On Dublin Street(45)

“Just sex.”


What? “What?”


“You and me. Just sex. Whenever we want. No strings attached.”


“Just sex,” I repeated, feeling the words roll around my mouth and brain. Just sex. Sex with Braden whenever I wanted with no strings attached. “What about everything else? Ellie, the apartment, the whole gang hanging out?”


Braden shrugged. “None of that has to change. We’ll be friends who hang out and have sex with each other.”


“And what would we tell people?”


“It’s nobody’s bloody business.”


I tilted my head, exasperated. “I meant Ellie.”


“The truth.” He eyed me carefully. “I don’t lie to my sister.”


“She won’t like it.”


Braden chuckled. “I don’t give a flying f*ck if Ellie likes it or not. In fact, I’d prefer it if my wee sister stayed clear of my sexual business.”


“That’ll be kind of hard since the person you want to have sex with lives with her.”


That didn’t bother him in the least. “Your bedrooms are on opposite sides of the flat. And you can always visit my bed in my flat.”


Hmm. Braden’s apartment. I was curious to see it.


No! No, stop it! “I can’t.”


“You can’t, or you won’t?” his eyes narrowed dangerously.


Stomach flip, belly squeeze. I closed my eyes. I could feel his body pressed against mine again, feel his tongue stroking mine, and his hand gentle but firm against my breast. Oh God. My eyes flew open and I found his gaze had softened on me. “Just sex?”


I could tell he was trying to stifle a smile, like he knew he was winning. “Well… almost.”


What? “Almost?”


“I need someone to accompany me to business dinners and whatever inane social events Morag has scheduled me to appear at. It would be nice to go with someone who wasn’t expecting a marriage proposal or a diamond necklace at the end of the night.”


“That’s not just sex. That’s like an arrangement. Like the arrangement you usually have with all those Barbies you date. Which brings me to why me? Braden, you’ve got a lot of money and you’re not exactly hard on the eyes—although I doubt you need me telling you that and giving you something else to be a cocky bastard about—so why not go out and get one of those tall, skinny blondes who will jump at the chance of jumping you?”


Surprise flashed across Braden’s face and he dipped his head down. “One: because they need me to care about them. They want me to talk about my feelings, and they want me to buy them shit. We’re talking about taking that out of the picture, which works for both of us. And two: seriously?”


I frowned, wondering what he was ‘seriously-ing’ me at.


“Well,” he shook his head, grinning now, “You always surprise me.”


“How’s that?”


“I just assumed you knew how sexy you are. Apparently you don’t.”


Wow. I flushed inwardly and rolled my eyes at him, like his words hadn’t penetrated my steel armor. “Whatever.”


My blasé answer didn’t deter him. He was determined to answer my question. “No, you don’t look like my usual woman. And yes, I like long legs. And yours are short.”


I glowered at him now.


Braden grinned. “And yet they still gave me a semi-hard on in the taxi when you were wearing those little shorts. And again when you wore them at Elodie’s and Clark’s.”


My mouth dropped open. “You’re lying.”


He shook his head, enjoying himself. “You’ve got great legs, Jocelyn. An amazing smile when you use it on occasion. And fantastic tits. And yeah, I usually date blondes. But you’re a blonde. I think.” He laughed when my glower turned full on glare. “Doesn’t matter about the color. You never wear it down, and I can’t get the thought of you beneath me, and that hair spread out across my pillow while I move inside you, out of my head.”


Oh. God.


“But I think mostly it’s your eyes. I want something from them no one else gets from them.”


“And what’s that?” I asked, my voice low, almost hoarse. His words had affected me as deeply as any aphrodisiac.


“Soft.” His own voice had deepened with the highly sexual atmosphere. “Soft the way only a woman’s can be after she’s come for me.”


I gulped inwardly. Outwardly, I tilted my head to the side with a wry grin. “You’re good with the words, I’ll give you that.”


“I’m good with my hands. Will you let me give you that?”


I laughed and his grin widened, wicked and beautiful. I sighed, and shook my head again. “It sounds like more than just sex, Braden. You’re asking for companionship. That’s complicating things.”


“Why? It’s just two friends going on a few dates and having sex afterwards.” He sensed my unmoving doubt on that one because he shrugged. “Look, when have I ever gotten serious about a woman? I want you, you want me. It’s hanging over what should have been a perfectly nice friendship, so let’s just deal with it.”