The Reluctant Boyfriend (The Bad Boyfriend series Book 4) Read online

  After the full eight seconds, where Brodie’s core strength had him looking like he was sitting at a tea party, he swung both legs off the bull for a swift and ridiculously elegant dismount.

  While the audience shouted their approval, Rosalina went quiet inside. She was in big trouble. She wanted him in a way she’d never wanted anyone before. He awakened her sexuality, her femininity. Every single cell in her body sang for him.

  But it didn’t matter because she had a life to get back to in another country.

  Besides, they were going to be business partners for a very long time.

  She’d just have to work beside him and shut down all the exciting things happening in her body that she’d waited a lifetime to feel.

  Chapter Ten

  Brodie dumped the princess on her bed. Eyes closed, she reeked of tequila.

  He waited a minute while she settled, her long, dark hair spread all over the white pillowcase. Arching her back to yank the rumpled blanket out from under her, her tits jiggled under the silky fabric of her blouse. She moaned, and his dick hardened.

  “I’ll get you some water.” But with her limbs splayed awkwardly like that, he figured he should straighten them out. Probably should’ve pulled the covers back first.

  But then she yawned, and her sexy little body stretched and twisted. She looked hot, all loose-limbed and sleepy. Her bangs covered her eyes, and she pursed her lips to blow them away.

  Get out of here. Leave her alone.

  “My mouth tastes disgusting.” Rolling over, she jammed her face into the pillow. “Liquid’s sloshing around in my belly.”

  “Let me get you some Tylenol.” He started for the door.

  “Brodie?”

  “Yeah?”

  She tried to swipe the hair off her face so she could see him, but her hands didn’t seem to be cooperating with the signals from her brain. “I’m sorry.”

  “For what?”

  “You said I could stay here to work on our product. The last thing you need is to babysit me.”

  “How is this babysitting? We were going to the same place, so I took you home.”

  She scowled. “You carried me to bed.”

  “It was just quicker than waiting for you to get here on your own.”

  “You know what’s funny?” Her cheek rested on her hands, and she looked so sweet he wanted to lie down beside her and—

  Shit. Never mind. “What?”

  “Partying seems way more fun in books and movies than it actually is.”

  “I’ve never been drunk, so I can’t say, but it doesn’t look all that fun.”

  “You’ve never been drunk? But you’re…”

  “I’m what?”

  “You and your brothers…you’re like party animals.”

  “We have a lot of fun, just not with booze. You’ve never been drunk before?”

  “My father’s not only the prince, but he’s Head of State. I can’t have pictures of me dancing on tables and tossing my knickers on the bar.”

  “Is that what they do in St. Christophe? Toss panties on the bar? That sounds pretty disgusting, actually.”

  “Isn’t that what they do? Did I get it wrong?”

  “You’re thinking about Coyote Ugly, where the women dance on the bar and toss their bras on the chandelier?”

  “Yes, that.” Looked like she tried to lift her hand to point at him. “What’s wrong with my arm?”

  “It’s weighed down by all that tequila.”

  “I don’t think I’m as drunk as I am exhausted.” She let out a long-suffering sigh. “I’m so tired, Brodie.”

  “The pitcher of margaritas didn’t help.”

  Again, she tried to blow the hair out of her eyes. “I only had three glasses.”

  Dammit. He couldn’t stand it a second longer. He strode back to the bed and brushed her bangs aside. When they slipped back down, he tucked them behind her ears. “You drinking to forget the two assholes who done you wrong?”

  Both arms flopped on the white duvet. “No. I already took back my power. It’s not about the douchenozzle.”

  “Douchenozzle? That sounds like something Skylar would say.”

  “I’m interesting. I’m plenty interesting.”

  “So, did you have fun tonight?”

  A slow smile lit her face. “I did, but I didn’t need the booze to have fun.” She moaned. “I’m sorry.”

  “Quit apologizing. You can’t work on anything until your supplies come, so in the meantime you can relax. Don’t worry about anything here. If you want to get sloppy, we’ve got your back.”

