“He’s coming over to your house Saturday morning, and your kids are going to be gone?” Rita’s eyes grew wide.
“Stop. He invited me out, but I love cooking breakfast, and he probably doesn’t get a lot of home-cooked meals.”
Sheila sat down next to Bonnie. “Hi. Who are we talking about?” she asked.
“Bonnie’s fixing breakfast for Brandt at her house tomorrow.”
Sheila grinned. “Is he spending the night tonight?”
“No. He’s been working all week. He’s not getting back until late tonight.”
“So he could come over tonight,” Sheila pressed.
“But he’s not. He asked me to help him find his brother. We’ll eat breakfast then probably go to the library when it opens.” Of course, Rita and Sheila didn’t know Bonnie had flown with him in a private plane to a town he swore was Bellini, attempting to seduce her probably somewhere over Frankfort. Then he had hopped a helicopter, leaving her to fly home alone.
Sheila’s grin faded. Disappointment dimmed her gaze. “Oh. I guess you’re taking it slow. I suppose I don’t blame you. Do the kids know about him?”
“Curtis does. He was…Curtis, that is…was sleeping on the other side of the bed, and I didn’t know it. Brandt came in, and…well….”
“Well, what?” Rita asked.
“Kayla came to the door, and I told Brandt to hide, and his hiding spot was the other side of the bed with Curtis. They had a brief conversation about smoking and guardian angels, and that was it. Brandt wants to meet the kids—officially, as it were—but I don’t know. He’s got this job that seems shady, and he’s just not who I picture as being a good fit with me and the kids. You know?”
“And yet, he was in your bedroom. Were you and he…?”
“Not exactly.”
Rita leaned forward. “Not exactly? Really? You’re not going to tell us?”
Bonnie huffed. “We were mostly talking about Kayla. She snuck out that night, and I wouldn’t have known it except for Brandt.”
Sheila pursed her lips. “Mostly, huh? Were you mostly undressed at the time?”
“Sheila!” Rita gasped. “Bonnie wouldn’t do that.” Rita’s eyes cut to Bonnie, a look of uncertainty in them. “Would you?”
Bonnie decided not to share that she’d stripped in front of Brandt since nothing had come of it, except as a joke between them. “We were both dressed, and he was sitting next to me on the bed. On top of the covers. Nothing illicit.” Just a heart-pounding kiss. “I was pretty on edge about Kayla and this boy who makes me cringe every time I think about him getting near her, but Brandt was really helpful that night. I owe him a lot.”
“It would be okay if you settled up with him this weekend, you know. It would be good for you.” Sheila patted her friend’s hand as an extra encouragement to have sex with Brandt.
Alicia walked to the table and set her tray down next to Rita. Peering at Bonnie, Alicia asked, “What would be good for you, Bonnie?”
****
Bonnie’s cell phone rang, waking her up. She picked it up, and squinted at the lit screen. Brandt was calling her.
At five in the morning.
She touched the screen and brought the phone to her ear. “Hello.”
“I apologize for waking you up.”
Bonnie sat up and yawned. “Apology accepted.”
“I caught an earlier flight in. How much trouble would it be to come three hours sooner than we planned?”
“Where are you, the airport?”
“I’m in your driveway, and I want it noted that I am in your driveway and not your house.”
Bonnie threw the covers back and slid out of bed. “Then how’d you know I was sleeping?”
“Because it’s five on Saturday morning, and your lights are out. Should I drive around for a few hours?”
“Give me a minute. I’ll meet you at the back door.” Bonnie went to her closet and took her flannel robe off the hook where she kept it. She put her arms in the sleeves, shrugged into it, and tied the belt. Then she yawned and stumbled her way across the house to the back door.
So much for fixing her hair and make-up before he got here. Maybe she could beg off after she fixed him some coffee and jump in the shower.
In the kitchen, she turned on the carport light, illuminating a figure dressed all in black.
His ninja garb, she was sure.
The hinges squeaked when she opened the door, and he stood there giving her a sexy apologetic smile. A shot of adrenaline ricocheted through Bonnie. He had a couple days’ beard growth, and it made him look mysterious and appealing. His dark gaze caressed her.
