I’m a responsible, mature woman. I don’t make love on the kitchen counter.
Right?
Your kids are gone.
You could make love on the kitchen counter.
Brandt’s thumb razed across her stomach. Her bare stomach. His hand was inside her shirt!
“What are you doing?”
“Touching your skin.” His voice dropped to a rumble. “So soft.” He shifted, and his pelvis moved against her butt.
Bonnie closed her eyes. Oh, my gosh. I cannot have sex on my kitchen counter. My kids make peanut butter and jelly sandwiches on this counter.
He sucked the patch of skin where her neck met her shoulder.
“Brandt,” she breathed. She realized she had leaned back against him. “Don’t you dare give me a hickey on my neck.”
His low laughter nearly undid her. “Where would you like it?” His fingers slid under the waistband of her pants. In the quiet of the moment, she heard the elastic of her panties pop against his hand.
“Not there.”
His finger traced the flesh above her pubic bone. “How about here?”
“No.”
His hand moved north, and relief and regret wrestled within Bonnie.
“You know what I’d like?” He reached forward and swiped the icing off the piece of cake she’d cut which was still resting on the cake platter.
“If you start talking about smearing me with coconut cake, you’re going to lose ground.”
His finger hovered at her mouth, then disappeared, and she heard him suck the frosting off. “Mmmm.” His hand appeared again, and Bonnie watched him pick up the fork and spear the cake on the tines. His body shifted once again, Bonnie thought, to give him better access to the dessert, but his other arm still encircled her. He ate the cake from the fork, then reached for more. The sound of him chewing so close to her ear sent tingles all through her body. “Want a bite?”
“Of cake?”
He gifted her with that sexy laugh again. “I like how you don’t leave me any loopholes.” He held the fork in front of her face. Reaching up, she guided the fork in her mouth with her hand. The sweetness of coconut and moist cake melted on her tongue.
“That is good.” This recipe was definitely a keeper.
“Yes, it is.” The next bite was his.
“Here’s an idea. Why don’t we sit at the table and eat it.”
“You’re not enjoying this?”
Bonnie pushed against Brandt, then straightened and stepped out of his embrace. She turned around, probably not a smart move because Brandt was temptingly, dangerously close. Bonnie tilted her face to meet Brandt’s gaze. “It just seems with cake…or other things…you shouldn’t have to compete. You know?”
Brandt moved and leaned a hip against the counter, reaching the fork for the cake again. “You mean, you want to eat the cake and enjoy it without getting distracted with anything else.” He placed the utensil in his mouth and chewed. Then cut a small portion of the cake and offered it to her. She reached for the fork, but he moved it out of her reach. “Why don’t you trust me?”
“Because I can feed myself.”
“Of course, you can. Come on. Trust me.”
Bonnie arched an eyebrow at him.
“Here comes the airplane. Open up the hangar so it can land.” He mimicked an engine sound, and made the fork fly through the air.
Bonnie smiled at his silliness. “You think I’m going to fall for that?”
The engine sound continued, and he moved the fork back across her line of vision. He sputtered. “Oh, no. The plane is running out of fuel.”
“Silly.” She opened her mouth, and he placed the fork inside, brushing her lip and leaving some frosting there. “You see why I want to feed myself? Because you—”
Brandt swooped down and covered her mouth with his, and then nothing else existed but this cake-flavored kiss and Brandt holding her close. Her body began to thrum with desire, and Bonnie opened her mouth and tasted Brandt right back. She reached up and put her hand over his shoulder, feeling his muscles beneath the soft material of his shirt.
She heard and felt his breath mingle with hers, his inhalation, and Bonnie, also, breathed in, and smelled the sweetness of cake. Brandt lifted her against him, and Bonnie gasped in pleasure when he grasped her backside and ground into her.
I was wrong. I do like cake and lovemaking together.
Brandt lifted his head. “Bonnie.” He gave her cheek a lingering kiss. “You’re right. You’re distracting me from the cake.”
Bonnie moved her hands to grip the front of his shirt. She leaned her forehead against his chest and felt him place her on her feet fully again.
“You’re distracting me too.” It was a little scary, but for the first time, Bonnie felt the excitement of it as well.
“What do you want to do?”
The question was so unexpected that Bonnie looked up at Brandt. Was he asking if she wanted to make love? His dark gaze watched her, waiting.
She shook her head. She didn’t know.
He stepped away, but grasped her hands. “I’d like to take you out tonight. A nice dinner, dancing.”
“Dancing?”
“Sure, or whatever you want.”
“I don’t know about dancing. I haven’t danced in years.”
“Movie? Movie seems rather lame.”
“I’m sure for a ninja it is.”
“You want to go see a movie?”
“Well, I haven’t been out to see a movie in a long time. It might be nice.”
“Okay. Pick one. We’ll go see it.”
“Any movie?”
Brandt’s eyes twinkled. He bent down and kissed her, making Bonnie forget their thread of conversation. “Can we make out in the back row?”
“With the thirteen year olds? Ugh.”
Brandt drew back; his brilliant smile made her toes curl. “I don’t want to leave, but I need to go.”
