His Favorite Mistake (Baby Its Cold Out) (5 page)

             
The room, like everything else about the house, was tastefully decorated with a queen-size sleigh bed dominating it.

             
“Oh, before I forget, I’ve left the extra key for you on the dresser, and there are extra keys to both the Jeep and truck in the table near the door. Feel free to use either of them any time you want. It’s sometimes better to have your own way around the city as opposed to depending on public transportation.”

             
Brody left her alone to get settled in but Reyna found she could do little more than stare out the window at the city lights.

             
She was exhausted all the way down to her soul, yet she couldn’t help but wonder if moving into Brody’s home, beyond the obvious trouble it posed to her willpower, was only taking the easy way out. She was leaning on him when she didn’t have that right.

              Brody was her friend, that much was true, but the truth was just as clear. She was attracted to him. Had been attracted to him from the beginning. It was useless to deny it. She knew the truth, whatever that made her. How much longer would she be able to continue this charade of being the grieving widow? How long before Brody knew the truth and hated her for it?

* * * *

              “Wake up. You can’t fall asleep here.” The sound of amusement in Brody’s voice brought her eyes open in an instant. She glanced across the table of the small Italian restaurant he’d taken her to in embarrassment.

             
“I’m sorry. I guess I’m lousy company tonight.”

             
“You’re just tired is all. Why don’t we get out of here before I end up having to carry you out?” She had to fight hard to keep from showing him just how disturbing that image was to her. Brody paid the bill, and then took her hand as they left the restaurant.

             
Outside, the night had turned colder. There was just a hint of the winter to come in the air. The truck was brought around and Brody held the door open for her as she slid into the passenger seat. Reyna closed her eyes wanting only to climb into bed and sleep for days. The weight of Cade’s death had taken its toll on her. She was exhausted. Physically and emotionally drained.

             
“Reyna, wake up, love—we’re home now.” Slowly, she opened her eyes and looked around in surprise. She must have drifted off to sleep soon after they left the restaurant.

             
“I’m sorry. I don’t normally fall asleep at the drop of a hat.”

             
“You’ve been through a lot lately. More than most people could handle in a lifetime. You’re entitled. Cade’s death is finally starting to sink in, isn’t it? You know you keep things bottled up inside far too much, don’t you, Reyna? You need to let it out. Keeping your emotions inside isn’t good for you.” He closed the door and stood watching her once more. “You haven’t shown any real emotion since the night of Cade’s funeral. You’ve done everything possible to keep your feelings closed off. Why is that, Reyna? Why is it so hard for you to show your emotions? Do you think it makes you any more vulnerable than the rest of us? When you lose someone you love, you’re entitled to hurt. We all feel pain. You have to let that pain out in some way. Otherwise, it will destroy you.”

             
Reyna turned away, praying that Brody would never come to understand the truth. She hadn’t realized he’d noticed her lack of emotion following Cade’s death.

             
It was almost as if he were waiting, expecting her to fall apart at any moment. What would he say if he knew that the only emotion she felt capable of feeling toward Cade now was pity.

             
Reyna shook her head avoiding all the unasked questions in Brody’s eyes.

             
“You’re right, I am exhausted, and I think that I should go to bed. Thank you for dinner, for being there for me…for everything. You know you’re probably the only real friend I have. I would never have gotten through this without you, Brody. I don’t know if I can ever repay your kindness.”

* * * *

              Reyna closed the bedroom door, completely missing the bitter regret that touched Brody’s eyes at her words.

             
She didn’t know just how little he wanted her thanks or how much it hurt to consider friendship only with her. He couldn’t tell her any of those things.

             
Cade was the love of her life. She believed she could never love or be loved by any other person in such an all-consuming way again.

             
At that moment, Brody almost hated Cade for being the one to make her feel that way.

Chapter Four

Reyna lay silently staring out the window, listening to the sounds coming from Brody’s room next door. In this darkness of the unfamiliar room, everything felt alien. She’d never felt so alone.

              She wondered for the countless time, how someone as compassionate and caring as Brody had managed to remain unattached for so long. Although Cade had been extremely jealous of Brody, he was still one of the few people in the world who Cade respected as well. Cade told her Brody dated some of the most beautiful, most desirable women in Denver and although he might choose to sleep with such women, he never planned to marry.

             
According to Cade, Brody had watched his father go through a bitter divorce when he was just a boy. His mother abandoned Brody after the divorce and ran away with the man she had destroyed her marriage for.

             
In the years following the divorce, she never once attempted to contact her son. Watching his father struggle with depression after the divorce had left Brody permanently scarred toward marriage.

             
Reyna lay sleepless, watching the lights of the city play across the room. The exhaustion from the weeks of living in fear seemed to have become a part of her, but still, it was almost impossible to sleep. When she did, Cade was never far from her, reaching out to her through her dreams.

             
It was always the same. Each time she dreamed of him, she was back at the apartment once more and he was hurting her, forcing her to go with him that night. She could almost feel the fear that overpowered her as the Mercedes sped through the red light into the blinding headlights of the oncoming car. She could hear the horrendous sound of metal against metal becoming a raging inferno. Reyna tried to free herself from the seatbelt, crying out for help just before the flames, hot and scorching, engulfed her body searing her skin. She could almost smell the burning flesh. She turned screaming in terror only to see Cade laughing through the raging curtain of flames, reaching out for her beyond his fiery grave to take her back with him. Her lungs filled with smoke and she began to struggle against him fighting to break free of his deathly grip, screaming in terror, forcing herself awake.