“Good morning,” he said, all gravelly, as if he, too, had just awoken.
Bonnie swallowed and tightened her belt, in case it had slipped open without her noticing. All of his…appeal was happening much too early in the morning without enough caffeine.
“Come in. I’ll make us some coffee.” She hit the light switch, and the kitchen became bright. Walking over to the coffee maker, she retrieved the pot and filled it with water then emptied it in the maker and placed the grounds in next. As she made the coffee, Bonnie caught sight of Brandt from her peripheral vision. He crossed the threshold and shut the door, the hinges making no noise this time.
How did he do that?
“How was work?” she asked for lack of anything better to say.
“It was fine.” He leaned his hip on the counter and crossed his arms.
“Why don’t you sit down at the table?” His hovering was making her nervous.
He bent forward with his elbows on the counter and stared through the glass-domed cover at the cake she’d made last night. “What is this?”
Pride filled Bonnie, but she attempted to act nonchalant. “Coconut cake.”
He straightened. “Really? I love coconut cake.”
Yes, Bonnie remembered he had said how much he liked the coconut cakes Delores used to make. Bonnie walked to the refrigerator and retrieved eggs and bacon. “I was going to make biscuits, but they’ll take too long.”
“I can wait.” He looked at her with a hopeful expression with one hand on the raised cake base. Bonnie suppressed the giggle threatening to escape. “Someone having a birthday? This cake hasn’t even been cut.”
“No. No one’s birthday. I just was in a baking mood last night. You can have a piece if you like.” She put a plate next to him on the counter and opened the silverware drawer, gesturing for him to take what he needed.
“Are you sure? You made it for your kids, right?”
“I made it for you. You said you liked it. I had a recipe for it, and like I said, I was in a baking mood last night.” She cut small squares of butter then measured flour and the other dry ingredients into a bowl. From behind her, she heard glass scraping against ceramic, and a slight ping as the cake cover was removed. The telltale sound of the knife dragging across the plate signaled the cake had been cut.
Haha. No ninja silence when there was coconut cake to be had. Finally, she’d figured out his weakness.
“How much can I eat without you losing respect for me?” he said, obviously with a mouthful of cake.
Bonnie smiled; she turned to him and saw the look of pleasure on his face as he ate from the generous piece he had placed on the plate he held.
“It’s yours. Eat as much as you want. But if you’re going to fill up on cake, it doesn’t make sense for me to cook us breakfast.”
He nodded and placed another forkful of cake in his mouth. “I’ll save room for breakfast.”
“How is it?”
“Delicious.” He licked the icing off the tines of the fork. “It’s so good. I could put my whole face in that cake and die happy.”
“Death by cake.” Bonnie snickered. She pressed the butter into the flour mixture, listening to his lip-smacking with amusement. Adding buttermilk to the bowl, she stirred, then turned the dough onto a floured cutting board.
She noticed he cut himself a se
cond piece. She wanted to ask him if it was as good as Delores’s, but resisted. Delores had provided him a home and love for the first time in his life. Even if her coconut cake wasn’t as good as Bonnie’s, the affection and loyalty he had for the woman would have made it perfect.
“You’re amazing, Bonnie Moore.”
“Want some coffee?”
“I’ll get it. Where are your cups?”
She pointed to a cabinet with a floury finger. He took out two mugs and poured coffee in them. Pouring a generous dollop of cream in one cup, he placed it next to her on the counter. It didn’t surprise her he had prepared her coffee how she liked it, but she did wonder how he knew.
They sat down to a breakfast of eggs, bacon, and biscuits with more coffee. Bonnie nursed her cup as she watched him eat a third piece of cake afterward.
The cake may not be as good as Delores’s, but obviously it was good enough.
He set down his fork and wiped his mouth with the napkin. Balling it up, he placed it next to his plate and sat back with a satisfied smile and looked at Bonnie.
“I want to sleep with you,” he said.
Bonnie set down her mug. “I want to set a good example for my daughter.”
