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Which I did want.
And I also didn’t want.
But the did was stronger.
“Aren’t you going to say anything?” he said.
“What do you want me to say?”
“I don’t know. Maybe something like, ‘That’s great, Brad. I want to be with you too.’”
I smiled this time. A great big smile. “I want to be with you too.”
He wrapped his arms around me and pulled me close. “You’re safe with me. I’ll always protect you. I’ll never make you do anything you don’t want to do.”
His words warmed me like a mug of hot chocolate on a cold winter day.
And I believed him.
We stood and embraced for several minutes. I was still for most of it, but finally I allowed my hands to wander up his strong arms to his hard shoulders. Steel was the perfect name for him. His hard body was made of steel. Everything about him was hard where I was soft.
Especially…
That part of him.
It pushed against my belly, but not so much that he was doing it on purpose. I knew all about how men worked. I knew everything.
I was all theory and no practice.
Maybe it was time to get some practice.
Who better to teach me the ways of men and women than Brad Steel? The perfect man?
I pulled back a little. “This girlfriend of yours…”
“She and I are over. It was mostly a high school thing.”
“Then what was she doing at your place?”
“It’s like I said. She has a hard time letting go.”
“Why?”
“It’s complicated, and I haven’t helped the situation. I always let her come back when I’m not involved with someone else. It doesn’t mean anything.”
“How can you say that?”
“Because it’s just sex.”
“Nothing is just sex. Sex is important. It’s the closest you can be to someone else. How can you even say it’s just sex?”
“Because…” He shook his head. “I don’t have an answer for that.”
“Because I’m right.”
“Yeah. You’re right. I mean, men and women are a little different. Men are really physical, but sex with the right person isn’t just sex.”
“Have you ever had sex with the right person?”
“No,” he said, “I haven’t.”
Chapter Sixteen
Brad
The right person was in my arms.
How did I know? I had no idea. I just knew.
Daphne was the woman I was meant to meet. The woman I was meant to protect. The woman who would someday bear my children.
Maybe I was cut out for love. Looking back, I’d never loved Wendy. Sure, at the time, I’d thought it might be love, but I’d never felt the wondrous beginnings of that all-encompassing emotion. But I was feeling it now for the gorgeous girl in front of me.
I kissed her gently on her lips. “Let’s get you back inside.”
She nodded.
When we reached her door, I brought her fingers to my lips and kissed them. “Tomorrow?”
“Okay. I have orientation stuff in the morning and then registration in the afternoon.”
“How about I pick you up around five?”
“Okay. Will we be going to dinner with Sean and Patty again?”
“No. I want to take you to dinner. Just you and me. Wear a dress. We’ll be going downtown.”
“Shit.”
A car sat in the street outside our condo—a black Corvette that belonged to one of my friends from high school. Theodore Mathias—Theo to us—was a brilliant guy who was in business with Daphne’s half brother, Larry Wade, and another high school buddy, Tom Simpson. Wendy was involved too, and I was the bank. Worked well so far, but now that Wendy and I were finished for good, I needed to get out of the business.
Still, I liked having my own money—money that hadn’t come from my father.
I unlocked the door and walked inside.
Theo, black hair hanging into his eyes and clad in all black leather, looked like a cover boy for a badass biker magazine. He pulled it off easily. He was of Greek descent and definitely looked the part. His right ring finger sparkled with the ring we all wore. Once, I’d considered him a brother. Now, he was a friend. Sort of. Honestly, I didn’t know what he was. He’d gotten a little more distant each year since high school. Tom and Larry were going to law school, but Theo always did his own thing. I just wasn’t sure what that thing was.
“Hey, Steel. I think Murphy’s getting lucky.” He nodded toward the carnal sounds coming from Murph’s room.
I nodded. “Cute little redhead. Freshman. What are you doing here?”
“What do you think?”
I sighed. “How much?”
“Not much. A couple grand.”
I eyed him. “I think you’re wearing a couple grand, dude.”
He laughed. “This old stuff? Nah. And I misspoke. I need about fifty grand.”
Right. Whatever. “Are you ever going to tell me what you guys are up to?”
“I thought you only wanted to be included on a need-to-know basis.”
“True, but with Tom and Larry both going to law school… Why do you need two lawyers? That’s a little suspicious.”
