“I have to tell you how impressed I was when you took Rex down the night we went after Kayla.”
“Yeah?” There was a dollop of frosting on Bonnie’s plate. Was she saving it?
She moved the plate toward him. “Help yourself. It turns me on to see how much you enjoy my cake.”
Brandt scooped up the frosting and ate it. “Sure it does. That’s because I’m making love to your cake with my heart, right?”
Bonnie chuckled. “Actually, yes.”
Brandt grinned at her, relaxed for the first time since her emotional probe. “And yet, you won’t allow me to smear you with coconut icing.”
“I have the recipe, so I can make the cake whenever I want to.”
What was she saying? That at some future time he could eat cake off her naked body? He liked that idea.
But the way she looked at him wasn’t a promise of one day eating cake naked. It was the Bloodhound look. She was about to probe some more. Brandt’s guard went up.
“So, anyway, about the other night. Can you show me how you did that?”
“Did what?”
The hunger on Bonnie’s face surprised him. “How did you bring him down? He was choking you, and all of the sudden, you had him bent over in pain with his arm behind his back. He’s as big as a refrigerator. I can’t believe how easy you made it look. Can you show me that move?”
It was an advanced martial arts move. Brandt shook his head.
“Please.” The look in her eyes pricked his craw. It occurred to him then that somebody had threatened her, maybe more.
Bile rose in his throat and his teeth clinched in anger. The son of a bitch. Who was it? “Bonnie, has somebody hurt you?”
Her lids lowered. When she met his gaze again, the hunger was replaced by determination. “I’d like to learn how to do that, how to take someone down like that.” She pushed her chair back, pulled him to his feet, and guided him to the middle of the kitchen. She dropped his hand and walked backward. “Right now. Will you show me?”
She approached him with her arms outstretched. “So, I’m choking you. What do you do?”
Brandt allowed her to place her hands around his neck. “Really do it,” he suggested.
She hesitated.
“Trust me…Hurt me.”
Her fingers tightened, but not much.
“You can do better than that,” he murmured.
More pressure, but he could breathe and speak easily.
He shook his head and chuckled. “You’re weak. I gave you more credit—” That was as much as he could get out before she leaned into him with her eyes flashing fire.
Air caught in his throat. Instinct rose, but Brandt kept control. He leaned into her, and in a slow and deliberate motion, he rose and placed his elbows into the crooks of her arms. With firm, but gentle pressure, he pressed down, down until she had no choice but to let go of him. Grasping her right hand, he pivoted on his foot and twisted her arm slowly moving her body around so that she now faced away from him.
“Okay?” he asked.
“Yes.” She was bent at the waist away from him, an automatic response to the arc of the arm. Brandt noticed the graceful line of her neck and back. Her ass close to his own body. He wanted to—
“Can I try it?”
Brandt released her. Immediately she faced him, moving from one foot to the other, her hands gesturing to her neck. “Take me, Brandt. Grab me.”
Heat emanated in the vicinity of his groin. No.
“Be a man,” she urged.
“I am a man. A man doesn’t use force.” If he knew anything, he knew that. No matter what.
“Show me. Trust me.” Bonnie fingertips forged trails down the skin of her neck, then back up.
Trust. They’d thrown the word back and forth with each other. Brandt decided at a later time he’d press her to disclose a little of her history, like she wanted him to do with her. But not now. Now she wanted a mini course in self-defense, and he wanted to help her.
Brandt licked his lips and blew a breath out. I can do this. I’m helping her. She wants to protect herself. He placed his fingers loosely on her soft skin. Even though the pose was manufactured, uneasiness engulfed him.
Bonnie raised her arms.
“No,” he counseled. “You go inside, up through my arms. Lots more leverage that way.”
She did so, bringing her elbows down on his, pushing with more force than necessary. “Like this?”
