Brett was digging into his plate and didn’t notice her flushed face. “Since we’re spending the day together, what do you say we go see that art exhibit you probably never got to see a few weeks ago.”
Antonia choked on a bite of bacon, certain she hadn’t heard him correctly. “Spend the day together?” she asked.
“Yep. Did you make it? Is it worth the trip?”
Antonia tried to come up with some reason why they couldn’t spend the day together, but her mind drew a blank. She knew why she couldn’t be with him, but she couldn’t very well tell him that she had to avoid him because of the feelings he stirred inside her.
“Are you done with breakfast?” he asked, noticing that she’d stopped eating.
Antonia looked down at her plate and realized she couldn’t eat another bite. The idea of spending a whole afternoon with him had sent butterflies fluttering in her stomach.
“I can’t today,” she said.
“Why not?” he said and took her half filled plate to the kitchen with his empty one.
“I have errands to do,” she said, coming up with the first excuse she could think of.
“What errands,” he said, a half-smile on his face.
“I don’t know. Errands,” she said, trying hard to think. But nothing came to mind.
“Name them. I’ll help you.”
Disgusted with herself, she picked up his glass and carried them both to the kitchen, pouring water over the plates. She didn’t have a dishwasher and she didn’t feel like cleaning the dishes right now.
Brett’s laughter followed her. She stood at the sink and stared down, not seeing the dirty plates and glasses. A moment later, she felt Brett’s hands on her shoulders, turning her around.
“Why are you afraid of me?” he asked softly.
“I’m not afraid of you,” she said defensively, not meeting his eyes. She stared at the buttons on his shirt.
“Yes you are. Why?” he asked, lifting her chin so she had to look at him. “I won’t bite.”
Antonia couldn’t explain her feelings towards him. “I don’t know. I just think we should not see each other.”
“That’s not possible,” he said gently, shaking his head.
“Why?”
“Because I want you,” was all he said.
Antonia took a deep, shaky breath. “Don’t say things like that,” she said.
“Why? It’s the truth,” he said and leaned down to take her lips in a passionate, gentle kiss.
Antonia tried to resist. She pushed against his shoulders, but they were immovable. When he moved away from her mouth and softly kissed her neck, then her ear, she gave in to the desire coursing through her. Her arms reached up and wrapped around his neck. She leaned her head back, giving him greater access to her neck. A soft moan escaped her when he found the sensitive spot behind her ear.
Brett lifted her up and placed her on the counter, moving between her knees and pulling her close. She was now face to face with him and she gave in to the desire to kiss him. Placing a hand on each side of his face, she held him there, and kissed him with all the passion she was feeling.
She felt his hands under her sweater and panicked for a brief moment, until the heat hit her, and then she groaned with increased desire. She’d never felt like this before but she didn’t care what happened anymore. With his arms around her, touching her everywhere, she didn’t care about the future or her brothers, or how dangerous he was to her goals. All she cared about was the driving need inside her that only he could inflame.
Suddenly, her sweater was pulled over her head and Brett was cupping her breast through her black, lacy bra. Antonia’s breast were large for her tiny figure. She’d always been slightly self-conscious of that fact. But with the look in Brett’s eyes as he looked down at her, she was proud of her figure for the first time in her life.
And then he bent down and took a nipple in his mouth. Antonia’s world crashed. She arched her back, her hands held his head there and her legs wrapped around his waist. She was in shock, in pain, and in agony. And she was afraid that he might stop creating these feelings inside her.
Unfortunately, he stopped. Brett threw his head back and closed his eyes, gritting his teeth to gain control of himself. They were in the kitchen, for God’s sake, he told himself. He had to get a grip on this situation or it was going to get out of control. Then all the progress he’d made with Antonia, albeit slight, would disappear.
Stepping back, he picked up her sweater and pulled it back down over her head.
“What’s wrong?” Antonia asked, confused. The desire was still coursing through her veins and she could tell that he felt the same way. She could see it in his eyes and noticed the tension in his muscles.
“We need to get out of here,” he said. “This might get out of control.”
“Oh,” she said, and reality came crashing down on her. “Oh, my God,” she said and buried her face in her hands.
Brett understood her reaction and immediately came back to her, pulling her hands down from her face so she had to look at him. “Don’t do that. What we just did was special. And when we actually do make love, it will be special between us again. Don’t be ashamed.”
Antonia could only nod her head. But she couldn’t banish the embarrassment or the knowledge that if he hadn’t stopped, she wouldn’t have been the one to do it. And heaven knew where it might have ended.
Grabbing his jacket and hers off a peg by the door, he grabbed her hand and pulled her out the door behind him. “Let’s get out of here,” he said.
Out on the street, Antonia took a deep breath, hoping the cool, spring air would banish the feelings that were still coursing through her body. But they didn’t. She stepped into his car and leaned her head against the backrest, trying to get her emotions and her libido under control. She watched him walk around the car then get in beside her. Neither helped her gain control. He was simply too sexy.
They arrived at the National Gallery of Art just as the doors opened for the day. So they were able to stroll through the gallery with relative ease. The National Gallery of Art was actually two buildings. The main building was built in the gothic style with massive columns both outside and in the main lobby-atrium. The floors were all made of glossy, hardwood and the rooms were either square or rectangular, flowing from one to the next. The other building was a modern style with an open, airy feel to it. In this building, the rooms weren’t always rectangular and the ceilings of the lobby were hung with massive sculptures, swaying in the seemingly still air.