Brady stepped into the house and glanced into each room, which were all visible from every angle. Meaning there was absolutely no privacy. He found Reilly standing near the Christmas tree, her smile cranked to a million as she stared back at him.
“I won’t bite,” she said as he neared. “Unless you want me to.”
Sighing, Brady moved closer as he heard more people coming in behind him. “You’re wastin’ your breath, girl.”
“You realize I’m not a girl anymore, right?” she countered, cocking her hip.
He kept his eyes trained on her face. “Trust me. I’m well aware.”
When he stopped three feet away, she crooked her finger again.
Curious what her intention was, he moved closer. There were kids in the kitchen, likely pillaging the cookies, but for the moment, they had the room to themselves.
“As long as we’re on the same page,” she said, her voice huskier than before.
He held her stare, trying to come up with the right words to say to convince her to back off. She was taunting a very desperate man, and she had no idea what she was doing. He had no business with a woman like Reilly. She was too sweet, too innocent for the likes of him.
Reilly lifted her hand and pointed toward the ceiling. It took a moment for Brady to realize what she was doing. When he tipped his head back, he saw the mistletoe dangling overhead.
“You don’t want to buck tradition, do you?” she whispered when he brought his head to level once again.
Damn that mistletoe.
***
Reilly was surprised the ruse had worked.
Of course, Brady hadn’t given in yet, but based on the heat blazing in his eyes, she figured it was only a matter of time.
To help him out, she took one step closer. Her boot bumped the toe of his shoe.
“You know I can’t kiss you, right?” His voice rumbled like thunder through her insides.
“Because you’re a bad kisser, and you’ll lick my makeup off?” she teased, grinning as she cocked her head.
His left eyebrow cocked, daring her to keep it up.
“Your lips are broken?” She giggled.
“No.”
“Ah. Are you scared?” He wasn’t, she knew. But it was worth a shot since it seemed to have worked to get him in here.
Brady reached up and touched her hair, his gaze following the movement. For a second, she thought he was going to cup her face and kiss her, but he merely twirled one lock around his finger before meeting her gaze again.
He tugged gently on her hair, and she felt the sensual pull between her legs.
“Donovan’ll kill me, Reilly.” His voice was so low she barely heard it over the chatter coming from the other room.
She leaned in. “He doesn’t have to know.”
It wasn’t what she wanted to say, but it was the only thing she could think of.
“He’ll know.”
Reilly made a point of peering around him, pretending to search for her brother. She knew he wasn’t there, but she was trying to make a point. When she met his brooding dark stare again, she raised her eyebrows. “He’s not here.”
Brady closed the distance between them. “He’ll know because kissing you once won’t be enough.”
