Seducing Bran

by Jules Barnard

  Chapter 19

  Bran rolled to the side and pulled Ireland on top of him, dragging one of the blankets to cover her perfect, round ass. He wanted to love and care for that ass, and then love it some more.

  Maybe he had been a monk these past few years, because nothing compared to what he just shared with Ireland. He snuggled her closer, her soft breaths tickling the light hair on his chest. He wanted a repeat. As soon as his cock rose from its stupor.

  Which didn’t seem to take long.

  She lifted her head and looked down at him with a crooked smile. “Is someone waking up again?”

  “How many of those condoms did you say you brought?”

  She laughed. “Just the one.”

  “We’ll have to do something about that.”

  She crossed her arms over his chest and rested her chin on top. She also slowly rubbed her hips against his growing erection—just to drive him mad, he decided. “I thought you said you didn’t have any.”

  “I don’t have any here. But remember, I own the house on this property.”

  Her pretty eyes narrowed. “Did you say you didn’t have any as a way of getting out of…”

  He lifted her under her arms and pulled her higher, stealing a kiss, which had the added benefit of dragging her beautiful breasts against his body. “I didn’t want you to feel pressured, so I didn’t bring one on the date. However, if you’d insisted, I was going to hightail it back to my place. Instead, we made use of the one that was closest. Which was a good thing. It would have taken an entire seven to eight minutes to run back and forth from the house.”

  She laughed. “And that would have been too long?”

  He pressed her closer, his cock hard and ready. “What do you think?”

  Her brow furrowed. “Your brothers don’t know you very well, do they? You’re not at all celibate.”

  “Been trying to tell you that. Though, to be fair, hooking up was never a sport to me like it was for some of my brothers.”

  “They don’t seem like they were players. Except Hunt.”

  “Don’t let their current relationship status fool you. They were bad before they met their girlfriends and wives.”

  He leaned up and kissed her soft lips, teasing him from above.

  “Were you ever like your brothers?” she asked.

  Bran’s body tensed, and he could tell the moment she sensed it, because she frowned.

  “When I was young, yeah,” he said.

  He gently eased her to the side and sat up. They’d been careful tonight, and God knew Bran wanted Ireland more than his next breath. But his past still haunted him. “I was careless when I was a kid.”

  She covered her chest with the blanket and sat next to him. “Careless how?”

  He turned and looked her in the eye. “When I was in high school, I slept with a lot of girls. If they were willing, I was down. It was stupid; I was lucky I didn’t catch something. But what resulted wasn’t any better.”

  Ireland scooted closer until her side pressed against his. She watched him, seemingly waiting for him to continue.

  The only brother who knew about his high school fuck-up was Wes, and not until recently. But Bran wanted Ireland to know. Wanted her to understand him better.

  “I got a girl pregnant,” he said.

  Her eyes widened. “You…you have a child?”

  “No.”

  “I don’t understa—”

  “The girl I got pregnant had an abortion. It was my fault.”

  Ireland didn’t know what to make of Bran’s confession. She’d been older when she lost her virginity, and even then she’d been careful. She couldn’t picture Bran—the definition of a man in control—not taking precautions. Even so… “How could it have been your fault?”

  He gazed off. “She told me she was pregnant, and I said nothing. Dumb shit that I was, I hadn’t considered anything like that could happen to me.”

  “You didn’t think you could get a girl pregnant?”

  His smile was hard. “Sure. When I was ready.” He rubbed his thigh. “Stupid, I know, but I was seventeen and she was sixteen. I didn’t know shit.”

  She let out a long sigh. “I’m sorry, Bran. What did your family say?”

  “They never knew.”

  She blinked several times, making sure she’d heard him right. “Never?”

  “My home life consisted of my brothers and a housekeeper. My father wasn’t around. He lived at Club Tahoe, hence the resentment my brothers and I have toward the place.”

  “But you…you run it now.”

