Neutral Zone Read online

  Chapter 2

  “You really think that’s a good idea?”

  Brady picked up a thick-cut french fry from his plate and smothered it in ketchup before jamming the whole thing in his mouth. He would’ve preferred if Curtis was joining him for lunch instead of phoning in their daily conversations, but he didn’t hold a grudge against the guy spending time with his pregnant wife. The pair only had about a month until their lives would be ruled by tiny space aliens.

  It was hard to process how happy they were about that fact. Brady had absolutely no desire to have kids. Curtis liked to joke that he’d change his tune when he met the right woman, but Brady’s particular taste in women generally included a night or two of wild sex before he moved on. None of the relationships he’d been in were even remotely on the baby-making trajectory, and he wasn’t about to change that.

  The whole concept of labeling a person as a boyfriend or girlfriend had always driven him crazy. His idea was that two people found each other attractive, they screwed like bunnies for a little while, and then they moved the fuck on. There was no need to make anything more complicated than that.

  As far as having kids went, he didn’t need anyone to tell him that he was too selfish to have a kid. He was lucky to be able to keep a dog alive.

  “Why not? She’s gone through fifty guys since you tried to get in her pants. That’s gotta mean she’s running low on prospects.”

  Curtis grunted for a second before he continued. If Brady had to guess, he figured his friend had just gotten an elbow to the side. Hannah probably had something to say about her hubby painting her best friend as basically a slut. Brady had made his usual rounds, but fifty fuck buddies seemed a bit much in less than a year.

  “We’d appreciate it if you guys could stand being in the same room, since you’re going to be the kids’ godparents.”

  Looping back to the kids, smart. If Hannah was sitting next to him, as Brady assumed, Curtis should’ve led with making peace for the kids. It wasn’t like Nina and Brady were actually at war or anything. She was just playing hard to get, and since Brady decided to stop the pursuit, she’d gone all furious bitch monster.

  Curtis had warned him time and time again that she was psycho, but she was the sexiest psycho Brady had ever met. Just thinking about her naked body under his made him look around the diner for possible options to ease the pain of his tightening pants. It was an irrational reaction, but Nina did things to his body that no woman before her had.

  Brady figured it had to be the fact she turned him down. Something about the chase brought out primal urges that screamed mount and mate.

  Sadly, the options for quenching his thirst weren’t great in the diner. He wasn’t concerned about looks or age. Obviously, he wasn’t about to hit up someone’s grandma, but his imagination as far as picturing the real desire of his lust had gotten pretty good over the months. He just needed to find a willing partner who didn’t mind the fact he took her from behind or with the lights off.

  It wasn’t a thought to be proud of, but those primal urges didn’t leave a lot of room for pride. The diner was full of women with rings on a certain finger, though, so satisfying the need in him wasn’t going to be as immediate as he hoped. Not that Brady could say he’d never slept with a married woman – there’d been ten of them over the years if anyone was counting. Curtis getting married made it feel weird to screw someone else’s wife.

  With the prospects so low, Brady sighed and focused back in on his conversation. If things were already tense for him, he didn’t see how showing up for drinks with Nina in the building would be a good idea. He played disinterested fine enough, but a certain part of his body always begged to grab Nina and throw her on the nearest flat surface. He was willing to flirt and playfully touch without direct permission, but forcing the situation wasn't something he'd do. He had to wait for her to say yes, which seemed like something that would never happen.

  He still had hope, though. She always got a look in her blue eyes that told him his patience would eventually be rewarded.

  “Why’d you agree to go out drinking anyway? I don’t remember a dance club ever being your scene, and you and the princess haven’t had a drop of liquor in, hmm, eight months.”

  There was no question whose idea the night out on the town was. The only question was how in the world someone got Curtis to consent to it. Either Nina had found something new to blackmail him with or Hannah was finally tired of being cooped up with an overprotective soon-to-be dad. Brady’s money was on the latter.

  “I’d prefer not getting into the why of it. Just tell me you’ll be there.”

  Curtis’ tone was bristled. He hated being in a room with Nina, but he hated even more if Hannah was alone with Nina. Brady guessed that the night was originally supposed to be just the two women, and Curtis was passing on the torture he’d signed up for to Brady. The other man was lucky Brady didn’t have any plans.

  “I’m not promising that I’ll stay long, but I’ll be there.”

  The bells on the door of the diner clacked together, bringing Brady’s eyes to the newcomer – the easy-on-the-eyes newcomer. He licked his lips, mainly trying to verify he didn’t have a glob of ketchup hanging out for later.

  “I’ll see you tonight,” he said before he quickly hung up the phone and tossed it on the table.

  The redhead he studied looked a little lost as she glanced around the room. It was a notch against him that she seemed to be looking for someone. Whether that was the case or not, she showed off a ringless hand as she brushed a stray strand of hair from her face.

  Brady smiled to himself as he adjusted his legs under the table to take a little pressure off his bulging pants. Damn Nina for making it so easy to get him riled up. Someday, he was going to show her what she was missing, but for the time being, the cutie in the green summer dress would be fine for taking care of his needs.

