El listened to all Rowan had done since they’d parted almost a year ago. It was plain to see Quinn made her happy. She glowed from within. While Rowan talked, El said nothing. She wasn’t ready to tell her friend what happened after she’d left. Wasn’t ready to reveal the betrayal, the hurt, or her own stupidity. Trusting Ken had been the single dumbest thing she’d ever done. The price of that mistake had been high and Eloise had paid the price.
“I’ve babbled enough, what’s been happening with you?” Rowan asked.
“Same old, same old. You know how it is,” El hedged.
“What about the guy you’d started seeing? Ken? Are you two still going out?”
“Um, no. Things didn’t work out the way I expected.”
“Oh, come on, tell me all the details.”
“Maybe later. For now I want to hear about what you’ve planned for your honeymoon.” She changed the subject before Rowan could dig too deep into a wound that hadn’t healed. Her heart hadn’t been broken in the Ken debacle, she’d been ashamed of how little the nasty break-up had affected her heart. Finding him in bed with her assistant had hurt but finding her business accounts cleaned out of their funds had been far more devastating. El had come to the conclusion she’d never really loved Ken, it had been more of an in love with love thing. No, her heart hadn’t been broken but her pride and self-confidence had.
El allowed Rowan’s plans to fill her mind. With images of tropical beaches dancing in her head she almost forgot the hormones doing a two-step through her body. She even fooled herself into thinking she imagined the level of arousal she’d been caught in.
They’d finished their first cup of coffee when her temperature suddenly spiked and the air around her crackled. Her skin pulled tight, her nipples drew up into rock-hard nubs and moisture filled her panties. The pounding of her heart echoed in her ears and she swayed on her stool, lightheaded with the rush of blood through her body.
Rowan grabbed her arm and stopped her from toppling to the floor. Gripping the counter edge, El tried to take deep breaths. Her head cleared but blood roared in her ears, making her dizzy all over again. She knew before the door opened that he was coming. The hunk of testosterone from the front room. She knew with every quiver of her flesh he was the reason she turned into a boiling pot of lust.
“Are you all right?” Rowan asked.
She concentrated on the mug in front of her, tried to block out everything else and focus on the cup. El felt him enter the room, felt him back off but not leave. What the hell was with that? Rowan still had her by the arm, talking to her but she couldn’t make out the words over the pounding in her ears.
With great effort El managed to speak. “I’ll be all right. Just give me a second. Jet lag, I think.”
“You need to go lie down, have a rest before lunch.” Rowan slipped from her stool, pulling El up with her.
“I think you’re right. A nap will do me good.” El didn’t think a nap would help anything but she needed out of the room and away from the man who crowded her without coming near.
She stood on wobbly legs, got her balance but wondered how the hell she was going to get upstairs without falling flat on her face. A cautious step had her knees shaking and her hand flying out to catch the edge of the counter again.
She caught something all right, something solid and warm but it wasn’t the counter.
Fire streaked up her arm from her hand. She’d connected with his hip. Her fingers curled into the denim and held on. If she thought he generated heat at a distance it was nothing compared to the furnace he was up close. Every muscle grew soft. The air in her lungs evaporated and her mind went blank seconds before the world went black.
Brogan had never been more thankful for his quick reflexes than now. El had barely begun the slide to the floor before he had his arm around her waist and her body snug against his. He looked over her head at Rowan.
“She fainted,” he said.
The astonishment on Rowan’s face mirrored his. Her mouth opened and closed, but no words came out.
“Did that ever happen with you and Quinn?” he asked.
“Once, but that was during a joining, not from just a touch.” Quinn’s quiet words came from behind him.
Brogan looked over his shoulder. “Is this normal?”
“Probably. You had some serious vibes going on before, but when her hand connected with you the heat just about singed my eyebrows.” Quinn reached over and checked El’s pulse.
