Hidden Pleasures - Brenda Jackson [29]
Well, maybe not.
The important thing was that he was the oldest and he needed to set good examples for the others to follow. And he’d told Eli the truth. As much as he and his brothers joked around, when it came to certain things, they were dead serious.
Eli thought he was thinking with the wrong head.
Maybe he was. If so, he needed to know why Brittany Thrasher had such pull on not only that part of him but his common sense, as well. He needed to know why he’d thought about her all evening through dinner, and why he couldn’t wait to see her tomorrow at his home.
The thought that she would be with him for an entire week filled him with an emotion he didn’t understand, and he figured the only way to understand it was to be around her. Spend time with her.
Oddly enough, as much as he wished otherwise, his mind and body didn’t transcend into a sex-only mind-set when he thought about her. He chuckled as he put his car into gear and headed home. No wonder Eli was concerned about him. The bottom line was that he had invited Brittany to his home to be his lover. He knew it and she knew it.
Knowing it made an unfamiliar sensation settle deep within him, and for some reason he welcomed the feeling.
Brittany tilted her head back to gaze up at the house. The sprawling two-story Tuscan-style structure sat on a hill with the mountains for a backdrop and looked like something that would be showcased in a magazine for the rich and famous.
Although Nikki said all six of the Steeles were successful, Brittany didn’t have a clue what Galen did for a living. It was quite obvious that whatever he did paid well.
She glanced around the house and figured it had to be sitting on at least four acres of land. Fittingly, the house had sort of an arrogant look about it. She could see Galen living here, making this place his castle, his home on the range, his haven against the outside world.
And he was bringing her here to it.
To spend a week with him. Although he claimed she was supposed to teach him manners, she knew what side of the bread was buttered. To get her mother’s house she had to be his lover for seven days.
The thought of that had bothered her until she’d talked to Nikki again. They’d had breakfast that morning. “Remember you’ll be there for therapeutic purposes,” Nikki had said. “No matter why he thinks you’re there, Brittany, you’re going to use this week to find out some things about yourself. You need to know if there’s more to your inability to enjoy sex than what you think.”
With that belief firmly planted in her head, Brittany told herself she was on a mission. She needed to see if there were hidden pleasures in her life and if so, Galen was just the man to find them. She was well aware that he had a mission as well—getting her into his bed. Wouldn’t he be surprised to discover it wouldn’t be as hard as he’d thought? But like Nikki had said, it was only for therapeutic purposes.
She began walking up the walkway when suddenly the huge front door, which looked to be made of solid maple, was flung open. And there he stood, in his bare feet with a pair of jeans hanging low on his hips, and an unbuttoned shirt that showed a hairy, muscular chest and broad shoulders.
“You’re early. I just got out of the shower,” he said, leaning in the doorway.
She could tell. Certain parts of his skin still looked wet and he had that unshaven look. And as she continued walking toward him, that spark of attraction that had taken hold of her senses six months ago, amidst all her anger and frustration, was back. She’d never experienced anything like this before. Maybe Nikki was right with her hidden-pleasures theory.
He was watching her approach with those deadly green eyes pinned directly on her. He looked as good as good could get and was stirring something