What You Need(44)
Brady just growled his displeasure and increased his hold on my hair.
I’d never been so turned on in my life.
He slid his hand up the outside of my torso to cup my breast. He squeezed gently and gooseflesh broke out as he swept his thumb over my hard nipple.
I let my head fall back against the wall in total surrender.
“That noise,” he rasped in my ear. “I can’t wait to hear that noise when you’re naked.”
“Brady—”
“Sweet Jesus, do I love the sexy, breathy way you say my name. Say it again,” he demanded.
“Brady, please.”
“Please what?”
“Stop. If you keep touching me like that and murmuring in my ear, I’m afraid I’ll lose what little inhibitions I have left and I’ll let you nail me right here, right now.”
He smiled against my throat. “I’m good with that. Except I’d turn you around and hike up your skirt so I could nibble, bite and lick your neck while I pounded into you.”
Then he caught my moan in a kiss. He’d slowed the heat between us to simmer. But these soft-lipped, tender, sweet kisses were as addicting as the fiery ones.
Keeping his gaze on mine as he teased my mouth, he said, “As much as I want you to come home with me tonight, I won’t pressure you. Especially if you’ve got things to do tomorrow, because I wouldn’t let you out of my bed until we left for work Monday morning.”
“Thoughtful of you to give me a choice.”
“You made that choice when you agreed to help me crack open the door to the cage to see if it houses a wild beast, baby.”
I buried my face in his neck, unsure what to say.
Brady released my hair and tenderly smoothed it back. “You want to have another drink and stick around and dance?”
“No. You got us into the hottest club in the Cities. You get props for that. We couldn’t top that last dance and, frankly, I don’t want to try.”
“Me neither.” He stepped back and ran a hand through his hair. “You ready to go?”
“I left my purse at the table. I’ll grab it while you wait here.”
He scowled. “I’ll come with you.”
I pointedly looked at the rather large bulge below his belt. “Maybe give yourself a few minutes to calm down.”
“Fine. I’ll meet you at the coat check.”
The walk down the cold hallway would be good for him.
No one had messed with my purse in the VIP section. I’d just retrieved it and slipped the slim strap over my shoulder when a woman around my age approached me.
“You’re here with Brady?” she demanded.
“Who?”
“Don’t play stupid. He’s not exactly inconspicuous.”
I’d give her that. “Yes, I’m here with him. Why?”
She gestured to my clothing. “A slutty outfit like that won’t get you into the hallowed halls of the Lund estate to meet his family. And that is the ultimate goal for a cheap woman like you, isn’t it? You’ll let him maul you in public so you can get your hands on his family’s money and connections.”
I gave her the same perusal she’d used on me. I could tell by the cut of her clothing it hadn’t come off the rack at Dayton’s. “Who are you?”
“I’m a Lund family friend.”
With designs on Brady, no doubt. I could snap this toothpick-shaped brunette like a twig. “A Lund family friend or Brady’s friend?”
She shrugged. “One and the same. I’ve known Brady a long time and you’re not his type.”
“Here’s where you tell me you’re his type?”
“Of course I am. Now that I get a close-up look at you after everyone watched you dry humping him on the dance floor, I see your temporary appeal. But Brady is slumming with you. He’ll sow some oats, act wild and free, and when he tires of it he’ll be back at the country club to find a proper woman who wouldn’t embarrass him in front of his family and colleagues.”
“It’s sweet of you to show such concern. Who may I tell him is keeping such close tabs on him?”
“Persia.”
“Like the country?” I said, and didn’t bother hiding my snicker. “Please tell me you have a sister named India and another one named Holland.”
She huffed, turned and strode off.
My amusement about the situation lessened the closer I got to the coat check. When I was in the moment with Brady—on the dance floor and then in the hallway—I hadn’t considered people would be watching us. Maybe taking pictures or videos of us. And while Brady was one of the more low-key members of the Lund family, he was still part of that upper echelon of society. And because of that, he could get away with taking a walk on the wild side with a woman from the wrong side of the tracks. For him it would be a momentary indiscretion. But for me . . . it had the potential to affect my career. If the society reporter found out who I was, and where I worked, it wouldn’t be the CFO in danger of losing his job—it’d be me.