Brogan knew her heart raced but it had slowed since she fainted. He altered his grip, scooted his arm behind her knees and swung her up against his chest. She couldn’t weigh a hundred pounds, her bones were slight and there was a small amount of padding in all the right places. She was such a little thing. How could she possibly hold up against him?
The fear of what his strength could do to her sliced through him. How could he possibly hope not to hurt her? His needs were wild, and his need for her was greater than any he’d known. Arms trembling, he turned to face Quinn.
“She’s so tiny.” His words quaked with the anxiety exploding in his mind.
“Don’t underestimate her, Brogan. El is tiny in stature but huge in courage,” Rowan said.
“Rowan’s right. Her inner strength is what you need to worry about and she’s more than proven herself over the years they spent together.”
He stared at Quinn, hoping he was right. Needing him to be right.
“Did you give her the back room? I’ll take her up and sit with her until she comes around.” At Quinn’s nod Brogan stepped toward the door.
“No. I’ll sit with her. I don’t think her waking up with you in the room is a good idea.” Rowan’s soft footsteps followed him.
He knew she was right but he wanted to stay with El. No, what he really wanted was to take her to his room, lock the door and not let her out until she’d accepted who he was. Rushing things wouldn’t get him anywhere, but the need to get there now warred with his need to protect her.
Rowan scooted around him and led the way upstairs. Entering the bedroom had his senses tingling. Every part of the room felt touched by El. Her scent lingered in the air and her warmth filled all the corners. In less than two hours she’d stamped her claim on more than just him.
When Rowan pulled the covers back he lowered El’s inert body to the bed, together they removed her shoes. She’d be more comfortable with her clothes off but he doubted she’d be happy waking up naked, especially with him in the room. There was no way he was leaving her no matter how much his sister protested.
He sat on the bed at El’s hip and brushed the hair from her face. They didn’t pull the covers over her as the central heating kept the room warm and he didn’t want her to overheat. Her face still looked flushed but her forehead was cool to his touch.
“You can go now, Brogan. I’ll sit with her,” Rowan murmured.
“I’m staying.”
His sister chose not to argue, whether from the tone of his voice or the distraction of worrying about El, he didn’t care. He wasn’t leaving until she woke.
El rubbed her cheek against the fluffy pillow beneath her head. Pillow? She was in bed? The last thing she remembered was standing in the kitchen, telling Rowan she’d lie down for a while. She didn’t remember coming up here.
Warm fingers smoothed her hair back. Startled, her eyes flew open and she pulled away. Two gold orbs stared back. They made her think of animals hiding in the bushes in the dead of night, but these eyes belonged to a very real, very large man. One who sat on her bed as if he had every right to be there.
“Easy, I won’t hurt you.” He continued to stroke her hair with steady, even sweeps.
“What…what happened?” Her whispered words had him leaning closer.
“You fainted, but you’re okay. I didn’t let you hit the floor.” His gaze was hypnotic and strangely reassuring.
Warm breath fanned her face, filled her with the need to draw it in, take part of him inside her. She wanted to rub against the hand stroking her head. She didn’t even know who he was.
“Who are you?”
“Brogan.”
Rowan’s brother.
The man who’d become an image in her mind. Strong, solid. Rowan had talked so much about him and Quinn over the years that El felt she knew Brogan even though they’d never met or spoken. He looked nothing like what her imagination had conjured up. This man was huge for a start and those eyes… She’d never seen that color in a human. Molten gold—simmering and swirling as if in constant flow.
She licked her dry lips, swallowed over the rawness in her throat. She’d been freezing since she arrived in the country but now her body was acting as if she were on Bondi beach in the middle of a heat wave.
“Do you want a drink?” Rowan’s head popped up behind Brogan’s shoulder. El hadn’t realized there was anyone else in the room.
“Just a glass of water.” Her tongue stuck to the roof of her mouth and her words came out as if the damn thing were four times its normal size.
“Be right back.” Rowan disappeared, her footsteps echoing softly.
