Because I Love You: A Brother's Best Friend Secret Baby Romance Read online

  She was getting to me again, and that wasn’t good.

  “The good thing is, I’m back now,” I said.

  “Why is that good?” Jessi asked.

  “Because I can spend time with you.”

  “Have you run that by me yet?”

  “I’ve missed you, Jessi. What more do you want?”

  “A reason as to why you left.”

  “I can’t—I can’t tell you that,” I said.

  “That personal? Or that embarrassing?” she asked.

  “Why does it have to be one or the other?” I asked.

  I watched her digest my answer before she leaned back in her chair.

  “Would the lady care for a drink?” our waiter asked.

  “A glass of red wine that pairs with the duck confit would be lovely,” she said.

  “Ah, then I see we are ready to order. Do you know what you wish to eat, sir?”

  “Whatever she’s having is fine,” I said.

  The waiter tossed Jessi a weird look and it caused a giggle to bubble up from her throat. Fuck me, she was beautiful when she laughed. The way her cheeks crinkled her eyes and the way her lips parted to showcase her straight, white teeth. And every time she moved her shoulders, her bosom swayed, teasing my tongue and begging for my grasp. She was sin in a velveteen casing and I could feel my cock pressing wildly against my jeans.

  It was gonna be a long-ass night sitting here with her.

  “As much as it pains me to admit it, I’ve missed you a bit, too,” Jessi said.

  “It’s my charm,” I said with a grin. “Irresistible to most women.”

  “It’s got nothing to do with your charm,” she said.

  “When I said ‘charm,’ I wasn’t referring to my personality,” I said.

  “It’s got nothing to do with your perceived intelligence either,” she said with a grin.

  “You’re as feisty as you ever were.”

  “Did you ever expect that to change?”

  “I was hoping it never would. But I’m curious—how did you fall into the world of modeling?”

  “Are you kidding me?” she asked.

  “I’m serious.”

  “I’ve always wanted to model. You knew this.”

  “I knew you had an interest in it. I didn’t realize you were so serious about it.”

  “So all those times I talked about how I was going to go to New York and make something of myself just—went right over that thick head of yours?”

  “Well, you weren’t taking any strides in that direction. No headshots, you weren’t out there making connections. I didn’t know what to think, so I didn’t think much of it.”

  “You took me to some of your choreography sessions. Did you not give a damn about all the questions I was asking you?”

  “I thought you were merely taking an interest in what I did for a living since we were—you know—together.”

  “That hard for you to say, huh?” she asked. “You’re a real piece of work, Christopher Miles.”

  “And you are a work of art, Jessi Park.”

  The chemistry between us was still there, and as the night grew darker it didn’t let up once. The banter was there, the shock factor was there, and the sexual tension between us was there. I could see her nipples poking effortlessly through her dress, taunting me with their size as I licked my lips. My cock was straining against my pants with every smile she flashed me, my body wanting to silence her words with my girth. But I knew it wasn’t wise for me to take her back to my place. We both had an early practice in the morning and the last thing I wanted to do was ruin something she had obviously worked very hard to obtain.

  “I should be getting back home. We’ve both got an early morning ahead of us,” Jessi said.

  “I was sitting here thinking the same thing,” I said.

  “No you weren’t,” she said with a grin. “You’ve been sitting here staring at my tits.”

  “And thinking how inappropriate it would be to ask you back to my place and keep you up all night, since we both have such an early morning.”

  “Ever the gentleman,” she said.

  “That is the last word to describe me and you know it.”

  I stood up from the table after paying and offered my hand to her. I watched as she slipped her delicate touch into mine as fire shot up my arm. There it was. That euphoric feeling I always got whenever I touched her. She gripped my hand tightly as we went down the stairs, careful not to fall in her heels. The way she clung to me was reminiscent of two years ago when she would dig her hands into my back and hang on for dear life. No woman had driven me as crazy as she had, and no woman could handle my dominant streak in bed.

  But she could.

  She did.

  And not once did she ever tell me to stop.

  I walked us out into the parking lot before she led us over to her car. She was leaning up against it, her curves on display as she struck a pose. Her leg was bent and her heel was off the ground, and she cocked herself off to the side as her hands planted onto the hood of her car. The wind kicked up around us, blowing her beautiful brown curls back from her shoulders.

  She was an angel wrapped in a casing of sultry goodness, and I wanted to take her right then on top of her fucking car.

  “See? Even the earth agrees with my modeling career,” Jessi said.

  “You’ve always been a stunning woman,” I said.

  Her eyes connected with mine and I watched that innocence creep back up into her stare. How she could dance between fiery confidence and unrelenting innocence was beyond me. Her green eyes widened as I approached her, my hand falling to her hip and molding into her excess. I could feel her breath on my lips as I teased her, hovering above her as her tits pressed into my chest.

