Free Game on by Cheryl Douglas Page B

shocked and likely appalled
if Ryan confessed the depth of his feelings for her. His past relationships
with women tainted everyone’s opinion of his ability to commit to just one
woman, rightly so, but he wanted to prove to everyone, especially Brianna, that
he was willing to change. He’d already changed. He hadn’t been with anyone
since before the holidays, and for him, that was a new record. The last time
he’d gone without sex that long, he’d had mono and been bed-ridden for two
months.
    “Then why are you messin’ with her this
way? Josh would have your ass if he found out, not to mention Aiden, Jay, and
Mike.”
    Aiden was one of Ryan’s closest friends,
and he didn’t want to compromise his friendship with Brianna’s brother, but he
wasn’t going to let anyone convince him that he was the wrong man for her.
Tonight she’d confirmed the attraction was mutual, and in spite of the inherent
risk to their friendship if things didn’t work out, he knew he couldn’t spend
the rest of his life suffering in silence.
    “I’m not messin’ with her. I care about
her, a lot.”
    “Man, gettin’ laid has always been easy for
you. Why not just stick to the chicks you usually go out with? Is it because
Bri’s a challenge? Is that why she does it for you?”
    Everything about her turned him on, from
the soft and gentle exterior the world saw to the paradox he’d witnessed in the
courtroom: the tough lady lawyer ready to fight to the death to secure a
victory. There was nothing he didn’t know about her, nothing he didn’t love.
    “You haven’t got a clue,” Ryan muttered. This
wasn’t the time to confess his feelings to his brother. It seemed cruel to tell
him he’d finally found the woman of his dreams when Evan had just lost his soul
mate. “I don’t wanna talk about this anymore.”
    “You really think I’m gonna let you off the
hook that easily?”
    “You don’t have a choice.” Ryan pulled into
his brother’s driveway. He didn’t bother to cut the engine. The sooner he could
get out of there, the better. “See ya at the office tomorrow.”
    “I’m not finished talkin’ about this,” Evan
said, reaching for the door handle.
    “That’s a damn shame, ‘cause I’m through
listenin’.” He grinned when Evan scowled at him. “I know you’re concerned about
Bri. I get that, but you don’t have to worry. I’d never do anything to hurt
her. You have my word.”
    Evan looked at him a long time before he
asked, “Why doesn’t that make me feel better?”
    Ryan chuckled. “Go in there and get some
sleep. You look like shit.”
    Evan smiled, one of the first smiles Ryan
had seen from him all night. “Thanks a lot, asshole.”
     
    ***
     
    Brianna had just slipped into her sweats
and given her cat a small bowl of wet food when her phone rang. She glanced at
the call display. Ryan. Since when did a late-night call from her best
friend make her heart pound like she’d just run a marathon? Since he kissed her
like she’d never been kissed before. She considered avoiding the call, since
she had no idea how to explain what happened between them, but she knew if she
did, he would likely show up at her door determined to talk. God only
knew where that might lead, given her current state of mind.
    She reached for her cordless phone the
second before her voice mail kicked in. “Hey, Spencer, what’s up?” She tried to
keep it light and friendly, as though either one of them could forget what happened
an hour ago.
    “I just dropped Evan off. He read me the
riot act for comin’ on to you tonight.”
    Just the sound of his voice, which she’d
heard a thousand times before, twisted her stomach up in knots. What was
happening to her? She couldn’t allow herself to feel this way about Ryan, of
all people. He was wrong for her, for so many reasons, not the least of which
was his policy regarding interchangeable women.
    “I hope you told him it works both ways. I
wasn’t exactly fighting you