Regina
Waiting until she heard the door open downstairs, Regina chewed her lip before ripping the package open from Dr. Devereux. First, she pulled out the card. She ripped the envelope it was in, saw it was an anniversary card, and read it quickly.
Regina,
I hope this finds you well. I was in the bookstore the other day and saw a sign announcing that E.R.Rico would be doing a book signing there in a few days and immediately thought of you. I remembered how books were your escape, even during your darkest hours, and that she was one of your favorites. So I decided to come back and get you a signed copy of her latest. In revisiting your file for your forwarding address, I noticed it’s been almost eighteen months since your very first therapy session. So I thought this would make a nice little anniversary gift.
Warm regards,
Chris
Regina put the card back in the bigger envelope as she heard the door downstairs open. Unable to resist, she pulled out the book to see which one it was: Endless. She smiled. It was one she hadn’t read yet. She flipped it open to get a sneak peek of the inscription and was startled by how fast Brandon had made it to the top of the stairs.
Catching herself, she slowed down after instinctively shoving the book back in the envelope in reaction. She could’ve kicked herself for being so stupidly obvious about it.
“Is it a secret?” Brandon asked, peering at the envelope as he walked toward the bed.
He placed the box with the chair on the end of her bed, but his eyes were still on the envelope.
“No,” she said, clearing her throat a little. “It’s just a book—a romance novel by one of my favorite authors. My friend had it signed by the author and sent it to me.”
She smiled, trying to make light of it. As surprisingly comfortable as it was to talk to Brandon, this was not a topic she was ready to talk about. Telling him about her former therapist was something she hadn’t even decided if he needed to know at all. She pulled her legs off the side of the bed and pointed at the box he was now working on getting open. “That’s a good size. I didn’t know they made them that small.”
Brandon eyes went from her to the envelope then back to her. She knew he must be wondering about it still. She’d already bypassed his question earlier about not being curious about the package. Then she’d obviously waited for him to leave to open it, only to practically gasp when he’d walked back in the room so quickly.
To her surprise, he didn’t press further. But the raised eyebrow remained up even as he spoke of the chair. “I noticed your shower is on the small side, so I got the smallest one they had.”
He pulled the chair out, made some adjustments, and then walked over to the bathroom. “Yep,” he said. “Perfect fit.” She smiled as he walked out. “Did you want to take a shower now or later?”
“Now is good.”
He walked over and helped her up. She was getting better about walking on just one crutch. Her ankle was still very sore, but at least, the throbbing had subsided, so she didn’t need such a big dose of her painkillers. They made her feel sluggish, and today she hadn’t even taken them. Regina wasn’t sure if it was the distraction of having Brandon around or if her ankle was healing a lot faster than she was expecting. But if the pain didn’t get any worse than it was now, she probably wouldn’t be taking any more meds from here on.
Brandon helped her all the way into the bathroom. Then she waved at him with a smirk. “I got the rest from here.”
“You sure?”
Regina laughed. She was beginning to love seeing his playful side. The fact that not too long ago she’d actually wondered if he ever smiled made the silly grin on his face now feel like that much more of a treat.
“Yes, I’m sure,” she said, leaning in and kissing him.
He brought his hand around her waist and kissed her a little deeper before pulling his face away. “I’m serious. You sure you’re gonna be okay on your own?”
“Absolutely,” she assured him. “But I’ll probably be in here a while, so if you have anywhere else you need to be or any errands to run, by all means, go.”
Frowning as she once again rejected his help, he exhaled. “I have a few phone calls I need to make, and there’s something I needed to do at the base but was going to wait until Monday. Maybe I can knock it out today. You sure you’re gonna be a while and you don’t need me here?”
“Positive, and even after I’m done, I’m sure I’ll find a way to keep myself busy.” She squeezed him. “Just get back in time for our movie night.”
“Oh, I’ll be back way before that.”
After a few more kisses that had her wondering if maybe she should’ve taken him up on his offer to help her in the shower, he was gone.
