by A. E. Neal
"Ahhh... fuck," I moaned and his mouth covered mine once again.
Each time he moved, I felt my muscles contract around him and I was already getting close to the edge.
"Fuck," He groaned. "You're so fucking gorgeous and your tight little pussy is gonna make me come."
"I need you, Brody. God, I need you, please don't stop."
"Fuck that's hot. Say my name again," he commanded.
My eyelids fluttered. "Brody...God. Fuck me...Brody." I cried out as I climaxed and every muscle in my body convulsed with pleasure.
"Oh... Allyson. Ahhh... fuuuuuck," he said as he thrust into me one more time before collapsing against my chest.
We stood, naked, sweaty, and panting.
"Well, that's a first for me," I whispered as his gaze locked on mine again and he looked afraid.
"Please don't run this time, Ally. I'll do anything to prove to you that I'm worth taking a risk," he said softly and cupped my face in his hands.
"I won't run, not ever. I know what I want now, it just took me a while to figure it out," I said and placed a light kiss on his forehead.
He gently lifted me back to my feet.
"You'll give me a chance then?" He asked as he buttoned his shirt and vest.
I nodded. "Yes." I said, still admiring the god of a man standing before me.
"Good. Lets start now—" he said as a wild smirk crossed his face. "Miss Monroe, I would love for you to join me on the dance floor."
"Why Mr. McCabe, I'd love to join you, but it seems someone tore my favorite pair of panties and now I feel a bit naked," I laughed.
"Oh, a girl after my own heart. I say fuck 'em and dance with me anyway," he joked.
Oh shit! There is was again. The dull ache between my legs had returned for round two. Easy, Ally...he's not a damn robot!
I smiled and met his lips for another kiss.
"I love the way you taste, Ally. I never want to stop kissing you." He said and my cheeks flushed.
I giggled, reached down and retrieved my dress. I adjusted my bustier and Brody lifted the dress over my head. The fabric fell around me and although my panties were missing, I felt the warmth of his touch linger on my skin.
"Shall we?" He asked and he tapped the button for the third floor.
The elevator began moving again and I felt my weakened legs tremble. The doors opened a moment later, we made our way back around to the grand staircase hand in hand and once we reached the bottom, he planted a soft kiss on my forehead.
"I could get use to this," I said looking up at him smiling brightly.
"I guess I should take advantage of you in confined areas more often, Miss Monroe," he teased and lifted my hand to his lips.
I laughed and like a perfect gentleman, he opened the door to the ballroom and led me inside. The air was thick with laughter and music. People crowded the dance floor as up-beat techno played overhead.
"Brody?" I asked.
"Yes, lover." He said.
"I don't want to leave your side, but I need to check on my colleague," I said.
"Oh, right. I was wondering how you got in here, but I figured you blended so well, they didn't even bother hassling you," he teased.
"I'm here for work, actually, but thanks for thinking I blended in," I laughed.
"I was actually hoping you'd like to get out of here," he said.
"That sounds good, what'd you have in mind?" I said sweetly.
"Well, I'll leave that up to you."
I reached up, wove my fingers in his messy hair and pulled him down to kiss me once more. His hands wrapped around my waist, as he pulled me closer and everything around us disappeared.
"Don't lose that thought, I'll be right back," I breathed.
"I'll wait for you at the bar," He said.
"Okay," I said and turned to find Corey amongst the crowd.
I spotted him talking to Seraphine and my stomach churned. Better now than never, I thought and made my way toward them.
"Ally, where the heck have you been?" Corey asked. "Sera, this is my colleague, Ally Monroe. Ally this is Seraphine Fern," he introduced.
"Pleasure to meet you Sera," I said quickly and turned to Corey. "I'm not feeling so hot, I think I might have eaten some bad shrimp. I think I'm gonna head home. Sorry, Corey."
"Excuse me?" Sera said and I turned to face her.
"Huh?" I asked.
"Well, I'm not fucking stupid, you dumb bitch," she spat.
"What?" I asked, confused.