             
Reyna realized then it wasn’t Cade who held her but Brody. Brody was shaking her, trying to wake her from her nightmare.

             
Her hands touched his bare chest. Brody gathered her close, gently stroking her hair.

             
“It’s okay. It was just a dream. You’re okay. It was only a dream.”

             
“Oh God, Brody, it was Cade. It was the night of the crash. I was there with him. I, I tried to get out but I couldn’t get the seat belt free. The fire was everywhere—all around me, burning me.” Reyna began to shiver, unable to control the fear that went through her at reliving those memories. “It seemed so real. Cade was holding me there…he wouldn’t let me go.”

             
Brody switched off the light and brought the covers over them both. Then he tugged her close to him. She could feel the heat from his body as it slowly began to penetrate her fear. He massaged the tension from her.

             
“Shh, Reyna, it’s okay, I’m right here. I won’t let anything hurt you ever again. It’s okay. Go to sleep now. Everything will be okay.”

             
“Brody, promise me that you won’t leave me. I don’t think I can be alone. I don’t want to see him again.” Reyna moved closer to Brody, her arms going round his waist. He felt so safe. So warm. So…tempting. So forbidden. She could feel the tension that vibrated throughout his body.

             
Brody caught his breath, his anger reached out to her in the darkness. “It’s okay, Reyna, I’m not going anywhere. Just go back to sleep, okay? It’s late.”

             
Reality washed over her in an instant. She had no right to be this close to him and he had no desire for her. Reyna remembered the last she had been this close to him. What his reaction was. Brody had only offered her sympathy, but things had gotten out of hand. If Brody hadn’t stopped it when he did, then…

             
Brody was strong, and she was his best friend’s wife. Reyna pulled away and tried to control the hurt and the breathless sound of her voice, she turned away.

             
“I’m sorry, I’m okay now. I, I didn’t mean to wake you. I’m okay now.”

             
He swore softly before reaching for her once more, his hands going firmly around her body making contact with the bruises along her ribcage still painfully tender after all these weeks. Reyna flinched and he saw it.

             
“Reyna? What is it? What’s wrong? Are you hurt?” Brody didn’t wait for her answer. He pushed her back against the bed and lifted her tee shirt above her waist. He touched the fading bruises just below her breast. She wanted to die with shame. She tried to push his fingers away acutely aware she wore nothing but the thin white bikini panties and tee shirt, but Brody didn’t let her go. His searching eyes met hers expecting answers. She could see all the accusations clearly, before he even asked the question.

             
“Who did this to you, Reyna?” His hand reached up to grasp her chin tenderly, forcing her to look at him. “Answer the question. Who hurt you?”

             
“No, no one. It’s nothing. I fell. That’s all. It’s nothing.” She closed her eyes against the disbelief in his. He hadn’t believed anything she’d said. She wasn’t really expecting him to,

             
He made a contemptuous sound before releasing her as if her touch contaminated him.

             
“I hope to God he was worth it.”

             
Reyna couldn’t stop the bitter laughter that bubbled up inside at those words. She turned away, wishing he would just go and leave her in peace.

             
“He wasn’t.” The last thing she could face right now was his disappointment.

             
He swore softly once more before pulling her back into the circle of his arms holding her tight when she tried to push him away. “Let me go.”

             
“Shut up, Reyna. Just shut up and go to sleep.”

             
His words hurt. What he believed about her was even harder to accept. Brody believed she had been unfaithful to Cade. She wanted to laugh at the irony of it all. Cade had been unfaithful to her from the beginning. She’d never once thought of cheating on him, although he’d certainly given her plenty of reasons to.

             
She wished she could just push Brody away. Not care what his opinion was of her. She couldn’t.

             
The warm strength of his arms was far more welcoming than the lonely darkness would ever be.

             
Reyna hated that she was actually crying. She wasn’t trying to push him away anymore. She would take whatever comfort Brody chose to offer her tonight because she wanted to be close to him almost as much as she needed to keep the demons away.

             
~*~

             
Brody listened to the soft, steady breathing of the woman who he still held cradled in his arms. He could smell the faint perfumed scent of her hair. Her skin felt like sheer torture. She felt so good. He wanted her so bad.

             
He should leave her. Slip quietly away while she slept knowing she would never miss his presence now. She had only reached out to him for comfort. She’d been frightened by some nightmare and needed someone—anyone, not specifically him—to comfort her. He had no right to be this close to her. Holding her this way as if she belonged to him completely. Sharing her bed. To have her this close after all the long months of trying to put her out of his every thought and struggling with his feelings for her was far too dangerous.

             
He looked down at her, wondering if she had any idea how much he wanted her. Now just as strong as that one night. The night of Cade’s funeral. It had taken everything inside of him to refuse what she was offering him that night. Because she’d been offering to fulfill all his dreams.

             
Did she know her touch sent him up in flames? He closed his eyes and hoped she didn’t. Otherwise, she would never let him near her again.