Just as she anticipated, the shower took forever. Moving around with that damn splint and trying not to put weight on her ankle slowed everything down. She had plenty of time in there to think about what was happening between her and Brandon.
The untimely delivery had interrupted a conversation that had begun to make her insides wild. Was he really going to suggest a relationship? Or was it his way of trying to warn her he didn’t do them and this weekend was just an exception? On the other hand, he’d been pretty aggressive about getting down to the business of whether or not she was single.
Was she ready to move on as Dr. Devereux had insisted she needed to? As much as she’d enjoyed her single status in college before settling down—which had given her the opportunity to deal with a lot of different personalities—she’d never met someone quite like Brandon. He’d proven he could be such a sweetheart already, but there was something deep in those eyes that could go hard in an instant. She’d seen it happen several times now.
He admitted to never wanting to make attachments and that he had no family, nor did he mention any friends or acquaintances. That was a little alarming as well. Was it really a good idea to finally start to move on with someone like Brandon, so intense and atypical, which most likely translated to difficult?
Sure he’d been easy enough to get along with now that he’d finally come around. He’d been wonderful actually, and while he had his intense moments, he could be so down to earth. Even their kisses felt like something they’d been doing forever. But they hadn’t gotten into any heavy subjects yet. Everything so far had been light and fluffy. There was no hiding the fact that they were both skimming the heavier stuff and allowing each other to do so. Avoiding the tougher subjects was not the smartest way to start a relationship, but she’d tread cautiously for now.
Deciding she wasn’t even sure where this could go and that could very well mean nowhere, Regina wasn’t going to worry about all that yet. She’d take her weekend with him for what it was worth and enjoy it. At least, she didn’t have to worry about feeling dirty or used afterwards because she’d already set that boundary, and he’d assured her today he would be respecting it.
~~~
“I can’t believe that’s the first time you’ve ever seen When Harry Met Sally!” Regina said, shaking her head as she clicked the remote, turning the television off.
Smiling, Brandon shrugged. “It just never seemed like something I could get into.”
Brandon slid down from his sitting position on her bed and lay back all the way. Regina did the same, turning to her side and resting her head on her fist. “So what’s your take on it? Do you agree men and women can’t be friends?”
“Yep, absolutely.”
This surprised her. “Really? They absolutely can be friends?”
“No, I agree that they can’t, and I think Harry nailed the reason why perfectly. Men and women can’t be friends because the sex part always gets in the way.”
“Wow, you really do have a good memory.”
“Not that good,” he said, smiling and playing with her hand. “I said I’ve never seen the movie, but I’ve seen plenty of parts, like that one and the part where she fakes the orgasm in the diner. Actually, I’ve seen most of the more famous parts. I just never sat through the whole thing from beginning to end before.”
“Well, this will probably get my woman card taken away, but I’m gonna have to agree too.” This seemed to surprise him. “But not exactly for the reason you or Harry think. I think it comes down to feelings, not just sex. I think, even if you don’t have sex, the relationship can be ruined because one side starts developing feelings and the other side might not.”
He shook his head. “Maybe for you that’s the case because you’ve probably never met a man who hasn’t fallen in love with you immediately. So you’ve never been able to keep friendships with men. But most of the time it’s about the sex, especially if, say, the woman you had sex with—and didn’t fall in love with, so you remained friends—gets an actual boyfriend or even husband. There’s no way that friend is gonna stay a friend without her man having issues with it, unless, of course, she lies about never having slept with her friend.” He frowned, glancing at her, his expression going grim. “In that case, if they’re starting off with lies or cover ups, the relationship with her new man is probably doomed to begin with.”
With her heart beating a little faster, Regina tried not to put too much weight on his statement about her not having met a man who didn’t fall in love with her immediately. He was just being sweet. She’d already established that he could be sweet—very.
Caught in his eyes for moment, her heart pounded even harder before she managed to counter. “But that’s not exactly what Harry argued in the movie. He said that men and women can’t be friends because attracted to them or not,” she laughed nervously, “you pretty much want to nail them all anyway. You seem to be saying that only if you have sex with them you can’t be friends but if you don’t you can?”