  “You really do, don’t you?” She tried to grip his wrist, only her fingers didn’t fit all the way around. She scowled, trying to focus on it, but then let out a huff of exasperation. “I really like it here. I love my country. I do. But I have to be on my best behavior all the time. I can’t dance on tables or have hookups or wear anything revealing. Even at university I couldn’t.”

  “That would suck.” He didn’t like that this spirited woman had spent a lifetime on lockdown. That’s no way to live. “You can do all that here.”

  An image struck him, her stumbling in drunk, late at night, with some random guy on her arm, laughing as she led him into her bedroom.

  Fuck, he didn’t like that at all. He had an uncomfortable feeling in his chest that almost felt like indigestion.

  But then she gazed up at him, all sweet and vulnerable, and he let it go. Rosie needs to spread her wings? She’s come to the right place.

  “I know.” She said it dreamily. “I like that. A lot. And I’m going to do everything. Except…maybe not with tequila.”

  “So, what I’m hearing is, I’ve got a Princess gone wild on my hands.”

  “Yes.” Her smile flattened. “As long as my identity doesn’t get out.”

  “Not to spoil the mood, but how does the fiancé fit into this plan?” He didn’t want to push, but he had a feeling she’d broken up with him. She wouldn’t be talking about hookups if she hadn’t.

  Her features tensed, and an unbearable sadness came over her. “Hello, hello, hello.”

  Sounded like a terrible impression of echoing. “What’re you doing now?”

  “Checking to see if we’re in the vault.”

  “We are. Always.” He had a feeling he wasn’t going to like what she had to say.

  “But, like, this is royal-jewels-in-a-safe level of secret keeping.”

  He drew in a breath. Did he really want to go there with her? If he listened to her unload, he’d get involved. And he was trying to keep some distance between them.

  But he was drawn to this woman in a way he knew meant he couldn’t deny her anything. So, yeah, he was in. Crawling across the bed, he lay down beside her. “I got you, Rosie. You’re good.”

  She rolled towards him. “He did more than double-cross me.” She stroked a finger across his cheek, moving the hair away from his ear and said, “He cheated on me,” in a loud whisper.

  The way his body jerked, you’d think someone had taken a cattle prod to him. “That fucker.”

  “With my friend. She’s…she was my assistant.”

  “They’re both pieces of shit.” Jesus, no wonder the princess was a mess.

  “And, to make it worse, he keeps saying he didn’t sleep with her.”

  “Like it matters.”

  “Exactly. Anyhow, for a lot of really important political reasons, I have to marry him, but Brodie, I can’t—I won’t.”

  “You love him?”

  “Before all this happened, I would have said I did. I felt…affection for him. He was my best friend. But, now that I’m away, I can see it wasn’t romantic love at all.”

  “You’re not hot for him?”

  She shook her head. “But I only figured that out after I met you.”

  Slowly, he turned to look at her with an expression that said, Does that mean what I think it means?

  “You do things to me I’ve never felt before, and it mak
es me see that I never got all fizzy for him. Not the way I do for you.” Her hand slapped over her mouth. “I prolly shouldn’t have said that.”

  “Nah, it’s understandable. What’s not to like?”

  She laughed. “You make everything so easy. Which is funny, since my first impression of you was the opposite. You looked all mean and gruff.”

  “I am mean and gruff, but I seem to have a soft spot for you.” When her eyes got all hot and her lips parted, he knew he had to shut it down. Not going there. “I might come off that way because I don’t get too invested in shit. I don’t want people telling me the stories of their lives.”

  “Yeah, you told me.”

  “Told you what?”

  “That you don’t follow through on things.”

  “That’s got nothing to do with getting involved in people’s troubles.”

  “Are you joking? It has everything to do with it. If they open up to you, you’re going to get emotionally involved, and once that happens, you’re invested. And then, when things don’t work out, you’re going to be destroyed.”

  “Well, that escalated pretty fast. Trust me, nothing can destroy me.” Well, except his dad dying. But other than that…oh. Well, yeah, his mom not coming back to Calamity…that had sucked pretty hard.

