Preach to me Baby

by Hazel Parker

  When he finally moved, it was to cradle her cheek in his hand. That simple, gentle touch wasn’t what she had been expecting. His eyes softened for a minute, letting her see the man she had grown to love. In an instant, he withdrew his hand and hardened his gaze.

  “You’ve kept me waiting.” His voice was a terse rasp.

  Brandy melted back against the wall as his hand cupped her sex through the fabric of her dress. He pressed the heel of his hand against her clit and she parted her legs for him. Mark stepped closer to her until he was framing her with his body. Fire streaked through her as he massaged. Despite the flurry of sensations, she managed to answer him.

  “I did?”

  “I hate waiting for what I want,” he said, pulling up the skirt of her dress and burrowing his hand between her legs, grunting at the cream coating her sex.

  He leaned in closer, the scent of his cologne an aphrodisiac, and nipped at her bottom lip with his teeth. She whimpered against his mouth, her body awash with desire. Brandy brought her hands up and joined them behind his neck, urging him closer. Mark captured her lips in a kiss, the sweetness of it a stark contrast the rough nips. The constant volley between soft and rough had her panting, along with his finger teasing her entrance. She couldn’t hold back her urge to rock against his probing hand, her hips thrusting up to him. It did little to staunch the ache that was growing.

  “I want you too, Mark. Take me,” she whispered against his lips.

  He hulked over her, his hands coming up to frame her face as he ravaged her lips, deepening their kiss. His hands slipped down her body and around to her ass. He pulled her to him and she could feel the slab of his hot, aroused body against her. Brandy moved willingly into him, pressing her pulsating sex to his cock.

  Mark groaned into her mouth, the sound purely carnal. His lips became rough once again, his hands rushing to unzip his pants. Brandy shimmied out of her panties as he came back to her, his thick erection jutting out from his body. He came to her, pressing his body flush against hers. He rubbed the soft tip of his cock against her slit.

  “I love the way you feel against me,” he said, easing himself into her tight sheath. Brandy gasped at the sensation of him filling her. No matter how many times they met like this, the surge of pleasure that ran through her when she felt him this wholly always overwhelmed her.

  She tipped her head back and let it rest on the wall as Mark buried himself all the way inside her. He drew his hips back and started a steady rhythm. It was a slow pace that made her acutely aware of his deliberate movements. It was torturous, driving her crazy with need. She needed more.

  Her fingers sunk into the back of his neck. “Faster, Mark.”

  She swiveled her hips against his and a quiver rocked his body. His steely eyes were fixed on hers once again. He flattened her against the wall and took up a vigorous pace. She frantically tried to meet each of his trusts with ones of her own.

  Each drive into her had her writhing. The sensual tension in her body was mounting and she tried hard to repress the moan that threatened to escape her lips. Through his thrusts, Mark ducked his head and tasted her neck, her jaw. Her sex shuddered around him, pulsing against his length. Her eyes fluttered shut as the tremors took over her body, racking her with waves of pleasure as she came.

  Still thrusting, Mark kissed her mouth, softly. He clamped his hands onto her hips and with the utmost precision, drove into to her again and again until his body jerked and he let out a stifled groan. She watched the twisted look of ecstasy cover his face as he shuddered a final time. She smiled and pulled his head against her, satiated.

  Mark sagged against her and she welcomed his weight on her. From where his head rested, he pressed a kiss to her shoulder.

  “You smell so good. I won’t be able to keep my hands off you today.”

  “And now I’ll smell like you too. How am I supposed to get any work done?” Brandy could feel him smile against her shoulder.

  “Maybe we both need a little motivation to keep us focused today.”

  Mark straightened and brushed back the errant hair from her face. Brandy smiled up at him and straightened the front of his shirt, tucking it back into his pants.

  “What kind of motivation did you have in mind?” she asked, adjusting his tie as he zipped his pants.

  “I happen to know that a certain lunch meeting I have scheduled for today will be cancelled. If we’re good all morning, I think I can swing it that we both have alternate plans for lunch.”

  “I think that is just the incentive I need,” she said. Mark bent down and pressed a kiss to her cheek, sweet again.

  He moved to the door and opened it. Without turning back, he called to her in his best stern voice. “I expect to see you upstairs in twenty minutes, Miss Merrill.”

  “Yes, Mr. Hudson.”

  *****

  She sighed and tried to ignore the thrum of her body as she relived the passion they had shared. She should feel only remorse for what they had done. All those years ago, she thought she loved him. She was foolish to think that what they had was special, and as it turned out, that was one of the last times she and Mark were together. It was only days later when his wife had stormed into his office and started throwing out accusations about him cheating on her. She knew he was; Brandy could see it in her face.

