Bad Boy Brody

by Tijan

  I held my hands up. I got what I wanted. The monster. Everyone goddamn knew who it was now.

  No one said a word as I walked out of that house.

  Morgan

  Brody was hurting.

  I hopped off Shiloh and scrambled over the patio as he walked up the front steps.

  “What happened?”

  I knew what was said in the house. I heard it. I wasn’t asking about that.

  He shook his head, going to the bedroom and lying on the bed.

  I stood in the doorway, staring down at him. “Brody.” I felt his pain. It sliced through me, along with a lot of anger. A ton of anger. “Brody. What happened?”

  He let out a sigh, gazing at the ceiling. “They approved the new storyline. Peter and Matthew. Both of them. You’re being written into the movie.”

  I sat next to him on the bed and touched his leg. “What else is going on?”

  “What?”

  He still wouldn’t look at me, so I scraped my nails lightly down his leg. It got his attention. “What aren’t you telling me?”

  “Aren’t you pissed at them?”

  There. I looked at him closely. I saw the shadows in his eyes. There was anger for me, pain for me, but that wasn’t what was wrong. I climbed up over him on the bed. He leaned back, frowning as he watched me move to straddle him.

  Slowly, I was stretched on top of him. Chest to chest. Groin to groin. I let my feet fall between his legs, and I propped my head up, resting on my hands.

  I peered right down to him. “What’s going on with you?”

  He groaned, closing his eyes. “I just went to bat for you, and you’re in here trying to slide into my thoughts.”

  I didn’t hide my grin. I let it fully show.

  Despite his arguing, he was enjoying this as much as I was.

  I caught his hand in mine, lifting my head. “I like that you fought for me. I like that you hurt for me.” I caressed my finger up the middle of his palm.

  His hand jerked, but I felt some of his tension starting to wane.

  “But I can tell there’s other stuff.” I stretched over him, sensually moving my body until I had scooted farther up. I tapped him softly on the side of the head. “What is going on in there that has to do with you?”

  He looked the other way. “You sound like a goddamn counselor.”

  I took his chin and turned him back to me. “They sent me to a bunch of them. I’m glad something stuck.”

  “Did you feel your privacy was intruded on too?”

  I grinned again. “You’re like a wounded lion that is trying to be all growly at your own cub.”

  That got a small laugh, and his hands went to my waist.

  A tingle shot through me at the touch.

  “You are not a cub. That’s for damned sure.” His thumb began to rub back and forth, and he trailed his other hand up and down my side, pushing underneath my shirt. “Your family stuff is bringing up my family shit. It gives me whiplash sometimes.”

  “Kyle is haunting you?”

  “No.” His hand kept moving, and the tingles were making me warm all over. “Yes.”

  He let out another soft sigh as he stopped and then just hugged me to him. I rested my head on his chest, and his hand moved to smooth down my hair. It was another caress, but one from comfort, one that was soothing.

  I closed my eyes, savoring the feeling.

  He was lulling me, drawing me to him just from that touch.

  Every time he held me, it made me never want to leave.

  Still smoothing down my hair, he said, “He’s not haunting me, but the grief comes at me.”

  I frowned slightly, feeling his heartbeat speed up.

  Then it went back down, he murmured, “He called me before he died.” He stopped. His chest rose, and he held the deep breath.

  I did the same. Waiting.

  His chest lowered once more. “I keep hearing it, over and over. I keep reliving it.” He stopped smoothing down my hair, and I lifted my head.

  I needed to see his eyes. I needed to see into him.

  Raw torment looked back at me. I didn’t even see Brody. The anguish coated all of him, and my own emotions swelled to mirror his. Needing to distract myself from the pain that was too overwhelming, I chewed on the inside of my cheek. The physical pain cleared enough of the emotional pain that I could hear him again.

  “Sometimes I can’t help but wonder if he killed himself.” His eyes focused on me.

  My heart was hurting, hanging so heavily in my own chest I couldn’t be sure it wouldn’t drop to the floor.

  I buried my head into his shoulder, wrapping my arms around him. I felt his come around me in return. “I’m so sorry.” God, I was.

  I was aching right alongside him.

  “He was coming to see me.” His voice choked up. “He told me how proud he was of me, and they think . . .”

  I lifted my head once again. “What about his wife?”

  “I can’t bring myself to ask her.” He shifted to his side. Our legs were still tangled, and he used the position to pull me flush against his body.

  “Then you have to.” I breathed out, knowing he could feel my air.

  His hands tightened on my waist. “You’d come with me?”

  I hesitated before shaking my head. “You know I can’t leave Shiloh.”

  He let out a soft curse, moving to his back.

  I sat up, and I gazed down at him. “This is the right time. They’re postponing the movie.” I began to trace circles on his chest. “You can go, talk to her, get some closure, and then come back to me.”

  His hands went back to my waist, and suddenly, he lifted me. He held me above him like I was a doll, as if I weighed nothing. And he smiled up at me. My hair fell down, forming a curtain around us.

  He said, “You heard everything, didn’t you?”

  I smiled down at him. “Good hearing, remember?”

  He grew somber, his eyes studying every inch of my face, and then he murmured, “You heard what I said to your stepfather?”

