Page 81 of Bad Boys After Dark - Brett
“Whoa, girl,” Brett said, bringing her to a halt. He dismounted and reached up to help Sophie down. “We survived.”
“We more than survived. That was the hugest aphrodisiac ever.”
“Mm,” he said against her neck as he placed a kiss there. “I told you, I’m going to fulfill all your fantasies, sexy girl.”
She pushed her hands beneath his shirt. His skin was hot, his muscles hard, and when she gazed into his eyes, she saw just what her touch was doing to him—and loved it.
“Careful, baby. There’re no trees around here. I’ve got no place to tie up the horse.”
“Who needs to tie her up? All you have to do is stand there.” She dragged her hands down his abs and hooked her finger into the waist of his jeans. “Have I told you about my cowboy fantasy?”
His eyes smoldered.
“Don’t let go of the reins, big boy…” She unbuttoned his jeans and pressed a kiss to his stomach, then proceeded to fulfill a steamy fantasy she hadn’t even known she possessed until her panty scorcher rode up on the horse.
Chapter Seventeen
BRETT PACKED HIS clothes Tuesday evening, listening to the sounds of Sophie and her family floating up from downstairs. They were leaving the next day, and the end of their visit was bittersweet. After being woken up at the crack of dawn by Nana the Curtain Opener, Brett had learned how to milk a cow. He’d helped with the barn chores, and Nana had made an elaborate breakfast. He and Poppi put up motion-sensor lights on their house and on Sophie’s parents’ house. They spent the rest of the day picking apples at an orchard with her grandparents and baking. Brett thought Dylan, who loved to bake and who Brett loved to tease about it, would get a kick out of hearing he’d spent the day in the kitchen. The banter between Nana and Poppi had Brett in stitches, but it was the intimate moments he and Sophie shared as they worked side by side cutting apples and measuring ingredients, pouring love into the food, that made him want even more than they already had together.
“Daydreaming? Isn’t that my sister’s job?” Lindsay walked into the bedroom carrying a small stack of his and Sophie’s clothes.
“Shoot. We forgot to throw those into the dryer. I’m sorry.” He took the clothes and put them in his bag.
“No worries. Mom threw them in for you.” She sat on the edge of the bed and tucked a sock that was hanging over the edge of the bag back inside. “I heard Sophie talking to Grace on the phone earlier. You know she’s head over heels for you, right?”
He zipped up his luggage. “It’s mutual, Lindsay. You don’t need to read me the protective-sister act. I promise I’m not going to hurt her.”
“I wasn’t going to.” She rose to her feet again, and her gaze softened. “I just wanted to be sure you knew.”
“I can’t hide my feelings either. How could I miss hers?”
“From what I’ve heard, you can be a little slow on the uptake.” She smiled with the tease. “Seriously, though. I’m glad you’re in her life. I’ve never seen her this happy. And what you did for her in the barn? It almost makes me wish I wanted a long-term relationship.”
Brett laughed. “I couldn’t have coordinated that night without your help. Thank you. And as far as forever goes, love hits when you’re busy trying to avoid it, so watch out.”
“I’m pretty love repellent. Hurry down or you might not get any dessert. Your girlfriend has a thing for whipped cream and hot apple pie.”
As she left the bedroom, he mentally added whipped cream to his grocery list.
He went to the window and gazed out at her backyard, thinking about what he’d said to Lindsay about avoiding love and realized it wasn’t really true. When he’d rushed to the airport, avoiding anything having to do with Sophie wasn’t anywhere near his radar screen. But there was one thing he had been avoiding for too many years to count, and he wouldn’t have imagined it had anything to do with falling in love. But he would have been wrong, because the more deeply in love he fell with Sophie, the more he wanted her world to be everything she’d ever dreamed of. If he had a hope in hell of offering that to her, he needed to deal with the ghosts of his past.