"Don't play dumb with me, you stupid little cunt— I saw you with my boyfriend and I just hope you aren't getting any ideas, cause he's fucking taken. He proposed to me last week actually...truly romantic, outside under the stars in the garden, it was like a fairy tale," she rambled.
Proposed? That can't be right, can it? Shit.
"Oh, sweetie, you look a little pale, would you like some water?" She asked, but all I could hear is my heart thrumming in my ears.
I held my hand up for her to stop talking, but she kept going on and on about nights alone at his place and how he brought her flowers tonight before they arrived together. I felt queasy and utterly mortified.
Corey stepped backwards and the look on his face was pure shock. I probably had a similar look on mine too. "Ally, what the hell is going on?" Corey asked.
I shrugged, unable to find the words to explain what the hell was happening.
"So sweetheart did he bag you on the first try? Doesn't surprise me, you know. Once a playboy always a playboy, but I've got him wrapped around my finger," Sera said and held her pinky out, while she made circles around it with her other hand.
The bile rose in my throat, I knew I needed fresh air, but she grabbed my arm and dug her nails in.
"Listen up, whore. I don't know who the hell you think—"
"That's enough, Sera. Let her go!" Brody shouted from behind me. I felt his hand on my back and I attempted to free myself from her grasp; Sera didn't let go, she actually tightened her grip on my arm.
"Oh, speak of the fucking devil. Where the hell have you been, huh?" She spat.
"I think we should take this elsewhere, not create a scene, don't you agree, Sera?" Corey asked.
"No! Fuck you both. We're gonna settle this right now. So Brody, are you fucking her now?" Sera snapped and I stepped back in hopes that she'd let me go, but she dug her nails in further as she swayed a little.
"Jesus, Sera. You're drunk. Just let her go and we can talk about this outside," he said.
"NO! This is my fucking party and you and your fucking tramp—"
"So help me Sera, if you don't let her go—"
"Then what, you're gonna hit me? Fine, fucking do it. My dad's over there, make sure he sees you when you do it," she threatened.
"Let go, Sera," he said calmly and grabbed her wrist.
"OUCH!" She screamed. "You're hurting me!"
Within moments, the hotel security guards ran to her side, meanwhile the music stopped and everyone fell quiet. Brody dropped her hand and her palm connected with his cheek, causing a loud "smack".
She released her grip on my arm, turned to the security guards and ordered them to escort us out of the hotel immediately.
A guard gripped my arm, pulled me forward as the other did the same with Brody. They led us outside and to my surprise, every painful moment was caught on camera. The paparazzi swarmed the entrance, I stood stunned and Brody took my hand. He shielded me from the chaos, lead us through the sea of reporters and hailed a cab.
"Brody, Brody. Are you having an affair with this woman?!" One reporter shouted.
"Brody, does Seraphine know you've been cheating?!" Another shouted.
"Brody, what's her name?" Followed closely by, "What's your name, miss? Are you Brody's new flavor of the month?"
One of them actually asked, "How long have you been sleeping with him, miss?"
The cab couldn't have pulled up at a better time. Brody opened the door, ushered me inside and followed quick
ly behind. The door shut and he yelled to the cab driver, "move, move, move!"
The taxi screeched forward, leaving the photographers behind us. I turned around just to check for sure. No one was following us, but I felt like they had taken a piece of my dignity with their pictures.
"Where to, Sir?" The driver asked.
"Uh. Just take this for a few miles until I know we're not being followed," he instructed.
"Are you okay, Ally?" He turned to face me and ran his hands over the imprint on my arm.
"Yeah. Not hurt, so I guess I'm good," I said, still dazed by what had happened in such a short amount of time.
"Sera's full of shit, Allyson. Whatever she said, is bullshit. All of it. I promise you," he said and placed a soft kiss on my head.
"Don't. Please don't do that," I whispered.
"Please believe me when I tell you, Sera is out for blood, she'll do or say anything to stay in the spotlight. Please, Ally. Give me that much at least," he said.
