Unsurpassed

by Charity Parkerson

  Unlocking his jaw before he cracked a tooth, Drew did his best to sound reasonable. “None of which explains why you are here in my room.”

  Max dipped his chin, acknowledging Drew’s impatience. “Six months ago, three things happened simultaneously. It seemed almost serendipitous. Dad asked why you never came to see him, Ryan met you while trying to drum up membership for our self-defense courses, and Aubree signed up for our kickboxing lessons.”

  Drew felt Aubree’s muscles tense beneath his fingertips. He had to force himself not to look over to gauge her reaction. “So,” Drew drawled, unable to believe what he was hearing. “You broke into my room hoping to find what exactly? DNA? A memento? And how exactly did you get in here?”

  Max nodded. “Any of those things, and Ryan was able to slip a key out of a maid’s cart early yesterday morning.”

  Drew’s temper hitched up a notch. “Why the hell didn’t you ask me directly? Seriously? It’s not as if I fathered your child or some shit like that so why would I care?”

  “Honestly? In your place, I would suspect anyone who claimed ties to me,” Max admitted. “I would assume everyone hoped for some form of financial support and I didn’t want that. I wanted to know the truth and as crazy as it might seem to you, this was easier than asking you openly or dragging anything out publicly. I can’t imagine you wanting your mother’s name in the news and I sure as hell don’t want my family splashed all over every gossip column.”

  Drew spent a moment shaking his head as he attempted to come to grips with the elaborateness of Max’s plan. Giving up, he said, “I’m not opposed to a private DNA test if it will get you out of my room.”

  While Drew and Max discussed plans for a DNA test, Ryan sat quietly watching Aubree. He knew the exact moment in which all the pieces of the puzzle fell into place inside her mind. She sat in frozen silence staring sightlessly at the corner from the moment Max made his dumbass comment about her sleeping with Drew. To the casual observer, she might’ve seemed fine. Ryan knew Aubree almost as well as he knew himself. This was hurting her deeply.

  Although her expression never changed, one moment her eyes seemed almost unfocused and the next, the color left her face. She crossed her arms over her stomach as if attempting to hold herself together. His chest tightened. “No,” he said before he could stop himself. Everyone froze, turning in his direction. He ignored them. Nothing mattered except for Aubree. “Whatever it is you’re thinking, stop right there.”

  Aubree looked at Ryan as if noticing he was there for the first time. The pain in her eyes left him feeling as if he’d been punched in the gut.

  “Was this your plan all along?” she asked sounding broken. “Did the two of you—” Her voice cracked before she could finish her question, but Ryan knew what she meant.

  “Aubree, we—”

  “Just answer the question. Is this why the two of you invited me here?”

  With her holding his gaze, Ryan couldn’t lie to her. “In part, but—”

  “Oh my God,” she whispered, cutting him off. “Why would you do such a thing? I thought—” She stopped again, shaking her head as if she couldn’t go on.

  “It’s not what you’re thinking,” Max jumped in. “Yes, I hoped Drew might confide something in you he wouldn’t tell anyone else, and we needed someone to keep him distracted, but you know we care about you.”

  “No. I don’t. You could’ve come here alone this weekend. You could’ve popped into this room while Drew was distracted by some other woman. It wasn’t necessary for you to use me like this.”

  Max was shaking his head before Aubree finished speaking. Ryan was watching the whole thing unfold with a growing sense of dread.

  “I needed to know, Aubree,” Max admitted quietly. “This is important to me, and he’s had a thousand women,” he said with a wave in Drew’s direction.

  “A thousand is a bit much,” Drew said drily, but everyone ignored him as Max continued pleading his case.

  “Not just any woman would have held his attention for very long. Not the way you would, and we needed to know the exact times this room would be empty. We needed a woman we could control.”

