“I suppose it would have been too much to expect you not to network at my father’s funeral,” he said scathingly.
It took me a moment to realize what he meant. “I know you like to think the worst of me, but now you’re just being ridiculous,” I retorted. “I spoke to Cole Rainer because he approached me. I only came here for your mother.”
“She told me you were leaving.”
“I am.”
“Well, thanks for breezing in and out.”
“I didn’t get the impression that you cared if I stayed.”
His blue eyes flashed. “I don’t.”
That stung. I drew in a sharp breath. “So why are you giving me hell?” I snapped. “Why are you speaking to me now? Is it just to torture me with harsh words and blame? You’ve barely spoken to me all day, and now you want to accuse me of leaving too soon? What is your problem? You either want me here or you don’t.”
His eyes flared as he stared down at me. He looked like he was barely keeping himself from replying to my outburst with one of his own. I breathed deeply, and his eyes dropped to my lips. For a moment—just a moment—I thought he might kiss me. I prayed, hoped he would.
I heard Clayton’s voice from behind me. “Your car is here,” he said loudly, after clearing his throat.
“I’ll take her.” Braden’s voice was almost a snarl.
I didn’t protest, and after a moment’s hesitation, Clayton left us alone again.
My chest felt full and empty and tense at the same time.
“Where are you staying?” Braden asked, his eyes still on mine.
I told him.
He took out his phone and made a quick call then opened the door and led me to his car, which McGuire had just brought to the front.
Inside, panic set in, questions racing through my mind. Were we going to talk? I wanted to run. I wanted to tell him this was the wrong time, because I knew we couldn’t be alone without doing something we would regret.
Yet, I let him follow me to my hotel, and I didn’t say a word as we went all the way up to my suite.
The door closed behind us, and I tried not to look at him for as long as I could. When I finally faced him, I noticed the strain of the last few days as well as the grief. He’d lost a man he loved and had to be strong for everyone else.
His eyes met mine, and I didn’t look away.
He closed his eyes and whispered my name, so softly it shattered my heart. Then he reached for me, and I accepted that it—being with him like that—had been inevitable right from the start.
Twenty
Braden
She didn’t resist when I reached for her, and when my lips took hers, she moaned, melting like warm sweetness under my touch. I almost lost it then. She was like a drug, a hunger in my blood that couldn’t be quenched even with time or distance. I’d accepted that. I’d accepted that I would always want her, and when I got a taste, she would always have the power to reduce me to a frenzy of need I was powerless to control.
Her mouth opened for me and immediately my head filled with her taste, her particular heady flavor. I wanted to slow down, wanted to savor every moment, every inch, but the soft sounds she made in her throat, the curl of her fingers gripping my hair, and the scent of her skin in my nose made me want everything all at once.
“I need to touch you.” My voice was rough. My chest felt too full, expanded. “I can’t think of anything else.”
Her eyes fluttered open, emerald orbs that found a way to pierce me deep inside. Her lips were swollen from my kiss, and that gave me some satisfaction.
“I need you too, Braden,” she said breathlessly. “Don’t stop.”
I took her lips again, unzipping her dress as I kissed her. My clothes came off too. My need for her was greater than any other consideration. There was nobody like her, and touching her, tasting her—it felt like home.
Her nipples peaked between my lips. Her skin turned rosy when I trailed my tongue down over her belly. She gripped my hair and screamed my name when I lavished attention between her legs, and when I pulled her on top of me and buried myself deep inside her silken heat, she rode me hard, taking her pleasure and screaming my name. In that moment, she wasn’t Allie Gilbert; she was mine, only mine.