Page 25 of Boss with Benefits (Boss of Seduction #6)

“What do you think of the dress?” Brady asked with a quick glance in her direction. He was too busy getting his camera ready to take a good look at her. “I had it especially made for you.”

She blinked. “You did?”

“I have this vision of you in my head that I need to get out. I need to photograph it. A goddess beyond the reach of mere mortal men.”

She swallowed hard and mumbled, “That’s a lot to live up to.”

Undaunted, Brady placed a hand on the small of her back and led her to the bed they’d used for their coffee ad. It was covered with red rose petals now. She stretched out on the mattress, and Brady went to work.

The whole thing was surreal. Within seconds, she was flying back in time. Sixteen again with her favorite photographer snapping pictures of her. He called out directions, and she automatically followed them. It was second-nature to them both, a return to their connected past.

He suddenly stopped shooting. “Something isn’t right,” he said.

Her world crumbled. Was she doing something wrong? Maybe he thought she’d lost the ‘it’ factor he used to insist she had. He obviously thought Greta still had it. The thought threatened to burn a hole through her stomach.

Brady carried the camera over to her in one hand and lifted her chin with the other. Slowly, he leaned down and kissed her full on the mouth. It was a seductive kiss full of promise and gave her naughty thoughts. She was lying on a bed, after all.

Just as she reached up to grasp the back of his neck, he pulled away.

A smile stretched his mouth. “There you go. That’s the look I want.”

He returned to work, snapping picture after picture for the next two hours.

Every time he thought she was losing the look he wanted to capture, he kissed her again.

Inevitably, he allowed her to pull him down on top of her.

They made love in the borrowed bed, and it was an incredibly moving experience.

She wasn’t sure why. Maybe it was because she had told him she loved him last night.

Even though he didn’t want to hear it, the words still had an effect on them.

Or maybe it was because he was in his element.

Brady with a camera in his hands was vastly different from the everyday Brady people normally saw, because he was living his passion.

Afterward she wanted to cuddle, but he wanted to take more pictures. He arranged her hair to fan out on the pillow and went back to work. Before they were done, he managed to talk her into posing nude, something she’d refused to consider until then. He made her feel safe and beautiful.

And he swore no one but him would ever see the photographs.

She donned her street clothes once they were done, and he put his equipment away.

“Remember to take the dress home,” he said. “Maybe you can wear it again for me some day. Some night.”

Her cheeks fused with heat, and she was amazed at how Brady got under her skin like no one else. She thought of herself as a confident woman, but he made her feel like a vulnerable schoolgirl with a mad crush on someone she couldn’t have.

She wanted to demand answers. Their marriage was supposed to be a charade, but it didn’t feel like one anymore. Did Brady still plan on leaving her? She was afraid to ask.

In that moment, standing behind him and watching him put his camera away with such loving care, she knew without a doubt she wanted to keep her family intact. She was willing to fight for their marriage.

The big question was, would she be fighting against him? Was he determined to cut her loose? Or was he falling for her as well?

Then he said something that wiped those thoughts from her mind.

“I heard from the detective I hired earlier today, and I know why Randy wants to get his hands on your son.”

She felt the blood drain from her face and pool in her stomach. “Why?” she asked, desperate to know. “Why does he want Axl all of a sudden?”

Brady stood in front of her, hands on hips. “His wife can’t have kids of her own. They found out a few months before he demanded to have Axl visit.”

Jessica’s hands curled into fists. “She can’t have a baby, so she wants to steal mine?”

“Looks that way.”

“Well, she can’t have him. Why don’t they adopt?”

Brady shrugged. “I guess his wife wants to have his baby one way or another.”

“That bitch! They aren’t going to get away with this.” Jessica charged at the door, turned, and came back to stand next to Brady. “We’ll tell the judge why they want to take my son, and he’ll put a stop to it.”

“Not necessarily.” Brady sighed and rubbed the place between his eyes. “I already spoke to Jill, and she told me it doesn’t matter why Randy wants Axl. The court only wants to know where Axl will have the best life, with you or with your ex.”

“That’s stupid! He’s better off with his mother, of course. His real mother.”

“I agree.”