“I’m probably the wrong person to be arguing this point to begin with, because I’ve never had many friends, period.” He reached out and ran his fingers through a few strands of her hair that fell to the side of her face, making her shiver. “So I can’t say for certain if I would or wouldn’t want to nail every one of my female friends if I had any. All I know is that’s my reason for no return visits with them whether we’ve had sex or not.” He paused, and it almost seemed to Regina as if he wanted that part emphasized. Then he went on. “Return visits with anyone form attachments. So maybe your reasoning is more correct than mine. Those attachments could lead to wanting sex, and, therefore, unless that turns into a relationship, the friendship is ruined.”
Regina tilted her head, staring at him curiously. “Why is that?”
He seemed confused. “Why is what?”
“Why is it that you don’t form attachments with anyone? You mentioned that before. You really don’t have any friends?”
He brought his hands behind his head and stared at the ceiling, his features going a bit stiff. “I really don’t.”
“But why? It’s obviously not for lack of personality or ability to hold a conversation. I’ll admit after the start we had I’m a little surprised, but never in my life have I felt as comfortable being around someone as quickly as I have with you.”
His smile surprised and relieved her a little bit, but he continued to stare up at the ceiling. “It’s never been because I can’t make friends or keep them, Regina. I choose not to make attachments that might lead to friendships.” He turned to her now, his expression much softer than when she’d first posed the question. “At least I had until now.”
Feeling her heart flutter, she couldn’t help smile. “So what changed your mind?”
He slid over and lifted himself onto his elbow to face her. With his hard body up against hers, he looked deep in her eyes. “You did.” Bringing his hand behind her neck, he pulled her gently to him and kissed her softly, stopping to suck her bottom lip for a moment. “Though I didn’t admit it then, you sucked me in from the moment I first laid eyes on you. Your lips alone are enough to drive me insane.” He ran his tongue across her bottom lip slowly. Then those intense eyes of his were on hers again. “I thought it was just a physical thing, something I could easily ignore like I always do when I meet attractive women, but little by little,” he said, leaning in and kissing her very slowly—very deeply—before pulling away, “I could tell there was more to you. After spending just a few hours with you, I knew I’d be in danger of wanting to come back for more of you.” He smiled. “Then you kissed me. Just one taste of this mouth,” his eyes dropped down to her lips, “and I was a goner.”
He took her mouth again and kissed harder now. With the excitement of knowing how crazed he could get from just kissing her and after what he’d just told her, she was hot and tingly all over. She brought her hand around his strong back, running it up and down and beginning to feel a little crazed herself.
Feeling his heartbeat thunder against her chest as he held her tighter had her having second thoughts about the nothing-more rule she’d set for tonight. But she had to keep a straight head. Her insides were a burning mixture of desire and excitement but at the same time fear. A part of her was completely intrigued by him, this incredibly complex man who was telling her he wanted more. Another part of her was afraid of what she was getting into. No attachments ever? No friends? Was she ready for someone so complicated in her life?
Falling deep into his amazing kisses and his gentle yet possessive embrace as he continued to kiss her endlessly, she could already feel herself giving into the idea.
He finally pulled away to catch his breath and stared deep in her eyes. “Brandon?” she asked, breathlessly.
“Hm?” he said, kissing her lips again softly then her chin and working his way down her neck.
“Are we friends now?”
His kisses ceased for a moment before he kissed then sucked on her neck softly. “Nope,” he said before sucking her neck a little harder, every part of her body trembling in response.
Confused because he’d just given her this speech about how he was making an exception for her, she had to ask. “Why not? I thought—”
He lifted his head and latched his teeth onto her bottom lip before she could finish, then bit down just enough to make it hurt so good—a sensation she’d never felt before. Sucking it one last time before pulling away, he stared at her very seriously, and his expression went soft again. “Silly girl,” he said with a peck. “I already told you my stand on men and women being friends.”
