“Anyway, she didn’t leave, I um, well, I...”
“You fucked her?”
“I did, yes.”
“And you invited her to stay with you, didn’t you?”
“I did that also, yes.”
Christopher burst out laughing.
“Yeah,” he chuckled. “It’s probably safe to say that this woman is your mate.”
“That’s it? Just from all of that?”
“You slept with a stranger, Brian. A stranger. Have you ever done that before?”
He hadn’t. Brian had always been pretty conservative when it came to his sexual habits. Not that he ever judged anyone who was a little more open-minded than he was. It was just that he was busy.
He’d been busy taking care of his brothers his entire life, and then he’d been busy trying to build the company, and then he’d been busy trying to take care of himself. He hadn’t made very much time to date or to play around.
“No.”
“No,” Christopher agreed. “You know what? I want to meet her.”
“No,” Brian said instantly.
He wasn’t ready.
“You met my mate,” Christopher said.
“I hired your mate,” Brian reminded him, “and it took you more than a day to figure out she was your mate.”
It had taken an eternity. Christopher and Allison had worked together, flirted together, and made eyes at each other for months upon months before they’d finally gotten together. Christopher had no room to talk.
Brian still respected his opinion, though, so he’d called.
But was he ready for his brothers to meet her?
No, he wasn’t.
He had convinced the little human to stay with him for the weekend, but there was no guarantee he’d be able to convince her to stay any longer. Besides, he didn’t know very much about her at all. He didn’t know where she worked, or where she lived, or what she did.
He just knew that he liked the way he felt around her, and that was good enough for him.
“Not just yet,” Brian told his brother.
“My best advice is that if you think she’s actually your mate, then you shouldn’t let her get away,” Christopher said gently.
Brian nodded even though his brother couldn’t see him. It was good advice, and it was reasonable advice, but was it really something he could deal with?
Could he really ask her to stay?
What if she didn’t want to?
Could his heart handle that?
Chapter 10