She should be making love to Dodge, not naked in front of a stranger. As he examined her chest, she tried to conceal her breasts. "No way."

Perhaps this was a dream. Jessey made two blinks. Her attention was drawn to that too manly face.

The man's crossed arms made her realize he was naked. Her eyes moved down his muscular torso, landing on his hips.

"Wait." As he reached for her again, she escaped. Who knows what would happen if he touched her again. "Stay!"

As if soothing a catty, the man stretched his arms.

"Mistake." She exited.

She took her underwear, flung it, and then took the sheet he'd thrown off the bed. She was wearing it.

"Tell me what's going on."

Jessey returned his attention to his face. Her breath became choppy as she considered the implications. "You're not Dodge," she said.

He slumped onto the bed, his face heated.

She pressed her lips together. ""I'm going." She walked away, gently closing the door behind her.

An dreadful thought started to emerge in his mind as soon as those lovely words left her lips. He couldn't take his mind off her. He hadn't exactly just had sexual relations with his brother's fiancée, had he?

Charley leapt out of bed as quickly as he could. She couldn't possibly get away with it so easily. Before proceeding, he tugged on his trousers and pushed open the door.

He walked to the other bedroom and began beating on the door, ignoring the little voice within his brain that begged him to give up and get back into bed. "You had better be good, Dodge." As his younger brother murmured, "Get up," Charley entered the room.

Dodge slipped behind the pillows on his bed and hid there. "Get out."

Charley yanked his bedsheet off and gave him a smack.

"What in the world is going on?" He lifted his head just enough to get a glimpse of the digital clock sitting above his nightstand. "What do I have to be awake at this hour?"

"Do you don't have a girlfriend?" It was a long chance given Dodge's history, but he would never forgive himself if it found out that he had nearly banged his brother's girlfriend.

" No. How did you come up with such an idea?"

"Do you know a redhead? Absolutely gorgeous and rockin' body,?" He placed his hand on his shoulder and kept it there.

Dodge sat up and started caressing his face with his hands. "She might be any of a number of other ladies I know."

"My coordinator, Jessey."

pleasant, lovely, and even innocent She's been hinting that she'd want me to ask her out on a date, but I can't bring myself to do it."

Charley had trouble believing she was innocent. She might be a decent girl on the surface, but good females don't go into bed with the purpose of seduction.

"What is your interest in that?"

"Didn't you swear to yourself that you don't want her?"

"If I did, I'd tell you." Dodge's eyes widened and he glared. "What in the world is going on?"

Charley continued to tell him everything after taking a few deep breaths. Dodge was giggling so hard towards the end that his cheeks had become crimson and mottled. Charley was on the edge of punching anything, preferably his idiotic brother's face, when he saw Jessey's astonished look all over again, complete with the gorgeous "o" of her pink lips when she flicked on the light and had a glimpse at him. "I can't see the comedy in this ridiculous scenario," he says.

"I would never have guessed she had such a strategy in a million years. I must declare that you have my adoration."

" It was so funny that she had a panic attack in the middle of it and ran without even getting dressed."

Charley sat awkwardly on Dodge's bed, running his fingers over his hair. "I won't be happy if she chooses to leave as a consequence of this,"

Dodge shook his head. "I'm amazed at how upset you are about this," says the author.

They were the sole means of survival for each other. But that didn't mean he wanted to go into the mushy stuff or explain how much it hurt to have Jessey genuinely run from him after giving him a glimpse of heaven. "I simply...," I say.

Dodge sighed before moving from the bed, "I'm not going to be thrilled if she chooses to retire." "Do you think you started the coffee before you barged in here? Because it is obvious that I will not be able to sleep at all tonight."

"You act as though you're shocked." Charley got a stool after following him into the kitchen.

They both stood there, one drop at a time, while the coffee slowly filled the pot.

Charley had been gone for a lengthy stretch of time this time.

As they drank their coffee together, Charley noticed his brother. Dodge seemed to be trash. "How do you feel?"

Dodge shrugged, as he always did. "Fine. I'm now working on something completely new, and it's proving to be rather difficult.

Charley had a suspicion that a girl from their past was to blame for his younger brother's problems, but they never spoke about it. "You say that, and then it sells for a shitload of money,"

"I work to a high level." He finally cracked a grin. "So, how did you find your stay in Santiago? Did it really take you that long to return here?

It was all messed up. The general manager I hired had a thing for attractive redhead bartenders with more tits than sense, and he was skimming off the top of their tips. I was eventually obliged to let rid of every single one of them. "However, I met a female who is an expert in her area. Charley needs a ballbuster to keep all of those high-strung bartenders in line."

"How long are you going to stay this time?"

"No idea. I'm going to have to pay a visit to the remaining clubs very soon to make certain that everything is operating normally. " He made it a point to visit each of the nightclubs he owned at least twice or three times a year . When he wasn't there to keep an eye on things, it was much simpler for things to go under the radar.

