Page 36 of Iron Willed Warrior

But more than that, I was worried for her. I didn’t like emotions getting in the way of my work, and with this woman? All my wires were getting crossed. I was so far out of my element with this mission.

She rubbed her cheek against my stubbled one. My hands found her hips, and Brynn started swaying seductively to the Led Zeppelin song now playing on the speakers. Never thought you could slow dance to “Black Dog,” but Brynn was making it work.

“You’re being all stiff and awkward.” She laughed softly and pulled back a bit so our eyes met again. Her lashes fluttered. “Where’s that look you gave me earlier? The one atKeira’s house. Like you…you know, like you were crazy for me.”

“You mean, for Brianna.”

“Exactly. There’s a lot we haven’t worked out. Are Brianna and Cameron a new couple? Have we been together a while?” She lifted one hand to run her fingers through my short hair, and the tips of her nails scratched against my scalp. I closed my eyes, enjoying the sensation and letting myself relax.

“A few months,” I said. “New enough that Cameron is unreasonably territorial.”

She nodded. “But also long enough that Brianna knows how to soothe him.”

“Seems like she does.” Everything else in the bar faded, and my vision tunneled on the woman in front of me. “What about kissing?”

Her eyes widened. “What about it?”

“Is that off limits? Just trying to figure out how far this practice is supposed to go.”

“I mean…no. Not off limits. We’ll probably have to.” Her voice had dipped.

“Probably. At some point. Tell me if you don’t like anything I’m doing,” I murmured. “Okay?”

“Yeah. Okay.”

If she wanted to practice, I figured I might as well oblige.

I gathered her against me. Her breasts pushed into my chest. I dropped my head to press my lips to the pulse point at her neck. It thrummed wildly. Brynn tilted her head at the contact of my mouth on her skin, and her fingers tightened on the collar of my shirt. She made a soft sound, barely audible compared to the music playing overhead, but I felt it in her throat.

Fake, I reminded myself.This is all fake.

As we danced, Brynn’s eyes kept lowering to my lips. Wasshe in character? Had to be. But the heady cocktail of chemicals in my bloodstream, rushing straight to my cock, was the real damn thing.

Each song blended into the next. The bar lights a blur of neon in her eyes, even though I’d had only the one beer.

“You could kiss me now,” she said after a while. Barely a whisper. “Might as well get it over with.”

She made kissing me sound as exciting as getting her teeth cleaned at the dentist.

But if she wanted a kiss? Well, I could deliver.

I brought my lips to hers. She didn’t pull away. Instead, she wiggled even closer to me. Grabbed onto my shirt. I’d meant to start this gently, not going too far too fast. But she was urging me on.

My tongue traced the shape of her lower lip, and when she opened to me, I licked inside. Brynn tasted sweet. Like she’d been eating candy before she’d arrived at the bar. No trace of alcohol, because she’d left the martini the kid had bought for her. That guy didn’t matter.

Nobody mattered right now but the two of us. The way our bodies were in sync. She wanted natural, and I couldn’t imagine anything more natural than this.

I couldn’t remember the last time I just let go, gave in to exactly what I wanted. She was giving me all the signals, and at the moment, I just didn’t care what was pretend and what wasn’t.

All I could think was,More, please.

I changed the angle of the kiss, deepening it. Brynn was right there with me. Then she took over, and I loved that even more. Becausethiswas the real Brynn, a woman who didn’t shy away from being in command. And while I didn’t take orders easily, not from anyone, I was happy to let her drive. If only so she could show me exactly how to make her feel good.

Our tongues tangled and danced, giving and taking, and it made me wonder what being in bed with her would be like. I had the feeling Brynn was no pushover when it came to sex. Like every interaction we’d had, she would make me work to be in charge, and damn, did I want that opportunity.

Then she pulled away from me with a gasp, her eyes glazed. Her lips were parted. Pink and wet from the friction against mine.

My cock was like steel. I still had my arms around her, so I separated our bodies by a few inches. “You okay?”

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