Stripped (37 page)

When they pulled into his driveway, Opie sounded the alarm, barking his infernal head off and lunging at the end of his new, improved chain. Brandon took a moment to observe the dog’s enthusiastic attempts to break free, smirked when the thick links held and jerked Opie back each time. Exactly what the elephant had needed from the get go.

Natalya hesitated at his front porch steps. “Maybe you should park the car in the street.”

He glanced at her, trying to ascertain if he’d heard sarcasm in her voice. The worried tug to her eyebrows, however, revealed seriousness.

“Why?”

She shrugged. “In case anyone else gets any bright ideas about screwing with my car.”

He squinted at her. “So we’ll park it farther away?”

“So if it, I don’t know, blows up or something it can’t do any damage?”

He almost laughed. Until he remembered one particular explosion that struck too close to home. Glancing over Natalya’s shoulder, he considered her car. Parking it a block away had merit. Parking it in the garage, however, held even more. He’d hear the door open if anyone tried to tamper with the Accord.

Brandon returned down the short walkway and punched the keycode opener on the side of his garage. As the panel lifted, he jogged to Natalya’s car and moved it inside. She met him at the interior door.

“Better?” he asked with a grin.

“Better.”

Fitting his key in the door, and his free hand into the small of her back, he escorted her inside his kitchen where the light over his island stove illuminated the tiled floor and walnut cabinets. Natalya gravitated to the drop-in convection oven. “You cook?”

“Not much. You?” Brandon shoved his hands under the faucet, anxious to scrub.

“I used to when Kate and I were in college. Not so much now. That’s some dog next door.”

She was stalling, and he wasn’t terribly inclined to hurry her up. The more she relaxed, the more likely he’d get something meaningful out of her. Specifically who she feared and why.

“Opie’s a nut ball. If he likes you, he
loves
you. If he doesn’t like you, you better run and hope the chain holds.”

“Sounds like the perfect kind of dog.” Natalya meandered to his refrigerator and pulled open the door.

“He’s not so bad. Can I get you something?”

“Mind if I have some of this orange juice?”

Brandon pulled a glass from the dishwasher. Before he could turn fully around, Natalya plucked it from his hands. “You don’t have to wait on me. I can get it.”

As she poured, he admired her thighs. Until tonight, when he’d watched her use those damning legs to hold herself onto a metal pole, he’d never realized just how much strength they contained. Now, as he traced the contours of well-formed muscle, he wondered how he’d never noticed. Pretty legs. Deadly legs.

He cleared his throat as the familiar stirring of desire prickled his skin. “Listen, Natalya, back at Fantasia—”

“Oh, that.” Natalya drank deeply from her glass. “Don’t worry about it.”

“No. It isn’t that simple.”

Delicate eyebrows arched. “It’s not? Looked that way to me. You told me not to, I did it anyway, and you didn’t like it.”

Brandon’s frown returned in an instant. Put that way, the summary did sound simple. But she glossed over the real concerns. Some of which she understood. Some of which she couldn’t begin to comprehend. He crossed to her and braced both hands on the countertop, framing her between his arms. “No, it’s not that simple.”

Time for some bold honesty. If he intended to gain hers, he’d have to surrender some of his. He took a shallow breath and another step closer. Her body heat rolled into him, making him painfully aware of her nearness. His pulse kicked up a notch. “You said some other things.”

“Right. Like you’re jealous.” Over the rim of her glass, her eyes twinkled. “Are you?”

Avoiding the question, Brandon plucked the glass from her hands and set it on the counter near her hip. “Why are you here?”

She blinked. For a nanosecond, her cool facade faltered, and those jade green eyes failed to cloak momentary surprise. But on her next blink, the mask of indifference settled firmly into place. “Because you needed a ride home.”

“And you have yet to ask me for your keys to leave.”

Come on, baby. Where are you?
He pressed his thigh between hers, searching for contact with the truth the only way he knew how. A lift of his heel brushed the top of his thigh against her pussy. Slowly. Deliberately. He left his leg there, adding a little weight to tease her clitoris as her lashes fluttered and her lips parted. Lowering his voice to a near whisper, he asked again, “Why are you here, Natalya?”

