Chapter 8

The tension was still thick when they came into work that morning. The ride over had been quiet except for the puppies whimpering in the back before they dropped them off. Now, there was silence. Brady focused on the road ahead, and Chloe looked on over his shoulder.

Chloe was still upset over Miranda's comment. It had meant a lot to her, more that anyone would ever know. But more than that, it made her question her relationship with Tony and whatever was happening between her and Brady. Chloe was still pissed about so many things that Brady had done to her lately and was searching for a way to get him back. But there was another part of her that was frustrated with herself and her feelings for Brady. Not that she really knew what she was feeling. There were so many emotions wrapped around her brain that it was hard for her to concentrate on anything else.

Chloe instinctively wrapped her arms tighter around Brady as the road went along. The feel of the soft leather under her fingers was oddly comforting. In fact, every time she was so close to Brady, she felt that same calm come over her.

They got to Brady's shop exceptionally early and found that the heat was on the fritz again. No one would be there for some time. It was a late start day. The garage was freezing. Chloe took off Brady''s oversized track pants and laid them against one of the cars in for service. Chloe sat down on the hood of a car, while Brady called to get a part for the furnace. He planned on fixing it himself but would have to wait until he got the part to start.

When he got off the phone, he saw Chloe on top of the car. She watched him look her up and down. "You want to play another game Brady?" Chloe cooed seductively.

"What kind of game?"

"Anything but a drinking game," Chloe laughed, putting her hand to her head that was still slightly throbbing. "You said that I have no effect on you. Prove it."

"Excuse me?"

"You heard me, Black."

"I don't have to prove anything."

"Well, if you don't think you can handle it……"

"Oh, I can handle it, but I doubt you can."

"I guess we better find out."

"I guess," Brady said, walking closer to Chloe. "So Chloe, you think you can handle this, do you?"

"Stop stalling, Black, and let's see what you've got."

"Last chance to back out, Lane," Brady teased, as he stood in front of her.

"Not on your life."

He placed his hand on her knee, gently tickling the underside with light touches. His lips drew closer to hers. Her breath became laboured as she drew in his masculine scent. He moved down to her neck with his lips. Barely touching her soft skin, he lightly kissed her collar bone. He moved his head back up to look into her eyes. Just when she thought he was going to cease her agony by manipulating her own lips, he stole away, his sweet breath still loosely hanging in the air of the chilly garage.

He slipped his hand further up her lengthy legs. He moved it under her skirt, settling on her inner thigh. She looked into his swirling blue tides, expecting ice as if this was still a game to him. Instead, she was met with a heated ocean of blue flame. It was enough for her to forget that he was probably using her and that he would laugh at her foolishness once it was all over. She remained still while he let his fingers explore the soft, sensitive skin under her clothes.

He gripped his other hand tight onto the hood of the car for as long as he could, finally letting it claim her hips. He had resisted the urge to take her, first with his fingers and then with his whole body, with every ounce he had in him. It was still a game, he had to remind himself. Still a torturously stupid game. A game he intended to win. She had no effect on him, he told himself, but then again her skin felt like an oasis. All he wanted to do was touch, taste and conquer. By the throbbing in his pants, he realized that he was at the breaking point. But he had to hold himself back, stay in control. He was going to make this difficult for her, even if it made him insane.

Still concentrating on the juncture between her legs, he teased her some more. Gently he brushed his lips up her neck, lightly trailing his tongue, causing her to grip his arms tightly. He marked out his destination under the leather patch she called a skirt. Slowly, in painstakingly short strides, he reached the hem of her black lace g-string. Over the material, he moved, inspecting with his fingertips. Tracing out a path and starting over. Gently stoking the curvature of the lace that was plush against her womanly form.

The heat welled over, almost overtaking her. Her breath grew shallow, and she linked her legs around his back. Trying to get closer to the sensation he was creating, even through the thin swatch. The reality was he had not even touched her bare skin, and yet she was aroused beyond belief. She had lost. And at that moment, when she wanted nothing more but for him to be inside her, he backed away in triumph.

She looked at him, opening her eyes. Anguish and fear spread across her face and overtaking her eyes. At that moment, she had never been that turned on and that disgusted by anyone her entire life. He jumped back from her, the rapid pace of his heart catching him off-guard. He was scared because for the first time he realized that he wanted more from her than just sex.

She cursed herself for letting him think he had won. But it wasn't over yet; she still had a few tricks of her own. "Your turn." She smiled at him, jumping down from the car.

"What do you mean? That's it. I won."

