Page 34 of Boss with Benefits

“That’s right, buddy.” Brady grinned at her. “This was my house, but now it’s our house.”

“Mine too?” Axl asked with barely contained excitement.

Jessica forced another smile. “You and I will be living here with Brady. Is that okay with you?”

Axl’s gaze dropped for a moment, and a sliver of fear entered her veins. If her little boy hated the idea and didn’t want to live with her partner, that could unsettle everything. What if the judge wanted to question him about their living arrangements?

“Do I have to go to Daddy’s house again?” Axl asked.

“Are you saying you don’t want to?” Jessica tried to keep the excitement out of her voice. If a judge asked him about living with his father and he didn’t want to, that might be helpful. “Didn’t you have a good time there?”

“They’re mean,” Axl said. “Mindy told me to call her mommy, but I already have a Mommy, and Daddy yelled at me. He said I have to call Mindy ‘Mommy’ now cuz she wants me to.”

Jessica felt the blood drain from her face and pool in her stomach.The nerve of those people!She kissed her son on the cheek and did her best to hide her anger. “Don’t worry, sweetie. I’ll make sure you don’t have to spend any more time with them. Go play.”

Brady’s jaw tightened, but he didn’t speak his mind until Axl’s bedroom door closed. “You can’t promise him he won’t have to spend time with his father,” Brady said. “Randy is suingfor custody. Even if he doesn’t win, he’ll still get some sort of visitation.”

“The hell he will!” She leaped to her feet, angry enough to punch a hole in one of Brady’s pristine walls. A scream lodged in her throat, but she held it back, knowing it would frighten her little boy. “Didn’t you hear him? Randy yelled at my kid, and that bitch he married is trying to take my place in Axl’s life.”

“I heard him. Unfortunately, there isn’t much we can do about it.”

“That’s what you think.” She shoved her sleeves up her arms. “If a judge tries to give Randy any sort of visitation, I will take Axl to another country. I’ll change our names and hide until he’s eighteen. Whatever I have to do.”

Brady gaped at her. “Are you out of your mind? You are not going to go on the run with your son. You’re just upset right now.”

Damn right she was upset. Randy had no business demanding visitation after almost six years and then yelling at her son when she wasn’t there to protect him. She shook her head. “I should have made him sign away his parental rights the second Axl was born.”

“Why didn’t you?” Brady asked.

“He was so adamant about not having anything to do with Axl I didn’t think it was necessary. You should have seen his face, his expression when I told him I was pregnant. Randy hated the idea of having a child.”

Brady pulled her in for a snug embrace. He buried his face in her neck and gave her a squeeze. Once again, butterflies filled her stomach. She wrapped her arms around his waist and snuggled closer. Somehow, he always knew exactly what to say and what to do to make her feel better. Her problems melted into the background, at least for the moment.

She lifted her face at the same time he lowered his. They moved as two separate entities sharing a brain, a heart, and a soul. Passion exploded between them. A lingering kiss took her breath away. They moved in the master bedroom’s direction without hesitation... until she remembered Axl was down the hall.

“Stop,” she said, patting a hand against his chest.

Brady leaned back so air could pass between their heated bodies. “What? Why?”

“Axl.”

“He’ll be okay by himself for a little while.”

She shook her head. “You can’t leave a kid that young on his own foranylength of time. He could choke on something or wander out to the pool. I need to be able to check on him.”

“I should have asked this before,” Brady said with a sigh. “Can he swim? Or do I need to cover the pool?

“He can swim like a fish, but we should still take precautions. I’ve heard too many horror stories to take a chance. We need to keep the terrace doors locked, and we should look into putting a fence around the pool with a gate he can’t open.”

Brady nodded. “I’ll make some calls tomorrow.”

She smiled at him and kissed his chin. “I’m sorry we can’t... you know, whenever we want, but you won’t have to wait long. Have patience.”

Brady groaned. “I’ll take a cold shower. This time. I want you later tonight in my bed. Inourbed. Deal?”

A shiver of anticipation went up her spine. “Tonight.”

“Promise?”

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