Free The Secret Child & The Cowboy CEO by Janice Maynard Page B

said when they wanted a woman. He didn’t mean he loved her. She realized that. She was far too intelligent to delude herself.
    Which meant that she had to be smart about this. She wanted Trent. Badly. But now was not the time.
    â€œYou nearly convinced me,” she said, her heart aching for a multitude of reasons. “But one of us has to be sane.I’ll go sit with him. I’m sure you have some business calls you need to make.”
    Â 
    Trent pondered what would have happened if they had not been interrupted last night. Today the mood was less mystical, more pragmatic. But she was as much a siren to him as she had been in the quiet intimacy of her bedroom. He reclined on his side, easing her down with him. Beneath her shirt, he traced the lace at the edge of her bra, feeling gooseflesh erupt everywhere his fingers passed.
    Bryn studied him, big-eyed, her pupils dilated, her soft breathing ragged. Her chest rose and fell. She lay quiescent, passive. What was she thinking? He liked to believe he was a good judge of women, but Bryn was a conundrum wrapped in a puzzle. Young, but mature beyond her years. Inexperienced, but wildly passionate.
    He reached for the tiny plastic hook at the middle that secured the two sides of the bra. As he unfastened it, her breasts fell free, lush, warm, soft as velvet. He pushed up her blouse and buried his face in them, inhaling the scent that was so evocatively Bryn. Her hands played with his hair, sending heat down his spine and making him wish they had all night instead of a snatched hour in an impersonal hotel room.
    He would take her…soon. But he would delay his own satisfaction. This particular moment was about establishing control. He stroked her thighs, touched her center still hidden beneath satin and lace. Bryn groaned even at that light caress, her eyes now closed. He rubbedher gently, feeling her heat, the dampness that signaled her readiness for him. He increased the pressure, the tempo. Her hips lifted instinctively.
    Slowly, wanting to give her every iota of pleasure, he slipped two fingers beneath the narrow strip of cloth between her legs, and then thrust inside her with a quick motion. Bryn gave a sharp, keening cry and moved against his hand, riding the waves of pleasure that caused her inner muscles to squeeze his fingers.
    The eroticism of her release made him sweat. His erection throbbed with a burning ache. But he drew on his iron will and refused to allow himself to be at her mercy. Trent couldn’t lie to himself any longer. He was soft when it came to Bryn. And it pissed him off that he didn’t really want her to leave. His hunger for her was a weakness. And that vulnerability was trying to persuade him that she was innocent. That she was telling the truth.
    Which made him the world’s biggest jackass. Powerful men were brought down by scheming women all the time. He hoped like hell she was being honest with him. But if worse came to worst…if she had lied about Jesse…well…Trent’s loyalties were clear. Protecting Mac…and protecting Jesse’s memory.
    But the effort to maintain the upper hand cost him.
    He looked down at her broodingly. “You’re right. One of us should be at the hospital. And I need to deal with the mess in Denver. I shouldn’t have started this right now. I’m sorry.”
    Her flushed cheeks and tousled hair made her evenmore beautiful than usual. He stroked her cheek. “Say something.”
    Her smile was wry. “What's left to say? I can wait until you trust me…but can you? ”

Seven
    B ryn’s heart slugged hard in her chest. She had let herself fall in love with Trent Sinclair.
    In the beginning she had fooled herself, thinking that all she wanted was for Trent to forgive her, to believe her and to show her the same gentle camaraderie and friendship they had once shared.
    Later, she had told herself it wouldn’t be hurting anyone if she dared to