Bad Boys After Dark
Page 1
Bad Boys
After Dark
—Brett—
Everything’s naughtier after dark…
Billionaires After Dark Series
Melissa Foster
This is a work of fiction. The events and characters described herein are imaginary and are not intended to refer to specific places or living persons. The opinions expressed in this manuscript are solely the opinions of the author and do not represent the opinions or thoughts of the publisher. The author has represented and warranted full ownership and/or legal right to publish all the materials in this book.
BAD BOYS AFTER DARK: BRETT
All Rights Reserved.
Copyright © 2017 Melissa Foster
EPUB Edition
V1.0
This book may not be reproduced, transmitted, or stored in whole or in part by any means, including graphic, electronic, or mechanical without the express written consent of the publisher except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.
Cover Design: Elizabeth Mackey Designs
Cover Photography: Sara Eirew
WORLD LITERARY PRESS
PRINTED IN THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
A Note to Readers
When I first met Sophie and Brett in Mick Bad’s book, their connection was immediate and intense, and I have been excited to write their story ever since. It’s amazing how well Sophie knows exactly what Brett needs. Equally as astonishing is how she knows him better than he knows himself. I adore these two lovers, and I hope you do, too! If you’re new to the Billionaires After Dark series, you have plenty of other Bad and Wild brothers to catch up with. Each book is written to stand alone, so dive right in! For my avid fans, don’t worry; this is not the last you’ll see of the Billionaires After Dark.
You’ll find previews of more upcoming publications at the end of their story, but the best way to keep up to date with releases is to sign up for my newsletter. Plus, you’ll receive a free short story just for signing up.
www.melissafoster.com/newsletter
—Download free Love in Bloom ebooks:
www.melissafoster.com/LIBFree
—Download free reader goodies, including family trees, series order, and more:
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Happy reading! ~ Melissa
Table of Contents
Cover
Title Page
Copyright Page
A Note to Readers
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Chapter Ten
Chapter Eleven
Chapter Twelve
Chapter Thirteen
Chapter Fourteen
Chapter Fifteen
Chapter Sixteen
Chapter Seventeen
Chapter Eighteen
Chapter Nineteen
Chapter Twenty
Chapter Twenty-One
Chapter Twenty-Two
Epilogue
About Embracing Her Heart
About Billionaires After Dark
New To Melissa’s Love in Bloom Big-Family Romance Collection?
More Books By Melissa
Acknowledgments
Meet Melissa
Chapter One
BRETT BAD HATED to be subdued, in bed or in social situations, and he’d just about hit his limit. But he cherished his family, which explained why he was standing in the middle of a Manhattan perfumery at nine thirty on a Friday night, celebrating the grand opening of Cashmere, his sister-in-law’s new boutique, instead of seeking relief in the arms of a beautiful woman. He was happy for her, but as he downed a second glass of champagne, he itched to get the hell out of the refined event.
His brother Dylan sidled up to him, his eyes locked on his wife, Tiffany, standing across the room. There was a time when Dylan would be eyeing the skirts in the room, playing wingman for Brett. But like Carson and their oldest brother, Mick, Dylan had recently fallen in love, leaving Brett as the last bachelor.
A position he planned to hold on to for a very long time.
Brett might look like his brothers—tall, dark, and athletic—but that was about as far as their similarities went. He couldn’t imagine coming home to the same woman every night. Hell, he couldn’t imagine kissing the same woman every night. Although, he had to admit, after spending time with his brothers and their wives, who were so swept up in each other they practically oozed love, he could no longer stomach the meaningless talk he’d once endured when he hooked up with random women. His brothers were so happy, Brett sometimes wondered if he was missing out on some magnificent world he hadn’t been clued into. But that thought was usually followed by a laugh, a drink, and a fuck.
At least it had been, until a couple months ago.
He picked up another flute of champagne, and as he brought it to his lips, he noticed a brunette flashing a flirtatious smile in his direction. He took in her perfectly applied makeup, the practiced come-hither smile, and obviously fake breasts and waited for a pang of appreciation to hit him, for his cock to take notice, or the heat of lust to simmer inside him. A minute later, as she nudged the blonde standing beside her and the two of them headed his way, he was still waiting. Ever since Carson and Dylan’s double wedding two months ago, the desire that had once come so easily for ready and willing women had taken a decisive step back, and it was starting to piss him off.
He downed the drink and set the empty flute on the buffet table, his gaze catching on the perfect heart-shaped ass of a sexier, curvier brunette. The Magnum in his pants twitched. That’s more like it.
“Is she beautiful, or what?” Dylan said.
He knew his brother was talking about Tiffany, a tall blond sports agent who was as fierce in business as she was in love with Dylan. But as Brett said, “A stunner,” there was only one woman on his mind. The feisty one who had starred in every goddamn fantasy he’d had since he’d met her and whose sassy retorts never failed to turn him on. The one leaning closer to her friend to sniff a bottle of perfume. Sophie Roberts, his brother Mick’s legal assistant, and the beautiful temptress who blew him off every chance she got—including at his brothers’ wedding, when she’d flipped some sort of switch inside him.
