Priceless (Forbidden Men #8)(85)

I nodded, watching his face and wondering what was really going on in his mind. He seemed too preoccupied with phasing out to have seen my nod, though, so I also said aloud, “Yeah, it does.”

“I wonder if this is how it’d be if we lived together.”

Everything inside me froze. But seriously, had he just said...

Live together?

My pulse jerked into overdrive and my mind whirled. I’d be lying if I claimed I never dreamed of such things. Brandt was the man I wanted to be with until I was old and gray, rocking our grandbabies on our front porch swing together. But to hear him say anything in line with my biggest, deepest wishes was just...bizarre.

Forcing myself not to get my hopes up, I shrugged. “I don’t know,” I answered, honestly. “Probably.”

He nodded, not really responding, too busy thinking. And now I really wanted to know what thoughts were whirling through his head.

Then he said, “Do you ever wish you’d met your dad?”

“What?” I blinked, thrown off track again. But where the heck had that come from?

He turned his gaze to me. “Just curious. I was thinking how alike we were. You know, brought up by worthless single moms until our big brothers took us in, and dads who’ve never been in the picture. So, I don’t know...it made me wonder if you ever thought about your dad: what he was like and if you ever wanted to meet him.”

“I don’t know,” I murmured, still trying to catch up with his complete turn in thought process. “Probably not. I heard Mason tell Reese once that my dad left as soon as they found out about my CP.”

“Bastard,” Brandt hissed, his face going dark.

“So...no, I doubt I’d ever want to find him or meet him. Mason has been more than enough of a surrogate dad to me for me to ever want the biological one.”

“Yeah,” Brandt murmured thoughtfully, nodding. “That’s pretty much how I feel too. I have no desire whatsoever to even look mine up.”

“Then why did you mention it?” I turned on my side, hoping he’d tell me why his mind was skipping around so much.

But he only shrugged and returned his attention to the ceiling. “I don’t know. I guess I was just feeling reflective. Thinking forward, thinking about the past. Just...thinking.”

Unable to handle it a second longer, I placed my palm warmly against his temple. “What the heck is going on in here, Brandt Gamble? Are you having doubts?”

“What?” He gaped. “Fuck no. Just the opposite, actually. I was feeling grateful I have you in my life. So I was thinking about where we’d come from and where we were going from here. That’s all.”

“And...” I shook my head, trying to ignore the ball of worry growing in my stomach. “Where are we going from here?”

He grinned. “No clue. But as long as we’re going there together, I decided I don’t care. I’m just going to enjoy the ride.”

My stomach settled, and a smile eased onto my lips. “Does sex always make you this philosophical?”

With a laugh, he tugged me against him until my cheek was nestled in its designated spot over his heart. Then he kissed my temple. “Just with you. I think I’m going to name your * Aristotle.”

I pinched his nipple. “Do it and die, buddy.”

“Ouch!” Playfully pushing my hand off him, he buried his face in my hair and chuckled. “Plato?”

“God, no! That sounds like Play-Doh. My vagina is not Play-Doh!”

He roared with laughter before smoothing his hand over my hip and trying to squirm it between my legs. “I don’t know; I sure like playing with it.”

“Brandt!” I shoved his hand away and tried to attack him, but he rolled me on my back and pinned me to the bed before pressing his laughing lips to my indignant ones. And yep, I couldn’t stay miffed after that.

I don’t know when we finally got to sleep. But we talked late into the night, snuggling and touching, laughing and bickering, kissing and...kissing some more. It was honestly the best night of my life.

When I woke the next morning, Brandt was kissing me awake by pressing his lips to my forehead.

“Hey, I need to get home and shower before my first class. When you do have to get up?”

I grumbled a moment, fighting to regain my sleep, but then I finally mumbled, “Not until nine today.” I usually worked at the writing center before my first class, but Heather, one of the other tutors, had begged for my shift, needing some extra hours. So, this morning, I could sleep in.

“Then get another hour or two of sleep.” Brandt kissed me again, on my cheek this time. I was still too tired to open my eyes, so I nestled deeper into my warm blankets and barely offered him a grunt of acknowledgment.

He laughed and kissed me, on my lips. “I have to work every night this week until Friday. So...want to get together for lunch at the student center someday this week?”

I hoped the sound I made let him know that sounded fine by me, because I was by no means awake enough to answer any better than that.

“Okay, then...I’ll just call.” He sounded amused before his lips were pressing against my temple, one last time... And then he was gone.





SARAH




I couldn’t get to sleep after Brandt left. So by slow increments, I roused more fully until I was lying on my back and staring up at my ceiling, wide freaking awake.