“Right. Good.” Gazing down at me, his expression seeming approving, he ran the back of his hand down my cheek. “But please know I’m happy to stay right here on the cold hard floor with you on my lap until morning’s light if necessary. But would you mind too terribly if I moved us to the bed?”
“Brad.” I swallowed to moisten my suddenly dry throat. The two of us together in a bed? I didn’t need to activate my imagination given that prompt. “I don’t think us together on the horizontal is a good idea.”
“It’s a great idea. A chance for me to prove to you that you can trust me. Let me show you.”
Setting me in front of him, he stood, doing so in one graceful motion. All that compelling virility crashing into me, I took a step away to put much-needed space between us, but it wasn’t enough.
“Here we go.” Brad slipped his arms around me and swept me right off my feet.
Gasping, I gulped down panic as my heart raced.
This is Brad. Focusing on his handsome familiar face, I laced my fingers tightly together around his strong neck as he moved to the bed. He was so intent on his destination, he didn’t seem to note my panic until he was seated with his back to the headboard and me once again on his lap.
“What’s wrong?” he asked, frowning down at me.
“You . . . I . . . I don’t like being grabbed from behind.”
“Oh fuck. I was afraid you would say no, and I messed up again.” He smoothed his hands over my hair, settling long strands over each of my ears as if to keep me from hearing his curse, or maybe he guessed that I could sometimes hear harsh voices from my past. “I’m sorry, Cam.”
“It’s okay.” I kept my gaze locked on his. When clear blue sky was all I could see, the creeping shadows stayed away.
“It’s not.” His jaw firmed. “You’re going to counseling starting tomorrow.”
I stiffened at his domineering tone but nodded, forcing my tense muscles to relax. “Yes. I plan to.” With my head cradled in his hands, his hard palms rested over my ears. “It’s too much for me to overcome alone.”
“You’re not alone. You have Jewel, Rush, the band. And me. And very soon you’ll have a highly recommended therapist guiding you through the process of healing.”
“I agree, but right now it would be difficult for me to hear a doctor or anyone else with Bradley earmuffs on.”
“Point made.” His lips curving slowly, he lowered his hands and rested them lightly on my shoulders. “Muffs for you. I, however, seem to be wearing a Camaro necktie.”
“Oops.” I immediately unthreaded my tightly laced fingers. The silky hair at his nape skimmed the palms of my hands as I drew them away. “So soft,” I whispered.
“What is?” His brow creased.
“Your hair. I’ve often wondered how it would feel.” I babbled like I tended to when nervous, and his sexy grin deepened. “It’s like the satin dress I had on earlier. Only, I think it’s softer.”
“Your hair is like silk. It’s as cool and smooth as that chemise you’re wearing right now.” He traced an inky lock from my shoulder to where it ended in a loose curl over my right breast.
When both my nipples instantly tightened, his eyes lifted to mine. Hooded and darker, they flared.
Could he see through my clothing? Or maybe just down my bodice from his position?
“Sorry.” His voice was dry like tinder. All it lacked was a spark to kindle it.
I could so be that spark.
“Touching you,” he said, “is a temptation I find difficult to resist.”
“But unwise,” I said softly.
Especially with me so susceptible, and him only thinking of me as a wrong choice to be avoided. Or worse, as one to attach a dollar amount to.
It was better to let things remain where they were. Brad behind his carefully constructed wall of resistance, and me mired in my world of make-believe.
Chapter 29
* * *
Bradley
I wanted Cam.
Badly.
By my own admission, she now knew that I could barely control it. She was perfect curves, silky softness, and irresistible heat. My fantasy in my arms.
The provocative garment she wore captivated me where it clung to her generous tits and gathered around her beckoning upper thighs. The silk worshipfully flowed over her body like I would if given the opportunity. And only a tantalizing scrap of transparent lace panties beneath. I’d only had one stolen glimpse of where it tucked so sexily between the globes of her lush ass, and my cock pearled precum.
