What to do? He couldn’t let her continue to doze in the bath. She needed to be in a bed. She needed real, restful sleep.
What she didn’t need was him coming on to her tonight.
Would she be embarrassed if he woke her? Who knew with Sahara?
Either way, he still had to do it.
Glancing around the glamorous bathroom, he saw her wet toothbrush on the side of the sink, the towel she’d set out...but no clothes. She’d already put away her things, so he left her long enough to go to his own bag, took out a clean T-shirt, then stopped in the bedroom and turned down the bed.
As prepared as he could be, he returned to the bathroom.
She hadn’t moved.
The situation sent heat throbbing through him. He’d wanted plenty of women, and had had plenty of them, too. He’d experienced convenient attractions and mind-numbing lust.
He’d never known anyone like Sahara. He’d never before dealt with the things she made him feel.
Mind made up, he set aside the shirt, then crouched beside the tub.
God, she was beautiful. And so fucking sexy.
He smiled, because she was also autocratic.
Seeing her like this, though, with her makeup gone and her face utterly relaxed, was a revelation. Her lashes—paler without the mascara—rested on her damp cheeks. The heat of the tub had flushed her skin. Tendrils of golden-brown hair clung to her neck and shoulders.
No woman could be more appealing than her.
“Sahara?” He brushed his knuckles over her dewy cheek. “Come on, baby. Wake up.”
Shifting, she drew in a deeper breath through her nose, then settled again with a sigh.
Brand fought the urge to look anywhere other than her face. “Sahara.” He cupped her cheek. “Honey, you need to wake up.”
Her eyes popped open, so blue and definitely dazed. “Brand?” She frowned, then removed the Bluetooth earbuds. “What are you—”
A second later, realization hit and her eyes flared.
Forestalling any panic, Brand stood and opened the towel. “Time for bed.”
Bemused, she sat up, her gaze glued to his.
Poor choice of words. “I had no idea what you sleep in, so I just brought you one of my shirts.” He waited, showing extreme control by not looking at her body.
Still visibly confused, she stood. “I usually sleep naked.”
Water sluiced down her body, and Brand knew he was starting to sweat.
“I’m sorry I passed out.” A yawn cut her off as she stepped out of the tub and into the towel. “I’m more tired than I realized.”
“Even superheroes need rest every now and then.” He wrapped the towel around her.
She reached for the edges of the towel and started to step away.
Voice low and rough as gravel, Brand said, “Let me.”
Their gazes held, until she shrugged. “This is so odd. Not at all how I planned things.”
Yeah, not even in the same universe as his plans either. “I want to take care of you, Sahara. That doesn’t mean you can’t do it yourself. Doesn’t mean you’re weak.” He opened the towel again to begin drying her. “Just means I want to.”
Nervous fingers tucked a wet lock of hair behind her ear. “No one’s ever—”
“Good.” He kissed her forehead. “Now just relax.”
She smiled lazily. “No problem with that. I think I was out for the night. If you hadn’t woken me, I might’ve still been there in the morning.”
Had she done that before? Given the hours she kept, it wouldn’t surprise him.
He dried her as quickly as he could, yet when he glanced at her face, her eyes were closed again, her head lolling. “Hang on, honey.”
Keeping one hand on her elbow, he reached for the T-shirt and tugged it on over her head.
Standing passively, for once not trying to take over, she murmured, “It doesn’t bother you that I’m naked.”
She didn’t say it as a question, but rather a statement, so he replied the same way while feeding her arms through the sleeves. “Doesn’t seem to be bothering you either.”
“Tomorrow I might be embarrassed.” Sleepily, she slumped against him. “Promise you won’t ever tell anyone.”
Arm around her, Brand led her toward the bed. “You don’t ever have to worry about that, not with me.”
“I know.”
When he lifted the covers, she crawled in, turned on her side away from him and let out a lusty sigh.
“Get some sleep.”
She mumbled something vague and faded away.
For far too long Brand stood there beside the bed, feeling things he didn’t understand, before he convinced himself to turn out the lights and walk away. He left the door slightly ajar.
Since she didn’t want to sleep in her brother’s room, he didn’t either. After a quick shower in the other bathroom, he crashed on the couch. Wearing only his boxers, one arm stacked behind his head, he stared at the ceiling and watched the shifting lights through the open windows. It took him a long time to get to sleep when all he really wanted to do was join Sahara.
Dawn had turned the sky a grayish pink when he awoke to a sound. At first he didn’t move, not physically anyway, but his senses sharpened on high alert. He breathed slow and easy, listening.
There, he heard it again.
It was a sound that struck terror in a man’s heart.
A sniffle, a catch of breath...
Sahara was crying.
He didn’t think about whether or not she’d want privacy; there was no way in hell he could stop himself from going to her.
The door remained as he’d left it, slightly open, but thanks to the closed drapes the room was still dark. “Sahara?”
A sudden stillness, thick with dread, filled the air. “Go back to bed, Brand.”
Not on your life. He heard the tears in her voice. “What’s wrong?” Even moving closer, he could barely make her out on the bed.
“Nothing,” she whispered. “Sorry I woke you.”
Sitting on the side of the mattress, he reached for her shoulder. “Honey—”
“Please just go. I promise you, I’m fine.”
He couldn’t leave her, but grilling her right now wasn’t the right thing either. “Scoot over.”
Stunned, she half turned toward him. “What do you think you’re—”
“It’s barely dawn and I’m still tired.” He crowded in, spooning her, dragging her close against him so he could hold her tight. “Isn’t this nicer?”
His heart beat ten times before she grudgingly said, “Yes.”
He waited for her to relax, all the while willing himself not to get hard. A tough request after seeing her naked, touching her body and God, the way her ass fit against his groin...
He just held her for a while, but he knew she hadn’t gone back to sleep. Because she was still upset? It gnawed on him, the need to console her.
Keeping his voice low, he said, “Odd that you didn’t mind me seeing you naked, but you’re defensive over a few tears.”
“I’ve been naked before.”
But she never cried? He hugged her. “You definitely have no reason for modesty. I mean, I tried not to look, but I’m only human.”
Her fingertips teased over the forearm he had draped around her and pressed between her breasts. “I’m glad you looked.”
Yeah, that wasn’t going to help him keep a boner at bay. “If I’d have known that, I would’ve dumped the nobility right off.” At least her voice sounded steadier. He kissed the top of her head. “Will you tell me why you were—”
“No.”
He should let it go, but he couldn’t. “Sahara...”
With more weariness than heat, she said, “I had a dream, okay?”
His thoughts scrambled. “About the kidnapping?”
She shook her head. “About Scott. I...miss him.”
Even as he wished for a way to comfort her, he resented how much of her time she wasted on a ghost. “I know you two were really close.”
She fell silent, then finally said, “Really, I’m sorry I woke you.”
Brand squeezed her. “Stop apologizing to me.”
“Okay.” She thought for a second more, then suggested, “You could help me forget the dream.”
Temptation gnawed at him. She’d only had around six hours of sleep, and he’d probably gotten four. “You need to be at work in just a few hours.”
“Takes me less than half an hour to get ready.”
“Damn, so you are Wonder Woman? I always suspected.”
Her sharp elbow came back, landing against his abs.