Fate (Steel Brothers Saga #13) - Helen Hardt Page 0,22
such a short time.
It wasn’t love. At least I didn’t think it was. I wasn’t cut out for love. But it was something. Something big and strong and full of a force I didn’t understand. She needed me. I didn’t know how or why. I just knew she did.
And I’d take care of her.
I needed to.
“I know you liked the kiss, Daphne.”
“I… How…”
“Because you responded. Your body responded.”
“Did I?” She touched her lips.
“You did.”
So had I. My dick was hard as a rock, but I couldn’t tell her that. She’d run away screaming. Or would she?
No, couldn’t go there. Not yet. No matter how much I wanted to.
I advanced toward her slowly, taking both her hands in my own. They fit perfectly within mine.
“You want to go for a walk?”
“It’s late.”
“Daphne, it’s eleven.”
“We were warned about walking at night. There were rapes here last year.”
“You’ll be with me.”
She nodded slightly.
“Daphne,” I said, as gently as I could. “Why are you afraid of me?”
Chapter Fifteen
Daphne
Why was I afraid?
I wasn’t, at least not in the way he thought I was. Sure, I was inexperienced, but he made me feel things I didn’t think I was ready for. I wanted to trust him.
He made me melt inside. My brain was foggy, and I couldn’t think. Didn’t want to think. Just wanted to go back to kissing him. My breasts were heavy, my nipples tight and hard. New feelings swirled through me, landing between my legs.
I wanted it all.
I wanted his kisses, his hands on my body. I wanted to explore him with my fingers and my lips. How might his tan skin feel beneath my touch? His broad shoulders? His hard chest? His stubbly cheeks and jawline? His…
I zeroed in on his crotch.
The bulge.
It was there.
And it was there because of me.
Brad Steel didn’t scare me nearly enough.
And that was what frightened me the most.
“I’m not afraid of you, Brad.”
“Could have fooled me. Daphne, you’ve been alone with me three times now. Have I ever made any indication that I’m going to hurt you?”
“No.”
I stroked my hair absently.
Oh, God. My hair. I’d woken up and my hair hadn’t been knotted and tangled.
“Did you…brush my hair last night?”
“Yeah. I just…” He chuckled softly. “I have no idea why I did it. It’s just…your hair is so beautiful, and I didn’t want you to wake up and have to brush all the tangles out of it.”
My heart nearly melted. Seriously, melted right into a puddle in the middle of my chest.
“That’s really…sweet.”
The word was minimal. It didn’t say nearly what I wanted to.
“You fell asleep. I brushed your hair, and then I left.”
“You didn’t…want to do anything more?”
“While you were unconscious? What kind of a guy do you think I am?”
“That’s just it. I don’t know. I don’t know anything about guys. I’ve never…”
“I know. You’re a virgin. It’s okay. Believe it or not, you’re not the only virgin on campus.”
“I know that. I think.”
“It’s okay that you don’t have much experience,” he said. “I just want to be with you.”
“Why? Why do you want to be with me?”
He chuckled again, shaking his head. “Hell if I know. I just do.”
I bit my lip. I wanted to be with him too. I just wasn’t sure I should say it. Then he might think I wanted all those other things.
Which I did want.
And I also didn’t want.
But the did was stronger.
“Aren’t you going to say anything?” he said.
“What do you want me to say?”
“I don’t know. Maybe something like, ‘That’s great, Brad. I want to be with you too.’”
I smiled this time. A great big smile. “I want to be with you too.”
He wrapped his arms around me and pulled me close. “You’re safe with me. I’ll always protect you. I’ll never make you do anything you don’t want to do.”
His words warmed me like a mug of hot chocolate on a cold winter day.
And I believed him.
We stood and embraced for several minutes. I was still for most of it, but finally I allowed my hands to wander up his strong arms to his hard shoulders. Steel was the perfect name for him. His hard body was made of steel. Everything about him was hard where I was soft.
Especially…
That part of him.
It pushed against my belly, but not so much that he was doing it on purpose. I knew all about how men worked. I knew everything.