Page 56 of Boss with Benefits

Brady pulled her close for a snug embrace. He stroked his hands up and down her back until she stopped crying. Once again, she wondered what she would ever do without him. Their court date was coming up fast. After the custody hearing was over, she might have to find out.

“Don’t worry,” he whispered against the side of her head. His breath stirred her hair. “You won’t lose him. I promise you. I’ll do anything I have to do to make sure you keep your son.”

She bit her lower lip to keep from telling him how much she loved him again. He wasn’t making it easy on her. Since he didn’t want to hear it, he needed to stop being so darn adorable.

∞∞∞

A few days later, they were naked on a fur rug in front of a roaring fire. Totally spent after making love, Jessica flipped over onto her stomach and reached for her water bottle. She felt dehydrated like she’d just run a 5k. Once again, she thanked her lucky stars for Bridget. The girl loved Axl so much she didn’t mind keeping him overnight when Jessica wanted alone time with her husband. It was a relief to know her son was in good hands.

Jessica chugged half the bottle before recapping it. She rested her hand and the side of her face against Brady’s bare chest. His skin was covered in sweat, but so was hers. She was still trying to catch her breath. “That was...”

“Phenomenal?” He chuckled deep in his throat. “Incredible? Amazing? All of the above?”

“Did somebody buy you a Thesaurus for your birthday?”

He patted her on her bare butt in an affectionate way. “I think we should send Axl to Bridget’s house more often.”

She playfully punched him in the ribs just below her face. “Not nice.”

“You know I think your kid is awesome.” He placed a soft kiss on the end of her nose. “I think his mother is pretty awesome, too.”

She trailed her fingers from his belly button to the place over his heart. His skin, tanned to a beautiful golden hue, was softer than she’d expected. She remembered thinking that the first night they spent together. She remembered marveling at how his skin was a sharp contrast to the hard muscles beneath.

“Tell me something I don’t know about you,” she said. “I want to feel closer to you.”

He stiffened. “What do you want to know?”

“I want to know why you changed your name to Brady and just Brady. Were you running from something? Hiding from someone? Or were you trying to forget something?”

Deafening silence followed her questions. Maybe it was the wrong time to ask, but she thought if he would ever open up to her it would be now. They’d just shared an incredible experience. It wasn’t simply sex; they had made love, whether he realized it or not.

“My father killed my mother,” he said in a hoarse voice. “And I didn’t want to be associated with that for the rest of my life.”

Her heart jumped into her throat, temporarily blocking her oxygen. She hadn’t expected to hear that sort of confession. At most, she’d thought he would say he had a juvenile record or that he’d run away from home at fifteen.

“I am so sorry, Brady.”

He stood while wrapping the bed sheet around his lean hips. That was it. She’d ruined their special moment, and he was going to walk away. Maybe he would leave the house and go get a drink with his friend.

“I don’t like talking about it,” he said.

“It’s good to talk,” she said. “Sometimes it helps.”

“I don’t understand why she refused to divorce him.”

Jessica stood, still naked. She didn’t bother to grab the nearby blanket or hide her nude body in any way. She thought seeing her like this might soften his reaction to the conversation they were having. “I’ve heard it’s hard for a battered woman to leave her abuser,” she said.

He openly scoffed. “My motherdidleave him. Three times.” He started to pace, clearly agitated. “We moved in withher sister in Dallas the last time she left my father, and I thought she might actually divorce him. She got a job she enjoyed, and he was leaving us alone for once. My stomach had stopped hurting. I was making friends at my new school, and I was starting to feel safe. Then I came home and found him standing in the living room.”

Jessica wanted to hug him, but she was afraid the story would stop. So she stayed still, frozen to the floor, knowing he needed to talk. He needed to release it into the open and find a way to move on.

“My mother couldn’t wait to show me the flowers he brought her and to tell me he had changed. He wasn’t drinking anymore.” Brady pounded a fist against his palm. “I begged her not to fall for that line again. Every time she left, he stopped drinking... for a while. The new him never lasted long.”

“I’m sorry,” she said again, unable to come up with anything fresh or vital to say.

He went on as if he hadn’t heard her. “My father was a changed man for sixteen days. I counted. Then something happened at work that set him off, and he brought two six-packs home. I guess my mom gave him some sort of look that made him mad. When he stared yelling, I ran out of the house. He was shouting at me to come back or else I’d be sorry. I kept running.”

“Where did you go?” Jessica asked.

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