  My throat went tight, my heart thumped in an uneven pitter-patter rhythm against my chest, and an odd giggle threatened to break free. I ignored all of that, just feeling my face heating up. I blamed the angle he was holding me.

  “Yes,” I whispered my answer.

  “It’s true,” he whispered back.

  Lowering me back down until I was lying on top of him again, he looked up. His hand caught the side of my face, and his fingers slid through my hair. He was staring so hard at me. He repeated, “It’s true.”

  He still hadn’t said the words to me.

  My own words were caught in my throat, but I moved until my lips touched his.

  Slowly. Tenderly. A soft graze.

  My heart was thundering like the herd in me.

  I moved up and applied pressure, trying to tell him I felt the same. I wanted to show him how much I felt the same, but his hand tightened around my face, and his lips opened over mine. His tongue slid inside, and after that, I was lost.

  We made love through the rest of the day.

  Once. Twice.

  Later in the evening, we were still lying in bed when someone knocked on his door. Reluctantly, he got up to answer, and even though he shut the door behind him when he stepped outside, I could still hear their conversation. It was his manager. He told her he’d fly out with everyone else.

  “Really?”

  I curled on my side, hugging his pillow to me and smiling as I eavesdropped.

  Brody laughed. “You sound surprised.”

  “I just thought . . . I thought you’d put up more of a fight. That’s all.”

  “It’s decided. I can’t fight it.”

  “Really?”

  He laughed again. “I’m not happy about it. Trust me, but I’ll go and come back when I need to.”

  “Ah. I see. She’s inside waiting for you, isn’t she?”

  There was silence.

  “Just try to protect
yourself, Brody. You’re unpredictable. You can be a hothead at times. You’re a rakish flirt other days, and today, I saw how much you can love someone. Please don’t get hurt, any more than you already have been.”

  I sat up, suspending my breath.

  There was silence again, and then I heard a very soft, “Too late.” And my lungs depleted themselves.

  A single tear slipped down my cheek.

  I didn’t want to hurt him. I didn’t want to get hurt either, but I knew what he wanted. It might not be the same thing Matthew wanted, but it was similar. He wanted me with him, and that meant wherever he would go after this.

  As if sensing my pain, Shiloh whinnied in the distance.

  I moved over, looking out his bedroom window.

  She was at the edge of the fence, staring right back at me.

  She wanted me to go to her, and she was waiting as she swished her tail back and forth.

  I couldn’t, not that night.

  I placed my hand against the window, trying to let her know.

  I had to be his tonight.

  The outside door opened, and I settled back against the pillows, snuggling under his blanket and closing my eyes. When he came into the room, I pretended to be asleep.

  He snorted, sat on the bed, and ran a hand down my arm. “You’re a horrible actor.”

  I laughed, rolling to my back and then closing my eyes when his hand went to my breast. “How’d you know?”

  “Because I saw Shiloh out there, and I saw her leave so I know you did something to tell her to go. That’s how I knew.” His thumb tweaked over my nipple, then back again. They were hardening under his touch, and the ache was forming for him again.

  I wanted to pull him down with me, but I waited.

  I liked this torture when he would run his hand down my stomach and then linger at my entrance, playing with me there.

  I wasn’t disappointed. He did exactly that, building the throb even higher before he said, “I fly out in the morning with the rest of the crew.”

  “Yeah?” I began to pant, opening my legs wider for him.

  His finger went around me and then dipped inside.

  I gasped silently, and then a second finger went in, which had my back arching off the bed an inch.

  “But I have till then.”

  I opened my eyes.

  He added a third finger, and he was watching me, his eyes dark with hunger and lust. Then he began to move his fingers, thrusting into me in a slow and steady rhythm, and I lay there, never wanting him to stop, never wanting him to leave.

  I tried to relay that as he settled himself between my thighs and slid into me. I tried to relay that many times throughout the night, and when he got up to shower and pack in the morning, neither of us had slept at all.

  Then the knock came, and we both knew our time was up.

  It was his ride to the airport.

  I stood, pulled on his shorts and sweatshirt that I hadn’t let him pack, and followed him to the door.

  His manager stood there, and she blinked a few times when she saw me. “Oh.” She moved back a step and offered a small wave. “I’ll . . . uh—” She gestured to the car that had two other people sitting in it. “I’ll wait by the car for you.”

  The passengers were both gaping at me.

  Gayle was halfway to the car, when she pivoted and came back. She pointed to his suitcase. “I’ll help grab this one.”

  He nodded. He had another bag over his shoulder, and he also handed that one over. “Thanks, Gayle.” Brody’s hand came to my waist. He said to her, “I’ll be there in a second.”

  She went back, putting his things into the trunk and getting behind the wheel.

  They were still watching, but Brody turned so his back shielded us. He pulled me to him, his head burrowing in the crook of my neck and shoulder. He ran a hand down my back.

  I waited, wondering what he might say. Would he say the words? When he was going to go? Was he going to?

  He didn’t. He just kissed up my neck and moved his mouth to find mine.

  I poured everything into that kiss, my arms around his neck, and I rose all the way up to my tiptoes.