"Play fair. The game''s not over, Brady. I haven't had my turn yet."

"Fine. Try your best, but you'll see I'm immune to your charms," Brady said, trying to convince himself more than anything.

Chloe turned him around and pushed against the door of the car. She leaned into him as she struggled to open the door. Having opened it, she pushed him into the backseat. He fell backwards and lay down on the plush seats. Chloe climbed in beside him. "All right, Brady, let's see if you can handle my game."

Brady attempted to sit up, but Chloe only forced him back down. "Ah, ah, ah, my game, my rules," she said, waving a finger at him.

Chloe climbed on top of him. Hiking up her skirt, she let her body down slowly on top of his. He let out a little groan and hoped she hadn't noticed. Chloe moved a little, knowing how uncomfortable he had suddenly become. Slowly, she unbuttoned her blouse. Button by button, until they were all undone. She teased him then, separating the folds of her shirt to show him her black lace bra. But she didn't take it off. The cold air immediately hit her and made her nipples harden upon contact. Brady's eyes concentrated on the voluptuous skin that had just been revealed. Chloe watched his face and furthered her efforts.

Barely moving at first, she began to rock back and forth against his groin. There was no denying what she was doing to him. He felt himself grow and stiffen as she moved a little faster and a little deeper into him. Chloe couldn't deny that she liked the feeling of having him beneath her. But she wasn't going to let it get to her; she was going to win.

"Do you like that, Brady?"

Brady could do nothing but groan in response.

She leaned over him, pressing her breasts onto his chest and moving still faster above him. She felt him get hard; and when she was sure he was fully aroused, she swung her legs over him and moved off of him. She pulled her skirt back down and smiled at him. She started to do up her buttons as she exited the car. She looked back at him when she was back on the ground. He was still laying there, dumbfounded almost as to what had just happened. It was so hard for her to stop. Even though she knew she had to, that primal need almost over took her. His warm body felt so good under hers.

"See, Brady? I always win," she said in a shaky voice. Chloe stalked away and left Brady to brew.

He attempted to sit up and calm his raging hormones. His face was flushed with desire for her, as he watched her walk away into the ladies room. He smacked his head on the seat in front of him. Damn. He had let her win, he cursed to himself. Finally exiting the car, he went to take care of his own business.

Chloe leaned against the back of one of the stalls and tried to gather her thoughts and relax her breathing, but to no avail. Brady's strong features were still etched in her mind, and her body still ached for release.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Much later that day, Brady sat outside on a bench near the garage. He needed to clear his head. He didn't know what was happening between him and Chloe, but he knew sooner or later someone was going to get hurt. Most likely that person was going to be Jared, but he would do his damnedest to make sure he kept his promise, unless it was okay with Jared.

Jared lacked the self-confidence that Brady asserted. Years of verbal abuse had depleted his fragile self-esteem. His father was a drunk and a mean one at that. He used to satiate himself full of alcohol, then beat Jared until he was bruised and bloodied. He was just trying to protect his mother and younger siblings and bore the brunt of his father's anger. Welts and burns brandished his body on the outside, but the pain on the inside was almost too much for one person to handle.

Neither one of them could forget that Jared had made his way over to Brady's house in the middle of the night just to feel safe when they were kids. They wouldn't forget the way Brady would lie for him with the kids on the playground, making up stories of how Jared had gotten into a fight and been a hero. They wouldn't forget the way they always stuck together. The way they shared homework, when Jared had spent the entire night awake, afraid. They never talked about that tough stuff anymore. The memories were too painful for both of them. These were the things that bonded them together for life.

When Jared's father died last spring, Brady had gone to the funeral. Jared cried for the loss of his father. For Brady, it seemed odd that Jared could love someone who had spent most of his life making him miserable so much. He thought a lot about his own father that day. His father had never laid a hand on him. Not as a child and not as an adult, but somehow he felt that distance. He never felt loved; he felt obligation. His father had to love him, simply because he was his son. There was no other reason in Brady's eyes. He could never live up to the standards John had set for him.

Maybe that's why he had such high standards, so he wouldn't have to bother with Brady. He could shut him out of his life and forget he even existed. That was the plan when he was sent to boarding school. Out of sight, out of mind. Marlena cried the day he was shipped off. But they weren't tears of sadness and regret. They were happy tears, because she had finally gotten everything she ever wanted. The perfect home with the perfect child, Belle. Their angel.

