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with or without him for now, but she needed rest and some pampering.
After assuring himself that all of her personal affects had been removed from the room, he instructed
his driver to take care of checking her out of this establishment with the front office, and Trent picked
Brianna up in his arms and carried her back to the car.
The drive to his home in Highlands Ranch would take close to forty-five minutes and he settled
himself into the seat and then pulled Brianna over against him, pleased when she came willingly.
Trent lectured himself again as his body hardened with her nearness. She was injured and clearly not
herself tonight. When she slowly relaxed against him, turning into his chest and wrapping an arm
around his waist, it took every bit of control he possessed not to lean her back against the seat and
explore the warm body snuggled up so nicely against him.
Trent had given Brianna two of the pain killers before leaving the hospital and as usually happened
when she took anything stronger than a Tylenol, she was sleepy and her head was a little fuzzy. When
Trent had urged her to lean against him, the feel of another human body against hers had felt so
comforting she had immediately given in.
“Hey, no going to sleep now. At least, not until I get you home.”
Brianna mumbled something and Trent felt his pulse pick up at the feel of her lips moving against his
chest. Tipping her head up so he could look into her face, he watched her eyes flutter open and slowly
lowered his head to touch his lips to hers.
The first touch of his lips against hers had Brianna’s heart racing and she moaned and softened against
him more.
Trent gently explored her lips with his own, taking little sips from her lips and coaxing her to let him
in. As she eased her mouth open, Trent took advantage and surged in. His tongue taking long sweeps
inside her mouth, urging her tongue to tangle with his own.
Brianna couldn’t ever remember being kissed like this. It was like he was making love to her mouth.
She had only had two serious relationships in the past, and neither of them had been interested in
kissing her like this. It was like being devoured and cherished all at the same time.
When Trent heard the little moan leave her throat, he pulled her tighter against himself and let his
hand move up to tangle in the hair at the nape of her neck. Gathering the long strands together, he
transferred them to one hand and let his other roam over her face and down the side of her neck.
Tracing the vee of her shirt to where it was buttoned, he played with the button there, waiting for her
to protest and tell him to stop.
Brianna closed her eyes and reveled in the feeling of Trent’s hands on her. All week he had been
touching her; a brush against her shoulder with his arm as he reached for something, leaning against
her back while looking over her shoulder, his hand in the small of her back as he ushered her into the
elevator. She hadn’t realized how much she had desired his hands on her. Now that they were, she
didn’t want him to stop.
Trent told himself he needed to stop, but it felt so good to hold her in his arms, he just couldn’t do it.
His fingers played with the button between her ample breasts, and he wished they were already home.
Then his conscience reminded him that she was injured, wasn’t thinking clearly, and how in
appropriate it would be for him to continue taking advantage of her in this condition.
Moving his hand back up to her neck, he slowly brought the kiss back so that it was a gentle taking
and giving of kisses. Finally lifting his mouth from hers, he pushed her head back down against his
chest and felt her settle against him with a long sigh.
The remainder of the drive was made in silence. Trent continued to run his hand through her hair,
being careful to avoid the bandage on her temple.
Brianna closed her eyes and enjoyed being held and the sure knowledge that she was safe in this
moment. How long had it been since she could say she felt safe at night? Five months? Six months?
Whatever it was, she was going to live for this moment, who knew how long it would be before she
felt this way again.
Chapter 11
Trent instructed his driver to unload Brianna’s belongings and stack them in the back hallway. She
wouldn’t need anything tonight, and there’d be time enough to deal with them tomorrow.
After getting Brianna settled into bed, he made a few phone calls and arranged to have his second in
command handle the negotiations scheduled for the morning. He then called Janet and let her know
what had happened and told her that he and Brianna would be taking Monday off. Janet offered to
come over and stay with Brianna, but Trent declined, encouraging her to enjoy the rest of the evening
with her husband Shawn.
After ensuring that everything was in place for the negotiation to go smoothly, he climbed the stairs to
check on Brianna. He had put her in his bed, telling himself that he would sleep in one of the guest
rooms. But seeing her snuggled down in his bed had those thoughts quickly being put aside.
In deference to his houseguest, he donned a pair of pajama pants before climbing into the bed next to
her. He turned the lights down, not wanting her to become fearful if she should wake up during the
night and not remember where she was.
The doctor had instructed him to wake her up every hour. It was just after midnight and he set the
alarm for 1 a.m., taking his job as her caretaker seriously.
*****
It felt like he had just closed his eyes when his alarm went off, reminding him to check on Brianna
once again. He had followed the doctor’s instructions, waking her every hour, and this was the last of [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]