CHAPTER FOUR

      MERRILY HAD NO real choice but to abide by Brick’s bizarre terms—for now.

      Why would he encourage her to think it over before making a move if he really wanted her as badly as he claimed? Her only conclusion was that he didn’t. She doubted that he’d find sex with her to be a hardship, but all that nonsense about her testing his control? Just that: nonsense.

      Seemed to her he had too much control. For sure, far more than she had.

      Swallowing back her complaints, she walked him to the front door. Like the Pied Piper, she had both dogs and all three cats following along.

      It was pretty nice how Brick accepted them all. He stepped over and around pet toys, picked up a floating tuft of cat fur to throw away and gave attention to each animal before focusing that awesome gaze on her.

      She gulped in rising need. “It’s not going to be easy, Brick.”

      “Waiting?” Expression warm and big hands gentle, he cupped her face. “You’re preaching to the choir on that one, honey.”

      Merrily stared up at him. He was so tall, so broad-shouldered and muscular and sexy. She swayed toward him. “Then maybe—”

      He kissed her.

      And wow, what a kiss. Firm lips moved over hers until they parted, then his damp tongue stroked in. He was an incredible kisser, teasing and encouraging until she clung to him.

      She wasn’t inexperienced enough to miss his erection or the way his hands trembled, how his breath hitched.

      After freeing her mouth, he hugged her close for a few rib-knocking heartbeats, then stepped back. “I gotta go before I change my mind.” He opened the door and stepped out. “Think about me tonight, okay? It’s for sure I’m going to be thinking about you.”

      Holding the doorknob for support, Merrily watched him go in a long-legged, slightly stiff stride. His profile showed the tight way he held his jaw, and after he got into his truck, he sat there a moment, head back, eyes closed.

      Okay, so maybe she really did test his control. That made his insistence on giving her time...noble. Considerate.

      And so incredibly sweet.

      Seeing him struggle for composure made her want him all the more. Knowing he was so blasted nice really cinched the deal.

      Not fall in love with him?

      Shoot, she was already halfway there and she knew it. The trick would be making sure Brick never found out. She’d manage because otherwise he might really walk away.

      And now that she’d had a small taste, she wanted the whole man.

      She wanted Brick Carlisle.

      * * *

      THE NEXT DAY, Merrily hung back as Jesse and Brick discussed her apparently awesome vintage door. If having one big hunk in her small living space was odd, having two there was enough to leave her mute. They took up so much room, had so much presence, and she could almost swear an air of testosterone swirled around them.

      They were male with a capital M.

      It took all her concentration not to drag Brick off somewhere.

      When he’d arrived, he’d kissed her hello with warm familiarity, but with his friend standing there, it had been frustratingly brief. And for the fifteen minutes since then, he’d stayed busy introducing her pets, giving them some attention and showing Jesse the door to be replaced.

      Last night, the things he’d said and the things he’d done had all conspired to leave her muddled. After he’d left, she’d spent a sleepless night thinking of him, just as he’d told her to.

      Today, she was on pins and needles waiting to see what he’d do.

      Brick had bold and outrageous down to a fine art. So much so that she’d accused him of being conceited, but with the way he kissed, she believed him when he said he had reason for boasting.

      All those promises of satisfaction left her nerve endings sizzling. And he wanted to give her time to think about his “offer.” How could she think of anything else?

      What was there to think about anyway? It wasn’t like she could summon up the fortitude to turn him away. Like a starving person offered a meal, he tempted her beyond reason.

      As far as her falling for him and getting hurt... She’d thought about that a lot last night...and during her classes...and while at work.

      Thinking of much else hadn’t been possible.

      She wasn’t a dummy. She knew how their relationship would go. She’d heard the whispers at work, saw the way the other waitresses stared at him.

      Already, she was more invested than him. How could she not be?

      Yes, she’d wanted to experience life. Specifically she wanted to experience sex. Now...she just wanted to experience Brick Carlisle.

      Even in her hottest fantasies, she hadn’t dredged up a man even half as appealing as him.

      A sexual relationship was, for him, a routine thing.

      For her, with Brick, it would be beyond incredible.

      She’d rushed home from work, then rushed through a shower. She’d even done some primping for him when there were clearly other things she should have been doing—like laundry, or writing her college papers, or cleaning up all the pet fur that accumulated in a twenty-four-hour period. While she’d hurriedly painted her toenails, the dogs had watched her in fascination, the cats with disdain.

      But