Brash Page 4

  “Is that right, baby?”

  “Yeah,” I run my hands along the top of the desk and wiggle my ass at him, waiting for what I know is about to happen. He’s going to fuck me and something tells me that Parker isn’t going to make this some gentle lovemaking session.

  He’s going to make it hurt, make it memorable. He’s going to make this one count.

  “Then I’d better make it worth your while,” he says as he slams his cock into me hard.

  “Fuck!” I cry out, knowing full well that Christina definitely heard that. The walls aren’t paper-thin, but that was a loud shout.

  “Yeah, baby, you like that?” He pulls my hair back, forcing me to look at him. “Tell me, Rose. Tell me.”

  “I fucking love it, Parker. I love your cock in me. I’ve wanted it for so long, Parker. More. More, please. More.”

  He releases my hair and presses down on my back so my upper-half is flat on the desk. My ass is still in the air and Parker plunges into my wet pussy over and over again. I’m close, oh-so-close, and it’s not going to take much more of this before I’m orgasming in the middle of Parker King’s office.

  Oh, fuck.

  “Come for me, princess,” Parker whispers in my ear. His breath is hot against my skin and his words made me ache. How long has it been since I’ve come with another person? Hell, how long has it been since I’ve come at all?

  “More,” I groan, and he slides his hand between my legs to rub my clit as he continues to fuck me over and over and over again.

  “Come,” he says again, and this time, I come.

  This time, I explode.

  This time, I fly.

  He covers my mouth with his hand as I come, muffling the sound of my screams and Parker comes close behind, breathing heavily through his own release.

  Then it’s over.

  Then that’s it.

  I manage to push myself up and turn around to face him. He looks happy, sated. Calm. He looks content.

  “Hey,” I say with a shy smile.

  “Hey, yourself,” he says, and kisses me again.

  We start making out again, still half-dressed, still covered in sweat, when there’s a knock at the door.

  “Um, excuse me? Mr. King?” It’s Christina’s voice. “Your, um, your 2:30 appointment is here. Should I, um….should I send her in?”

  We exchange glances and both erupt into giggles.

  “Give me five minutes, Christina,” he says, and we both hear her sigh of relief.

  “Got it,” Christina says, and her footsteps echo in the hall as she heads back to her desk.

  “Think she heard everything?” I smirk.

  “Guaranteed.”

  9

  Rose

  After work, I hurry to meet my best buddy for dinner. Stephanie is already at the restaurant when I arrive. I slide into the booth and her eyes go wide.

  “Well? Did you do it, firecracker? Spill!”

  Blushing, I nod, and she starts laughing.

  “Nice job, kiddo. I knew you could do it.” She high-fives me across the table and I grin like a stupid idiot.

  “I can’t believe it,” I say. “I can’t believe it really happened.”

  “You’re sexy,” she says, taking a sip of her wine. Once again, from a glass. What’s with her and these glasses all the time? Seriously, I must have forgotten to grow up because to me, drinking wine right from the bottle is both practical and smart. It means I don’t have to wash any glasses when I’m done, so I’m saving time and water.

  “I like you, too,” I say with a wink. The server arrives and I order food and a cocktail, then turn back to Stephanie. “But I only have eyes for Parker.”

  “I know,” she says. “I’m happy for you, boo. Now, give me all the details.”

  “Yesterday was just a mess,” I fill her in on the meeting, on the paperwork, and the contracts Parker and I had to work on. As a realtor, Stephanie knows exactly how the right contract can make or break a deal. Something as simple as phrasing a paragraph awkwardly can mean losing a sale. Because of this, it’s important to make sure each part of the contract is written as concisely and professionally as possible.

  “Sounds like you guys really have your work cut out for you.”

  “We do. We did, I mean. Most of it’s done. We had finished for the night when Parker walked me to my car and hugged me goodbye.”

  “Good hug or friend hug?”

