Page 34 of Pugs & Kisses

E vie could feel the blood pounding in her ears.

She knew what she wanted; she just wasn’t sure if she possessed the boldness to go through with it.

The ride from Bryson’s childhood home had been filled with the same easy banter they always engaged in, but after the kisses they’d shared, there was a level of awareness pulsating between them that couldn’t be denied.

It clung to the air like perfume, this warm, energized charge that made her skin tingle with anticipation.

The edginess intensified as they turned onto Fontaine-bleau Drive, en route to her house. If she was going to make this decision, now was the time to do it.

Evie sucked in a slow breath and slid her phone from her pocket. She sent a quick text to Ashanti just as Bryson pulled up to her house.

They spoke at the same time.

“Thanks for—”

“Do you want to—”

Evie released an uneasy laugh. “Of course that happened,” she said. “Go ahead.”

“I was just going to thank you for joining me,” Bryson said. “I had fun today.”

“So did I,” Evie said. She peered over at him, staring into his eyes so that her meaning could not be misinterpreted. “I was going to invite you in.”

“Thank God.” His shoulders slumped with relief. “And thank you for not making me beg. I was just about to start.” He blew out a shaky breath. “But I need to see about Bella first—”

“Taken care of.” She held up her phone. “Barkingham Palace can keep Bella and Waffles overnight. They have to share a suite, but I think they get along well enough that we don’t have to worry about them maiming each other.”

She watched as he flexed his fingers on the steering wheel, then gripped it tight with both hands.

“Evie,” he said.

There was a thread of unease in his voice that made her heart sink to the pit of her stomach.

She frowned. “What’s wrong? I assumed by the way you kissed me—”

“I’m not about to turn you down, Ev. Be for real,” Bryson said. “Didn’t I just say I was on the verge of begging?”

“So what’s the problem?” she asked.

“I need to make sure we’re going into this with a clear understanding of where we both stand.”

He turned his body toward her and rested his left forearm on the steering wheel.

“Remember the night we ate Ethiopian, when I told you that I would have been willing to settle for any crumbs you threw my way?”

She nodded.

“I’ve decided I don’t want crumbs, Ev. I want more than just your body.

I want all of you.” He reached across the console and brushed his fingers along her cheek.

“That being said, I understand if you’re not ready to give all of yourself.

If you need more time before you can fully share your heart with me, I’m willing to wait for it. ”

Evie took a moment to collect herself as gratitude threatened to overwhelm her.

“So, what you’re saying is that we can be more than just friends, even if I’m not ready to commit to being in a full-fledge relationship?”

He nodded. “That’s what I’m saying.”

He leaned over and, with a tenderness she hadn’t felt in longer than she could remember, captured her mouth in a sweet, gentle kiss. Evie closed her eyes and absorbed it, relishing the feel of his perfect lips skimming over her own.

All her worries seemed to melt away as she lost herself in Bryson’s skillful attack upon her senses. His tongue glided along the seam of her lips, briefly breaking past the barrier before retreating much too quickly.

“We can find an in-between,” Bryson whispered against her lips. “Whatever resides in that space between friends and wearing matching outfits to Sunday brunch.”

Evie laughed against his lips. “For future reference, know that I never want to wear matching outfits to brunch.”

“Thank you, God,” Bryson said. “Now let’s get inside.”

They opened their respective car doors at the same time and made their way up the walkway leading to her front door.

The minute they stepped inside, Evie pulled Bryson to her and crushed her lips against his.

He captured her face, cupping her cheeks in his palms as his tongue pushed past her lips and into her mouth.

The moan Evie released came from deep within the pit of her belly. Waves of heat flooded her with each swipe of Bryson’s tongue against hers. She backed him up until he stood against the door, then went for the waistband of his slacks.

“Hold on.” Bryson captured her wrists. “Slow down.”

Evie looked up at him, a mixture of confusion, panic, and heat shooting through her.

“What’s wrong?”

“Evie Williams, I have been waiting for this moment for nearly a decade. I will not be rushed.”

Evie’s fingers shook with pent-up need as she brushed her hair behind her ear.

