Page 42 of Knight's Desire

“Are you this protective of all the women in your life?” She hadn’t planned to voice the question, and she wondered if he thought she was prying. She was enjoying their conversation so much, she didn’t want to scare him away with personal questions.

He shrugged, and she noticed a hint of a blush tinging his cheeks. “I don’t have a lot of women in my life. With my buddies’ women and their kids, sure, I’m protective. They’re family.”

She smiled. “You sound like my brother. Henry’s the oldest, so he’s always considered himself our protector. It used to drive me crazy. Well, it still does actually, but I wouldn’t have it any other way. Of course, if you tell him I said that, I’ll deny it until I draw my last breath.”

Brick chuckled. “Fair enough. It’s good that you have someone looking out for you.”

“He may look after me, but he also spent most of our childhood terrorizing me. I was always finding frogs and lizards under my pillow or in my dresser. He would jump out of trees as I was walking by to scare me. And the worst? He cut all the hair off my dolls for no reason. Or so he said. I think he did it because he resented the fact that our parents brought home a sister instead of a brother from the hospital. I thought he would ease up when Adam was born, but oh, no! He just had a buddy to help him pull off his pranks.”

She could feel her childhood outrage start to build, and she looked at Brick’s face expecting to see empathy. Instead he struggled to hold in his amusement, and she had to fight a smile of her own. She playfully nudged him in the arm with her fist.

“Don’t laugh. It was very traumatic. It’s amazing I turned out to be normal growing up around Henry and his torture.”

Brick’s grinned popped through. “I can see how the dolls could be traumatic, but the frogs and lizards? Come on! They’re just fun.”

“Spoken like someone who was never on the receiving end of any practical jokes from your brother,” she returned dryly.

“Was he like that with your brother and sister too?”

“Not really. He and Adam liked to roughhouse more than play pranks on each other. Those were reserved specifically for me. And Henry wouldn’t dream of doing anything to Ella. She’s always been his favorite.”

Brick continued to grin at her, and she realized how much she liked his smile. It showcased the laugh lines around his eyes and lips. Those perfect lips that probably knew how to kiss a woman, with just the right combination of tender and firm to set her toes curling. How would his kiss compare to Peter’s? While she enjoyed that part of her relationship with Peter, she had a feeling becoming intimate with Brick would be explosive. She’d never been one to take huge gambles, and risking her emotions with Brick could destroy her.

Or it could be the best thing I’ve ever done.And she suddenly had to know. She leaned closer, her tongue snaking out to moisten her lips.

“Hope.” His voice was huskier than usual, and her nerve endings tingled.

She raised her eyes to meet his. A thrill skirted through her belly at the desire she saw in their depths, but she read something else, almost like a warning. She wanted to ask him, but she already guessed what was going on. She dropped her gaze and made a show of putting her to-go container away, her appetite and the heat of the moment gone.

“Thank you for dinner. I’ll just clean up, and then we can—”

“Hope.” His large hands engulfed hers, his light touch halting her movements. “Look at me.”

She took a deep breath and forced herself to meet his eyes. “There’s no need to say anything. I hired you to protect me, and that’s all this is. I think I just wanted a minute to forget what’s happening, but that’s not fair for you. You have a job to do. I don’t want to make it complicated.”

He cupped her cheek in his palm. “My job has nothing to do with this. When we finally kiss, I want you to want the kiss and not a distraction. When we kiss, it will be about the moment and about us.”

Her breath caught in her throat. “Whenwe kiss?”

He smirked. “Yeah, Hope. When.”

Her heart pounded in her chest, stealing her breath. His palm against her cheek seemed to heat her entire body. His blue eyes darkened, and she was unable to look away. She suddenly felt like she’d swallowed cotton, and she licked her lips to combat the dryness.

Brick growled deep in his throat. “Ah, hell.”

His lips claimed hers, and she lost herself in the rising passion. Her arms snaked around his neck, pulling him as close as their sitting positions would allow. His lips were as strong as he was, but the kiss was gentle, effectively muddling her senses. Her tongue stroked his as it invaded her mouth. She heard a sigh, feeling the emotion it carried straight to her toes. Then she realized the sigh came from her.

He pulled away, his hands cupping her face. She wanted to yank him back and continue kissing him until they forgot everything but just the two of them. Instead, she stared into his eyes, wondering why she’d never realized how sexy blue eyes on a man were until she met Brick.

The Shoppe’s phone rang, breaking the spell that surrounded them. Brick didn’t release her, but when the second ring shattered the quiet of the Shoppe, she reached up to cover his hands with hers.

“I should get that.”

“You’re closed. It can wait until morning.”

She smiled. “As much as I would love to ignore it, it’s probably Mrs. O’Leary. If I don’t answer, she’ll only keep calling. It’s better if I just talk to her and get it over with.”

He nodded and lowered his hands. Her skin felt chilled at the loss of contact. Pushing up from the sofa and crossing over to the front desk proved to be one of the most difficult things she’d done lately. Her sister wasn’t known for her good ideas, but Hope started believing Ella’s suggestion to have an affair with Brick was her most brilliant idea yet.

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