Bedhead, page 1
BEDHEAD
BROOKE BLAINE
Copyright © 2023 by Brooke Blaine
www.BrookeBlaine.com
All rights reserved.
No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without written permission from the author, except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.
This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.
Cover Design: Hang Le
Cover Photo: Rafa G Catala
Cover Model: Jorge Del Rio Romero
Edited by Arran McNicol
BEDHEAD SYNOPSIS
From USA Today bestselling author Brooke Blaine comes a sexy M/M enemies-to-lovers romance in the new Hate to Love You series.
Hudson
I hate Drew Edwards. That isn’t a secret to anyone in New York.
Smug, charming, flippant, and a royal pain in my ass, Drew has a way of making everyone fall in love with him, but I know the truth. Under that public persona is a ruthless man who’ll do anything to come out on top. He’s done it to me before…and a leopard doesn’t change his spots.
Drew
Hudson Montgomery. He hates me. Eh, no breaking news there. If anything, his hate only fuels my desire to provoke the pompous bastard at every opportunity. So when the chance to publish the most scandalous book of the year comes down to our companies, I’m determined to do whatever I have to in order to take Hudson down.
Nobody said I couldn’t play dirty…
Each book in the Hate to Love You series follows a different couple and can be read as a stand-alone novel.
CONTENTS
1. Hudson
2. Hudson
3. Drew
4. Hudson
5. Drew
6. Hudson
7. Drew
8. Hudson
9. Drew
10. Hudson
11. Drew
12. Hudson
13. Drew
14. Hudson
15. Drew
16. Hudson
17. Drew
18. Hudson
19. Drew
20. Hudson
21. Drew
22. Hudson
23. Drew
24. Hudson
25. Drew
26. Hudson
27. Epilogue
Thank You
About Brooke
Also by Brooke Blaine
1
HUDSON
Ten years earlier
“YOU’VE LOST YOUR mind if you think I’m straddling a cop car for a dare.” I was trying Drew’s patience. I knew it, just like I knew we were running out of time to complete the challenge, but this was so not my thing. A Friday night lurking in a dark alley wasn’t my idea of a good time, but Drew got off on this kind of thing. And God knew I got off on Drew.
Seemed only fair.
“This isn’t just a dare, Hudson. It’s for the scavenger hunt to end all scavenger hunts. For our legacy. You think anyone else has the balls to pull it off?”
“I know I don’t.”
“Yes. You do. I’ve seen ’em.” Drew leaned in to press a kiss against my neck and then smacked me on the ass. “Now go straddle that hot piece of metal.”
As I stepped forward, I took a deep breath, but as soon as I let it out, I found myself hesitating. Was it really worth potentially tarnishing my reputation—and my school record—by going through with a silly photo? Our last four years of frat-bro fun had the cops around town less lenient when it came to our shenanigans. From what I’d heard, they’d always sort of looked the other way when it came to parties and the annual Greek scavenger hunt, but the senior class my freshman year had apparently gone a little too wild—something we were still paying for now, four years later.
“No,” I said, stepping back into the shadows of the alley. “I can’t. If you want to do this, go for it, and I’ll take the picture.”
“Hudson.” Drew’s arms slipped around my waist from behind, and he rested his chin on my shoulder. In the freezing cold his face was somehow warm against my cheek, and I shivered. “You’ve been behind the camera all night. If you’re not in this final one, no one will believe you were here. We’ll lose. You don’t want us to lose, do you?”
I snorted. “Don’t think I don’t see right through your little manipulation.”
“I figured. But is it working?”
Good God, the things this man made me do. Drew Edwards pushed me out of my comfort zone constantly, and the truth was, I enjoyed it even though I bitched about it. That dynamic was half the fun, but this? This was insanity.
“I’m too sober for this shit,” I muttered.
Drew let out a whoop of victory before letting me go, and I glanced over my shoulder to shoot him a dirty look. Didn’t matter. He had the brightest, cheesiest grin on his face, both cheek dimples poppin’.
They wouldn’t be for long if I ended up in a jail cell. Gorgeous fucker.
Here goes nothing.
I peered out onto the street at the cars parked along each side, clocking two cop cars right out in front of the twenty-four-hour diner. God, that place was full of windows, and it didn’t help that people were in and out constantly. The sidewalks were busier than I’d expected for the late hour, but maybe that would somehow provide decent cover for the ridiculous thing I was about to do.
“Hurry up—we don’t have much time left.” Drew gave me a little nudge, and this time, I stepped out of the alley, acting as nonchalant as I could even as my heart began to beat in overtime.
Drew kept close behind me as I walked toward the first car and then glanced at the diner windows. They were fogged up, but I could still see the outline of the officers’ uniforms as they sat at a prime window seat.
Oh God, this was a mistake.