I ached. Throbbed. Longed to bury my cock to the hilt deep inside her. But I wanted more from her than just an end to my need.
“Not wise, perhaps,” I said, responding to her comment in the most even tone I could manage. “But necessary.” It would be easier to cease breathing than to end my obsession with her.
“How do you mean?” She shifted in my arms to gaze at me more directly, a small crease appearing between her pretty silvery-green eyes.
“For some reason, my embrace seems to comfort you, and comforting you is something I very much want to do.” Capturing a long strand of her hair, I tucked it behind her ear, deliberately skimming my fingertips along the delicate shell, noting and wanting to crow with masculine satisfaction when she shivered. “Am I wrong?”
“No,” she whispered, her eyes darkening. “You’re right. So right.”
“Good, so we’re agreed,” I said low, watching her lips part.
She seemed more agreeable to my commands when I deepened my voice. Her response encouraging me, I skimmed my hand lower on her back, sweeping my thumb in a wide arc when I reached the compelling indentation just above the swell of her ass.
“I stay, and I hold you because I wouldn’t be able to sleep knowing you were alone inside this room, in the dark and frightened.”
“I don’t think—”
“Shhh. It’s late. Just rest.” Cradling one side of her pretty face in my hand, I gently urged her head forward, returning her creamy soft cheek to my hard chest, reveling in the rightness.
“Brad, I’m sure this isn’t comfortable for you.”
It was the best uncomfortable comfort I’d ever had. Heaven and hell combined as she wiggled the grinding friction of her sexy ass over my cock.
“Tuck your hands together under your chin and settle in.” I rasped out the command, and miraculously, she obeyed. My cock eagerly leaped where it was lodged between the globes of her gorgeous ass. “Relax, babe.”
I felt like doing the opposite as I swept my thumb in a half circle across the creamy sweet round of her cheek while mirroring the motion on her lower back.
She made a low, needful sound that made me want to crush my lips to hers, to finally taste the mouth I’d dreamed about and more, so much more. I wanted to possess her in every way I could. But not yet. Not ever, if I wasn’t careful.
“Did I ever tell you about my family?” I asked.
Once more, I was able to tame my desire by reminding myself how closely I’d come to ruining everything with her tonight. My mind might be clouded with need, but reminding myself of Rush’s advice that I share with Cam cleared the haze.
“No. I was surprised you had a sister. You never mentioned her before, or at least not whenever I was around.”
“I talk about her and Dylan all the time. Probably too much.” Bree had certainly said so.
“You love them. You’re protective of them. It’s sweet.”
“I’m not sweet, babe.” Bristling at her insinuation, I scowled.
“Hmm. Well, how about this? Most of the time, you’re a bossy, badass business manager. But when it comes to them, you’re definitely sweet.”
“Not hard to be. Sierra’s a pain in my ass, but she’s the best sister a guy could have. She’s supportive. Encouraging. She gets those qualities from my mom. We both get the authoritative streak from my father. And Dylan’s the best of all of us.”
“He’s amazing. Energetic, smart, i
maginative.”
“Yeah.” I nodded. She had him pegged, all right. She seemed to like children. My nephew had certainly taken quickly to her.
“Sierra’s a good mom.” Cam settled in closer, her hair sweeping my skin and her palms flattening on my chest. “She must have been pretty young when she had him.”
“In high school.”
“Oh.” Her warm breath misted my skin, inducing a pleasurable shiver. “That must’ve been challenging.”
“It was terrible for her in the beginning. She was kicked off the cheerleading squad, and her grades tanked. People said degrading things about her. She lost all the people she thought were her friends.”
“That is terrible.”
“The douche who knocked her up turned his back on her and his son. He’s the terrible one. The worst.” My temper spiking, it took tremendous effort to rein in my turbulent emotions. “She had to make some extreme adjustments in her life and dreams.” We all had.
Cam nodded in understanding. “She had her life planned a certain way, and then in one fell swoop, everything changed and there was no going back. Even though she wished there could be, more than anything in the world.”
