by Anne, Melody
“You’re awfully confident in yourself,” she pointed out.
“I want you to get to know the real me. I think there’s a lot to like,” he assured her. “And I can see you aren’t trying so hard to fight it. I think it’s because I’m so damn charming.”
“Why don’t you just feed me the meal you promised, and we won’t worry about anything else?” she suggested.
“I can think of many activities that are a lot more satisfying than eating,” he quickly replied.
Chloe’s stomach twisted in a way that had nothing to do with food. Maybe it was true what people said—that there were soul mates. Many settled with an acceptable relationship and even found companionship in it, but maybe there was only one person who could ignite the spark inside your soul and make you shine and burn and feel like you were on top of the world.
Chloe was terrified to think that could be true. Because if it was, she had no doubt her person might just be Brandon Anderson. A shudder racked through her at the thought. This didn’t fit into her plans—not one little bit.
Still, she was shocked by how tempted she was. She needed this man. Maybe it was because she could see how much he wanted her. Maybe it was because she could clearly remember their night together and how amazing it had been. After shaking her head, she took another sip of wine and tried to stay focused on their conversation.
“How long will you be satisfied living in this small town, Brandon?” she asked, taking the dish of pasta he’d placed in front of her.
She was surprised by how good the impromptu meal was. She had a sneaking suspicion he’d picked it up from the Italian place down the road and slipped it in his own dish, but she didn’t need to call him out on it.
“I’m quite happy here,” he said. He seemed relaxed as he ate and sipped his own glass of wine before refilling both their glasses. “My family is here, and I don’t see myself going anywhere unless it’s for a vacation.”
“If we fell into some sort of relationship,” she said with a pause, despising that word. He smiled as he waited for her to go on. “I mean, if we were to be together, and it didn’t work out, it would just be awkward for us and everyone around us. There’s no way to avoid each other in this town. It’s one of the main reasons I don’t do relationships.”
Brandon seemed to think about her words as he looked at her, and Chloe was finding it difficult to eat her delicious meal with his gaze fully focused on her. But she also wanted to be as casual as him—as strong. It was easier said than done.
“I’ve spent a lot of years not caring about anyone other than me and maybe my family,” he said, surprising her. “I don’t want to shame them.” She’d never dreamed she’d hear him say something like that. He didn’t go on, and she pushed her plate aside, too confused to pretend she still had an appetite.
Him not wanting to shame his family was too close to home for her. She’d felt that same way her entire life. Her parents expected so much out of her that the smallest mistake made her feel as if she was a total failure. There was no way they could also have that in common.
“Explain,” she finally told him as she picked up her glass and took another sip.
“You know my mom died, and I barely made it through it, but then I met this family I didn’t know I had, and for a long time I told myself I was lied to and unappreciated. I thought even the heavens had it out for me. I loved and still love my brothers, but for a while I even pulled away from them, thinking my whole life had been a lie. Making this long story short, I played the victim. I think I woke up a couple of years ago, realizing that an attitude like that absolutely disgusted me. I was done feeling sorry for myself. It was time for me to start appreciating the good in my life and being thankful for all I have.”
“You have a wonderful family,” Chloe said quietly. She really wanted to reach for him, but she held herself back. “That’s something to truly appreciate. They are so supportive and kind. Why would you think you’d disappoint them?” She couldn’t imagine Joseph looking at any of his relatives with anything other than love.
As much as she loved her own parents, the worst pain they’d inflicted on her was by those disapproving glances they’d sent her way. She wanted them to be proud of her, and it cut her to the core when they weren’t.
“I agree. They are always supportive. I think I was just angry at the world, so I pushed anyone who loved me away. My counselor told me it was because I thought if I let someone else into my heart like I did with my mother, then I risked them dying on me,” he said with a frown before he forced a smile. “I think that’s a load of crap, but I can see where he might have had a small point.”
Chloe couldn’t help but smile. “I can’t believe you’d ever go see a therapist,” she said.
“It was . . . um . . . sort of mandatory,” he said as he shifted in his chair.
Now Chloe was truly fascinated. “I really want to know that story,” she insisted.
He let out a small chuckle as he refilled their glasses again, emptying the bottle. He got up and opened another. She should tell him she’d had enough, but the story had just gotten good, and if she broke the mood, he might stop. She’d just have to try to sip her glass a little less often.
“Fine, I’ll tell you the story, but we have to move to the den, where we can be a little more comfortable,” he offered.
Chloe knew it wasn’t the brightest idea to move to the den—most likely the den of iniquity. But she really did want to hear what he had to say, so she didn’t argue when he grabbed the bottle and his glass and began moving through the house. She scooped up her own glass and followed.
The den was dimly lit, just as he’d wanted, a gas fireplace on high in the center of the back wall, a couch set up the perfect distance away. He moved to it and set the bottle down, then beckoned her. She slowly walked over to him, moving to one end of the couch and hoping he’d stay on the other.
