Fighting Love (Love to the Extreme) (15 page)

please, for the love of God, please
.

Brody reached up.
No!
Right before his fingers closed around it, another hand shot up past his and

snatched it from the air.

Air whooshed out of her lungs and she froze to the spot as she realized, in consternation, who stood

there with a look of pure satisfaction on his face, the delicate piece of lace dangling from his finger.

Tommy
.

The worse of two evils.

Oh, God. What the hell had just happened?

Dismay flooded over her.
Be careful what you wish for
.

Cait hurried over, grabbed her hands, and tugged her forward. The pull toward the empty chair

knocked her right out of her daze. “W-What are you doing?”

“It’s your turn.”

“My turn for what?” She hated the high-pitched squeak that had entered her voice, but she knew exactly

what was about to happen…and it scared the hell out of her. “We don’t have to do this, Cait! Seriously.”

“Oh, yes we do.”

When the bride pushed Julie into the chair, all she could do was sit there stiffly, hands gripping the satin

fabric covering the chair, and stare wide-eyed at Tommy as he sauntered toward her, twirling that damn

piece of lace-covered elastic on his damn finger.

This cannot be happening.

He dropped to one knee before her, his blond head bending too close to a part of her anatomy that had

started throbbing with unbidden desire. She bunched her fingers into the satin, taking a short, sharp gasp of

air. He slipped off one of her heels and inched the garter over her foot, up her calf, over her knee, and then

beyond, until his hands were hidden beneath her skirt, heading straight for the stocking tops and garter belt

she suddenly fervently wished she hadn’t worn on a whim.

Oh. My. God. This really
was
happening.

The tips of his fingers caressed her skin as he slid the garter into place in the middle of her thigh.

Between her legs, the throb intensified, and she bit her lip to keep a groan from emerging.

No
, she told herself firmly.
I feel nothing
. She didn’t feel a damn thing. Tommy did
not
make her feel

like this anymore.
Damn it, girl. Get it together!

Snap
. A slight sting hit her upper thigh.

Had he just plucked one of her garter belt ribbons?

She swallowed. No way. He wouldn’t.

Think of something else. Anything else
.

Oh God, she couldn’t. He was consuming her whole being. His touch was burning her alive. When he

lifted his head and she saw a cocky, knowing half smile on his face, she was certain she’d incinerate right

on the spot.

Or drop straight through the floor in mortification.

He placed her heel back on, stood, and offered his hand. She did
not
want to touch him. All she wanted

was to escape. To flee from that smug look on his face and the crowd grinning like a bunch of clowns. But

she had no choice. She reluctantly slid her fingers into his hand, and he helped her up. But he didn’t let go.

She tugged. He held on. With an iron grip. They stared at each other.

Her face heated. “I need to get back to Brody.”

When she pulled at her hand again, his grip tightened even more. “But you’re coming home to
me
.”

Only then did he release her and saunter off the dance floor, leaving her staring after him, completely

breathless.

Shaking herself out of her stupor, she went on shaking legs to stand beside Brody.

But you’re coming home to me.

What on earth had gotten into the man? And why had that comment made her knees weak and shivers

zing
down her spine?

“Do you want to see Dante and Cait off on their honeymoon?”

At the deep, intrusive voice of the man who did nothing to help her forget her unwanted obsession, she

jumped. Exhaustion suddenly had her wilting. “Yeah, let’s go watch them start their future together. Then I

think I’d like to go home.”

He nodded and led them outside.

When Dante and Cait appeared at the top of the steps, looking like the perfect wax couple atop a

wedding cake, their joy shining like beacons of love as they held hands and ran toward the waiting white

limo, Julie could have broken down and cried. From the happiness for her friends, from the longing in her

heart…from the fear that she would never find that kind of love.

As they reached the limo, Dante grabbed Cait around the waist and kissed his blushing bride. She gazed

adoringly up at her new husband. Julie read the whispered, “I love you, Caitlyn,” from Dante’s lips before

they disappeared inside the car and the driver closed the door.

With the tumult of emotions from the wedding bombarding her, Julie’s heart squeezed tightly in her

chest. She just wanted to go home, crawl into bed, curl up into a ball, and forget this whole awful night.

She turned to Brody, startled by the intense way he was studying her. “What?”

“What are you thinking right now?”

She swallowed. “Why?”

“The expression on your face when you watched Dante and Cait, it was so sad, almost…envious.” He

gently touched her cheek. “It makes me want to do whatever is in my power to erase it.”

Her heart melted a little. But she knew it was time to end this. Brody was a wonderful, thoughtful,

attentive man. He’d make someone an amazing husband one day.

But it wouldn’t be her.

“Brody, I don’t think… I’m so sorry, but this thing between us… It’s not going to work.”

His eyes softened. “Don’t you think I know that?”

She stepped back, completely unprepared for that.

“I see the way you look at him,” he added.

He didn’t say Tommy’s name, but there was no one else Brody could mean.

Crap. And here she’d always thought she’d hidden her feelings so well.

Apparently not.

How many other people saw the truth?

As if reading her thoughts, he said, “There’s always been speculation about you two in the locker

room.”

Oh. God. She squeezed her eyes shut briefly. “Speculation about the two of us, or speculation about

me?”

Brody shifted his weight and grimaced. Terrific. Well, she had her answer.

Her heart fell to her stomach. “So everyone knows I have a thing for Tommy?” she asked, feeling

slightly ill.

“Most of us have wondered. Figured.” He pushed out a breath. “Okay, fine. Most of us knew.”

Please. Just kill me now
.

“Why’d you ask me out, then?”

He shrugged. “Same reason you accepted.”

She blinked. They gazed at each other for a long moment, and suddenly a lightbulb went off. Her jaw

dropped. “My God.
You
have feelings for someone
you
don’t want to have feelings for?”