"So tell me about Jessey, would you?"

Dodge set his cup down and took a glance around. "As I already said, she's a wonderful girl. Despite the fact that I know so little about her personal life, she works really hard. I was stationed with her brother in Syria throughout my time there. He's a good guy and an even better soldier. I can assure you that Ian will not be pleased if you pry into his precious little sister's affairs."

Charley was not the kind of person that women would bring home to meet their family.

"What I'm curious about is how far you plan to take it in the future."

Charley had a sip of cold coffee to revive himself. There were just too many variables to make an accurate estimate. All he knew was that he didn't want his final memory of Jessey to be of her wanting to flee from him. "I'm not sure, but I'd want to learn more about it."

"I suppose you'll have to go ahead and ask her out," she says.

The sight of her countenance came before his eyes once again. "I doubt she'd consent to it."

"And when has a simple 'no' stood in your way of attaining your goal?"

He laughed. "You have a valid point."

Jessey continued repeating a mental mantra as she drove home, to the point that she couldn't see the road in front of her. That did not come to pass. That could not possible have happened. Despite the fact that her whole body was telling the truth, she shook her head in dissent.

How could she have been so blind to the fact that the guy she was kissing wasn't even close to Dodge?

She reasoned that the incident was not her fault. They both had wide shoulders and hair that was a touch too long, so their bodies weren't that dissimilar. Even though the unknown guy was somewhat stockier than Dodge, she had no way of knowing what, if anything, he was hiding between the dress shirts and slacks he was wearing. Their lips have the same naughty curve as their eyes. In all honesty, anybody of any intellect might have made the same mistake.

She shook as a result of it. She had recently completed high school, and it was easy for her to fall for his bad-boy good looks and enticing smile. And things had been going swimmingly well until she caved and chose to have sexual intercourse with him. It had taken him 48 hours to alter his mind and break up with her after he had overcome the first hurdle, her virginity.

Her decision to visit Dodge was influenced by her ex-boyfriend Jason. She was able to keep her sanity even when in the same room with him since he was not the kind to indulge in promiscuous conduct. Dodge was unharmed. In contrast to the other unknown individual in his apartment.

Jessey had been working for her boss for a year and a half and had never seen him with another woman. She had always assumed that this was because he was a decent man who did not jump from bed to bed. What if the fact that she had never seen a woman was because he preferred men?

Not only had she exposed herself to the wrong person, but the man she was attempting to woo may not even like women.

The only problem was, if he was sleeping with her boss, why wasn't Dodge sleeping with him? He had left his car in the parking lot, so it was logical to think he had gone there personally. And the stranger...he looked to be interested in what they were doing. At least, that's what she thought. On the other hand, she had already shown that her radar for identifying such things was severely defective. She was confident, though, that he would not have acted the way he did if he did not think her beautiful. Perhaps he did it out of sympathy for her.

Roxanne has expressed her feelings on the incident. Her phone, laying on top of her luggage on the seat next to her, acted as a gentle reminder that she needed to contact her best buddy. Jessey was unable to complete the task. Roxanne immediately informed Jessey that the proposal was a horrible idea and that she would never be able to stop saying, "I told you so." It was the last thing Jessey wanted to hear at this point. No, Roxanne's status update can wait till they meet for coffee on Monday.

Jessey was able to overcome the completely illogical longing she had to reach her mother. Jessey had been punishing herself since since she'd made the stupid choice to meet her mother after the horrible situation with Jason in the first place.

The rest of the night stretched out in front of her, with nothing to do except stress and berate herself for putting herself into this mess in the first place. Instead of trying to force Dodge's hand, she could have just asked him out on a date like any normal person would. But what were we expecting her to do? Jessey was desperate to meet someone suitable for her, but her mother put pressure on her to have dinner after dinner with dull males, purportedly for her own benefit. Her mother was well aware that Jessey would benefit from a more suited companion. At the very least, she was able to spend time with Dodge without feeling the urge to flee via a lavatory window.

She pulled into her driveway and then looked around the neighborhood. Because most people had decided it was too late to go out, the street was completely deserted. It was very possible for her to get to her front door without anybody noticing her. Just a piece of cake.

She hopped out of the vehicle, buttoned her coat, and made a dash for the front door while tucking the sheet more securely over her breast. As soon as she was inside, she dropped to the ground and rolled herself into a ball in order to hide from anybody who may be watching. "This is how I live my life." Oh, how pitiful. Jessey took a deep breath while attempting to maintain her composure, but all she could smell was the spicy aftershave of the man she had come close to having sexual relations with. She instantly rose to her feet. Oh God. "And I am not even familiar with his name."

