Breathless (Steel Brothers Saga #10)(44)

“I’m…not sure I want to be alone with him.”

“What if I’m with you? He’ll see me as much less of a threat than Talon. He and I were friends once.”

“No,” Talon said flatly. “I’m there, or this isn’t happening.”

I huffed. “Tal, stop being all Alpha for one damn minute and think about what’s best for the situation as a whole.”

“My concern is what’s best for my wife and child.”

“I get that,” I said.

Then, from Jade, “Marj is right, Talon. He’ll perceive you as a threat.”

“I am a threat.”

“Point made.” Jade smiled. “I can handle Colin. I was in a relationship with him for seven years. I know what makes him tick.”

“And I’ll be there to have her back,” I said.

“I’ll be fine,” Jade said. “Colin has no power over me. He hasn’t since I met you.”

“I hate that you were with him for so much longer than we’ve even known each other.”

“So? My time with you means a thousand times more than the time with him. And in a way, he led me to you. We owe him, really.”

Talon scoffed. “I’ll give you some of that. If he hadn’t been a no-show for your nuptials, we wouldn’t have met. But we owe him squat.”

“We owe him everything,” Jade said, her eyes soft. “I couldn’t imagine my life without you. You’re the love of my life, Tal. He never was.”

I eased toward the door. This was getting mushy. Jade had already confided in me that she and Talon wouldn’t be able to make love for at least a month after the bleeding stopped, but still… “If you’ll excuse me. Let me know when you want me to set up the meeting with Colin, Jade.”

I crossed the sitting area and closed the door behind me.

And walked straight into the hard chest of Bryce Simpson.





Chapter Twenty–Eight





Bryce





My arms went around Marjorie automatically and I hugged her.

I pulled back quickly. “Sorry,” I mumbled.

“No worries. Where were you going?”

“Just to tell Talon goodbye and see how Jade is doing.”

“You weren’t going to say goodbye to me?” she asked.

“Well…”

“You knew I was in there with them, right?”

“Yeah. I mean… Fuck.” I warmed with embarrassment. This was ridiculous. I was thirty-eight, not sixteen.

She moved out of my way, gesturing toward Talon’s door. “Be my guest, but they were getting pretty lovey-dovey when I left, so don’t say I didn’t give you fair warning.”

She walked down the hallway toward the kitchen.

Well, she’d definitely talked me out of saying anything to Talon.

Joe and Ryan had already left. Why had I stayed again? To say goodbye to Talon? That was such a crock. Talon and I weren’t even that close.

I’d stayed to catch another glimpse of Marjorie Steel.

Damn, I had it bad.

And damn, I had to get rid of it.

The Steel brothers had no idea I’d fucked their little sister. Marjorie wouldn’t mention it to her brothers. I knew that instinctively.

God knew I wouldn’t mention it. All three of them were fiercely protective of her.

Damn. Damn. Damn.

She stood at the refrigerator, eyeing its contents.

How in hell did she look like sex on a stick doing something so mundane? Without thinking, I inched toward her, letting my fingers touch the ponytail that was hanging down her back. So silky. So soft.

She turned abruptly.

I dropped my hand to my side.

Sorry. The word was lodged in my throat.

For one good reason.

I wasn’t even close to sorry.

I dropped my gaze to her chest. Her nipples were hard and visible beneath the cotton of her tank. From the cool air of the refrigerator? Or from me?

“What do you want, Bryce?” she asked.

“This.” I grabbed her to me and crushed my mouth onto hers.

Her lips remained tightly shut as if sewn together. I slid my tongue along the seam, nibbling their full pinkness. Then I trailed kisses to her ear. “Open for me,” I whispered. “Please.”

“I can—”

I took advantage of her open mouth and plunged in with my tongue. She responded, as I knew she would, her velvety tongue whipping around mine playfully. And then not so playfully.

This was serious. A serious kiss. A kiss that would lead somewhere—a place I wanted desperately to go…and just as desperately not to go.

My cock was already hard beneath my jeans. I backed her up against the refrigerator door and then ground into her, deepening the kiss.

Her fingers trailed over my shoulders, up my neck, and she cupped my cheeks. Never had a woman cupped my cheeks before, and it was incredibly sweet and hot at the same time.

Then her fingers threaded through my hair, my scalp tingling from the light massage. We kissed, and we kissed, and we kiss— Clomp.

Clomp.

Clomp.

The unmistakable sound of cowboy boots. She pushed me away, wiping her mouth. Seconds later, Talon was in the kitchen.