Page 54 of Obligation
“Bradley…” Her bottom lip trembled.
“I’m saying that Danny now has competition, because I am more determined than ever to prove that I’m the better guy for you.” He flattened her hand on his chest, directly over his racing heart.
Her touch, even though not intentional on her end, sent fire blazing through him, igniting his need in a way he wasn’t sure he’d be able to control. She curled her fingers against his chest, and then she scooted a little closer.
“There is no competition, Bradley. I already know you’re a better man than Danny,” she said, a new wave of tears pooling in her eyes.
His breath caught in his throat, and for a few moments, he was too stunned to speak. But eventually, his brain caught up with his heart. “Then why are you still with him?”
With a sigh, Carissa eased her hand from his chest and rolled onto her back. “It’s complicated.”
“Complicated how?” He was so close to getting what he wanted—her—and he couldn’t give up now. “It’s not like you two are married. You don’t owe him anything.”
“I really don’t want to talk about Danny right now.” She turned her head to look at him, and her expression was pleading. “Can we please talk about anything else?”
Bradley was silent, debating the pros and cons of giving her what she wanted. Agreeing to talk about something else would make her happy, but then he still wouldn’t have any answers. But did the “why” behind her and Danny’s relationship really matter? All Bradley wanted was for Carissa to see that she deserved better, and that “better” was literally right in front of her.
“Okay,” he agreed. “What would you like to talk about then?”
“Why are you so into me?” She once again shifted onto her side. “Clearly I’ve got a lot of emotional baggage. I mean, other than the first time we met, I’ve been fighting with Danny or crying like a lunatic. Why would you want someone like that?”
“I don’t want someone like that. I want you, and I’m smart enough to see that you only act that way because of Danny. If he were out of the picture…” Bradley shrugged.
“I’d probably still be overly emotional,” she said.
“Probably,” he agreed, which earned him an eye roll and a laugh. “But I’ve seen you happy, too. I’ve heard you laugh. Why wouldn’t you want to feel that way all the time?”
“It’s complicated,” she said again, and he groaned with frustration. “I’m sorry, but it is, and this conversation is over.” Her tone turned to ice. With a huff, she rolled in the opposite direction, her back to him.
He flopped over onto his back and blew out a heavy breath. Well, so much for confessing his feelings. Then again, what had he expected? That Carissa would admit she had feelings for him, too? That she’d break up with Danny on the spot and agree to be Bradley’s girlfriend?
He lay there in utter silence, his thoughts racing. Soon, Carissa’s breathing evened out, and he glanced over. She was sound asleep.
Chapter Twenty-One
Unbearable heat stifled Carissa, and she kicked off the blankets. Then she rolled onto her side. Her face smooshed against a wall of hard, hot flesh, and she eased back just enough to draw in a breath. The lingering scent of men’s cologne hung in the air around her.
She attempted to blink open her eyes, but her lids felt like they’d been tied shut with lead chains. Disoriented, groggy, and in that weird space between sleep and alertness, she stopped trying to fight to wake up. Getting up meant facing the world and all of her problems, and she wanted to avoid that as long as possible. Besides, she was in the middle of a fantastic dream about Bradley.
The central air kicked on, and a blast of cold air blew across her body. Now shivering, she blindly searched for the blankets and jerked them back up. She burrowed under the covers and sighed as her mind went blissfully blank.
She wiggled closer to the sexy man in her dreams, and he draped his arm across her side, pulling her tight against his body. His hard, warm, perfectly sculpted body that molded incredibly well to hers. Two halves of a whole.
Carissa flattened her palm on his chest and coursed her hand up to his well-defined pecs, then across his nipples, the buds hardening from her touch. His groan was low, almost inaudible, and so needy. Did he want this as badly as she did?
She ran her hand over his shoulder, down his muscular arm, and came to rest on his ribcage. Then, she leaned forward and puckered her lips to his chest. His flesh was smooth and heated and tasted better than anything she could’ve imagined. Firmly shoving against his stomach, she guided him over onto his back. Body half on him, half on the bed, she continued to tease him with fiery kisses.
“That feels so good.” His sleep-laden voice was heavy with desire and rumbled through her in the most delicious way.
He dragged his fingertips up and down her back, sending shivers through her body, but nothing could distract her from what she was doing. She’d waited too long for this moment, and she refused to let anything get in her way.
Bradley grazed his fingers along the nape of her neck, then gently gripped a handful of her hair. He brought her mouth to his, and she swung her leg over his waist, straddling him. Their lips collided in a scorching kiss that fried her every last nerve ending—and brain cell. She operated on pure instinct, her body in full control of her every move.
He wrapped his other arm around her back and held her to him, his tongue demanding and insistent, and she gave him everything he asked for. Her heart pounded, her ears rang, and her body throbbed with the need for more. More of his touch, his kisses, his body. She wanted all of him, and she didn’t care what she had to do to get it.
Carissa shifted her hips, grinding on his very impressive erection. Bradley jerked beneath her, driving himself harder against her most sensitive area. She moaned around his kiss, which only seemed to encourage him to kiss her harder, to demand more than she thought she had to give.
“Fuck,” he breathed out and nipped at her bottom lip. “Carissa, sweetheart.” His voice was thick and raspy and sinfully sexy, and his southern drawl was more pronounced than she’d ever heard before. “If you’re expecting me to stop things before they go too far, you’re going to be disappointed.”