  “Thank you for a lovely evening,” I said.

  I felt her sigh into my lips as I closed the distance between the two of us.

  My free hand rushed to the back of her neck, cradling her head as my fingertips twirled into her curls. Her hands rushed up my chest, fisting my coat and pulling me closer to her. I pressed her up against her car, bending her over the hood until her back was pressed into the cool, shining metal. Her toe slid up the side of my leg, our tongues battling for dominance as I felt her lips swelling against my assault.

  I stopped myself before I had the uncontrollable urge to whip my cock out and take her in the middle of the damn parking lot.

  “Goodnight, Jes.”

  I pulled back and helped her stand up as her chest panted with want.

  “Goodnight, Chris,” she said.

  “I’ll see you in the morning.”

  “Yeah. See you then,” she said.

  “Try not to dream about me too much when you get home.”

  “Trust me, I’ve got better things to do with my time.”

  But the breathiness in her voice and the way her hands trembled told me exactly what she would be doing when she got home. I grinned at the idea of her hand buried between those delicious thighs.

  We would have our moment again and I would soon know what it felt like to have those blossoming thighs wrapped around my head once more.

  I could feel it in my gut.

  Chapter 3

  Jessi

  The nerve of that asshole! Who the fuck did he think he was? He came at me during dinner like nothing had ever happened. Like he’d stuck the fuck around and hadn’t disappeared off the face of the damn planet for a year and a half! And what was all that shit about not wanting to talk about it? That rat bastard didn’t have a damn choice! He promised me his entire fucking future then left me high and dry. And not knowing I wanted to be a model? Had he actually been that clueless about me the entire time?

  Damn. I’d given him everything, including risking my relationship with my brother, and with my family. I risked my budding career to be with him. I leaned on his promises and allowed myself to dream about us rising to the top and owning the modeling industry.

  And the fucker
didn’t even know I wanted to become a damn model.

  I was livid walking back into the house after that date. It was a good thing that Caleb was already sleeping, so he wouldn’t hear me throwing my damn heels around. I hurt. Just as much as the night he stood me up in that fucking restaurant. Just as much as the morning I found out from my brother that he was gone.

  Vanished.

  Disappeared.

  Without a word to me, like I didn’t mean shit.

  But he had meant something to me. Every time he’d come over to play with Justin, every time the two of them would hang out in the yard, I couldn't take my eyes off him. He was commanding and adventurous. Loud and unassuming. He took everything in stride and was fiercely loyal to his family and his friends. My little schoolgirl crush had blossomed into a full-fledged fucking love affair with a guy that I never dreamed would ever look my way.

  Until he did.

  The night I gave him my virginity was forever etched into my mind. His quiet commands and light praises in my ear. How he called me his sweet girl and softly pinned my wrists above my head. He was swift with what he took, but never forceful. He knew what he wanted and when someone wanted to give it to him.

  And fuck, did I ever want to give it to him.

  Now, I was nervous to see him in the morning. The kiss we shared in the parking lot after dinner brought back memories that stirred me as I slept. I woke up with sweat on my brow and an ache between my legs that I had to will away with a cold shower. I would not allow my body to fully cave to him. That would blur the lines of what I was doing.

  Because I wasn’t out to reconcile with him. I was out to hurt him.

  He had put me through hell. Nights spent sobbing in a bathtub and drenching my pillow in snot. Days spent wondering where he could have gone and what he could have been doing. I made so many excuses as to why he had to leave. I told myself that something with his career must have happened. A last minute gig that would catapult us both to the top. I told myself he was simply on vacation. Taking some time to himself before he would come back for me. I had visions of how he was off gallivanting around, carving out a career both of us could excel in before coming back, scooping me off my feet, and taking me along for the ride.

  But the days, weeks and months passed and he never showed.

  And the damn pregnancy test happened.

  Now I was going to get him back for what he had put me through, no matter what it took. I was going to let him get wrapped up in me. I was going to let him think he stood a second chance. I was going to play right into his hand and forge some sort of stupid connection he thought we still had. Then I was going to break his heart. I would leave him high and dry just like he left me.

  Then we would see how he liked it.

  The nanny arrived before Caleb woke up, so I went into his room and gave him a little kiss. I looked down into his face, trying to ignore how much he looked like Chris. It had taken me weeks to look at my child without crying. Weeks to look at him and smile without thinking of Chris. His leaving had tainted the best thing that had ever happened to me. I had cried more tears over my son than I cared to admit, and Chris was the reason for that.

  He nearly ripped the happiness of my motherhood away from me, and for that he would pay.

