“What happened?” I ask even though I’m afraid I already know. It’s going to make me pissed off. And, if I’m pissed off, I won’t make smart decisions.
Brody grabs my cheeks, looking at me as he strokes my face. “Gabe is not a good man, Skye.”
“What happened?” I ask again. I don’t need to be told what Brody thinks of Gabe. I just need the truth.
Brody drops his hands and purses his lips as he tries to find the words to tell me the truth.
“Please.”
“He wanted an arrangement where I’d get to fuck you in exchange for him getting to fuck other women. He wanted an open marriage, except it seemed he’d get the much better end of the deal. He’s a little cunt, Skye. He’s a bitch, a disgusting motherfucker who doesn’t deserve another second of your time. Forget about that asshole. He’s not worth your time.”
I stare out the window while my hand rests on the base of it, fidgeting with the lock button. It hurts, but then I’ve known for a while what Gabe is.
“Skye?”
I don’t answer him. I can barely breathe, let alone speak. I don’t know what to do. I don’t know how to get out of the horrible situation I’ve found myself in.
“Skye, what are you thinking?”
I can’t. I just can’t.
Brody senses that something is wrong. He undoes the seat belt and scoots close to me until his body is pressed against my side. He slowly moves his arms around me, pulling me into a hug. Neither of us speaks as the Uber driver drives toward my condo after Brody tells him the address. He finally stops, and I just sit for a moment in Brody’s arms.
“Stay with me tonight. I have a suite, so you can have your own bedroom. I won’t talk to you. I won’t bother you at all. I will give you some time and distance to figure out what you want.”
I nod, still unable to speak. I feel numb, rough. The driver starts driving the five blocks it takes to get to his hotel. He stops outside, and Brody, now deciding to be a perfect gentleman, opens my door and helps me out of the car. He keeps his arms wrapped around me as we walk through the lobby to the elevators. I don’t remember the elevator ride, just that it happened along with what I assume was a walk to the door of his hotel room. I somehow make it inside.
“Your room is this way.” Brody leads me down a small hallway to the bedroom. He goes over to the bed and pulls down the sheets, leading me over to it and setting me on the edge of the bed. Then, he takes a step back.
“Is there anything I can get you? Food? Drink? Someone to talk to?”
I shake my head.
“Okay. I’ll be just down the hallway. If you need me at any time of the night, just come in and wake me.”
He turns to walk out.
“Wait.”
He does, exhaling as he stops.
He stares at me, and I stare at him.
Then, I stand up and walk over to him. “Thank you.”
“Of course.” He leans down and sharply kisses me on the forehead. And, in that second, the spell breaks.
I grab his cheeks. I move his lips to mine, and I kiss him. And, damn it, the kiss feels good.
Why did I have to kiss him? Now, there’s no going back. There’s no way I’m going to be able to stop, and it’s just going to make things so much worse. It’s not bad enough that I’m about to marry a crazy person, but I have to do it while being hung up with this asshole. My heart and mind are torn between two people, and I’m about to give them both what they want. But what about what I want?
I don’t know what I want, except that I want Brody to fuck me and make me forget about everything else.
Brody grabs my neck as he kisses my lips over and over. We stumble backward until we’re falling on the bed. Arms and legs tangle around each other, but our lips never part. It’s almost as if neither one of us takes a second to really breathe and think about what we’re doing, so we will stop. So, neither of us will allow that to happen.
Instead, we kiss, we groan, and we tear each other’s clothes off. Brody rips his jacket off while I pull his tie over his head. His shirt goes next; buttons fly as it falls in a heap on the floor, showing me his hard, strong chest that I haven’t been able to get out of my head since I saw him shirtless again in Albuquerque.