Page 25 of Inevitable

CHAPTER ELEVEN

Friday, July 28th

Caging Claire against the wall, Brady lowered his head and kissed her resolutely. His lips slid over hers and his tongue took things deeper, which made the kiss hotter and probably not appropriate for the company gym.

But he was a man who was on the losing side of civility and he was one step away from embarrassing them both. With a Herculean effort, he ended the kiss and buried his face in the side of her neck with low, growling groan. “Morning,” he rasped out.

“Morning,” she responded choppily. “You have to tell me what did it for you ’cause I want to make sure and do it again.”

“Guess it’s the T-shirt.” He watched Claire’s eyes lower to her well-washed T-shirt and let out a laugh. “Or maybe it’s the tempting woman wearing it. I’m hungry for you, Claire, and most of my waking thoughts are centered around getting you hungry too.” He ran his hand up the side of her leg and then lifted it over his hip. Pressing his groin against her heat, he felt a shiver pass over her body and a small moan escape her lips.

Ahhh, music to his ears. Looking down into her wide hazel eyes, he saw hunger and desire. He skimmed the pads of his thumbs along her soft cheeks and watched her lashes flutter closed. “One more kiss,” he whispered. His lips covered hers and she immediately responded to his firm pressure with a ragged moan. She welcomed the sweep of his tongue inside her mouth and shuddered as he stroked and teased, getting her to play along.

He was lost in the taste and feel of Claire and didn’t register anything until he heard the sharp sound of wolf whistles. Releasing her mouth slowly, he rested his head against hers. “Assholes,” he muttered.

Claire dropped her leg and then started laughing. “Busted.”

“Guess the online dating thing isn’t happening anymore,” Miles commented as he climbed on the treadmill.

“Yeah,” Kane chimed in as he stretched against the far wall. “Guess Claire’s made her choice and it’s our man Brady who’s been declared the winner.”

“They make it sound like The Bachelorette,” Claire said against his chest.

Brady raised his hand over his shoulder and flipped Kane off. Taking a deep breath, he wrapped his arm around Claire’s shoulder and pulled her in front of him as they turned around. He had a situation in his gym shorts that none of his friends needed to see. Having Claire as a shield for the next couple of minutes was going to save him a lot of grief. “Don’t move,” he said quietly against her ear.

“Did I do that to you?”

“Thought the answer would be obvious since I was grinding against you a minute ago.”

“My goodness, Brady, what’s going to happen when we’re in private and don’t have any time constraints and…”

“I say we find out tonight how compatible we really are and answer that question.”

She lifted her hand, covered his arm, and pushed her hips back. “Well, I was going to do laundry, but what you’re offering has a lot more appeal. A lot more.”

“Thank fuck,” he muttered as he rested his chin on top of her head. “Now, quit moving because you are not helping matters.”

“Got it.”

“You two almost done over there?” Kane called out. “I got a couple of questions for Claire.”

“We good?” Claire asked over her shoulder.

“Yep.”

After sliding out of his hold, Claire walked across the gym and jumped on the tread climber. “Kane, you can come by my office later. Right now, I’m working out and not available.”

“You were available to make out with Brady. Why can’t you give me the download on the background check I submitted yesterday?”

“Kissing and working are two very different things.” She pushed her earbuds into her ears and started the machine.

“Leave her be,” Brady called across the gym.

The knowing smirk he got from both men didn’t irritate him in the least. In fact, he was pretty sure nothing would today. He had a damn date with Claire tonight and if he wasn’t mistaken, he might have a chance at a few things he’d been fantasizing about.

***

Claire swam in circles around Brady under the moonlight, and he wondered if she was ready to take their relationship to the next level. The heat in her eyes this morning sure made him think that they were good to go, but the shyness and reluctance she’d displayed since she arrived earlier made him wonder if she was having second thoughts.

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