“No.”
“Why not?” He held her gaze. “I’ve seen the two of you interact. You clearly get along.”
She swallowed and tried to think of how best to respond, but her brain wasn’t working properly. It felt like a giant wad of cotton. Eventually she settled on, “We weren’t compatible.”
“The kiss was not to your liking?”
She wasn’t sure why his questions were making her wish he would sweep her into his arms and press his mouth to hers. It was maddening and didn’t make any sense. Instead of getting all needy, she ought to be in a dead panic.
She pressed her palms into the bookcase, preventing herself from flinging her arms around his neck, and shook her head. “No.”
“It happens,” he murmured, his fingers suddenly at her jaw. A pulse began beating in Harriet’s stomach. Her throat went dry and every nerve ending sharpened with alertness. “It simply means you haven’t been kissed by the right person.”
Before she could take her next breath, Brody’s lips brushed against hers. Once, twice, three times. Harriet couldn’t move. Every inch of her body had been set ablaze by that touch. Her stomach clenched. Fire burned in her veins while desire warred with her conscience.
“Now you know,” he whispered, his breath tickling her lips. “I won’t say a word about you or Oliver to anyone. How can I when I share the same inclination toward you.”
“Brody, I—”
He kissed her again, this time with added pressure. Moving one hand to the side of her head, he offered support, holding her steady.
His teeth nipped at her lip until she gasped, taking their kiss to a whole new level and leaving her with little choice but to wrap her arms around his neck and hold on with all her might. It was the most improper act she’d ever engaged in. It was also incendiary and wildly seductive.
The taste of the port on his tongue was delicious. Now that she’d ventured down this path she could not get enough, so she kissed him back with equal fervor, mimicking his every move.
A throaty growl rose from his throat, vibrating through her until she was desperate for something she couldn’t define.
“Bloody hell,” Brody muttered against her mouth before kissing a path along her jaw. “Had I known it would be like this, I’d have given up women ages ago.”
The words broke through some of Harriet’s lust-filled haze. “What women?”
“I’m actually rather glad you’re a virgin. That way we can learn together.”
“I don’t understand.” He made no sense.
“I’ve been so damn worried and very confused, not knowing how I could feel what I did, unsure of making advances and fearing the way you’d react.” He returned to her mouth and kissed her deeply, ridding her brain of all else. “I’m relieved we’ve finally taken this step.”
He pressed his forehead to hers, his breath coming hard as he set his fingertips to her lips. “You’ve got the most glorious mouth. I’ve been dreaming of it for ages, wondering what it would be like to kiss you. And do you know what I have discovered?”
“What?” she asked, her voice but a movement of air between them.
Leaning in, he scraped her jaw with his teeth before whispering in her ear, “It’s bloody amazing.”
The hand at her waist loosened her shirt enough for his thumb to caress her bare skin. The slow back and forth strokes made her shiver.
“Feel good?” he asked while watching her closely.
She couldn’t deny it. He’d know she was lying. “Yes.”
His eyes gleamed. “You’re welcome to touch me as well if you like.”
Harriet’s fingers twitched. Lord, she was tempted and given the situation, it would be expected. She’d already come this far. What harm could it do? This would be her only chance. Come tomorrow, she’d have to sit Brody down and explain that their kiss could not happen again.
She reached for him and hooked her fingers into his waistband. He hissed when she found the skin beneath his shirt and again when she ran her fingertips over his stomach. This was wrong. A voice at the back of her head was screaming for her to stop. But how could she when it felt so wonderfully right?
Holding her gaze, Brody pulled on her shirt, freeing it a little bit more – just enough for his whole hand to slide underneath. His palm curved against her waist, gripping her firmly, and then he kissed her hard, with such possessive force heat spiked through her limbs and made her crave more.
Was she mad, kissing a man who didn’t know she was a woman?