  I pressed one last kiss to my son’s cheek before I headed out the door.

  ***

  This time we were at the event center watching the runway be built right before our very eyes.

  “I thought we wouldn’t be practicing on the runway,” one girl said.

  “Maybe that hot choreographer saw our side of things,” another said.

  “He really is a hunk. Have you seen his arms? I can only imagine what’s underneath those clothes.”

  “His arms? I’m more focused on his pants. Did you see that bulge yesterday?”

  “He got so close to me during makeup that I could feel his breath on my neck. I almost turned and kissed him.”

  The girls kept giggling over how hot Chris was, which made my plan even better. When I revealed to all of them that Chris was the father of my child, they would shit themselves. Their faces would fall when they figured out Chris enjoyed a woman with a little more love to give. Then his face would fall when I told him he had no place in my life.

  No place in either of our lives.

  I hated being around the chatty models of the world. That was the pain in the ass part of my career. They were all fake bitches who smiled like the snakes they were before popping up and nipping at you with their venomous bites. Some of these women, like the ones chattering on about Chris, were the worst of their kind. They would smile at you while pushing you in front of a bus if it meant scoring a gig they wanted. These women were ruthless. The worst kind of backstabbers.

  Chris was in good company with them.

  I was thankful that my best friend wasn’t a model. Megan was much more laid back than these women I was surrounded with on a daily basis. She was a cameraman on sets of some of the biggest blockbuster movies to hit over the past couple of years, and I loved catching up with her and hearing about all the juicy celebrity gossip. Some of the stories were hilarious and made me watch her movies in a completely different way. Other stories didn’t shock me at all, and we would invariably get into a conversation about how much most of the women in our industries sucked.

  “All right, girls. Places. We’re going to put on some heels and skirts and try the choreography on the runway.”

  “I’d like to try him on the runway,” one of the girls said.

  “What was that?” Chris asked.

  “She said she wants to try you on the runway!” I said.

  The girl shot me a nasty look and I giggled as she walked away. I shot a glance back to Chris and he was shaking his head, but I could see his shoulders moving. Another point on the scoreboard for me. Anytime I could get him laughing it meant I was slowly pulling him back into my orbit. Backing him into an unassuming corner before I struck.

  The music came on as I was fiddling with my heels. I rolled my ankles a bit to loosen them up, then stretched before I positioned myself to walk down the structure that had been built. My hips swayed, my hand was on my hip, and the twirls Chris had walked us through were effortless for me. I made sure my skirt bellowed a little more and that my hair swung around my shoulders. I eyed him carefully as I turned to go back, and I could feel his eyes lingering on my ass.

  We went through the choreography four separate times before we were all released. I was thankful for the short day because six in the morning was not my thing. I slipped my feet out of the heels and sighed with relief, massaging them with my hands as the girls walked by me.

  They kept shooting me dirty looks, which only fueled my desire to piss them off even more.

  “You looked good out there,” Chris said.

  I turned my head at the sound of his voice.

  “Some of those girls thought you did, too,” I said.

  “What did you think?” he asked.

  “That you need to stop staring at my ass.”

  “And what if I don’t want to?”

  “Then enjoy breaking the hearts of all those women, too,” I said.

  “I didn’t enjoy anything that happened, Jessi.”

  “Ah, so there’s still some lingering guilt. I didn’t make that comment to take a jab at you. But the fact that you took it that way is telling.”

  “What, so now you’re a model and a psychologist?”

  “Women can do anything nowadays,” I said, with a grin.

  “Speaking of anything, I was wondering if you were free tonight.”

  “Couldn’t get enough last night?” I asked.

  “I’ve never been able to get my fill of you. You know that.”

  “So what were you proposing we do tonight?” I asked.

  “Depends. Are you agreeing to it?”

  “Not if you want to take me up to the Hollywood sign and throw me off it, no.”

  “What kin
d of dates have you been on recently?” he asked.

  “None. I’ve been focusing on my career. Which is why you need to make it worth my while. I’m not going to date the choreographer and put my career in the crosshairs unless it’s for something good.”

  “Date, huh? Are we already jumping ahead to dating?”

  “With the way you’re acting, it seems as if we never stopped,” I said.

  “Fair enough. I was thinking drinks. At my place. You know, since you’re so squirrely about me coming to yours.”

  “The last thing I need is you showing up in the middle of the night begging for me because you can’t get enough.”

  “Oh, I don’t beg. Ever.”

  I looked up into his eyes and saw that fire ignite behind them. I knew exactly what he had planned for tonight. A little bit of drinking, a little bit of talking in a dimly lit room. Possibly taking a seat on his couch. He’d get comfortable and his hand would start wandering, and soon we wouldn’t be able to peel our bodies away from one another.