Smolder (Steel Brothers Saga 22)

“Make it two, then.”

Truth be told, I’m not sure I’ve ever tasted cognac. We snag two seats at the bar, and Brock orders our drinks. A few minutes later, two large-bowled goblets sit in front of us.

The stem is short, and I don’t know how to pick it up. Brock lifts his, cradling the bowl in his hand.

Easy enough. I do the same.

He swirls the brown liquid in the glass and then sniffs it. I’ve seen people do this to wine, but never cognac.

So I copy him, taking care not to slosh the liquid out of the cup.

He takes a sip. So I take a sip.

It’s smoky, strong, kind of woodsy. But it’s smooth. It glides down my throat, and I don’t have the urge to choke on it. That happens to me sometimes with hard liquor.

“What do you think?”

“It’s good. What kind of cognac is it?”

“Rémy Martin. Do you like it?”

“So far.”

“Good.” He takes another sip and then smiles and sets his glass down on the bar. “Would you like to dance?”

“I don’t know any of the steps.”

“And you think I do?” He chuckles.

I set my drink down on top of a cocktail napkin. “In that case, sure. Let’s dance.”

He leads me to the dance floor. Only two other couples are dancing, one of whom seems to know all kinds of intricate steps. The other just moves together, holding each other.

I place my left hand on Brock’s shoulder, my right hand in his left.

“I like this,” he says.

“Dancing?”

“You. In my arms.”

I say nothing, though I like it as well. We fit together. We’re both tall, first of all, but he’s tall enough that I can wear heels and not feel like an Amazon. My three-and-a-half-inch pumps still put me slightly below his eye level.

When the music gets slower, I find myself leaning into him.

His chest is so hard. Rock hard. I’ve always wondered how the Steels stay in such great shape because I never see them at the gym. Snow Creek only has one gym. Of course, they probably all have fitness centers in their houses.

For a moment, I let myself enjoy being held.

This is what I miss when I’m with a woman. The hardness. The differences between our bodies. My last two relationships have been with women. Now? I find myself hungering for the hardness of a man.

I just never thought it would be this man.

Really, I’m only looking for a sperm donor. Hot sex can be a great precursor to pregnancy. If I orgasm, there’s a better chance of conception.

Mental note: get an ovulation kit.

Is there a chance I’m going to end up in bed with Brock Steel tonight? He already said bed is part of the Brock Steel experience. All I’d have to do is give him one slight hint, and we could be rolling in the hay.

But is that what I want?

Or do I want to get to know him better?

Already I know the answer to my question, and it scares the hell out of me.

I want both.

Chapter Fourteen

Brock

I can’t think straight with her tits pressed against me like this. Maybe this wasn’t such a great idea. I began this evening hoping to get her into my bed.

Now? I still want to get her into my bed, but I find myself really liking her. There’s a lot more to Rory Pike than a hot body and a beautiful face. Somehow I want her to understand that as well.

I guess we never had that problem in our family. We were all valued as individuals, not based on one simple trait.

Not that I think that’s what the Pikes have done. Rory the beauty. Callie the brain. Maddie the personality.

I know the Pikes. They’re good people. They wouldn’t do that to their kids. But I suppose it’s possible the same thing happened with Brad and me to a lesser extent. I kind of overstated it when I told Rory about it. Neither of us was ever made to feel that we were “less than” because we excelled better at something than the other did. I told Rory that Brad was always considered the smart one, and that’s true. But we are all loved equally for our uniqueness.

That’s something all our parents did right.

Unfortunately, I’m finding they did a lot of things wrong too. Like keeping family history from us. Family history that’s raising its head now.

But I don’t want to think about that. Soon enough I’m going to have to go with Dale and Donny back to that property up north. I’m going to have to find out if there are decaying human bodies in that old barn.

Nope, not going there. Not tonight. I want to enjoy this evening, see where it goes organically. I told Rory I’d give her the Brock Steel experience, but now? I don’t want to use my patented moves on Rory Pike. I want to let her take the lead.