“So?” Brandon asked, cocking his head to the side.

“So… what?” Seraphina asked, scrunching her brows from her seat on the couch. She was on her second glass of wine and was leaning against the pillows behind her, her head slightly fuzzy. She felt extremely relaxed.

Brandon chuckled. “My sister,” he said, coming to sit next to her and gently taking the glass of wine from her hand. “What did you think of my sister?”

“She’s wonderful,” Seraphina said as though it was the most obvious thing in the world. “The real question is what she thought of me.”

“Honestly?” Brandon asked. “She’s just happy I’ve started dating again. The fact that you’re educated and beautiful and successful is just the cherry on top.”

Seraphina felt herself grin. “Well,” she said. “I really liked her. I’m honored that she wanted to meet me. Even though she grilled me like a drill sergeant.”

“That’s her being protective,” he told her. He coiled his arm around her shoulders and pulled her to him so her head hit his chest. “I’m glad you’re with me.”

“I’m glad you’re with me,” she replied. There was a pause, and then, “what are we going to do?” Seraphina hadn’t meant to ask that question. This moment wasn’t about stress or worry. This was about relaxing with red wine and enjoying each other’s company. But she couldn’t help it. She wanted to come up with a plan. She wanted to finish this now so she could go back to worrying about playoffs.

“We could go to the police,” he suggested.

“I just don’t want the police involved,” Seraphina said. “I want to be able to handle this on my own.”

“Seraphina, it’s okay if you can’t,” Brandon told her. “That’s what I’m here for. That’s what Katella is here for. Your team. Your staff. They all want to be here for you. When you take this on your own, you won’t win. But if you ask for help, you’ll get it. I’m sure someone will think of something.”

“I thought you wanted to keep this kind of close to the chest,” Seraphina murmured, closing her eyes so she could hear the beating of Brandon’s heart. “You told the whole team it was no one’s business.”

“Well maybe I was wrong,” Brandon said, shrugging one shoulder. “I can admit that I was being protective over you and that meant leaving the team in the dark. But maybe it would be better if they knew. It would show you trusted them.”

Seraphina nodded. “I agree,” she said. “I also want to get Harper to write a follow-up article to the one she put out after interviewing Bambridge.”

He nodded his head. “Basically attack this before he even has a chance to make good on his threat?” he asked.

Seraphina nodded her head. “Do you think it would be low if I did the same to him?” she asked, turning to look at him once again. She had been toying with the idea ever since she got off the phone with him. One of her good friends from high school was a private investigator and Seraphina would have no problem paying her if she needed to. There had to be some kind of dirt on him, something just as bad as making out with a player and getting grainy snapshots. But there was something inside of Seraphina that told her not to do that, that stooping to his level made her just like him, even if he deserved it.

“What do you mean?” Brandon asked, cocking his head to the side. His hand found hers and he turned it over so he could trace little patterns on the inside of her wrist. “Blackmail him?”

Seraphina nodded but her heart wasn’t in it. She already knew the answer… unless Brandon could think of a good reason to do it. Maybe she shouldn’t completely write it off.

“Of course not, Sera,” he told her, letting his fingers linger on the skin of her arm. “You’re better than that.”

“I know,” she told him with a nod. He leaned forward, still keeping his grip on her, as he set the glass of wine on the table. “I know. I just… I want to protect this team and you and myself and… I don’t know what I’m doing anymore. This whole thing has completely thrown me off and made me doubt myself and all of my decisions.”

Brandon pressed his lips together and nodded. He was silent for a long moment, but Seraphina didn’t mind. She knew he was thinking of the right thing to say. Which she could appreciate, considering she would rather have him be silent rather than have him say the wrong thing.

“I think you should consider taking Drew Stefano’s advice,” he said. “I know it’s not exactly what you want but there might be some pros to taking this head-on, admitting fault, and letting the chips fall where they may.”

“Admitting fault would mean acknowledging the kiss was wrong,” Seraphina said, her eyes flaring gold.

“The kiss was not wrong,” Brandon said, his voice sharp. He softened the look on his face and he pressed his lips together. “I know that and you know that. As people, we didn’t do anything wrong. But we’re not just people. I’m a Gulls player and you’re my boss. In that sense, we acted based on our emotions and not in a way that was best for the team.” He leaned his forehead towards hers until it rested on hers. “No matter what you do decide to do, Sera, I support you.”

