Pulling the dress from her body, he lets it fall to the floor. He unhooks her bra, suckling her breasts in his mouth. He moans and whispers how beautiful she is with each action. He walks in front of her, taking her in. She’s wearing her favorite garter and stockings, it drives men crazy, and she knows it.
Brett can’t believe he’s got his hands on Alexa Drake. He knows what’s about to happen next will sever his friendship with Scott. It could even hurt the business but he couldn’t think of anything other than sliding his cock inside this beautiful woman.
“Tell me what you plan to do, slave?” she whispers. Suddenly, she finds herself wanting to drop to her knees in front of the impressive erection jutting out in front of her.
“If it pleases mistress, I want to taste you.”
Oh shit, it sure would please me.
This is the point of no return. If she wants to make a point to Scott, this is her opportunity to do just that. She moves closer. “Kiss me first,” she says, taking a moment to collect her thoughts.
Brett wraps his fingers around the back of her neck and pulls her into a sensuous kiss, his free hand exploring her body with abandon. His lips glide down her neck, sucking gently. His touch feels unbelievably good. She wants his tongue between her legs. It’s her favorite thing in the world and she’s positive he’s going to be good at it.
There’s just one problem…
Scott’s last words to her flash in her mind. Non-negotiable. Gone. Forever. This act she was about to do, was the one thing that Scott would never forgive. She couldn’t do it. She couldn’t take the chance.
“Stop. Please.” Her voice breaks through the darkness.
Brett looks at her, his face crestfallen. “No, Alexa… please.”
“I can’t, Brett. I’m sorry. I’m just not ready to go all the way there.”
He runs his hands through his hair. “Didn’t it feel good? Wasn’t I pleasing you?”
“Yes, it felt amazing. Honestly. But I told you, I’m beyond fucked up. You just didn’t listen to me.”
“You have tried to warn me. That’s fair. I don’t know what to do now. I want to leave and take what little bit of pride I have left with me. But I want to stay and try to understand how to change this.”
“I don’t know if you can. I need time. And space. Go back to Spain. Let me get my head on straight.”
“Do you like me at all, Alexa?”
“Yes, I do. More than I was expecting.”
He smiles. “That makes me feel very good to hear.”
“Brett, I’m going to do my best to be honest here. I do like you, I am attracted to you, and you made me feel awesome tonight. But…believe it or not, actual sex is something that is really important to me and I am just not ready to go there with you yet. But I swear it’s not personal.”
“Yeah, I know. It’s not me. It’s Scott.”
She tenses up. The one thing she didn’t want was to hear him speak Scott’s name again.
“Okay, listen. I’m going to go back to Spain. But I’m going to call you and we’re going to be friends at a minimum. Over time, maybe there can be more. I won’t chase you and make your life harder than it has to be. I have one suggestion though.”
“I’m all ears.”
“You should go to him. Both of you are suffering and it’s clear neither one of you can move on to someone else yet.”
“I’ll keep that in mind.”
She grabs a robe and watches him dress silently, dignified. He is definitely a catch. She is just too tied up in Scotty to do anything about it. She walks him to the door and kisses him softly on the mouth. “Thank you for tonight and for understanding.”
“You got it. If you change your mind, just say the word.” He strokes her cheek. “I hope whoever you end up with that you’re happy. We all deserve to be happy.” Brett opens the door and standing in the doorway is a very drunk, very pissed off, Scott Patrick.
“Scotty! How did you get up here?” Alexa asks, startled.
He holds up his visitor pass from the other night. “You let me have this.” His words are slurred and she knows this is not going to be good.
“Come on, Scott.” Brett puts his arm over his shoulder. “Let’s get you sobered up. Then you two can talk.”
Scott jerks his arm away. “Did you fuck my Alexa?”
“Scotty—” Alexa starts.
“No!” He points at her. “You don’t answer. You, Brett. Did you fuck my girl?”
“No, I didn’t.”
“Why are you naked?” he yells at Alexa.
“Scott, you need to calm down before someone calls the cops,” Brett says.
“I don’t give a fuck. You were here for hours, Brett. Hours. Did you touch her?”
Oh shit. Please, Brett, don’t tell him.
“No. I didn’t touch her.”
“Liar!”
Brett drags him inside the apartment, realizing he isn’t going to calm down. Alexa shuts the door and paces the living room.
Scott rushes towards her, but Brett deftly holds him back. “I told you I would leave forever if you fucked him.”
“I didn’t,” Alexa says.
“You fucked her, Brett!” Scott is completely unreasonable right now. She knows that she is the only one that can calm him down and that having Brett here is only making it worse.
“You took my girl. She’s mine! You could have anyone else, why her?”
Brett pulls his head back. “I didn’t take her. I assure you, she is yours.” His voice is very calm, almost soothing. Brett convinces Scott to sit on the couch.
Alexa’s door buzzes and she pushes the intercom speaker. “Yes?”
“Miss Drake, we’ve had a noise complaint. Are you doing okay up there?” James asks, his voice full of concern.
“I’m absolutely fine. Mr. Patrick had a little too much to drink but we’re okay. We’ll keep it down.”
“Yes, ma’am. Call if you need anything.”
“I will. Thank you, James.” She hangs up. “You’re being too loud, Scotty. You can only stay if you calm down.”
He crosses his arms and pouts like a child.
“Brett, why don’t you go now? I can take it from here,” Alexa says, as she starts a pot of coffee.
“Are you sure? He can be a lot to handle when he’s drunk.”
“I have a lot of experience with it.” She smiles.
“Okay, if you’re sure.”
“Yes, it’s better, I think.”
“What are you saying to her?” Scott calls out from his place on the sofa.