  He sent her a sidelong look. “Irony is a bitch. My father dies and leaves us in charge, and none of us can walk away from the place. We spent our lives avoiding it. Avoiding our father as punishment for putting Club Tahoe first, and now we’re devoting all our time to it. Life is complicated.”

  “Family can be complicated. I have three brothers, and they drive me crazy.”

  His gaze swung to her. “Three brothers? They’re not big guys, are they?”

  Her brow furrowed.

  “First Jaeg comes at me like a father for taking you out,” Bran said, “and now I learn you have brothers? You’re not going to tell me your father is an ex-boxer, are you?”

  She smiled and shook her head. “He’s a civil engineer.”

  “Thank God.”

  “But he’s tall.” She waved her hand down her body covered by the blanket. “Tall genes run in the family.”

  He nodded. “That seems about right. I would go for the statuesque redhead with three brothers. We’d be doomed if we had kids, destined to have all boys, considering the number of sons in our families.”

  Ireland’s chest tightened. No man had talked about kids with her, even in jest. “Do you want to have kids? After what happened?”

  He looked down at his large hands. Hands capable of giving so much pleasure and comfort. “Not sure I deserve kids.”

  She rested her head on his broad shoulder. “You’re too hard on yourself. You’d make a great father.”

  “Fathers need to be responsible. They need to be there for their kids.” He looked up at the stars. “Money, friends, even grades—it all came easily. I took everything for granted. Do you know what I did after the girl told me I’d gotten her pregnant?”

  Suddenly, Ireland was afraid to find out. Afraid his actions had turned Bran Cade into the hard-assed man he was today. Only tonight he hadn’t been closed off. He’d been open, sexy, and…loving.

  “I called up my friends and got drunk. I was so drunk, in fact, I slept through two days of school. When I finally got around to telling her I’d support her and do the right thing, the deed was done.”

  “What deed?”

  “Her parents had convinced her to have an abortion. They told her she’d be raising the child alone and that I wouldn’t be there for her.”

  Ireland looked out at the trees. “They didn’t know you. You’re responsible. Look at how well you run the restaurants.”

  He laughed, but it was bitter. “The restaurants are barely surviving after the decisions I’ve made. Not sure starting a relationship right now is responsible either.”

  Ireland’s shoulders stiffened, and she scooted to the side. “Y-you regret tonight?”

  “No,” he said. “Never.”

  “Because it was magical, so don’t make me regret what we shared.”

  He wrapped his arms around her waist and pulled her to him. “I want everything we share to be right for you. I just worry about the timing, but I’m not going to let it stop me. I want this. As long as you’re happy, I’m happy. And happy to do what we just did again.” He winked and kissed her softly on the lips. “Right now, if you want.”

  She studied his face. “I don’t want to hear any more about regrets.”

  “No regrets. Not with you.”

  She thought she could trust Bran, but he’d not always been consistent. “Why the change from cold to hot?”

  “Hot?” h
e said.

  “Steamy, sizzling, set-my-panties-on-fire hot.”

  “Hmmm.” He nuzzled her neck. “Good thing you’re not wearing panties now. Easy access and less risk of a forest fire.”

  She smiled. “Answer the question. Why the cold treatment when we first met?”

  “I have rules.”

  “That sounds ominous. You know, given those rules turned you into a giant ass.”

  He laughed. “I deserve that.”

  “What are these rules?”

  He ticked off his fingers. “No overly attractive women, drink in moderation, always be in control. Oh, and protection—always use protection.”

  “Why no beautiful women?”

  He pulled her close and kissed her lips. A peck. If pecks were heated by a furnace. “Too tempting. They made me think with another brain instead of the smart one.”

  “So, I’m not attractive. Or seductive. And that’s why we’re on this date?” The last sentence ended on a slightly higher pitch.

  “The opposite. You’re too much of both. You’re beautiful, and sexy, and now I’ve discovered how smart and nerdy you are. It’s a deadly combination. Why do you think I’ve kept you at arm’s length?”