“But—”
His mouth was on hers again, kissing her in that crazed way he had the first day, the way that made her wild with desire, and she moaned in reaction to it. She wrapped her arms around him as he lifted himself onto her, obviously being careful that he didn’t touch her bad ankle. Pressed against her like this, there was no denying he was as aroused as she felt, and he continued to devour her mouth, her lips, and her tongue, like a man on a mission to make her come by just kissing her.
Just when she thought she couldn’t take it anymore, that she might shamelessly moan, he pulled away and stared into her eyes very seriously, his hands cradling her face as he tried to calm his own labored breathing. “We’re not friends. We never will be, okay?” She nodded, not sure if she should be hurt or not. “I’m just gonna be upfront about this now so there is no doubt. I don’t mean this sexually, Regina. In that sense, we can go as slow as you want, but if, after this weekend, we’re not more than friends, then things go back to the way they were before Friday. If I’m gonna make this exception, then it’s either all or nothing. Anything in between is unacceptable.”
He stared at her for a moment, no doubt waiting for a reaction from her. She tried not to look as alarmed as she felt about the loaded statement he’d just dropped on her.
“All?” she asked cautiously. “What exactly do you mean by all?”
His brow lifted, and he continued to look at her very intensely. “I mean I’m not breaking my rule of no attachments to become friends with a woman who fascinates me and I can’t get enough of kissing. It would never work. Since I did offer my assistance for the entire weekend, you have it until then, but if you’re not looking for more than just a friend you enjoy kissing, then I’m out after tomorrow.”
At the risk of sounding dense, because she wanted to make sure she was absolutely clear on what he was saying, she had to ask. Her insides were already going nuts, and she didn’t want him to notice. Was he really saying what she thought he was saying?
No longer able to remain composed and hold back how secretly thrilled this made her, she smirked. Already lying here in bed with Brandon was something she never would’ve believed she’d be doing just a few days ago. So asking what she was about to ask after spending just two days with him seemed even more absurd. Still, before she agreed to anything, she wanted it unmistakably clear. “Are you asking me to be your girl, Sergeant Billings?”
Finally, a smile softened what had now turned into an unyielding near glare after she’d apparently taken a bit long to respond for his liking. He nodded, but like so often when he responded to her before, he said nothing more.
As absurd as it seemed, she did feel as if she were his girl already. Not since college had she done the casual thing, and she certainly didn’t plan on moving on by starting off with just a casual thing now. Although ever since last year, she hadn’t considered doing anything. She still wasn’t sure she was ready, but he was being so all or nothing about it, and she didn’t want to risk him going back to the guy she once thought him to be now that she knew how amazingly sweet he could really be. She smiled. “I’d ask you to let me sleep on it, but I get the feeling I won’t be getting any sleep now. I know myself. I’d toss and turn over this all night.”
“What’s there to toss and turn about?” he asked. “I’m not asking you to marry me, Ms. Brady.” He leaned in and kissed her softly. “Not yet anyway. I just need you to understand this now.” He looked into her eyes, suddenly going very serious again. “I don’t do the friends’ thing. So if you decide it’s all you wanna do, I don’t want you to be upset later because it’s not gonna happen. If you prefer we don’t take this any further, Monday things go back to the way they were before.”
Regina stared at him for moment. She would’ve liked to have tried the friends’ thing first before getting into anything too intense with him. But admittedly she’d never had a friend she kissed the way she and Brandon had already. So what difference did it make if they made this official? It was better than doing this and then wondering what this was. She’d already begun to wonder. Like he’d said, “At least this way there were no doubts.”
Smiling big, she could hardly believe she was about to agree to this. She nodded very softly at first and then with a lot more enthusiasm as she saw that beautiful smile spread across his face. “Okay,” she whispered.
“Okay, what?” he asked.
“I am not calling you sir!”
Brandon laughed heartedly and kissed her. “That’s not what I meant. I mean I wanna know exactly what you think you’re agreeing to.”
She looked at him, confused and a little embarrassed. “Being your girl, right?”
He leaned in and kissed her so deeply she began to squirm, but she wrapped her arms around him tightly, relieved she’d clearly gotten it right.
Pulling away just slightly, he looked deep into her eyes. “My princess,” he whispered.