“I told her I was leaving.”
“Good!” he yells again.
“I’ll call you, Brett. Sorry you had to get involved in this.”
He smiles at her. “It was worth it, while it lasted.” Brett leaves and Alexa is faced with a belligerent Scotty.
“You’re naked. Did you fuck him? Tell me the truth.”
“No, Scotty.”
“He wanted to?”
“Yes.”
“You wanted to?”
“Yes.”
Scott leans forward and slaps his hand against the coffee table. He stares at her, his eyes filled with a look of despair she’s sure she’s never seen.
“Do you like him, baby girl? Do you want him more than me?”
“I like him. But I couldn’t sleep with him because of you.”
“I don’t get it. You have your clothes off. You were going to let him. Why?”
She throws her hands up in the air. “God, Scotty! Isn’t it obvious? I’m trying to get you out of my head.”
“Why do you want me out of your head? I don’t understand why you don’t want me.” His voice is pleading, desperate. She’s seen Scott drunk many times but she’s never seen him like this.
“I never said that.” She walks to the kitchen and pours them both a cup of coffee. She already knew it was going to be a long night. “Drink this, Scotty,” she says, handing him a cup.
He takes a sip, but his eyes remain wild. He grabs her wrist and pulls her hand to his heart. “You’re killing me, Alexa.”
“I’m not trying to.”
“I hate what I am right now.”
“I do too. What you did to me today was horrible. It really hurt me.”
He rubs his forehead, clearly struggling to regain his composure. “I don’t want to hurt you. You are the last person on the planet I want to hurt. But I didn’t know what else to do. You were being so defiant. And then flirting with him and seeing him again…I’m fucking going crazy.”
“I was wrong to mess with you like that, Scotty, but…you’re driving me crazy too. My life was just fine before you showed up here.”
“Was it, Alexa? Were you happy without me? Because I haven’t been happy a day since you left New York.”
She sighs deeply. She had no idea where this conversation was going. Where did he get off telling her this crap? He had no problem kicking her to the curb when he was done.
“Why did you come here tonight? Did you want to see me with Brett?”
“I came here because you’re fucking mine.”
“Scotty…”
“I wanted him to leave. I was going to stand outside all night until he left. Then hours passed and I thought… I thought he was fucking my girl and I couldn’t stand it. I was going to kick his ass if I had to.”
“Scott, he’s been your best friend for years. I don’t want to come between you.”
“Nothing else matters. Don’t you see that? Why do you think I came to London? What more do I have to do or say to fucking show you how I feel? Why won’t you believe me?!” He stands, splashing coffee on the table. He walks across the room and stares out the balcony doors.
“How do you feel, Scotty? Instead of all these games, and power plays, and meanness between us, why don’t we try using words? Why did you come here? How do you feel? I’d love to know.” Not once in all the years that she has been in his world has he talked about feelings.
“I came here because I… because…,” his voice trails off
“Because what, Scotty?” she asks, exasperated.
He turns to face her. “Because, I love you.”
She drops her coffee cup, splashing its contents everywhere, ignoring the mess it made.
“What did you say?” Her voice softens.
He rushes to her and holds her in his arms, kissing her softly on the mouth. “Alexa, I love you. I always have. I just didn’t know how to show it. I’ve been miserable since you left New York. I thought the feelings for you might go away over time but they didn’t. When Brett said he wanted to meet you, I knew I had to come and see you too. I can’t stand living my life without you in it anymore.”
“You’ve gone mad,” she whispers softly.
“Yes, over you. It’s not so hard to believe I’m in love with you, is it?”
“This is more about sex for you than love, I think.”
“No, baby girl. I’m sure of it. I can have sex with anyone. But I wake up every fucking day thinking about you. I wonder if you’re happy, if you live in a nice place, if you’ve made friends. I wonder if anyone is in your bed with you and if he knows how to make your coffee. I wonder if anyone knows how gorgeous you are when you don’t have any makeup on and if anyone kisses that mole on the small of your back for you. I wonder if anyone makes you smile, like I used to. I wonder if you’ve given your heart to anyone. Mostly, I wonder if you have any feelings for me at all.”
She tries to pull away, but he holds her tight. “Too many to name, Scotty. Too many.”
“Are any of them love?”
“I don’t know anything about love.”
“Yes, you do. It’s in there somewhere. It’s my fault you hide it.”
“What do you want me to do? Declare my love for you right now?”
He rubs her chin with his thumb. “I would take that.”
“I…”
“Baby girl, I will do anything to get you to let me back in your life. Anything. Do you understand? If you don’t love me right now, I will do what it takes to get you to. I haven’t deserved your love in the past but I am willing to change.”
Her eyes well up. Scott Patrick is confessing his love to her.
“I know you’re scared, Alexa.” He kisses her again. “I won’t dominate you anymore. I swear.”
“It doesn’t just turn off, Scotty.”
“I don’t understand. Why did you start to hate it so much? We were so good together.”
She finally pulls herself away from him. Pacing the room, she tries to think of an answer that she’s willing to give him. She takes a deep breath and decides the only answer that will work is the truth.
“Scotty, I don’t hate it. But it reminds me of you and I didn’t want to be reminded of you. It makes me feel weak, like I’m not my own person anymore, even though, physically I love it. It’s only you that can make me go to that place, only you that takes away all my power, only you that I want to give it to.”
“What’s bad about that?”
“I don’t know. I don’t know why we are even having this conversation. You say you love me but how could you? You broke me, Scott. You caused pain like nothing else. Death might be easier than healing from what you did to me.”
He looks horrified. “I know. I thought it was the right thing to do. Besides, the day after you acted like it didn’t bother you.”