Confessions of a Bad Boy Doctor
Page 8
Of course, back in the day, I didn’t help matters either. I was nice to her at first, worshiped the fucking ground she walked on really, and she took that as interest—rightfully so. One night, I was hanging at her place waiting for Derek to get home from soccer practice. She was at the table struggling with a math problem. Since I was always good in math, I sat down to help her. Our legs touched beneath the table, sparking enough electricity to light up the neighborhood in a blackout…for a week straight. She felt it every bit as much as I did, which was why she acted on impulse and leaned in and kissed me.
I laughed at her. The courage that must have taken for her to do that, and I fucking laughed at her, feeding into her belief that she was an ugly duckling. I was a stupid fucking kid, and I was crazy about her, yet I couldn’t let anyone know it, especially her. So after that, I started calling her Lizard, and teasing her relentlessly. I needed her to hate me, otherwise I would have taken her to my bed and shown her just how much I wanted her.
“Brax,” she says again, quietly. “This is important to me.”
Every fucking bone inside my body softens. Yeah, okay, okay. I get it. I owe her one, but pretending to be her boyfriend, and not being able to exercise those boyfriend privileges is a special kind of torture reserved for Hell—exactly where I’ll be going I agree to this ask for boyfriend privileges.
“Shouldn’t you ask someone you don’t hate?” I shoot back, a last-ditch effort.
“Probably, but you’re perfect for the role.”
I exhale a heavy breath. “What exactly is it that you want me to do?” I hold up a hand when her face lights up. “And that doesn’t mean I’m agreeing to this.”
Who the fuck am I kidding? It means I’m agreeing.
She folds her hands in front of herself, a smile turning up the corners of her perfect mouth, because yeah, she knows it means I’m agreeing, too. The pleasure on her face, the triumph dancing in her eyes, fucks me over. Goddammit, I love that look on her, can think of another, more pleasurable way, of putting it there.
“We just have to pretend. Maybe a few touches here and there. A kiss too, possibly.” She crinkles her nose. “Although I’m not really sure it will come to that. At least I hope not.”
“Me too.”
Liar.
“We’ll set rules and boundaries. You won’t have to do anything you don’t want to do. Hey, we can even write up a contract, to keep this deal professional.”
“Professional boyfriend? You make it sound sordid.”
“No, no. I didn’t mean that.”
Too bad.
“What did you mean?”
“Look, I just mean behind closed doors we can go back to hating each other. In front of everyone we pretend we’re lovers. Then, after we get Jason to notice me, we can have a fight about something, and I’ll break it off.”
We stand there looking at each other for a long moment, a staring contest like when we were kids. She always won those, too. I used to cave just to get a grin from her. “Fine, Eliza, I’ll do it, but that doesn’t mean I’m going be happy about it.”
She crinkles her nose. “You have to at least pretend to be happy about it if we want this to work.”
“Is this guy worth it?” I ask. I’d actually like to punch him in the face for not noticing the amazing woman standing before me. Then again, there’s a good chance I’ll punch him in the face if he does.
Oh, yeah, this ruse is going to work out just fine.
“He is. I really like him.”
“Does he know that?”
“No, we work on the same floor, but I’m not on his radar. He’s a software engineer,” she says, like that explains everything. “You know how those guys are?” she adds with a laugh.
“No, I don’t.”
“Always have their head down, lost is some code.”
I arch one brow. “You do know I’m a software engineer too, right?”
“Yeah, right…I…uh, didn’t mean that in a bad way.”
“Is that another compliment?”
“Just stating a fact.”
“You seem to be stating a lot of facts today.” The sound of footsteps approaching gains my attention, and I nod to two employees headed to their cars. I wait until they’re out of earshot before saying, “And you think if he sees you with me, he’ll finally notice you?”
“What I think is, if I show up at my boss’s estate for our annual team building weekend…” She pokes me in the chest and waggles her brows. Jesus, I wish she’d quit touching me all ready. “…with San Francisco’s Most Eligible Bachelor at my side, and he’s acting like he’s totally into me, well, that’s going to get a lot of heads bobbing.”
Especially the one between my legs.
“I’ll make it worth your while,” she says, and my cock stands up to hear more. The little bastard has his own ideas on what he’d like her to do. “I don’t expect you to do this without getting something in return.”
“Tit for tat, huh?” She has one hundred percent of my attention now. “And what exactly do you plan to give me in return?”