  “Good hug,” I remember the way he pressed his body to mine, remember the way I felt just a hint of his cock. “Then he went to his car and I called him.”

  “From the parking lot?”

  “Yeah.”

  “While you could still see him?”

  “Yeah.”

  “Ballsy.”

  “I was trying to be seductive.”

  “Apparently, it worked.”

  “It worked a little,” I say. “Not at the time, though. He didn’t want to go out with me, but I think you know the rest of the story.”

  “You got shit-faced, he rescued you, but didn’t fuck you. Yeah. I know the story.” She sips her wine again and looks at me thoughtfully.

  “Uh-oh,” I say. “I know that look. I’m not going to like what you’re about to say.”

  “So where are you going to go from here?”

  “What do you mean?”

  “Well, a dare is a dare, love. I dared you to seduce him and you did it. Is that it? One and done? Or are you going to pursue a relationship now?”

  “It’s a little soon for you to be asking that, isn’t it?”

  “Is it soon? Really? It’s been three years of you guys dragging your feet. Three years and it took fucking daring you for you to be willing to give it a shot.”

  “It was just a dare,” I say. “It doesn’t mean we’re in love.”

  She raises her eyebrows and I sigh. I can feel a headache coming on. I reach in my purse for a Tylenol and when I do, I realize my phone is unlocked and there’s an open call with Parker.

  Fuck.

  It’s not the first time I’ve accidentally called people, but I wonder how much of our conversation he heard or if he’s even listening at all. Maybe he didn’t hear. Maybe he didn’t answer.

  I lift the phone.

  “Parker?” I say, hesitantly, slowly. I quickly realize my luck isn’t that fucking good because he is, in fact, breathing into the phone.

  “Is what she said true?” He asks. He doesn’t beat around the bush. He doesn’t pretend to have a polite conversation with me about the weather or anything stupid.

  “Is what true?” I ask, playing dumb. I know exactly what he’s asking me. He wants to know if he’s just a dare. He wants to know if I only made a move on him because Stephanie dared me to and the truth is, without her push, I don’t think I would have had the guts to tell Parker I like him.

  Then again, he didn’t make a move, either.

  We’ve both had three years to come forward. Three years to say, “I’m into you.” Three years to do anything but what we did, which was nothing, but I can hear the hurt in his voice and I know he hates what I did.

  I know he hates feeling like I don’t actually care.

  He hates feeling like I only came onto him because I was dared to do it.

  “I guess that makes sense, then,” Parker says, his voice tight, controlled. “After all, like your friend said, it’s been three years. Obviously, I’m just your asshole boss, not someone you’re actually interested in.”

  “Parker,” I protest. “It’s not what you think.”

  “Do me a favor,” he says. “Don’t call me.”

  He ends the call and I just stare at the phone in my hand. The server chooses that moment to appear with my drink and appetizer, and I just stare at the things he places on the table.

  “Is everything all right, miss?”

  “It’s fine,” Stephanie assures the waiter. “Thank you. It’s perfect. Can you just give us a few minutes?”

  “Of course,” th
e guy shoots me a worried look, but disappears.

  “What the fuck?” Stephanie says. “What just happened here?”

  “I butt-dialed Parker from my purse,” I whisper.

  I ruined everything.

  I completely, royally, totally ruined everything.

  We had a chance for something great and I was like, you know what? I’m good with my shitty, boyfriendless life. I’m good.

  Who the fuck does that?

  “Tell me what he said,” she says slowly.

  “He thinks he was just a dare,” I look at Stephanie now. My eyesight is blurry because now I’m full-on crying in the restaurant. I hope I’m not sobbing loudly, but a couple of people are starting to look my way and I think I might be.

  I think I just lost the best thing to ever happen to me.

  I think I just lost my best friend.

  “Check!” Stephanie calls out, waving her hand at our server. She doesn’t take her eyes off me and I don’t say another word.

  I finally landed Parker King and then I threw him away with just a few choice words.