“Yes, now you’ve got to be quick because you’ve only got a second before he’ll try to hurt you again. Grab my thumb. Twist it, and move my arm down.” As he instructed, they moved into the positions until Bonnie held his arm, and his back was to her. “Now when you’ve got me like this, you move my arm back up. It’s not supposed to bend that way, so the natural inclination is for your opponent to bend forward. See? Good.”
“Now what?”
“Break my thumb or my arm, or both. Well, not really, but you know what I mean.”
She didn’t move.
Brandt looked over his shoulder at her. “You have to be very quick. Your speed is what will save you. If you’re too slow, he’ll be able to get control back. You don’t want that.”
She pushed his arm a little more, and Brandt breathed into the discomfort. She was too timid, and was going to get hurt worse if she tried this on anyone. Brandt dropped to his knees, whipped around, grabbed her around the waist with his arm and locked her legs with one of his, falling down to his back bringing her down on top of him.
She had time to give a quick yelp, but that was about it.
Brandt grinned up at her. “Gotta be quick.”
Her eyes blinked at him. “I need to work on that, obviously, but it seems a bad move on your part. I mean, I’m on top. You’re at a disadvantage.”
For a few seconds, she didn’t move. Brandt reveled in the feel of her body against his, and how horizontal they were. She moved a bit as if to get up.
Mmmmm. That was even better.
“Let me go.”
“But you’ve got the advantage. Please, take advantage of me while you can.”
Bonnie moved against him again, a look of irritation settling on her face. “Really funny. Let me up, Brandt.”
He relaxed his arms and legs and lay spread eagle. She climbed off him with a glare. “You enjoyed that a little too much.”
Chapter Sixteen
He raised his hand to her. “How about some help?”
She grudgingly took it and tugged. “You don’t need my help.”
He did, he admitted to himself, if he was going to learn how to make love to her with his heart. But, that, too, would have to be a conversation for another time.
“Want to try it again?” he asked.
“You’re not going to flip me on the floor again, are you?”
“Gotta be quick. Quicker than me. And don’t worry about hurting me. I’ll be okay. Give me what you got, and let’s see how good a student you are. Ready?” he stepped toward her and waited for a signal.
She took a deep breath and nodded. Brandt reached for her neck and she moved her hands as he had shown her, then she was behind him forcing his arm up.
“That’s great, Bonnie. You did it.”
She let go with a laugh, and he turned toward her.
“You weren’t faking that, were you?” she asked. Her skin was flushed, probably because of the excitement of being able to overpower him.
“Nope. You did it.”
She laughed again. “I can’t believe it.” Stepping back, she clapped her hands together. “One more time, just so I know I have it.”
He went toward her again, and she slammed his arms and twisted his arm behind him.
Damn. She was a good student.
“Okay. Let me go before you break a bone.”
“Do you promise you’re not just pretending to let me win?”
“Well, I wouldn’t really try to choke you, but yes, you’ve got me helpless when you have my a
rm like that. Just for a second or two, but that’s all you need.”
Bonnie stepped toward him and hugged him in celebration. “Thank you, Brandt. I’m so excited!” The second her body pressed against his, Brandt felt her tense, then pause. He wrapped his arms around her, and gazed into her eyes.
“Nice work, Ms. Moore,” he said, then lowered his head and placed his lips on hers. Her mouth was instantly pliant, and to Brandt’s surprise, Bonnie slipped her tongue across his lip. He opened his mouth, allowing her to taste him and take what she wanted. He followed her lead, and reveled in her boldness when her hand untucked his shirt and moved across his bare back.
Oh, yes.
He liked where this was going. He’d attempted a few caresses on her bare skin in the past, but she’d shot him down. Guess all he needed was to let her rough him up a bit as a foreplay to the foreplay.
Brandt could handle that.
She was unbuttoning his shirt now, and she kissed the skin she uncovered. Her lips grazed his chest, making him shiver. She stopped and looked up at him, her fingers gripping the sleeves of his shirt.