Her eyes filled with tears. “She can’t have him. She can’t take my baby from me.”

Brady pulled her close for a snug embrace. He stroked his hands up and down her back until she stopped crying. Once again, she wondered what she would ever do without him. Their court date was coming up fast. After the custody hearing was over, she might have to find out.

“Don’t worry,” he whispered against the side of her head. His breath stirred her hair. “You won’t lose him. I promise you. I’ll do anything I have to do to make sure you keep your son.”

She bit her lower lip to keep from telling him how much she loved him again. He wasn’t making it easy on her. Since he didn’t want to hear it, he needed to stop being so darn adorable.

∞∞∞

A few days later, they were naked on a fur rug in front of a roaring fire.

Totally spent after making love, Jessica flipped over onto her stomach and reached for her water bottle.

She felt dehydrated like she’d just run a 5k.

Once again, she thanked her lucky stars for Bridget.

The girl loved Axl so much she didn’t mind keeping him overnight when Jessica wanted alone time with her husband.

It was a relief to know her son was in good hands.

Jessica chugged half the bottle before recapping it. She rested her hand and the side of her face against Brady’s bare chest. His skin was covered in sweat, but so was hers. She was still trying to catch her breath. “That was...”

“Phenomenal?” He chuckled deep in his throat. “Incredible? Amazing? All of the above?”

“Did somebody buy you a Thesaurus for your birthday?”

He patted her on her bare butt in an affectionate way. “I think we should send Axl to Bridget’s house more often.”

She playfully punched him in the ribs just below her face. “Not nice.”

“You know I think your kid is awesome.” He placed a soft kiss on the end of her nose. “I think his mother is pretty awesome, too.”

She trailed her fingers from his belly button to the place over his heart.

His skin, tanned to a beautiful golden hue, was softer than she’d expected.

She remembered thinking that the first night they spent together.

She remembered marveling at how his skin was a sharp contrast to the hard muscles beneath.

“Tell me something I don’t know about you,” she said. “I want to feel closer to you.”

He stiffened. “What do you want to know?”

“I want to know why you changed your name to Brady and just Brady. Were you running from something? Hiding from someone? Or were you trying to forget something?”

Deafening silence followed her questions. Maybe it was the wrong time to ask, but she thought if he would ever open up to her it would be now. They’d just shared an incredible experience. It wasn’t simply sex; they had made love, whether he realized it or not.

“My father killed my mother,” he said in a hoarse voice. “And I didn’t want to be associated with that for the rest of my life.”

Her heart jumped into her throat, temporarily blocking her oxygen. She hadn’t expected to hear that sort of confession. At most, she’d thought he would say he had a juvenile record or that he’d run away from home at fifteen.

“I am so sorry, Brady.”

He stood while wrapping the bed sheet around his lean hips. That was it. She’d ruined their special moment, and he was going to walk away. Maybe he would leave the house and go get a drink with his friend.

“I don’t like talking about it,” he said.

“It’s good to talk,” she said. “Sometimes it helps.”

“I don’t understand why she refused to divorce him.”

Jessica stood, still naked. She didn’t bother to grab the nearby blanket or hide her nude body in any way. She thought seeing her like this might soften his reaction to the conversation they were having. “I’ve heard it’s hard for a battered woman to leave her abuser,” she said.

He openly scoffed. “My mother did leave him. Three times.” He started to pace, clearly agitated.

“We moved in with her sister in Dallas the last time she left my father, and I thought she might actually divorce him. She got a job she enjoyed, and he was leaving us alone for once. My stomach had stopped hurting. I was making friends at my new school, and I was starting to feel safe. Then I came home and found him standing in the living room.”

Jessica wanted to hug him, but she was afraid the story would stop. So she stayed still, frozen to the floor, knowing he needed to talk. He needed to release it into the open and find a way to move on.

“My mother couldn’t wait to show me the flowers he brought her and to tell me he had changed. He wasn’t drinking anymore.” Brady pounded a fist against his palm. “I begged her not to fall for that line again. Every time she left, he stopped drinking... for a while. The new him never lasted long.”

“I’m sorry,” she said again, unable to come up with anything fresh or vital to say.