  “You looking for someone?” one of the waitresses asked as she moved across the room to take care of a customer holding up an empty glass.

  “Hmm,” the redhead hummed as she moved her focus to the waitress. “Oh, no, I just wasn’t sure if I was supposed to wait to be seated or should find one myself.”

  That didn’t mean she wasn’t expecting someone to join her. At that point, it didn’t really matter to Brady. He had a target in his sights. If history was any indicator, they’d be back at his place within the hour.

  “It’s no fun eating alone. Why don’t you sit down and join me?”

  Brady was close enough to the door that he didn’t have to raise his voice to be heard. Hazel-colored eyes turned his way with a touch of surprise filling them. In her perusal of the restaurant, her notice hadn’t really gotten to him.

  She looked down to his mostly eaten food and then back up with skepticism taking over from the surprise. Brady couldn’t blame the change he saw. His plate only had a couple french fries left on it.

  “I was just getting ready to order another plate. I spent an hour at the gym before coming here, so I’m carbing back up.”

  Technically, he’d planned on taking off to try to find someone to fool around with until he had to meet Curtis, but the working out aspect wasn’t a lie. He burned off so many calories staying in hockey shape during the summer that he had to eat about ten times a day to make sure he bulked up instead of losing weight.

  The redhead looked to the waitress for something. Brady ate at the diner maybe once or twice a month, but didn’t consider himself a regular. He couldn’t say for sure whether he’d ever seen the middle-aged waitress before. They all seemed to look alike in their matching pink outfits.

  “I’ve heard the sex is life-changing, but don’t expect intellectual conversation. He has issues talking about anything other than himself.”

  The customer towards the window waiting for the waitress to fill his drink apparently flagged her again, because she held up a finger before continuing. Her focus turned to Brady, and if he wasn’t hallucinating, he sw
ore there was scolding in her eyes.

  “I’ll be back in five minutes to take your order. Try to behave yourself until then.”

  Brady smiled at her and nodded. He had no idea who she was or who she’d been talking to, but it was good to hear his reputation preceded him.

  “I wouldn’t call it issues, but people seem to genuinely enjoy hearing about me.”

  His attention moved to the redhead, who hadn’t moved from her spot. The fact that she didn’t run to find a table or booth across the room told Brady he already had her where he wanted her.

  “And the life-changing sex?” she asked once the waitress was gone. Her voice was quiet, but not really shy.

  “Guaranteed.”

  Picking up one of the remaining french fries, Brady went about finishing his plate as if the decision didn’t matter. The idea of the woman playing hard to get was something he only had a few seconds to think about. Hiding the disappointment of her quickly sliding into the chair across from him wasn’t easy, but he plastered a smile full of seduction on his face to do what he could.

  “I just walked in on my boyfriend fucking my best friend, so I kind of need the life-changing sex. You better not be lying about it.”

  The woman grabbed one of the menus in a metal holder off to the side of the table and started looking it over. She’d already made it clear she hadn’t been to the diner before by her confusion on the seating procedures, but Brady didn’t think it was the kind of place you really needed to look at a menu.

  He shrugged to himself and tried to get a read on the woman. For someone who’d walked in on the scene she claimed, she was way too put together, not a single clue there’d been tears or even a fight. He considered what kind of reaction she’d had if she wasn’t in tears. Briefly, he wondered whether he should call the cops and let them know there was a good chance they’d find a couple of corpses at the woman’s boyfriend’s place.

  The idea increased his opinion of his new acquaintance. Women who started blubbering when he moved on drove him crazy. The murder aspect of his thoughts wasn’t as appealing, but he didn’t get the sense she was a killer.

  “Well, then. I’d suggest we skip the food for now and head back to my place. I’ve got some silky sheets that your creamy skin would look amazing against.”

  He would’ve suggested trying out the diner’s bathroom, but the waitress that had stopped to talk to the woman already seemed to have her eye on him. He wasn't shy about being caught in a bathroom, even though it wasn’t a locale in his repertoire. He just thought to make good on the promise of great sex, a little more room would come in handy. He had hours before he had to be at the club, and he intended to use every second of that time making sure his reputation couldn’t be run through the mud.

  “I live three blocks away,” the woman said as she nonchalantly put the menu back in its holder and eyed Brady.

  Brady thought about taking a second to consider how nicely things were falling in his lap. He wasn’t one to look a gift horse in the mouth, but it seemed awfully lucky to have someone desperate for a good fuck to walk in right when he needed one himself.

  Before he could fall too far down that rabbit hole of luck, a bare foot started a path up his left leg and settled against his dick. It wasn’t like he needed any convincing as far as the sex, but Miss Redhead seemed to want to make sure of that. He smiled as her eyes widened while her toes traced the length of him.

  “And you’ve never been in this diner before? I find that hard to believe.”

  Licking his lips, Brady considered dragging things out a little to counter the fact he didn’t have to work to get her to say yes. It was counterproductive, so it was a short-lived thought, but worth the brief consideration.

