Breathless (Steel Brothers Saga #10)(9)

Don’t want to stop…

I didn’t have to. Bryce pulled away, breaking the suction of our mouths.

His eyes seared into mine. They were dark blue and smoky with desire. I touched his cheek, his sandy stubble rough under my smooth fingertips. Rough. Perfect.

He grabbed my wrist, gently removing my hand. “Don’t,” was all he said.

I bit my lip. The word “sorry” hovered back in my vocal cords, but I couldn’t bring it forth. Simple. I wasn’t sorry. I wasn’t sorry at all.

Finally, I said, “Why?”

He turned away from me, saying nothing.

Nope. That was not going to cut it. I grabbed his arm and forced him to turn back around and meet my gaze.

“You wanted that kiss as much as I did, Bryce. Now tell me why you stopped it.”

“We’re in your bedroom, for God’s sake.”

“So?”

“Marj, this bedroom used to be painted pink and yellow with a unicorn theme.”

He remembered that? I’d painted over those walls over a decade ago and discarded the stuffed unicorn collection before then. I held back a giggle. “Again…so?”

“You were a little girl. You were five when Joe and I graduated high school.”

“Once more…so?”

“Do I need to spell it out for you?”

“Don’t treat me like a moron, Bryce. I’m not five. I’m nearly twenty-six. I haven’t had unicorns on my walls since I was twelve. Look around you. I have white walls with portraits of famous chefs. I’m a grown woman. A grown woman who is more than capable of deciding who she wants to kiss. And by the way, you were kissing me back.”

“I’m not denying that.”

“You said I’m beautiful and glamorous. You’re attracted to me.”

“I’d have to be blind not to be attracted to you.”

Good. Now we were getting somewhere. I wasn’t asking him for anything more than a kiss. I smiled.

“Your brothers…” he began.

“My brothers love you, Bryce. All three of them.”

“Maybe so. But they don’t want me kissing their baby sister.”

I smiled again, in what I hoped was a seductive manner. “It might surprise you to know that I don’t ask my brothers’ permission before I decide to kiss someone.”

“In Jamaica, they didn’t like it when…”

“When what?”

“I made a comment about how attractive you were. They all looked like they were ready to set hellhounds on me.”

I sat down on my bed with a plunk. “My brothers are protective. Not a big surprise there. But you kissed me back, Bryce, so what is this really about?”

He paced around the room, his hands fidgeting in his pockets. “It’s about that. It’s about a lot of things.”

“I’m not asking for forever. Just for a kiss. A kiss we were both enjoying. Or did I read you wrong?” I tensed. What if he said I had read him wrong?

“You didn’t read me wrong.”

Thank God. I relaxed my muscles. “Then what’s the problem? And if you say pink and yellow unicorns or my brothers, I’m liable to punch you in the nose.”

He laughed. God, he was gorgeous when he laughed. He had a dimple on his left cheek. Just one. A perfect imperfection.

“The unicorns and your brothers are definitely a consideration, but there’s a bigger and more important thing.” He raked his fingers through his sandy hair. “You deserve better, Marjorie.”

“Seriously? You’re Joe’s best friend. You’re one of the best men I know. My brothers love you.”

“That’s not what I mean. I’m a mess right now. I can’t give you what you deserve.”

He was a mess? So was I. I wasn’t looking for anything permanent. “All I’m asking for is a kiss.”

His eyes burned into me. “What if I can’t stop at a kiss?”

My nipples hardened, pressing against my bra. “What if you can’t? What if I can’t? We’re both adults here.”

“You’re not someone I can just fuck.”

“What if I’m okay with that?”

At the moment, I just wanted him. Wanted to feel his kisses, his lips all over my body, his teeth tugging on my ultra-hard nipples, his tongue probing my most private places.

“I’m not okay with that, and I’m not ready to give more than that to you or anyone else right now.”

My mouth dropped open. He might as well have stabbed me in my heart. He wanted me. That was clear. He wanted me as much or more than I wanted him.

But he didn’t love me. He couldn’t love me. And he wasn’t willing to just fuck his best friend’s sister.

I understood.

I didn’t love him either, though I was feeling something big—bigger than I’d ever felt. Still, this was only the beginning of whatever could be between us.

But he was saying nothing more could happen. There was no beginning. Just a fuck.

Just one fuck.

I did deserve more. I knew that objectively. But I was fighting my own demons, and I wasn’t ready for anything more than a fuck either.

All I knew was that I needed those lips around my nipples. I needed them so badly.