"Tell me one thing, Brody. Sera said you proposed to her, is that true?" I said and felt the tears sting the corners of my eyes.
He held my hand tightly and simply said, "No."
Could I believe him? Or should I believe that crazy bitch? I took a deep breath.
"I just want to go home now. I'm exhausted."
"Ally—"
"Please, Brody. I just need some time to process what the hell just happened," I said as I kept my gaze trained on the dashboard meter.
"Okay, I'll take you home, but promise me you'll give me a chance to explain everything," he said and I could sense the hurt in his voice.
I wanted to give him my heart, my everything, but I was battling with the fact that I may never be able to call him mine. Not now and maybe never.
"Okay," I agreed. "Give me your phone."
He reached inside his jacket, pulled out his phone and handed it to me. I punched my number in and hit send.
"That's my number. I should've given it to you a while ago," I said softly and leaned forward to give the driver my address.
"Thank you," he said.
"For?" I asked.
"For giving me a chance, not many people I know would do that," he said.
"Don't get your hopes up just yet, I don't know if I'm ready for all this."
"Please don't say that, Allyson. I'll give you all the time you need to think it over, but please don't give up on us. This is the first time I've felt this way toward someone and I don't want to end it before it's even begun," he said and took my hand in his.
He used the pad of his thumb to make circles over my knuckles and I closed my eyes, just so I could remember the warmth of his touch. Forever.
Chapter 21
Brody
The taxi pulled to the curb in front of her townhouse and stopped. I opened the door and quickly came around to help her out of the car, but she'd already beat me to it.
"Ally?" I asked.
She turned to face me, but her head was down and she stood quietly with her arms crossed against her chest.
"Allyson, please look at me," I said and reached out to touch her face. She leaned her cheek against my palm and looked up at me with her glossy, ice blue eyes.
I cupped her face in my hands, leaned down and kissed her forehead.
"Please, Brody—" She said softly. "Just go."
"Okay," I said, kissed her forehead again and got back inside the cab.
I've lost her. I knew it, the moment I saw the pain in her eyes. She would never trust me again, nor would she ever give me a chance to explain how much of a psychotic bitch Sera actually was. Worst. Night. Ever.
* * *
I opened the refrigerator door, pulled out a cold beer and popped the top off. The cool liquid temporarily numbed me, but once the bottle was finished, I felt like I'd lost everything again.
I could still smell her sweet perfume on my skin and her taste on my lips. I pulled my jacket, vest and bow tie off; tossing them to the floor. I needed to talk to her, I needed to make her understand, but I also knew she needed time. I was willing to give her all the time she needed to think things over, but I wouldn't give up. Not ever.
I made my way down to the bar to talk to Finn, even though I knew it would be busy tonight because #HashTag was playing.
I unlocked the back door and headed down the hallway. 80's rock filled the air along with whistles and screams from the crowd. I swung the double doors open, every square foot of the bar was occupied, tables of drunken college students and the occasional regulars sang along as the band played their rendition of 'Jessie's Girl'.
I spotted Finn behind the bar, Amy and the new girl, who's name I could never remember were loading trays of drinks near the far end. I slipped behind the bar and waved at Finn.
He hurried over with a couple of pints of beer in his hands. "Hey, B. Didn't expect to see you here tonight," he shouted over the music and handed the beer to a guy waiting patiently at the edge of the bar.
"Yeah, I wasn't planning on it either," I said.
"What's up, brother? You look like hell," he asked.
"Can you get Amy to fill in for you? I need to talk to you," I said.
"Sure, man," he said and motioned for Amy to join us behind the bar.
"Hi, Boss," she said sweetly.
"Amy," I said, "would you mind covering for Finn for a few minutes? I need to have a word with him in back."
"Sure, but make it quick, we're slammed tonight," she said.
"We'll be right back," I said and clapped Finn on the shoulder.
Finn followed as I made my way to the back office. We reached the end of the hallway and I unlocked the door. I filled the light switch on, invited him in and took a seat behind my desk. He followed and sat down in the chair across from me.
