Taming Tall, Dark Brandon

Hamilton House was five stories high, and part of Brandon’s restoration plan had been to create Victorian-era rooms, each with a slightly different decor. It had taken a seemingly endless number of hours conferring with a decorator to accomplish the feat, but Brandon was immensely pleased with the results.

Brandon’s suite of rooms were on the fifth floor, as were the ones where Aunt Pru and Aunt Charity resided. Walls had been knocked down to create the two apartments, leaving only two rooms for guests. Andrea had been booked into one of those rooms.

After a silent ride in the elevator, Andrea smiled in delight when she finally entered her room. She swept her gaze over the charming area.

There was a dark wood, queen-size sleigh bed, a matching desk and dresser, a small round table with a chair, and an overstuffed easy chair. The walls were decorated in pale green and vanilla-striped wallpaper, with the bedspread a shade darker green. The plush carpeting was a lovely salmon color.

“Oh, this is beautiful,” she said, turning to face Brandon where he stood just inside the closed door.

“I’m glad you like it.” He placed her suitcase on a wooden luggage rack by the door, then put the key packet on top. “I’ll have your food sent up in about an hour. Will that give you enough time to take your shower and... to do all that you are going to do?”

“Yes, thank you.”

“Fine. Just call down to the desk if there’s anything you need, want, whatever. Goodbye. Oh, welcome to Hamilton House. Forget that. I think I’ve said it to you about fifteen times already.”

“Brandon?” Andrea said, frowning slightly. “Is something wrong? You seem to be...I don’t know... angry all of a sudden.”

Brandon took a deep breath, then exhaled slowly, puffing out his cheeks in the process.

“No, I’m not angry, Andrea,” he said quietly. “I realize that I’m not behaving properly in my role as owner of Hamilton House. I’m sorry.”

“It must be difficult,” she said thoughtfully, “to have to always be on.”

“I’ve been doing it for six months, ever since the renovations were completed and we had the grand opening. This is the first time I’ve let my professionalism slip.”

Brandon shook his head.

“You have a strange effect on me, Ms. Cunningham. You’re a spell-weaver. I look at you and I... You’ve felt it, too, haven’t you? The pull?”

Andrea wrapped her hands around her elbows. “Yes,” she whispered.

“We have to ignore it, to pretend it isn’t there. You realize that, don’t you?”

“Of course I do,” she said angrily. “You’re speaking to me as though I’m an adolescent with uncontrollable hormones. I’m not a child, Brandon Hamilton. I’m a woman.”

“Believe me,” he said, a weary quality to his voice, “I’m very aware of that.”

“This... this whatever it is that has taken place between us is very understandable.”

“It is?” he said, crossing his arms over his chest. “This ought to be good. Why don’t you explain it to me, since you have it all figured out.”

“Certainly,” she said, lifting her chin. “In my case, my overreaction reaction—”

“‘Overreaction reaction’?” Brandon interrupted with a burst of laughter.

“Do you mind?” she said with an indignant little sniff. “I have the floor.”

“I humbly apologize,” he said, curbing his smile. “You were saying?”

“Yes. Well, my rideculous reaction to your... masculinity is due to the fact that I am in a state of total exhaustion. I’m a tad vulnerable, not conducting myself as I normally would.”

“I see,” Brandon said, stroking his chin. “That makes sense, I guess.”

“Indeed it does. Granted, you’re a very attractive man, but I deal with good-looking men every day in my profession. They don’t cause me to be unable to think, make it impossible for me to move, or breathe, when they look at me.”

“But I do?” he said, grinning again.

“Would you stop it?” she said, planting her hands on her hips.

Brandon cleared his throat. “Sorry.”

“Once I’ve rested,” Andrea continued, “I’ll be fine. No problem. You’ll just be another handsome man in a long line of same who cross my path and whom I ignore.”

Brandon narrowed his eyes. “Is that a fact?”

“It is,” she said with a decisive nod.

“And my overreaction reaction to you? Would you care to explain that, as well?”

“It’s very simple, Brandon. Fainting in your arms brought out the Tarzan-Jane, knight-in-shining-armor instinct in you. It’s nothing to get all in a dither about.”

“Let me be certain I have this straight,” Brandon said. “I’m suffering from a massive machismo rush because you fainted?”

“Yes.”

“And you’ll view me as just another man in the multitude of men out there once you’ve overcome your state of exhaustion?” Brandon started toward her slowly. “Have I got that right?”

“Well, I guess... Well, yes, that about sums it up,” Andrea said, taking a step backward as Brandon continued to advance.

A shiver coursed through Andrea. Was this fear? she thought frantically. Brandon seemed suddenly like a sleek panther stalking his prey—her. Was she frightened? No, it was a strange, sensual excitement that was consuming her, causing that thrumming heat to pulse low in her body once again.

This was insane! She should stand her ground, demand that Brandon Hamilton leave her room immediately. Yes, that was exactly what she should do.

But she wasn’t going to.

Because a part of her that she hadn’t even realized existed wanted to know, had to find out, just exactly what Brandon intended to do when he finally closed the distance between them.

Brandon stopped in front of Andrea and cradled her face in his large hands. He looked directly into her dark eyes, and his voice was deep and rumbly, and very, very male when he spoke.

“Your grand theories may be on the mark for all I know,” he said. “I really don’t have a clue. What I do know is that I resent being heaped with every other guy in a pair of pants. That’s totally unacceptable.”

“I certainly didn’t intend to insult you,” Andrea said, her voice trembling slightly. “I was just explaining my theory about what’s happening between us.”

“Mmm. Well. put this in your data bank, Ms. Cunningham, and see if you don’t come up with a rather different conclusion.”

Oh, my gosh, Andrea thought, he’s going to kiss me. No!

Brandon lowered his head and captured Andrea’s mouth in a searing kiss, parting her lips, delving his tongue inside the sweet darkness to seek and find her tongue.