  I lost everything, and it hurts.

  Worse than I ever thought it would.

  10

  Parker

  “Hurt” doesn’t begin to describe the way my heart feels when I hear Rose and her friend talking. I should hang up the phone the second I realize they don’t know we’re connected, but I can’t.

  Call me curious.

  Call me nosy.

  Call me a fucking loser, but I listen to their conversation and I hate what I hear.

  A dare.

  I’m just a dare.

  I should have known it was strange when Rose started acting differently this week. She started being more outgoing, a little more confident.

  I guess I thought maybe she was just being a little braver, a little riskier. I guess I thought maybe she was coming out of her shell.

  I guess I thought maybe she didn’t see me the way I see myself: broken.

  Instead of hanging out at the house, I head to my local MMA gym and find Ralph. He’s one of my best buddies. We served together in Iraq and now we spar together as much as possible, which isn’t nearly enough.

  “You got time?” I ask him. He’s in his office doing paperwork, but he nods immediately and gets up.

  “Let’s go,” he says, and we head into the ring. This is what I need, what I’ve been missing this week. When my stress gets to me, I need to fight, to hit, to feel. I need the pain, at least a little bit, and I need to know I’m not alone.

  Ralph gets that.

  “You want to talk about it?” He asks, throwing a jab. I block his punch and move, then throw my own. I make contact. He groans, and I shake my head.

  “I don’t want to talk, fucker. I want to fight.”

  “Fine,” Ralph shrugs, like it doesn’t matter to him. “Suit yourself.”

  Then he proceeds to kick my ass.

  I fight like shit. He throws punch after punch and finally gets me in a choke. I try to fight it, but I know I can’t, and I tap out.

  Pussy out.

  I show how weak I am in this moment, in everything I do, and then Ralph pulls me to my feet.

  “What the fuck is wrong?” He asks.

  “It’s Rose.”

  “Your secretary?”

  “Assistant.”

  “The one you’ve had a boner for, for like, years?”

  “That’s the one.”

  “What happened?”

  “We slept together.”

  “And? No offense, dude, but after all this time, you should be a little bit happier about this than you seem. You’ve had a thing for this woman for a long time. What’s the deal?”

  “I found out she doesn’t really like me.”

  He raises an eyebrow, looks confused, so I clarify.

  “She only came onto me because of a dare.”

  “Ah,” he says, and hops out of the ring. I follow him over to the water station and we both get a drink. “So now you’re questioning yourself and your experiences together and you think she only wanted your D to impress her friends.”

  “Basically.”

  “You know that’s total bullshit, right?”

  “Excuse me?” I growl. I shouldn’t growl. Ralph is just being my friend. He’s being honest with me and right now, that’s what I need.

  You’d think that being high up in a company, I’d have a lot of friends. The opposite is true. When I started working for my dad, people stopped being my friend. People began to view me as either dangerous or wealthy and somehow, that never seemed to work out in my favor.

  “You’re still hurt about Janine,” Ralph says simply. He leans against the wall and looks at me. Somehow, this guy can see right through me. It’s what I need. I know it’s what I need, but I don’t like it. I don’t have to like it.

  Then I realize he probably hasn’t heard the news.

  “She died, Ralph.”

  “Fuck, man, I’m sorry. I didn’t know. What happened?” He looks genuinely surprised. He looks sad for me.

  “Car accident,” I shrug. “Her mom called me, but didn’t really give me any details. No idea whose fault it was. No idea if there was alcohol involved. All I know is that she was alive and then she wasn’t. She was here and then she was gone.”

  “How are you holding up?”

  “It’s been a long time since we were together.”

  “That’s not what I asked.”

  “You know how they say ‘time heals all wounds’?”

  “Yep,” he laughs and pats his arm, which is thick with scar tissue from an IED he encountered in Iraq. Ralph came home early because of the accident. It doesn’t hold him back and he’s luckier than most, but he’s got very visible scarring from his time in the service.