"Seriously, B. What the fuck is going on?" He asked.
"I don't even know where to start, man. It's been a rough fucking night," I said.
"So, I take it, Sera's party was to blame for the way you look right now?" He asked.
I began to tell him the events that took place earlier in the night. From riding with Sera to the hotel, Allyson and I sneaking off like a couple of horny teenagers and the overall reason as to why I was sitting in my bar right now instead of spending my night with Ally.
"I told you that bitch Sera, was bad news, man," Finn said.
I shook my head. "Yeah, you were definitely right about her. I just don't know how to fix this, Finn. I know I told you I had to stay away from Ally, but something happened tonight and it was like she was finally opening up to me. As crazy as that sounds, I just couldn't keep my eyes off of her. She looked so fucking beautiful and if it's any consolation, she kissed me."
"Brody, my brother, I'm not usually a sappy guy and I hate to be the one to break the news to you...but you're fucking in love with her, ever since the first time you talked about that girl, I knew you'd fallen for her," Finn said.
Finn had rendered me speechless. It hadn't even crossed my mind, that I might be falling in love with my little fox. I wasn't in love with her, was I?
"No, Finn you're wrong. There's no way in hell I'm falling for her. I've only known her for two fucking weeks," I said, really just trying to convince myself.
He laughed, "Whatever you gotta tell yourself, man."
"Fuck," I said and rested my head in my hands.
"Take her out. You know, on a real fucking date. Dinner, a movie, bowling, or some shit. Just take her out somewhere that isn't a bar or your ex's fucking birthday party," he said.
I laughed. "Yeah, if she'll even talk to me again."
"She will. Just give her some time to let this shit blow over."
"Thanks, Finn— So, when did you become such a relationship expert?" I joked.
"I've been friends with you for so long, I've learned a lot," he teased.
"Ha. Ha," I said dryly.
"I gotta get back, cause I'm sure Amy's about ready to shoot me."
"Thanks, buddy," I said as
he rose and clapped me on the shoulder.
Finn shut the door behind him and I sat in the bare, windowless office and listened to the booming of the drums. I needed a drink or anything to occupy my mind. I walked back to the bar and if Finn had read my mind, he slid a glass of whiskey in front of me.
"Thanks," I said and he smiled.
I turned to watch the band perform and leaned back against the cool bar top.
"Brody, right?" The petite, dark haired, tattooed girl asked.
"Yeah," I said, suddenly recognizing who she was.
"Kennedy," she said and offered her hand.
"Ally's best friend, right? It's nice to meet you Kennedy," I said and shook her hand.
"You look awfully dressed up to be hanging out in a bar, Brody."
I nodded. "Yeah, well things didn't quite turn out like I expected tonight," I said.
"You're referring to the masquerade party, I assume?" She asked.
Shit. How'd she know? Had Allyson talked to her already? Zac warned me about this one.
"Yep. That would be the one," I said.
"I like you, Brody. I think you're a decent guy," she began and I knew I was in for it, "I only know half of why Ally's so torn up, she sounded so hurt and I can only assume you had something to do with that. I've know her half my life and she's been trapped in her own world for so long, she doesn't know what it's like to feel anything for another person. So, I swear to God, if you fucking hurt her, I'll rip your balls off and shove them down your throat. Are we clear?"
"Crystal," I said and nodded.
"Good," she said. "Buy me a drink?"
"Of course, whatever you want. It's on the house," I said and she turned around to order another drink from Finn.
"I wasn't lying when I said I thought you were a decent guy. So, tell me, Brody. What's going on between you and that fucking Fern bitch?"
"Long story, but it's over between us and has been for a while now. I owed her a favor, so I escorted her to the party tonight," I said and took another swig from my glass.
"So, really you're saying she's a psychotic whore bag, am I right?"
"That's one way of saying it nicely," I said.
"I believe you, I do. But it's gonna take a lot more to make Ally believe it. And somehow, she's going to have to explain why her picture is on every cover of every newspaper and magazine in Arizona," she said and held out her phone for me to see.