Page 76 of Blitzing Emily

“It’s important that you’re comfy,” he assured her, and she burst into laughter. He threw himself behind the wheel in nothing but a pair of black boxer briefs. He was a mess, and he was still gorgeous. He handed her the jar. “Take care of him, sugar.”

“Do you often drive half-naked?”

“Nobody’s going to see,” he said. They were driving on a heavily traveled street in a highly populated area. Maybe Brandon thought they were invisible.

A few minutes after Emily dropped the frog in his jar off on Simon’s front porch, they pulled up in front of Brandon’s house. She kicked off her muddy shoes and left them under the bench in the hallway. Brandon tugged her down the hallway to his room.

“I need to find something I can wear home. My pants—” she tried to tell him.

He pulled her into his arms. “Right now, getting cleaned up is Job One.” His voice dropped. “There’s plenty of room in the shower for both of us.”

“Your car needs a bath, too.”

“I’m not so worried about that at the moment.”

He shut the bedroom door behind them and made no move to flip on a light. The dimness wrapped around them like a blanket, dense and soft. She played in his chest hair. She laid her cheek against his scratchier one as she closed her eyes and clasped her arms around his waist. Her clothes were trashed, she smelled like a swamp, and he didn’t seem to care. He drew her closer.

He started slowly—the slightest brush of his lips on hers. His mouth was warm and tender on hers. He did it again. She slid one hand into his hair, tangling her fingertips in his curls. He kissed the corners of her mouth. His stubble scraped her, and she let out a moan. She stood on her tiptoes, and sealed her mouth over his.

Brandon kissed her till she was breathless, till her knees threatened to buckle, till she fumbled at the button and zipper of her pants. He moved her hands away, and took over.

Desire surged through her, an unstoppable force. At that moment, it didn’t matter to her that he’d gotten busy with innumerable women before, or that she was about to get smashed like a bug on the windshield of Brandon’s love life.

They were still engaged. They were dating. Hell, they had a wedding date. They kissed—a lot. They touched each other. Things would get hot and heavy between them, and then, one or both of them would run away. Maybe he was waiting for her. It was possible.

She’d tasted his kisses and felt his arms around her when he was hundreds of miles away. She’d heard his quiet voice in her ear when she couldn’t sleep, and lay wondering if he was thinking about her, too. His scent was imprinted on her memory: Clean skin, and a hint of his aftershave. She saw his smile even when he was nowhere around, and she saw a dimple she could lose her car keys in when he laughed. She felt safe with him.

Tonight, right now, she wasn’t running away. She wanted him. She knew he wanted her. His voice dropped to a murmur.

“You’re not afraid of the dark, are you?”

He pushed her pants down. She stepped on the toes of her trouser socks, attempting to pull them off.

“There might be monsters under your bed.”

He nibbled at the base of her neck. “I’ll make sure they’re all gone,” he said.

He stepped on the bunched-up clothing at her ankles, pulled her out of the tangled pants and socks, and led her into his bathroom.

She tugged her sweater off over her head and dropped it onto the bathroom floor. She tried to wrestle the clasp of her bra around to her front to unhook it. Damn thing. She wasn’t letting a lingerie salesperson talk her out of those front clasp bras again.

She felt Brandon’s big hands over hers, brushing skin ultra-sensitive with arousal.

He reached into the shower, flipped on the taps, and undid her bra clasp with one smooth motion.

“How did you learn to do that? I can’t get that thing off myself.”

“Of course you can’t,” he said into her ear. “I’m a professional.” His hands moved over her, sliding down her back, pulling her into him. Two thin layers of cotton and elastic separated them. She’d have to do something about this.

“You must have taken some kind of class,” she teased.

“I was a very good student,” he said. “Wait till you see what else I learned.”

Imagining what that might be made her toes curl.

She managed to shove his underwear off and tried pulling at her own. It was still wet from landing on her butt in a mud puddle, and peeling it off took some effort. Finally, though, they tugged each other into the shower enclosure.

A rain bath shower nozzle directed a steady stream of soothing, warm water over their heads. Numerous recessed body sprays on the walls massaged their tired muscles. Brandon’s mouth came down on hers again as he backed her against one of the walls. Their tongues tangled as he pressed his hips into hers. He was hard and hot against her belly. She reached out to cup his butt in her fingers, pulling him closer, and ground her pelvis against his erection.

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