Fate (Steel Brothers Saga #13) - Helen Hardt Page 0,31

and if I wanted a relationship with him, I owed him the truth.

The whole truth.

But not tonight.

Chapter Twenty-Two

Brad

Damn, I wanted her.

I wanted Daphne Wade in my bed, her lush body beneath mine.

I wanted her more than I’d wanted anything—any woman—in my life.

I could make a move. I was good at “the moves.” I’d never been turned down. Besides Wendy, I’d had many others, mostly just sex. One or two I’d cared about.

But nothing like this.

Daphne Steel affected me like no other woman ever had.

Yeah, I was young. Only twenty-two. Who found a soul mate at twenty-two? It sounded ridiculous in my head, even though I knew the truth of it.

This woman—this young, untried woman—was my soul mate.

Don’t ask me how I knew. Don’t ask me what “soul mate” even meant.

But it was as real to me as the woman sitting next to me. Real. And true.

And scary as fuck.

I’d never had to go slow with a woman. Could I? Didn’t matter. I had to. If I wanted Daphne, I’d go slowly. No ifs, ands, or buts.

I took another sip of my beer and trailed one finger over her forearm. I smiled when goose bumps erupted on her soft flesh.

“Tell me what your dreams are, Daphne.”

“I…don’t know. I haven’t chosen a major yet. I’m going to take my requirements and—”

I pressed two fingers against her soft lips. “Not your major. What are your dreams?”

Her forehead wrinkled for a few seconds. Then, “To enjoy the little things. To take life one day at a time.”

Hmm. Interesting answer. I couldn’t find any fault with it. “You don’t have anything you really want to do? Have you thought about how you want to live your life?”

“With love,” she said. “One day at a time, with lots of love.”

“God, Daphne.” I couldn’t help myself. I cupped both her cheeks and pressed my lips to hers.

Within a few seconds, she parted her lips, and I swept my tongue between them. She tasted as sweet as I remembered—sweet and pure and irresistible.

A soft moan left her throat, vibrating into me and arrowing straight to my cock. One touch, one kiss from Daphne, and I was as hard as these marble countertops.

Our lips slid together, and after a few more minutes, she darted out her tongue to meet mine. And then something miraculous happened. She ran her tongue over my teeth, exploring my mouth as I was hers.

She was actively kissing me, much more so than the last time.

And I couldn’t remember ever having been more turned on.

A mere kiss. Nothing more. I hadn’t seen her naked. Hadn’t touched her breasts. Hadn’t even kissed her anywhere except on her mouth.

And I was ready to pound her into the next day.

God, how I wanted to pound her into the next day.

I deepened the kiss, groaning into her mouth, my fingers itching to trail over the swells of her breasts covered by her insanely sexy little black dress.

Instead, I skimmed my fingers down the side of her neck to her beautiful bare shoulders.

Then, she surprised me. Truly surprised me.

She took my hand and led it to the gorgeous mound of her breast.

So perfect was the shape against my palm. I brushed my fingers over the swell, and a nipple hardened under my touch.

Another soft moan into my mouth.

Fuck.

Fuck. Fuck. Fuck.

Much more, and I wouldn’t be able to—

I broke the kiss, pulling away abruptly.

She inhaled sharply, touching her lower lip. “Did I… Did I do something wrong?”

“God, no. Nothing wrong. I swear.”

“Then why did you stop?”

“I stopped, Daphne, because if I didn’t, I wouldn’t be able to.”

“Wouldn’t be able to—? Oh.” She looked away. “I was following my body. I wanted you to touch me there, so I…”

“You didn’t do anything wrong.”

“I want so much when I’m with you, Brad. It scares me.”

“I know, baby. I know. Believe me. I want the same when I’m with you.”

“I’m not sure I’m ready.”

“It’s okay. I told you we’d go slow.”

“Sometimes, though, I think I am ready. More than ready, you know?”

Hell, yeah, I knew. Her body was responding, but her mind wasn’t there yet. Women were like that, sometimes. If I could convince her that sex wasn’t wrong, that it was just two people exploring each other’s bodies and giving each other pleasure…

Nothing is just sex.

The words she’d said earlier haunted me.

I could take her. She was in that dreamy haze, where her body was ready. I knew all the right words, all the right ways to touch her. I could easily convince