Chasin' Eight (Rough Riders #11)(70)

Her eyes welled up. Damn Hannah. The woman was such a good friend.
“I wasn’t supposed to contact you, but after that last text you sent her? She feared you might do something rash, so here I am.” Brad leaned closer. “I’m trustworthy, Ava, I promise. Talk to me. Imagine I’m Hannah, if that helps.”

She considered it and threw caution to the wind for a change. “All right, Uncle Brad. You’ve convinced me to give it a whirl.” She swigged her beer and shared the basic run down of the situation with Chase. His “just friends” spiel. His mixed physical signals.
After she finished, Brad said, “No wonder you’re confused. But I believe there’s an easy solution.”

“Which is?”

“Bring another guy to your hotel room. Or better yet, be half-naked with another guy when Chase walks in. He’ll either rip the guy limb from limb or he’ll leave until you’ve had your fun. Either way, you’ll know how he feels.”

Simple. Effective. But for all her bold talk…could she really do it? Push Chase to take action with her by making him jealous? Her every insecurity hit her full force. What if Chase was playing the friendship card because he really wasn’t interested in anything more? What if he didn’t like fake breasts? What if he’d never want her because she was taller? What if her less-than-glamorous appearance turned him off?
But what if he just needs a nudge? What are you out?
Not a damn thing. Nothing ventured, nothing gained. No more waiting in the wings. Time to let her sexual needs take center stage for a change.
“Is this idea gaining ground?”

“Maybe. The problem is—” I don’t know if he’s attracted to me, “—I haven’t found a guy I could even pretend I’d want to bang, let alone finding the real deal.”

“Does Chase know that?”

“No.” She huffed out a frustrated breath. “I don’t know. See why this is driving me crazy?”

He spun toward her on the barstool. “How far you willing to take this?”

All the way. “Why?”

“Let me be the guy you drag back to the room.” When she frowned, he leaned closer. “Then it’s a controlled situation. You don’t have to worry about some strange guy taking things too far.”

“Why would you do this, Brad?”

“I’m a sucker for this type of romance stuff. And I get to help out my favorite niece’s friend. Plus, it’ll be a hoot, acting with you.”

“How well can you act?”

Brad bestowed a smoldering look of pure hot need. Invading her space, he stared directly at her lips. “You have a mouth made for sex. As much as I’d like to kiss those pretty pink lips for hours, and watch them wrapped around my cock, I’d really like to see them soft and open as I’m making you come for the fourth time.”

Holy. Shit. Then Brad’s eyes met hers and there was no sexual heat whatsoever.
“How’s that?”

“Ah. Wow. Damn. That was a really great way to set the scene.”

He chuckled. “Good to know I can still pass for straight.”

Ava’s mouth dropped open. “You’re gay?”

“Since the day I was born,” he said breezily.
Her gaydar wasn’t just rusty; it was completely f*cking broken.
“So what do you think?”

Brad didn’t cajole her as she weighed the pros and cons. But the bottom line? She was desperate to do this. “Deal. But part of the deal is you can’t tell anyone. Ever.”