7. Distraction #2
“Right. Sure. Gotta have hobbies right,” I mutter, mentally screaming at myself to get it together.
But Broderick just laughs quietly, he walks over and grabs his water bottle taking a sip and, oh God, watching him move is worse, because now I can see the way every muscle shifts under his skin, and it’s definitely getting hotter in here.
When he stops a few feet away, those green eyes sweep over me, lingering just a little too long—cataloguing the way I’m still visibly flustered.
“Want to tell me what brings you here at sunrise? Or were you just hoping to catch me half-naked?”
I shoot him a look, but there’s no real bite in it—my heart is still pounding way too fast.
“Maybe a little of both.”
His grin widens, and for a moment, something sharp and electric passes between us. Just like it did last night.
But before I can lose my nerve completely, I cross my arms and try to act casual—failing miserably, probably, but I try.
“Actually, I need to talk to you,” I say, a little more serious now, feeling my nerve slipping.
His playful smirk fades a little, replaced by something softer, more concerned.
“Yeah? About what?”
I hesitate, the words right on the tip of my tongue—Be my distraction. Make me forget—but they refuse to come out.
Instead, I shrug, pivoting away like I’m not completely exposed under his gaze.
“I need your help to, um…get fit. Work on my cardio,” I blurt out, the words forced and awkward.
Broderick cocks his head to the side, arms folding casually across his broad chest, but his eyes are sharp.
“Do you?” he says. “Surely your team can arrange a personal trainer for that?”
I shrug, he’s right, biting my lip, eyes darting anywhere but him—because if I meet his gaze too long, I’m afraid I won’t say what I really want.
Then, he steps forward, closing the space between us in two easy strides, and all the air in my lungs evaporate.
He’s so close. I could reach out and touch him, run my hands over that delicious, sweaty torso still glistening in the light. If he’d let me.
Would he?
He leans down, his mouth against my ear—the heat of his breath tracing my neck.
“You didn’t come all this way to ask me to help you do cardio,” he murmurs, voice rough, soft, and dangerous, setting every one of my senses ablaze.
The warmth of him seeps into me, igniting something I’ve been trying so hard to ignore—targeting every inch of tension pooling between my thighs.
I close my eyes, just for a second, letting the moment sink into my skin, savoring it like a hit I shouldn’t be taking.
I swallow hard, pulse pounding. It’s now or never. Still a bad idea. But…
“Okay,” I breathe, exhaling. “Maybe not that kind of cardio.”
I open my eyes to see him leaning back, watching me with a grin tugging at his lips as his eyes meet mine and there’s something flickering in them now.
“That so?”
I chew on my bottom lip, heat flooding my cheeks, but I can’t bring myself to look away from him.
We stand there, toe-to-toe, everything unspoken swirling between us for months—and God, the temptation to close the last inch of space is irresistible.
So, I dive headfirst into my desires—into the thing I’ve been too scared to say out loud until now.
“I want you…” I pause, my palm flattening against his chest, feeling the pulse of his thundering heart. He tenses for a moment as I suck in a shaky breath, my voice dropping to a breathy whisper, honest in a way that makes my own heart race. “…To fuck me. Whenever I want.”
The words hang there, between us—the first time I’ve ever been so bold about my desires.
I lift my eyes to meet his gaze. And that’s when I see it.
Broderick’s eyes go wide—stunned—before he bursts out in a deep, booming laugh.
Maybe I read it all wrong.
God, please strike me down now.
Broderick’s laugh finally slows, but when he looks down at me and sees that I’m dead serious, still standing there with my hand still on his chest, not backing down—something in his expression changes.
I recoil, pulling my hand away and take a step back to brace myself for rejection.
His brow furrows, and he lets out a breath, rubbing the back of his neck.
“What the fuck, Elena,” he blurts out. “One minute were talking about kissing and…are you toying with me right now?”
Alright from his perspective, this was a bit of a leap but he hasn’t said no, this is good, I think.
“I’m not toying with you.”
“Jesus, El,” he breathes, looking at me like he’s trying to figure out what’s real and what’s not.
Then, smirking a little, he adds playfully, “I mean, c’mon…I’m not just some piece of meat, you know.”
I huff a soft laugh.
“Well, maybe I am objectifying you a little,” I say, shyly. “I mean…have you seen yourself?”
“So, you do find me attractive?”
“I have eyes, don’t I?” I deadpan.
He chuckles.
“You’re…serious?” he asks almost to himself.
“Yes.”
Broderick’s eyes darken a shade; the playful edge slipping just enough to let something real and heavy settle between us.
