Bro Code(42)

Sounds perfect to me.

The faster I move, the louder she gets, and Ava comes while looking me right in the eyes, wonder written all over her face. Her orgasm snaps the last thread of my control, the world going white as ecstasy overtakes everything else and runs wild through my body. I pull her into kiss after breathless kiss, lingering in the afterglow.

We spend a long time like that, with our bodies tangled together, our hands interlaced as we study the size difference between them. After a while, I can see she's sleepy, and I wrap her tightly in my arms, the sheets tugged up just over our hips.

“This almost feels like a dream,” she murmurs, so soft that I don't think I was supposed to hear it.



*



My ringtone for work jolts me awake, and I scramble to get my phone from where it's tucked in my pants before it goes to voicemail. I’ve had a rare work free weekend. It’s Sunday, but that doesn't mean the partners expect me to sound anything except sober and alert.

“Mr. Lyons, good morning,” I say, calling up a professional smile. Even if he can't see, it puts me in the right frame of mind.

“Barrett.” Lyons' voice rumbles over the line, raspy with his age. “I hope you're not wasting the day away.”

Glancing to where Ava still lays half-asleep, I can't make myself call it a waste. Sure, we slept in late, but it was after a night I won't be forgetting any time soon. “Of course not, sir.”

His chuckle says he might not quite believe me, but is too polite to say otherwise. “We need you in the office ASAP. One of the juniors you staffed on Promenades deal just called in sick.”

I rack my mind over the work assignments for the deal, forcing my eyes away from Ava for just a minute. “Okay…”

“I need your eyes on the merger agreement now. We’re on a strict timeline. I need everything on my desk first thing tomorrow morning.” Strict meaning the client would walk away if we don't jump to make them happy fast. “I know you’re looking for more responsibility, now's the time to prove it.”

Shit. That's an offer with an expiration date. “In and out in a in a few hours?”

“As long as you cross your t's and make it look neat and it’s on my desk tomorrow morning, I couldn’t care less how long it takes you.,” Lyons says.

If this was any other Sunday, I wouldn't even have to think about it, but Ava's here. Even if it will kill me to cut our weekend short, I know what I need to do. “I'll be there in an hour, sir.”

“Excellent. Knew I could count on you.”

The line goes dead and I sigh, tossing my phone back onto the bedside table. Ava stirs at the sound, so effortlessly beautiful even while half awake. I'd planned to spend the morning with her, enjoying every last second until she had to leave, but that's out of the question now.

“What's the frown for?” she asks.

“I've got to head into work. There's a client emergency.”

She frowns, too, but she sits up enough to give me a kiss. “That's okay. I have to drive back anyway.”

Our weekend went so fast and I’m at a mental crossroads with no clear direction, stuck between wanting to keep Ava in my bed and my duties at work. Climbing the corporate ladder doesn’t happen on its own and I know this. So, rather than deal with the emotions of what this is, I go with the physical instead. Looking over at Ava, I smile and say, “Shower with me?”





Chapter Twenty


Ava


Barrett pulls me into his arms under the warm spray of water, and we just stand there, enjoying the feel of our bodies pressed together.

“Temperature okay?” he asks.

I nod, tightening my arms around his waist, and pressing my cheek against his muscled chest.

This weekend has been amazing, and though I'm sad it's almost over, I regret nothing.

As Barrett rubs mint body wash over my skin I close my eyes and savor the moment. He's warm and solid, and so careful with me. It's refreshing how he seems genuinely interested in what I have to say, how he loves my passion for keeping the factory alive. It's like he just gets me.

I could so easily fall in love with this man. The thought slams into me with the force of a freight train, screeching and slamming right into the station. But once the idea has lodged itself in my brain, it's hard to shake. He's a giver in bed. And dear God, his body? He's so sexy it should be illegal. But it's so much more than that, too. He's smart, funny, he has the patience of a saint. Not to mention he spent last weekend using his free time to help my family, and this weekend making sure every moment was perfect for me.

“You are incredible,” Barrett murmurs.

Instead I hear words he hasn't said. Words like I love you. And I want to make you mine.

I can picture us—happy and in love. Both of us working too much, and making the most of our downtime. Him with hair graying at his temples. A cozy home, babies who we adore.

But I know Barrett. I know his goals, they're just as lofty as mine and incredibly important to him. He wants to make partner. Needs it. Needs to prove that he can do it—both to his family, and to himself that he is something, someone worthy of love and praise. I already know he is.

I blink and force the thoughts away. And if there wasn't this distance, or our careers keeping us apart, it'd be his friendship with my brother.