That was exactly how it had been for Sierra. But though there was empathy for my sister in Cam’s voice and expression, it was obvious the situation she spoke about and the pain associated with it were her own.
“Was it like that for you, Cam? When your mother died?”
Squeezing her eyes shut for a long moment, she nodded. “My mom filled every moment with love.” Her reopened eyes glistened. In the glow from my cell flashlight, her emotions were easy to read. “She made life a fairy tale. When she was gone, it was . . .”
“It was what?” I continued to stroke her softly, but I held my breath. I desperately wanted to know and understand her.
“It was like a long dark winter. There was little light, and no more love. I felt like an outsider in my own home.”
“Your father, he was around, wasn’t he?” I asked.
“Yes, he was around,” she whispered.
“What did he do?” Feeling her tense up in my arms, I was almost afraid to ask.
“On most days, he pretended I didn’t exist. Those were the good days. On the bad ones, he found fault with me, reminding me of all the ways I failed to measure up to her memory.”
“I’m sorry, Cam. I can’t imagine how awful that must have been.” A sob racked her frame, and I tightened my arms around her, holding her steady as she shook.
“Be brave. Be good. Be true,” she whispered between stuttering breaths, her warm tears soaking my chest. “It’s what she wanted for me, and I tried to be. For her, I keep trying, even though I too often fall short.”
Something clicked within me. This wasn’t just a key to understand Cam. It was the key.
“I think you’re too hard on yourself,” I said. “How old were you when she died? I imagine you were just a kid.”
“I was seven.”
“So young.” And she was still so fragile about it. I could feel every delicate curve vibrating with hurt. “You needed your father to be brave and strong. I’m sorry he wasn’t. Love can make a man a pillar of strength, but if the base is broken, that pillar can fall. If something happened to my mom, that’s how it would be for my dad. That type of emotional dismantling is beyond a child to repair, beyond anyone else, really. It’s up to the one broken to want to do the hard work, and to find the power within themselves to fix what’s broken. You’re doing that, Cam, by agreeing to go to counseling. I’m proud of you.”
“Thank you,” she said softly, sagging into me. “That’s kind of you to say.” Turning her head, she kissed my chest.
My skin burned where her lips had been, and my pulse roared. Desire and elation rocked me.
“It’s the truth. You know I’m right, but don’t want to admit it,” I said, and when she frowned at me, I tapped her delicate nose. “Close your eyes. Rest. I had you relaxed before.”
“Before, we weren’t talking about the past, and things I can’t change.”
“The past can’t be changed, but people change all the time.” I was changing right now because of her. Sending my sister out on the road in my place. Asking rather than demanding. “But no more talking tonight. Not by you. Just rest and listen.”
Leaning more fully into the headboard, I rearranged Cam so she was more accessible in my arms. Stroking a long length of her hair, I lowered my voice, and words effortlessly came to me that I didn’t and wouldn’t suppress.
“Siren on the shore,” I sang. “My arms to keep you warm. Let me hold you, let me hold back your darkness for a while.”
“You have a beautiful voice. Who—”
“Shh.”
I hummed the melody until her breaths against my chest evened out. Then I sang a few more lines while staring at her. Her pretty features were so soft and gentle as she slept, her lids fluttering on the wings of some distant dream.
“Sharing is the magic to make wishes come true,” I sang softly. “Casting your cares won’t wreck me. Let’s reshape them. Remake them. If only you could see. If only you would believe. If only you could be mine.”
Chapter 30
* * *
Camaro
Citrus. Rosemary. Olive wood. And warmth. Abundant, luxuriant warmth.
I opened my eyes, expecting to be inside my grandparents’ house in Sorrento with its whitewashed walls and curved windows framing a backyard full of fruit trees. Instead, I saw Brad. He was asleep on his side, his handsome face so close, his rhythmic breaths bathed my skin.