“I don’t want you to leave, but there can only be sleeping tonight. Can you handle that?”
“Where will the sleeping be? You’ll be in your bed, I suppose.”
“Can you sleep with me again—and only sleep?”
“I suppose. I did well enough this morning, but I was tired, and I don’t think you stayed with me very long.”
“This is a big step for me. Sharing the night. Spending the night.”
It was a big step for him, too. Sharing a bed without sex was definitely not something he’d ever done with another woman, but he wasn’t about to tell Bonnie that. She already seemed to think the worst of him without him disclosing this fact to her.
“We can play fantasy marriage again. You said married people rarely make love.” He wasn’t sure he believed it. He’d walked in once on Dave and Sherri, and they’d been married almost fifteen years. After that, Brandt made sure he knocked when he went in their living quarters, especially when their kids were at school.
“You’ll have to leave early. My kids get home at ten in the morning. Sometimes Guy drops them off earlier.”
She was nervous. Brandt took her hands in his. “Bonnie, what do you want?”
Her luminous eyes held his. “I think I like you, but I don’t want to because liking you complicates my life. I have to consider what’s best for my kids. I’m not sure you being here is what’s best for them even if they don’t know about you.” She shook her head.
Brandt cradled her face in his hands. He leaned down and kissed her briefly. “You can kick me out early in the morning. Or later tonight if you’re too nervous with me being here. All right?”
She nodded and went to the kitchen door, turning the lock.
“Before you do that, let me get my bag out of the car.”
Her eyebrow rose at him. “You brought an overnight bag?”
“I’ve been on assignment.”
“You had it with you this morning? You could have used your own toothbrush.”
“Well, yeah. I suppose so. When I came in your house this morning, I….”
“You what?”
Brandt resisted the urge to shrug and say something cute. But Bonnie wanted him to open up to her. “I just wanted to see you. I wasn’t thinking about anything else. And I suppose I could have gone out and gotten my bag, but…” The image of the white wall appeared in his mind. He took a deep breath and focused on the woman in front of him. Stepping forward, he put his hands on her arms. “I just wanted to stay inside. I didn’t even want to walk to the car until I had to.”
Her gaze searched his. If she’d shown any pity or sympathy, it would have bothered him. He didn’t want that from her. He just wanted her to accept him, give him a chance to be someone she’d like to be with. He liked thinking he could be a regular guy with a woman like her.
Bonnie nodded and put her arms around him. “All right.”
Brandt retrieved his bag, and when he came back inside Bonnie was no longer in the kitchen. He turned off the lights, locked the door, and then walked into the living room, which was also vacant.
Had she gone to bed already?
Brandt walked through the house, stepped to the threshold of her bedroom, and saw her private bathroom door shut. The shower was running, he noticed. So, she’s getting ready for bed.
I’m going to sleep with Bonnie.
Could he convince her in the dark of night to make love? Maybe. Or maybe he wouldn’t need to. Maybe she would change her mind and turn to him. She would move her hand under his shirt, run her fingers over his skin, lean over and kiss him, the ends of her hair tickling his face.
He took his duffel in the hall bathroom and engaged in his own nighttime routine before returning to the bedroom. The bathroom door was still shut, but the shower was no longer on. Instead he heard a hair dryer. Brandt sat on the edge of Bonnie’s bed and took off his socks and shoes. His heart thumped in excitement, as if he were seventeen again, and he was getting ready for a date with Amanda Coleman. He’d really liked her, and to his surprise, she’d agreed to go out with him to the prom. They’d gone out a few months until….
The bathroom door opened, and a flowery aroma wafted into the room along with Bonnie wearing a long flowing gown with lace on the sleeves and neck.
Her beauty took Brandt’s breath for a second, and he laughed.
“What?” She reached up and ran her fingers through her damp hair.
“You’re pretty.”
She wrinkled her nose at him as she walked around the bed. “Flattery.”
