Forever Curves - Piper Sullivan Page 0,53
and gave my hand a squeeze. “Part of my issue is my own fears that were based on my past and had nothing to do with you. My doubts were valid, but I see now that you’re not looking for a mother for Mariana.”
“No, I’m looking for a woman for myself but not just any woman, Brenna. I’m looking at you. Right at you.”
“I see you, Grant. You certainly take up enough of the room.” She let out a nervous laugh and shook her head. “You come off as a good time guy but I see the SEAL and business owner in there, and the stern father that’ll rise to the surface at the first curfew violation. You’re formidable when you want to be.”
“Damn right, I am.” She licked her lips at my words and shook her head. “I’ve missed this, Brenna. Hanging out with you.”
“Me too,” she admitted quietly.
“We should do this more often, just you and me.”
“And sometimes Mariana,” she offered with a smile. “This was never about her and I want you to know that, Grant. I want to be wanted for me, not my gender or my closeness with your daughter. That’s all.”
I nodded. “I hope I’ve been doing a good job of showing you that lately?”
Brenna nodded slowly. “You have and that’s why I agreed to the date. At this really nice restaurant.”
“You even got all dolled up for me.”
“Nope, I did it for me, to make me feel more confident and comfortable on this date. I did mention you were formidable, didn’t I?”
It was my turn to laugh. “You did, and it only makes me want you more, knowing how hard you find it to resist me.”
“I never said you were irresistible,” she insisted, her twang thicker than ever. “I said formidable.”
I shrugged. “All I heard was, Grant I find you completely irresistible. In fact, right now I’m havin’ a hard time hangin’ on to my panties.”
Her face went from a blank slate to a wide grin that turned into laughter. Loud, deep-throated laughter that, once again, drew stares from the other diners. “Wow, I didn’t realize you left the Navy due to a hearin’ problem.”
“It’s only a problem if I’m wrong and I’m not, am I?” She swallowed, hard and dramatic, doing her damnedest to look unaffected.
“It’s not a secret I find you attractive or that the chemistry between us is, off the charts.”
“I think it breaks the charts, but that’s just me.”
“You might be right,” she said with a conspiratorial smile, leaning in and reaching for her glass. Brenna took a long, torturous sip. “You might even be right about hangin’ on to my panties.”
“I knew it!”
“If I had any on.” Her triumphant grin told me she’d been hanging on to that little nugget for a moment it would have the most impact.
“Dammit, Brenna.”
She laughed. “Is it gonna be hard, standing up to leave now that dinner’s over?” She couldn’t hide the laughter in her voice.
I couldn’t let her win so easily. “I hear this place does magical things with chocolate cake. I heard it’s got chocolate and fudge and chocolate mousse between the layers of moist dark chocolate cake.”
She groaned and licked her lips. “You win this round, Grant.”
“I had no doubt I would.”
“Just remember how much I love chocolate cake.”
When the cake arrived, she tortured me with erotic moans for a full twenty minutes, at least twice as long as it should have taken for the small slice of cake she’d been served.
It was worth every damn minute of torture because when we got to her door, I was ready to show her just how much her sexy sounds had gotten to me. “I had a great time tonight, Brenna.”
“So did I.” She licked her lips and took a step closer. “I really enjoyed dessert too. It’s too bad you didn’t want any.”
“Didn’t I?” It had been hard enough just watching Brenna devour that chocolate cake, there was no way I could enjoy it without smearing that frosting all over her body and licking it off. “I was hoping that I’d get my dessert a little later.”
“Yeah?”
I nodded. “Yep.”
She let out a sharp, throaty laugh and turned away from me. “Come on in and I’ll see what I can rustle up for ya.” Brenna turned with a gleam in her eyes and took a step backwards, into her place.
I stepped inside so we were chest to chest and my presence in her space forced her to take another step back