Bachelor Unleashed. Brenda Jackson

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СКАЧАТЬ self-preservation was a way of life. He abhorred emotional involvements of any kind. He and Farrah had established the boundaries up front, basically on that first night.

      And he could recall that first night well …

      They had met at the Racetrack Café, a popular hangout here in Charlotte. He’d been there with a close friend by the name of Donovan Steele, and Farrah had been with her best friend, Natalie Ford. Before the night was over, Donovan and Natalie had paired off and so had he and Farrah. He’d thought she was ultrabeautiful, hot. There had been something about her that had immediately made his mouth water, his tongue tingle, and he’d known from the jump that he wanted some of her. And he had been able to tell from her body language that the feeling was mutual.

      A few nights later he had shown up at her front door with a bottle of wine in his hand and a hard-on in his pants. She had opened the door and let him in, fully aware of the nature of his visit. And things had been that way between them since. No commitment, just great sex.

      And now she wanted to end things.

      Before he could fix his mouth to ask why, she said in a teasing voice that he really didn’t find amusing, “I wouldn’t want to threaten your standing as a member of that club.”

      He knew exactly what club she was referring to. It was one he and his five godbrothers had formed a few years ago—the Bachelors in Demand Club. They were men who enjoyed their single lives with no plans of settling down. All six of them had their own issues with commitment and were basically guarding their hearts. Now there were only five of them left, since one of his godbrothers, Uriel Lassiter, had gotten married last year.

      “Donovan and Natalie’s wedding reminded me of all the reasons why I don’t want to be seriously involved with anyone again,” she went on to add.

      He drew in a deep breath. As much as he preferred things continuing between them for a little while longer, the decision to split now was hers to make, and he respected that. And then maybe she was right. Things had lasted longer than either of them had planned, and things were beginning to get too complacent between them. Hell, he could recall speeding away from Uriel’s wedding reception like a mad man trying to make it to her place. And wasn’t it just last weekend they had literally burned the sheets off the bed at the Ritz-Carlton in New York after Donovan and Natalie’s wedding reception?

      He didn’t need a rocket scientist to see that things could start getting serious between them if they weren’t careful. She had the ability to unleash feelings within him he preferred staying locked away. So maybe they should make a clean break before things got messy and complicated. Those were two words he didn’t like having in his vocabulary.

      He eased out of the chair and stood. “Hey, no problem. It was nice while it lasted, sweetheart.” He not only meant that from the bottom of his heart, but also from the head of his penis that was already swelling in protest with his words. He was definitely going to miss sharing all those bedroom hours with her.

      “You do understand, right?”

      “Of course I do,” he said, ignoring the tightening in his chest. He slowly crossed the room and reached out and pulled her into his arms. “I will always appreciate our time together and if you ever need me for anything, you know how to reach me. Don’t ever hesitate to call, all right?”

      Farrah nodded. “All right. Thanks.”

      He cupped her chin in his hand before leaning down and capturing her mouth in a kiss that she felt all the way to her toes. She thought being a good kisser was just another quality he possessed. His tongue tangling with hers elicited all kinds of lust that began rushing through her veins in a matter of seconds. It didn’t take much to get her wet again.

      When he finally released her mouth to step back, she eased back down on the edge of the bed to watch him dress. He slid his jeans back down his tight, muscular thighs before grabbing his briefs to put them on. Her gaze studied his erection, the object that had given her so much pleasure over the past year. It was still hard, thick and so engorged its veins seemed ready to explode.

      Desire thrummed through her, and she began remembering how his shaft felt inside of her, how good it tasted, and she quickly decided there was no use letting a good hard-on go to waste. Especially since it was one she wouldn’t be seeing again. “Xavier?”

      He glanced over at her as he reached for his jeans. “Yes?”

      “How about one more for the road?”

      A slow smiled tugged at the corners of what she thought was a pair of ultrasexy lips. She watch him slide underwear back down his legs and toss them aside before walking back over to her. He then said in a deep, husky voice, “Baby, I’ll give you something better than one more for the road. Get ready because we’re about to take flight. I’m about to take you on the ride of your life on the interstate.”

      And with that said, he tumbled her back onto the rumpled bedcovers.

       Chapter 1

       Six months later

      “So, what are your plans for the holidays, X?”

      Xavier leaned back in the leather chair and propped his legs up on his desk while glancing out the window at New York City’s skyline. The Empire State Building was in his direct line of vision and looked massive against the dark blue sky overhead.

      He had arrived in New York a few days ago to wrap up a business deal between the Northeast Division of Cody Enterprises and Oxley Financial Services. Cameron Cody’s takeover of the investment firm was a done deal, and as the executive attorney for all Cameron’s affairs, Xavier needed to be in place to make sure everything was handled as it should be. Not only was he considered Cameron’s right-hand man, they were very close friends. That friendship had begun back at Harvard when the two had been struggling students, determined to become successful in life.

      And now, just like then, they looked out for each other, so he wasn’t surprised by Cameron’s question. Cameron knew that Xavier’s parents had left for their annual six-month missionary crusade—this year to Haiti—and wouldn’t be returning back to the States until sometime in the spring. “I’m not sure yet, Cam. I have a number of invitations out there.”

      Cameron’s deep chuckle sounded over the speaker-phone. “Hey, don’t brag about it. Not everyone is blessed to have five sets of godparents.”

      A frown settled on Xavier’s face that was best not seen by anyone. “That could be a blessing or a curse,” he said, shaking his head pensively. “Currently it might be the latter. Now that Uriel has married, some of the godparents are eyeing the remaining five of us. I’m not sure I want to be included in any of their get-togethers for the holidays. Thanksgiving was hard enough.”

      “I bet.”

      Everyone had been invited to Uriel and Ellie’s place on Cavanaugh Lake. Former neighbors on the lake, the two had remodeled both their homes once married, combining them into one with an enclosed walkway. That meant plenty of space for sleepovers.

      And it was nice having all six godfathers present as they retold the story of how they’d met at Morehouse and become close friends, and how on graduation day they’d promised to stay in touch by becoming godfathers to each of their children, and that the firstborn sons’ names would carry the letters of the alphabet from U to Z. And that was how Uriel Lassiter, Virgil Bougard, Winston Coltrane, СКАЧАТЬ