“Yep. My best friend’s wife.”

Wow. And Julie’d thought
she
had a dilemma. “Damn, that sucks. I’m so sorry.”

He gave her a wry, humorless smile. “Can’t control who we fall in love with, can we?”

She let out a sympathetic breath.

So Tommy had been right. Brody really
did
have a hidden agenda when he’d asked her out. But she

totally understood, and she was okay with it. Brody completely got her, because he was living the agony

himself. He didn’t want to be in love with his best friend’s wife any more than she wanted to be in love

with Tommy. Damn, it was nice to have someone who was facing the same battle.

“Yeah. Life would be a lot easier if we could control our hearts.”

“Julie.” Brody hesitated for a moment then asked, “If you had a chance, a real, honest-to-goodness

chance, to be with Tommy, would you?”

That was the question of her life, wasn’t it?

She pushed out a sigh. “He kissed me that night after he saw us at the park. The first time he’d ever

kissed me. Oh, Brody, it was awful. That kiss wasn’t a man opening his eyes and suddenly seeing his

childhood friend as a woman he can’t keep his hands off of.” She grimaced, embarrassed to admit it, but

saying it aloud somehow helped the pain. “There was no passion in the kiss. Not even a hint.”

Brody’s head tilted and he looked skeptical. “Are you saying he actually killed your attraction to him?”

She gave a short bark of laughter. “I’d
love
for it to be that easy, but, sadly, no. He still can flip my

switch with one stupid look. No, I meant it was obvious
he
felt no passion.”

“Okay. More suckage. But you didn’t answer my question. Would you be with him if you could?”

“It’s hard to imagine being with a man whose only reaction to kissing you was abject horror while

professing adamantly that it was a mistake.”

“Damn, Jules. What the hell is
wrong
with the man?” Scowling, Brody worked his jaw as he glared into

the street.

She sighed. “Hey, don’t get mad on my behalf, okay? Tommy has always been honest with me. He’s

never led me on. Never pretended for a second there was anything more between us than friendship. The

kiss happened in a moment of confused emotion.” She banded her arms across her middle and studied her

feet. “Did it end the way I’ve always dreamed about? No. Did it confirm some hard truths I didn’t want to

face? Yeah. It did.”

Brody’s empathetic eyes drilled into her. “He’s a damn fool, you know that?”

She smiled weakly. “I like to tell myself that from time to time.”

He offered his elbow. “Shall we call it a night?”

Julie threaded her arm through his and, as they started to walk, her high heel landed on a loose rock. It

rolled, and she lost her balance. To keep from falling, she twisted, trying to grab onto Brody. The quick

movement seized the muscles in her lower back and she froze in place. After a second, she tried to

straighten, but her muscles screamed in pain, keeping her hunched over.

“Oh, shit,” she whispered.

“Jules, are you okay?”

“Damn it. I just pulled a muscle in my back.”

Chapter 8

The persistent thumping on the front door had Tommy racing the dogs to open it. The sight of Julie

cradled in Brody’s arms with pain etched in her pale face made his blood run cold.

“Julie? Wh— How—” Words failed Tommy as he tried to make sense of what he was seeing.

Julie lifted her head off Brody’s shoulder and looked directly at him. “T-Tommy.”

He automatically reached for her, needing to have her in his arms, needing to protect her, but Brody

pushed by him into the house.

“Where’s her room?” Brody asked.

“I’ll take her.” Tommy reached for her again, but the other man tightened his grip, turning away.

“Never mind. I’ll find it myself.”

Rage filling him, Tommy rounded on him, blocking his path, and stared him in the eyes. With deadly

calm, he said, “Give her to me. Now.”

Brody brows inched up, but he gingerly handed over Julie, who immediately laid her head on Tommy’s

shoulder. He kissed her forehead and whispered, “I’ve got you, baby.”

Without thought, he turned and strode right to his room. Warrior and Lucy barked, padding after them,

their heads both tilted up, as though they knew something was wrong with their mistress.

“Now, what
happened
?” he asked as his shoulder bumped his bedroom door open and stepped inside.

“She twisted her back,” Brody said. “Or pulled something.”

After Tommy gently placed her on the bed, he tucked pillows under and around her head. Then he

gingerly sat on the mattress and braced one arm on the other side of her body, leaning so he hovered over

her, blocking Brody’s view of her. “Julie.” He brushed her hair back. “How are you feeling?”

“Fan-flipping-tastic.” She winced as she slowly eased onto her back to look up at him.

A small smile came to his lips, but when Brody inched in, Tommy sent him a scathing look. “I think

you’ve done enough. You can leave now.”

Julie shook her head. “This isn’t Brody’s fault. It’s called four-inch heels meets random stone. I threw

out my back. You know it’s happened before. It’s been worse, actually.”

“I tried to get her to go to the emergency room, but—”

She waved him off. “Heck, no. A few muscles relaxers, pain relievers, and I’ll be good as new.”

Brody leaned in, trying to nudge Tommy out of the way. At the intrusion, he stiffened and kept himself

firmly in place. Turning nose to nose, he glared at Brody, daring him to come any closer. The other man

quirked a brow and his lips twitched.

What did he find so goddamn funny?

Either way, the guy finally took the hint and straightened, running a hand through his hair. “Do you

want me to stay, Jules?”

“No, she doesn’t want you to stay,” Tommy said through clenched teeth.

“Tommy, please,” she admonished. Slowly, she turned toward Brody and reached out her hand, which

he took.

Jealousy flared white hot through Tommy when she squeezed the other guy’s hand and gave him an

affectionate smile. He wanted to break their connection and toss Brody out of the house, but he forced

himself not to react, waiting to see what Julie would say.