Can't Buy Me Love

by Abigail Drake

  Willa had decided to bring up the conversation she’d had with Hayden the night before while they drove into the city. She had broached the topic more for herself than for Brody. She’d wanted to let him know that she trusted him. Strangely enough he’d explained to her that he’d had a similar conversation with Carmody. The conversation between the two on the jetty a few days ago seemed to make more sense to them. It appeared Carmody did have her own ulterior motives and was doing her utmost to split them up. Even though Brody had told her that he would speak further to Carmody about the entire debacle, he’d chuckled about the whole thing, which had made Willa laugh in turn. They seemed like two of a kind as though nothing could extinguish the love they shared together.

  Willa grinned as she saw Brody re-enter the room. He gave her a knowing little wink which had her insides quivering, before turning to speak to the photographer. After shaking the man’s hand, Brody headed over to her. Willa felt as though her face was splitting from her wide smile, but she couldn’t help herself. She’d organized something special for them this afternoon and had been dying to tell Brody ever since she’d had the idea while eating dinner at her laptop last night.

  “What’s got you looking so pleased with yourself,” Brody crooned to her as he grabbed her hands and pulled her up from the sofa she’d been sitting on and into his arms.

  Willa giggled. “I’ve got a surprise for you.”

  His hands wrapped around her waist as hers slipped around his neck.

  “Oh, yeah?” His deep voice was like silk as he cuddled her closer.

  “How do you feel about heights?” Excitement bubbled out with her words.

  His gorgeous brown eyes narrowed on hers. “Why?”

  She loved the playful suspiciousness in his tone, it only seemed to add to the thrill she was experiencing.

  “Well,” she began slowly, “I have a friend who works at Bridge Climb, the local company who takes people on tours of the Sydney Harbor Bridge. She told me they had a couple of spots open on the tour organized for this afternoon, so…I booked the tickets.”

  Brody’s eyes brightened with enthusiasm. “Seriously?”

  Laughing, Willa nodded. “Yes. We can head on over as soon as you’re officially done here.”

  “I can’t believe this.” Brody held her closer, nuzzling his face into the sensitive skin of her neck. “I’ve always wanted to climb the Bridge,” he purred against her skin. “Thank you.”

  “You’re welcome.” She relished the feeling of his lips against her throat. “I thought it might help you with your new acting part. You said you needed to be more spontaneous, more adventurous in order to help you understand your character’s mind frame. Surely climbing four hundred and forty feet in the air might help.”

  Brody lifted his head enough to gaze down at her. Willa’s heart leapt when she saw that his eyes were wide with surprise before they then softened with affection.

  “You did that for me?” His voice was soft with disbelief.

  She nodded, but before she could speak, his mouth claimed hers and seduced all remaining sense from her brain.

  *

  “This is unbelievable!” Brody’s voice echoed before disappearing into the cooling air of the late afternoon.

  He let out a howl of jubilation to the distant world below as Willa held him close and laughed.

  “I take it you’re having a good time then?”

  He beamed at her and touched his lips to hers in a brief, but adoring kiss.

  “You’re incredible,” he told her amorously before raising his hands out in front of him and motioning to the stunning view below them. “This whole experience is just the best!”

  He wrapped an arm over her shoulders and hugged her against him as her hand slipped around his waist. Brody couldn’t believe she’d arranged something so special, so unexpected for him. He couldn’t remember the last time somebody had done something special for him without having an angle or getting something out of it for themselves in return. To think that Willa had organized it to help him with the difficulties of his current job made Brody’s heart ache with love. She had already been so supportive with his new role, doing whatever she could to help him become like his character Mike ‘The Wolf’ Karver, but this was going above and beyond. She was making his dreams come true. Willa was the one for him, Brody knew it. He’d never really believed in true love, but his soul mate had come along and found him and now, he couldn’t imagine living a life without her.

  The wind whistled through the huge metal beams around them as they gazed down at the city below, taking in all of the sights and sounds from a new perspective. After they’d left the photographer’s studio and the Esquire crew behind earlier in the afternoon, they’d driven to the Bridge Climb headquarters below the Harbor Bridge to begin their adventure. Willa had teased him when they’d slipped the blue, black and grey jumpsuits over their clothes and clicked the safety harnesses around their waists, saying she’d never seen a more attractive man in an onesie. Then he’d kissed her again and she’d completely forgotten her train of thought. Brody loved that he could do that to her, make her reality melt away.

  Once they’d been prepped for the climb and had been told what to expect, they’d headed out and started their journey. Brody had been excited by the thought of it all, but when they’d actually begun walking, taking step by step up the monstrous structure, it had been everything he’d imagined and more. He’d let the feeling sink in, washing over him as he tried to envisage doing daring things like this every day, things ‘The Wolf’ would be prepared for at a moment’s notice if things weren’t going his way. Willa had been right. The experience, the adrenalin rush had helped to give him a new perspective and he was suddenly, finally feeling more confident about his upcoming role.