“How long is this going to take?” she asked.

“As long as it takes for me to process that I’m really standing here with you after all this time.”

“I’m here, Bryson. I’m not going anywhere.”

“Just try,” he said, pulling her to him.

He crushed his mouth to hers, his tongue plunging inside with a fierceness that stole Evie’s breath.

Her skin tingled with the need to feel him against her.

She wanted him, no clothes, in her bed. But his drugging kisses were so intoxicating that she couldn’t bear to tear her mouth from his long enough to voice her wants.

“I expect a tour of the house when we’re done,” Bryson said against her lips. “But right now the only room I’m concerned about seeing is your bedroom.”

“Finally,” Evie said. “Follow me.”

She took him by the hand and led him through the living room and to the hallway leading to the back of the house, kicking Waffles’s plush toys along the way.

For the briefest moment, Evie considered turning left into the guest room, but she refused to allow the memory of Cameron with that nurse to pollute the sanctity of her bedroom any longer.

It was time to banish that memory and create new ones.

She and Bryson stood at the foot of the bed and began to undress with a leisure that was both sexy and frustrating. After divesting himself of his pants and sweater, he brought them to the reading chair in the corner and hung them neatly across the arm.

Evie rolled her eyes. Still a stickler for everything being in its proper place.

He walked back to her in a pair of navy-blue boxer briefs that fit him like they had been made exclusively for his body. Perfection. Sheer fucking perfection.

He had always been attractive, but the sight of his lean, contoured muscles, smooth dark brown skin, and those indentions at his waist made it hard for her to remain standing. She kicked the clothes she’d just taken off to the side and put her hands on her hips.

“So,” Evie said. “Are we doing this?”

Bryson motioned to her with his chin. “You’re wearing more clothes than I am.”

Evie looked down at her bra and underwear. She would never forgive herself for not putting on a matching pair, but she’d had no idea this was going to happen when she dressed this morning.

She reached behind her and released the single hook at the center of her back, then let the soft blue cotton bra fall from her shoulders and down her arm.

She released the sigh of relief that was automatic whenever she took off her bra, but it was drowned out by Bryson’s groan.

His eyelids slid closed and his Adam’s apple flexed with his deep swallow.

“Do you have any idea how many times I have pictured you naked in my mind over the years?” he asked.

“A thousand?”

He opened his eyes and shot her an incredulous look. “In eight years, Ev? Do I look like a monk?” He huffed. “Multiply that by ten and it’s probably still not high enough.”

“Well,” she said, closing the distance between them and hooking her arms around his neck. “You don’t have to just picture it in your head any longer. I’m right here and I would very much appreciate it if you would take those off and get in this bed with me.”

The grin that lifted the corner of his mouth was too sexy for words. He hooked his thumbs in the waistband of his boxer briefs and pulled them down his legs.

Evie peered down between them and sucked in a breath.

“Enough looking,” Bryson said.

He clamped his hands on her waist and pulled her with him to the side of the bed, picking her up and setting her on the mattress. Evie pulled her very unsexy cotton briefs off and tossed them on the floor with the rest of her discarded clothes.

“There are condoms in the nightstand,” she said.

Bryson stood up straight, that incredulous frown once again creasing his forehead.

“Do you really think I would use Cameron Broussard’s leftover condoms?”

Evie burst out laughing. “No, I guess you wouldn’t want to do that.”

“We’re not at the condom stage yet anyway,” Bryson said. He grabbed her by the ankles and pulled her toward him.

Evie’s back hit the mattress with a soft thud.

She peered up at him with half-closed eyes as he pressed a kiss to the inside of her right ankle, then the left one.

He advanced up her legs, placing gentle kisses on her calves, behind her knees, then up her inner thighs, giving each leg equal attention.

When his head lowered over her center, a sound Evie had never heard before escaped her throat.

Her breaths came out in thin pants as pleasure and desire collided in her chest. She buried the back of her head into the mattress and pumped her hips in rhythm to every slow, sensuous lick Bryson plied her with.

