Fate (Steel Brothers Saga #13) - Helen Hardt Page 0,45
who stopped before.
A giant yawn split my face. Better not to try anything tonight anyway. We were both exhausted, and he would be getting up in three hours or so. Still, being fresh down there felt nice. I was glad I’d done it for him. I slipped on my cotton tank and boy shorts pajamas and made my way over to the gorgeous queen-size bed. This would be a lot nicer than those twin bunk beds in the dorm.
Which reminded me. Crap! I hadn’t left a note for Patty. Oh, well, she probably wouldn’t be home tonight anyway. I’d call her in the morning to let her know where I was. Not that she called me all those nights she stayed at Sean’s place. She probably wouldn’t worry at all.
I turned down the covers and sat down on the cotton sheets. Now to wait for—
A soft knock on the door.
“Brad?” I said.
The door opened. “Yeah, it’s me.”
I drew in a breath. He was wearing nothing but navy-blue boxers. His chest was so perfectly sculpted with just a smattering of black hair over it. His nipples were brown circles against his tanned skin, and his abs…oh, my. That was actually an eight-pack, not a six-pack. His shoulders broad and bare, and his arms. Those strong arms that made me feel safe and sound were corded with muscles.
Muscles that came from hard ranch work, not from the gym.
Brad Steel was magnificent.
And he’d be sleeping with me tonight.
“You look amazing,” he said.
I shivered. “They’re just pajamas.”
“You’d look even more amazing out of them.”
I shivered again.
“I’ll be good,” he said. “I promise. Come on. Morning is nearly here. Let’s get to bed.”
I crawled between the sheets of the mega-comfortable bed. Brad slipped in beside me.
“Come here,” he said.
I snuggled into his shoulder.
Before long, I was asleep.
I woke to the sun streaming through the blinds on the window. I sat up abruptly. Where am I?
Then I remembered.
Brad’s ranch.
I gulped audibly. Did I really drive for hours in the middle of the night to spend the weekend with a guy I’d only just met? And was I here, now, in his parents’ home? Lying in the most comfortable bed ever?
Talk about impulsive.
My therapist had told me I had a tendency to act on impulse. It wasn’t necessarily a bad thing, he said, but something I needed to be aware of and curb when necessary.
I probably should have curbed it last night.
I smiled. I had tried. I’d said no at first, but Brad had really wanted me to come here with him. I still wasn’t sure why. It was so early, and even though I felt seriously in my bones that I was destined to be with this man, I needed to act responsibly. It truly was too soon for me to be here.
But…I was here, so I had to deal with the situation.
I quickly checked the clock that sat on the bedside table. Ten thirty a.m.! Brad’s parents would think I was the laziest person on the planet.
Brad was likely long gone. He’d probably risen at five and tiptoed out of here so he wouldn’t wake me. I figured I’d wake naturally at seven or so. But ten thirty?
Granted, I’d gone to bed after two, but still, I’d slept a good portion of the drive. Brad hadn’t, and he’d been able to get up.
Now what? Do I get dressed? Leave the room? My stomach growled. I needed food, but I couldn’t go into the kitchen and just help myself.
Impulsive, for sure. I totally had not thought this through.
First things first. I headed to the bathroom for a shower. When I was squeaky clean and had dried myself with the most decadent plush towels in existence, I dressed in jeans, a tank top, and my sandals, applied some blush and lip gloss, and—
Flopped back on the bed.
Seriously, what was I supposed to do now?
My stomach growled again. If only I’d thought to pack some snacks. I had granola bars in my dorm room, but they hadn’t made it into my bag. This really had been impulsive. I’d shoved clothes and toiletries into a backpack and just gone off with Brad.
I stood quickly. I was being silly. I’d been invited here. I walked to the door and tentatively opened it. The hallway seemed to stretch as I walked slowly toward the end of it. This was so surreal.
Lights from the large country kitchen loomed ahead. A woman stood at the stove.