Surely he would have said something if Mara Ramos was anything more than a sexual fling. Her dad’s sex life wasn’t something she wanted to dwell on, but there was an aspect of it she couldn’t ignore.
Her gaze slid to Bran. He was sitting at the dining table, but he wasn’t working on his computer. Instead, all evening, his intense blue eyes seemed to seek her out wherever she was in the room.
She had the strangest feeling he was thinking about last night, thinking about what it might have been like if she hadn’t rejected him. Dear God, watching him all evening, she hadn’t been able to think of anything else.
She clamped down hard on the desire she didn’t want to feel and forced her mind in another direction. “Do you think Mara Ramos was involved?”
Bran leaned back in his chair. “My instincts say yes. I think she might have helped whoever planned it set your father up. She was sleeping with him. That would give her access to his military ID, his social security number, credit card information, things that a bank might require to open an account.”
“God, I hadn’t thought of that.” She got up from the sofa and walked toward him. “Do you think it’s possible she could have...? I mean, a woman as pretty as she is could seduce a man into doing things he...um...otherwise would never consider.”
“Like stealing chemical weapons? If you’re asking me if I think Mara Ramos seduced your dad into going along with the theft, I’m going to say no. I didn’t know your father that well, but I knew Danny. He had a will of iron, and he would never break his code of honor, not for a woman he cared about or anyone else. From what Danny told me about your dad, I have to think he’d feel the same way.”
Relief swept through her. “My dad was the most honorable man I’ve ever known.”
Bran rose from his chair, his lanky strides crossing the distance between them, coming up behind her.
“A man will do a lot for a woman he wants.” He set his hands on her shoulders and began a gentle massage. She could feel the heat of his body and warmth slipped through her, settled in her core.
“A man might be willing to trust a woman he cares about in a way he usually wouldn’t,” Bran continued. “He might do unexpected things for her. He might ask her to trust him in return.” He turned her into his embrace. “Kissing’s okay, right?”
Her body flushed with heat and unconsciously she moistened her lips.
“I’ll take that as a yes.” Bending his head, he settled his mouth over hers. It was a gentle kiss, no pressure, giving her every chance to pull away. The soft touch of his mouth over hers brought the sting of tears. She wanted him so badly, and yet she knew his tender seduction was going to fail.
“I can’t,” she said, breaking the contact. “I’ll only let you down again.”
He kissed her once more and she let him, responding to the hunger he kept carefully controlled, fighting the same hunger in herself. She wondered if she had ever wanted anything as much as she wanted Bran Garrett.
Bran just kept kissing her, softly but firmly, a gentle demand that made her desire swell until she trembled. His hands slid into her hair to cup the back of her head, holding her in place as his lips moved hotly over hers. He kissed her until her body burned and her legs felt as if they were going to give way at any moment.
“He never kissed you, did he?” He kissed the side of her neck.
“No...” she whispered.
Bran kissed her again, long and deep, a scorching kiss that had her quietly moaning.
“I want you,” he said. “So much.”
“Oh, God, Bran.” She rested her palm against his cheek. “I wish I could give you what you want, but—”
“Do you trust me?”
She swallowed past the lump in her throat and managed to nod. He was Danny’s best friend. Of course she trusted him.
“Say it. Tell me you trust me.”
“I trust you, Bran. But I—I don’t think—”
He cut off her words with another deep kiss. By the time he stopped, her palms were under his shirt, pressing against his warm skin. Hard muscle bunched everywhere she touched, and her body heated and dampened even more.
He reached for the hem of his long-sleeved T-shirt and stripped it off over his head, letting her look at