  “Like, I had this huge, lifelong expectation that I’d marry Marcel. I’d invested everything in that relationship, in our future together, and when it exploded in my face, it hurt. You expected to win a gold medal, and it was taken from you. It would make sense that you wouldn’t put yourself out there anymore.”

  “All right, Tequila Queen. I don’t know who told you about the Olympics, but it didn’t scar me. It was an old injury that acted up. I missed my shot. Simple as that.”

  “Oh, come on. You worked your whole life for it. I’m sure it took a lot of your family’s resources to get you there. And then…two weeks before you were going to see it through, it was taken from you. That would leave a deep impression. It would make you never want to care so deeply about anything again. Or anyone.”

  He didn’t miss the look she sent him. “And now we’re talking about Vanessa?”

  “Well, she’s trying really hard to make you love her.”

  “Whatever she’s doing, it’s not about love.”

  “She’s trying to get you there.”

  He scrubbed his face with his hands. “I’m not holding back because I’m afraid of being disappointed. That’s just not where we are.” Yet?

  Could he see having more with Vanessa?

  “But maybe there’s scar tissue that’s blocking you from letting someone in, you know?”

  “Maybe I’m not attracted to her the way I am to you.”

  “You’re attracted to me?” She drew up her knees and cupped her hands under her cheek again. “Tell me more.”

  He smiled. She was a cute drunk.

  She nudged him. “But, for real, are you? I want to know.”

  “Ah, come on. Don’t let your ex get into your head like that. He didn’t cheat because you’re not sexy enough.”

  “He said he doesn’t see me like that. That he doesn’t fantasize about taking me up against the wall. Did you ever take someone up against the wall?”

  “Of course.”

  She gave this big, dramatic sigh. “That must be exciting.”

  “Fucking’s actually more fun in a bed. There’s more room to play. Just saying.”

  “You know that woman who was riding the bull like it was a stripper pole?”

  “Are you talking about Gigi Cavanaugh?”

  “See, you even know her name.”

  “I know her name because I grew up with her.”

  “And because of her thing with Skylar’s cousin?”

  “She told you about that?” Sky’s cousin used Calamity as a sanctuary away from the public eye, so it was an unspoken deal not to talk about him. Sky’s a loyal person. She wouldn’t have revealed his identity to someone she just met.

  She nodded. “Why? Is it some secret?”

  Granted, a princess from St. Christophe wouldn’t recognize an American ball player’s name, but Brodie wasn’t going to say a damn word. I’m not going to be the guy who outs him.

  With wide eyes and a big grin, she hiked up on an elbow. “It is. What’s the secret? Are they stepsiblings? Is Gigi raising the child she never told him about? Come on, I told you mine.” She nudged him. “Spill it. I won’t tell a soul.”

  “There’s no secret.” At least as far as the relationship. Nope, Gigi and Cassian played that out for everyone to see. “He got recruited to play ball, and she went to art school.”

  “Star-crossed lovers.” She gave a dramatic sigh.

  “You’re making it way more romantic than it was. Pretty sure Cassian made some shitty choices.”

  “He’s a bad guy?”

  “He’s got a wild hair up his ass, that’s for sure. But, honestly, for all his partying, he’s still a good guy. Not many guys our age spend their free time mentoring kids. He runs a year-round football clinic—”

  Her body jerked, like she’d been bit by a snake. “Wait a minute. Don’t tell me Skylar’s cousin is Cassian Ellis.”

  Shit. How the hell did she get there?

  “Oh, my God. Cassian Ellis grew up here?”

  “That’s the secret, so keep that on lockdown.

  “I will. I swear. I can’t believe he’s Skylar’s cousin.”

  “How do you know him?”

  “Uh, because he’s the three-time pro bowler, four-time NFL passing leader? The player who holds the rookie record for passing touchdowns in a season? He’s the best quarterback in the league. Who doesn’t know him?”

  “How do you know American football stats?”