  Brody glanced down at Willa, still cuddled against his side and he wondered: where had she been all of his life and why hadn’t he met her sooner? As though sensing his stare, she gazed up at him, her big beautiful amber eyes bright with exhilaration and adoration. Reaching out with his free hand, he brushed a blonde curl from her face and let it fly away, over her head in the breeze. Damn, she was beautiful. That peaches and cream skin and those luscious lips were enough to have his mouth watering. He wanted to taste her everywhere and he didn’t know how much longer he’d be able to keep those desires under his control.

  “Smile.”

  The sound of Teagan’s voice had them both spinning around to face her. She was Willa’s friend, the Bridge Climb employee who had helped her organize this last-minute adventure and was just as Willa had described her – a bubbly ball of fun who adored heights and treated all her friends like family. Even though they’d only met a short time ago, Teagan was cracking jokes and playfully teasing Brody like any good sister would. With her petite build, dark curly hair and sparklingly hazel eyes, she actually reminded him so much of his own sister, Yvette, that he’d taken to her just as quickly as she had to him.

  Teagan’s own smile was wide as she held up a small digital camera and waited for them to pose. Brody hugged Willa against him again as she did the same and he knew, without even looking, that their euphoric grins matched perfectly.

  “Gorgeous,” Teagan agreed.

  She pressed a tiny button and the camera made a dull beep sound as it took their picture. They both watched as she looked at the screen on the back of the device and saw her smile broaden.

  “Okay,” she said, glancing back up at them, “now for a couple of silly shots.”

  After a round of photos involving peace signs made with fingers, tongues poking out, an attempt to ‘hold’ a building in the distance in the palm of their hand and a sweet shot of them kissing, Teagan showed them the results before finally moving on to another couple.

  “Eternal memories,” Willa teased as her gaze drifted from Teagan back to him. “That one of us with our tongues out is definitely a keeper.”

  Brody laughed. “Yeah, one to show our grandkids.”

&
nbsp; Although she chuckled along with him, the nervous look in her stunning amber eyes made Brody wonder if she’d recognized the sincerity in his voice. He hadn’t been kidding. It was a special moment, something he wanted to share again with his family, with her family and maybe one day with their own.

  Instinctively, his arm moved around her shoulders, just as hers slid around his waist and they pulled themselves closer into the warmth of each other. When Willa rested her head on his shoulder, letting the delicious scent of her, a mixture of soap, jasmine and something that was uniquely and exquisitely her own, waft around him in the breeze, Brody couldn’t help but place a tender kiss on the top of her head.

  She giggled again, less nervy this time and more contented. “What was that for?”

  He moved his face so that his lips were against her ear. “Come home with me,” he told her.

  It hadn’t been a question, not quite a command, not even really a request. He’d heard the pure need that had filled his words, the hope, the lust, the love.

  When she didn’t answer straight away, he’d known she’d heard it, too.

  “I’ll cook,” he offered.

  Glancing up at him, away from the extraordinary view of the city, she smiled. “Is that a bribe?”

  Brody smirked. “You wouldn’t ask if you’d ever tried my cooking.”

  Willa laughed. “Okay, I’ll come home with you – if we can cook together.”

  He narrowed his gaze, his eyebrow quirked up with suspicion.

  She just shrugged. “I figure if we put our terrible cooking skills together we may be able to make something at least partially edible.”

  *

  “You know you can leave that,” Brody told her, his brown eyes glittering with humor as he watched her drag the huge pot into the soapy sink.

  “What? For the cleaners?”

  He shrugged. “Yeah. Or the dish-washing machine.”

  Teasing him, Willa held her chin high. “Unlike certain famous movies stars I know, I do my dirty dishes myself.”

  Brody laughed. “I was just trying to give you an out,” he explained as he motioned to the inside of the pot with the dishtowel in his right hand. “That cheese looks pretty burnt on.”

  Willa tried to scrape at it with a plastic glove covered finger and then frowned.

  She’d enjoyed the traditional feeling she’d had when she’d first slipped on the pink rubber gloves a little while after dinner and suggested they wash up together. It had added a sweet normality to their relationship. Down the road, she could see them doing the same thing, even though Brody’s life was anything short of ordinary. It made her hope for something she’d never really put much thought into: a long life with someone she loved. Even though they’d only known each other a short time, it seemed like a natural progression, and she was actually looking forward to the idea.

  “Look, I’ll promise not to make fun of you if you decide to give up and leave it.” Brody held his hands up, the dishcloth around one, as though in surrender.

  Willa eyed him warily. “You think I’d give up that easily?”

  He shrugged, but his mocking smirk was a declaration of war.

  Snatching up a handful of bubbles, she took a deep breath and blew them at him, sending soapy white clouds up into the air and in the direction of his face. With a deep laugh, Brody moved quickly and extinguished a few bubble bombs with a wave of the dishcloth, but missed the higher couple that landed on his forehead. When they touched his skin, Brody’s eyes rolled upward as though trying to see the extent of the damage. An uncontrollable giggle burst from Willa’s lips. The mischievous promise in Brody’s gaze had her own eyes widening and then she squealed with excitement and little bit of playful terror as she dashed off toward the living room.

  “It was a total accident,” she giggled over her shoulder as she ran.