  Before Max could say anything more, Aubree shot to her feet. “Control,” she repeated and Ryan groaned at the rage she managed to project in a single word. “I see,” she mused aloud sounding entirely too calm. “I have a connection to one of Drew’s old friends and his family, making me a bit more interesting to him than other women. Of course since I’ve also been desperate to have you both in my bed, then I was easy pickings.”

  Drew’s eyebrows rose at Aubree’s statement. He stood clearing his throat. “I’ve heard enough. Would you like a ride home?” he asked, holding his hand out for Aubree.

  With one last searching look at them both, Aubree switched her attention to Drew. “All of my things are still back in my room.”

  “Is there anything there you can’t live without for now?”

  She shrugged. “I don’t believe so.”

  “I’ll have someone deliver your stuff to you later,” he told her gently before turning a hard gaze on them. “I’m going to assume you know the way out, and I feel moved to warn you, your every move has been recorded from the moment you stepped off the elevator. Did you really think I wouldn’t have some form of security?” As if punctuating how much he didn’t care about their answer, he turned away taking Aubree with him.

  Ryan wanted to demand she stay and wanted to beat the hell out of Drew for taking her away, but his guilt kept him glued to his seat. She was wrong. It had gone badly, but they did care about her. The weekend hadn’t only been about finding out the truth. They could’ve proceeded with their plans for Drew without touching her. He couldn’t say any of those things to Aubree because he’d felt the exact moment her trust in them died.

  In a numb haze, Aubree held onto Drew’s hand wondering with whom she was the angriest. When the doors closed on the elevator, Drew pulled a phone from his pocket and even as his thumb moved over its face and he pressed it to his ear, he absently stroked her hand.

  “Hey, it’s Drew. I need my car.”

  Aubree listened to the short conversation with half an ear, and wasn’t surprised when, by the time they made it outside, a silver Aston Martin Vanquish sat waiting for them at the curb. A smiling valet handed over the keys. Drew held open the passenger side door for her while she slid inside before circling around to the driver’s side. It was impossible to block out the $300,000 luxury surrounding her as the door closed behind her. There were so many dials and buttons on the console between them, she couldn’t even begin to guess the purpose of each one. Giving up, Aubree chose to focus on the man behind the wheel. He must think the worst of her.

  “Where am I headed?”

  The sound of his voice caused her to glance away guiltily as she realized she’d been staring. She rattled off her address. With his eyes on the road, Drew nodded. “I know the area.”

  Aubree spent the ride staring out the window and doing her best to block out everything. The level of deception was more than she could fathom. When her tan and brick condo came into view, she experienced a mixture of dread and relief at the sight of it. Her public degradation was at an end while the time alone with her thoughts was only beginning.

  With the car in park, Aubree made no move to leave. Drew ran his hand around the steering wheel as if searching for the right words. Finally, he said, “So, Ryan and Max, huh?”

  Humiliation sat heavy in her gut, but she refused to let it show. “Yep. Wow, I feel like a tramp admitting such a thing aloud.”

  Drew held his hands up in surrender. “No judgments here, seriously,” he added when she cut her eyes at him skeptically. “Women come easily to me. I don’t say that to sound conceited. It’s part of the whole champion package. They don’t really want me for me. It’s usually only women who want to say they’ve shared my bed. But the point is, I’ve done some wild shit in the past, and I’m not opposed to doing so agai
n in the future.”

  Aubree snorted out a laugh at his confession before making one of her own. “I feel like an idiot. ‘Control me.’ He said those exact words. I want to go back and punch him in the throat.”

  “Understandable, but you know you could always get your revenge by having your way with me.”

  She shook her head in disbelief as she muttered, “Men.”

  Drew shrugged. “Hey, we’re doers.”

  In spite of the weight sitting on Aubree’s chest making it hard for her to breathe, she couldn’t help but giggle over his antics.

  “You laugh, but I’m serious. I’m more than willing to fall on the grenade here and let you use my body.”

