as I eased down beside her. “Take it from me, dear. Have as much sex as possible—discretely, of course—before settling down.”
I laugh, which makes Bradley blink. I should not be thinking about my mother now, or anything to do with my home country.
Because if I think about that…
“It’s not that,” he says, and for one startled moment, I think he’s read my mind. But as he draws a hand over my ribcage, gently tracing each thin bone, my body fizzes with desire that overrides my anxiety. “It’s just—I’ve had a few friends-with-benefits arrangements. They’re fun, don’t get me wrong, but that’s not what I’m after right now.”
“You want to be enemies?” I’m being flip, but mostly because I’m not sure what he means. “Or you’re saying we shouldn’t have sex because you slept with Lily before she and James got together?”
He barks out a laugh, shaking his head. “You always surprise me, Iz.” He dots a kiss along my jaw, then starts moving down, lips grazing my shoulder, my collarbone, the top of my right breast. “But I’m glad you brought that up. I don’t want there to be any big secrets between us.”
I close my eyes, arching into the pleasure of his mouth on my nipple, even as guilt flutters through me. “I don’t have a problem with it,” I assure him. “Lily mentioned it when we were shopping.”
She broke it to me gently, worried I might not take the news well.
“How was he in bed?” I asked, struggling not to sound too eager as she plucked a purple sweater off the rack.
“Outstanding.” She grinned and held the sweater up against me, adjusting the daring V-neck. “We weren’t in love, so it wasn’t next-level amazing the way it is with James, but men who’ve studied anatomy—well, they tend to know their way around the female body.”
I shiver now as Bradley kisses his way down my torso, demonstrating an enviable knowledge of every nerve ending in my body. “I want to go slowly,” he says, planting a kiss near my navel. “But I also desperately, urgently want to get you off.” Another kiss, this one right above the waistband of my jeans. “So what do you propose we do about that?”
There’s a teasing note in his voice as he moves lower, pressing his mouth against the heat between my legs. Layers of denim and satin separate us, but I arch up like he’s just circled my clit with his tongue.
“Bradley, please.”
I don’t realize I’ve twined my fingers into his hair until he looks up, smiling, his dark locks rumpled and stupid-sexy. “Please what?” He grins wider. “I’m realizing Lady Isabella has a filthy mind. Let’s see if your mouth matches.”
I look him dead in the eye and take a deep breath. “Fuck me with your mouth.” I pause. “Please.”
He makes a strangled noise in the back of his throat. The bulge in his jeans is ample evidence he’s ready for much more.
But his eyes lock with mine and he gives a devilish smile I feel deep in my core. “Yes, ma’am.”
With that, he unhooks my jeans and slides them slowly down my thighs.
Chapter 8
Bradley
I didn’t expect her to say it.
Hell, I didn’t expect to be doing it, but here I am peeling off Lady Isabella Blankenship’s panties as everything inside me aches to taste what I’m uncovering.
I half expect she’ll demur, pressing her legs together as shyness overtakes her. But Izzy lets her thighs fall open as she looks down at me with fire in her eyes.
“Bradley,” she breathes. “I have condoms in my purse. If you want—”
“I want this,” I assure her, nipping one rounded hipbone. “And this, too.” My tongue dips into the hollow by her pubic bone, just an inch from where she wants my mouth.
And there’s no question about where she wants my mouth. Even if she hadn’t said it, I can tell by how she’s moving. By the flush of her skin and the sweet, slippery fullness between her thighs.
I dip my tongue into her and feel Izzy arch up off the bed. She cries out, fingers clutching the duvet as my tongue makes slow circles around her clitoris. She responds by letting go of the comforter and gripping my hair, making it clear exactly where she wants my mouth.
It's right where I want it to be, so I plunge my tongue between her slick folds, hungry for the taste of her arousal. She’s wriggling and moaning and leaving no doubt she loves what I’m