Belle. His younger sister that he had adored and hated more than anything leaving her. He still called, still wrote but it wasn't the same as being there with her. Helping her with her homework like he had in the past. Giving her advice about why Shawn Brady insisted on pulling her hair and calling her names. She thought he was crazy when he told her it was because he liked her. But now the letters came less often, and Belle believed Brady about Shawn. She wasn't a little girl anymore; she was a strong woman who discovered things on her own.

He often wondered what things would have been like had his own mother been alive to watch him grow up. He had learned how to be a man without the help of anyone. There was still an ache in his heart that yearned to be a little boy. To go back in time and be held in his mothers arms. To hear her soothing voice before he drifted off to sleep. To know that he was loved, truly loved, without strings attached.

He never knew a mother's love and never would. The only thing that came close was Jared's mother. She was so soft spoken and had the kindest eyes. She had been the one to clean his scrapped knees, to hug him when he needed it. No one had ever made him feel that special.

He remembered the first time she had hugged him. Brady and Jared were going on a school camping trip and would be gone for the weekend. His mother hugged Jared and, Brady watched the love between the two. When she let go of Jared, Brady was surprised to find himself swallowed up in her embrace. At first, he fought it. It had been a long time since he had been held, but then as she held him tighter, he reciprocated. He squeezed his tiny arms around her and didn't want to let go. He almost started to cry and would have, had Jared not called him because they were going to be late. She cupped his face in her small, delicate hands and looked into his gleaming blue eyes. It was then that he really started to understand what not having a mother meant.

The extreme pain ate him up for years. At the funeral, he remembered Jared's mother coming over to him. Relief was written on her face. She had been through years of torment, and she had survived. She was a fighter and so strong. Everything that Brady wanted his mother to be, she was. As a man, she took him in her arms again, and he was strangely brought back to that first hug and all those emotions. She told him she loved him just as much as any of her own children, and this time he let the tears fall. He felt that somehow he had disappointed her, and he bowed his head in shame. But she tipped his chin, so he looked her square in the eye and told him how proud she was of him. He hugged her tight and never wanted to let her go.

It was a miracle that neither one of them had screwed up until now. But Brady was headed down a path that Jared hated. He was watching his best friend waste away to become a former shell of himself. He knew the pain alcohol and drugs brought but didn't know how to stop it.

Jared walked out of the garage, sandwich in hand, for his lunch break. He saw Brady sitting on the bench and tapped his arm as he sat down next to him. Brady was still staring off in space. His eyes were moist with tears that went unnoticed by Jared, who was too busy gorging himself with his meal. "What'cha thinkin' 'bout?" Jared questioned, through a mouthful of food.

"Huh? Nothing."

"Oh, you just looked all deep in thought."

"No. Just you know...daydreaming."

"Oh. So, Chloe didn't come home last night, and she left a note saying that she would be looking for her own place soon."

"I know."

"What do you mean, you know?" Jared stared at Brady with anger in his eyes, swallowing hard.

"She was with me."

Jared stood up from the bench, shooting daggers at his supposed best friend.

"Relax, man. Sit your ass back down. She wasn't with me, with me. Nothing happened."

"Are you sure?"

"She brought over some stupid mutts because she was trying to be considerate towards you. Forget about it."

"Fine." Jared sat back down and continued to munch on his tuna on rye.

"So are we still on for tonight?"

"I don't know, Brady. I don't know anything about this girl."

"What's to know? She's beautiful and available."

"So then why would she want to go out with me?"

"Come on. Brandi's dying to meet you. What's your problem?"

"Well, what if she's disappointed?"

"God, Jar, get over yourself! Why are you so worried? We'll go out, have a good time. It'll be fine."

"Yeah, okay. You're right. So what'd ya tell her about me anyway?"

"Not much actually. Just that I wanted her to meet a friend of mine...I dunno. I guess that's it."

"Brady, I hope you don't make me regret this."

"We'll have fun. Relax!"

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Chloe stared reflectively out of her office window. Even though it had been hours, she could still feel the touch of Brady's skin against hers. Still, she could remember the heat and passion that had exploded between them that morning. She wondered what it had meant and where it was going. There was no mistaking her attraction for Brady and his rugged good looks.

What was stopping her was his treatment of women. She knew she would just be another prize, and that was not what she wanted. She wanted so much more from Brady Black. Somehow, she felt connected to him. Maybe because he was just as screwed up as she was. Whatever it was, there was a strong bond that underlined all the sarcasm. Even Brady couldn't deny any longer that she turned him on. That was evident. But if it had meant more to Brady than just fooling around, he hadn't let on.