Fighting Love (Love to the Extreme)

by Niles, Abby

  Oh. My. God. This really was happening.

  The tips of his fingers caressed her skin as he slid the garter into place in the middle of her thigh. Between her legs, the throb intensified, and she bit her lip to keep a groan from emerging.

  No, she told herself firmly. I feel nothing. She didn’t feel a damn thing. Tommy did not make her feel like this anymore. Damn it, girl. Get it together!

  Snap. A slight sting hit her upper thigh.

  Had he just plucked one of her garter belt ribbons?

  She swallowed. No way. He wouldn’t.

  Think of something else. Anything else.

  Oh God, she couldn’t. He was consuming her whole being. His touch was burning her alive. When he lifted his head and she saw a cocky, knowing half smile on his face, she was certain she’d incinerate right on the spot.

  Or drop straight through the floor in mortification.

  He placed her heel back on, stood, and offered his hand. She did not want to touch him. All she wanted was to escape. To flee from that smug look on his face and the crowd grinning like a bunch of clowns. But she had no choice. She reluctantly slid her fingers into his hand, and he helped her up. But he didn’t let go. She tugged. He held on. With an iron grip. They stared at each other.

  Her face heated. “I need to get back to Brody.”

  When she pulled at her hand again, his grip tightened even more. “But you’re coming home to me.”

  Only then did he release her and saunter off the dance floor, leaving her staring after him, completely breathless.

  Shaking herself out of her stupor, she went on shaking legs to stand beside Brody.

  But you’re coming home to me.

  What on earth had gotten into the man? And why had that comment made her knees weak and shivers zing down her spine?

  “Do you want to see Dante and Cait off on their honeymoon?”

  At the deep, intrusive voice of the man who did nothing to help her forget her unwanted obsession, she jumped. Exhaustion suddenly had her wilting. “Yeah, let’s go watch them start their future together. Then I think I’d like to go home.”

  He nodded and led them outside.

  When Dante and Cait appeared at the top of the steps, looking like the perfect wax couple atop a wedding cake, their joy shining like beacons of love as they held hands and ran toward the waiting white limo, Julie could have broken down and cried. From the happiness for her friends, from the longing in her heart…from the fear that she would never find that kind of love.

  As they reached the limo, Dante grabbed Cait around the waist and kissed his blushing bride. She gazed adoringly up at her new husband. Julie read the whispered, “I love you, Caitlyn,” from Dante’s lips before they disappeared inside the car and the driver closed the door.

  With the tumult of emotions from the wedding bombarding her, Julie’s heart squeezed tightly in her chest. She just wanted to go home, crawl into bed, curl up into a ball, and forget this whole awful night. She turned to Brody, startled by the intense way he was studying her. “What?”

  “What are you thinking right now?”

  She swallowed. “Why?”

  “The expression on your face when you watched Dante and Cait, it was so sad, almost…envious.” He gently touched her cheek. “It makes me want to do whatever is in my power to erase it.”

  Her heart melted a little. But she knew it was time to end this. Brody was a wonderful, thoughtful, attentive man. He’d make someone an amazing husband one day.

  But it wouldn’t be her.

  “Brody, I don’t think… I’m so sorry, but this thing between us… It’s not going to work.”

  His eyes softened. “Don’t you think I know that?”

  She stepped back, completely unprepared for that.

  “I see the way you look at him,” he added.

  He didn’t say Tommy’s name, but there was no one else Brody could mean.

  Crap. And here she’d always thought she’d hidden her feelings so well.

  Apparently not.

  How many other people saw the truth?

  As if reading her thoughts, he said, “There’s always been speculation about you two in the locker room.”

  Oh. God. She squeezed her eyes shut briefly. “Speculation about the two of us, or speculation about me?”

  Brody shifted his weight and grimaced. Terrific. Well, she had her answer.

  Her heart fell to her stomach. “So everyone knows I have a thing for Tommy?” she asked, feeling slightly ill.

  “Most of us have wondered. Figured.” He pushed out a breath. “Okay, fine. Most of us knew.”

  Please. Just kill me now.

