Brave Enough by M. Leighton Page B

much as we did other delicious edibles. But after I left, and the more I thought about that cool shower and her come in my mouth, the less appealing dinner without her became. Turns out that my idea of torturing
her
with thoughts of us ended up torturing me just as much. Besides, as far as they’re concerned, she’s my fiancée. My place is at her side, whether they like it or not. And until she calls off this charade, she’s mine and Stromberg better damn well get used to it.
    Now I find myself dressed in a silk shirt and slacks, headedtoward the dining room for a fashionably late arrival to a dinner I wasn’t invited to attend. My smile is one of anticipation, both to get under Stromberg’s skin, but also to sit beside Weatherly and touch her oh-so-casually with fingers that were buried inside her only a short time before. That thought alone gives me much satisfaction.
    When I stop in the doorway, all three people at the table glance up at me. William looks perplexed, Michael looks aggravated and Weatherly looks nervous yet deliciously flushed. I don’t have to be a mind reader to know what she’s thinking. In fact, if I think about her thoughts too long, I’ll probably end up having to excuse myself. My dick seems to have lost its head when it comes to Weatherly. She can make me hard faster than a cowboy can say “spit.” Damn the woman!
    â€œGood to see you, Tag,” William offers when the silence becomes uncomfortable. “What brings you here tonight?”
    â€œDinner. If that’s all right,” I say, glancing at Weatherly.
    â€œWhy wouldn’t Weatherly’s fiancé be welcome at the dinner table?” Michael interjects, one dark brow jerking up in challenge. I nod my head in a mute
touché.
    William’s face starts to redden the instant he processes what was just said. “Weatherly, what’s the meaning of this?”
    â€œUm, well, I wanted to tell you about it in private, but we’ve been on the go since you got here.”
    â€œTell me what?”
    â€œTag and I ar-are engaged.”
    To William’s credit, he doesn’t freak like I half expected him to. He just gets quiet. Very quiet. But it’s easy to see by his rigidposture and the vein standing out in the center of his forehead that he’s livid.
    Finally, he glances to Michael and offers a tight yet pleasant, “Excuse us, please.”
    Then William gets up, tosses his napkin on the table and stalks out of the room, giving me an “eat shit” look as he passes.
    I stop Weatherly with a hand to her arm when she reaches the doorway. “Will you be okay by yourself? I can come if . . .”
    â€œI’ll be fine,” she says, impulsively rising up on her toes to give me a quick kiss. I’m sure that pisses both men the hell off, but I don’t give a damn.
    William stalks on ahead and when Weatherly would pull away to follow him, I reach up to hold her to me for a few seconds longer. I don’t know why, but I want her to know she isn’t alone in this. And I want her asshole father and his bag-of-dicks friend to know that Weatherly isn’t alone, too.
    When I let her go, she leans back and stares into my face, her violet eyes sparkling up at me like twin amethysts. In them, I see caution and dread, but a ferocious determination, too. That makes me smile.
    I bend to whisper in her ear. “Maybe you should stop thinking about our shower for a few minutes. You might need all your concentration for this.”
    Two pink spots infuse her cheeks and it’s all I can do not to drag her back upstairs and make her forget that there’s anyone in the house besides us.
    â€œYou are a wicked, wicked man, Tag Barton,” she scolds softly,licking her bottom lip when she moves her glance down to my mouth. “Your face cleaned up nicely by the way.”
    She moves to walk past me and I turn to watch her go. When she