“Because…” She licked her lips and swallowed. Her composure threatened to break again, evidenced by the hitch in her breathing. With her next breath, however, control slid over her expression once more. “I haven’t asked to leave yet.”

Damn
it.

His gaze searched hers, his own heart thumping, his cock hard. She was like a safe, locked up tight and impossible to open without the right code. There had to be a way, other than using her body against her. At this rate, by the time she yielded, he’d be so turned on he’d forget what he’d set out to accomplish.

He lifted his knee again, stroking her clit a second time. Turning his head a fraction, he brushed his lips across her cheek. “Why not?” Determined on victory, Brandon bent his elbows and grazed his chest against her breasts. Her hardened nipples stabbed through the light fabric of his shirt. His cock pulsed, the urge to satisfy her body’s silent requests, instinctive and fierce. She was primed and ready. But damn it, so was he.

Summoning every last ounce of his willpower, he straightened his arms and withdrew his upper body. Heavy-lidded, her gaze latched onto his, but her eyes remained impassive.
Where are you, Natalya? Where, damn
it?

“I just haven’t,” she murmured.

Brandon’s body screamed for contact. His skin felt too tight, his pulse much too fast. The hollowness in his gut corresponded with the throbbing of his cock, and he gave into temptation for a fleeting heartbeat. He dropped his body full into hers, lowered his mouth to the side of her neck. A teasing nip was all he could risk, and even that had him swallowing back a groan when she tipped her head sideways inviting him to more.

Lifting his head, his eyes tracked the delicate line of her jaw to her full, soft lips, the bump at the bridge of her nose. She hadn’t always been so elegant. A tomboy once? Had she broken it climbing a tree? He couldn’t help but grin.

Yet as his eyes locked with hers, his grin vanished. His heart clanged into his ribs. She was here.
Right fucking here.

“Why?” he whispered.

“Because I want to stay,” she answered just as quietly.

Now they were getting somewhere.

B

She flattened a palm against his chest. Fingertips curled into his shirt. The breath she drew shuddered. “Yes.”

Truth
. He closed his eyes and breathed in the sweet scent of springtime lilacs. Forcing himself not to get caught up in the heavenly aroma, he steered his mind back on course. This was about answers. Quenching desire came later.

He trailed the tip of his tongue along her prominent collarbone. “Because what happened this afternoon wasn’t just casual?”

Her nails scraped against his chest as her fingers curled tighter. He felt the tenseness in her shoulders as she held her breath. She closed her eyes, and Brandon swore silently. Retreat. She’d retreat before he could ever reach through, grab on, and hold her near. Damn, damn,
damn
!

But when Natalya’s lashes lifted, to his complete surprise, nothing had changed. He could still read through to the depths of her soul and witness the unguarded truths she continually locked out of sight. Her breath came out in a shaky rush, arousal claiming her as quickly as it claimed him. “Right.”

His stomach pitched a somersault, and his cock filled to capacity. Holy shit. He’d suspected. But he hadn’t expected her to
admit
it.
Caught up by a wave of unexpected feeling, he gave himself permission to indulge and wound his arms around her waist, urging her body into alignment with his. She came willingly, her hips molding into his, her arms sliding around his neck. Brandon caught her lower lip between his teeth, tugging her mouth closer. Their kiss was fleeting, the brief touch of their tongues insignificant. Intoxicating all the same.

He surrendered her mouth and rested his forehead against hers, praying he could hold out long enough to accomplish answers. “Did you defy me to provoke me?”

Natalya shook her head, but her eyes never left his.

Truth.

“Because you need the money?”

“Yes,” she murmured, her blink lasting longer than necessary.

Lie.
He frowned and dropped one hand to the gentle curve of her bottom. He’d let the lie slide, but under no circumstance would he allow those shutters to snap closed. Holding her firmly in place, he rubbed his swollen erection against the sensitive flesh he knew would be wet. Her hoarse moan gave him victory.

