Bad Bridesmaid (Billionaire's Club Book 11) by Elise Faber (important books to read txt) 📕

zipper of his jeans with a persistent ache that had him very close to forgetting why he’d backed off in the first place.

Which was why his only answer was a shake of his head.

The bed dipped, the consequence of his non-answer being that she came closer. Normally, a perfectly acceptable reaction. Normally, something he would have loved. But right then, right in that moment with him trying to remember all the reasons he could not jump on top of her like a rabid beast and have his merry way with her? Right then, her coming closer wasn’t ideal.

She pressed close to his side, and fuck, that was heaven and hell all at the same time. Curves and woman—no, this woman. Because Heidi was temptation personified.

But she needed to know that he wasn’t back in her life looking for a fantastic night. She had to understand what she meant to him, even if he’d only just discerned the meaning himself. He wanted this woman to comprehend the change she’d jumpstarted, the things she’d made him realize about himself, and she . . .

Fuck, he needed this woman to understand that he loved her.

That he’d fallen that first night and had run because she’d pushed beyond the barriers surrounding his heart, even if he hadn’t quite understood the panicked reaction until two weeks before, until that conversation with Jaime.

Because she also needed to know what she was getting into, what baggage he was carrying and how it might bleed over.

Hell, most sane people would say that his life for the past decade was a giant red flag, littered as it was with lost friendships and relationships that had never gotten off the ground because half of their party—him—had quite literally flown away whenever he got the whim.

But Heidi needed to know that he didn’t have the whim now, and that when he did travel, he wanted it to be with her by his side.

And how was she going to believe that, huh, genius?

He’d been back for all of a month, had spent even less time than that with her. Why would she think that anything about him had changed or would change or—

She placed her hand on his thigh, making him jump and lurch away from the contact. Because he wanted to move closer. Fuck. His breath sawed in and out. His—

“D-do—”

The word was tentative enough that his eyes flew from the ground, from where he’d been counting the grains in the piece of hardwood floor at his feet, up to hers, up to collide with tentative hazel eyes that socked him in the gut.

“Do what?” he asked.

Pink on her cheeks, her eyes darting away. “Do you not . . .” A sigh before her chin rose. “Do you not want me that way?”

Eighteen

Heidi

“What?” he roared, closing the distance between them and all but hauling her into his lap. He grabbed her hand, brought it toward his hips, pressing it firmly against the hard length of his erection.

Her fingers convulsed instinctively, wrapping around his cock as much as they were able through the fabric of his jeans.

He groaned, dropped his forehead to hers. “That’s how much I want you. You breathe, and I’m hard. You smile, and I’m aching. You laugh and I’m ready to tear your clothes off.”

“But . . .” she whispered.

“But what?”

Embarrassment flooded through her, but she had to know, had to make sure that she hadn’t imagined . . . well, hadn’t made things bigger in her head than they were in real life. “But . . . things were just getting good, and then you stopped.”

Brad froze.

Then he grinned, a hot, slow smile that she felt trickle along every nerve ending.

“What?” she asked.

The pale lighting brought out the golden hues hidden in his deep brown hair, made the stubble on his cheeks seem even darker. But it was his eyes that held her in place, that made her heart skip a beat.

He stood, bringing her with him, then walked toward the headboard, positioning them both so they were resting with their backs against it.

Or rather, he had his back against it.

She was able to relax in the enviable circle of his arms, sitting on his lap, her shoulder against his chest, but best of all was the way his arms wrapped around her, drawing her close to his body, holding her tightly. She was protected, cared for, held as though she were important.

“Okay,” he said. “I’m only going to say this once.” He paused, waited until her gaze came to his. “You are quite literally the woman that I want most in this world. And I’ve been to a shit-ton of places,” he added, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear. “So you can know that I’m not spouting bullshit. Also, by want, I mean sexually. Refer back to all that breathing, smiling, laughing, and my cock feeling like it’s going to break in half stuff I mentioned previously.”

His fingers brushed the shell of her ear, making her shiver and drift closer, until she could feel his next words glaze her lips. “But, also, more importantly, by want, I mean I can honestly say that you are the first woman I’ve ever spent time with who’s made me look inside and recognize that I have some shitty characteristics that I need to change.”

She frowned, but he dropped a finger to her lips before she could protest.

“I hurt you,” he whispered, his tone making her lungs seize, her heart convulse because there was so much pain in those words, “and I will regret doing that for the rest of my life.”

“I’m okay,” she whispered.

He smiled gently. “Of course, you are. Because you’re smart and capable and beautiful, and you don’t let dumbasses like me ruin your groove.”

Laughter bubbled up in her chest, but she held it back. “That’s true,” she said instead, keeping her tone light.

“But,” he said. “I did hurt you, and I hate that I did, and”—a sharp sigh—“well, the truth is that I