  “Because I watch football. My dad went to university in the States, and he’s a fanatic. But even if I didn’t, everyone knows Cassian Ellis. He’s gorgeous and always in trouble.” She rolled onto her back, staring at the ceiling. “Mind. Blown. I can’t believe that’s the man who broke Gigi’s heart.” She cut him a look. “Did you and Gigi ever hook up?”

  “Nope. She only had eyes for Cassian.”

  “She’s hot. And sexy. That’s exactly the type of woman I picture you with.”

  “Lots of people are hot and sexy, but that doesn’t have anything to do with attraction.”

  “What’re you attracted to?”

  You. “I don’t know. It happens at an unconscious level, doesn’t it? So, it’s hard to define. I’ve never been attracted to any of the Cavanaugh sisters—and they’re all hot.”

  “Really? But Gigi’s so sexy, and she has moves. I’ll bet if I had those moves, Marcel wouldn’t have cheated on me.”

  “Bullshit. I hope you remember this in the morning, because I’m going to tell you a super high-level secret about men. Wearing tight jeans and showing your tits doesn’t make you sexy. Confidence does. Princess, you could wear a tarp and still be the sexiest woman in the room, because of your intelligence, your feisty personality…your passion. If the douchenozzle doesn’t find you sexy, it’s because he doesn’t appreciate a woman that challenges him. A woman that faces her fears.”

  Her eyes glistened, and her lips wobbled. “Those are some really nice qualities.”

  “I see he’s never made you feel sexy…” Bastard. He couldn’t stop himself from brushing a lock of hair off her cheek. “And beautiful…” His finger swept across her lower lip. “And desired.” The man was a fool.

  Tears brimmed, then spilled. He wiped them away with his thumb. “Whatever went wrong in your relationship, that’s for the two of you to figure out. But the cheating part? That’s all on him.”

  “Don’t tell anybody, but I’ve only ever been with one man.”

  That didn’t surprise him. “Nothing to be ashamed of.”

  “I’ll bet you’ve been with dozens of women. Hundreds.” Her eyes widened. “Thousands.”

  “Somewhere in the middle.”

  “You
’ve been with more than five hundred women?”

  “No. I was kidding. I don’t keep count.”

  “I’ll bet you’re good in bed. You’re really…manly and…I bet you just take what you want.”

  She said take what I want all throaty and exaggerated. Made him smile. “Last I checked, my online rating was a nine-point-seven.” Sounded like Marcel didn’t give her what she needed at all.

  “What did you get marked down for?”

  “Even tipsy, you’re smart. I like that. And the point-three was from my first time. It took me a minute to find the joy button.”

  “Joy…” Her eyes flared. “Oh, you mean the clitoris.”

  “Sometimes I forget I’m dealing with a scientist.”

  “Or just a grown up.” She grinned.

  “But once I found it, sure, I figured out how to use it. It’s not all that fun unless you’re both getting something out of it.”

  She squirmed. “Oh, I’ll bet. I’ll bet.” She got a determined expression. “I’m going to find a cowboy who knows how to work my love button.”

  And there was the hooking up thing again. He didn’t like the idea of some stranger getting his hands on her. “Here’s another thing I hope you’ll remember in the morning. You’re special, princess. And, if you hook up with someone, make sure it’s a man who really turns you on. Wait for the guy who makes you feel wild and exciting.”

  “Someone like you?”

  “Nah. I’m not the guy for you.”

  “But you’re the one who makes me feel wild and exciting.”

  “Now, here’s something I hope you don’t remember in the morning. You tempt me like no other woman ever has, but we’re not going there.”

  “I get that.” She gave a sigh of sad acceptance.

  “Get what?”

  “You’re a free spirit. You can get wild and exciting any time you want. Why bother with someone who comes with all this baggage?”

  “You’ve got funny ideas about me. First of all, I’m not some playboy who bangs anything in a skirt. I need to have a connection with someone. I need to like them.”

  “Have you ever had amazing sex, the kind that rocked your world?”