The Barrington Brothers. Jules Bennett
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front. Grant had thrown a shirt over the back of the sofa, running shoes sat by the door and the smell of a fresh, masculine shower permeated the air.
Between that clean scent and those muscles he’d had on display, Tessa was having a hard time remembering the reason for her visit.
Grant strolled back into the room, wearing knit shorts and pulling a T-shirt over his head. “Care for a drink?”
“No, thanks.” She twisted her hands and remained in the doorway, because if she moved any farther into his temporary home, she feared she’d want to move further into the world she’d sworn off. “I just wanted to apologize for being rude earlier.”
“Rude? I didn’t think you were rude.” He leaned a hip on the edge of the sofa and crossed his arms over his broad chest. “You were honest. I’m flattered that you were jealous.”
Flattered? He might as well pat her on the head like a good little girl and send her off to play with her toys.
“I wasn’t jealous.” She would go to hell for lying. “I’m just protective of Cassie, and I know your type.”
The corners of his mouth threatened to curve into a smile. If he was mocking her she’d beat him with her whip. No, wait...he’d probably enjoy an aggressive woman.
He’d been so playful when they’d first met, so quick with his wit and his smiles. Her instant attraction had worried her, but now her feelings for him were growing.
Which begged the question, what did Grant like in a woman?
“What is my type, Country?”
“You think your city charm will win you any lady you want,” she told him. “Cassie has her hands full. I realize she was introducing herself, but I just didn’t want you getting any ideas.”
He straightened, then slowly crossed the room until he stood directly in front of her. “Oh, I have ideas. None of them involve Cassie, though.”
Tessa tried to ignore the shiver of excitement that crept over her...tried and failed. She didn’t want to find him appealing, didn’t want to spend any more time with him than necessary. She didn’t trust him. He oozed charm, and in her experience, that led to lying and deceit.
Backing up, hoping to make an escape, she reached blindly for the handle on the door. But as she retreated, Grant stepped forward. His fresh-from-the-shower aroma enveloped her, and his damp hair, hanging in a tousled mess over his forehead, practically begged for her to run her fingers through it.
“You could’ve apologized when you saw me tomorrow,” he murmured as he came within an inch of her face. “Why did you need to stop by now?”
Because she was a glutton for punishment. There was no other excuse.
“I wanted to clear the air before I saw you again. I didn’t want anything to be uncomfortable.”
One hand came up to rest on the door beside her head as a grin spread across his tanned, stubbled face. “I prefer to clear the air, too.”
In one swift motion, his head dipped down to hers and his free hand came up to cup the side of her face. Tessa’s back was firmly against the door, and she had nowhere to go...not that she wanted to go anywhere, because Grant’s mouth was so gentle, so amazingly perfect. Instead of pushing him away, she kept her arms at her sides and tried to remain in control of her emotions. But she did open her lips at his invitation, She was human and couldn’t resist temptation, after all.
Slowly, his tongue danced with hers and chills spread from her head to her toes in a flash. Before she could get too wrapped up in the moment, Grant stepped back. Tessa lifted her eyelids, meeting his dark gaze.
“Since we don’t want things to be uncomfortable,” he told her, his hand still framing her face, “you should know I plan on doing that again.”
Tessa couldn’t speak, could barely think. How in the world did she end up with zero control here? She’d just wanted to apologize, and instead she’d gotten the most tender, yet toe-curling kiss of her life, and an amazing view of Grant’s bare chest.
“What about—”
“The clause?” he asked, intercepting her thoughts. “Seeing as how you’re attracted, too, I don’t see why we can’t pursue more. Behind closed doors, of course. No one would have to know, Tessa.”
“I’m not interested,” she told him, lying through her still tingling lips. “Save your attraction for another woman.”
Grant dropped his hand. “Then it’s my turn to apologize. I assumed by the way you look at me, the way your pulse beats at the base of your neck, the way you catch your breath when I touch you, that you were interested in me, too. And the way you participated in that kiss... But apparently, I was mistaken.”
He leaned right next to her ear, so close his lips brushed against her lobe when he whispered, “Or you’re lying.”
Tessa tugged on the door and moved out of his grasp. “Good night, Grant.”
Like the coward she was, she ran away. Nobody made her feel more out of control, more internally restless than this infuriating man.
Surely that didn’t mean...
Tessa sighed as she climbed into her Jeep. She had a sinking feeling that Grant Carter was the man her mother had told her about. The man who would come along and make her question how she’d gotten along without him in her life.
The one man she’d been saving herself for.
Tessa slid out of her worn boots and set them beside the back door. Then she hung her heavy cardigan on the peg and moved through her kitchen toward her bedroom. Spring had arrived early, but the nights were still pretty cool, and she wanted to relax in a nice hot bath after her late-night ride. She was a creature of habit, and her raspberry-scented bubble baths were a nightly ritual and the only way she allowed herself to be pampered.
As usual, she hadn’t been able to fall asleep. But this time, instead of having horses and racing on her mind, her thoughts had been full of a certain Hollywood producer who had kissed her so gently, yet so thoroughly, she couldn’t even remember what kissing another man was like. Not that she’d kissed a slew in her life, but enough to know that Grant Carter knew how to please a woman.
And that was the main thought that had kept her awake. If he could cause so much happiness within her body with just a kiss—and a tender one at that—then what would the man do when he decided to really take charge and not hold back?
Her antique clock in the living room chimed twelve times. Midnight. The same time every night she found herself getting back home from her ride on Oliver. He always stuck his head out of the stall when she returned to the stable late at night. It was almost as if he knew her schedule, knew she’d be back for one last ride to wind down her evening.
Tessa padded into her bedroom, undressing as she went, so when she made it to the hamper she dumped in all her clothes. When she entered her bathroom, she paused.
Grant Carter was consuming way too much of her time, both in person and in her mind. She plucked the short cotton robe from the back of the bathroom door and went to the old desk in the corner of her bedroom to boot up her laptop.
For a man she’d met just two weeks ago, a man who’d kissed her like no one ever had, she really should learn more about him.
Of course, the internet gave only basics, but that was certainly more information than she had right now. He had a whole file on her life, her sister’s and her father’s. Grant and his crew knew way more about her childhood and the entire backstory of the Barringtons, so Tessa felt it only fair she level the playing field.
Clicking on a link, she quickly learned that Grant was a twin, but there was no other mention