“See? Told you they’d be fine,” Thomas murmured into her ear. His deep voice evoked a shiver. A tight, clenching need that hadn’t been answered in far too long. She wanted his hands on her, tearing her clothes off, pinning her, touching her in that rough, capable way of his.
Date night. Right. They were going to go out like adults first. Talk, and all that fun stuff.
“Now,” he rumbled, “we get to be alone. Relax. Drink a little too much. Whatever you want, you’ll get.”
What she wanted was him. Only him. Brianna bit back her smile. “I think that sounds wonderful.”
“Then let’s go.” Thomas kissed her temple and led her to the truck. He opened the door, helped her inside, then slid behind the wheel. “Ready?”
“Yes.” She met his eyes, darted her tongue over her lips, bit back a hungry whimper of anticipation. “Very ready.”
Thomas smiled. Slow. Dark. Knowing. Knowing exactly what being so close to him was doing to her. Exactly how much she wanted him. “Then I’d hate to keep you waiting,” he said, and started the truck. “Tonight, Brianna…tonight will be all about us.”
Chapter Fourteen
If Brianna didn’t stop looking at him like he was dessert, they’d never make it to dinner.
The past two weeks had been hell. The kisses. The stolen touches, breathless and gasping. He had purposely refused to take her to bed last night. It had been one of the hardest things in the world to walk away from her after she invited him to stay, but he wanted to show her he wanted more from her than sex. Their relationship might have started because of mind-blowing sex, but now it was more. He couldn’t do this halfway.
Before when they had sex, it was exactly that. Hot, sweaty sex. But now he had a feeling everything would be different. For the first time since Nicole, sex had a new meaning for him. It had emotion. And depth. Once he got his hands on her, he’d never let go. He ached to lose himself in her. Have her. Consume her. Love her. And he wouldn’t touch her unless he could have all of those things. Unless he could have all of her.
Because he already loved her. He knew that now, and even better? He wasn’t scared of it. Or of her. And by the end of the night, she would know just how much she meant to him.
His hands ached from his tight grip on the steering wheel. He forced his fingers to relax. “I thought we’d go to my hotel and drop off your bag, then go out to dinner. Sound good?”
“Sure.” She fidgeted with her purse strap. “Are you sure Erica and Jeremy are okay with the kids?”
“Yeah. They’re fine, sweetheart. You need to relax,” he said. “Maybe we’ll grab a little scotch at the room before we go.”
She nodded. “I’m just…nervous.”
“Why? We’ve been on dates before. Nothing new.” He rolled to a stop at a red light, ignoring the real reason she was nervous. He was nervous, too. “Only difference is we’ll have longer. And be alone all night.”
She paled. “Yeah.”
What if she was worried he was going to attack her as soon as they got upstairs? It certainly wouldn’t be the first time he’d have done so. Maybe she was nervous about what he expected of her tonight. “Hey. We’ll go as slow as you want. Nothing has to happen and we can just relax. Hang out.”
His rampant state of arousal might not agree, but his libido could deal.
She nodded and drew a deep breath, but looked distracted. “Okay. Sounds good.”
Fuck. “Great.”
The light turned green, and he hit the accelerator. He spent the rest of the ride convincing his body to calm down and accept there might be no Brianna tonight.
It refused to listen.
He pulled into the hotel parking lot, stopped the truck, and slipped around to help her down from the passenger’s side. As they approached the room, the slight breeze wafted her perfume to him. Did she have to smell so damned tantalizing?
He held his breath and opened the door. “After you.”
“Thank you.”
Even the sound of her voice rocked him off his feet. Desire plagued him, made his chest tight, his breathing short. He could barely manage coherent words. “This way.”
She gave him an odd look and bit her lower lip. She always did that when she was worried, but right now it was driving him mad. “Are you okay? You sound…different.”
“Me? I’m fine.”