“So?”
“So it’s rude and not proper.”
“They won’t care.”
“Well, I’m sorry, but I care. I’ll sleep on the couch, but I can’t sleep in your bed with you.”
“Samantha, that’s ridiculous. I’m twenty-three. They know I’m not a virgin. They probably assume we spend the night together all the time at school.”
She gasped. “Well, we don’t!” Realizing she wasn’t telling Braydon anything he didn’t already know she turned to Kelly and affirmed, “We don’t.”
He smiled as he prepared to take a bite of his sandwich. “Don’t get your knickers in a bunch over what I think. I don’t judge. I am a gentleman though, so I will say, if you don’t want to share Bray’s bed you can use mine.”
She pursed her lips and rolled her eyes. “Let me guess, you’d be willing to keep me warm too.”
“Samantha—”
“Ah, love, my bed's never cold.”
Before things got heated Sam held up her hands and interrupted them both. “Look, I’m not sharing anyone’s bed. Kelly, since you have room in yours I’m sure your brother would appreciate half of it. I was up late writing papers all week, I’ve just traveled all night, and it’s well past two in the morning. I’m going to bed. Braydon, we can work out better arrangements in the morning, but for now I’d appreciate it if you showed me to your room.”
Kelly must have found her speech very amusing. He smiled grandly and said, “Dear God, Braydon, if you don’t marry her, I will. You must be amazing in bed, aren’t you, love?”
She groaned. “Braydon, show me where your room is.”
She scooped up her larger suitcase as she left the kitchen and followed Braydon up the stairs. The wood creaked as they climbed the steps. The second floor was as dark and silent as a tomb.
“I can’t believe you're sticking me with Kelly,” Braydon whispered.
“Well believe it. I can’t believe you expected me to share your bed under your parents’ roof.”
He let the comment go, but Sam could tell he was irritated.
She didn’t think she was being irrational. His family didn’t know her. She was here for the duration of the next month. How difficult would it be to sit across from them at the breakfast table if they were all thinking about what a whore she was? No, she could not share his bed. Tomorrow she’d see if there were better arrangements for him, but for her first night this would have to do.
Braydon opened a door and flipped on a light. The room was painted slate gray with matching bedding. The furniture was modern with sharp geometric angles. The only thing inside the room that remotely complimented the style of the house was the gray and white fur blanket at the foot of the bed and a skull with six points of antlers hanging from the wall. There was a large gray metal cabinet with a lock taking up a good portion of the room.
“What’s that?”
“Gun safe.” Braydon was obviously being short with her.
“You hunt?”
“Everyone hunts around here.”
“Did you kill that?” she asked pointing to the antlers hanging on the wall.
“That was my first big kill. Got it with an arrow when I was thirteen.”
Samantha had a hard time assimilating the Braydon she knew from Villanova with the Braydon who cursed in an Irish tongue and shot animals with a bow and arrow. She suddenly longed for the comfort she experienced earlier in Maureen’s presence, because up here in Braydon’s bedroom she felt very alone and confused.
Braydon placed her bags at the foot of the bed and opened a drawer to pull out some clothing Sam assumed he’d sleep in. Without looking at her he briefly opened up a door on the right side of the bed.
“Here’s your bathroom. It has a shower and everything you need. The closet’s over there if you want to hang anything up. Kelly’s room’s two doors down the hall if you need anything. I guess I’ll see you at breakfast.”
He began to walk out into the hall and Sam felt the weight of guilt.
“Braydon, wait.”
He paused and looked at her.
This was his room. She was being selfish. He invited her here so she wouldn’t spend her break alone and now she was forcing him out of his room and into a room with a brother who clearly irritated him. But his presumption that they’d go from a few shared kisses and dates to sharing a bed took her off guard and she didn’t want him to assume too much.
“I…” Yet she still didn’t want to give his family the wrong impression. Maybe Maureen would understand, but she had yet to meet the other nine hundred McCulloughs. Who knew what they’d think of their brother shacking up with her? She’d have to wait and see. “Maybe tomorrow you could sleep here and I’ll see about sharing one of your sister’s rooms.”
“Don’t sweat it. I’m just tired. It’s fine. Really.”
He appeared fine, but Sam suspected he was trying to keep the peace.
She walked over to him and gently kissed his cheek. “Thank you.”
He ran his hand over her ponytail and playfully tugged the end.
“You’re welcome, Samantha. Goodnight. I’ll see you in the morning.”
* * *
Don’t stop here! Keep going! Almost Priest (eBook) is FREE at all major retailers.
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Other Books by Lydia Michaels
La Vie en Rose
“Heart Wrenchingly Beautiful!”
Breaking Perfect
“Delicious and Dirty!”
Blind (FREE)
Untied
First Comes Love (FREE)
If I Fall
Something Borrowed
Protégé
“Secret Kink Society!”
Simple Man
“Unexpected Baby/Fatherhood”
The Surrender Trilogy
“Drama, Betrayal, Scandal, Oh my!”
The McCullough Mountain Series
(Book #1 FREE)
The Degrees of Separation Trilogy
(Book #1 FREE)
The Calamity Rayne Series
(Book #1 FREE!)
Hurt
“Hauntingly Dark Romance! A Masterpiece!”
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About the Author
Lydia Michaels is the Award Winning and Bestselling author of over thirty-five contemporary romance novels. Her favorite things are coffee, the Jersey shore during the off-season, snuggling, and unforgettable love stories inspired by real people.
Lydia is the two-time winner of the 2018 & 2019 Author of the Year Award by Happenings Media, as well as the 2014 Best Author Award from the Courier Times. Her work has been featured in USA Today, Romantic Times Magazine, and more. As the host and founder of the East Coast Author Convention, the Behind the Keys Author Retreat, and Read Between the Wines, she continues to celebrate her growing love for readers and romance novels around the world.
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