  My scars are all on my heart.

  “Do you think it’s true?”

  “That time heals everything?” He thinks about it for a second, then nods slowly. “I think most of our wounds heal over time. There will always be scars. We’ll never be quite the same as we were before the accident or the fight or the breakup. We’ll never be the same person. Pain makes us grow, forces us to become something new. Someone new.”

  “I don’t miss Janine. I’m sad she’s dead, but there’s a sort of disconnect when I think about it. I haven’t loved her for a long time. I’m not in love with her. Even though she hurt me, I just wanted her to be happy. She broke me, but I still wished her well.”

  “You actually loved her, you mean,” Ralph clarifies. “When you truly love someone, when you care for them deeply, you want them to be happy no matter what the cost. When you love someone, you don’t care if they have to be with someone else to be happy. You don’t mind if they need to go somewhere else to be happy. It still hurts, but what matters is their own happiness. What matters is their own future.”

  “I thought we were going to be happy together, but that changed. When I found out about her and Mike, once the shock and surprise wore off, I genuinely wanted them both to be content together.”

  “They weren’t.”

  “No, they weren’t, but I hoped for it. Now that Janine is gone, I don’t feel as sad as I think I should.”

  “You feel like you should mourn for her.”

  “A little bit, yeah.” It doesn’t really make sense to me, but I feel like I should be more upset about her passing than I am. I think I should feel more sadness for her than I do.

  “You’ve moved on, my friend. You’ve found someone new to love. Are you really telling me you don’t love Rose?”

  “I’m telling you we’re nothing. We slept together one time. It meant nothing to her, to either of us.”

  “Wow,” Ralph slaps me on the shoulder. “You’re a worse liar than I remember.” Then he turns and heads back into his office, leaving me alone at the water cooler. I stand there for a few minutes thinking about what he said.

  Am I lying to myself, to her?

  Am I lying to hi
m?

  Ralph comes back a minute later and he hands me a picture.

  “What’s this?” I ask, looking at it. It’s a woman: one I’ve never seen before.

  “My fiancé,” he says with a smile. “And yes, you’re invited to the wedding, fuck-face.”

  “I didn’t even know you were seeing someone,” I say, feeling slightly out-of-the-loop.

  “Let me tell you a little something about love, mate. You can lie all you want, but when you find someone special, you need to latch onto them. She’s not Janine. You’re going to fight and you’re going to hurt each other, but that’s part of the journey. She isn’t the woman you were with before, just as you aren’t the men Rose has been with before. Andrea and I? We hurt each other all the time. It happens. We don’t mean to, but it happens.”

  Ralph is smiling as he watches me look at the picture of his bride. He’s right: she looks happy. She’s grinning at the camera like there’s nowhere in the world she’d rather be, like there’s no one out there for her but him.

  Is that the way Rose looks at me?

  I want it to be.

  A week ago, I would have said I’m out of her league. A week ago, I would have said she’d never look twice at a guy like me. Yeah, I’ll fuck anything that moves, but I’d never fucked Rose before because she was different, special. I didn’t want to mess things up between us. I didn’t want to hurt her, but honestly, I didn’t want to hurt myself because I knew if I had a taste of Rose, there would be no going back.

  Now I know I was right.

  There really is no going back.

  “I messed up,” I admit to Ralph.

  “It’s not too late. It’s never too late.”

  “Sometimes it’s too late.”

  “Rose is not Janine,” he says for the millionth time.

  “I know, Ralph. I know, buddy.”

  “Then damn, Parker, fucking act like you know. No more whining. No more pussy-footing around. You want your girl, Parker? Go fucking get your girl.”

  I hand him back the picture. Then I give him a big hug. I don’t care if it’s not very manly or masculine to hug your friends. Ralph is a brother to me.

  “Good luck,” he says, and I turn to go. I pass by other people working out, other people sparring, but I don’t even look at them as I head to my car.