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  But did he love her? Did he know how? And he expected her to allow him to decide when she was ready for greater intimacy? Anger gave her courage. “Brand…”

  He let out a breath. “Yes, Angel?”

  “It’s not nice, leaving me on the edge like this.”

  He tightened his arms around her. “We’ve waited this long.”

  “I drove all the way from Austin. Left my new job to take care of you and your brothers. Don’t you think you should reciprocate? Give me something?”

  He narrowed his eyes. “Are you asking me to ease your frustration?”

  “I’m asking for an orgasm. You wanted honest, right? I can’t be more blunt.”

  “I won’t fuck you.”

  She smiled. “You don’t have to. But I need to lose my clothes.”

  His arms slowly dropped away. But otherwise, he held still, his gaze hard and watchful.

  And that would work just fine for her. Brand had humiliated and rejected her—and she’d forgive him for dumping her at the airport. Eventually. But right now, he owed her something. Her pleasure would make a nice start.

  Brand held his breath as Angel scooted off his lap and stood. As though he weren’t even in the room, she took off her watch and placed it on a tray on her dresser. She removed her boots and put them in the closet. When she pulled her shirt over her head and dropped it into her clothes hamper, he held his breath. She was really going to do this. She wasn’t bluffing.

  She wanted him to give her an orgasm.

  Not that he didn’t know how. He did. But he couldn’t go back on what he’d said, or she’d never believe he could hold firm. He couldn’t fuck her. And common sense told him he shouldn’t. His brothers had a plan, and he was jumping ahead. They’d both be pissed.

  Still, as she reached for her waistband, he decided she deserved a little teasing. He stood and unbuttoned the cuffs of his chambray work shirt.

  Her eyes widened, but she unzipped and pushed her jeans down her curvy legs. Now she stood in her bra and underwear, and knowing she was already embarrassed, he didn’t call her out on it and insist she remove her undergarments.

  Brand removed his shirt and hung it over the back of her vanity chair.

  “What are you doing?” she asked, her voice sounding a little husky.

  “Getting comfortable. You don’t want the added friction of denim against your skin, do you?”

  She swallowed hard and shook her head.

  He almost smiled. Next, he toed off his boots, unbuckled his belt and slid it slowly through the loops.

  A blush spread across her cheeks and over the tops of her breasts. Her breaths were coming faster.

  He unbuttoned, pulled down the zipper and then pushed his jeans to his ankles, bending to hold them as he stepped out of them. Now, dressed only in his briefs, he stood.

  Her gaze riveted on his cock.

  Well, he couldn’t help the fact his erection stretched the soft cotton. He pointed his chin toward the bed.

  She hesitated so long he began to think she would refuse. And he wouldn’t mind. Not really. He knew she was aroused looking at him by the way her nostrils flared, and her pupils were dilated. That was enough for him. Her attraction gave him hope. So, when she turned and climbed onto the mattress, he had to bite back a groan.

  He was really going to do this. Touch her. Taste her. Still, he should give her an out. “You sure about this, Angel? This’ll complicate things…”

  She lay on her back, her legs together and her hips turned, perhaps to preserve her modesty. “You think this was just a dare? That I wasn’t serious?”

  “Is this a little payback?” he asked, his voice gruff. “For that night?”

  She shook her head, but her lips thinned. “I never felt right about what happened. You saw all of me. Saw me come. Hell, you could probably see Nate’s dick sliding inside me. I’ve felt so much…shame.” Her head turned, as she glanced at the wall.

  His jaw tightened. “I’m sorry you felt that way.”

  “Are you?”

  Her breasts rose as she drew a deep breath. The full globes spilled over the top of her bra, and he couldn’t help staring, wanting to see more of her beautiful body.

  Brand was past denying himself. He climbed onto the mattress and ran a hand over her thigh, pressed on it and pushed her fully to her back. Then he placed his hands on both thighs and slowly moved them apart. “I’m sorry I wasn’t the one to pleasure you.”

