I hope she was worth it.
That’s what Kelly had said to him after seeing the woman emerge from the bedroom wearing Brody’s boxers.
I hope she was worth it. Then Kelly had turned around and walked out the door, without saying another word to him. She filed divorce papers the next day.
Brody sucked in a breath and clenched his jaw, trying to erase the memory of that night. Hell, that whole damn year.
His body jerked when Elisa placed a soothing hand on his chest.
“You don’t have to say any more,” she whispered.
“But I need to explain—”
“No, you don’t.” She paused, nibbling her lower lip with her teeth. “Besides, I already know this. I don’t want you to keep telling something that’s too painful for you to talk about.”
She what?
His heart, which had once been squeezing so damn tight in his chest, felt like it had stopped beating. What did she mean, she already knew?
Then it hit him like a two-by-four. “Kelly told you, didn’t she?”
Elisa nodded, and a strand of silky hair slid over her shoulder. “I went to see her today about what happened the other day. She…” Elisa placed a hand on his chest and ran her index finger in circles over his pec. “She told me about your divorce. About what really happened.”
Brody hadn’t realized the two women were that close. He’d always been pretty sure that Kelly had never told anyone about what he’d done. Yet she’d told Elisa. And Elisa had sat there and let him spout his mouth off like a damn woman. And why hadn’t she asked him about it, instead of acting like she didn’t have a clue?
“So everything I just told you, you already knew?” Why did that knowledge create a sick feeling in his stomach? “Why’d you let me keep going?”
Her eyebrows pinched together. “You said you needed to tell it. And you told me not to interrupt you. Plus, I only heard Kelly’s version.” Her voice dropped a notch. “I wanted to hear it coming from you.”
He turned on his side to face her. “And now that you’ve heard it? Are you going to run screaming in the other direction?” If she ran, he wouldn’t blame her. In fact, he expected her to. What woman would want to stay with him after the story he just told?
She tilted her head to one side, and a chunk of silky hair slid over her shoulder. “Why would I run? I already told you, you’re only human. People make mistakes. What matters is if you learned from them.”
“What I did was more than a mistake. It ended my marriage.”
Elisa pursed her full lips. “Sounds like your marriage was already over.”
“That doesn’t make what I did right. I was still unfaithful. And I don’t think Kelly ever forgave me.” Not that Brody blamed her.
“I think she probably has. I think what you’re struggling with is closure. And Kelly probably is too.”
How in the world could Elisa be so understanding? Why was she not looking at him with disgust and saying “How could you?” as Kelly had done?
“You think closure is all I need? How do I do that?” If that’s all he needed to make that guilt go away, he’d do it, whatever it took.
“It starts with forgiveness. You forgiving yourself and asking Kelly to forgive you.”
He skimmed the tip of his index finger over her shoulder. “See, I thought I had forgiven myself.”
The corners of Elisa’s mouth curved up in a smile. “If you’re still struggling with this, then you obviously haven’t.”
Touching her skin was like touching the softest velvet. He floated his hand from her shoulder to her hair, where he tunneled it beneath the strands. They were cool and practically weightless around his hand. He tilted her head toward his until her mouth was a whisper away from his lips.
“Why are you still here? Haven’t you realized by now that I’m a head case?”
Her lips tilted in a small smile. “You’re not a head case, Brody. You just have some ghosts you haven’t dealt with yet.”
“And what, you want to help me? Is that it?”
Her eyes searched his for a moment. “If you’ll let me,” she whispered. “You’ve been alone long enough. It’s time to let someone in.”
“I don’t think you’ll like what you see,” he told her.
“I’ve seen everything. I’ve seen the way you look at Tyler and your fear of losing him. I’ve seen your worry for your employees. You’re a lot nobler than you give yourself credit for.”
“Or maybe you just think too highly of me.”
“You don’t think enough of yourself. That’s your problem.” Her breath was warm and sweet and tickled his lips when she spoke.
What had he been doing, sitting here telling his stupid sob story when the woman he wanted was buck naked, less than a foot from him? During their conversation, she’d inched closer and closer to him, as though she needed that physical closeness—as though she craved it as much as he did.
Enough of this talking shit.
He’d spoken so much that he was sick and tired of hearing his own voice. What he wanted to hear about was Elisa. But not now. All he wanted to do was settle her down on the bed, cover her body with his, and grind himself deep.
He massaged the back of her neck with his hand and nudged her head forward. When their lips touched, it was like fireworks ignited in his system. His body came alive and hummed with tension the way it always did when Elisa touched him. She had a way of crawling under his skin and making him feel not like himself. When he was with Elisa, she made him believe he could actually let go of his past mistakes and start over as a new man. She gave him hope to be a better man.
Her tongue snaked out and touched his lips. That was all the invitation Brody needed. He was pretty sure Elisa wouldn’t change her mind, but he didn’t want to take this slow. They’d do slow later, when they had all night.
In the meantime, Elisa settled back on the bed and pulled him down with her. She stretched beneath him, all long, silky limbs tangling with his. Their lips maintained contact, massaging each other until their tongues took over. Brody slid his tongue inside her mouth, imagining his dick doing the same thing to her body, pumping again and again until he couldn’t remember his own name. Elisa made a sweet sound, half moan, half whimper, when he ground the cotton of his boxers against her core. He’d almost forgotten about the damn things. Well, he’d have to fix that.
Brody broke away from her lips and made fast work of his underwear. Elisa helped him, giggling with delight, as their hands fumbled around each other to grab the elastic waistband.
“God damn boxers,” Brody cursed when the things became hung up around his ankles. He knew he should have taken them off before getting back into the bed. Being with Elisa made his brain cease to function.
“Let me.” Elisa pushed him onto his back and straddled his hips. She braced her hands on his chest, assumed the optimal position of arching her back. “Oh God, Brody,” she moaned when his dick rubbed the slick entrance of her body.
“Wait,” he said in a strained voice. Shit, he almost allowed himself to go in without double the protection. This woman had him tied up in too many knots.
She gazed down at him out of heavy-lidded eyes. “No condom this time, Brody. Please,” she pleaded as though sensing his thoughts.