Page 33 of Any Cowboy of Mine
After Brad said a terse good night to Steve and Jackie, Sophie hugged her friend with the whispered expectation that she spill her guts on the way home the next day.
Secretly, though, Sophie wished Brad felt even somewhat for her what Steve felt for Jackie. All she wanted was a chance to see where they could have gone after the wedding debacle. After all, she’d never felt that strongly either for someone after one night, and for a brief second, she could empathize with Jackie. An hour ago she’d have agreed to darn near anything Brad asked her, no matter how crazy it might have seemed to anyone else. And dammit, she was certain, had Steve and Jackie not hijacked the night, Brad felt the same way.
Damn.
She followed him up to his room after getting her toothbrush and utterly embarrassing teddy bear pajamas she’d brought—who’d have known she’d end up bunking with her college crush? She didn’t want the evening to end on such a sour note, but what could she do?
In her PJs, she sat on the couch while Brad disappeared into the other room for what felt like an eternity. She took the opportunity to look around, noting the lavish—for Banberry at least—details that separated his room from hers. He’d rented the penthouse, and while it wasn’t anything like she’d have found in Helena, or a city like New York, the room was much larger.
There were only two small suitcases on the ground next to the bed, and as much as she wanted to snoop a little, who knew when Brad would be back. The night had gone shitty enough without him catching her peeking in his stuff. She just wanted to know more. Who was the guy who had kissed her with more passion and skill than she’d ever encountered in her life, who could also fiercely defend his friends and their ridiculous decisions? He was more complex, more human than she’d built him up in her mind, and with every new piece of information she learned, she fell harder for him.
Finally, Brad emerged, brandishing a handful of tiny bottles from the minibar.
“I called room service, and they’re sending reinforcements for these little guys,” he announced.
He held one up. She followed with the silent toast without glancing at the label of the bottle, and tossed back the mystery alcohol. It burned her throat, but she waved at him for another.When in Rome.He tossed her another round.
“To our friends,” she said, breaking the tension-filled silence.
“Or whatever,” Brad said, sulkily. “Can you believe those two? Honestly, have there ever been two more selfish, idiotic people?” He twisted the top off another mini bottle just as a soft knock on the door announced his reinforcements.
While she understood his frustration, she also didn’t feel near as strongly against Steve and Jackie’s relationship.
Brad went to the door and came back holding a full-sized bottle of Smirnoff vodka, a smug smile on his lips. How much did that bottle cost him? He’d most likely regret the purchase in more ways than one tomorrow. And all this for what? Because his friend ditched him? Because Steve found what most people search years to find?
Brad grabbed two glasses from the small vanity and sat down on the edge of the bed, looking very much like he might bolt at any minute. His leg beat out a nervous rhythm on the thin carpet, and Sophie fought the urge to put a hand on his knee to calm him.
Instead she downed her second mini bottle, the liquid taking over, lightening the strain on her muscles, fuzzing her thoughts around the edges, making her joints feel like they were made of rubber.
If I can’t beat ’em…
She tossed the bottle on the floor, the liquid courage sinking in, making her braver, more confident. She moved to the edge of the bed where Brad sat, lifted his chin, and though his eyes registered surprise, he let her control him.
Sophie leaned down, her lips and tongue numb but eager, her hands on the sides of his face. Tomorrow this might all be over, but tonight… Tonight, she had Brad, and she was going to appreciate every minute he’d give her.
He pulled away, sputtering an attempt at an apology. He barely got out, “Sophie, wait. I’m sorry for—” before she interrupted him by covering his mouth with hers.
She broke free only to breathlessly mumble, “No talking.” His complicity came in a slight head nod and the feverish way his lips explored hers. His teeth ran along her lips while he sucked at her tongue, drawing it inside his mouth. His hands matched pace, moving over her like he was a blind man reading Braille, and her body reacted in kind, rising to meet his every touch.
At first, desperation guided his moves. His rushed hands trailing over her body felt vastly different than the way he’d kissed her earlier. She’d imagined he knew everything about her, knew just how to kiss and touch her. When he nipped her neck with his teeth, she realized that this moment—this crazy intense, every-emotion-sprinting-through-her moment—was no different. Yes, Brad was more aggressive, but he stillknewher. How he did she had no idea, but she wasn’t about to stop him to ask. His change of pace did nothing to quench the desire rising in her like a flame that found a breeze to carry it.
Brad’s hands moved over her shirt, brushing her unguarded breasts with such a gentle caress that her nipples hardened, and a shiver pulsed through her. He seemed to take that as a vote of approval and slid one of his hands underneath her loose nightshirt, where she was fully exposed to him. His forefinger and thumb teased her now-throbbing buds. Nowthiswas more how she hoped her evening would go.
Sophie moaned, a noise that was swallowed up by Brad’s eager mouth. He guided Sophie back until her shoulders touched the soft down comforter. She arched up underneath him, begging him to take her, but he seemed in no hurry to grant her request. Instead, he dipped his head into the crook of her neck and nibbled on her earlobe, a move that almost sent Sophie right over the edge. It was her weakness, being kissed on the ears, and Brad was an unchallenged expert in the maneuver. For the briefest of moments, Sophie’s mind flashed to Drew and she laughed—one loud, happy yelp—at how pitiful their lovemaking had been compared to just the stirrings of foreplay with Brad. Drew had been formulaic, monotonous, and frankly downright boring, but Brad? Damn if he wasn’t the opposite in every way a man could be.
Thoughts of Drew dissipated quickly as Brad’s hands migrated south to her ribs at first, then landed on her hips, catching her by surprise. Her breath halted, her vision blurred, and she worried she might pass out. She exhaled finally, a slow breath of appreciation as a finger slid along her panty line while lips and teeth grazed along her collarbone.
She reciprocated by moving her hands down his sides, eliciting an aroused tremble from him. His hips ground into hers in an unspoken plea to keep going. She did, her right hand cupping his buttocks from behind, drawing him closer to her so she could use her left to unbutton his pants.
“Wait,” he breathed into her ear.
She shook her head and unzipped his pants, sliding her hand beneath the elastic of his boxers until she found him, hard and ready for her. She gasped in pure delight at how much of him there was—all for her enjoyment. Sophie wrapped her hand around his girth and stroked him, slowly and methodically at first, until his breathing came quick and shallow. She moved faster, loving the way he felt in her hand, warm and stiff and oh so huge. He writhed on top of her, now desperately using one hand to slide his slacks off his hips.
Once his pants lay crumpled in a heap at the side of the bed, Brad rolled over on his back and pulled her on top of him in one swift, fluid motion. Sophie laughed from behind messy curls and looked down at Brad, whose previous frown lines were wiped clean from his face, a look of both contentment and desire in their place.Good.She liked this version better than the one that was caught up in worry for his friends. He rubbed a thumb down the length of her cheek, his eyes glittering in the pale light of the room. That was all she saw before she buried her face in his chest, flicking his nipples with her tongue, grazing her teeth along his collarbone.
The hotel room, with its outdated paisley-papered walls and faux leather couch, faded completely from Sophie’s periphery as she worked her way south, trailing her tongue along Brad’s happy trail, following it until she was met by his girth, still hard and erect. She took it inside her mouth and suckled on the end of it, pulling and sucking with lips desperate to devour everything he gave her, which was more than plentiful. Brad gasped and used his other hand to tuck her errant curls behind her ear, wrapping his palm at the base of her neck so he could pull her up for a deep kiss. Reluctant to leave the present she’d just begun to unwrap, she let her breasts rub against his chest, feeling lust course through her as his tongue tangled with hers. Sophie pulled back and bit her bottom lip.
Damn, this man was hot.
