Free Carae's Touch (Long Line of Love, #4) by Marilyn Lee Page A

turning around to see you tonight was the highlight of my week...hell, who am I kidding? It was the highlight of the entire damned long and lonely four weeks and five days since I last saw you. Satisfied?"
    "Yes," she said, smiling. "I am." She glanced out the window and frowned. "Where are you going?" she asked.
    "You said you wanted to go home."
    "When I said I wanted to go home, I meant home with you, Brandon."
    He inhaled slowly. "I've had a rough week and I'm tired. When I get home, I don't plan on coming back out tonight."
    "That's okay. I'll spend the night at your place."
    "I don't recall inviting you to do that, Carae."
    "I noticed that too, which is why I'm taking the liberty of inviting myself. If you're not careful, I just might stay the whole damned weekend."
    He was silent for several moments before the car was suddenly filled with the sound of his laughter. At the next off-ramp, he exited the interstate, turned around, and went in the opposite direction.
    They made the thirty-minute drive to his condo located on the Delaware River in silence. After turning his car over for valet parking, he led her into the building and up to the twentieth floor where he had a three-bedroom condo with a panoramic view of the Ben Franklin Bridge.
    The interior boasted floor-to-ceiling windows, a private, glass-railed balcony, hardwood flooring in the living spaces, fireplaces and plush carpet in the bedrooms. The large kitchen held a beautiful free standing island, stainless steel appliances, granite countertops, and track lighting. The guest bathroom featured marble tops with a whirlpool tub, and a separate shower with frameless glass enclosure.
    "It's beautiful, Brandon," she said when they returned to the living room after a quick look around that she couldn't help noticing did not include his bedroom.
    "It's even more beautiful with you in it," he said.
    She turned to smile at him. "You sound as if you mean that."
    "I've never found it necessary to lie to a woman," he said.
    "If you really feel that way—"
    "There's no if about it. I do," he said.
    "Then why didn't you call me?"
    "Because nothing's changed since we last saw each other."
    She sighed. What would it take to make him bend enough to not only want a relationship with her but be willing to not make her do all the heavy lifting?
    She glanced around the living room. There were several pictures of Lelia and a few of his brothers. She saw no pictures of any woman other than Lelia and the woman she knew was his late mother. Of course that didn't mean he didn't have pictures of her competition in his wallet or bedroom.
    She turned back to face him and slipped her arms around his neck. "Dance with me, sweetie?"
    He immediately put his arms around her waist, drew her close, and slow danced her around the room. Even without music, the beauty of the night shining into the room along with his close embrace created an atmosphere of sensual warmth. She closed her eyes and pressed closer, certain he was speaking Tsalagi to her.
    Touched, she turned her head and kissed him.
    For several magical moments, she felt his mouth moving against hers in sweet response before he abruptly stepped away from her, breaking their embrace.
    They stared at each other in the moonlit room.
    "It was just a harmless kiss," she said when it was clear he wasn't going to speak.
    "When you're alone with a man who finds you attractive, there's no such thing as a harmless kiss."
    She moved close to him and again put her arms around his neck. "I've thought about you every single day since we met."
    "Did you? Even when you were partying with other men?"
    So much for Bancroft's efforts to teach her how to block his invasive touch. "What did you expect me to do, Brandon? Sit waiting for a call that we both know you had no intentions of making? And I'm sure you didn't spend your nights alone."
    "No, I didn't, but I haven't been intimate with anyone either."
    Recalling how close she'd come to a one-night stand