Minute upon minute we were consumed with each other. The windows began to fog up and, for a moment, I forgot why I had any reservations. Then my brain kicked in instead of my hormones. I rested my hands on his cheeks and purposely slowed the kiss. “Brock,” I whispered against his swollen lips. “I need—”
His teeth gently tugged on my lower lip, and I lost my train of thought.
“I need you,” he moaned.
“I need you too,” I stuttered out to the beat of my pounding heart. “But I also need time,” I managed to get out between my heavy breaths.
He barely leaned away, as out of breath as me. He gently swiped my bangs. “You don’t know how badly I’ve wanted to do this every time we’ve played this stupid game of your sister’s. Every year, though, I told myself I wasn’t ready, I still had mountains to conquer, and it would ruin our friendship. I was a fool. I wasted time. I don’t want to do that anymore.” He sighed deeply, and I could sense him reining in his ardor. “But if you need time, it’s the least I can offer you. I know I have no right to expect anything from you.”
“Brock, I want us to be together, but I’m scared,” I admitted.
His brow creased. “Scared of me?”
“No. I mean, I’m scared of losing you. I want to have our relationship in place before we make love. The last few months have been so tumultuous. I need to know we can do life together. This time because we want to, not because anyone is forcing us.”
He rested his forehead against mine and exhaled loudly. “No one forced me to marry you.”
“I know that, but you never asked me. Your father brokered our marriage,” my voice shook, on the verge of tears.
“Dani.” He kissed me. “Will you—”
I placed my finger on his lips. “Please, don’t ask me now.”
He pulled away, concern etched in his eyes. “Why? It’s what I want.”
“It’s what I want too.” I tried to put him at ease. “I know it sounds silly, but I need movie nights on the couch, walks in the park, lunches in my office, and kisses good night.”
Brock gave me a crooked grin. “You want me to woo you.”
I bit my lip. “Well . . . yes, in a manner of speaking.”
“Anything else?” He sounded amused.
“No,” I said coyly.
“Get ready to be wooed, then,” he said so sexily a shiver went down my spine.
I was about ready to seal the deal with a kiss, but my phone, which had dropped on the car floor during our rendezvous, buzzed violently.
“Damn,” Brock swore. “I suppose this means we’ve been found.”
I used my sweater to wipe the condensation off the window. I didn’t see Ariana and Jonah’s car. They were the seekers this go-round.
Brock reached for my phone and chuckled when he read the text.
Drove by, saw the fogged-up windows. Go home so you don’t get arrested for public indecency. You deserve a good reunion sex session. Love you.
“Yes, we do,” Brock grumbled.
“Are you upset with me that I’m—”
He dropped my poor phone again. “Dani, no. You deserve everything you’re asking for. Besides,”—he smirked—“I just got to make out with my girl in the high school parking lot.”
I smiled, appreciating the levity, and took his hand to hold between my own. “Thank you. I promise we’ll get there.”
“I have no doubt. Let’s go home and watch a movie.”
“I’d like that. And on the way home, you can tell me what’s going on with Brant and your parents.”
His brow quirked. “You just called our place home.”
“I did, didn’t I?”
His face erupted into a huge grin, but he said not a word. He settled back in his seat and cautiously started our slow trek home. The snow was coming down harder and was beginning to stick to the roads. It made for a beautiful, but treacherous, scene. I was glad Brock was driving.
I turned on some Christmas music in the background. “Why is Brant here?” I started off with, worried about my friend and brother-in-law, and the father of Charlotte—which still was hard for me to admit.
“I didn’t want to ruin the day and talk about this, but I guess now is as good a time as any. It’s over,” Brock said simply.
“What do you mean it’s over?”
“He broke up with Jill.”
My stomach tightened. I knew that was going to open a can of worms for all of us. “How did that go over?” I braced myself for his response.
Brock gripped the steering wheel tight. “Not well, as you can imagine.”
“I’m imagining a lot of things. Is Edward going to retaliate?”
Brock cleared his throat. “Eventually he will.”
Internally, I cringed. “What’s stopping him now?”
“Brant and my father.” He winced.
“Do you know what your father did?” I hesitated to ask.