  “Why’d you ask me out, then?”

  He shrugged. “Same reason you accepted.”

  She blinked. They gazed at each other for a long moment, and suddenly a lightbulb went off. Her jaw dropped. “My God. You have feelings for someone you don’t want to have feelings for?”

  “Yep. My best friend’s wife.”

  Wow. And Julie’d thought she had a dilemma. “Damn, that sucks. I’m so sorry.”

  He gave her a wry, humorless smile. “Can’t control who we fall in love with, can we?”

  She let out a sympathetic breath.

  So Tommy had been right. Brody really did have a hidden agenda when he’d asked her out. But she totally understood, and she was okay with it. Brody completely got her, because he was living the agony himself. He didn’t want to be in love with his best friend’s wife any more than she wanted to be in love with Tommy. Damn, it was nice to have someone who was facing the same battle.

  “Yeah. Life would be a lot easier if we could control our hearts.”

  “Julie.” Brody hesitated for a moment then asked, “If you had a chance, a real, honest-to-goodness chance, to be with Tommy, would you?”

  That was the question of her life, wasn’t it?

  She pushed out a sigh. “He kissed me that night after he saw us at the park. The first time he’d ever kissed me. Oh, Brody, it was awful. That kiss wasn’t a man opening his eyes and suddenly seeing his childhood friend as a woman he can’t keep his hands off of.” She grimaced, embarrassed to admit it, but saying it aloud somehow helped the pain. “There was no passion in the kiss. Not even a hint.”

  Brody’s head tilted and he looked skeptical. “Are you saying he actually killed your attraction to him?”

  She gave a short bark of laughter. “I’d love for it to be that easy, but, sadly, no. He still can flip my switch with one stupid look. No, I meant it was obvious he felt no passion.”

  “Okay. More suckage. But you didn’t answer my question. Would you be with him if you could?”

  “It’s hard to imagine being with a man whose only reaction to kissing you was abject horror while professing adamantly that it was a mistake.”

  “Damn, Jules. What the hell is wrong with the man?” Scowling, Brody worked his jaw as he glared into the street.

  She sighed. “Hey, don’t get mad on my behalf, okay? Tommy has always been honest with me. He’s never led me on. Never pretended for a second there was anything more between us than friendship. The kiss happened in a moment of confused emotion.” She banded her arms across her middle and studied her feet. “Did it end the way I’ve always dreamed about? No. Did it confirm some hard truths I didn’t want to face? Yeah. It did.”

  Brody’s empathetic eyes drilled into her. “He’s a damn fool, you know that?”

  She smiled weakly. “I like to tell myself that from time to time.”

  He offered his elbow. “Shall we call it a night?”

  Julie threaded her arm through his and, as they started to walk, her high heel landed on a loose rock. It rolled, and she lost her balance. To keep from falling, she twisted, trying to grab onto Brody. The quick movement seized the muscles in her lower back and she froze in place. After a second, she tried to straighten, but her muscles screamed in pain, keeping her hunched over.

  “Oh, shit,” she whispered.


  “Jules, are you okay?”

  “Damn it. I just pulled a muscle in my back.”

  Chapter 8

  The persistent thumping on the front door had Tommy racing the dogs to open it. The sight of Julie cradled in Brody’s arms with pain etched in her pale face made his blood run cold.

  “Julie? Wh— How—” Words failed Tommy as he tried to make sense of what he was seeing.

  Julie lifted her head off Brody’s shoulder and looked directly at him. “T-Tommy.”

  He automatically reached for her, needing to have her in his arms, needing to protect her, but Brody pushed by him into the house.

  “Where’s her room?” Brody asked.

  “I’ll take her.” Tommy reached for her again, but the other man tightened his grip, turning away.

  “Never mind. I’ll find it myself.”

  Rage filling him, Tommy rounded on him, blocking his path, and stared him in the eyes. With deadly calm, he said, “Give her to me. Now.”

  Brody brows inched up, but he gingerly handed over Julie, who immediately laid her head on Tommy’s shoulder. He kissed her forehead and whispered, “I’ve got you, baby.”

