"Oh, boy, another fan of yours," Holly put in with a laugh. "But not, apparently, a fan of mine. She looks like she's still in high school so I'm going with a crush and not an ex?"
He scowled at her. "Despite what our friends think, I'm not a player. And I'm sure as hell not playing with a seventeen-year-old. Her parents own the place, and I've known her since she was like eleven or something. She's always given me those doe eyes of hers, but I just smile and eat."
Holly pointed at him with a mock glare. "That's your problem, mister. You smile, and that dimple shows up, and women fall for you without even thinking. It's a very dangerous dimple."
Had she fallen for him?
He pushed that thought away. Of course, she hadn't. They were having fun and would part as friends when they were through like the other women he'd dated in the past. It was far too early for serious thoughts, and he'd been careful. Hadn't he?
"You like my dimple?" He grinned just right so both dimples came out. Yeah, he'd been a dumbass teenager who'd practiced that look in the mirror, but he knew how to work it.
She rolled her eyes. "Dangerous. Dimple." She waved to her menu. "Now, what's good here? I love Mexican by the way, so yay for spicy food."
He cleared his throat, a little sorry she hadn't wanted to make out right there with the appearance of his second dimple. Maybe she was immune to it.
Or maybe he needed to get a damn grip.
"Everything's good, but I like their combo platter that gives me some of everything."
Her eyes rounded when she looked at it. "Brody, that's enough for four people."
He shrugged and pointed to one item below it. "Actually, the one you were looking at was the small combo. We can get the large combo and share if you want. And if somehow we can't eat it all, we can take the rest to your place and eat it later."
She closed the menu and nodded. "Sounds like a plan. Just roll me out the door when we're done, okay?"
He chuckled. "Deal."
When they lay next to each other later that night on the couch, a random movie on TV and their bellies full, Holly groaned. "Why did you let me eat that much?"
Brody let out a shaky breath. "Babe, I'm pretty sure even I ate too much." His stomach protested as he shifted on the couch to try and find a way to get more comfortable. She lay in front of him, her back to his chest so they could both see the TV without having to move. Normally, this would have made him horny as hell, but he might have done something he'd never done before.
Gotten full.
"This is so sexy," she mumbled. "You literally almost had to roll me out of that place. Why was the food so good? Why did we do this to ourselves?"
He sighed and moved his hand so it rested on her breast. He couldn't help it; it was comfortable. "It's a dangerous, dangerous place."
She patted his hand gently. "I love that you're copping a feel right now."
He winced and tried to pull away, but she held him to her breast, pushing his hand more firmly into her. "Sorry. Are your nipples tender?"
She sighed and nuzzled her butt into his crotch. He did his best to think of England or some crap so he wouldn't get a chubby, but it was no use. She was right there, and his dick knew it. The damn thing filled and pressed closer, liking where it was at, all warm and snuggly.
"My nipples aren't that tender this time, thankfully. And I don't know why, but I'm all comfy and cozy with your hand cupping me and Little Brody pressed against my butt. I'm being evil to you right now. I can help you out if you want … "
Her voice trailed off, and he groaned. Instead of answering right away, he removed his hand from her breast and pulled the blanket on the back of the couch over them. Then he put his hand right back where it was, content.
"When we're both not full to the brim, I might just take you up on that offer, but I really am enjoying myself sitting and cuddling with you."
"Really?" she asked, her eyes bright as she looked over her shoulder.
He kissed her neck. "Yeah. Really."
"Good. I like this, too."
She turned back to the movie on the screen, and he let out a breath. This should be worrying him. He didn't cuddle, and he didn't do things like this, but here he was, enjoying himself and knowing there was no place he'd rather be.
He needed to take a step back, needed to remember why he didn't do relationships. But with Holly in his arms, it was hard to remember that.
And in the end, he was afraid he'd break her because of it.
Chapter Seven
A couple of weeks later and Holly was pretty sure she'd lost her mind.
"Maybe this time we're taking it too far," Holly said with a wince. "I mean, the last thing on the list was eating too much, and literally jumping off a bridge might be pushing it."
Her hands weren't shaking yet but they were close.
Brody pulled her into his arms and kissed the top of her head. "Actually, the last thing on the list was having sex in the shower, and we did that pretty well I think. If you don't remember, we can do it again, though this time, I'm not letting you go down on your knees for so long so you can suck me off. And I want more time on my knees so I can eat you out as you play with your pussy. Because that was so hot, I almost came, which is why I had to pull away quickly and get that condom."
She blushed so hard she was sure someone from space could see the redness of her cheeks. She buried her face in Brody's chest, thankful that they were alone in the small area off the bridge and that no one could have overheard him.
"Brody."
"What?" he asked innocently. There wasn't a single innocent thing about him, and they both knew it.
"Don't 'what' me," she said with a grin. She'd tried not to smile, but it was impossible with him around. "You can't talk about details like that in public. We might be alone right now, but that could change at any moment."
He kissed her hard then, his tongue pressing into her mouth with a vigor that made her want to wrap her body around him and never let go. When he pulled away, they were both panting, and she could feel his hard-on pressing against her hip. She was pretty sure she'd soaked through her panties as well. Darn man was always doing that to her, and he was unrepentant in his glee at that fact.
"Brody," she repeated. "Stop it."
He kissed the tip of her nose. "Nope. Not gonna do it. But I will take you down to our car and away from the mountains and this bridge if you want. You said you wanted to try bungee jumping, so here we are. It was one thing on your list, but not the only thing. I'm randomly going through it rather than leading up to the big things so you don't get that nervous anticipation that freaks you out."
It should worry her that he knew her so well, but instead, it made her feel like she wasn't alone. She was making a huge mistake by trusting him like she was, by doing the worst thing possible.
Falling for him.
She'd seen what happened when someone from her family fell for another person, and she swore she wouldn't do it. She'd almost done it with Jake, and yet she'd been grateful enough to realize they were better as friends.
Falling for Brody would only make her hurt more in the end.
Hurt so badly she wasn't sure she'd make it.
So instead of falling for him, today she would fall from a bridge. Attached to a bungee cord, of course, but it was still falling from a freaking bridge. Why had she put this on her list? Oh, yeah, because she wanted a little change in her life.
Next time, she might just change the color of her sheets or something. That sounded much safer.
"Want to head back? We can."
She looked up at him before kissing his jaw. If there was one thing she knew, it was that Brody would never hurt her body. Her soul or her heart? Well, that was on her. She'd just have to stop falling in love with him. He'd made no promises, and she was going to have to do her best to not look too deeply into what they had.
Maybe if she told him more about who she was and where she came from, it would keep her safe. It would build that wall between them so neither of them got hurt.
"Holly?"
"Let's do it. I don't want to miss out on anything," she said quickly.
Bungee jumping would be easier than falling for him or opening herself up anyway. And after that? Well, after that, she'd figure it out.
He tucked her hair behind her head. "If you're sure."
"I am." Maybe. She wasn't sure of anything else, so she might as well be sure about this.
"Okay, then, let's go. Remember, you can turn back at any time before we start to tilt forward."
She elbowed him in the gut, holding back a smile. The darn man sure knew how to get right into the deep places she'd kept hidden for so long. So long, in fact, she'd forgotten she was doing it. No wonder she and Jake-or any of the other men she'd been with-hadn't worked out.
They hadn't seen her.
And yet, it seemed as if Brody did.
Again, that was a danger she hadn't put on her list.
The two of them went through the instructions one more time and listened to the people in charge tell them what they needed to do and explain a little bit about what it would feel like. Of course, no matter what they said, she was pretty sure the only way she would know would be to actually do it.