Untamed by Kate Allenton

brow. “Oh?”
    James tossed the rag he’d been using to wipe down the bar over his shoulder. “Peter stopped by about an hour ago looking for you. He mentioned you were back in town and that ya’ll were getting back together.”
    James grinned and tilted his head toward Brody. “I knew he was lying. You’re smarter than that.” James cupped his balled fist. “You want me to take care of him for ya? If you ask me, he’s overdue for a good asskicking.”
    Tara patted James on the back. “Thanks for the heads -up, but I can handle him.”
    She could feel the energy emanating from Brody. She didn’t even have to look at him to tell he was pissed. From the moment James mentioned Peter’s name, it seemed as though Brody had moved closer to her side and the air around her had thickened. He clasped their fingers together, and he hadn’t let go. She shook her head. “I’m just going to grab some files from my office.”
    James nodded and moved to the other end of the bar, refilling drinks as he went.
    ****
    Tara sauntered into her office and glanced back over her shoulder when she heard the click of her door. “I’ll only be a second.” She grabbed the files off her desk and cradled them against her chest.
    “Tara…”
    She turned and lifted her brow.
    “You’ve seen your grandmother , and she’s fine. I think it’s time that we leave.”
    She frowned , and he watched as any hope she’d had deflated. “I can’t leave yet. I still need to deal with the restaurant and,” She held up the files. “go over my accounts.”
    She stepped closer to him. “Please, Brody.” Her voice cracked, and he knew he was going to give into her request. “We’ll be extra careful; I just need a couple of days to get everything in order. I’ve been gone for over nine months, if I don’t take care of this stuff now, then I’ll have nothing to come back to when this is all over.”
    For each step he moved closer to her, she stepped back until her butt bumped up against her clean desk. His hands circled her waist as he hoisted her to sit on the hard surface, but he kept his hands where they were. His jeans tightened as he watched the wariness in her eyes. He kneed her legs farther apart and moved between her thighs. “On one condition…” He leaned in closer, hovering just above her lips. Her breath hitched, and damn, did he want her. Her body did a crazy shimmy, similar to a blurry image on television or a lens trying to focus. One minute he was grasping her waist, the next second thin air and then her waist reappeared.
    He stepped back , releasing her. “What the hell was that?”
    She groaned , grabbed his shirt, and pulled him back to where he’d been seconds ago. “Nothing, just ignore it. What’s your one condition?”
    She said it almost too eagerly. Brody grinned. He was breaking down her barriers without her even realizing it. She wanted him as much as he wanted her. The only difference was now he knew it. Checkmate.
    “ I’ll give you time to deal with all of this, but we’re still going to practice, only now I say when and where.”
    Her mouth parted. Had she been expecting him to demand something else? Maybe a quick roll in the hay as he’d originally suggested? When he took her — and he would get her into bed—it was going to be anything but quick. It was going to be long and drawn out, and she’d be left boneless and unable to think, just the way he wanted her.
    “Agreed?” he asked and would wait as long as it took for her to say yes. Everything hinged on her agreement, so he stood his ground, crowding her, pressing hard against her body. There would be no mistaking his desire for her. She would feel it and know what she did to him. The silence stretched between them, taunting him to make her give into his demands. He leaned closer, his mouth only centimeters away. “Agreed?”
    “Yes.” She answered in a whisper.
    He crushed his lips to hers and pulled her body to the edge of the desk. His