I reached out and smoothed his satiny hair back from his brow. He didn’t wake, but he turned over onto his back, giving me another distraction. Sure, I’d seen the sculpted masterpiece that was his chest the night before. Felt parts of it. Kissed the smooth skin over his heart.
My cheeks flamed at the memory of how bold I’d been.
But it had been dark last night, intimate with only the glow of his phone. Now it was morning. Sunlight blazed through the blinds, revealing that his chest was more than a masterpiece. It was absolutely divine.
Coming up on one elbow, I reached out, about to trace a beckoning contour, when a voice inside my head stopped me. The voice—my voice, the voice of reason—was faint. But it was there, and it was insistent.
Not for you.
But he held me, my fanciful side said in a louder, more persistent voice. He caressed me.
In the dark, Reason said. You were afraid. It was the comfort of a friend.
Reason had a point.
But I can look, I thought, and both sides of me agreed. So, look I did.
His biceps bulged like the warrior David in the Uffizi, only Brad wasn’t poised to do battle with a slingshot in his hand, but lying in repose.
Well, one part of him wasn’t reposed. His morning wood tented his navy pajama bottoms, his cock thick, hard, and ready. Every glorious inch of it was as amazing as I remembered from the night before.
My skin warmed, sensitive to the cooler room air as if I were sunburned, while at that spot between my legs, I was hot and wet.
As if sensing my need, his cock lengthened, and I licked my dry lips.
“What time is it?” Brad suddenly asked, his eyes popping open.
Busted, I jerked my hand back.
He grinned, his eyes dancing. “What are you doing hovering so close to me?”
“Nearly giving in to temptation.” Gasping, I clapped a hand over my mouth. “I didn’t mean to say that. Just an inner voice spouting ill-advised things.”
“Inner voice, huh?” His grin deepened, forming curved double crescents around his sexy mouth.
“Uh-huh.” I nodded, tapping my temple. “Two sides. Reason and fanciful. As you know, far too often the fanciful side prevails.”
“Interesting.” His lids lowered as he swept his gaze over me. My nipples tightened and my legs shifted restlessly at his interest. “Wanna know what my inner voice is sa
ying?”
I shook my head.
“You’re more beautiful right now than you were last night.”
“Your inner voice said that, huh?” My brows rose, and I wondered if he viewed that as the reasonable or unreasonable side of himself pontificating.
“Yep. Said you’re sexier too. A siren in the green gown at Coralee’s debut. The goddess Aphrodite right now in red.”
Swoony, I sighed. “Will your inner voice go out on a date with me?”
His eyes crinkled. “Sure, only it might be a little awkward since he’s incorporeal.”
“Shit. I sort of like the tangible parts of you too.”
“Only sort of?” His lips curved again.
“Bossy’s kind of not my favorite, but yeah, I like when you’re nice and hold me all night. When I’m threatened, that you come to my rescue. When I have a problem and ask for your help, you solve it.”
“Sounds like the tangible side is a decent guy. Can’t you give him a shot at a real date too, considering his inner voice is so dreamy?”
I giggled, enjoying his teasing. “All of you is pretty dreamy, Brad. How about I give you a shot at breakfast?”
“I don’t know about breakfast. I only have protein bars in the house, babe. But I can think of other things to do.” He reached up, framed my face with his hands, and tugged.
“Then I’ll go shopping.” My heart raced as I rolled away, escaping his hands. “Grab some stuff to make it.”
What other things had he been intimating? Surely, he was only teasing.
I dropped my feet to the floor and stood on solid ground before turning around to look at him. “Is a protein bar what you usually eat in the morning?”
“After I go for a run.” His eyes narrowed, and he looked a little disappointed. “Yeah.”
He ran? No wonder he was in such great shape.
“Well, you should eat before you exercise. How about you get your shower and get dressed for your run while I run across the street to the convenience store,” I said, meaning I’ll get my bearings. “I’ll have some eggs and toast done for you by the time you come downstairs.”
The Right Wish Page 17