  Aubree covered her face to hide the blush creeping into her cheeks. A masculine chuckle sounded from the seat beside her and she dropped her hands. “I’m sorry,” she told him with her heart in her eyes. “I realize this day has been crazy for you too, and my shit is petty drama in the shadow of you learning you might have a brother.”

  Drew leaned his head against the headrest behind him and a serious expression settled on his face. “I’ve always known there was a possibility of a family out there. As a kid, I had this fantasy where my dad was some superstar who would show up one day and give my mom the life she deserved. Of course, I grew up and reality set in. I realized whoever he is, he’s a douche.”

  “Yes he is,” Aubree agreed without hesitation. “How could he be anything else if he left someone as amazing as you?” Feeling as if she’d said too much, Aubree glanced around uncomfortably. “Well, thanks for the ride home, and I hope everything works out.” She reached for the door handle in hopes of making her exit before she made things any more awkward.

  Drew called out stopping her. “Hold on a second.” Fishing around in the console between the seats, he came out with a pen and a scrap of paper. He scribbled a few numbers on it before handing it over. “Here’s the number to my cell. Call me if you need anything or even if you don’t,” he added with a hopeful smile.

  Taking out her phone, Aubree dialed the number he handed her and waited until she heard his cell ring before disconnecting the call. “There, now you have my number too.” With a teasing smile, she added, “I would’ve written it down, but I’d hate for it to get lost in the pile of phone numbers you already have squirreled away.” Throwing open the door, she called over her shoulder. “Don’t forget to save it to your contacts so you can call me if you need anything…or even if you don’t.”

  Without waiting for a response, Aubree darted for the house. She realized too late her keys were back at the hotel, but luckily, she kept a spare under a potted plant outside. Her front door barely closed behind her when her cell phone chirped alerting her of an incoming text. Glancing down at it, she read Drew’s message. “Max wasn’t wrong about one thing. No other woman would’ve held my attention the way you did, and it had nothing to do with your father.”

  * * * * *

  Aubree thanked her lucky stars she’d already asked for Monday off as she lounged around the house wearing nothing but an old pair of boxers and ribbed tank top. Along with her house keys, the keys to her car were wherever her things currently sat. She flipped through the channels cursing the name of whoever chose what aired on daytime television before finally giving it up as a bad job. With the silence closing in on her, Aubree stared at the phone wondering whom she should call to get her bags. Every name that came to mind, she immediately dismissed. With her concentration fully engaged, she jumped in surprise when a solid knock landed on the front door. Glancing down at her grungy clothes, she automatically felt the messy bun at the crown of her head and let out a loud groan.

  When the tap came again, she sighed, and moved to answer. Going up on her toes, she checked the peephole, which caused her to groan louder. With no other options, Aubree threw the door open. At ten in the morning, the air outside was chillier than she would have liked, and her nipples hardened against it, reminding her of her braless state.

  Thankfully, Drew kept his gaze eye level. “Good morning, beautiful. I thought you might need these.” He held out her bag and purse.

  “Thank you,” she said automatically as she relieved him of his burden and stepped back enough for him to enter.

  As she closed the door behind him and set her bags aside, she watched his expression, wondering what he was thinking. She knew he’d been raised by a single mother and most likely didn’t live in the height of luxury back then, but nowadays he was accustomed to a much higher lifestyle than what he was currently standing in. Without waiting for an invitation, he plopped down on her tan sofa, settling in as if he intended to be there for a while. His masculine form seemed almost out of place in the center of her feminine home. The light yellow walls, delicately made wooden side tables, and small sofa appeared miniscule with his large presence filling the room. He gave the empty spot next to him a pat, leaving her with no other choice than to join him.

  “I appreciate you bringing my things by. I didn’t realize until I got home I didn’t have anything in my pockets other than my phone and the keycard to the room. I was beginning to wonder how I was going to get to work tomorrow.” Even though she knew everything she was saying was reasonable, for some reason she couldn’t explain, she felt as if she were rambling. His long, denim-encased legs took up too much space forcing her thigh to press against his.