“Do you still feel dizzy?” Brogan asked.
Did she? No, not anymore, but she remembered the flash of heat just before everything went black. Her parched throat and tacky skin were signs that she hadn’t imagined the burn she got from touching him. Where was that burn now?
“No, I’m feeling much better.” She tried to sit up.
“Don’t get up yet.” With a hand on her shoulder, he pushed her back down.
“I was just going to sit,” she protested.
“Oh, okay, hang on then.”
He leaned over her and his chest brushed across her breasts, trailed over the tips, bringing them to instant attention. He grabbed a pillow from the other side of the bed and lifted her to tuck it behind her head, pressing her sensitized flesh into him. A shiver traveled down her spine.
“Now there’s something I never expected to see. Brogan Wilder playing nursemaid.” Rowan’s laughter filled the room.
El’s gaze fell on his face. Was he blushing?
Yes, his cheeks and neck had a tinge of pink in them. He pulled away and allowed his sister to pass her the glass of water. El couldn’t help it; in great big gulps she tried to quench her arid throat and douse the fire springing to life inside her.
“Hey, hey, slow down.” Brogan snatched the glass from her. “You’ll choke if you’re not careful. Just take small sips.”
He held the drink to her lips and she tried to take it back but he wrapped his fingers around her wrist and pulled her hand away.
“I can do it myself,” she huffed.
“Yes, you can, but I’m doing it for you and you’re going to let me.” His stern tone invited no further argument.
“Best to let him have his way, El, since he’ll just make things harder if you don’t,” Rowan said as she headed to the door. “I’ll be downstairs if you need anything.”
El watched her friend go. She didn’t want to be left alone with Brogan but she couldn’t think of a reason that she could voice and Rowan wouldn’t leave her if he posed any real threat. She slowly turned to look at Brogan. The heat was still there but somehow not as scorching, not as frightening. The effect he had on her confused her more than anything. He was such a big man who exuded strength from every pore and yet somehow at the moment he seemed vulnerable.
Her gaze met his and he smiled. If she hadn’t been turned-on before, she was now. That smile wasn’t just toe-curling, it was panty-wetting. It held all sorts of naughty intentions and El wanted to strip herself bare and let him have at it. She’d never been overly sexual. Sex was nice but she didn’t crave it. No other man had ever wiped her mind of everything but the need to consume and be consumed.
Brogan had her body coursing with sensations foreign to her, needs she had no idea she was capable of. Caught between common sense and baser urges, she wondered which way she’d go. She devoured him with her gaze, watched his eyes blaze with heat, heard his ragged breath grow shallow. He leaned forward, his lips inches from hers. Would he kiss her? Did she want him to?
Yes!
In the next breath Brogan closed the distance.
Heat lightning streaked through her, electrified every nerve, every cell. Her whole body screamed to be touched, stroked—possessed. Arching up, she slammed her breasts into his chest. Crushed against the wall of muscle, her nipples tingled and hardened, a line of fire darting from each straight to her throbbing core.
His tongue pushed against her lips and opening, she invited him in. The tangy taste of Brogan filled her mouth, her soul and she groped for his head, pulled him closer. Their tongues dueled—clashed—ought for control of a kiss that was all about greed. Teeth scraped against lips as each tried to get farther inside the other.
She pulled him down until the length of his body pressed into hers. She spread her legs wide, wrapped them around his hips and ground her sex on his. The hard ridge rubbed her clit, sent flames through her pussy and drew moisture from her core. Their hips pumped, mimicking the act their bodies craved. Over and over, his cock thrust against her clit, pushing her closer to the edge.
His hand slid between them and cupped a breast, lifting it. Fingers tweaked her nipple, tugged to the point of pain. Sensations splintered and El’s arousal detonated. With blinding intensity she shattered into a thousand pieces. The one thing keeping her from flying away, keeping it all tied together was him. A hoarse cry tore from her throat.
“Brogan.”