The term of endearment and how sweetly he said it took her by surprise, but she immediately loved it, so she smiled big. “I like that,” she whispered back.
As unexpected as this sudden change in her life was, Regina’s heart pounded with the eager anticipation of what was to come.
~~~
The next day had been as wonderful as the rest of the weekend. She’d been able to keep her family at bay by telling them a little white lie. She knew her mother would want her there again for their Sunday family brunch. But there was no way she could go with her ankle like this. And Brandon had been right. It was better that she not tell them about her injury just yet. They’d make a big deal out of it, so she told them she was still having some things delivered and while they’d told her they’d deliver on Sunday they didn’t give her a time. She also mentioned having a major breakthrough at work and had some things she really wanted to work on ASAP. That wasn’t entirely a lie, so she felt less guilty about the first lie.
Brandon had been as sweet and attentive as he’d been from the first day. Then things took an unexpected change. After the struggle of getting Regina down the stairs Monday morning, he insisted they stay at his single-story place at least for that week.
“No sense in having to deal with those stairs all week,” he’d said. “We’ll take whatever you need to my place for the week, and maybe by the weekend your ankle will be strong enough for you to climb up on your own.”
At first, Regina tried to protest she couldn’t do that—just move into his place for the week and intrude on his life that way. But after getting that scolding look because she was apparently being difficult and he was only trying to make life easier not just on her but himself, she gave in.
Monday she’d given Brandon a tour of her small office space at work when he walked her there in the morning. They’d arrived early before anyone else was there because they’d made sure to allow enough time for her to walk as slowly as she needed from the parking lot to the building. Then, just as she’d finished the tour, Antonio and a couple of the other guys she worked with arrived. Regina made sure she introduced Brandon as her boyfriend since he’d been so adamant that he didn’t do the friend thing. She’d gotten the distinct feeling from the way Brandon eyed them the moment they walked into the office Brandon might be ticked if she hadn’t introduced him that way.
He appeared pleased enough but still planted a long deep one on her just before he walked out of her office. He finished it off by telling her to have a good day and that he’d be back at the end of the day to help her to her car. Then he gave the guys, but especially Antonio, one last very significant look.
Monday night they’d gone back to her place as she gathered everything she’d need at his place for the week. Or rather she told Brandon where he could find everything, and he’d fetched it all, including her fancy single-cup coffee maker. She’d already begun to notice what a control freak Brandon was, so it didn’t even surprise her when he’d wanted to know how to work it even though he hated coffee. He told her he wanted to make it for her in the mornings so she could concentrate on taking her time getting ready.
“Rushing could lead to injuries,” he’d said as she showed him how easy her coffee machine was—fill with water, drop the pod in and hit start.
That night, he also surprised her with another question as they lay there in bed, enjoying their now usual goodnight kissing. He’d been lying over her, his body half on hers when he pulled away and stared at her very seriously for good long moment. “The morning we got stuck in the elevator, two Fridays ago,” he said, and she stared at him, the memory of that morning coming back to her.
It was hard to believe how drastically things had changed between them since that morning. She nodded running her fingers through his hair. “Yeah?”
“Your co-worker Antonio, the one you called to get the power back on?” Again she nodded, curious now where he was going with this. “You thanked him for doing something for you. You called him sweetie.”
“You remember that?”
This time he nodded, still staring at her a little too seriously. “What did he do that had you smiling so big and made you even more anxious to get to your office?”
Regina’s lips parted, still stunned that he remembered these things with such detail. Even she’d forgotten about that conversation until just a few days ago.
Brandon’s eyes moved down to her lips, and he pecked them softly. “Tell me,” he whispered.
“He bought bagels for everyone, and he brought me my favorite.”
“Which is?”
She smiled, knowing once she told him he’d likely never forget. “Blueberry.”
He nodded again, and she was certain that confirmed that the fact had been locked away in his memory vault, which apparently held on to even the most insignificant of things. “You’d only been there a week. How’d he know it was your favorite?”
