Fan the Flames by Marie Rochelle Page B

body collapsed on top of hers. She wasn’t going to think about anything else or what tonight meant for her future with Brody. All she would do was live in the moment.
    A minute or two passed before Brody rolled off her and pulled her against his body. His fingers brushed a strand of hair away from her cheek before he kissed her on the forehead.
    “If you are thinking about a way to let me down easily, you better forget it,” he warned, softly. “I wasn’t kidding when I told you that I wouldn’t let you go. You made a decision when you let me make love to you tonight, and you aren’t going to run from it now. We can work out the details later, but one thing is absolutely sure. This wasn’t a one-night stand. If I was determined enough to be with you that I answered your personal ad on that stupid website, I’m not going to give you up now that I had a taste of you.”

 

     
     

     
     
     
     
     
    Chapter Sixteen
     
     
    Why did I open my big mouth ?
    Brody pulled into his driveway, cursing himself again for letting it slip that he knew about her personal ad on the website. But that wasn’t what caused him to feel like a world-class asshole. Why did he hurl those hurtful words to her? She might have forgiven him about the website, but what happened afterwards.
    The look on her face once the words had left his mouth had been one of hurt and betrayal. She wouldn’t even listen to him explain as she kicked him out of her bed. He wanted to tell her the real reasons he had been eavesdropping on her conversation all those weeks ago, but she wouldn’t listen to him.
    She accused him of doing it as a joke to get back at her.
    “I can’t believe you were listening to my conversation,” Ja’Nael screamed at him as she slid across the bed, away from him, wrapping the sheet around her naked body. “What were you going to do if I agreed to a date with you? Were you going to have me show up and then you have me there waiting for hours?”
    “No, I wouldn’t have done that to you. I—”
    “Stop right there before you tell me another lie,” she yelled, getting off the bed. “I can’t believe I fell for this. I guess I’m destined to be a mark for the Wagner brothers. First Timothy, and now you. I knew I shouldn’t have trusted you, but I wanted to step out of the box and try something new. I was doing just fine being the way I was, but I listened to Kelcie and look what happened.
    “Baby, I care about you. I know it seems sudden, but the moment I saw you standing there in Reid’s classroom, I felt the need to get to know you better.”
    “Sure you did,” she said with a sneer, waving her hand at him. “Out of all of the women around town throwing themselves at you day after day, you wanted me.”
    Hurrying out of his side of the bed, Brody snatched his pants up off the floor and slipped them back on. He took a step toward her, but she moved across the room, away from him. “Don’t you dare come any closer to me,” she said. “Hell, I don’t even know why you are still here. Get out of my house!”
    “Ja’Nael, will you stop being unreasonable. What I did wasn’t even that bad. Hell, you wouldn’t have even known about my private message if I hadn’t told you. You keep saying again and again that you aren’t that insecure teenage girl my brother bullied all those years ago. So why are you acting like you still are since you arrived back to town? It’s past time you got over it and stop holding his actions against me. God, grow up and move on with your life. I know for sure that Timothy never gave you another thought after you ran away to New York. Maybe he decided to single you out because he knew that he could do it to you.”
    Ja’Nael gasped and stumbled backward, hitting her back against the wall. Pangs of guilt washed over him the second their argument was over. She stared at him, a heartbroken expression etched across her pretty face. The smiling, laughing woman he had dinner with hours