Page 44 of Deal Takers

My fingers crawl up his leg, stopping right below his hip. “You heard me, Brody. You’ve been bragging about your sexual prowess since the day we met. It’s time to pony up.”

He searches my eyes for a moment. “Are you fucking with me right now?”

“Nope,” I say, with an exaggerated pop.

Devyn and Drew rejoin us before he can say another word.

“Dude,” Drew says, “why do you look like you’re trying to solve a complicated math problem in your head?”

Brody finally tears his eyes away from me. “Shut the fuck up, man.”

“Whoa, buddy. What crawled up your ass all of a sudden?”

I smirk. “Yeah, Brody. What’s got your panties in a bunch?”

Drew laughs while Devyn watches us carefully, obviously trying to figure out what the hell happened in the two minutes she was gone.

Brody glares at me. “Oh,game on,honey.”

I casually sip the wine Devyn placed in front of me. “Bring it.”

With my statement, something shifts in the air. Brody is practically incinerating me with his gaze, making me realize how much he’s actually been holding back before now. I try concealing how strongly he’s affecting me, but his cocky grin tells me I’m not doing a very good job.

I take several gulps of wine, trying to act aloof. I set the glass on the table—probably a little too hard—and clear my throat. “I’m going to call it a night, guys. Brody, would youmind walking me home? Some weirdo has been hanging around my building lately, and I’d rather be safe than sorry.”

He grins. “I’dloveto.”

Devyn is still watching us like a hawk, but Drew is completely oblivious as he pulls Brody into a back-slapping hug. I can feel her eyes burning through my back as we make our way out of Kelly’s, but she doesn’t say a word.

Brody places his hand on the small of my back as we step onto the sidewalk. “Is there really a weirdo hanging around your building?”

My mind is so focused on the pressure of his fingertips against my spine, it takes me a second to realize he asked a question. I step out of his reach so he can’t distract me.

“Yeah.” I shrug. “But he’s harmless. He just likes preachingthe word of the lord. He only takes the megaphone out on Sundays and holidays.”

He laughs. “Ah, gotta love downtown living.”

I chuckle. “It’s definitely interesting.”

As we approach my building, the sexual tension between us is tangible. As anxious as I am to have an orgasm from a warm-blooded man, I know I need to put on the brakes so I can regain control of this situation. A physical relationship with Brody has the potential to get messy, so I want to make sure we’re both on the same page before we take that step.

I can feel his big body behind me as I jiggle the key in the lock. His hot breath hovers over my neck for only a second before his pillowy soft lips meet my skin.

He groans. “God, Rainey, I can’t wait to finally be inside of you.”

My knees literally go weak as I push open the door. It takes me a moment to regain my balance, but once I do, I manage to swat him away.

“Hold on there, Romeo. I have some ground rules.”

He appears crestfallen. “Ground rules?”

“Yep,” I say with a nod. “I don’t want to do anything that could make things difficult. Our closest friends live together, so avoiding each other isn’t really an option if this goes south.”

“Whoa, whoa, whoa,” he says, holding his hands up to cut me off. “Why are you writing this off before we even get to the good part?”

“I’m not,” I deny. “I’m being cautious.”

The skin between his eyebrows crinkles. “Elaborate.”

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