Lauren Dane - Broken Open

Theirs. She was his brother’s girlfriend’s best friend. And he considered Tuesday a friend. So that’s what it was. Nothing more.

Ezra paused at that for a moment but let it pass.

He wanted to be with her. Alone in a place he could lay her out and enjoy her awhile. Natalie would be with Paddy so they’d have the house all to themselves where they’d be far less likely to be interrupted by someone whose last name ended in a Y.

Tuesday turned to him as he heard the snick of a lamp turning on. The main living area warmed with a golden glow. He’d been there before with Natalie, but this was the first time he’d been inside, alone with Tuesday. It was a nice enough place but he wasn’t there to look at the furniture.

“The smile on your face?” One of her brows slid up. “Should I be delighted or worried?”

“All my smiles when it comes to you are ones that should delight you.”

“Wow. That’s a really bold statement, Ezra.”

“I’m full of bold statements, beauty.”

She hummed as she dropped the shoes and then headed to him, not stopping until one of her hands rested on his chest. “I think I’m going to like finding out. Come upstairs. I’ll show you my side of the house.”

CHAPTER FOUR

SHE TOOK HIS hand and led him through the house and kitchen. “Nat and I each occupy half the upstairs. My entry is back here.”

Her stairs led up a spiral case that was mainly windows. Even better, he realized as he looked up and up, the highest panes were stained glass.

“Is that as pretty as I think it could be when the light hits it just right?”

She indicated the area with a wave of her hand. “Yes. It lights this whole space with blues and reds. Those panels were the original. The people who sold the house to Natalie had taken them out and replaced them with clear glass. We found the stained glass in the shed out back. Not even a hairline crack. It’s amazing but they were in perfect condition.”

Once they walked a few steps in, he slid into what was, without a doubt, Tuesday’s innermost world. Though the elegance and classic lines weren’t a surprise, he found this space—her private space— unexpectedly soft.

The furniture in her realm was more formal, in curves and swoops. He didn’t know what the style was called, but he liked it. Decorative moldings and a chair rail defined the walls without overtaking the space. Soft blues and yellows complemented a seating area with a small love seat and table. Bookshelves had been built along one wall, framing the window where a chaise sat with a throw tossed on the back and an e-reader on the side table.

The imagined peace one would feel just lying there reading on a lazy afternoon tugged at him, made him hungry for it. It had been way too long since being lazy had been a luxury he’d allowed himself.

“Reading nook?”

She nodded. “When I came up here the first time, this part of the house had been empty. Natalie didn’t have enough furniture to fill it up and she’d really only been living in her half of the upstairs. Anyway. I got up here and it was afternoon. The light slanted across the floors just right and I knew this was a place I should be. I read a lot. I like reading in bed but sometimes I want to sit in my window over there, cover my legs with a blanket and read while it rains.”

“I have a library at my house. It’s part of my home studio and practice space. But I’m with you—I like reading in bed.”

She cocked her head. “I have to admit, I so rarely see you still, I might be totally surprised to come upon you caught up in a book.”

“When I was in first grade, I still couldn’t read and my parents were dealing with the school back and forth. They said I wasn’t very smart and you’ve met my mother so you can imagine how well that went over. Anyway, finally my mom said, can he read something else? Something he picks? They agreed. Probably to get her to shut up and leave, but it works for her brilliantly.”

Tuesday’s laugh brought him a step closer.

“Let me guess how that ended. When you got to choose you loved reading. You just didn’t like anyone else making your choices.”

“It’s a flaw. I admit it.” He looked at her, letting her see what he was thinking. “I like being in control.”

She blinked a few times.

“Is this a sex reference? I’m sorry. Is it unsexy to have to ask? I probably shouldn’t have even asked.”

“Beauty, you have plenty of sexy. That’s not a worry. It’s a general comment that also happens to apply to sex.”

Watching this normally superconfident woman get a little flustered when it came to this—when he sure as hell felt a little flustered himself—filled him with tenderness he rarely felt for anyone outside his family.

She shrugged. “I suppose then, we’ll have to go along and see if your need to control and my need to lick you all over are compatible.”

* * *

TUESDAY KNEW SHE sounded a lot more confident than she felt. Sex with him? Yes. Yes and yes again. Control, though? What did that mean? Like something creepy? Or something hot? Sometimes people inexplicably found stuff like cell phone tracking and that sort of control to be superhot. She was not one of them.

She didn’t need a dad. Or a protector. Or a white knight. Or a stalker.

“That’s some conversation you’re having in your head, given the look on your face.” He fought a smile and she was charmed.

Ezra was out of her league. This pull between them had the potential to be overwhelming and end horribly.

But it felt so good she let herself do it anyway.

She was used to confident men, yes. Smart, too. But Ezra wasn’t just some dude she planned to fuck awhile.

“I was just weighing what you might mean by control.”

The gaze he raked over her was nearly physical. One of his brows went up and one corner of his mouth dented with a freaking dimple. A dimple. He was so ridiculously alluring at that moment, tousled, big and hearty.

Tuesday loved a big man. Some people liked brown eyes; she liked tall men with broad shoulders. The material of his shirt stretched over so much taut skin and work-strong muscle she couldn’t have stopped looking if she’d tried. Which she had no plans to do. If something broke, he’d know how to fix it. If something was heavy, he’d carry it.

More than being physically big, Ezra was big with his presence, as well. He seemed to radiate with energy and intensity.

It made her greedy because Ezra Hurley was like chocolate volcano cake. You knew it had the most calories on the menu and that it would be a gooey mess but you ordered it anyway because gooey, messy and high in calories usually meant a good time.

She was going to gorge herself on this man and she was going to do it without apology or second-guessing because she wanted him. She wanted him and he wanted her and this thing they shared was so hot and compelling and sexy that it made her drunk on his testosterone.

She groaned. “You have a really big dick, don’t you?”

He did a double take once he truly heard her question and it was so funny she nearly forgot she’d actually blurted out that thing about his dick.

See? Drunk . Like an amateur. She wasn’t an amateur, damn it! “Um.” She put her hands over her face, the skin hot against her palms.

“I didn’t actually mean to say that out loud.”

He stepped close enough to slide his arms around her waist. Now that she had her heels off, he was much taller and she had to look up a bit but he was smiling.

“Well, if you’re going to ask such a question at least your assumption that my cock is big is a good way to go about it. But you can just see for yourself. If you’re curious and all.”