Page 21 of Mad Rivals (The Bradley Legacy #1)

The Most Delicious Thing I Ate Tonight

Fuck. I couldn’t help myself, and I shouldn’t be surprised that it was that good.

The chemistry between us has been on point since day one, and tonight was inevitable. Part of me thought I could fuck her out of my system, but as it turns out, quite the opposite happened.

I need more. Tonight.

“Come back to my place with me after the gala,” I say once I’m done washing my hands, and I join her in the lounge again. It’s not a question.

“I don’t—” She begins her protest, but I hold up a hand.

I don’t have an overnight bag. I don’t have clothes for morning. I don’t even like you. Whatever she was about to say is simply an excuse, and as we all know, excuses are like assholes. We’ve all got one.

“Don’t make excuses,” I say.

She presses her lips together, and she lets out a deep breath before her eyes meet mine again. “Okay. Just…” She trails off, and it’s as if she thinks twice about what she was going to say.

“Just?” I prompt.

She clears her throat. “Don’t hurt me. ”

I take a step toward her, and another, and then I reach out and close the gap between us so I’m holding her in my arms, and nothing has ever felt quite so right. “I can’t make that promise. Physically, I won’t. Unless you ask me to.” I flash her a smirk, to which she rolls her eyes.

I lean forward and press my lips to hers, and the kiss quickly intensifies as she opens her mouth to mine and shoves her fingers into my hair.

Strange how this is only the second time we’ve kissed. We just had sex with no kissing, and it might’ve been the most intense sex of my life. I’ve also never fucked someone who hated me until I was inside her, so there’s that.

I don’t think she hates me anymore. I’m not sure she ever really did, but certainly not after the last few minutes.

But we still have that little issue of working together coupled with the fact that our fathers are actual enemies for reasons we really still don’t understand.

Maybe we never will. But maybe we can be the examples here. There’s no reason we can’t explore this very tangible thing between us in secret and deal with the rest when we need to.

She pulls back first this time—mostly because there’s no way in hell I was going to stop the kiss first this time. Not when she ran last time.

“We should get back out there,” she says. “I need a minute or two in here if you want to go first.”

It’s her gentle hint to get rid of me so she can use the bathroom, and I take it. “Are you okay?”

She nods, and her eyes twinkle at me. “I mean, aside from the shaky knees from what you did to me, yeah.”

I chuckle. God, she’s pretty. I flash her one more smirk before I turn to head out of the bathroom, but her words stop me.

“Oh, one more thing,” she says. I turn back around, and she’s the one smirking at me this time. “Your breath smells like my pussy, so you may want to hunt down a stick of gum.”

I can’t help but bark out a laugh at that. I shake my head as I raise a brow. “Oh, hell no. I’m not getting rid of the aftertaste of the most delicious thing I ate tonight.”

Her cheeks flush, and I flip the lock on the door.

I turn back toward her. “See you out there.”

I head out, and the hallway is clear. I’ve been to this place lots of times for various events, and I knew these restrooms would be vacant since usually they’re used during weddings for the bridal party.

It wasn’t the sexiest place to hook up with a girl, but when you’re desperate, well, you take what you can get.

I spot Ford just outside the ballroom as I approach, and I stop to talk to him. His brow raises at me as I approach. “Where have you been?” he asks.

Ford is the traditionalist of the Bradley boys, and I don’t think he’d understand me betraying the family name with a competitor.

That’s how they’ll see it. Everyone in my family will see Kennedy Van Buren as the competition. I just see her as a beautiful, intelligent woman who both challenges and captivates me, and those are two traits I haven’t found in a woman in a long time. Maybe ever.

There’s a connection I can’t deny, and I need some time to explore it before I say a single goddamn word to anybody about it—Ford included.

I don’t really talk to my brothers about my conquests, anyway.

Maybe Dex, since he’s the closest to me in age and we’ve discussed this sort of thing in the past, but he’s busy living his life in Vegas right now.

“Around,” I say, dodging the question. “You?”

“I’m ready to call it. You want to share a car?” he asks.

I shake my head. “Can’t. Dad expects me to stay until the bitter end. Or at least until I can close another deal or two.”

“What’s it like having all that pressure to carry on the legacy?” he asks.

“Exhausting,” I admit.

He chuckles. “I can imagine. Dad’s never been easy on any of us, least of all you. ”

“I’m pretty sure he’s doing whatever he can to make sure I have the life he wanted for himself,” I say dryly, but I also think it’s true.

After finding out he played football and couldn’t continue because of an injury, he did whatever he could to give us opportunities, and now handing over the family business without regard to whether or not I actually want it—it sort of feels like what I just said to Ford is actually true.

“What do you want, bro?” he asks.

I twist my lips and bite the inside of my cheek as Kennedy’s face flashes through my mind. Then her ass. Then that sweet pussy.

Fuck.

I’m in a boatload of trouble.

I blow out a breath. “Another beer,” I finally say.

He nods. “Enjoy. I’m out.”

“Did you tell Mom and Dad you’re leaving?”

He shakes his head. “Nope. Bye.”

“Traitor,” I mutter toward his retreating figure, and he just laughs as he walks out the front door.

I spot Kennedy walking into the ballroom, and she’s poised and even more beautiful than before with a glow in her cheeks, her head held high with confidence and conviction.

“You ought to stop looking at her like that,” a voice behind me says, and I spin around to face my father. “If I didn’t know better, I’d think you had a thing for the Van Buren girl.”