  “Does it matter why I haven’t been here before? I have keys to a place five minutes away and I want you to fuck my brains out.”

  “Nope,” Brady said as he shook his head and stood up. “I really don’t give a rat’s ass why you haven’t been here. Let’s go.”

  The woman didn’t immediately follow his movement, so he grabbed her hand and pulled her after him as he made it to the door. He cursed under his breath as he stopped just before pushing the door open and grabbed a twenty out of his pocket. The woman was dragged behind him as he went back to the table and threw the money on it.

  Once they made it back to the door and outside, Brady looked both ways on the sidewalk. His house was on the other side of town, so he needed a little input on which way to go.

  “Come on,” she said, taking over who was leading who. “My name’s Maggie, by the way.”

  It said a lot about Brady that he wasn’t worried about exchanging names. He couldn’t boast fifty bed partners in six months like Nina potentially could, but there were enough women that names could easily be confused.

  Brady never used names when it came to the bedroom, but he supposed it was only fair to exchange them. Rather than immediately provide his, he pulled on Maggie’s arm as they walked and spun her so she was in his arms. Taking advantage of her shock at the movement, he bent his head down to make up the almost foot height difference and smashed his lips against hers.

  No one could confuse the kiss for being gentle, which is what he was going for. He wanted to make sure that her giving him her name didn’t mean she thought anything more than an afternoon of fun was about to happen.

  “Get a room,” someone said in a joking tone as they walked by.

  Brady smiled as he licked Maggie’s lips and pulled away. Her pale cheeks had a little color to them and her eyes were clouded. Clearly, the boyfriend wasn’t treating her right if just a simple kiss knocked the sense from her.

  “My name’s Brady, and I suggest you point me in the direction of your place, so I can carry you there.”

  It took her a second, but eventually she lifted up her arm to point behind her. “It’s the big brick building with the black stoop out front, apartment three-twenty.”

  That made it sound like there’d be an elevator involved in their travels. Brady couldn’t wait to show her how fun the small space could be. He swooped her up, an easy task with her head still in the clouds, and set off. His day looked ten times better than it had when he hung up the phone with Curtis.

  Chapter 3

  “I think I need to get some water,” Hannah yelled.

  Nina scowled but nodded. It was hot on the crowded dance floor, even with Curtis making sure no one came within five feet of his wife. The man was about as bad as Hannah when it came to having fun.

  Hannah tended to be so shy that getting her out on the dance floor took a miracle. Nina didn’t classify the swaying her friend had been attempting dancing, but it was more than she’d ever seen from her.

  As they made their way back to the table they’d claimed as their own, Nina stopped in her tracks. The motion caused a chain reaction behind her, with Hannah having to hold her arms out to keep from running her belly into Nina’s back. Nina was surprised the woman’s arms extended further than her stomach.

  “What the fuck is he doing here?”

  Since Brady was settled at their table, she was sure someone had stupidly invited him, and since Brady’s best friend was behind her, she looked over her shoulder to let Curtis know her night was about to be ruined because of him.

  The hot hockey player had some redhead curled up next to him, which only further goaded Nina’s temper. He’d tried for months to woo Nina. Right around the time she felt better about giving him a chance, he up and stopped paying attention. She wasn’t about to put herself out there after the hard-to-get routine, so she switched tactics and tried to get Brady to find new friends. He was clearly a bad influence for Curtis, so she figured she’d get some help from Hannah, but her best friend didn’t want any part of the plan.

  “The question should be why he’s got a friend,” Curtis said as he pushed his way around his wife and Nina.

  Since Hannah’s hand was attached to his, he pulled her along with him. They were still ten
feet away from the table. Brady had clearly seen them, judging by his attention zeroing in on Nina. Every once in a while, Nina swore his decision to stop his pursuit wavered based on the hunger in his eyes.

  They were too far away to verify his hazel eyes were stripping her tight dress off her, and he’d brought arm candy, so instead of following Curtis and Hannah, Nina headed straight to the bar. The water and half finished, probably stale, beer she’d left at the table wasn’t strong enough for dealing with Brady.

  If there was anyone who could fill her desire for great sex and no commitment, it was Brady. Sadly, she’d miscalculated things on her part and didn’t have a great plan to get him back on board the screw Nina senseless train. Until she could come up with something, Nina planned on staying as far away from him as she could.

  “Hey, pretty lady, you aren’t done out there on the dance floor, are you?”

  Hands connected with both of her hips as someone ground his body behind Nina. A lot of strippers had rules about no touching. Nina always had trouble figuring out why those rules didn’t carry over to normal life. She went along with the motions keeping her from her drink for a few moments. It was long enough to tell her that even with the deep, somewhat sexy voice, the guy didn’t have anything she wanted.

  If he’d been watching her, she expected him to feel a little harder than a wet noodle. She didn’t have the desire to waste time fluffing a guy.

  She stepped forward to get away from him, but his fingers dug in deeper. She could tell he was bigger than her, both in height and overall size. His head rested on hers as he slowed their movements and his right hand reached up to cup her breast.