  The guilt that shrouded her was paralyzing. At the time, it seemed like all they were doing was having a little fun. She got off knowing that she could bring a man like Mark Hudson to his knees and she never gave much thought to the damage they were doing to his wife. Not until that moment, anyhow.

  After that, the press caught wind of a scandal. Mark’s people did their best to hush it up and keep it under the lid, politically speaking, but it wasn’t enough to keep it out of everyone’s personal lives. Brandy hadn’t wanted to hurt anyone, but it was her own ignorance that did just that. It made her sick to think she undermined a woman’s marriage. When she was with Mark, she imagined herself as a sophisticated woman sleeping with an experienced man, but after it all panned out, she saw herself for the naïve girl she was. She was playing a game out of her league and she no longer wanted any part of it.

  She only had a few weeks left of her internship before she was to move for university. Brandy knew she wouldn’t be welcomed back at Mark’s office, even if she felt up to facing everyone there again. She wasn’t. Her family was furious with her, disappointed, disgusted. So she packed her things and moved out early. It was only after she left that she found out she was carrying a reminder of her transgression.

  Learning she was pregnant with Mark’s child was an unwelcome surprise. Looking back, she wished that hadn’t been the case, but it was. The guilt of what she had done still clung to her, but now with a baby on the way, it seemed like she would never get out from under the offence. Moving wasn’t going to solve the problem this time. She would forever be marked as a tramp, a homewrecker.

  Over time, fences had been mended with her family and they became her greatest source of strength. She had made a mistake but they were still her family. They had rallied around her and coached her through the pregnancy, and they showed her that a baby is a blessing, not a punishment. And they were right.

  Even though her family had put the past behind them, Brandy had still never felt comfortable enough to spend much time back home. She had come back occasionally in the beginning, but not for years now. Until this weekend, that is. She groaned at having to endure four days of bad memories.

  Brandy sat up on the bed and rubbed at her eyes. She stood and tied her long hair back into a ponytail. From her purse, Brandy heard the chirp of her phone. She pulled it out and answered the call from her sister.

  “Hey, Brandy, we’ve just been talking and Dad’s decided to take us all out for supper tonight. I’ll text you the address and you can meet us after we’re finished here, okay?”

  “Sure. That sounds great,” she said, hoping her disappointment didn’t come through over the phone.
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  She hadn’t been home in years and the last thing she felt like doing was spending it in a restaurant with a bunch of strangers. But this weekend was about her sister, not her, and she only had a couple hours to get her emotions under control.

  *****

  A few hours later, Brandy stood under the flashing, neon sign of the restaurant Natalie instructed her to go to and laughed. Wild Bill’s Steakhouse was exactly the kind of place her sister would pick. Brandy glanced down at her fitted, navy-blue dress and nude heels and shook her head. She should have known better.

  Inside the restaurant, Brandy easily spotted her party. They were loud, boisterous, and taking up a dozen tables pushed together in the center of the dining room. Brandy waved off the hostess and made her way towards the table. From across the room, Natalie spotted her and stood.

  “Brandy!” she called to her, garnering the attention of the table and all the other patrons in the restaurant.

  Brandy’s step faltered slightly and she returned her sister’s spirited welcome with a small smile. She rushed to an empty chair at the table beside Luca and sat down before she drew any further attention. Her mom was sitting in the chair to her other side and she wrapped her arm around Brandy and pulled her in for a squeeze.

  “I’m so happy you’re here, Brandy,” she whispered, and Brandy was grateful for the quiet welcome. Her mother was the calm and steady anchor for their mostly rowdy family.

  Brandy ordered a drink and sat back and tried to relax. It wasn’t long before she found herself wrapped up in the merriment of the occasion. Her little sister was beaming and it was contagious. Even Luca was laughing along with the group, soaking up a rare glimpse of his extended family.

  After their meal was finished, most lingered, enjoying themselves, Brandy included. After a while, her mom and dad offered to take Luca home with them while Brandy stayed, relaxing into the first night out she’d had in a while.

  Finally, the waitress came to announce that her shift was ending and that they would need to settle the tab before placing any more orders. While the others paid for their drinks and decided to stay at the restaurant lounge, Brandy took it as a sign that it was time to go home.

  The evening air was still warm as she exited out into the dim parking lot. Her head swam a little and she knew that she would have to call her mom to come pick her up. Once at her car, she put her purse on the trunk, rifling through it to find her phone.

  From across the parking lot, she heard a shuffling of footsteps. As they headed in her direction, Brandy turned her head to see who it was. Her breath caught in her throat as she saw Mark Hudson approaching her car. He was dressed in a suit, tie loose around his neck as if he had been in it all day. He was still as handsome as ever: his dark hair was the perfect length to run her fingers through, chocolate eyes with just the slightest creasing when he smiled. Brandy hated that he still made her heart pound.