  Her mouth parted on a soft inhalation. Her hands covered her breasts, but not to hide them. She caressed them through the thin lace. Lord, she was so natural, so stunning in her desire.

  Her fingers moved between her breasts, and she opened the clasp but held the cups in place.

  He smoothed his hands over the tops of her thighs and let his thumbs rub the tender insides, moving upward until they grazed her pussy.

  Her eyelids dipped. Her belly and breasts quivered. Slowly, she lifted the cups to let him see her.

  Her nipples were a deep pink, the tips distended. He knew he should say something. Tell her she was pretty. Tell her he wanted to see her tweak her own tits, but he knew the words would come out wrong. So instead, he climbed between her legs and bent over her, leaving one hand to fondle her pussy through her panties while he braced on an elbow and lowered his mouth against the soft flesh she’d bared.

  He breathed her in, pulling her scent deep to savor the light floral perfume she’d placed between her breasts and the feminine musk that was exclusively hers. His cock jerked and hardened more, but he pushed the ache from his mind, because right now, she was staring at him from beneath the fringe of her dark lashes, waiting for him to give her that orgasm she’d all but demanded.

  He trailed his lips over a soft globe and latched them around one soft, pink areola to suckle while he flicked the hard tip with his tongue.

  Below, he felt her pussy tighten and liquid drenched the crotch of her panties. While he pulled and sucked and nibbled gently on her breast, he slid his hand down the front of her panties and slipped one finger between her folds, found her entrance and pushed inside.

  Her back arched, pushing her breast hard against his mouth, but he came off the peak and licked his way across to the other, where he fluttered his tongue against the tip.

  Her pussy tightened around his finger, and he pushed deeper and then withdrew. When he came back, he thrust two fingers inside her snug entrance and swirled them around and around.

  She threaded her fingers through his hair and scratched his scalp. He groaned and opened his mouth, sucked as much of her breast as he could and then pulled away, his teeth tugging the peak until he let it go.

  “Please, Brand.”

  Her voice was tight and filled with yearning. He understood the feeling. Every muscle in his body strained. He was so eager, so ready to take her. But he’d made a promise.

  He pushed up and knelt between her legs, raised and leaned them against his shoulder as he pulled off her panties. After he tossed them away, he held her gaze and slowly lowered her legs, pushing them apart and exposing her pussy. His gaze dropped.

  Dark hair shaved to a narrow strip covered her mound. Her folds were a dark pink, the inner folds protruding just a little, which made his mouth water because he was hungry to pull them between his lips.

  Maybe he stared too long, because she covered herself with her hand. But, no, she was caressing her sex while her other hand cupped a breast.

  “Do you want to watch?” she whispered. “Or were you planning to do something?”

  “I’d love to watch…” he said, his voice husky, “…another time. Right now, I want a taste.”

  She raised her knees and widened her thighs. Then she forked her fingers at the top of her sex and pulled upward, revealing her engorged clit. “I’ve played with this so many times. Imagined you suck
ing it. Is that shameful, Brand?”

  He loved her sexy breathiness. “Since I’ve imagined the same thing too many times to count, guess I’m just as bad.”

  “No one’s ever done that to me…sucked me here.”

  His gaze shot to hers. “Nate—”

  She shook her head. “We were in too much of a hurry.”

  And that was all he wanted to hear about her encounter with Nate. “I’ll take care of you.”

  Moisture welled in her eyes. “You always did.”

  Feeling as though he was being judged, that this moment was more important than it ought to be, he took his time getting into place, making sure her hips were angled just right, that the fingers she used to reveal her tiny pleasure center pulled up just so.

  Only then did he bend toward her. First to lick the hardened knot. Then to blow air, making sure he heard the sounds he needed to hear, saw the right response, to know she was ready.

  Her ragged intake of breath, the quiver of her inner thighs—both assured him she wanted this. He slipped his hands beneath her bottom and cupped it, molding her soft flesh as he plied her with soothing strokes and then targeted flicks.

