The Unintended Fiancé (Captured by Love Book 4) (7 page)

“Erin...” Brad said with a heavy exhale.

“What?”

“You said it yourself. You’re tipsy.”

“So what?”

“So what!” Brad said with an incredulous laugh. “You think I’m gonna take advantage of you in your state?”

She rolled her eyes. “I might be less reserved than usual, Brad. But my head is clear, and I know what I’m doing.”

Brad smiled. “Very tempting, Erin Baker. But I bet you’re tipsier that you think.”

“So what do you mean? No more kissing tonight?”

Brad shook his head in confirmation.

“Ugh,” she muttered, sitting up straight and taking her hand off his thigh. “Why do you have to be so gentlemanly when I’m being so brave?”

“You’ll thank me tomorrow,” Brad said softly.

“I don’t think so.”

“You will,” he insisted, taking her hand in his.

She gazed at their entwined fingers. Darn it. Tomorrow, she wouldn’t have a good excuse to be the seductress without being embarrassed—even scared—about it. And she bet she’d be a coward again when it came to admitting to herself, and to everyone else, that she still had the hots for Brad.

Hm. If she really was as inebriated as Brad claimed she was, how come she was clear-headed enough to think what she’d just thought, huh? What was wrong with sleeping together, anyway? They’d only be pleasuring each other with their bodies, not getting married.

But Brad wasn’t up to it.

She giggled.

“What’s so funny?” Brad asked.

“You. You’re not
up
to it. Get it?
Not up
?”

Brad groaned. “You are
so
drunk. Now I know why you usually never have more than two drinks. And you had four of those cocktails tonight.”

“I can handle my alcohol,” she said with a huff. “As long as they’re spread throughout the week.”

Brad started laughing. “Ah, Erin. This is a side of you I’ve never seen before.”

“You wanna see other sides of me? I can pose for you. In bed.” She batted her eyelashes as she placed her hand near his crotch.

“I wish,” Brad said, sobering and stopping her exploring fingers. “But that’s not a good idea, and you know it.”

“I wouldn’t have suggested it if I thought it was a bad idea!”

“Tomorrow you’ll agree with me.”

“Argh! You’re so stubborn.”

Brad just kissed her hair before looking out the window, holding on tight to her hand.

Hrmph. He was so frustrating. But she hadn’t given up yet.

*

E
rin swung her legs out of the open taxi door and placed her feet on the pavement. She pushed herself up, determined to move as sexily as she could for Brad, who was standing by the door and waiting to escort her. She sent him a winning smile as—

“Eee!” she shrieked, stumbling forward.

“Whoa!” Brad caught her in time before her she fell to the ground. “You okay?”

“Yeah. Thanks.”

“Feeling dizzy?”

“No. I just lost my footing.” She stood up and started walking towards the front door of her apartment building. Slowly. But in a reasonably straight line. “See? Not dizzy at all.”

“Good,” Brad said, clutching her arm despite her declaration. “Eat something first, and then drink plenty of water before you go to bed. When you get up in the middle of the night to use the bathroom, take a couple of headache tablets. Those always work for me to avoid a bad hangover in the morning. Then tomorrow, I’ll make you a nice cup of coffee.”

“Aw. You’re so sweet. Can I keep you?” she asked, smiling up at him prettily.

Brad chuckled. “Sure. For seven months.”

“Yay.”

“To make you coffees and generally be the best flatmate you could ask for,” he said in a warning tone.

“Does that mean you’ll be extra nice to me and give me what I want?” she asked in a seductive tone, pressing her side against his.

Brad stared at her for a long moment before shaking his head. “How about we continue this conversation tomorrow?”

She laughed. She was rattling him and she was enjoying it.

Tomorrow, she’d show him it wasn’t just the alcohol talking.

*****

E
rin checked the time. To her surprise, it was only nine fifteen. She’d thought she’d be sleeping in this morning till about eleven or so, considering how late Brad had kept her up. He’d made her eat the leftovers in the fridge and drink lots of water.

Taking those headache tablets the both times she’d got up in the middle of the night to pee had helped too. Now, apart from tiredness, she was feeling generally okay.

Oh, Brad had been so caring. She’d always known that about him, but last night was the first time she had been the sole object of his thoughtful attention.