Brandt stood up and gathered their dishes and walked over to the sink. He ran water over them.
“You don’t have to do that,” she said.
“I know.” He threw away the used napkins.
“So, anyway, what I was saying was if Kayla finds out I’m sleeping with you, then what message is that going to send to her? That I’m a hypocrite. I just don’t need that added stress. Not to mention that you and I don’t really know each other that well, and what you’re talking about is a big step.”
Brandt turned off the water and wiped his hands on a towel then approached her. He held out his hand, and Bonnie took it. He tugged her to her feet and guided her out of the kitchen, across the den and toward her bedroom.
“Brandt, are you listening to me?”
“Every word.”
“Then why are we going to my room?”
He led her through the doorway and turned toward her. His thumb ran over her knuckles, and his dark gaze assessed her. “Do you ever fantasize?”
“No.”
“Would you like to hear my fantasy?”
“I swear, if you pull out a pair of handcuffs and a whip, I’m calling the police.”
Brandt burst out laughing. He extricated his fingers from hers and smoothed a strand of hair away from her face. “I think you’ll like this fantasy. In it, we’ve been married for a while.”
He must think she was so boring. She rolled her eyes. “Yeah, and to bring back the excitement, I’m a cheerleader, and you’re the quarterback. Give me a break.”
He shook his head and laughed again, “Where do you get this stuff?”
She raised her hand in an I don’t know gesture.
“How long have you been divorced?”
“Four years.”
“That’s not long enough. Let’s say we’ve been married ten years.”
She hardened her heart against the way his mesmerizing gaze attempted to lure her into his reality. “This isn’t going to change my mind.”
“It’s my fantasy. Can’t you just humor me?”
“I am humoring you. You’re standing in my bedroom, aren’t you?” He looked so good all in black with a three day growth of beard, saying no to him wasn’t easy.
“Please?”
“Fine. We’ve been married ten years.”
“That’s not a bad fantasy, is it?”
Bonnie shrugged. Where was he going with this?
“And I’ve been on assignment all week, and I call you just like I did this morning, and I apologize for waking you up, and you say ‘apology accepted.’ And your voice is all soft and sexy because I did wake you up. And I picture you here in bed. Your hair spilled over the pillow, and you’re wearing a gown. May I?” He reached for the belt of her robe. Bonnie looked down and watched his hands undo the knot. The lapels of the robe fell open revealing her gown. “This one, as a matter of fact.”
The gown was certainly not anything she would have put on if she’d known they were going to play fantasy marriage. It was probably ten years old. Haha. Maybe it was a wedding gift, but it looked more like a granny gown than something for her trousseau.
“If we’re married, then why would you call me, and wake me up?”
“Because we have a routine. I come home from working all night and we eat breakfast together.” He tucked his hands under her robe on top of her shoulders and inched the robe down her shoulders. He watched the slow progress as the robe slid lower and lower, and oh, my goodness, it brought goose bumps on Bonnie’s skin, more so than the cool air on her arms.
Do not fall for this.
Bonnie thanked the practical voice whispering in her head. “I’m not taking off my gown.”
“Of course not.” He walked over to her closet and hung up the robe on the hook where she always hung it.
“I don’t like that you know where my robe goes.”
He turned to her. “We’ve been married ten years. Don’t you think I should know that by now?”
Bonnie sighed. “I hate to break this to you, but people who have been married ten years don’t have sex that often.”
Brandt smiled at her. “Then why are you so nervous?”
“Because I know a seduction scene when I’m in one. I may be rusty on all of this, but I’m not stupid. And I’m also aware that we’re alone in the house. I don’t want to be coerced.”
The smile slid from his face. “No coercion. I swear. I’m about forty-two hours now with no sleep. When I say I want to sleep with you, sleep is what I mean.” He sat on the edge of her bed and took off his shoes and socks, tucked his socks in the shoes and then slid them under the bed. Then he took off his outer shirt, leaving on a tight black T-shirt that hugged his chest and shoulders. He slid backward across the mattress. “That’s your side, right?” He laid the shirt on the far bedside table.
“You really meant sleep.”