Disappointment filled Bonnie’s chest. “Oh.”
“Debriefing. I could pick you up at seven. Is that too late to get something to eat then go to a movie?”
Bonnie shook her head.
Brandt lifted her hands and kissed her knuckles. “Dinner and a movie. Ladies choice on both.”
“Anywhere?”
“Yes. Anywhere you want. I want to impress you, so fast food probably should be out. Unless you really, really want fast food.”
“I think I can think of a few slow food places.”
He kissed her again, a gentle, lingering kiss that made her wish he didn’t have anywhere to go right now.
I’m in so much trouble.
Chapter Fifteen
Brandt drove the Spyder through town, enjoying the potential of its power at his hands and feet, the low purr of the engine, the sleekness of the design, and Bonnie sitting beside him. He’d taken her to dinner. She’d chosen a chain eatery because she said they had a great salad bar and her kids didn’t like to go there. The dining room had a high-end feel to it, with tall-backed cushioned seats in the booths, real tablecloths, and low lighting. The movie was an action-adventure flick.
When they’d stood outside of the theater, and she’d named the movie, he’d been surprised.
“It’s rated R for violence and sex,” he said. “You sure you don’t want to see First Date?” He would have bet his life that would be her choice.
A look of distaste crossed her face. “It’s a chick flick.”
Brandt lifted his hand in a gesture of agreement.
“If I want to see a chick flick, I’ll go with my girlfriends. They love those kinds of movies.”
“And you don’t?”
“You said it was my choice. I see kid movies with my kids. I see girly movies with my friends, and now I’m seeing a shoot ’em up movie with…whatever you are.”
Brandt smiled. She was so cute. “Whatever I am.”
“Yeah, so come on. I don’t want to miss the previews.” They’d yet to touch u
p to that point, so when he sat down next to her in the theater, he had taken her hand and placed it on the armrest between them. He’d expected she’d pull her hand away when the sex scene played on the big screen, but she hadn’t, and Brandt resisted the urge to caress her palm while the two characters in front of them made love.
Well, if you could call the gratuitous maneuvering in front of them lovemaking.
Brandt pulled the car into her driveway and parked behind her SUV. He shifted into park and killed the engine. Going around to the passenger side, he opened her door and watched to see if she hesitated before moving her feet to the ground. She didn’t, so he didn’t take her hand to help her out.
He had already decided he was going to walk her to the door and kiss her goodnight without any comments about going inside unless she invited him. But oh, did he want to. Wanted to go inside the house. Wanted to go in her bedroom. Wanted to engage in some gratuitous lovemaking of their own.
But Bonnie didn’t seem to be that kind of gal.
Brandt hadn’t believed women like her even existed. No one—no woman—had ever played hard to get with him.
Maybe it explained why he was so attracted to her, why he wanted her, why he couldn’t stop thinking about her. Her approach was ingenious, really. Just act as if you’re not interested, then watch the men beg you for any scrap of attention.
Brandt knew all of this, and he wanted her anyway. Would beg if he thought it would do any good whatsoever.
She walked past her car to the porch, the light illuminated the auburn highlights of her soft copper hair. He was sure when she was younger it was probably a dark Irish red, as her daughter’s hair was. As light-complected as Bonnie’s skin was, the brilliant red would have complimented the ivory tone. She pulled her key ring out of her purse and unlocked the door. With a loud creak, the door opened.
She glanced back at him. “Do you want to come in?”
And the night continued. All kinds of licentious ideas of what he wanted to do with Bonnie inside her house played in Brandt’s head. Play it cool, Sherrod, or you’ll crash and burn. He worked to keep the lustful expression from his face when he answered her question. “Yes.”
She nodded and walked inside. He followed her. The kitchen light came on, and she set her purse down on the counter. Brandt closed the door behind him and waited.
“Want some coffee?”
“No, thank you.”
Something flickered across her face. Nervousness, he thought.
“Anything to drink?”
He shook his head. Only you. But Brandt didn’t say it. The next move was going to be hers, if it killed him. Instead he said, “How’s Kayla doing?”
“Oh.” He saw the tension leave her body, and she began to walk into the living room, turning on a lamp in the corner as she did so.
He sat on the couch, and she sat near him, but not next to him, he noticed.
“I think she’s starting to get mad about how Rex treated her.” Bonnie slipped her shoes off and folded her legs under her on the cushion. The posture was so natural and relaxed, Brandt felt his desire heighten. She had no idea how sexy she was.
“They haven’t broken up?”
“Not that she’s told me, but she talked to one of his ex-girlfriends, and I think Kayla is seeing now the kind of person he is.”
“You must be relieved.”
“I’m not celebrating yet, and I’m certainly not letting her see how happy I am about how all of this seems to be turning out. Otherwise, she’ll probably get back together with him just to spite me.”
“She wouldn’t do that, would she?”
Bonnie smiled, as if he’d made a joke. “Of course, she would. You don’t have kids so you don’t know…” Her smile fell a bit. “You don’t have kids, right?”
“No, I don’t have any kids.”