And she! She’d been such a huge flirt!

She covered her face, laughing and feeling mortified. She couldn’t believe she’d been so shameless.

Did she regret her actions?

Honestly... no. In fact, it had been liberating. Yes, that was a revelation. She’d never felt so free. She should get tipsy around Brad more often.

Unfortunately, Brad had been the perfect gentleman all night, repeatedly insisting he didn’t want to take advantage of her temporary lack of inhibition. But did that mean he would be more receptive to her advances if he knew she wasn’t affected by alcohol? Or had he said that just to be nice?

Only one way to find out, Erin.

Hm. Would she dare?

Her nerves jangled. No. She couldn’t do it without the aid of alcohol. Besides, what a totally ridiculous idea. Brad would be living with her for seven months. If he rejected her while she was stone-cold sober, how awkward would it be for the two of them?

Argh. What had happened to her declarations of being immune to his charms? She grabbed her phone from her bedside table, needing someone to drill some sense into her brain.

“Hey, Lex,” she said when her friend answered.

“Hey! How was last night?”

“I got drunk.”

“Did you?” Lexie said with a laugh. “From memory, the first and last time you got really drunk was when you discovered that Brad had started dating Miss Pop Star. You were bawling your eyes out in my bedroom and Mum heard. She came in and you blabbered that you were in love with her son. Remember that?”

“Yes,” she said dryly.

“So what did you get up to last night?”

She paused. How was she going to say this?

“Erin,” Lexie said in a horrified voice. “You didn’t tell Brad that you think he’s the hunkiest guy in the world, did you?”

She grimaced. “Worse,” she croaked.

Lexie gasped. “Tell me!”

“I flirted outrageously with him.”

“What? Did you sleep together?”

“No,” she said with a snicker. “He said he didn’t want to take advantage of me.”

Lexie exhaled audibly. “Good.”

“Lexie...” she said in a whining tone.

“What?”

“I want to,” she admitted in a small voice.

“Erin! I thought you said you didn’t have feelings for Brad anymore.”

“I don’t. Well, apart from feelings of... you know.”

She worried her bottom lip as she waited for Lexie to respond.

“I strongly suggest you forget about it, Erin,” Lexie said, her voice quiet.

“I should. But he’s really hot, so why the hell not? It’s not that I’m after a relationship. I’m just craving for some physical action with a hot guy. That’s not a bad thing, is it? I’m just human, and Brad is the handiest one around that I can trust.”

That was only partially true. She didn’t want anyone else but Brad because, heaven help her, she’d felt some sort of freedom when she’d flirted with him last night. She wasn’t prepared to just chuck her newfound courage away.

“Are you asking for my permission?” Lexie asked.

“No. I’m asking for your advice.”

“I just gave it to you.”

“I know. But if I can keep my heart out of the equation, do you still think it’s a bad idea?”

“How do you know for sure that you can keep your heart out of the equation?”

“Because I know your brother. He’s not my happily-ever-after type. In fact, he’s not
any
woman’s happily-ever-after type. When I realised that years ago, my emotions got turned off. But not my body, unfortunately.”

“I still don’t think it’s a good idea. What if you’re lying to yourself about your feelings for him?”

“I’m not,” she insisted. “And what’s wrong with having fun? Just because I plan to stay single for a while doesn’t mean I’ve stopped having sexual needs or urges.”

Lexie exhaled loudly. “Well, at the end of the day, it’s your decision. And I guess if you just wanna play around, then Brad’s an incredibly decent guy to do that with.”

“Yes!” she said, glad that her friend was validating the route she wanted to take. “I’ll update you with what I eventually decide.”

“Okay,” Lexie said with resignation.

“Thanks, Lex. Love ya.”

“Love you too. But don’t say that to Brad. Or he’ll be out of there in a flash.”

“I won’t,” she said with a laugh.

“Take it easy on my brother.”

“I’ll let him be as bad as he wants to be with me. I reckon that’ll be so good.”

“Oh, God,” Lexie groaned. “I better go before I hear any more of this.”

“Okay, hon. Bye,” she said, laughing.

