Breathless (Steel Brothers Saga #10)(64)

“Yeah. I’m not sure the Morses have anything of value for us.”

“That’s right. You talked to Ted today. It didn’t go well?”

“He’s just looking for a payoff,” Bryce said. “He doesn’t know anything.”

“Oh. That’s good, I guess. We don’t need anything else going down right now. Not with Dale being troubled and Jade still having a rough pregnancy.”

“Yeah.” He cleared his throat.

Now what? He made no move to leave. I wanted to spend time with him, but I could hardly make a move when my entire family was in the house. “So…uh…you’re welcome.”

His forehead wrinkled. “For what?”

“You came in to thank me for dinner. Remember?”

“Oh. Yeah.” His cheeks went pink.

Damn, he was so good-looking! I wanted to cup those rosy cheeks, let his sandy stubble prickle my fingertips. Kiss those firm lips, touch those broad shoulders.

He still didn’t move.

I bit my lip. “Well…good night.”

No words, and no movement.

“Bryce?”

He turned and met my gaze, his blue eyes sparkling. “I can’t get you out of my mind.”

My skin tightened around me as I warmed all over. I bit my lip once more.

“Nothing to say?” he asked.

“What do you want me to say? You’ve made it clear that there can’t be anything between us.”

“Yeah.”

“So there’s nothing to say.”

He walked toward me, taking my hand. “But there is.”

I gulped. “Then…what?”

“I want you to remember. I want you to remember everything. How it felt when we kissed, when we touched each other. How you felt, Marjorie, when you came in my arms.”

Another gulp. “You’re not making this easy,” I said.

“Damn it.” He pulled me close, meeting my gaze, his own on fire. “I don’t want to make it easy. I want it to be hard for you. As fucking hard as it is for me.”

Third gulp. “It is.”

“Is it?” His fiery gaze made me hot all over. “Is it?”

I nodded.

“Because from where I stand, I could walk away from this house, this city, this state, and you’d go on as if nothing had happened between us. As if we hadn’t made explosive love twice. Twice, baby. Twice. And it was earthmoving.”

“How can you—” I stopped, gathering my emotions before I let them get the best of me. “How can you say that?”

“You let me walk away.”

“You walked away on your own, Bryce. Do you really think I have any control over what you do? I made it clear for you that I was falling for you, and—”

His mouth came down on mine ferociously. I tried to hold back, honestly I did, but my lips opened anyway, inviting him in.

Inviting him in as I always would.

Feelings coiled in my belly, feelings I’d denied for the sake of my own sanity. Bryce wanted me yet didn’t want me, but this kiss… This amazing, heart-pounding kiss… All our kisses had been magical, but this one had turbulence jolting through me, making my skin hot and cold at the same time. Arrows of passion and desire catapulted through me, landing in my pussy. Already I was wet and near orgasm.

Already I was prepared to shed my clothes and fuck him hard. Hard and fast.

I moaned into his mouth, moving my legs around his hard thigh, finding the friction I craved.

Then—

He pulled away urgently. “I can’t.”

I didn’t speak. Couldn’t speak. I was too busy panting. When I finally caught my breath, I rubbed my lips. “Fine,” I said.

“Fine?”

“What do you want me to do, Bryce? Throw myself at you just so you can tell me again that it won’t happen? Let you fuck me again so you can leave? I’m sorry, but it’s getting old.”

I hoped he believed my lie. One more kiss like that, and I’d let him do whatever he wanted. Tie me up. Dress me like a nurse. Make me call him Daddy. I didn’t care.

“I… You…”

“You’re going to have to finish a sentence,” I said.

He nodded. “I should go.”

“Yeah, you should.”

He didn’t move.

“Tell you what. We’ll both go. Let’s go see what my brothers are talking about.” I looked quickly in the mirror above my dresser, finger-combed my hair, and then left.





Chapter Forty–Two





Bryce





I followed her.

She was falling for me.

She’d as much as said it.

I was at once elated and crushed. I’d fallen for her long ago, when I’d seen how good she was with Henry. I just hadn’t been able to admit it to myself. All the “baby sister” stuff had gotten to me, and then, once I found out about my father…

She deserved better.

The guys were in Talon’s office, and we knocked before entering.

“Hey,” Joe said to me. “We thought you’d left.”

“I was going to, and then I ran into Marj and she suggested we join you.”