The other two women neared with hopeful seduction sparkling in their eyes, and Brett planned his escape. Dylan seemed oblivious to anyone other than Tiffany, so he clued him in. “Trouble at two o’clock.”
“Aw, hell. Thanks, man.”
As Dylan headed for Tiffany, Brett set his sights on Sophie, who was being ogled by a blond dude with let’s fuck in his eyes. Brett rolled his shoulders back, sizing up the competition as he crossed the room. Competition my ass. The douche bag was definitely barking up the wrong tree. Then again, any man trying to hook up with Sophie in front of Brett was in for trouble. She may not be his, but he was bound and determined to change that. At least for one night. It was time to reset his interest meter, and he was pretty sure the only way to do that was to finally have Sophie Roberts.
Sophie bent at the waist to smell another fragrance, and Brett came up behind her, leaning in close enough to feel her softness against him, and said, “I’d know that fine ass anywhere.”
Without missing a beat, Sophie straightened her spine. Her electric-blue eyes slid down his frame, alighting every greedy ion inside him. A confident smile lifted her full lips as she met his gaze and said, “I thought I smelled cocky ex-cop.”
As an international security expert, Brett knew how to read people, and no matter how many times Sophie turned him
down, the desire in her eyes gave away what she really wanted.
“What was that? You want to smell my cock?” He paused long enough to notice, and appreciate, the effect he had on her. Her nipples strained against her curve-hugging gray dress. Stepping closer, he took in the flecks of silver in her eyes and the slight hitch in her breathing. He’d propositioned her more times than he cared to admit, and he loved each reaction more than the last. “Smelling isn’t really my thing, but if you want to get up close and personal, I can be persuaded.”
“Hey,” her friend said with a scowl.
Sophie touched the brunette’s arm, never taking her eyes off Brett. “It’s okay, Grace. You know how some guys buy cars to make up for their”—she lowered her gaze to his groin, stoking the fire inside him, and arched a brow before meeting his stare again—“deficits? Brett is a master at it. Grace Montgomery, meet Brett Bad, Mick’s youngest brother.”
“And his biggest,” Brett added with a smirk.
Now it was Grace’s turn to size him up, and she did so with a jut of her hip, a crossing of her arms, and a long, slow leer from his head to his toes, which had zero effect on him, other than amusement.
“This is Brett? The one who wants to install monkey bars in the conference room for his after-hour fantasies?” Grace reached out and lifted his chin with her index finger, making a dramatic show of assessing his features.
He got a kick out of her brazenness, but an even bigger high knowing that Sophie had talked about him.
“He’s definitely hot, Soph,” Grace said. “You sure he’s packing a minibike in there and not a Harley?”
Brett chuckled. Holding Sophie’s gaze, he said, “How about we ditch this place, have a few drinks, and maybe you can find out?”
“I’m not sure that’s a good idea,” Sophie said.
It wasn’t a no, which was more than he usually got out of her. “Since when has that stopped me from anything?”
“Probably never.” Sophie lifted her chin with a sassy smile.
“And this is a very good idea,” he assured her. Sophie was good friends with his brothers’ wives, and because of that she was often included in their outings, which meant she and Brett were together a lot. But not alone. He’d give anything to get her alone, and getting her to go for drinks with him and her friend was one step closer. “We even have a chaperone, right, Grace?”
“You are good, aren’t you?” Grace looked at Sophie. “Actually, I could use a little fun. I’ve been working like mad.”
Sophie shifted her weight from one high heel to the other. “It’s getting late.”
“We’ll only have a few drinks, not stay out all night.” That is, unless you want to.
“I’m game,” Grace said. “If for no other reason than so I can be entertained by Brett tossing out his fishing line. It’s my only night off in weeks, and I’m the one who has to work in the morning.”
Sophie bit nervously at her lip.
“Come on,” Grace coaxed. “Stop being such a Girl Scout. Besides, what do you have waiting at home? The next Kurt Remington novel?”
Kurt Remington wrote thrillers, and Brett knew the author well. When Kurt was in town, he and his siblings hung out at NightCaps, the bar Dylan owned. But this new information about Sophie surprised him. He’d always pictured her reading romance novels and watching the Hallmark Channel, dreaming of finding Mr. White Picket Fence, which, according to Mick, was why she wouldn’t give Brett the time of day.
“You read thrillers?” he asked, in case Grace had been kidding.
“Read them?” Grace laughed. “She’s devoured them since we were kids. That’s about all she does in her free time. That and dreaming about Kurt Remington, the very hot, very married, author.”
“Grace!” Sophie tried to suppress her smile. “That’s not all I do, and I don’t dream about him. I just like his writing and the way his mind works.”
“Well, Sexy Sophie, you’ve clearly got the wrong man starring in your fantasies. If thrills are what you’re into, you’re looking at the king of them.”
Sophie laughed. “You never give up, do you?”
“Not easily,” Brett admitted.
Her expression softened, and her gorgeous blue eyes moved between him and Grace. She exhaled loudly and said, “Fine. But I’m not sleeping with you.”