“I was in a pretty bad mood for a . . . let’s just say an extended period of time,” he said after a pause. She wondered what his idea of an extended period was. But she was silent. “A few complaints came in from my employees, and my lawyers told me if I didn’t seek counseling, I was going to get my ass sued off of me. I told them to go to hell, proving their point, and then I reluctantly went. It wasn’t too bad,” he told her with a shrug.
“Did you get sued?” she asked. Her wine was depleting quickly, and she decided it would be safer if she set it on the coffee table, away from her fingers and lips.
Brandon smiled as he slipped across the couch, his leg brushing against hers, taking her breath away. This would be a good time to run and hide, but she was frozen to the spot.
“Nope. My attitude got better, and my office became more pleasant. Don’t get me wrong—they still love when I’m away, but I’ve learned not to take bad moods out on everyone around me,” he told her.
“That’s progress,” she said as she tried pulling away from him. There was nowhere for her to go. Chloe was trapped, and she wasn’t sure if she minded.
By degrees, Brandon’s expression altered. He set aside his wineglass and then reached up, his fingers slowly grazing her cheek and jaw. The heat trail he left behind had her forgetting to breathe.
“I’ve never felt about a person the way I feel about you,” he said in a husky whisper.
Chloe didn’t know what to say. He leaned closer, and she felt his lips brush against hers in tiny kisses. He didn’t try to deepen the caress. It was more of a whispering of their lips, his hot breath brushing over her skin. She felt it all the way to her toes, and her core was heating to unbearable levels.
Her ability to think became dimmer by the second as his lips stroked hers, his tongue tracing her bottom lip, begging for entrance. One hand rested on her thigh, his thumb making beautifully enticing circles that were driving her a bit mad. The other hand was wound into her hair to hold her head in place.
But he didn’t need to hold her there, because as she got lost in his embrace, s
he was taken back to the night of the wedding, and she just wanted one more taste of him, one more flutter in the pit of her stomach, one more flame of heat in her core. Just one more, she assured herself.
He kissed her jaw as he pulled her up to straddle his lap. She was putty in his hands as he moved his lips down her neck. She sighed, wondering if and when she’d be able to stop this from happening.
Maybe she’d known from the moment she’d accepted his invitation to come home with him that this would happen. Maybe she’d been in denial from the moment he’d shown up at her restaurant. But the more he kissed her neck, the more she wanted to stay the night.
“I can’t seem to stop myself from wanting you,” she admitted as a low moan escaped her tight throat.
He continued kissing her. “I want you, Chloe. I always want you,” he said before sucking on her tender skin. Then he kissed his way up her jaw and finally kissed her the way she truly wanted: with heat and passion and a blinding loss of control.
His hands slipped easily beneath the back of her shirt and scorched their way up her back, making her arch against him, her breasts aching as she pushed into him. His kiss deepened even more, and together their moans filled the air around them.
It had been so long since she’d been with a man, and now that Brandon had lit the flame of her desire, she didn’t see it going out again until she allowed him to quell the heat.
His hands circled around to her front, and soon he was cupping her aching breasts, making her cry out into his mouth as he pinched her nipples through her lacy bra.
He wrenched his lips away from her mouth. “I need to be inside you,” he said, the words a mixture of a plea and a command.
She could walk away right now, and she had no doubt he’d let her go. Brandon wouldn’t force himself on her. But she knew if she did just that, she’d ache all night and probably forever. Maybe this was what she needed to let him go.
“Then take me,” she told him.
Brandon’s eyes widened in delight, but only for a second before he spun the two of them around, laying her on the couch and covering her body with his. Just that quickly, his lips were back on hers, and she was wiggling beneath him in an ecstatic array of so much pleasure she wondered if she was going to combust. She wouldn’t even care.
Somehow, with as little time as possible between kisses, Brandon managed to rip their clothes from their bodies, and then he was finally laid out above her, naked, hot, and hungry. She didn’t want any more foreplay. She just wanted him inside her.
He must’ve had a condom in his pants, because she heard that unmistakable sound of foil ripping before he reached between their bodies and slipped it on. She was glad he’d thought of it, because she was delirious in her need for them to come together.
And then she couldn’t think anymore. He surged forward, pushing deep inside her, and Chloe nearly lost consciousness at the pleasure of them being connected again.
“I need you so bad, baby. I’ll take my time on the second round,” he promised before his head descended again, and he mimicked the movements of his lower body with his tongue diving in and out of her mouth.
She felt the buildup of pleasure as he surged within her before pulling all the way out and pumping back inside over and over again. She lost all meaning of time as they connected, and she was lost in the only man she’d ever truly desired.
Her pleasure exploded through her as she threw back her head and cried out, the orgasm ripping through her, the gratification too intense for her to handle. Somewhere in the fog of her mind, she felt him surge deeper and faster inside her before he tensed, and she felt him pumping his own release.
Brandon collapsed on top of her, and Chloe raked her fingers up and down his slick back as she relished the weight of him. This was her favorite moment of sex, this moment when they were still one, basking in the pleasure of being together, fully sated. She wished she could hold on to it forever.
“That was amazing,” he told her with a satisfied sigh.
“Ditto,” she replied.