Slipping his other hand between their bodies, he tugged at her tank top, bunching it into his hands until the warmth of her skin met his knuckles. He slid his fingers over her ribs, higher to the thin satin that covered her breasts. Cupping his palm around the weighty flesh, he rolled his thumb over one hard, distended nipple. He played with her lips, kissed her slow and easy, tasting the desire that burned within her. Her breath came hard and fast, beckoning to him, and Brandon let down his guard to sink his body into hers and kiss her with all the ferocious need that boiled in his blood.

At her moan, he drew back. Not yet. He couldn’t get lost in her until he understood. Aware what he intended to ask next possessed the ability to repel her away, he took his time, keeping his forehead against hers, holding her gaze steadily. A union far more intimate than anything he’d ever experienced. Looking into her eyes, touching her body,
watching
the honest way she responded to him—Brandon’s head felt dizzy.

She arched her back into his palm, her lashes threatening to close. When he gave that aroused nipple a deliberate pinch, her lashes lifted, and she let out a gasp. The sound ricocheted into him, vibrating down his spine to take root in his groin. His cock throbbed in answer.

He swallowed to wet his drying throat, but his words still came out harsh and unsteady. “Do you carry that gun because you’re afraid of someone?”

“No.”

He’d made the mistake of letting his gaze drop to her mouth, and at her answer he jerked it swiftly back to her eyes, expecting to find the veil barring him from the truth. Instead, it shocked him to find once again, she’d spoken the truth. She wasn’t afraid? How the hell was that possible?

A frown pulled at his brow as he searched through all the logical explanations he could come up with. He took his best guess. “For someone?”

Biting down on her lower lip, she wriggled her body against his with a faint, but distinct nod. “Please, Brandon, no more talking.” Her nails raked down his back as she dragged her hips firmly against his. A shudder rolled down her spine, and she let out a soft moan.

Damnation, he ached to give her the relief she wanted. It would be so easy to yield and lift her onto the countertop. Peel off her shorts, unfasten his pants… He bit back a groan and squeezed his eyes shut tight. He still had things to say, and once they crossed that bridge, he didn’t know what might happen. She could very well lock herself away so tightly he might never get through again.

He brought his other hand between their bodies and pushed her shirt all the way up. Withdrawing from her long enough to pull it over her head, he dropped it on the floor and dipped his mouth to the deep valley between her breasts. Cupping her breasts with both hands, he massaged the soft, warm flesh and trailed his lips over the high swell. Working his way lower, he paused above one dusky nipple and looked back up to her face. “Would it be so bad if I were jealous?”

Natalya’s fingers slid into his hair as she arched her back, urging her nipple closer to his mouth. “No.”

Truth.

Brandon swirled his tongue around the erect bud. “Would you believe me if I told you I wanted you off stage to protect you?”

“Yes.”

Lie. What the fuck?

He closed his mouth around her nipple and sucked hard. Her gasp cut through the relative quiet, and her nails dug into his scalp. He ignored the pressure of her hands that demanded he stay put and let the slippery flesh slide from his lips. The undulation of her body sent spasms of pleasure rolling through him. Good Lord, he wanted to be inside her. He didn’t know how much longer he could suffer the torment of desire and the conflicting need to know what made her tick. The need to understand just how she viewed this
thing
between them.

Releasing her breasts, he brought both hands to her waist and dipped his fingers beneath the tight elastic of her shorts. He pushed the cotton down, taking her thong underwear with it, and cupped the smooth contour of her firm cheeks. Bringing her softness closer to his aching cock. So close he could feel her moist heat despite the barrier of his pants. Brandon shuddered.

His teeth scored into her shoulder before he closed his lips and planted a soft kiss against her creamy skin. “I do, Natalya,” he murmured. “I want to protect you.”

Natalya’s hands slid over his shoulders. Nimble fingers found the buttons along the front of his shirt, slowly popping them free. When she pushed the loose material to the edge of his shoulders and her smooth palms glided over his chest, he sucked in a sharp breath. Brandon swayed under the staggering sensation. He hadn’t realized how much he’d been craving the feel of her hands on him. Not until now, when he’d pushed so hard to make contact with her that he’d opened himself as well.