.”

I wanted to call bullshit, tell him everyone has choices, even if the choices we have aren’t ideal, but who was I to say such a thing. Time and time again, I allowed other people to make my choices for me. Roman was a perfect example. Being followed—definitely not my first choice. Roman’s tongue darted out across his lower lip, and for a second, my mind wondered how his lips tasted.

“You ask a lot of questions, you know that?” His voice cut me off mid-thought.

“Maybe I wouldn’t have to if you’d answer them. Do you always avoid conversation?”

“Yes. And truth be told, most people drop it, but you, Miss Parker . . . something tells me you’re going to be a thorn in my ass.” My eyebrows knitted together into a deep scowl, and Roman chuckled, the curve of his lips spreading into a full-blown smile. God, he had a beautiful smile. He needed to get in the habit of smiling more.

I shrugged and plucked a long piece of uncut grass. “Sorry for caring.”

As soon as I said the words, I wanted to take them back. Roman’s eyes shot to mine. Something flickered across his face, and before I could figure out what it was, it disappeared. But it was too late. A thick cloud of tension filled the small space between us, making it hard to breathe. Roman’s gaze fell to my lips, and a heady warmth flooded my veins.

Roman leaned in closer, our mouths sharing the same breathing space. “Word of advice—don’t. I’m not worth knowing, and certainly not worth caring about.”

A shiver chased down my spine. Ignoring it, I asked, “Shouldn’t that be my decision?”

I don’t know how this conversation got to this point, but I didn’t care, because the more I thought about it, I wanted to know him. I wanted to know what it was about him that had my heart racing whenever we were together. It was more than attraction. It was something deeper than that.

Roman’s expression stayed flat as he shook his head.

“Why, you’re not like some serial killer are you?” I teased. Roman’s gaze hardened, and his phone made a chirping sound from his pocket.

“No,” he said sighing. He rolled away from me and stood up, pulling his phone out. His fingers tapped against the screen. “We gotta go. According to your calendar, you have to be at yoga in an hour.”

Disbelief shot through me, and I sat up, reaching for my socks and shoes. “You have my calendar on your phone?”

“Your father had Theo sync your calendar with mine.”

Okay. Now that was just wrong. And creepy. I knew he was my security detail, but really? My entire calendar on his phone?

Oh God. If he had my entire calendar, then he had access to my period tracker. Since my cycle was irregular, my doctor recommended I keep track of it until we found a birth control method to help regulate it. As realization set in, humiliation replaced the heady warmth that filled my veins.

“What else do you know about me?” I questioned, my cheeks full of embarrassment. Roman’s mouth parted. “On second thought, don’t answer that. I don’t even want to know.” His mouth snapped shut. “Let’s just go.” I stood up and shook my head dismissively.

The pain in my side had long since disappeared, and the urge to run took over. Placing my headphones back into my ears, I sprinted down the pathway, pouring every crazy emotion I felt the past two weeks into each step.