Fate (Steel Brothers Saga 13)

“Don’t you have…I don’t know. Cowboys to do that work?”

“Ranch hands you mean? We have lots of them, but Dad’s a hands-on kind of guy, and frankly, so am I. I know how to do almost every job around here. Dad made sure of it.”

“Your dad sounds like an amazing guy.”

I kissed her lips again. “In some ways. Go to sleep.” I walked toward the door.

“Brad?”

“Yeah?”

“Aren’t you going to stay with me?”

“Baby, if I stay in here with you, neither of us will get any sleep.”

Chapter Thirty-One

Daphne

“I’m not asking for sex, Brad,” I said. “But I’m in a strange house with people I’ve never met. I want something familiar next to me for the rest of the night.”

“The rest of the night is three hours, baby. Then I’ll be getting up.”

“I know. Please?”

“You think I can sleep next to you, have your body next to mine, and not want you?”

“I think you’re a grown man and you can control yourself. Just like I’m a grown woman and I can control myself.”

“You’re eighteen, Daphne.”

“And you’re twenty-two. If I can control myself, you should be able to.”

He laughed then. “Men and women are different.”

“Please, Brad?” I tried not to sound too needy, but I’d come along at his insistence, and now I felt…well…weird. His parents didn’t know I was here. What would they think when they woke up and found he’d brought a strange girl home? A strange girl he’d known for less than a week?

I opened my mouth to say as much, but he finally relented.

“All right. I’ll stay in here with you. I’m going to go to my room to get ready for bed because all my stuff is there. You get ready for bed as well, and I’ll meet you back here in a few minutes. Okay?”

I smiled. “Thank you.”

Already just knowing he’d be with me blanketed me in warm comfort. A warm comfort I’d never known. Not even my parents had given me such comfort and such a feeling of protection.

I might be imagining things, but oh, it was wonderful to imagine. In Brad’s arms, I was safe, protected, comforted.

Loved.

I grabbed the small bag I’d packed and headed into the bathroom. The room was a full bath worthy of the most elegant hotel. Separate shower and bathtub, two vanities, and a toilet and bidet. I only knew what a bidet was from French class.

I washed my face and brushed my teeth. I usually only washed my private parts once a day, in the morning when I showered, but I ran the soapy cloth over them now. Just in case Brad couldn’t control himself. I almost hoped he couldn’t. But he most likely could, since he’d been the one who stopped before.

A giant yawn split my face. Better not to try anything tonight anyway. We were both exhausted, and he would be getting up in three hours or so. Still, being fresh down there felt nice. I was glad I’d done it for him. I slipped on my cotton tank and boy shorts pajamas and made my way over to the gorgeous queen-size bed. This would be a lot nicer than those twin bunk beds in the dorm.

Which reminded me. Crap! I hadn’t left a note for Patty. Oh, well, she probably wouldn’t be home tonight anyway. I’d call her in the morning to let her know where I was. Not that she called me all those nights she stayed at Sean’s place. She probably wouldn’t worry at all.

I turned down the covers and sat down on the cotton sheets. Now to wait for—

A soft knock on the door.

“Brad?” I said.

The door opened. “Yeah, it’s me.”

I drew in a breath. He was wearing nothing but navy-blue boxers. His chest was so perfectly sculpted with just a smattering of black hair over it. His nipples were brown circles against his tanned skin, and his abs…oh, my. That was actually an eight-pack, not a six-pack. His shoulders broad and bare, and his arms. Those strong arms that made me feel safe and sound were corded with muscles.

Muscles that came from hard ranch work, not from the gym.

Brad Steel was magnificent.

And he’d be sleeping with me tonight.

“You look amazing,” he said.

I shivered. “They’re just pajamas.”

“You’d look even more amazing out of them.”

I shivered again.

“I’ll be good,” he said. “I promise. Come on. Morning is nearly here. Let’s get to bed.”

I crawled between the sheets of the mega-comfortable bed. Brad slipped in beside me.

“Come here,” he said.

I snuggled into his shoulder.

Before long, I was asleep.

I woke to the sun streaming through the blinds on the window. I sat up abruptly. Where am I?

Then I remembered.

Brad’s ranch.

I gulped audibly. Did I really drive for hours in the middle of the night to spend the weekend with a guy I’d only just met? And was I here, now, in his parents’ home? Lying in the most comfortable bed ever?