  When he pulled back, his eyes were hooded, but they cleared for a bit. He only said, “I’ll be back,” before he pressed one last kiss to my forehead and pulled away.

  He descended the steps, got into the passenger seat, and only looked back once when the car turned away.

  I didn’t know if he watched me in the rearview mirror, but I stayed there just in case. When the car was in the driveway and no longer within sight because of the trees, I took off. I had to go as far with them as possible.

  Running barefoot through the fields, I called for Shiloh.

  I whinnied. I neighed. I yelled her name in panic.

  She came galloping through the trees a moment later. She must not have been far away, and like so many times before, I ran to meet her. She veered over, and I swung up onto her back. She barely paused.

  I didn’t have to give her much guidance.

  She knew the other weird smelling horse that I’d grown attached to was in that car, and I wanted to run next to him. It was a minute later when we broke through the brush and the tree line. The car was ahead of us, so I leaned forward on Shiloh and urged her to go faster.

  She did.

  Then, as we were catching up, the car moved to the side, and we were able to run next to it.

  I looked over to Brody, who was watching me, but then he pointed beyond me to my other side.

  I looked over.

  The entire herd was running beside us, like heads of smoke wafting through the trees.

  We went with them until they turned onto the main road, and I pulled Shiloh back. The herd switched, moving to the next mountain valley, and after a moment of watching the car, I let Shiloh pull me away.

  We joined the herd.

  Brody

  “Brody.”

  Gayle was tapping my arm, so I reluctantly opened my eyes.

  “We’re landing.”

  Just like the last time we’d flown together, she thought I’d been asleep the whole flight home, but unlike the last time, I hadn’t been. Dark sunglasses kept the illusion and kept prying questions from coming my way. We took over almost the entire plane, but I had to give Shanna some credit. She stashed a few of us in first class. I was by the window, Kara next to me, and Gayle behind me. Shanna was across the aisle, but she seemed as much in a non-talkative mood as I was. Once she sat, she ordered a merlot and kept the drinks coming.

  Everyone in first class had been drinking, except Kara and me. Even Gayle had two glasses of bourbon. The flight attendants had been nervous, with reason, but they seemed to relax since we were close to landing. No fights between the passengers had broken out.

  “Is there anything you need, Mr. Asher?”

  I glanced up, hearing the slightly warmer than necessary voice. The flight attendant was there, her smile warm and alluring.

  Kara snorted next to me, rolling her eyes.

  “No. I’m good. Thank you.”

  “Okay.” Her eyes were inviting. “Just let me know.”

  As the attendant left, Kara muttered, “I might need some help, Miss. A washcloth to wipe away the drool you dribbled on my lap, perhaps?” She snorted. “If only they knew how taken you are with your current paramour.” The seatbelt lights went on, and everyone began straightening up, readying for landing. Chairs were put in the normal place. Tray tables were put away. Drinks and trash were collected. One of the flight attendants went to hand out any coats that had been hung up when we boarded.

  Gayle leaned forward again. “Watch it, Kara. Green doesn’t look becoming on you.”

  I expected a cutting remark back, but my colleague remained silent, only pressing her lips together. She sat back, and everyone was quiet until we fully landed and the hatch door was opened.

  I collected my carry-on, slung it over my shoulder, and waited my turn. Shanna and two others w
ere in front of us.

  She looked back, stepping into the main aisle and meeting my gaze. Remorse flashed in her eyes, but she only asked, “Did you sleep well, Brody?”

  Everyone within hearing distance looked to me.

  “Oh no,” someone said behind me.

  I looked back. Gayle was checking her phone. She was scrolling over her screen, her frown burrowing deeper and deeper. She looked up, some of color draining from her face.

  “It’s been leaked. The press knows about Morgan.”

  Goddamn!

  I turned to Shanna. “You’re fucking with her life. Don’t you get that?”

  She didn’t respond. Her hand tightened around her bag, and she moved forward, heading off the plane.

  Kara muttered under her breath, “Whereas you’re just fucking her, in general.”

  “That’s what you’re pissed about? That I’m not fucking you?”

  She’d started to go forward but stopped and twisted around to glare at me.

  I met her look head-on.

  No response came, but her face filled with color before she turned and followed Shanna off the plane.

  Once I hit the airport corridor, people were waiting with their phones ready. I heard the continuous clicks of shutters and tried to avoid looking directly into the flashes. The questions didn’t come right away. I was on the normal walkway and heading for the baggage claim before people started asking what movie I was shooting. If they could take a picture of me, a selfie with me. Once I stopped for those, the autographs started.

  Gayle waited beside me, and when a small crowd formed, airport security showed up. They helped move us along, finally offering a cart to drive us to the baggage claim. Normally, I didn’t take them up on the offer, but I wasn’t in a mood to be a celebrity that day.

  Gayle had a car waiting for us outside, and I got in, ignoring the small group of paparazzi that seemed to always know when we’d be there. I ducked inside to wait while Gayle remained inside to collect our suitcases.

  Someone knocked on the window. I ignored it until the door opened again. The driver leaned down. “A Miss Kara Stone is wondering if she could get a ride with you?”