“Yes, but it’s true.”
She walked over to the light switch and turned it off, leaving the room illuminated in the soft light from the bedside lamp. Brandt couldn’t believe she had offered to let him sleep in here.
With her.
She had picked up her pillow and was plumping it. The domesticity of her actions made his heart pump faster. He stood and moved back the covers then began to settle on the bed.
She paused in her action, hugging the pillow to her. “What are you doing?”
“Going to bed.”
“With your clothes on?”
“Yes.”
“Why are you keeping your clothes on? Because I’m not willing to make love?”
“No. I always sleep in my clothes.”
Bonnie set the pillow down on the bed and sat on the mattress, leaning back on the heard board. “You always sleep in your clothes?” The disbelief in her tone set Brandt on alert.
“Yes.”
“Since when?”
“I’ve always slept in my clothes.”
That look came across her face. Oh, dammit. She was on a scent again. Oh, man, I need a cigarette.
“That’s interesting. Since you were a child?”
“Yep.” Brandt faked a yawn and lay down. He put his back to her.
“Gee, it didn’t take you long to learn the turn-my-back-to-my-wife-so-I-won’t-have-to-talk-to-her pose.”
“What are you talking about? We’ve been married ten years.”
“That’s funny. It only feels like one day to me.”
“Time flies when you’re having fun, so they say. Goodnight, my bonny wife.”
He looked at the far wall and waited for the Bloodhound to continue.
It took her about ten seconds.
“Do you ever remember a time you didn’t sleep in your clothes?”
Brandt pushed his shoulder down on the bed and settled on his back. He turned his face toward Bonnie who lay on her side with her head propped on her elbow. She watched him.
“I take my clothes off for showers and sex. Since you’ve already had a shower, I’m guessing you changed your mind about the other.”
Bonnie’s mouth turned up in a smile. “What about swimming?”
“I don’t swim naked.”
She moved her finger across the quilt between them,
tracing the pattern there. “It’s very unusual for a person to sleep fully clothed. I think it means something.”
The desire to jump out of bed and go outside to smoke picked at Brandt. But he was out of his pipe tobacco.
Still.
He could buy a cigarette and already have it to his mouth in less than ten minutes if he left now.
“You want me to take off my clothes?”
“I just think it’s interesting that you sleep fully clothed.” Her gaze followed her finger on the cover between them.
“All right. I’ll take off my clothes, if you take off yours.”
“I’m wearing appropriate sleepwear.”
“So am I. For me.”
“Why do you do it? Maybe because you think you’ll need to get up quick. You need to always feel prepared.”
“Or I just sleep in my clothes. It doesn’t have to mean anything.”
“Why don’t you try sleeping in less?”
“Just admit you want to see me naked. You think I’m hot, and you want to see me.”
“It’s not that.”
“What do you want me to wear? What do most men sleep in? I have to admit, I don’t know since I’ve never slept with a man.”
“Well, I’ve only slept with one, but I think most men sleep in their underwear, or pajamas, or even sweats and a T-shirt.”
“Or naked.”
“You shouldn’t sleep naked. At least, not with me…tonight.”
“I’ll make you a deal. I will sleep in my underwear, if you’ll sleep in my shirt.”
“Your shirt?”
“Yeah.”
“Just your shirt?”
“Keep your panties on, if you want.” It’s not as if she were going to let him get in them. At least, he didn’t think so. This exchange made him wonder. It made him anticipate.
“Gee, thanks.”
“Is it a deal?”
“Lights off.”
“Okay.”
“And you can’t touch me.”
“No promises there.”
“Oh, that’s right.”
“What’s right?”
“You like to cuddle.”
Brandt opened his mouth to deny it, but realized she was right. “Hurry up and decide. I’m getting sleepy.”
He watched her finger move along the quilt. An image of her tracing a pattern on his chest sans shirt ran through his mind.
Unforgettable Heroes II Boxed Set Page 108
