Broken (Breaking the Rules) (23 page)

“You’re right. It’s completely messed up, Andi, but this is life. You have to learn to deal with these situations. When he cools off, talk to him. He owes you an explanation for the same fucking thing this morning.”

I didn’t say anything. I knew she was right. He had been quick to get pissed for the same thing. We needed to talk.

“The one good thing about it all was that you and Bray were finally able to put the idea of a possible reunion away. I think you both know that won’t ever happen again.”

I smiled because it was true. We were better off as friends. Even though we had once had a good connection, the heat I felt when I was with Jackson overpowered anything I had ever had with Bray. Dr. Sweeney would be proud at least of the healing that had taken place between me and Bray. He always said that I needed to forgive him. Bray would always hold a special place in my heart, but we could never become romantically involved again.

“Yeah, he says it’s like kissing his sister now.” I laughed at our earlier conversation.

“Gross, has he kissed his sister before? Shit, it’s like he’s got something to compare it to,” she teased, trying to sound appalled. She knows he’s an only child which doesn’t make it any less funny.

We burst into giggles as Olive walked in. She took one look at us on the couch and ran over to sit with us, pulling my legs into her lap. These girls were like my sisters. They were always there when I needed them.

The next morning, I dressed with purpose. I was going to figure out a way to win Jackson back. He needed to see that Nadia was no good for him and that I was. We had something hot and meaningful together. I didn’t want to throw it all away because of misunderstandings. I hoped that was really all that had been with him and Nadia.

Instead of a suit, I opted for a tight sweater dress. It was low cut, showing off my ample cleavage. It was shorter than my skirts, but I paired it with some heeled knee-high boots, attempting to not make it appear so short. Today, I was leaving the panties at home.

I made sure to straighten my hair, making my blond locks seem impossibly longer. My makeup looked sexy and dramatic. Glancing at my reflection, I smiled. I looked hot, and Jackson was going to notice. He always did.

My appointment with Dr. Sweeney wasn’t until ten. That gave me some time to seduce Jackson.

Once I arrived, I strode right into his office, closing the door behind me. He looked up from his paperwork and his chocolate eyes darkened when he took in my appearance. Forcefully tearing his eyes away from me, he stared back down at his papers.

“Can I, uh, help you?” he stammered, hoarsely.

I sauntered over and around to his side of the desk and perched on the edge of it. His hands gripped both sides of his chair, knuckles turning white as he tried to refrain from touching me.

“Bray was comforting me. For a confused moment, I thought I wanted his touch, but it was only because I was trying to cover up the hurt you had caused me. I even called him Jackson.” He smirked at that statement. “How do you explain what was going on with you and Nadia?”

“Nadia came in here trying to talk me out of the divorce. She’s a money-hungry bitch. When she came in, she dropped her coat and threw herself at me. I was trying to push her away when you walked in. After you left, I completely bitched her out. I had to go after that because I needed to completely cool off before I talked to you.”

He no longer could control his hand, and it slipped up to rest on my knee just above my boot. When I shivered from his touch, his eyes flew to mine, searing them with the heat in his gaze. I licked my lips, and his grip on my knee tightened, bruising the flesh. The space between my legs moistened as I anticipated more from him.

“Andi, things are nothing but complicated for us. I don’t see how this could possibly work.”

I spread my legs a little, giving him a preview, and he groaned. The bulge in his slacks was proof that he wanted me.

Ignoring his words, I slipped off the desk and knelt before him. His eyes melted me with their heat. Quickly, I unfastened his pants and yanked them down to his ankles. Looking up at him with hooded eyes, I licked the top of his shaft. His eyes rolled back in his head.

“Shit, Andi.”

Taking those words as encouragement, I wrapped my mouth around his large girth and began bobbing up and down. His hands found their way to my hair and he gripped tightly. I dug my fingernails into his thighs as I took him deep in my throat.

He cursed and pushed my head farther down, almost gagging me. But I relaxed as he pumped his orgasm down my throat. Pulling away, I licked the remaining semen off of my lips and his dick that had been falling flaccid jerked back to life. He really couldn’t resist my lip licking.

He was looking down at me, his face unguarded and full of love. I beamed back at him, mirroring his face. His look quickly turned dark as he stood up, nearly knocking me over as he yanked his pants up and fastened them. “Get the fuck out of my office. Keep whoring around and you’ll get your ass fired.”

He was glaring down at me, and I suddenly felt like a fool. What was wrong with him? Tears rolled down my eyes as I awkwardly rose to my feet. His gaze softened for a split second but was fleetingly masked by one of hatred towards me.

Who was I kidding? This man harbored secrets that wouldn’t allow him to get close to anyone. He’d proven it time and time again. My heart was going to fucking hurt after this one but he wouldn’t break me. Been there. Done that. Not doing it again.

Straightening my skirt, I met his stare evenly. “You’re going to die a lonely old man if you keep letting your shriveled-up black heart control your destiny. This was your last chance. I am worth more than what you clearly think I am. Have fun finding a new assistant, because I quit. I would suggest you hire a man. I’ll send Jordan my formal resignation later this afternoon.”

Turning on my heels, I stalked out of his office and towards Dr. Sweeney’s.

“Andi, I’ve missed you. How are you doing?” Dr. Sweeney asked once I settled onto the sofa in his office.

