Crap. She hadn’t even thought about it, but Braden was right. She was free to do anything she wanted. And she wanted to stay at the DCO…with Braden. She smiled, unable to help herself.
“I take it by that grin on your face that you’re going to take the job, huh?”
She nodded. “I can’t believe I’m saying this, but yeah.”
“I’m glad.” Braden regarded her thoughtfully for a moment. “Since that means we’ll have to get up early tomorrow, I guess I should probably take you home. Let me check to see if the roads are open yet.”
Dreya wouldn’t have minded giving up a little sleep if it meant hanging out with Braden some more, but he was right. Besides, she could use a shower.
Across from her, Braden was frowning at something on his phone. “The president’s speech was delayed. He’s going to be at GWU for another couple of hours.”
She sighed. “That means I won’t get home until almost midnight.” And while she’d joked about not needing much sleep, the adrenaline rush she’d felt in Miami had long since worn off, and she was tired.
On the other side of the table, Braden had that thoughtful look on his face again. “You want to crash here for the night instead?”
Dreya paused, her glass of iced tea halfway to her lips. It wasn’t exactly the way she imagined getting an invitation to spend the night with Braden, but it was a start. Besides, it would be easier than fighting late-night traffic.
“Sure,” she said. “If you don’t mind.”
Braden’s mouth curved. “I don’t mind at all.”
“Any chance you have a T-shirt or something I can wear?”
They hadn’t taken any luggage with them to Miami, so if not, she’d be sleeping in the clothes she’d been wearing since they left DC yesterday. Either that or go naked, which probably wouldn’t be a good idea, since she’d be sleeping on the couch.
“There are some in the bedroom. Feel free to grab anything you want.” He pushed back his chair. “There are clean towels in the linen closet if you want to take a shower.”
There were some nicely framed photos of historical DC sites in his bedroom, as well as a few on the dresser of Braden and a man who looked like he could be an older brother with a smiling couple who had to be their parents. And in the center of the room against the far wall was a gigantic king bed with a comforter that looked as soft and fluffy as a cloud.
She strolled into the walk-in closet, smiling at how organized everything was. He had suits and dress pants in one section, MPD blues in another, and casual clothes in a third. She couldn’t help noticing there was a lot of room in here for other clothes. Hers would fit just fine, for example.
That brought her up short. Now that was a completely crazy, improper, way-too-soon-to-be-thinking kind of thought. She had no clue where it had come from. But it made her smile.
While she was tempted to pick one of his dress shirts to wear, she walked into the bedroom to check out the two dressers he had against the far wall, figuring he’d have some T-shirts in there. She was right. His scent was even stronger on the clothes in the drawers, making her think he wore them a lot. When she found one she liked—a gray shirt with the wordsProperty of the Metro PDacross the front—she laughed. A thief wearing a shirt like this should be in a dictionary somewhere under the definition of irony.
She held the material close to her face, breathing in his scent. While it had been laundered, a hundred washings would never get his scent out enough that she couldn’t smell it. She breathed deep again, letting the smell wash over her like a gentle wave. Damn, he smelled good.
T-shirt in hand, she headed to the bathroom, smiling as she heard the quiet rattle of Braden putting dishes in the dishwasher. She closed the door, then slipped out of her clothes and into the warm spray of the shower. Even with the water running, she could smell Braden’s T-shirt filling the small room, hear him moving around in the kitchen, and pick up the steady beat of his heart. Suddenly, she wasn’t nearly as tired as she had been only a little while ago.
Sighing, she finished showering, then dried off and slipped into Braden’s T-shirt. It hung to midthigh and felt as soft as she imagined it would. After drying her hair, she walked out of the bathroom, expecting to find Braden already in his bedroom and the door closed. Instead, he was in the living room, spreading a blanket out on the couch.
She padded over to him. “You didn’t have to do that.”
He looked up from the blanket, heat flaring in his eyes at the sight of her. If the scent of arousal rolling off of him was any indication, he liked the way his shirt looked on her as much as she did.
He straightened. “I figured that since I’m the one sleeping on it, I should make it up.”
She blinked. She hadn’t expected him to give up his bed. “You’re sleeping on the couch?”
His mouth quirked. “That was the plan. Unless you have a better idea.”
Dreya hadn’t come out here intending to seduce him. But they had already come damn close to sleeping together two nights ago. The only reason they hadn’t was that they were afraid of messing up her shot of working at the DCO. Well, that excuse was off the table now, and after today, it was obvious they were a perfect match for each other in every way that mattered. Why shouldn’t they finally act on the feelings they’d been putting on hold for days?
She smiled and jerked her head in the direction of the bedroom. “I couldn’t help but notice that you have a big bed in there. What kind of partner would I be if I let you sleep on an uncomfortable couch while I hogged the bed?”
The fire in his eyes blazed into new life. “Oh, I don’t know. I’ve fallen asleep on this couch a few times watching TV. It’s pretty comfortable.”
Now he was just messing with her. Two could play that game.
