Seducing the Enemy's Daughter by Jules Bennett Page B

I wonder what would’ve happened if my mother had lived.”
    Sam’s soft voice drifted through the darkened room. Her back nestled into Brady’s chest and he knew this intimate moment was about to get even more so. His heart was softening toward her even though he’d tried to steel himself.
    Even so, he still had an agenda. Sam couldn’t, wouldn’t, get in the way of his takeover plan. He knew, though, he wouldn’t be able to keep his feelings for Sam out of this mess. He’d tried.Dammit, he’d tried, but Sam was a stronger force than he could handle.
    He couldn’t think about that now. Right now, he had to ignore the jab of guilt and keep trudging along with his plan of demise for the Donovans.
    Moonlight flooded her spacious bedroom. All was quiet. No cell phones, no e-mails, no meetings. Right now, nothing existed but Sam.
    “I often wonder the same thing about my mother,” he confessed. He’d never, ever discussed his family with a woman. Especially in bed.
    “It’s hard growing up without them, isn’t it?” she asked.
    He swallowed the lump in his throat. “Yeah.”
    “I like to think she’d be proud of me.”
    Brady smiled in the darkness. “I didn’t know your mother, but I’m sure she would’ve been.”
    “How do you know?”
    He ran a finger down her side, dipping in at her waist and back out at her hip. “Because I know the woman you’ve become and I have to believe all the good in you stems from her. I have no doubt your mother is looking down on you with a smile on her face.”
    Sam turned in his arms. “I hope so. I only had her for a short time, but I miss her every day.”
    Because she was opening up, Brady kept thefocus on her instead of talking about his own loss, reliving the nightmare. “Can you tell me about her?”
    “She was beautiful.” Sam’s eyes misted, though a faint smile adorned her lips. “I remember her long blond hair. I loved brushing it and wishing my hair would be like that someday. She had a rich smile that would light up any room. And she cared. She truly cared about people and tried to put others’ needs ahead of her own.”
    Brady tucked a stray tendril behind her ear. “Sounds like someone else I know.”
    Bright blue eyes came up. “I’ve been told we look exactly alike. My father used to tell me how beautiful she was.”
    He didn’t want her happy memories destroyed by thoughts of her father. “Go on about your mother.”
    “She stayed at home to care for me and Miles while my father worked.” She laughed. “My father was always at work. The only time I saw him was when we’d have parties for his colleagues or around the holidays. Mom always made sure we never wanted for anything, and we didn’t. At least, I didn’t. Since Miles is older than me, Dad would take him to the office sometimes, but I stayed home with Mom. Occasionally, she’d go into the officeand help him with some paperwork, but for the most part, she stayed home.
    “We’d make cookies or watch a movie. Sometimes she’d take me shopping. When I showed interest in dancing, she signed me up for dance classes.”
    Silence filled the room. Brady didn’t coax her. He knew discussing this was hard for her. After all, he’d lost his mother when he was eleven and his own father only six months ago.
    “One day we were running late for my class, and she was speeding,” Sam said softly. “The weather was beautiful. The sun was shining and I was so happy because we were going to go get a puppy after my class. I was going to name him Baxter. But we never made it.”
    Brady continued his journey over her silky skin, hoping to relax her. “You don’t have to tell me.”
    A tear escaped, sliding down to her hairline. “A car pulled out in front of us,” she continued on as if she hadn’t heard him. “I just remember my mother screaming then the sound of metal against metal. I was in the back, but I can still see the look in my mother’s eyes in the rearview mirror just before