He yawned. “Truly.”
Bonnie turned off the light switch and sat on the bed and watched him settle under the covers. Maybe he really did mean to sleep. “I guess I could lie down for a few minutes.”
“As any good wife would.” He plumped the pillow and lay down with a contented sigh.
Bonnie reclined on the bed and watched him. His eyes were already closed. His arm shot out, wrapped around her, and pulled her to him.
“Hey!” she said.
“We’re sleeping, right?” He settled his face on her shoulder, and a little too close to her breast for comfort. “Sweet dreams, my bonny wife,” he murmured in a Scottish accent. His hold on her loosened within about thirty seconds, and to Bonnie’s amazement, she realized he certainly was asleep.
Bonnie listened to him breathe, aware of the odd sensation of a man’s body pressed against hers. She closed her eyes thinking there was no way she could actually fall asleep. When she shifted to her side and Brandt spooned her, she awoke with a start.
What?
Oh, that’s right.
Brandt had wanted to sleep with her, and she had acquiesced.
And he was really close, the weight of his arm over her waist and his hand tucked under her hip.
The ninja was a cuddler.
Bonnie smiled at the thought.
She slowly worked her way out from his grasp, and he sighed and turned on his back. Bonnie gazed at him, so handsome and dangerous, in her bed. She left the bedroom and went down the hall to the bathroom. She locked the door before taking a shower just in case he awoke and wanted to continue his little marriage fantasy and enter the bathroom while she was naked.
He slept until nearly noon, and then he appeared in the kitchen where she was folding laundry. A tuft of his short hair stuck up near his forehead hampering his dangerous scruffy persona.
“May I borrow a toothbrush?”
/> Bonnie’s attention caught on his under shirt and how it outlined his pectoral muscles and shoulders. The shirt had ridden up displaying part of his stomach, and his pants rode low on his hips. Bonnie studied the thin trail of hair south of his naval until it disappeared at his waistband. What had he asked her? Bonnie focused on the towel in her hands. Fold in half. Fold in half again. Tri-fold and put on the stack. Oh, right. Toothbrush. Did she have any extra toothbrushes? No. She’d meant to buy some last week when she’d taken the kids to the dentist.
“You can use mine,” she offered.
He grimaced. “Eww.” Then his face relaxed and he smiled. “All right.” She realized he was teasing her.
“It’s in my bathroom.”
“Thanks.” He turned around and walked out of the room.
Hopefully, he’d pull his shirt down before he came back. Bonnie didn’t need that kind of distraction in the house.
In a few minutes he was back and, yes, with his shirt tucked in his pants. Shoes on, too, she noticed.
“Thank you for letting me sleep here for a few hours.”
Warmth spread through Bonnie when she remembered lying next to him and when he’d treated her like his teddy bear.
“Sure. Are you hungry? I could fix us some lunch.”
Brandt’s gaze strayed to the cake on the counter. Bonnie bit her lip to suppress the smile. That boy liked coconut cake. She stood up and walked across the kitchen.
“You don’t have to wait on me.”
Bonnie opened the cabinet and retrieved a plate. “Oh. Did you fantasy divorce me already, or was that just so you’d have a warm body next to you when you napped?” She laid it on the counter and opened the silverware drawer, pulling out a knife and fork. She pulled off the cover and cut a piece of cake. “I must be getting worse. Guy put up with me for eleven years. Of course, he was….”
Brandt pressed against her back, wrapping his arms around her body and pulling her back flush against him. The knife clattered against the platter and fell on the countertop. “I wish you wouldn’t sneak up on me like that.”
He nuzzled her neck. “In my fantasy or in real life, I don’t expect you to serve me.”
Bonnie shivered as the breath of his lips caressed her skin as he spoke. Bonnie gripped the counter, its edge biting into her hip. An image of them making love on the counter flashed through her mind. Plate. Butter knife. Fork. Cake. Raisin bread. Honey wheat bread. Hot dog buns. She examined the objects on the counter’s surface in an attempt to rein in her imagination.
Unforgettable Heroes II Boxed Set Page 106