Regina tilted her head with a smirk. Would he always pay attention to the smallest of details? “The very first day, when I was introduced to the whole office, they had a list of very important questions for me. How do I take my coffee and was I a donut or bagel girl were among them. When I said, “Bagel,” he immediately asked what my favorite was.”
Brandon’s eyebrow went up, but not in a playful way. “Immediately, huh? You and he talk on the phone outside of work?”
Uh oh, now she knew exactly where this was going. “Not really.”
“Yes or no, Regina. Not really isn’t gonna fly.”
Just like when he’d made it clear that it was all or nothing, as nervous as he could make her, being so upfront, Regina had to admit she appreciated his not beating around the bush. She hadn’t even noticed she had a missed call from Antonio Thursday night until the Friday morning when she got a text from Antonio asking if she was okay. After their post-When Harry Met Sally conversation and especially after his all or nothing proposal, the thought had crossed her mind that any relationship with Antonio outside of work might be an issue. But just like everything else when it came to Brandon, she never imagined they’d be addressing this so soon.
“I exchanged numbers with everyone in the firm. Things do come up after hours, so occasionally, we may need to speak outside of work.”
“But he’s not your friend?”
The caveat in his tone was undeniable. Brandon wasn’t just asking a question. He was making a statement. He’d certainly made himself clear last night, and he was doing it again now.
“He’s my co-worker,” she said, feeling a little stupid now that she’d actually laid the syrup on when talking to Antonio that morning on purpose. The last thing she would’ve imagined then was that it would come back and bite her in the ass in this way. “Subordinate actually, but I prefer to see them all as co-workers.”
“You call all of your subordinates sweetie?”
“Okay,” she said, straightening out a little. For someone who liked cutting right down to the chase, he sure was dragging this one out and painfully so, since they both knew what he was trying to insinuate. “First of all, no, I don’t. Second, I’ll just admit it because I don’t want this to become an issue moving forward. That morning I was extra nice to him because you were standing right there listening. You’d been pretty curt with me up until then, and I just wanted to make a point that I wasn’t the anti-social one. I can be very nice when people are nice to me. But no, that was the first and last time I ever called him that.”
His continued heavy stare dug into her. Now that she knew how closely he was paying attention to even the smallest of things, she wondered what was going through his mind. To her surprise, his stern expression softened. “You are very nice,” he said, kissing her softly, “and very beautiful.” He kissed her chin then moved down to her neck and sucked, making her squirm in response. Kissing his way back up to her lips, he stopped, and their eyes met again. “He shouldn’t be an issue. I was gonna let it go actually. I didn’t wanna make a big deal out of something so trivial, but after seeing the surprised look on his face today, it made me wonder just why the fuck he’d be so surprised that you were with someone, so I had to ask.” He smirked, though it wasn’t as playful as his usual smirks. “As of right now, I’m not fond of any guy so willing to go out of his way for my princess, but I’ll take your word that he’s nothing more than your eager-to-please subordinate. Just be warned. Unless you want me to really hate the guy, please never let me hear you call him sweetie again.”
“I won’t,” she whispered with a smile, and Brandon took her mouth in his again.
Her insides churned with a mix of excitement and nerves as he kissed her slowly but incredibly meticulously, not missing a single spot of her hungry mouth. She wondered even through her suddenly aroused state how long it would take for her to get used to Brandon’s emphatic way of getting straight to the point when it came to certain things. There’d be no guessing games in this relationship about things of this nature. That was for sure.
~~~
By Thursday, they had their routine down. That evening, Brandon had to make a run because she was getting low on the wrap for her ankle, even though it wasn’t nearly as sore as it had been days ago. He still insisted she continue to wear the wrap. He also said he’d be stopping to pick up dinner and a few other things he was getting low on from the market. As usual, he refused to take any money from her.
From the first day Regina had stepped foot into Brandon’s meticulously organized apartment, she’d been even more overwhelmed with concern over what she’d gotten herself into. She was almost embarrassed now that he’d been witness to her less-than-organized place. She wasn’t a slob or anything, but Brandon’s apartment was a perfect exhibit of a neat freak bordering on OCD.