After that, she sobbed her eyes out. She pulled herself to her feet and staggered up the stairs as she fumbled her way through the process of removing her coat and the sheet. With each stride, she inhaled more of his aroma into her lungs. She could still feel his hands on her, and the sensation of his calloused palms sent chills throughout her whole body. And his lips...good God, the man's mouth on her breasts had almost been enough to push her over the brink all on its own.

Jessey flung open her bedroom door and rushed into the neighboring bathroom. He lathered herself with soap as quickly as she could and scrubbed her skin to remove all evidence of the previous evening's occurrences. She tried to erase the memory of his fingers being inside of her, his kisses on hers, and his arms pulling her tight, but she couldn't.

It occurred to her that she had really apologized to him. She had sincerely apologized as she walked out the door. Her pain was pierced with righteous wrath. What was the significance of her apology? It was not her fault that this occurred. He was the reason she found herself in such a difficult predicament. If he had any morals, regardless of how dangerously beautiful she was, he would have ended her unsuccessful effort at wooing him the instant she slipped into his bed.

Jessey emerged from the shower. There was only one thing that could make her feel even slightly better right now.

She dashed into the spare bedroom she'd converted into a studio and grabbed a canvas from the back of the closet. She made a deliberate effort to relax before taking up her easel and painting the background with wide, sweeping strokes, laying the framework for the ultimate picture that would emerge from it.

Jessey took a few quiet, deep breaths before turning her whole concentration to the painting assignment at hand. There was nothing at first save her gestures of dipping her brush, moving it over the canvas, and blending the colors together.

As the painting developed, the picture eventually changed into a man's nude chest. It featured a terrific chest, big shoulders, and a tight waist, giving it a nice overall aspect. However, it was not a swimmer's physique like the one seen in the stock photo; there was too much weight in the muscles for that sort of lean strength to be developed.

She blinked her eyes closed. What made that chest seem to be seen before?

She screamed as she threw her brush across the room. This is really absurd. Jessey went for one of the spare sheets she had stashed in her closet to cover the carpet. She draped it over the painting in a methodical and concise way, then turned, exited the room, and softly closed the door behind her.

The following day would be a fresh start, and she'd deal with it then.

Despite her motivational speech, the memories continued to swarm on the rim of her consciousness.

Jessey shredded her napkin methodically, without looking up once. She could take her gaze away from the befuddled brunette at the other end of the table.

"You slept with..." Roxanne cast a brief check around and said. "You slept with Dodge?" Wow.

Jessey resumed shredding the strips into equally sized squares where she had left off. "No."

"I feared you'd gone insane."

Jessey blinked away tears as she gazed into Roxanne's green eyes. They were significantly more fascinating to her than her usual blue ones. And, yes, she was plainly postponing the inevitable. To summarize, "I didn't sleep with Dodge... well, almost. But whatever I went into bed with wasn't Dodge.

But it wasn't her fault that everything went wrong. Her position on the matter remained unshakable. There was no way she could have known Dodge hadn't touched her and started the fire.

As insightful as that was, she couldn't help but be irritated that her wicked body reacted to the mere mention of his face.

Despite her perfect tan, Roxanne seemed horribly pallid. "Honey, I think you should restart and give it another go."

"After Dodge stated that this weekend would be a good opportunity to work on a new design, I decided it was time to get started."

"I even went out and bought undergarments," she claimed.

"We're making terrific headway..."

"It would be better if her humiliation was revealed. Jessey drank her coffee and almost puked from the heat. Okay, so it's possible it wasn't her best idea. Saturday night wasn't either. I enticed him. I'm not sure, maybe something else. It didn't matter in the end since we were sharing a bed. Dodge? I thought it was him. It had been a fantastic experience. Simply amazing. She felt a tightness in her thighs as she remembered the feeling she experienced when Dodge-but it wasn't Dodge. I was almost in bed with a complete stranger, and that jerk almost let me."

Roxanne's eyes blinked when this occurred. Is that a foul word you just spoke, or am I seeing things?

Jessey, on the other hand, was too focused with her problems to notice that she had been profane. What approach would she use to face Dodge? What if he said anything about it? Oh my God. Today was going to be a double hockey stick day. What if he found out ahead of time and fired her as a result? She was obsessed with art galleries. It was critical that she did not lose it. "That's for sure, I'm dying with embarrassment. Isn't that an option? It had to be, since it's happening right now.

"You're overacting," she pointed out. If not Dodge, with whom did you sleep? She also frowned. "And just how did you manage to do that without realizing he was the wrong guy?" I ask.

The room was pitch dark due to a lack of light.

"Uh huh. A light switch is an extremely handy piece of equipment. It's enjoyable to try it out."

That method just "made more sense." Saying that aloud made it seem stupid, but it was true. If Dodge was going to reject her, she didn't want to see his face or let him see her almost naked.

When Jessey leapt back, she sat back down and covered her mouth with her hand.

But not right now. She could still feel his weight on her even now. So, what kind of man would let a stranger into his bed? He could have avoided it if he had stopped her.