  “I don’t think so.” Brody’s velvety voice held a lilt of menace causing Willa to move faster.

  Glancing back, she managed to skip out of reach, just as he made a lunge for her and put the long, cream-colored sofa between them.

  “You were supposed to be cleaning the dirty dishes, not me.” He purred threateningly.

  Willa shrugged as though unfazed, but shifted from foot to foot anxiously, prepared to run off again at any moment.

  “Maybe you had a dirty mind?” She touched her forehead, pointing to herself to show where the soapsuds had landed on him.

  Brody brushed at the puffs of white soap which remained on his skin. “You know you’ll have to pay for that?”

  The teasing tone in his voice had her heart racing in anticipation. She forced her expression to soften innocently. “Me? Obviously, it was my evil twin.”

  Brody rolled his eyes. “Obviously.”

  She nodded. “And, so I shouldn’t be punished for something she’s done.”

  He seemed to poise himself, muscles tightening as though he was just about ready to pounce. “I think that this time, we can make an exception.”

  When he lunged toward her, she squealed again and ran, but just wasn’t quick enough for him. He snagged her around the waist and dragged her onto the soft cushions of the sofa. She giggled as they bounced, then Brody pulled her beneath him and knelt above her. Grinning roguishly, he grabbed her hands in the damp, pink plastic gloves and raised them over her head to rest on the soft sofa arm. With his free hand, he tickled her ribs through the lavender-colored cotton of her blouse. Willa giggled and squirmed, then almost got her hands free before his grip altered and tightened, holding her still in place. She laughed so hard, her stomach hurt.

  “I’m too ticklish. No. I can’t take it,” she giggled as his hand moved to her stomach again.

  Brody’s wicked grin darkened slightly as his gaze raked over her torso. His hand lowered over the fabric of her blouse, just below her belly button as his fingers popped open the button there. As the warmth of his skin met hers, a breath caught in her throat.

  “Are you ticklish here?” His voice deepened throatily with desire.

  She nodded. “Yes.”

  He chuckled as his hand slipped beneath the material to stroke gently over the bare skin of her ribs. “And here?”

  She murmured her agreement and then bit her lower lip. All the fight had now drained from her. Even though his hand still held hers securely above her head, she wasn’t about to try to escape. It all felt too good, his strong hands on her skin, the supported weight of him resting on her thighs, the heat of his body so close to her intimate core. Her insides turned molten as electricity tingled from his fingertips through her veins, turning her nipples hard and melting the sensitive spot between her legs.

  “How about here?” Brody’s fingers snuck just below the rim of her lacy bra to draw a delicate line under her right breast.

  Her answer was almost a moan. She watched him lick his lips, his dark eyes focused hard on her own as his hand moved beneath the fabric to cup the supple mound. Again, her breath caught and her head fell back further into the sofa cushion. As his fingers found her nipple, lightly pinching the peak, her gaze met his again. He stared down at her for a little longer, the look of desire and longing in his eyes making her heart swell, before he bent his head to press his lips to hers.

  The touch of his mouth was light at first as he lowered the hard line of his body to rest against the smoothness of hers, but it quickly became fervent with each chaste taste. He nipped at her lower lip and then devoured her, tongue plundering, dancing with hers, then licking her teeth, her kiss-swollen lips. As he pressed himself against her, the hard length of him restricted by the denim of his pants, she opened her own jean-clad thighs to him and moaned as the heavy pressure of his solid erection hit its target.

  Feeling the hand around her wrists loosen, Willa slipped free of his grasp, quickly dispensing with the pink rubber gloves before letting her hands roam over his body. They glided under his shirt, up along his muscular back and then down to clasp around the rough material covering each perfe
ctly rounded butt cheek. Brody groaned as his hips rocked against hers, pushing himself into the heat of her, and making her body ignite with greedy desire.

  How had they managed to wait so long? Willa couldn’t comprehend it. She knew she’d wanted to wait, wanted to get to know the real him before they took things too far, but now her lust for him seemed insatiable. She felt as though she was burning from the inside out with the painful yearning, the ardent hunger she had for him.

  As Brody’s fingers caressed her body, covering one breast then the next and moving behind her back to unclip her bra, Willa’s hands snuck between them, tugging at his belt buckle and then his fly. She yanked his blue shirt over his head while he completely freed her of her lavender blouse and the crumpled mess of her lacy brassiere. When his lips found her pert nipple, she gasped. He suckled there, teasing her with his tongue, while her fingers stroked through the silk of his dark hair. Brody kissed a line up her skin to her throat and back down the other side, capturing her other breast with his mouth. A small cry caught in her throat as his teeth nipped at her skin and then she couldn’t help it anymore, she was grabbing at him, pulling his mouth to hers. Willa kissed him, ate at the sweetness of him while she tugged at his pants, at hers. Brody laughed into their kiss, surprising Willa in her haste and making her smile against him.

  “What?” Her voice was husky and desperate with passion.

  Brody chuckled again, then kissed her, sucking at her mouth, making her mind and body melt. His grin was wide and delighted when he finally paused to let her catch her breath.