Several quiet moments passed before he shifted, then stood to dispose of the condom. At the loss of Brandon touching her, Chloe wondered if regret would set in. It didn’t.
She knew beyond a doubt that this night would forever sit with her, and she knew that she was falling in love with the man. But she also knew she had to leave. There was no way for the two of them to simply slip into this role of boyfriend and girlfriend. It was far too complicated.
Chloe sat up and reached for her clothes. She had her bra and shirt on when he returned to the room, his eyes instantly narrowing.
“What are you doing?” he asked as he stalked toward her with purpose.
“I’m going home,” she told him, making sure to keep emotion from her tone.
He dropped down to his knees, his arms caging her in against the couch. His eyes searched hers. She wasn’t sure what he was trying to see, but she was still feeling satisfied. There wasn’t sadness or panic—at least not yet. She wasn’t sure if that would come later or not.
“We aren’t finished,” he told her. He leaned down and kissed her still-naked thighs, and unbelievably, Chloe felt heat spark again in her core. She pushed against his shoulder.
“I’m going home, Brandon. That was wonderful, and I can honestly say I haven’t felt anything like it since . . . well, since the last time we made love. But I’m going home now,” she finished strongly and then was relieved when he backed away.
He was stunning as he kneeled before her, completely comfortable in his nakedness. The man was gorgeous. Of course he was comfortable in nothing but his birthday suit.
“I don’t want you to go,” he told her, his lips set in a firm line.
“That’s not your choice to make,” she replied.
She stood and slipped on her panties and slacks, almost enjoying the heat in his eyes as he gazed up at her. Seeing him in front of her on his knees, his body hard and glistening, was almost enough to make her change her mind. That told her more than anything else that she needed to get the heck out of there.
“Why don’t I come home with you, then?” he suggested as he stood and reached for his pants, sliding them on without bothering with underwear. Her knowing there was barely anything covering that most beautiful part of him made her core grow even more hot and wet. She shook her head.
“Nope. I’m leaving now,” she said. Her clothes were in place, and she began the fairly long walk back to the kitchen, where she’d left her purse and keys.
Brandon didn’t say anything else as he followed her, but she could feel his hot breath on the back of her neck. Her body had been reawakened, and even his breath was sending tingles all the way through her.
She grabbed her keys, and he stopped her from taking another step with nothing more than his hand on her arm. She schooled her expression before meeting his gaze.
“You’ve had a lot of wine,” he pointed out.
“My last drink was well over an hour ago, and I feel fine. I’d never drive drunk,” she said indignantly.
He assessed her, and then his shoulders drooped as he seemed to agree that she was perfectly capable of driving. If she’d had any more wine, she might not have wanted to leave.
Brandon walked her all the way outside, and even though it couldn’t have been more than thirty degrees out, he moved onto his front porch, not even shaking as he stood there.
“Thanks for coming with me tonight,” she said after stepping farther away from him.
“I was going to say that,” he told her with a wicked gleam in his eyes.
That one little glance had her squirming on her feet. If she didn’t want to end up in the man’s bed or couch again, she knew beyond a doubt that she couldn’t be alone with him. He was just too damn powerful for her to resist.
“This was great, Brandon,” she said before firming her shoulders. “It was a great goodbye.”
She turned to go again, and he called out her name. There was someth
ing so sexy and commanding in the one word that she couldn’t help but turn back around and look at him.
“This isn’t even close to finished,” he told her with a smile she felt in all the wrong places.
Chloe knew she didn’t have the strength or will to fight him any longer. She just turned on her heels and moved quickly to her car, feeling his eyes on her the entire way. She had no doubt that what he said might as well have been a prophecy. If Brandon wasn’t finished with her yet, there was no way she wasn’t going to get scorched some more.
Chloe should have felt a heck of a lot more upset by that fact than she did.
CHAPTER TWELVE
It was a week before Christmas, and the restaurant was filled to capacity with those picking up their bakery orders and others wanting a quick lunch while out doing last-minute shopping. The coffee machine had been running nonstop, and Chloe’s feet felt as if they were about to fall off.
It was a normal holiday week for her at the restaurant, and she was grateful for the business, but that didn’t mean she wasn’t going to fully enjoy the annual spa day she and her friends took on December 27 to repair the damage to her body from a full week of nonstop work.
Brooke had come in to visit with her, and her friend could barely keep up as she trailed Chloe around the busy kitchen and dining room.
“You’ve been somewhat off since the second I stepped in here. I demand you tell me what’s going on,” Brooke said as she passed Chloe in the kitchen.
“I wanted to tell you everything, but we haven’t had a single second of time,” Chloe said, her order already up.
“You really need to hire more holiday help,” Brooke told her.
“I know, but this is what pays for my expensive spa trip each year,” Chloe reminded her friend.
“We wouldn’t need to go for so long if you weren’t torturing yourself,” Brooke pointed out.
“That’s pretty . . . um . . . logical,” Chloe said with a laugh.
One of the bartenders called out Chloe’s name, and she sighed with displeasure. Brooke glared at her.