“You keep telling yourself that, sweetheart.”
AFTER CONGRATULATING TAWNY and assuring her that despite Brett’s assertions, she did not need a perfume that smelled like him, Sophie headed to NightCaps with Brett and Grace. An hour, and two glasses of wine later, she sat at a table in the back of the bar as Brett got up to order another round of drinks. His piercing honey-brown eyes locked on her as he tossed his sport coat over the back of the booth and unbuttoned the top two buttons on his shirt, revealing a delicious path of olive skin and a dusting of chest hair. Damn, the man had cornered the market on hot bodies. She absently licked her lips, tasting the sweetness of the alcohol and wondering what Brett’s lips tasted like. Were they sweet from the liquor, or spicy from his virility? She bet they held a hint of both. Little did he know it wasn’t Kurt Remington she dreamed about, at least not in the ways Grace thought she did. It was Brett, the most arrogant, aggressive man she knew. She usually found those traits so annoying she never gave guys who displayed them a second thought. But Brett was a beast of a different kind. He had a way of looking at her that made her feel like there was more behind his hungry stare, which might be ridiculous since he’d never even asked her out on a real date, but still, that feeling lingered.
Brett leaned into the booth beside Sophie and said, “Don’t get too hot and bothered watching my ass as I walk away.”
His snarky comment snapped her out of her reverie. What on earth was she doing there? She knew better than to test her willpower around him. She watched him walk away, trying to ignore the familiar stirring low in her belly.
“I can’t believe I let you talk me into this,” she hissed at Grace. She and Grace had grown up together in their small hometown of Oak Falls, Virginia. Grace looked like a young Andie MacDowell, with wild dark hair and mossy green eyes. She was as fun as she was cautious, and Sophie loved her to pieces. They’d both had big dreams of living in New York City, and after attending college there, they’d remained. Grace was living her dream, writing and producing off-Broadway plays, and Sophie loved her job as Mick Bad’s legal assistant.
“Are you kidding me? Sophie, he is totally into you.”
“Yeah, and anyone else in a skirt.” She glanced at Mr. Sexual Energy, with his brassy swagger and expensive slacks that hugged him in all the best places, and couldn’t deny the heat streaming through her.
“Um, no, he’s not.” Grace stepped from the booth and wiggled her hips, reminding Sophie she was wearing a skirt and Brett wasn’t hitting on her. She slid back into the booth and said, “I’m telling you, that man is all about you, babe. He hasn’t taken his eyes off you the whole time we’ve been here.”
She watched Brett lean across the bar beside a gorgeous blonde who was clearly pleased with his proximity. He said something to the woman, and in her mind Sophie imagined him saying, What are you doing later, sweetheart?
Brett glanced over his shoulder at Sophie, and the blonde followed his gaze, her smile wilting a little. Ugh. Grace was so wrong. The man was definitely not marriage material, and she had never been, and had no intention of becoming, a one-night stand.
“He only wants sex,” Sophie said, turning her attention back to Grace. She didn’t need to watch him in action. “And you of all people know what I want out of life.”
“Okay, I totally get what you’re saying. But you’ve got to hand it to him. The guy doesn’t try to hide his intentions. On some level that’s admirable.” Grace glanced in Brett’s direction. “Besides, you’ve been talking about him for the past few years like you could be interested.”
“More like I’m frustrated.”
Grace lowered her voice and s
aid, “It’s been almost a year since you got laid. Of course you’re frustrated.”
Sophie rolled her eyes. “Not sexually frustrated, and I don’t get laid. You’re confusing me with Lindsay.” Lindsay was Sophie’s carefree younger sister who did not believe in long-term relationships or marriage. Sophie loved her dearly, but she had no idea how two sisters could be brought up under the same roof and have totally different ideals.
“Well, I personally think you should consider the very available option you have before you tonight. Because I have to tell you, with how lonely I’ve been lately, even I’m wondering just how good Mr. Bad can be.”
Sophie’s stomach pitched. “You cannot be serious. You can’t go after him.”
“Careful, sweetheart. Your interest is showing,” Grace whispered as Brett returned with their drinks.
“Let’s see, we have one white zinfandel.” He placed a wineglass in front of Grace, and then he set a drink in front of Sophie. “And one Dirty Girl Scout.”
Grace laughed. “This guy doesn’t miss a beat.”
Sophie downed half her drink, trying to ignore the thrum of desire coursing through her as Brett waggled his brows.
“In your dreams,” she said as he slid into the booth beside her, bringing his warm, masculine scent with him. She reminded herself that she was strong-willed and Brett was just like the dark chocolate cake she adored but knew she shouldn’t eat too much of. She could handle him for a little while. But Grace was giving her the go-for-it look, and she couldn’t deny that spending one night with Brett might finally put out the torch she’d been carrying for him.
That’s a very bad idea.
She guzzled the rest of her drink. If her brain refused to cooperate, maybe she could dull her senses until she no longer felt the heat between them.
Brett put his hand on her leg and leaned closer, his fingers skimming her inner thigh. “How about we make those dreams come true?”
Sophie peeled his hand from her leg and set it on his own.