  “I could’ve had someone bring your bags by last night, but I made a few calls, rushing things along. I took the DNA test this morning, and I wanted to be the one who delivered your stuff to you.”

  Turning her head and bringing him into her line of sight, she realized he was watching her closely as if gauging her reaction to his words. “Why?”

  The gray of his irises seemed to sharpen and she found herself fascinated. “Well, as I recall, you were there. Max went to an extreme to get that test.”

  “No,” she said interrupting him. “Why did you want to come here?”

  “I needed to see you again.” At his admission, she dropped her gaze. Unfortunately, it landed on his stomach. His white cotton t-shirt clung to skin, outlining his well-defined abs. Lifting her eyes to his chest, she regretted it immediately as the dip between the flat pads of his chest held her in thrall. He said he “needed” to see her, not wanted. She hadn’t missed the difference.

  “Oh,” she said for lack of anything more intelligent. Drew reached over and touched her chin forcing her to meet his stare.

  “Are you okay?”

  “I’m glad you came,” she said instead of answering. He dropped his hand and glanced around the room.

  “So,” he drawled sounding uncomfortable for the first time. “What do you do for fun?”

  The change in topic caught her unaware and she searched her mind for something to say. For the life of her, Aubree couldn’t think of a single thing. “Well, I was taking private kickboxing lessons with Max and Ryan, but I guess those are over now,” she finally said, since she had nothing else going on.

  “I meant something you enjoy doing. That’s not fun, but I can take over your lessons, so don’t worry.”

  “I seriously doubt it,” she said feeling moved to be honest. “I don’t think I have the required balance. I haven’t learned much in the past six months.”

  “As I said, don’t worry over it. I’m better than they are, so you’ll have it licked in no time.”

  Aubree shook her head in disbelief. “I can’t decide if you’re over-the-top conceited or if you’re extremely honest.”

  Drew seemed to think it over. “Honest,” he said after a moment with a decisive nod. “There’re plenty of things I suck at, but you’re changing the subject. What do you do for fun? How do you cut loose?” She shrugged, and he released a heavy sigh. “Come on. Your life can’t be all work and paying your car note on time. There has to be some sort of hobby. When was the last time you did something completely ridiculous?”

  With a self-deprecating smile, Aubree admitted, “Apparently
when I go to a casino with my friends for the weekend, I lose my mind.”

  For the first time since he arrived at her door, a bright smile touched his lips, and it was as if she’d been given a gift. “I’m better at that as well. In case you were wondering.” She huffed at his outrageous remark, but her heart wasn’t really in it. In truth, she knew Drew was being his usual self. She also didn’t doubt every word he said was true. Slinging his arm across the back of the couch, he managed to move even closer. “I’m going to take you somewhere.” He paused and his expression turned wicked. “Of course, you’ll have to put a bra on first, though I’m not complaining,” he quickly added. “I don’t want everyone staring at what’s mine.”

  “Yours?” She asked gearing up for a rant. “What is it with you men? You all want to claim ownership as if you were buying a car. Well, I don’t care to be someone’s possession to use as they please.”

  Instead of arguing, Drew smiled at her obvious outrage. “Don’t worry. I have no problem with you using me in any way that brings you pleasure. Now go get dressed.”

  Drew held his breath, half expecting Aubree to tell him to leave. Fortunately, after a moment of assessing him with her eyes, she stood to do as he bade. He waited until she closed the bedroom door behind her before giving in to the triumphant smile growing inside him. Honestly, he wanted the opposite of dressed. The outline of her nipples showing through her shirt had tested him. However, persistence and patience were two qualities he possessed in abundance. She reminded him a lot of himself. Aubree was a tad naughty behind her distant façade. He was going to enjoy forcing her to expose it.

  When the door leading into her bedroom opened again, Aubree reemerged wearing jeans and a long sleeved, form-fitting shirt. “I hope this is okay since you didn’t say where we’re going.”