Breathless (Steel Brothers Saga 10)

She bit her lip as she listened to her brother for several minutes, only mumbling “okay” here and there. Finally, she said, “I will. You call me if anything changes. I don’t care what time it is.” Pause. “Okay. Bye.”

“You better now?” I asked.

She sighed. “A little. I don’t like her staying at the hospital.”

“The hospital is the safest place for her right now.”

“I know.” Her lips trembled, and her eyes glazed over with unshed tears.

“Come here.” I pulled her to me in a warm embrace.

She felt so good against me, and my cock hardened. Fuck. She didn’t need a horny man right now. She needed comfort.

So that was what I’d give her. I led her through the foyer and down into the family room, where I deposited her on the leather couch and then sat beside her. “The boys are asleep?”

“Yeah. I checked on them right before you arrived.”

I eyed the bar. “Can I get you anything? Water? A drink?”

She shook her head. “Just sit with me for a little while, okay?”

“Of course.”

She snuggled into me, and without thinking, I placed my arm around her shoulders. She felt so good in my arms, as if everything were right with the world.

Too bad everything was not right with the world.

But damn, with this beautiful woman in my arms, I could pretend it was, if only for tonight.

Funny. I was horny as hell for Marj, but the thought of fucking her wasn’t in my mind at the moment. I wanted to hold her, comfort her, let her lean on me. I wanted to be a rock for her.

Which was fucked up, really, because I was in no condition to be a rock for anyone. I couldn’t even be a rock for my own son and mother. They deserved better.

Marjorie Steel deserved better.

My legs itched. I should leave. I was the last thing she needed.

Yet she’d called me. She’d wanted me. She hadn’t called her brothers.

I kissed the top of her head once more.

Man, I was a goner.

Why had I tried to ease my ache for her with someone else? I could have fucked Heidi into oblivion, and I wouldn’t want Marjorie any less. I’d wanted her since I’d seen how amazing she was with Henry. Yeah, she’d looked like a supermodel in Jamaica, her long, lean body clad in a hot-pink bikini. I couldn’t deny she was beautiful or that I was physically attracted to her.

But I was physically attracted to a lot of women.

Marjorie Steel was different.

Marjorie Steel was better.

Marjorie Steel deserved the best.

Unfortunately, that wasn’t me.

But she needed me now, so I’d be here for her. I’d hold her as long as she wanted me to. Then I’d leave.

Chapter Eleven