“I’m fine. It’s been a hell of a week and you wouldn’t believe me even if I tried to explain it,” I sighed heavily.

“Try me,” he quipped.

“Okay, so I had one more rendezvous last weekend and met a guy that I really liked. When I walked into my new job on Monday, he turned out to be my new boss. We tried to keep the relationship going, but he is so hot and cold with his emotions that it was really a battle. If things weren’t awkward enough, Brayden started working there on Tuesday.”

Dr. Sweeney eyed me over his glasses in disbelief. Glancing back down, he started writing in his damn notebook. Well, hell.

“Anyway, our budding relationship had me feeling alive for the first time since breaking up with Bray. I felt something in my little broken heart that made me realize it was still alive and ticking in there. And just as easily as he helped pump life into it, he wounded it as well. We’ve been playing a game of ‘break it then fix it’ over and over again.”

He nodded at me, motioning for me to continue.

“We finally got to a good point in our relationship where he opened up some to me. Things were really looking up. That’s until his ex showed up. I walked in his office and saw her naked body pressed against him. He appeared to be kissing her back and I was hurt. When I came back from lunch, he was gone. He never tried to call me or anything, leaving me to believe he had chosen her over me.”

A tear slipped out even though I was angry over everything.

“Well, Brayden and I had kind of mended our relationship, happy to be just friends. He took me home and one thing led to another and we kissed.” I left out the details because the frown on his face already told me he didn’t like where this was going.

“Once Bray and I realized we were better as friends and that the kiss was a mistake, we hugged. Well Mr. Sometimes Hot and Sometimes Cold decided to walk in during that moment. I’m not going to lie, it looked pretty bad even though it wasn’t. He stormed off and left me.”

Dr. Sweeney continued to write in the notebook. At this rate, he’d have enough material for a novel. I wondered if he would use my real name or give me an alias. Maybe Jennifer Lawrence would play me in the movie. He cleared his throat, pulling me from my thoughts.

“This morning I decided I would get him back. I went into his office, and just when I thought we would be able to fix things for good, he turned back into his cold self, pushing me away for the final time. I told him I quit. So now I’m officially unemployed too.”

His jaw dropped as he tried to find words to say but was interrupted when his secretary peeked her head in the door.

“I’m so sorry Dr. Sweeney, but one of your patients is here demanding to see you. He says it’s an emergency.”

“Carla, tell him I’ll be right there.”

She scurried back out of the office to pass on the message.

“Andi, I am so sorry. Sit tight while I go deal with this. I’m going to calm him down and reschedule him for after your appointment. He can wait twenty more minutes.” He excused himself and stepped out of the office.

Hopefully Pepper will feel like going out tonight.
I needed to force my mind to think about something other than the drama of Jackson.

Suddenly I heard shouting on the other side of the door. I scampered over to it to eavesdrop.

“I fucked up, Doc. She’s gone for good. The one fucking thing I did right was get her to care for me but I went off and ruined it. I’m falling for her, Doc, but it’s too late. You should have seen the look of horror on her face when I dismissed her. I fucking died inside but was too much of a coward to do anything about it.”

Holy shit. The crazy patient was Jackson. I didn’t even feel guilty a bit at eavesdropping because he was pouring out his heart about me. It was something he hadn’t been able to do with me but my heart swelled at his words. He truly did care for me. It was all an act to protect his own heart.

“When I caught my own father fucking my wife in our bed, I
fucking
lost it. I vowed I would never open up to anyone again. Two people that I loved
the fucking most
had betrayed me. When this girl came along, she rocked my damn world. Everything I had trained myself to believe, she tested. She was changing me and it pissed me off. I don’t deserve to be with someone like her. I’m a fucking murderer!”

What the hell? He was making absolutely no sense. Dr. Sweeney was talking in calm tones so I couldn’t make out what he was saying back to Jackson. A murderer?

“I did murder him! I might not have pulled the trigger but it was because of me. If you had only heard the slew of terrible things I said to him, you would know that I forced him to believe those things that made him kill himself. I fucking hate him for sleeping with my wife. I fucking hate Nadia for sleeping with my father. I fucking hate him for taking his life. I fucking hate myself for being so damn stupid. What do I do, Doc? How do I get out of my own fucking head so that I can be happy for once in my miserable life?”

Wow. Jackson had said more stuff in the last five minutes than the entire time I had known him. After hearing him pour his guts out, I realized that he had only been pushing me away because I had been able to put a chink in his armor. He was protecting himself. Too bad for him, I’m a persistent bitch.

I opened the door and Jackson’s jaw dropped when he saw me standing there. “You don’t have to get out of your head. You just have to let me in,” I explained, smiling hesitantly. His armor dropped, and I saw the vulnerable soul that had briefly showed itself over the course of our time together.

Decision passed over his face and he strode over to me, pulling me into his arms. His lips met mine and he kissed me tenderly. I snaked my arms around his neck. Our kiss would have lasted longer but the clearing of Dr. Sweeney’s throat snapped us out of our trance.

“Come in the office. The three of us have discussing to do,” Dr. Sweeney groaned as he shook his head, walking past us.

Jackson grabbed my hand, pulling me with him. We sat side by side on the sofa, hands locked together.