  “You broke your own rules?”

  He shrugged. “I didn’t want the rules if it meant I couldn’t be with you.”

  Chapter 20

  Ireland’s heart beat double time. Bran’s words were the sweetest thing she’d ever heard. “B-but, what if things get challenging? What then?”

  Relationships could be rough and dirty and raw. Ireland wanted to be with a man who believed her worthy of treading through the muck.

  Bran held her tight. “Trust me to handle Club Tahoe and our relationship.”

  Relationship. That was what they’d been talking about, but this was technically their first date. “Do we have one?”

  He shook his head and made a clucking sound with his tongue. “Oh, Ireland, we’ve had a relationship since we first met.”

  His hands went a-wandering, and she slapped them away. “You mean of the hate-filled variety?”

  He kissed her bared shoulder. “I mean of the lust-filled variety. I had to be sure I wasn’t making a mistake.”

  She lurched back. “A mistake? If anyone was making a mistake, it was me. You were nothing but a coldhearted, venomous—”

  He nuzzled her neck, and she felt him sucking on delicate skin. “Past tense. And keep talking. I love it when you’re feisty.”

  She fell back onto the mattress, and he rolled on top of her. She grabbed his chin. “I’m serious.”

  “So am I. I had to make sure we were right before I dove in.”

  “You sound like an ass, and it’s not helping your case.”

  “Ireland, I haven’t had a girlfriend in…ever. Well, maybe in junior high? Consider that for a moment. I’m closing in on thirty, and I haven’t been in a serious relationship. Why else would I be here if you weren’t important to me?”

  “Because you’re horny?”

  “I’m always horny. Besides that.”

  “Because you like to touch me?”

  “Mmm, I do like that,” he said. “But there’s another reason.”

  She blew at a lock of bangs covering her eye. “I give up. Why are we here?”

  “Because I like you. I want to touch you, and kiss you, and sleep next to you at night. I want to argue with you and laugh with you. I want to be with you. Do you understand?”

  “You like me.” Most people liked their cat or chocolate fudge. But Bran’s gaze was dark, his arms wrapped protectively around her body. He was sincere. This was a relationship, and not just a hookup. “Am I your girlfriend?”

  “Absolutely.”

  “So you don’t want me dating anyone else?” For most couples, that would go without saying, but this was Bran—she needed specifics. For one, because she cared too much to leave her future up to ambiguity. And two, because he wasn’t known for monogamy.

  “I was a dick in the beginning. I’m trying to make up for it, but I’ll understand if you’d rather date someone else. But I won’t share you if you’re with me.”

  Okay, that was big. He’d just locked things down.

  She ran a finger along those tense lips, and they softened, opened, and pulled on her digit with tongue and suction. “Okay. I’ll give you a chance.”

  He let go of her finger with a loud pop and kissed her hard, his mouth mimicking the moves they’d perfected in the back of his truck. “I’ll be on my best behavior.”

  “We’ll see about that.”

  “Well, maybe not my best behavior all the time,” he said. “In bed, I plan to be very bad.”

  She wiggled beneath him. “Where’d you say those condoms were?”

  Bran pulled on his shirt and jeans and wrapped her in a blanket so fast that her head spun.

  She laughed as he carried her out of the back of the truck, shoved the tailgate closed with a kick and a grunt, and nearly tossed her in the front seat of the cab. “At my house, exactly five seconds away if I floor it down the dirt road. What time do you need to be home?”

  “I don’t.”

  His nostrils flared. “Exactly the words I wanted to hear.”

  Bran had a girlfriend. The real deal. Not a sex buddy, or a date, but a girlfriend. It wasn’t exactly what he’d planned, but damn did it feel good.

  He’d nearly bailed on the entire date. Or, at least, that was what he’d told himself as he’d approached Jaeg’s front door. Deep down, he wanted to be with Ireland exactly as he’d said. Committed. No other man touching her, wanting her. Just the two of them, spending their free time together. With lots more explosive sex.

