Page 20 of Every Breath

She took a step back, hands on hips. “First of all, I never gave you a specific time as to when I would be back, and second, I didn’t realize I needed to report my comings and goings with you. Don’t start with me, Rodney, because I’m not in the mood.”

Something that looked feral flashed in his eyes before it quickly disappeared. He smiled. “I’m sorry, baby. I got worried, is all. You can’t blame me for being a little concerned, right?”

Brandi sighed. “I’m sorry, too, but I would really appreciate it if you didn’t interrogate me as if I were one of your suspects. Anyway, I dropped off DJ and waited till he settled in. Mr. Collins offered me a drink and showed me around his house.”

Rodney’s eyes narrowed. “Was his wife there?”

“He’s divorced.”

“You never mentioned that before.”

“So what? It wasn’t important. I was just dropping my son off for a sleepover with his friend. End of story.”

“Obviously not if you’re having drinks and getting the grand tour,” Rodney sneered. Brandi had never seen him like this and she didn’t like it one bit.

“What’s wrong with you tonight? This behavior is ridiculous. And trustfully, I would rather be alone if you going to act like this. Goodnight.” She turned around to walk toward her house when he grabbed her and hauled her back around. His mouth came down on hers.

Brandi pressed her hands against his chest. He was suffocating her with his insistent mouth. His grip tightened on her petite body, making it nearly impossible for her to move. She stopped struggling. Maybe if she let him kiss her this way, she would respond to him as she did with Mason.

Rodney’s tongue stabbed forward as he pressed her against her car. His mouth explored hers, and she felt absolutely nothing except a mild disgust. Why would she feel this way about someone she was engaged to? It made no sense to her. She willed herself to respond to him, but she couldn’t. Brandi twisted her head away.

“No. Let me go, Rodney.”

He grasped her chin. “Brandi, I need you so badly. Let me take you inside and love you.” Rodney bent to kiss her neck.

“I said no, dammit!”

He didn’t look as though he wanted to let go, but he did. “I’m sorry. Let’s go inside and talk this over,” he pleaded.

“No. I want you to go right now.”

“But—”

“Now!” She walked to her front door, unlocked it, and then slammed it behind her.

When the door closed, Rodney saw red. She slammed the door, making it clear that he wasn’t wanted. He couldn’t remember a time when he had not been welcomed in her home. Something wasn’t right. She even turned away from him when he tried to kiss her.

In fact, Brandi had been a little cool toward him lately, as though she were having second thoughts. He would not allow her to get out of the engagement. He fought too hard to win her and no one would get in his way.

He was sure her behavior must have something to do with Mason Collins. She seemed evasive when talking about him. He didn’t like the idea of his woman having drinks with an unattached man. He should probably check out this Collins character and make sure nothing was going on.

If there wasn’t anything, then that was fine. Rodney was sure he could talk some sense into Brandi. But if something happened, he wasn’t above wiping out the competition…by any means necessary.

CHAPTER SIX

“You can’t just keep burying your head in the sand, girl.” Lisa Morgan took a bite of her pizza as she eyed her sister.

“I know, but I can’t break things off with Rodney just like that. He’s been so good to the kids and me. He’s stood by me since Damon died and it would be shitty of me to say, ‘Hey, Rodney, despite everything you’ve done for me, I don’t want to be with you.’” Brandi sighed, pushing her unfinished slice of pizza away from her. She had been agonizing over what to do about Rodney since Friday night.

He called several times, but s”e ha’ refused to answer the phone. By the end of the weekend, he ended up calling more times than she could count. That was disturbing enough, but she was even more preoccupied by thoughts of Mason. Unable to face him, she sent Lisa to pick her son up that Saturday afternoon. Her sister was curious, but she didn’t asked questions until today.

“Gratitude is not a good reason to marry someone. Besides, I’ve told you what I thought about you and Rodney. It’s just not there, babe,” Lisa said around a mouthful of cheese.

“What do you mean?” Brandi asked, although she knew exactly what Lisa was talking about.

“You know damn well what I mean. The sparkle isn’t in your eyes. When you were with Damon, you always had a smile on your face and a twinkle in your eye. It was always Damon this and Damon that. Ugh! It was disgusting to see two people so in love, especially after all those years. Shit, all the romance I get from Ed is if he doesn’t fart at the dinner table. Lord knows he does it freely everywhere else.” Lisa rolled her eyes.

Brandi giggled. She knew her sister and brother-in-law loved each other and their three beautiful girls. “You know as well as I do that Ed is a sweetie. Why do you always say stuff like that about him?”

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