She couldn’t stop herself from kissing him if she tried.

The kiss turned heated and he pulled her into his lap, cupping her cheek and tilting her head back so he had better access to explore her mouth. He tasted like wine and she felt herself get lightheaded because he was so damn good at kissing and he tasted fucking delicious.

He tugged at the hemline of her shirt, and without breaking the kiss, she raised her arms so he could take her shirt off and throw it on the floor. His hands immediately went to her bra-covered breasts, squeezing them and causing her to gasp. Her fingers found the back of his head and she ran her fingers through his hair, tugging gently at the roots and making him grunt with approval.

His hands wrapped around her back and skillfully managed to unhook the back of her bra and slid it off of her chest. His mouth immediately went to take a nipple between his lips and she pressed him against her chest tightly.

“Oh, yes, please,” she begged, feeling her core get moist.

He grabbed hold of her hips and placed her on her back so he was on top of her. Her legs instinctively hooked around his waist and her hands clamored at his shirt before tugging it off of him and throwing it somewhere. Her hands immediately found his waist, his stomach, his abdomen.

“You’re so beautiful,” she mumbled into his mouth, in between kissing him. “So goddamn beautiful.”

His hands found her jeans and he unbuttoned them before breaking free from her so he could tug them off of her. He pulled off her boy shorts slowly, as though the lacy material was flimsy and needed to be treated with great care. The entire time he was taking off his clothes, he did not remove his eyes from hers. The look was deep and intense and it somehow had the power to cause her lips to soak with desire.

Once she was completely naked, he stood and pulled off the rest of his clothes. Seraphina’s eyes immediately went to his cock and she felt her mouth water, her body tingling with anticipation. It twitched under her gaze and she leaned forward so she put the tip in her mouth. Brandon’s eyes rolled to the back of his head and he nearly lost his balance as he let out a groan. This only encouraged Seraphina and she took him deeper into her mouth, coating him in her saliva.

“Oh, fuck,” he cried out, placing his right hand in her hair. He didn’t guide her to take more of him but his grip was tight and insistent.

She grabbed his cock with her free hand and began to gently stroke his length in time with her mouth’s ministrations. His jaw went slack and his grip on her tightened. She honestly believed that if he hadn’t been holding onto her, his knees would have given out and he would have collapsed.

“You have to stop,” he finally managed to get out. “I’m going to come in your mouth, and as much as I want that, I’d love to come in you much more.”

Without warning, he climbed on top of her and nudged her legs apart with his knee. He pushed himself inside of her before Seraphina could catch her breath and she let out a cry as he filled her up entirely.

This wasn’t romantic in the slightest. His thrusting was hard and fast, and the way he held her down let him feel like he was in complete control. There was absolutely nothing she could do to move, to push him off, but there was no desire in her to even do so. She loved when he was on top of her, loved when he was inside of her.

She managed to slide her hand in between their bodies and allowed her fingers to dance across her exposed clit. There was no way she was going to come with his thrusting this way without some help.

When he saw her touching herself, he stopped for only a beat before taking her legs and putting them over his shoulders. He went slower but deeper and she shifted with slight discomfort mixed with a swarm of pleasure. She didn’t stop touching herself. From this position, Brandon could lean forward and caress her nipples while he thrust inside of her.

And then, Seraphina felt her insides tingle and her breathing got heavier.

“That’s right, Sera,” Brandon murmured, looking down at her with dark, half-hooded eyes. “Come for me. Come all over my cock.”

And she obeyed without even questioning him. How did he have such power over her? And he didn’t even have to try. She just followed him blindly like she was in a cult and he was her leader.

He groaned as he felt her walls tighten against his cock, soaking him with her juices. And then she felt his own change in demeanor, his intake of breath and then a growl as he released himself into her.

When he finished, he stayed inside of her for as long as he could. They were silent and sleep and Seraphina was certain she could fall asleep underneath him on his couch and still be comfortable.

“You ready for tomorrow?” Brandon murmured against her shoulder.

“I’m not worried about that now,” she told him, keeping her eyes shut. “You’re with me now. And that’s all I care about.”