“You don’t just drop something like that and expect me to act like it’s nothing.”
“Maybe not, but I’m a young woman, Broderick. I have needs.”
His eyes narrow slightly, shadowed with something unreadable.
“You’re actually serious,” he says in disbelief.
I nod, biting my lip.
He scrubs a hand down his face, pacing a step away, but then turns back to me.
“But…what? Why?” he stammers, words tumbling over each other. It’s strange seeing him so flustered—his usually confident, teasing facade cracking right in front of me.
Why?
Because my heart is broken, because I want to feel wanted and needed.
Because I’m lonely and horny.
Because you’re hot
Because I want you.
I want so desperately to be able to admit those things to him. But what if I scare him away. Instead, I tread cautiously.
“I’m not gonna sit here and pretend there hasn’t been something going on with us…since the moment we met, there’s been…this,” I say gesturing between us, my eyes never leaving his.
He swallows hard, and I press on before I lose my nerve.
“I’m going on tour soon…and in the position I’m in, one-night stands aren’t an option. The idea of starting anything that hinges on an NDA feels transactional.”
The thought of Cooper Witney crossing celebrities off his bucket list, makes my skin crawl.
“I can trust you right?” I ask.
“Always,” he says, without hesitation.
And with that one word, I don’t doubt I’ll be safe with him.
“I want you to be the one who…fulfils my needs. Be my distraction. Keep me satisfied, can you do that?”
Why does it feels hotter in here all of a sudden, my face flushed with audacity. But it’s too late now, I’m standing on the edge of something and I’m ready to fall into it.
All of it.
With my false sense of bravery, I step a little closer again, lowering my voice and peering up at him through my lashes.
“Say yes,” I whisper, daring him. “You know you want to.”
His chest rises and falls, faster now.
“I see the way you look at me, Brody.” My voice drips with quiet seduction.
His jaw clenches, like he’s struggling to hold himself back.
“I don’t want you just for your body,” he says, voice strained.
“Oh.” The disappointment hits me hard, he doesn’t want me.
Fuck maybe I read this all wrong, maybe this was just all in my head. This was a mistake—I need to get out of here.
Now.
Broderick must realize it because before I can bolt out of there, he reaches for my wrist. “Not like that El.” He exhales hard. “You’re fucking gorgeous, this…it’s just unexpected and I don’t want to take advantage of you after everything with him.”
The words hit me harder than I expect, something tender and aching behind them—and for a second, I falter.
Only for a second, because I can’t deny the way my body screams for his stolen touches every moment we’re around each other.
How my body reacts to his very presence.
How, no matter where I am in a room, his eyes always seem to find me.
I straighten my shoulders. It’s now or never.
“It would be me taking advantage of you, I’m not interested in sleeping around, but I do have desires,” I sigh. “Will you have me, like this?”
I stare up at him, silently pleading for him to say yes. To finally make good on all these months of tension and ache.
To finally give in.
The silence between us stretches, thick and charged, neither of us moving, like one wrong step could send the whole thing crashing down.
His eyes burn into mine, as he wrestles with the war in his mind.
Finally, he speaks, voice low and rough, barely above a growl.
“Elena…If I say yes…I’m all in.”
I nod, holding his gaze, even as my breath trembles.
“Good.”
He swears under his breath, letting go of my wrist to run a hand through his hair, pacing away. When he turns back to me, his jaw is tight.
I watch, waiting for him to say something. His expression goes from lust to concern back to lust again. I notice the beads of sweat sliding down his chest. The way the waistband of his sweatpants dips a little lower when he wipes his face.
For a moment, time stretches thin between us. I hold his gaze, willing him to surrender, to take the leap with me.
“So…what exactly does this arrangement involve?”
Relief floods through me. It’s not a yes, not yet—but it’s not a no either.
“Sex,” I say flatly.
He rolls his eyes, the corner of his mouth twitching like he’s trying not to smile.
“And maybe some rules,” I add. “I don’t want us to hurt each other. I care about you, Broderick. I’m trusting you with this.”
“Okay, rules,” he echoes, tilting his head, clearly amused. “Like what?”
I pace, collecting my thoughts like loose beads on a string.
“One: No one can know,” I say, ticking it off on my fingers. “This stays between us.” Before he can interrupt, I power through, “This isn’t for public consumption.”
“So we’re sneaking around now?” he quips. “Should I wear a disguise?”
“I’m serious. Discretion is key. I can’t afford another scandal. One wrong headline—it could ruin everything I’ve worked for.”
His smile fades slightly, and I can tell he hears me now—the fear under the flirtation, the pressure threaded through my every word.