  Her sex glistened with the moisture seeping from inside her. Her entrance clenched and released. Her bottom danced on his palms.

  She was everything he’d dreamed she’d be. So responsive, so fragrant and delicious. Her arousal spiked his own, and he ground his cock into the mattress, fighting his own desire to keep on task.

  A quick glance upward, and he nearly lost it. She was tweaking her nipple, pinching and pulling it, and her nose and mouth were scrunched. She was close.

  He pulled one hand free and slipped two fingers inside her, rubbing the pads upward until he felt her jerk and heard the little telltale gasp as she arched hard. He latched his lips around her clit and drew on it, all the while rubbing that special spot inside until her eyes opened wide and she let out a small cry.

  The moment she relaxed against the mattress, he withdrew his fingers and gave her soothing laps of his tongue through her folds, bottom to top.

  Her fingers scratched his scalp again and tugged. He moved up her body and rested his long, hard ridge against her open sex. So she’d know he’d been ready, that he wanted her just as much.

  Bending over her, he kissed her hard.

  Angelina wrapped her legs around his hips and rubbed her sex against the hot, hard length of him. He’d been so careful, so focused on her pleasure, she’d forgotten what he’d sacrificed.

  She broke the kiss, and rubbed her cheek against his bristly one. “I’m willing…”

  “I said I wouldn’t fuck you.”

  “You could show me what you like. I’d return the favor,” she whispered in his ear.

  “Not tonight, sweetheart, my brothers…”

  She closed her eyes. She’d forgotten. “Will you tell them?”

  “I doubt I’ll have to.”

  When she opened her eyes again, his hard gaze was studying her face. His jaw clenched. She knew he was fighting his need, and that he was thinking about what the repercussions might be. “I’m not sorry,” she whispered.

  “If I’d been Eli or Nate…”

  And that was what lay at the heart of her problem. “Again, I wouldn’t have been sorry.”

  “You love us all.”

  She nodded and lifted a shoulder as her mouth began to tremble. “It’s why I can’t stay.”

  He shook his head and bent to kiss her cheek. And then he was off her and standing beside the bed so fast, she couldn’t catch her breath.

  “Do you trust me?” he asked, his voice sounding raw.

  She nodded.

  “Then don’t worry. I promise there’s an answer.”

  She watched as he dressed, wincing for him as he tucked his heavy cock into his jeans and zipped up.

  When he was finished, he put a knee on the mattress and leaned down to give her a quick kiss. “See you at breakfast, Angel. Get some sleep.”

  “Will you?”

  He grimaced. “I’m not worried about the future.” He cupped himself through his jeans. “And I’ll handle this, same way I have every night since the day I put you on that plane.”

  And because she was feeling perverse and a little ticked he hadn’t taken her up on her invitation—and because she really didn’t want to be alone with her own thoughts—she let her fingers flutter on her breast and her pussy. Just so he’d know she was far from satisfied. Miles from finished with him.

  He gave her a hard look, then quickly left, closing the door quietly behind him.

  Only then did she rise to sit on the edge of the bed and stare at herself in the dresser mirror. Every reddened and swollen place felt branded by his touch and kiss.

  What was she doing? This could only end badly. She wouldn’t be able to live with herself if she caused a rift among the MacAfee men.

  Still, her lips quirked. She liked the way her body looked AB—After Brand. Her nipples red and raw. Her pussy swollen. She swirled her fingers in the moisture still clinging to her outer lips. She’d needed to know if he’d ever wanted her. Now she had her answer.

  Chapter Four

  His brothers were waiting for him on the porch. As soon as Brand stepped outside, he walked into a cloud of tobacco smoke and resentment.

  Before either had a chance to lay into him for moving too soon, he raised a hand. “She asked.”

  “She asked you to have sex with her?” Nate asked, a hint of humor in his disgusted tone.

  “She asked me for an orgasm.”