  Bran had done the epitome of cheesy romance shit the morning after their date and watched Ireland sleep. He’d played it off as though he’d been sleeping too, but nope, he’d been watching her.

  She purred lightly when she slept. Not exactly a snore, but a cute sound. Her face had been so pretty—more beautiful than he’d ever seen it. Well, except when she was angry with him. She was all fire and sexy vixen when she was angry with him. In those moments, all he wanted to do was throw her onto some soft surface and convince her to forgive him. Preferably with his hands and mouth.

  Bran scrubbed a palm down his face, the numbers in front of him blurring. It was his own damned fault he was alone right now instead of in bed with Ireland. He’d swung by Blue and taken her out for lunch over the last few days, but every night she’d worked late at the club fixing their software problems.

  Why hadn’t he hired someone else? Then he could be taking his beautiful new girlfriend out on the town. Or better yet, stay in, order dinner, and make love to her…

  Make love?

  Bran closed his eyes. He tapped a finger on his desk. Okay, so he might be a little in love with Ireland.

  She was different than the women he’d dated in the past. She was the first person who’d made him toss his rules aside. Because she was worth the risk.

  So fine, his feelings ran deeper than normal, and that was okay. It would have happened eventually with someone. Though he’d never imagined it happening before he met Ireland…

  A knock sounded at the door, and then Ireland walked in with a huge grin on her face.

  She propped her hip against his desk and crossed her arms. “It’s fixed.”

  He stared at her hips absently, and considered finishing what they’d started in this room weeks ago, when she hadn’t been his girlfriend and making out on desks was naughty. “Fixed what?”

  Though desk sex was still pretty naughty…hmmm.

  He reached for her, and she lifted his chin until his gaze landed on her face.

  “The program. It’s working,” she said, eyes twinkling.

  Ireland spun quickly and started typing on his computer until Bran saw what looked like the front end of the new ordering system.

  The less intelligent side of his brain caught up with the other half. “Did you say i
t’s fixed?”

  She turned to him, and he sensed vulnerability. “You doubt me?”

  “No.” He was no dummy. He knew better than to doubt the woman he was sleeping with.

  But the restaurants’ software issues had become legend. Hard to believe anyone could fix them faster than the tech company who’d built the program. “Will it work from my phone?” he asked.

  She laughed. “Are you testing me?”

  “Absolutely,” he said with a nervous grin. If she really had fixed the software, it would make his year. He wouldn’t be letting his brothers down, and the club would be safe.

  She reached for his phone on the desk and handed it to him, her brow quirked.

  Bran pulled up the Club Tahoe website and went to the restaurant portal. He placed an order for a southwestern double nacho with extra salsa.

  A message popped up saying, Thank you for your order!

  The order processed, but orders had processed when the software was malfunctioning, too. “It seemed to go through.”

  Ireland shook her head and typed on his computer. “Ye of so little faith.” She pulled up what he assumed was back end mumbo jumbo, because suddenly dozens of databases popped up on the screen.

  She highlighted a row in one of the spreadsheets that held his order.

  And it was accurate.

  And had gone to the correct restaurant.

  With the correct amount charged.

  “Damn,” he said. “You fixed it.” He looked at her in awe. As far as Bran was concerned, his girlfriend was fucking brilliant. He stood and wrapped his arms around her, picking her up and squeezing tight.

  “Hey, I’m not petite,” she said. “You’re gonna break your back.”

  “You’re small. But huge. So huge and wonderful.” He kissed her, and his mind swiftly went back to where it had been when she’d first walked in. Things could escalate quickly to desk sex if he wasn’t careful. “I’ve gotta make phone calls. Make sure everyone knows we’re back online. How can I thank you?”

  “You pay me, so there’s that. Club Tahoe has dwindled my student loans considerably.”

  “No, I mean really thank you. Have you any idea how much you’ve helped out me and my brothers?”