Butterflies floated in her tummy as she hung up the phone. Was she for real? After years of successfully brushing off her attraction for Brad, she was succumbing again? What the hell had happened?

But, damn it, how many times had she held herself back from going after what she wanted for fear that she might not get it? She bet that in a few days or weeks, she’d regret not acting on this opportunity, then she’d berate herself for not taking the chance when it had been available to her. Did she really want to be sorry that she’d wasted the momentum she’d built last night with Brad?

No.

So she was really going to go through with this?

Yes.

Phew.

Thank God for being tipsy last night. She most definitely wouldn’t even be thinking this if she hadn’t enjoyed being so honest with herself.

So how would she go about seducing Brad? And what would she do if he said no?

She took a deep breath and shrugged. While she still had some courage remaining in her system, she shouldn’t talk herself out of this. All she needed to do was put out feelers first, see how he reacted, then decide her next course of action.

Yep. That was all she needed to do right now.

With a spring in her step and ignoring her slightly heavy head, she headed to the only bathroom across the hall in the sexy lingerie she’d worn last night.

She chuckled. She’d planned on knocking on Brad’s door after putting on her revealing nightwear. But she’d been so sleepy that she’d fallen into her bed and promptly gone to dreamland. Too bad Brad hadn’t gotten to see her in it. Was he still around, or had he gone to work? The man was such a workaholic that weekends didn’t mean anything to him.

She tested the bathroom doorknob and found it was unlocked. Brad wasn’t in there. She pushed it open and gasped.

Brad’s mouth hung open as he stared at her in surprise. “Erin! Sorry. I should have locked the door. I didn’t think you’d be up this early. How are you feeling?”

“Um...”
Stop gawking, Erin.

But how could she when all Brad had on was a towel wrapped low around his waist. Holy. Smoking. Hell.

She scratched her eyebrow, unable to look away from his ripped torso, and that V dipping under that damned towel.

“I’m... uh... done,” Brad said hoarsely. “I’ll... get out of your way.”

She nodded, her gaze catching a movement behind the material covering him. Her eyes widened and she had to bite her lip to stop the smile spreading on her face.

“Sorry,” Brad said sheepishly, tightening the towel around his waist and angling himself so he wasn’t facing her fully.

Oh, yes. Something was definitely growing between his legs.

She marshalled her courage. “Why are you sorry?” she asked.

He gave her a lopsided smile. “Not happening, Erin.”

She leaned casually against the door frame. “Why not? I’m not drunk anymore.”

The surprise in Brad’s face was priceless. “Are you serious?”

She smiled shyly and shrugged. “Would it be such a bad idea?”

Brad’s eyes swept through her, his Adam’s apple bobbing as his gaze lingered on her breasts, then travelled further down. He shut his eyes and shook his head. “Lexie would kill me.”

“No, she won’t,” she croaked, heat suffusing her as his erection grew larger. He really wanted her too!

“Then
you’ll
want to kill me when all is said and done,” he said wryly.

“What do you mean?”

“Erin, you know I care a lot about you. But I’m not after a relationship. I don’t want us to end up ruining our friendship.”

“I’m not after a relationship either, Brad. Believe it or not, I’m really only interested in sex with you, nothing more.”

“That’s what the others have said,” he said with a smirk.

“I mean it,” she said insistently. “Did you know that I had a serious crush on you when I was nineteen? But watching you break women’s hearts time after time made me realise that you’re not forever-guy material. I got over you emotionally years ago because you don’t embody my vision of a life partner. There’s nothing about you that makes me think I want a romance between us. And I’m not even looking for romance from anyone at this point, anyway. But I still find you incredibly hot. That’s just a fact. What’s so wrong in being honest about that?” Her face was burning, but she kept eye contact with Brad, who looked stunned at her declaration. Well, she was proud of herself for opening up.

“You’re not just saying that?” Brad asked after a long pause.

“Why would I lie about this when our friendship is at stake? I wouldn’t put what we have on the line just to see if I could snag you as a boyfriend. Besides, I know you well enough to know that that would be a futile exercise. But to be clear, I’m not interested in having you for a boyfriend. Well, except for being a fake one,” she said with a grin.

A slow smile spread on Brad’s face. “So,” he said, walking slowly towards her. “You really just want sex?”