  Both men turned their heads and gave him hard stares.

  “You give it to her?” Nate asked, staring at the circle of smoke he’d just blown.

  “Yeah.”

  “Well, good. It’ll give her something to think about. But we’re next,” he said, rolling his shoulders.

  Brand ground his teeth at Nate’s bald statement. “You aren’t lining up at her door.”

  “Of course not. But we get a chance to show her we can be just as…generous. Can’t have you wearin’ the white hat.”

  “Who says I didn’t take my pleasure too.”

  Nate snorted. “You’re wearin’ a hard-on. It preceded you onto the porch.”

  He gave his brother a deadly glare, but the effort was wasted. Nate’s teeth flashed white in moonlight as his smile widened.

  “So we need a plan,” Eli said evenly.

  “Why not let this happen naturally?” Brand asked, feeling uncomfortable talking about planning their seduction of Angelina.

  Nate snorted. “Because natural might take too long. Who knows how long her mama’s gonna be gone.”

  “I don’t want her feeling pressured. We already know she doesn’t feel good about the way she was forced to leave. Slipping a noose around her to keep her here might cause her to buck.”

  “I can handle her buckin’,” Nate said with a waggle of his eyebrows.

  “I want her treated with respect,” Brand said, irritated with his younger brother’s inability to take anything serious.

  “Oh, I’ll give her respect. But I’ll also give it to her how she likes it, hard and deep.”

  Brand balled his fists at his sides. “If this is ever going to work…”

  Eli clamped a hand on Nate’s shoulder. “How about dialing down the attitude, bro? Or do you want Brand to take a swing at you?”

  Nate shrugged off Eli’s hand. “Do you think I don’t know Angel might believe we’ve lost our minds? Well, I’ll do my part.” He released a breath. “I’m happy she let you have her. I really am. But it’s not easy takin’ this slow. I’m not the patient one.”

  Eli cuffed the side of Nate’s jaw. “We know. That impatience is what cost us four years.”

  Brand shook his head. “We needed that time apart
for all of us to figure out how we can make this work. And I have some news, something she told me.”

  His brothers perked up, their gazes intent.

  “She loves you. Hell, she loves all of us. But she’s not happy about it. She thinks she has to choose.”

  Eli raised a brow. “So we should each woo her. Prove to her that making a choice will be impossible. Then maybe she’ll be ready to listen.”

  Brand gave a solemn nod. “That’s what I was thinking.” His glance cut to Nate. “So you take her for a ride tomorrow. Remind her how much you have in common, how much she always liked your company.”

  Nate’s mouth pursed. “If I see an in…”

  Eli slung an arm around his shoulder. “Just make sure she isn’t left feeling dirty about the fact she’s had two MacAfees in as many days.”

  Nate’s mouth stretched. “The trick is to keep her off-kilter. Push her a bit. Make it impossible for her to say no. I won’t give her the time to overthink.”

  Brand wasn’t sure why, but sharing her with Eli would be easier than letting Nate put his hands on her. The thought sat like a weight in his gut, but he had to get past it or their plan would never work.

  And after her confession, he knew he couldn’t make her choose and have the pain of rejecting any of them weigh on her for the rest of her life. Angelina loved them. She loved him. He’d hold on to that thought, let it keep him warm and focused. Still, it was damn tempting to reach across and smack the smirk off Nate’s face.

  * * * * *

  Breakfast was an awkward affair. She knew even before she stepped into the kitchen that she’d be skirting a minefield. Only, the simmering jealousy she’d expected from Nate and Eli never surfaced. Instead, every time she turned, there was a pair of hands ready to take a burden or to steady her.

  By the time they all sat to eat, she needed the rest just to catch her breath.

  “Your biscuits are as good as your mama’s,” Eli said in between bites.

  “You’ve slathered yours with so much butter and jam, how can you tell?” she muttered, but her grumpiness was only for show. Something was happening. Something that left her feeling tingly and slightly dizzy.