Winning the Right Brother(48)

A sudden visceral memory of Alex thrusting into her made her wonder, briefly, if peace of mind might be overrated, but then she thought about Brian—how much she’d trusted him, and how he’d cracked when she’d given him more than he could handle. And Mark, too—in the end, he hadn’t wanted to deal with the burdens that went with dating a single mother.

If she tried to force Alex into a role he couldn’t possibly fill, they’d both suffer for it. And she didn’t want to suffer like that again.

The cold floorboards, and the cold air against her bare skin, was starting to seep into her bones. Time to end this.

She used Alex for leverage to push herself to a sitting position.

“Hey!” he said immediately, sitting up with her and capturing her hands in his. “Where do you think you’re going?”

She hesitated and saw him tense again. Well, he might not like it, but the sooner she made it clear where things stood, the better.

“I’m going to bed,” she said quietly. “Alone. I think it would be better that way.”

Alex rose to his feet and reached down a hand to help her up. Once she was standing he kept hold of her hand, stroking her wrist with his thumb.

“I knew it,” he said, sounding almost resigned.

“Knew what?” she asked as she tried to pull her hand gently away from his.

“Knew you’d run away.” He stood looking at her, and Holly felt a wave of guilt.

“Listen,” he said, drawing her closer. “Let’s save this part until the morning. It’s traditional. If in the harsh light of day you feel the need to turn your back on what we obviously have going here, fine. But, please, Holly—at least give me tonight. Just one night. Please.”

There was no way she could say no to him. Holly was momentarily terrified that she’d never be able to say no to him ever again, but she put that thought aside for now. One night really wasn’t too much to ask.

“No sex,” she warned him.

“No sex,” he repeated. “That’s fine. I may never be able to have sex again, anyway. I think you broke me.”

Holly grinned, suddenly liking him so much it warmed her all over. “Oh, I think you’ll live to love again. Think of all the disappointment among the female population of Ohio if you retired this young.”

He looked at her a little quizzically, but he bit back whatever he had been going to say. “Let’s sleep in your bed tonight,” he said instead as they climbed the stairs together.

“Sure,” Holly said, surprised. “How come?”

“It’s warmer,” he said as they walked down the hall and into her room.

“Warmer? Why?”

“Because it’s yours,” he said simply. Holly looked at him for a moment, not sure how to respond. Then she disappeared quickly into the bathroom.



Alex sighed. Don’t think about it, he told himself as he lay down on Holly’s bed, turning his head to breathe in the scent of her shampoo that lingered on her pillow. Don’t think about tomorrow. Hell, tomorrow a meteor might strike the earth, destroying all life on this planet and his minor relationship problems along with it.

Just think about tonight.

He heard her footsteps and switched on the bedside lamp, turning to see the soft light glowing against her bare skin. “You’re so beautiful,” he couldn’t help saying as she came toward him, and even across the room he could tell she was blushing. He lifted the covers so she could slip under them, and when he felt how cold she was he wrapped her up in the fluffy quilts, tucking her in close to him so his own body heat could seep into her, as well.

Not to mention the fact that feeling Holly’s soft skin and sexy curves pressed against him was extremely pleasant.

“Mmm,” she said as she snuggled into him, and that was pleasant too. Alex let his eyes drift closed, just enjoying the moment.

“Where’d you get the condom?” Holly asked suddenly, and the question was so unexpected that Alex laughed. “I’m serious,” she said, although he could tell she was smiling. “I mean, one second you’re naked, and the next second you’ve got a condom on, like Superman coming out of a phone booth. Well, maybe not quite like that,” she amended as he laughed again.

“I had it in my wallet.”

“You keep a condom in your wallet?”

“Fortune favors the prepared,” he said gravely, and she swatted at him.

“I suppose I shouldn’t be surprised. I was thinking the other day you probably get lucky every week. Maybe every night.” Her tone made it a question, but Alex deliberately didn’t answer it. He just let his smile grow broader.