  As he took his time approaching, her mind was whirling with the implications of meeting Mark again. She knew it was a possibility every time she was home, but the chances were low in a town this size. Except the odds were wrong, because here he was.

  “Brandy,” he said. His approach was slow, his voice soft, as if she were a feral animal that could flee at any moment. “I’ve been waiting all night to talk to you.”

  She drew her brows together. “How did you know I was home?”

  “I didn’t. I saw you come into the restaurant. I was just finishing up my meal when you came in, but I stuck around until I could talk to you alone. I didn’t think it would be a good idea to approach you while you were with your family.”

  “I’m not sure what you were hoping to talk to me about. It seems like we said everything that needed to be said.”

  “Are you kidding me? You ran off before I had a chance to talk to you at all. You wouldn’t answer your phone and my public relations officer restricted me from seeing you in person. After things finally blew over, I went by your folks’ place and they said you moved.”

  She shrugged, trying not to let herself be affected by his concern. “You knew I was moving.”

  “Not that soon.” His eyes bore into hers. “You got scared and ran.”

  She crossed her arms across her chest. “What else was I supposed to do? Me leaving was in everyone’s best interest.”

  “You don’t know that.”

  Brandy turned away from him. She didn’t want to hear excuses from him then and she didn’t now. What happened was shitty enough without dragging it all back up.

  “Listen, Brandy, I don’t want to make you upset. And I don’t want to argue. It’s just that things ended so abruptly between us that there were a lot of things I never got the chance to say.” Brandy didn’t answer him; instead, she resumed her efforts to find her phone.

  “Listen, it looks like you could use a ride home. Let me take you and I’ll say my piece and it will be over.”

  Brandy turned back towards him. “How would Rachel feel about that?”

  “Rachel and I haven’t been together since the last time I saw you.” His dark eyes pleaded with her. “I just want to talk to you, Brandy.”

  Finally, she nodded her consent and he led them across the parking lot to his dark town car. He opened the door for her and she let the plush seats envelop her. Once they were pulling out of the parking lot, Brandy turned to him.

  “Judging by the car, I assume you’re still doing well?”

  “I guess so. I’m in my second term as mayor.”

  “That’s impressive, considering what happened. I guess Rachel wasn’t as forgiving as your voters.” Brandy didn’t bother trying to hide the disdain in her voice.

  “After you left, I was able to save my career, but not my marriage. If we’re being truthful here, I don’t know if I gave it much of a shot. Everything Rachel had said—that I was distant, selfish, cold—was true. I didn’t love her. It seemed backwards to try and patch up something that had been broken for such a long time. It’s no excuse for cheating on her and I’m sorry for what I did to her, but we wouldn’t have lasted in the end no matter what.”

  “So that’s it then? You cheated, but you weren’t happy anyways so somehow that’s okay?”

  “You’re still mad at me.” His voice was still irritatingly calm, but she could see the hurt in his eyes. As much as she wanted to be mad, she wasn’t. And she wouldn’t treat him like she was, either. Her days of lying and being deceitful were long behind her.

  “No,” she said. She hated herself for feeling that way, but it was the truth. “I’m mad at myself for getting involved with you in the first place.”

  “I’m not,” he said, the confidence he felt ringing through.

  She shook her head. “How can you say that?”

  “Because it wasn’t until I met you that I realized I could be happy. Before our short time together, I felt trapped in the life I had made. Rachel and I married because it was convenient, not because we loved each other. When she found out I was cheating on her, she was mad because I made her look bad, not because she was hurt. I didn’t see a way out of my marriage without ruining my political reputation.

  “When my hand was forced and Rachel called me out, it was an opportunity to do things differently. I started making decisions that made me happy, instead of making choices that I thought were expected for a man in my position. I’ve never felt better in my life, and I have you to thank for that.”

  “You can keep your thanks. I don’t want to have any part of your twisted reasoning.”

  “Just because I was a shitty husband doesn’t mean I should be punished for it for the rest of my life. I’ve paid my penance and I want another shot at being happy.”

  “You just finished saying you have it all. What else could you need to make you happy?”

  “I didn’t say I had it all. I said I was happier than have been in a long time. There’s still one thing that would make me truly happy.”

  “What?” Brandy whispered, almost too s
cared to ask.

  He was quiet as he maneuvered his car deftly through the darkened streets, his face only illuminated by the dash lights. After turning into her parents’ neighborhood, he finally answered her.

  “I want you back, Brandy. And I hate the way I treated you, like you were just a casual fling, instead of telling you how I really felt about you. That’s what I was trying to track you down to tell you. I was hoping you would see that even though I did some terrible things, I did them because I felt a pull to you that I couldn’t fight.”

  His words shook her, but Brandy knew it couldn’t be true, even though at one time she, too, was convinced they shared a bond. She also knew that once he found out about Luca, he would be running fast in the other direction.