Need ignited low in her belly, and all she could think about was how much she wanted this. How much she wanted him . How long had she fought the memory of his kiss and the joy he made her feel with a simple smile? No matter how much she’d tried to erase him from her mind, he had always been there.

Evie cried out as he pulled her sensitive flesh between his lips and sucked hard.

“Don’t do this, Bryson. Don’t make me come like this. I want you inside me.”

He didn’t listen. Instead, he elevated his sensual play, adding two fingers that toyed with her opening before slipping inside. Evie brought her hands to her breasts and squeezed them. Sensations assaulted her from so many areas of her body that she didn’t know where to focus.

Her orgasm hit with barely any warning, crashing through her with the force of a tidal wave.

As her body continued to shiver with pleasure that was so exquisite it brought tears to her eyes, she felt Bryson move away.

“Where… where are you going?” Evie panted.

He returned a moment later with a condom between his fingers. He opened it and quickly rolled it on; then he moved her so that her head was at the foot of the bed. After climbing in next to her, he lay flat on his back, reached over, and captured her by the waist, then sat her in his lap.

“Evie, you are so fucking beautiful. You don’t even seem real,” he said. The raw emotion in his voice sent a shock of fiery need racing through her.

He lifted his head high enough to give each nipple a lick, then grabbed her hands and placed them on the rim of the sleigh bed’s footboard.

“You ready to ride me?” he asked, and Evie nearly came again.

She pulled her bottom lip between her teeth and nodded. Then she waited as Bryson gripped his erection and guided it inside of her.

She slowly lowered herself onto him, giving herself time to adjust to his size. Bryson’s forehead creased with single-minded concentration as he flattened his right palm to her midriff and gripped her waist with his left hand.

“Are you okay?” he asked in a low voice.

“Perfect,” Evie breathed just as she took all of him inside of her.

She remained motionless for several moments before rocking forward, her fingers digging into the polished mahogany footboard.

She tried to hold herself to a slow, even pace, but with every upward thrust of Bryson’s hips, her need became more urgent.

A primitive longing snaked through her, driving her hunger to something Evie didn’t recognize.

She had never felt this way before, this overwhelming demand to possess all of him.

“Bryson,” she gasped as she ground her hips against him. Another orgasm was building deep in her belly. Her thighs shook as the sensation began to roll over her, shooting streaks of hot pleasure throughout her body.

Before she had the chance to catch her breath, Bryson flipped them over and plunged deep. He pumped his hips with fevered thrusts that sent another violent orgasm coursing through her.

He caught her scream, taking her mouth in an erotic kiss as he drove harder and deeper.

Finally, with a strangled cry that tore out of him, Evie felt him let go. He climaxed with an agonizing gasp, as if he didn’t want to finish but could no longer hold on.

He collapsed onto his back and for several minutes they both just lay there, staring up at the ceiling.

“Did you think it would be this good?” Bryson asked.

Evie shook her head. “I figured it would be good, but not this good. Who would have thought it could be this good?”

“Okay,” he breathed. “I just wanted to make sure I wasn’t alone in this.”

He turned onto his side and gathered her against his chest. Evie tried to keep her eyes open, but she could feel herself drifting.

When she woke up, she was still resting against Bryson’s chest. She felt his fingers tracing along her jaw, down to her bare shoulder, and then back to her jaw.

“You’re awake?” His voice was velvety soft.

“How long was I asleep?” Evie asked.

“Only about nine hours or so?”

“What?” She sprang up. “What time is it?”

“Just after eight in the morning,” he said. “I’m due at the hospital by ten but couldn’t wake you.” His phone dinged with a text message. “That’s probably the hospital now,” Bryson said.

He reached over and grabbed his phone from the bedside table.

“Oh shit,” he said.

Evie’s body stiffened. “What’s wrong?”

“Shit!” Bryson looked over at her. “It’s from Odessa. She said a building inspector and real estate agent just left The Sanctuary. They said they were sent by Stanley Shepard’s grandson.”

Her stomach dropped. “Did the succession go through?”

“Odessa didn’t say, but if he’s sending over an inspector, he has to be close to putting the building on the market.”

They were running out of time.