“Don’t be ridiculous,” I say.

“I hope that’s all it is. Because trust me when I tell you that she’s the wrong person to get mixed up with.

” He raises his brows pointedly, and I’m not sure exactly what he means.

I want to believe it’s because we have to work side-by-side with them on the SCS project, but it feels like maybe it goes deeper than that.

Maybe it goes deeper than either of us realized.

I lean in closer to him and lower my voice. “You’re the one who wanted me to win her over, remember?” I say it to throw him off, not because I’m intending to actually betray her .

I would never.

I meant it when I told her she could trust me, and I won’t go back on that promise. Not for business, and sure as fuck not for my father.

I turn and head back into the ballroom, and now it’s more fighting against looking for her in every corner of the room paired with long, lingering gazes once I do.

The night feels interminable, but she’s still here when I’m ready to call it a night. I send a covert text to her with my address.

Me: Heading home. Will be waiting with more white wine.

Her reply doesn’t come right away, but I don’t expect it to since she’s busy networking.

I’ve only been home about ten minutes and haven’t even changed out of my tux yet when my phone rings with a call from my building’s concierge. “Kennedy Van Buren here to see you,” the doorman, Joseph, says.

It’s only then I realize that if we’re sneaking around with the intent to keep this a secret, having her show up at my place isn’t exactly doing that. Joseph is bound with nondisclosure agreements, but anyone could see her coming or going.

“You can send her up.” I glance around to make sure my place isn’t messy, a rather ridiculous thought. I’m nothing if not a neat freak, and I have the place cleaned once a week. I’m hardly here anyway, and when I am, I’m careful to keep things clean.

I start my day by making my bed even when I’m in a hotel, if that says anything about me.

Still, this is her first time seeing my home. I wonder what she’ll think about it. What she’ll think about me . What secrets my home will unveil about me.

What secrets I’ll unveil about her tonight.

The urge to know everything about her is strong, and maybe tonight’s the night where we can explore those kinds of things, where we can get to know one another .

But I have this feeling like maybe I won’t know her personally any better, but I’ll know her body a hell of a lot better. What makes her moan. What makes her smile. What makes her come.

I shrug out of my tux jacket and hang it in my front closet, and I loosen my tie. I grab a bottle of white wine from the wine cooler along with a glass, and I fill it up for her. I grab myself a beer, too, and I hear a tentative knock on my door a minute later.

I pad over to the door and open it, and she looks nervous and gorgeous standing there. I hand her the glass of wine, and she leans in and presses a quick kiss to my lips as if she’s greeting her boyfriend. It’s both sweet and sexy at the same time.

“Welcome to my place,” I say, and I hold out my arm as she walks in. I close the door behind her, and she walks in with a bit of awe in her eyes.

It is a pretty killer place. It’s mostly monochromatic with white walls and countertops, light hardwood floors, and a few black and gray accents and pieces of furniture. It’s the view that’s so amazing here, and she wanders straight for the wraparound windows to check it out.

Her eyes settle down on Navy Pier, and she sighs. “I don’t know why, but I’ve always found the pier really romantic.” She takes a sip of her wine and offers a quiet mmm .

I open the glass door so she can walk out onto the balcony, and her breath seems to catch. She looks a little fearfully between the open door and me.

“What’s wrong?” I ask.

“Oh, nothing. I just don’t love heights. And dogs. Dogs and heights.”

“Well, good news, tiger. I don’t have a dog.” I give her a light chuckle, and she looks like a deer in headlights.

“We don’t have to go out on the balcony, but if you want to check it out, I promise it’s safe,” I say.

“Yeah, and everyone promises their dogs are friendly when their unleashed beasts come running up toward me.” She lifts a shoulder, and it’s strange seeing her vulnerable. I thought I was the only one who was going to show another side tonight. Guess I was wrong.

I step out first and hold out a hand to assist her if she wants it. “You can stay inside, or you can come stand right up against the building. But I swear, the view out here is worth it.”

“I want to try,” she says. “I’m not terrified of them or anything. I just don’t love them.” She slips her hand into mine, and it’s ice cold and trembling a little. She steps out onto the balcony.

“Good girl,” I say absently, and her eyes fly to mine with a little heat in them.

She stands just on the balcony side of the door, her back against the glass of my windows.

We each sip our drinks, a little lost in thought for a minute or two as we stare at the pier.

“Is this okay?” I ask.

She nods. “Yeah. It’s not so scary up here, and you’re right. The view is worth it. But can I ask you a question?”

I brace myself for it because I just never know what to expect from her, and I tilt my head to tell her to go ahead.

“Why’d you invite me over here?”

I glance over at her, and she’s looking at the pier, not me. The lights of the Ferris wheel sparkle in the distance, lighting her eyes as I think through how to respond to that question.

“I wasn’t ready to say goodbye,” I admit quietly.

I hear the vulnerability in my own voice. I’m not used to this shit. I don’t invite women back to my place after fucking them in the bathroom. It’s not my style. I got what I wanted, so I should be done. Hands washed. Game over.

I don’t know what makes her different. She wasn’t just some girl I fucked in a bathroom. She’s a business associate, a competitor, and she’s captivated me in a way no other woman ever has.

Do I want to get inside her pussy again? Of course I do. I’m only human .

But if that doesn’t happen, if we stand out here where she’s close enough that I can smell her coconut as she sips her wine, that’s fine by me.

And that is the crux of what makes her different. I just haven’t put my finger on why that is.