“Don’t worry—they’re more interested in their pie than what’s happening out here. Climb that car like a tree with your sexy ass.”
Had we been anywhere near our fraternity brothers, those words never would’ve come out of Drew’s mouth, but apparently he thought nothing of putting it all out there on a busy street. Jesus.
Ignoring the sane part of my brain, I looked again at the diner window, and when the officers didn’t look my way, I put my knee on the hood and pulled myself up on top of the car.
It all passed in a blur.
One minute I was spreading my thighs and looking over my shoulder for Drew to get a good shot, and the next several pedestrians on both sides of the street stopped to watch—and let out surprised catcalls, which—you guessed it—caught the attention of the cops in the window—
“Shit, they see us. Let’s go,” Drew shouted, grabbing for the back of my jeans to pull me off the car faster.
I stumbled as my feet hit the ground, but with the officers pushing their chairs back inside, I didn’t have a second to waste. I hauled ass after Drew, who tore down the alley we’d come from. He knew this city like the back of his hand, so I didn’t question it, only kept up as he led us down twists and turns for who knew how long. The adrenaline kept us going, and the farther we got from the scene of the crime, the less freaked out I was over the threat of being caught.
As we passed through yet another alley, this time by a church, Drew turned around suddenly and backed me up against the wall.
“What?” I said, struggling to catch my breath. “Are they following?”
“Maybe. Maybe not.”
Before I could ask any more questions, Drew’s mouth was on mine, his lips warm and urgent as his hands slid down my chest.
It wasn’t in me to protest, not when I could get a taste of him, something that didn’t happen as often as I wanted it to with the way we had to sneak around. Once we graduated, it would get easier. But for now, we stole each other’s breath in secret, in locked rooms and overnight getaways—and now, apparently, in alleys.
Drew’s tongue was relentless, tangling with mine as he grabbed a handful of my ass so that he could pull me in tighter, and his cock was growing hard against me.
“Mmm.” I pulled away just enough to say, “I thought we had to hurry.”
“We do. We have ten minutes until we have to turn in our proof.” Drew’s eyes flashed that mischievous look I was so used to by now. “Think we can make each other come in five?”
“Five?” I shoved my hips against his, and the moan he let out sent a shiver of anticipation up my spine. “Feels like you’re already halfway there.”
“What can I say? Seeing you breaking all the rules makes me hot as fuck.”
I smirked. “I think that’s the adrenaline talking.”
“I think we should just stop talking.” Drew nipped at my lower lip again, and when I parted my mouth he was home again, kissing me until I lost all sense of time and place.
Call it the Drew effect. He made it easy to fall for him. Too much charm and sex appeal wrapped up in that preppie bad-boy package, and no one could resist. The moment he set his sights on me, I’d been a goner, and I couldn’t imagine a day that would come where I wouldn’t love every single inch of Drew Edwards.
2
HUDSON
Present Day
“TELL ME THAT’S not Drew fucking Edwards.”
It was too loud, too crowded, too not-my-idea-of-a-good-time, and to top it all off, the last person I wanted to see just happened to be sliding into the row a few feet away from me. Smiling, laughing, double-fisting drinks.
The urge to walk over there and wipe that smile off his smug face was strong, but the pull to leave altogether was stronger.
Kai grabbed my arm before I could make a run for it. “Don’t even think about it. You’re here for a reason. Drew’s here for the eye candy.”
“He’s too diabolical to be here just for a show.”
“Then you underestimate these guys. Have you really never seen them live?” Kai nodded toward the massive stage at the front of the stadium, where any second now Fallen Angel would be arriving to drive the crowd wild. Images of the five members of one of the most famous rock bands in the world, in various states of undress, flashed up on the screens, along with a countdown to showtime.
Only two minutes to go.
I forced myself not to look at Drew as I continued to scowl. Though that tended to be my natural expression.
“Forget him. You’re the one getting the deal, so if he wants to have what he’s losing rubbed in his face, so be it.”
“Unless he’s here for the same reason.”
Kai dropped his head back with a groan. “You’re killin’ my buzz, Hudson. Over seventy thousand people in this place and you zero in on the one person you hate.”
“If it was Rome standing over there, you’d feel the same.”
“Don’t…say his name.” Kai threw back the rest of his beer and then started on the one in his other hand. “Damn buzzkill.”
My lips tugged up at the corner, all sorts of torturous comments on the tip of my tongue. But I kept them to myself, only because I hadn’t had to force my best friend out tonight. Not to mention his press badge might come in handy if my name was somehow not on the list after the show.
Hey, I’d been around entertainers for years, and once enough libations and other illegal substances were consumed, all bets were off. I made sure to always have a backup plan for times like this, though it was a perfect happenstance that it was Kai who kept me company tonight. Already the screams as the crowd counted down the final seconds were eardrum-shattering, which meant it would only get worse from here. I only had so much sanity to hang on to before I needed to grasp at someone else’s.
