Won’t Back Down

Book 3 in The Bro Code

Thou shalt not fall for the girl thy cousin wants…

James Watson is at a breaking point. The last year has put him on rocky grounds with his friends, and now he just bombed the bar exam. He pins the blame on one person: Tori Brown. She’s not only his sister’s best friend, but an undeniably sexy goddess who chaos seems to follow.

Tori is tired of men seeing her as nothing more than a conquest. She’s particularly tired of James Watson, her friend’s hot older brother and the man who can’t give her a break. Now that Tori’s finally landed the human resources job she’s been working toward, she knows she won’t have time to think about him anymore. Until it becomes clear that the up-and-coming lawyer at her new workplace is none other than James.

Beyond working at the same firm, James’s desire is kept in check by the bro code rule: Don’t date the girl your cousin likes—especially when he’s the attorney who invited you to join the firm. With the lines between lust and hate getting blurry, can they help but be crossed?

EXCERPT

She sighed and made her way to him.

“What can I do for you, James?” she asked, stepping past him into the room.

He closed the door and leaned against it. “You can leave.”

What?

Tori blinked in dismay, her stomach twisting.

She folded her arms across her chest and tilted her head to look at him. “I’m a little confused. Did you or did you not just ask me to come to your office?”

“I did.” He nodded and lifted a hand. “What I’m trying to say is you can’t be here at Wright and Williams.”

“I can’t be here? Like at the job I just got hired to do?”

“Exactly. You should quit.”

She started to laugh, and then went silent when she realized there wasn’t a trace of humor in his words.

The fury that heated her belly stayed at a slow simmer at the genuine distress in his eyes. “No. I’m not going to quit my job, James.”

“Two weeks. I’m two weeks away from taking the bar.” His voice broke as he shoved a hand through his hair. “And here you are to fuck everything up again.”

The blood flushing to her face left her almost trembling, and she grabbed the edge of his desk to keep her balance.

“Did you just blame me for you failing the bar?”

He blinked, his eyes going wide for a moment. “Yes. No. I don’t even know. What I do know is my life got a helluva lot more complicated when you came into it.”

“You’re a grown man,” she ground out. “Take responsibility for your own actions and the consequences they create.”

When his gaze slid to her mouth, she knew immediately what he was remembering. What she thought about more than she cared to admit.

With the two of them alone in the small room, she became all too aware of him.

As a tall woman, she was used to being close in height to many men, but James still had at least four inches on her.

He wasn’t overly muscular, but lean, and maybe a little lanky in that gray suit. His face was fully masculine, with its square shape and strong jaw.

But it was those dark brown eyes that were watching her right now. They’d always put her a bit off-balance.

Which he was doing entirely too well right now, judging by the way her pulse was racing.

“How the hell is this happening?”

Maybe he didn’t actually want an answer, but she replied anyway.

“I don’t know . . . I applied for a job at a law firm that you apparently work at too? Pretty simple explanation, actually.” She put her most innocent expression on. “Would a PowerPoint presentation help break it down?”

“Could you, just, not . . .”

“I could.” She sighed. “Look, obviously, this isn’t ideal, but we’re both adults here.”

“I’m going to need to pretend you don’t exist for the next two weeks.”

“Shouldn’t be all that hard for you.”

He’d sure done a great job since they’d last seen each other at his sister’s wedding.

The memory of what had happened in the tent started to float up and she mentally face-palmed it back into the darkness.

“I’m going to leave now, James.” It was amazing how calm her voice was. “And do the job I was hired to do.”

She moved to open the door, and he shot out a hand to stop her. His fingers wrapped around her upper arm.

His touch, though light, shocked her and sent tingles spiraling awake every nerve in her body. Her stomach flipped and her breath hitched.

They were close, nearly shoulder to shoulder, and she could smell the familiar cologne or soap that was unique to him. It was spicy and woodsy and entirely too compelling.

“Tori.” Her name was a plea on his lips.

But for what?

She met his gaze and time stopped. His nostrils flared and his gaze darkened.

She knew that just like her, he was remembering the last two times they’d been this close. Her pulse went into overdrive…

Nope. Not going there.

She tugged her arm free, and his gaze immediately shuttered. Their brief and intimate connection was severed.

The anger was back. The accusation.

Gripping the handle of the door, she paused before opening it and glanced up at him.

“You don’t, by some chance, blame me for your breakup with Hannah, do you?”

“Of course not.”

But the answer was in those expressive eyes. They seemed to reveal every damn thought in his mind.

He did blame her.

Of course he did. She shouldn’t have been surprised. People loved to blame her.

“I need this job, James. And I have no intention of leaving unless I come to that choice on my own terms,” she said softly. “So, get used to seeing my ass around. Whether you love it or hate it.”

Ignoring the narrowing of his eyes, she slipped out the door and left him to stew in his own messy emotions.