  Without thought, he turned and strode right to his room. Warrior and Lucy barked, padding after them, their heads both tilted up, as though they knew something was wrong with their mistress.

  “Now, what happened?” he asked as his shoulder bumped his bedroom door open and stepped inside.

  “She twisted her back,” Brody said. “Or pulled something.”

  After Tommy gently placed her on the bed, he tucked pillows under and around her head. Then he gingerly sat on the mattress and braced one arm on the other side of her body, leaning so he hovered over her, blocking Brody’s view of her. “Julie.” He brushed her hair back. “How are you feeling?”

  “Fan-flipping-tastic.” She winced as she slowly eased onto her back to look up at him.

  A small smile came to his lips, but when Brody inched in, Tommy sent him a scathing look. “I think you’ve done enough. You can leave now.”

  Julie shook her head. “This isn’t Brody’s fault. It’s called four-inch heels meets random stone. I threw out my back. You know it’s happened before. It’s been worse, actually.”

  “I tried to get her to go to the emergency room, but—”

  She waved him off. “Heck, no. A few muscles relaxers, pain relievers, and I’ll be good as new.”

  Brody leaned in, trying to nudge Tommy out of the way. At the intrusion, he stiffened and kept himself firmly in place. Turning nose to nose, he glared at Brody, daring him to come any closer. The other man quirked a brow and his lips twitched.

  What did he find so goddamn funny?

  Either way, the guy finally took the hint and straightened, running a hand through his hair. “Do you want me to stay, Jules?”

  “No, she doesn’t want you to stay,” Tommy said through clenched teeth.

  “Tommy, please,” she admonished. Slowly, she turned toward Brody and reached out her hand, which he took.

  Jealousy flared white hot through Tommy when she squeezed the other guy’s hand and gave him an affectionate smile. He wanted to break their connection and toss Brody out of the house, but he forced himself not to react, waiting to see what Julie would say.

  “No, it’s okay. Tommy’s here. I’m just going to rest anyway. Go on home. But thanks.”

  Tommy couldn’t help sending a satisfied smirk at Brody, and he was rewarded with another amused twitch of the lips. What the hell was this guy’s deal?

  “I’ll stop by tomorrow, then, okay?”

  “Okay,” she said, and sent him a soft smile.

  He paused, shifting his weight as his gaze bounced between Tommy and her, as if expecting him to lean back so they could have a proper good-bye. Not fucking likely. Instead, Tommy nodded toward the door. “You know the way out.”

  The man sucked through his teeth before nodding and leaving. As he watched his retreat, again Tommy was struck with the sense that Brody was laughing at him. It was really starting to piss him off.

  When the front door shut, Julie chided, “You didn’t have to be so darn rude.”

  “He doesn’t have to be such a jackass.” He didn’t want Brody to be a topic of conversation, either. He wanted the man completely gone, now that he’d left. “How bad is it?” he asked.

  “Meh. It’s not that bad, really. Been worse. I just need a muscle relaxer, some anti-inflammatories, and some rest.”

  He kissed her forehead and scooted back off the bed. “I’ll get the meds.” He looked at the dogs. “Come on, guys, let her rest.”

  “No. Let them stay.”

  He wouldn’t argue. Neither Lucy nor Warrior had jumped up on her as they usually did when she came home. They just sat at the side of the bed, peering silently up at her. Protecting her. Exactly like he wanted to.

  After he went to the kitchen and grabbed two pills and a bottle of water, he returned to the bedroom. She started to push herself back up, but he placed a hand on her shoulder, stilling her.

  “What do you think you’re doing?”

  “I’d like to go to my own room, if you don’t mind.”

  Actually, he did mind. He didn’t know what possessed him to bring her straight in here instead of into her own room, but he liked seeing her laid out on his bed.

  “Besides,” she continued. “Wouldn’t you like to change, too?”

  Before she’d arrived, he’d been in the process of doing just that. He’d gotten as far as sliding off his jacket and tie and unbuttoning the first three buttons of his shirt before the banging on the door had interrupted him. Getting comfortable now was the last of his worries. “I’m fine. Let’s get you into something more comfortable first.”