“Three…two…one—”
The stadium plunged into darkness as the countdown hit zero. I could feel the energy of all seventy thousand people vibrating through my body as they waited with bated breath for the moment their rock gods took the stage.
I wasn’t sure I’d ever felt anything quite like the tension happening right then. It was a palpable thing, especially when the sound of a guitar riffing blared through the speakers, sending everyone into hysteria. Lights flashed in all directions, a dizzying overwhelming of the senses, and it got faster and faster until finally the curtain dropped and all five men exploded onto the stage in a display of lights and pyrotechnics.
The brightness was blinding, and I squinted as the band kicked into high gear and began to play, but with the ear-piercing screams of the crowd, I couldn’t hear a word Halo was singing. Whatever it was, he looked damn good standing there center stage, all lean muscles and golden curls, looking every inch the angel nickname he’d garnered from his fiancé.
And speaking of…
Fallen Angel’s lead guitarist had a wickedly sexy expression on his face as he bit down on his lip, eye-fucking the audience and earning his bad-boy reputation. Dressed all in black with his dark hair falling down to his chin, Viper was the complete opposite of Halo—which just went to show it was true what they said about opposites attracting. The stories about Viper, before Halo, of course, were legendary, the stuff rock ’n’ roll dreams were made of. And from what Viper himself was teasing to the publishing world, those stories were only the tip of the iceberg. He was ready to talk, and there was no way anyone but me was getting that deal.
Which was exactly why I was here, well out of my comfort zone. Especially when Halo began working the mic like a—
“You look scandalized,” Kai shouted over the music. “Did you think you’d come to a Fallen Angel concert and not get an illicit show?”
“I hadn’t thought about it.”
Kai shook his head. “You need to get out more.”
“I am out.”
“And somehow you’re still on the clock. This doesn’t count.”
“Oh, it counts,” I said as Halo’s hand moved even lower.
“Speaking of things you need…”
Oh God. I knew what that side-eyed look Kai was giving me meant. “Don’t start with me.”
He pointed at the stage with his beer. “That. You need that. Some seriously hot—”
“Stop.”
“—good fucking dick.”
That certainly got the attention of the people in front of us, what with Kai practically shouting for everyone to hear. I quickly apologized to the couple, and when they turned back around, I elbowed my loudmouth friend in the ribs.
“You’re a mouthy shit when you drink.”
“Which is why I do, and why you love me. I say what you won’t. I can only imagine what a night of you on tequila would do— Oh holy fuck.”
My eyes weren’t the only thing growing large at what was happening on the stage. Viper had dropped to his knees in front of Halo, and was doing things I couldn’t believe were allowed in a public space.
“Hell yes,” Kai yelled, joining in with the enthusiastic begging of the crowd for them to keep going.
Okay, fine, I could admit it. It was a hot display, especially with the music pounding out a throbbing beat. But if I wanted to work with this guy, I didn’t need to get an erection watching them perform a song called “Hard.”
As they finished off the song, no pun intended, pyro exploded at the edges of the stage and the lights went out again. A few moments later, a red glow pulsed out with the opening of a song that apparently a lot of people wanted to hear—Kai included.
He threw his arm around my shoulders and gave me a squeeze. “Admit it. Watching two rock gods simulating oral sex on each other is the best night you’ve had in a long time.”
“It’s been…interesting.”
“Interesting? You call documentaries on the History Channel interesting.”
“So?”
“So this isn’t in the same realm, Hudson. Even if you end up working with this guy, you’re still allowed to enjoy this shit. Hell, his ego probably demands it.”
“When.”
“When what?”
I arched an eyebrow. “You said if I work with him. I say when.”
“Ahh, atta boy. Exactly.” Kai grinned and dropped his arm from my shoulders as he looked back out at the stage, where Viper pulled his thin black tee up over his head, wiped off his chest, then threw the shirt out into the crowd.
It was like watching a shark attack as the swarm of men and women dived for the prized item, arms flailing, possibly pulling hair. There was no way that shirt wouldn’t end up in scraps, but hey, more to go around.
That frenzy right there was going to sell millions of books.
I smiled to myself as I unbuttoned my suit jacket and shrugged out of it. I could do this. Enjoy the show, win the deal, and make my mother’s publishing company even richer.
As I turned to lay my jacket over my seat, I felt the heat of someone’s stare, and before I could remember who was standing in that very direction, I looked up.
Drew Edwards was watching me.
Even from several feet away I could see those dark sapphire eyes peering out from beneath the brown locks that had fallen across his forehead. He’d been favoring a devil-may-care shaggy style for years, probably thinking it made him look more charming and less threatening when he wheeled and dealed.