“Would you know if you did?”
Her question should have bothered him, but it didn’t. As much of an enigma as she was to him, he was one to her as well. They were two alien creatures attempting to figure each other out. “You still don’t think much of me, do you?”
“It seems with all of the traveling that you probably do, and being in your forties and never having been married… You haven’t ever married before, right?”
Brandt chuckled. “This is beginning to feel like an interrogation.”
“You didn’t answer the question.”
“Do I get a reward for full disclosure?”
“You know all about me. Why can’t I know about you?”
“You know a lot about me that even Sheri and David don’t know. I know nothing about your childhood.”
“Yes, but you only told me those things so I could help you find your brother. That’s why I still wonder if this is just a collaboration with benefits.”
“What benefits, Bonnie?” Not that he minded too much right now. This anticipation was agonizingly enjoyable.
She arched an eyebrow at him. “You like to flirt.”
He shook his head. “Most people never notice me, so I rarely get the chance.”
“In your work, perhaps, but I don’t believe you don’t…” Her eyes fell.
Make love when I want to. Come on, Bonnie, just say it. “I don’t what?”
Her gaze lifted to his, and she gave him the Mom-means-business look. “That you don’t have sex when you get the urge with whomever is available at the time.”
The white wall appeared in his mind. Brandt laid his arm across the back of the couch and reached his fingers to a strand of Bonnie’s hair.
“Brandt?”
Silk. “Yes?”
“What did you think of the love scene in the movie?”
He twisted the strand around his fingers and watched the curl unwind. “The actress is probably not going to win an Oscar for it.”
“It wasn’t that great, right?”
He gathered more hair in his hand. “She sure wanted everyone to think it was great.”
“But it wasn’t real, even if they were actually having sex, though it looked like it. They were beautiful people—their body parts, but what we saw in the movie isn’t real.”
Brandt moved closer to her and combed his fingers through the strands.
“Brandt, look at me.”
Frustration bumped into the white wall. “I am looking at you.”
Bonnie turned her body to him. She took his hand from the back of her head and gripped his fingers between hers. “Sex is easy. Lots of people do it, and it’s not that big of a deal. But it’s not real, and I don’t do fake. I want to make love, and to do that you have to let me in. You have to make love to me with your heart.”
Brandt pulled his hand away and stood. He looked down at her. Her blue gaze cut into him, and a hairline crack appeared in the white wall. I have to get out of here. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“Yes, you do, but I understand this is scary.”
Another crack. She’s not going to make me run away. “I’m not the son of a bitch you’ve decided I am. You think I pick up women in bars or pay for prostitutes? I don’t do things like that.”
Bonnie stood up, and Brandt didn’t move to give her room, but it meant they were practically nose to nose.
“I believe you.”
Anger brushed his control. He felt it against his wall, buckling the breadth of the barrier. “No, you don’t. You think I’m a liar, that I’m a fake.”
“I know you’ve worked hard to be fake. You lie because it’s easier to blend in that way, to hide, and that’s how you make your living. But it’s not who you are.” She put her arm around his waist.
His anger grew, and Brandt stepped backward out of reach. “You don’t know me.”
“I want to. I want to know you. Let me in.”
“I have never lied to you. Not ever. Everything I’ve said to you has been the truth.”
She nodded. “I know that now, and it gives me hope.”
Uneasiness edged into
the anger. “I don’t understand what you want from me.”
Bonnie bit her lip. Her eyes narrowed as if she were studying him. “Let’s go eat some cake. Will you eat a piece of cake with me?” She walked around the couch and headed for the kitchen.
Warning bells sounded in his head. She was messing with him, and he didn’t like that. She shouldn’t be able to get to him like this. That’s it. I’m leaving. He walked to the door and put his hand on the knob and turned it. The door opened.
The sound of the glass cover bumping against the cake base snagged his attention. The taste of sweet cake and coconut frosting filled his memory, and the face of Delores Park filled his mind’s eye. Delores, his foster mom, the only woman who had loved him—really loved him, who had made him feel safe and that he was more than a piece of shit, a mistake, a problem for someone to deal with. When he’d come home from school, Delores would sit across the table from him with the coconut cake in between them.
Tell me what happened at school today, she’d say.
More sounds. The cabinet door opening. Ceramic plates moving. The sliding of silverware.
Dammit.
Brandt shut the door.
With the dread and determination of a man walking to the gallows, he pivoted and moved to the table. Bonnie placed a plate in front of him with a huge piece of her cake on it.
She sat down cattycorner to him. “I need to make sure we eat all of the cake before my kids come home in the morning. Anything we don’t eat either has to leave with you or it goes down the garbage disposal.”
None of that cake was going down the disposal if he had anything to do with it. He resisted the urge to lean his face forward and eat it like a dog with his kibble, and picked up the fork instead.
They ate in a peaceful silence.
Brandt scraped the fork along the plate to catch the vestiges of the frosting and brought it to his lips. Then he licked the fork. Maybe Bonnie thought that was gross. At this point, Brandt didn’t think it mattered much.
Unforgettable Heroes II Boxed Set Page 107