  Alarm dashed across her face. “Uh. I don’t need help with my clothes, Tommy.”

  Didn’t stop him from wanting to help, though. “At least let me help you to your room and get the clothes out for you.”

  He went to help her sit up, and she smacked him away. “No. I’ve got this.”

  And there was that vicious independent streak coming through. He held up his hands, fully aware that fighting her would make her even more irritated. She’d made it halfway into a sitting position when she gasped sharply and her entire body froze.

  “Yeah, okay,” she gritted out. “Not happening.”

  No, he didn’t see this move happening at all. Until those relaxers kicked in, her muscles were going to seize every time she tried to sit up. He helped her lie back down.

  “I’ll run to your room and grab you a change of clothing.”

  He took his time choosing a set of casual fleece PJs, giving her ten minutes before he returned, only to come to an abrupt halt in the doorway.

  She had inched herself up so she reclined on the pillows and had unzipped the side of her dress, which had peeled back to reveal one black-lace-covered breast. Why he was surprised she’d taken the initiative to start the changing process, he didn’t know. She was always firmly determined to do things herself.

  Wracked by pain, she appeared to be even more stubbornly resolute. A trait that both awed and frustrated the hell out of him.

  He swallowed, as he couldn’t help noticing that the lace gave an enticing peek at the pert nipple beneath. Shaking himself, he hurried to the other side of the bed, as Julie used her foot to kick off her shoes. “Do”—he cleared his throat—“you need any help?”

  “No.” She planted both feet on the mattress, bending her knees. The skirt rode all the way up to her hips. His gaze zeroed in on the pale skin above the thigh-high stockings and the silky black ribbons that kept them in place.

  He’d known she had on a garter belt. He’d played with the satin ties as he slid the wedding garter over her thigh, and just as before, pure possessiveness sliced through him at the thought she’d worn it for Brody and not for him.

  A pained grunt broke into his thoughts as she tried to push the dress down her hips. Her
toned, flat stomach drew his gaze and he bit back a curse.

  “I can’t lift my butt. Can you pull the dress the rest of the way off?”

  He swallowed. All the way off?

  So she’d be lying there, on his bed, wearing nothing but a bra, panties, and enticing garter? He didn’t know if he could do it. Already his pants were tightening, and he felt like a total ass for it. He glanced at her. The trust in her eyes made him feel like an even bigger ass.

  You are not proving yourself worthy, Sparks.

  If anything, he was disproving everything he’d convinced himself of at the wedding—that he would be able to make love to Julie. Real love.

  How? Because he was getting a fucking hard-on even though she was lying there in pain. He could feel the lust building—while she was hurt. What would happen when she was healthy?

  No. He was better than just his dick. He could do this.

  He squared his shoulders and gingerly tugged the dress over her hips and down her legs.

  Fuck me.

  “Help— Help me with the garter belt,” she said with a grimace.

  Using an incredible amount of restraint not to glide his hand up the inside of her thigh first, he reached around to her lower back and fumbled with the tiny clasp, fingers trembling, until he was able to release it from around her waist.

  She’s hurt, she’s hurt, she’s hurt.

  He repeated the words as, one by one, he unhooked the four satin-covered fasteners that held the hose to the beribboned lace. Then, with his heart in his throat—and his cock making a frantic bid to break through his zipper—he slowly rolled the first stocking down over her knee, down her calf, and over her foot. The chant didn’t help. If anything, it made him even more aware of what he was doing.

  Undressing Julie.

  As he removed the other stocking, he couldn’t stop the vision of what he would’ve done next if he’d been stripping Julie in the way he suddenly wanted to, for a whole different reason than he was.

  Hell, who was he kidding? They wouldn’t even have gotten this far. The stockings would’ve stayed on, and he’d either have his head or cock thrust firmly between her legs.

  He leaned over her and slid off the clingy lace belt that still encased the beautiful swell of her hips. After he tugged it off, he stared at the minuscule piece of material in his hand, swallowed heavily, and slowly lifted his head.