“Depends.”
“On what?”
“On if you admit you really want me to come.” It was a gamble, one he hoped paid off.
She whisked her tongue along her upper lip. “I’m too tired to want anyone to come. Even me.”
“Dr. Carmichael, that sounded suspiciously like flirtation.”
“Cold medicine,” she mumbled, arching as his hand strayed to her back. He circled his palm over her spine, his pulse bumping as she let out a quiet sigh. “That feels good. I’m so achy. It’ll be time for me to take more meds soon.” She groaned. “If I live that long.”
“I have a better idea. How about a massage?”
“Why do I have a feeling there’s only one answer you’ll accept?”
“Because you’re smart as well as sexy.” He kissed the tip of her nose and continued stroking her back, pressing his fingertips into tight muscles. “You’re awfully tense.”
“Hello, I’m in bed with my best friend’s brother.”
He laughed, low and appreciative. At least she hadn’t called him little again. “Here’s a thought. Why don’t you think of me as Brad? Just Brad. Kim’s not in this bed with us.”
“Thank God.”
Brad shifted closer, his palm spanning the small of her back. She was compact and lithe, a powerhouse in a petite package. She wasn’t an overgrown girl incapable of taking care of herself. This was a woman, a competent adult who didn’t play games.
At least, she didn’t play games he wouldn’t enjoy.
“You feel good,” he said quietly, sliding his fingers lower until they rubbed over t
he swell of her ass. Even when disguised by her decidedly unsexy nightgown, the sensuous curves of her body caused a definite stirring between his legs. His cock didn’t care that she was sick, that was for certain. “You must work out.”
“Nah, my only semi-regular exercise is sex,” she said with a hint of a smile.
He cupped her ass and stared deep into her eyes, expecting her to put on the brakes sooner rather than later. “You don’t have it here.”
She moved against him restlessly, as if she’d realized they were nestled together. “It’s not my house.”
“It is while you’re living here.” Unable to help himself, he eliminated the distance between them and arrowed his tongue along her lower lip, asking for the entrance he’d simply taken moments before.
She kept her eyes on his as her lips opened, her tongue snaking out to guide him in for a quick kiss. He didn’t expect much in her condition, but just the skim of her mouth over his was enough to ignite his senses. He also didn’t expect the rush of warmth that descended over him when she sighed again and sidled lower to lay her head against his chest. “You’re good at that.”
“You too.” After he reached over and turned out the bedside lamp, he stroked her back, sliding his hand up to feather his fingertips over the exposed skin above the nightgown’s collar. “You should get some sleep. Try to shake off this cold.”
“Mmm-hmm.” She swallowed audibly. “Are you as good a kisser everywhere?”
Still rocked by getting somewhere—anywhere—with her, he didn’t understand her question at first. In the intimate dark of her bedroom, it would be easy to ascribe a husky timbre to her tone that wasn’t there. “What exactly are you asking me?” he questioned, his voice strained from the unrelenting pressure in his cock.
“Nothing. Never mind.”
“Sara.” He lifted her face to his. Even though he couldn’t see her eyes in the darkness, he brought their faces close until their mouths nearly met. “Tell me what you need.”
“I can’t.” She groaned. “God, I’m not used to feeling uncertain like this.”
“You don’t have to be. No one else needs to know what happens here between us.” He rubbed his thumb over her mouth and inhaled deeply as her soft, wet lips enveloped it. “Tell me,” he said as she released him.
“What if I show you?”
Now he was the one to swallow hard. Could she hear his heart throbbing in his chest? “Okay.”