Page 18 of Boss with Benefits

“Shut up.” Brady chuckled. “You are a j-jerk sometimes.”

“That’s why you love me.” Deacon paused before asking, “So what’s the real problem with her? Is she trying to catch you in the marriage noose?”

“Hell no. She dumped me. The whole thing was no strings. Her idea. She… insisted. Now she doesn’t wanna hook up again. Ever.”

Deacon rolled his eyes. “I still don’t see the problem, man. You’ve always worked that way. Love them and leave them.”

“Butsheleftme.” He thumped his chest with a fist. “And I wasn’t done with her yet.”

“Count yourself lucky and move on.”

“I can’t!”

People close to them looked their way, and Deacon gave them a sheepish smile. Everyone returned to what they were doing before Brady’s outburst. The waitress, a walking angel if he ever saw one, brought him another shot despite Deacon’s protests.

He gratefully accepted.

Deacon grabbed a handful of pretzels. “I’m trying to understand this, seriously trying, but I don’t get it. You have beautiful models offering themselves to you on a daily basis. What is so special about this one woman that has you unraveling?”

Brady wasn’t sure he could put it in words. There was something about Jessica. When she was nearby, he couldn’t take his eyes off her, and when she wasn’t, he couldn’t stop thinking about her. The attraction wasn’t just about her appearance either.

He slowly shrugged, and he slightly slurred his words. “Everything she does is beautiful.”

“Wow. You have it bad, man.”

Brady threw back another shot of whiskey and glowered at the world around him. He didn’t feel like spending time withpeople, not even his best friend. Unfortunately, he was too drunk to drive. If he left Deacon’s watchful eye, he might do something stupid like contact Jessica. In his current state of mind, he’d probably beg her for another chance.

“Ugh,” he grunted. “What do I do, man? I have never felt this way. I’m supposed to dumpthem. I get bored. Jessica. There is something different about her. I think I could sleep with her for months, years… and never get bored.”

“There’s your problem,” Deacon said. “She dumped you, and you feel emasculated. So find a way to get her to agree to one more hook-up. Then dumpher. You’ll feel better.”

They watched the game until they figured out who was playing. Brady switched to coffee so he wouldn’t do anything stupid. He wanted to make plans to help Jessica with her custody problem, but he couldn’t do it yet.

First, he had to sober up.

Then he needed to make sure he wanted to intervene before doing anything too risky. He had to reassess the situation. In other words, would helping her be worth the risk to his contented lifestyle?

∞∞∞

Against her better judgment, Jessica allowed Brady into her condo later that night. She smelled whiskey on his breath before he crossed the threshold. Part of her was annoyed, and the other part was worried. For him. Brady never drank anything stronger than beer, and he kept those to no more than two in one evening. Why had he broken his own rule?

She led him to her bedroom, because it was on the other side of the condo from Axl’s. Finger to her lips, she motioned for Brady to be quiet until the door was firmly shut behind them.

Then she turned on him, hands on hips. “What is wrong with you? Why were you drinking? Did something happen?”

“Yeah, something happened.” He glowered at her. “We had sex, and I can’t stop thinking about you.”

His eyes raked down her body, and she pulled the tie around her silk robe to secure it, feeling suddenly naked. Exposed. Like him, she hated being caught in a vulnerable position.

He looked at the full-sized bed, but she did everything she could to keep her eyes from drifting in that direction. Unfortunately, she’d been in it when he knocked. The creamy sheets were pulled back, rumpled, and there was a definite indention where her head had rested on the pillow. The bedroom had similar floor-to-ceiling windows as the living area, so she steered him away from them in case someone was watching.

“You are being ridiculous,” she said. “You’ve slept with hundreds of women, and no one ever gets under your skin. You don’t want me, Brady. You’re just sore I broke it off before you could.”

“That’s what Deacon said.”

Oh, great. He was talking to his friends about her. That was a good way for rumors to spread about them hooking up. What was he thinking? If she was going to retain custody of her little boy, she had to be above reproach. Had he forgotten or did he just not give a damn?

Brady’s hands came up slowly. He cupped her face between them, gently. His thumbs smoothed over her cheeks, and his eyes captured hers. Passion shone in them. He wanted her. There wasn’t a single doubt in her mind of how desperately he wanted her. The problem was, she had to play the part of a saint. Their timing couldn’t be worse.

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