Regina had teased him about it, and he shrugged it off, explaining he hadn’t always been this way. Being a Marine had a lot to do with it, and then becoming a drill instructor had made him even worse. Only Regina was the one using the word worse. He’d used the phrase “helped me become even better organized, not just at work but in my personal life.”
This was the first time she’d been left alone in his place all week. Trying not to be nosey but incredibly curious, she peeked into his closet. Already she’d walked around his front room, looking through his neat but sparsely decorated shelves a little closer than she had all week. Most of the week she’d had glimpses of his well-organized closet from when she’d seen him go in and fetch something, but he’d always quickly closed the door.
She took in his clothes first. They were perfectly hung and separated by color with his uniforms off to one side. Many were still in their plastic coverings from the cleaners, and his shoes were neatly lined on the floor. The see-through totes in the above shelves were all the exact same size and stacked just so. Something in one of the totes caught her eye. It looked too much like a pair of handcuffs.
Tilting her head, she tried to make out the other things in the tote, but it was hard to tell from where she was standing. She saw what looked like rope and some kind of harness with buckles.
Glancing back at the open bedroom door, she wondered if she dared take it down and peek in. Indulging her curiosity by being nosey and looking into his closet was one thing. Digging into his drawers or even totes was pushing it. She decided she wouldn’t go there but did continue to look through his clothes. She’d seen him in uniform many times and seen his laid-back jeans and T-shirt look on the weekend and evenings, but the only time she’d been witness to him all dressed up was the night at Gaslamp. Yet he had many civilian dress shirts hanging in his closet. Really nice ones too. For someone who kept to himself and made no attachments, he had an awful lot of socializing clothes.
She moved one particular shirt aside because the color, a deep royal blue, was eye catching, and she could only imagine how incredible the blue in his eyes would stand out when he wore this. Then her hand hit something hard, hanging against the wall. It caught her attention because it was long cold and slender like a weapon maybe? But it wasn’t. It was a metal stick? She spread the shirts apart to get a better look, and her jaw dropped. There wasn’t one stick but two, only they weren’t sticks. They were riding crops, and hanging right next them on its own individual hook as well was a long black wooden paddle with a red heart painted in the middle.
Her head jerked up to the tote on top. Those were handcuffs. Holy crap! Was he really into this stuff? As much fun as she’d had in college, there had been several things she’d never tried. This was one of them. As nervous as it made her, there was a slow bubbling inside her. She’d never trusted anyone to tie her up, and she hated to admit it, but her sexual life with Ryan while sweet, safe, and very loving had also been very vanilla. It never even crossed her mind to ask him to do anything kinky to her.
Pushing away painful thoughts of Ryan, she wondered instead if Brandon would be bringing this up once she was ready and how he’d bring it up. Would he just spring it on her? The way he’d closed his closet so quickly all week made her wonder if he’d bring it up at all or if that was another of the few topics he seemed to skirt and she wouldn’t get to explore.
Forcing herself to stop thinking about it, she moved into his kitchen. She’d been in there for a few minutes, looking through the neatly lined cans of food in his small pantry and noticing how orderly everything his fridge was. He must really think her a slob. Since she’d only been here a few weeks, she hadn’t bothered to clean out her fridge even once yet. She didn’t have a whole lot in it, but it definitely didn’t look as if it could pass the white glove test as Brandon’s did.
She heard the front door open and smiled. He’d been gone just over an hour, and she was already excited to see him again. Only he didn’t come into the kitchen, so she walked out to meet him. He’d dropped off some bags and a box of food on the table, but he was gone. Worried that somehow he’d gotten wind of what she’d been doing while he was gone, she actually glanced around, expecting to see cameras she’d missed all week, but there were none. What if he’d had some kind of sensor on his closet door that went off, alerting him she’d been snooping? There was a phone app for just about everything these days, and, of course, that would be just her luck.
She walked slowly into the bedroom and froze when she saw him standing in front of his open closet, shirtless. He turned to her, his jeans hanging just off his waist and frowned. Did he know? Would he be kicking her out now?