“What do you give a millionaire who has everything?” She taps her chin, and purses her lips.
My head spins with possible scenarios.
“Wait, I know.” Her eyes go wide. “How about I get you a date with Valerie? You remember Valerie, don’t you?”
Que the screeching breaks as my lecherous imagination skids to a halt. “Your best friend, Valerie?” I say dryly. Why wouldn’t I remember her? The two were practically joined at the hip growing up, and now both work in different departments at Exact Inc.
“You two seem to really hit it off at Becca’s wedding last month.” She nudges me. Enough with the touches, for Christ’s sake. “You couldn’t keep your eyes off her.”
A sound catches in my throat, and I feign a cough. It wasn’t Valerie I was staring at, it was Eliza, looking gorgeous, elegant and poised as she stood up for her friend in a curve-hugging, bridesmaid dress. I’d never seen her look more stunning.
“I can get my own dates.”
“Well that’s true.” She crinkles her nose again. “What do you want then?” Before I can answer, and possibly get slapped, her phone pings. “How about you think about it, and let me know later.” She fishes her phone from her purse. “It’s Valerie. You sure you don’t want that date? She’ll be at the retreat this weekend. I can talk to her about it.”
“I’m sure.”
“Okay, I have to take this.” She slides her fingers across the phone, and says, “I’ll text you the directions to my boss’s place. We can meet there later tonight. He’s expecting everyone around nine.”
I step into her, and her breath catches as my eyes lock on hers, holding her captive. “I’ll pick you up, Eliza. What kind of boyfriend do you think I am, anyway?”
“I…uh…just didn’t want to put you out.”
I cup her elbow, drag her to me. “Oh, you’re putting me out. Let’s make that perfectly clear. You’re putting me out big time. But if I’m going to pretend that we’re a couple for the weekend, you can’t expect me to treat you any differently than I would a real girlfriend.”
She laughs, but it has a nervous undertone. “I know what you do with your girlfriends. The whole world does. Your antics make newspaper headlines.”
I dip my head, lock eyes with her. “Good, then we’re on the same page.”
About Cathryn Fox
New York Times and USA today Bestselling author, Cathryn is a wife, mom, sister, daughter, and friend. She loves dogs, sunny weather, anything chocolate (she never says no to a brownie) pizza and red wine. She has two teenagers who keep her busy with their never ending activities, and a husband who is convinced he can turn her into a mixed martial arts fan. Cathryn can never find balance in her life, is always trying to find time to go to the gym, can never keep up with emails, Facebook or Twitter and tries to write page-turning books that her readers will love.
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Also by Cathryn Fox
In the Line of Duty
His Obsession Next Door
His Strings to Pull
His Trouble in Talulah
His Taste of Temptation
His Moment to Steal
His Best Friend’s Girl
His Reason to Stay
* * *
Confessions
Confessions of a Bad Boy Professor
Confessions of a Bad Boy Officer
Confessions of a Bad Boy Fighter
Confessions of a Bad Boy SEAL
Confessions of a Bad Boy Gamer
Confessions of a Bad Boy Doctor
Confessions of a Bad Boy Millionaire
Confessions of a Bad Boy Santa
* * *
Hands On
Hands On
Body Contact
Full Exposure
* * *
Dossier
Private Reserve
House Rules
Under Pressure
Big Catch
Brazilian Fantasy
Improper Proposal
* * *
Boys of Beachville
Good at Being Bad
Igniting the Bad Boy
Bad Girl Therapy
* * *
Stone Cliff Series:
Crashing Down
Wasted Summer
Love Lessons
Wrapped Up
* * *
Eternal Pleasure Series
Instinctive
Impulsive
Indulgent
* * *
Sun Stroked Series
Seaside Seduction
Deep Desire
Private Pleasure
* * *
Captured and Claimed Series:
Yours to Take
Yours to Teach
Yours to Keep
* * *
Firefighter Heat Series
Fever
Siren
Flash Fire
* * *
Playing For Keeps Series
Slow Ride
Wild Ride
Sweet Ride
* * *
Breaking the Rules:
Hold Me Down Hard
Pin Me Up Proper
Tie Me Down Tight
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Stand Alone Title:
Hands on with the CEO
Torn Between Two Brothers
Holiday Spirit
Unleashed
Knocking on Demon’s Door
Web of Desire