I wake up with a gentle squeeze on my shoulder. I groan as I feel the discomfort at the back of my neck. I massage the painful part lightly and gaze up at the window. It’s still dark. We are already on the mansion’s front porch.
“We’re... home?”
I shift my head toward Brandon, and his icy eyes are watching me. “About thirty minutes ago,” he responds hoarsely.
“What time is it?”
“Three in the morning.”
“Oh.” I look away from his eyes. I’m already melting. “So, should we... should we get inside now?”
“Yes, but you and I need to talk.” He steps out of the car first. I follow him and head to the mansion.
The only light in the hallways come from the warm fixtures on the walls, and it’s very quiet, apart from Brandon’s light footsteps and the clacking of my heels as we move to the twin staircase.
Brandon abruptly stops and looks over his shoulder.
“You are going to wake up everyone in here.”
“Sorry. I’ll take them off.”
“Hey,” he hisses, “I didn’t tell you to—”
I bend down and pick up my heels.
He exhales. “I said you didn’t have to.”
We stop in front of his rooms, and he lets me go in first. He walks straight to his bedroom and takes his jacket off, leaving only a black T-shirt. I notice that he is more muscular than when I last saw him. He sits on the bed.
“Sit.” He taps the space beside him.
I slowly step closer and sit quietly. I can’t say anything.
“Are you just going to sit there?” he begins to ask. “Speak.”
I look up at him. He is already gazing at me.
“I didn’t expect this,” I say. I can’t exactly complain. I admit that I miss him, but I am unprepared for this. We haven’t talked for a week, and now he is expecting me to say something.
“I know you have a lot of questions. Now is your time to ask.”
“Well”—I cleared my throat—“how did you manage to go outside?”
“Oliver helped me. I wasn’t supposed to come out until...” He pauses.
“Until?”
He tenses up. “What’s with you and Cassius?”
“Didn’t Oliver tell you? He was occupied“I know when someone is lying to me, Alayna,” he says softly. “Do you like him?” His tone is calm but dejected.
“No, it was nothing.” I shrug. “Look, there’s still a lot of things I don’t understand about you. You lift me up one moment, and then you bring me down the next. I am not ready for that kind of relationship. Cassius was there. He is available “Available?” He laughs without mirth. “Interesting.”
I sigh hard and shut my eyes. “I meant he was there to dance with me—to talk, and I had fun. Something I know that you don’t do.”
“Ah, and what else is there that I cannot do? Touch you? Go out to the nightclub with you?” He shakes his head, a pinch of disappointment in his eyes. “And to summarize it all—you like him, am I wrong?”
“I don’t like him,” I assert firmly. “He was just there, that’s all!”
Brandon reaches out, tucking a strand of hair behind my ear. I jerk away. His fingers brought tingles of electricity all over me.
“You suddenly didn’t want to see me. Why?” I ask.
He backs away and stares blankly at the ceiling. “My world is dark. Cassius was probably right. You deserve better, someone like him. It’s not even a surprise.”
“No, you’re wrong. I like youHis expression softens. “I’m sorry, Alayna. It’s not that I don’t want to see you. I do. But there are just things I need to do.”
“Then... I’m glad to hear that.”
“And I like you, too.” He gazes at me. “Everything about you.”
“You do?”
“I’m willing to give it a try. You don’t belong to my world, so let me belong to yours.”
Brandon stands, his eyes not leaving mine. Then he pulls off his black shirt over his head, exposing the scar on his chest. The scar covers almost half of his left chest. The dry, yellowish, dead skin around it is almost painful to see, but I don’t look away. I can’t. Instead, I stare at his imperfection.
“Touch me, Alayna,” he says tenderly; it’s almost a whisper.
I swallow hard. “Are you sure?”
He doesn’t respond, but I lift my hand and begin tracing his oblique muscle with my finger. I slowly move to his rock-hard abdominals. I finally stand; my hands are still on the flatness of his stomach.
Brandon lets out a hitched breath. I stop.
“Are you okay?”
He nods. “Don’t stop.”
He holds my hands and brings my palms to his chest. I can slightly feel the texture of his scar against my fingertips.
Gently, I trace the scar. The skin is oddly soft, but the surface feels thick. I shut my eyes and stop. I’m not sure anymore if I can carry on. He’s panting, and I can see that he’s trying to bear the unbearable.
“Go on. I want this. Don’t stop, please,” he pleads.
“What if I hurt you again like the last time?”
“This time you won’t,” he murmurs. We stare at one another and he presses a kiss to my forehead. “I’m not supposed to do this. If I kiss you now, I won’t be able to stop. Oliver’s hard work will be for nothing.”
“What do you mean?”
“I’m not done with fixing myself.”
“But you seem fine now. You can come out now, and you even drove a sports car!”
“No. You’ll know if I’m completely healed. Besides, I may not know how to handle you like this.” He flashes a meaningful smile.
“What? Are you telling me that you are a virgin, and you don’t know how to kiss?”
He let out a delighted laugh. “No, I’m not a virgin.”
“Okay, so you are not a virgin, but you lack experience?” I ask without trying to sound offensive.
He leans into my ear and whispers, “Alayna, I haven’t had a woman for the last ten years, but it doesn’t mean I don’t know how to satisfy one, especially in bed.”
“Oh.” I clear my throat. “I see.”
“If I put you in my bed right now, you won’t be able to stand up for a day because you won’t feel your legs. I can be very gentle, but I can also be very rough. So, if you are not ready with this tiny body of yours, refrain from whatever you’re going to say.” He moves away, but the millions of tiny sparks his words provoked remain and excite my senses.
“All right, you’ve made your point. So...” I slip my arms around his neck. “Will I see you again tomorrow?”
“No, but you will soon. Just give me some time. It won’t take another month. I promise.” He kisses my nose. “It will kill me if I don’t see your face again.”
I smile. “I can’t wait. It would kill me too. I’m sorry, by the way. I didn’t mean to—”
Brandon cuts me off, his thumb brushing on my lip, causing my mouth to gape open. With a low groan, he leans toward me; his mouth descends to my neck, and his lips carve a sensuous path to my ear. They continue to move across my throat, to my chin, and finally claim my mouth in a kiss.
It feels like a dream—so erotic, doing this with the most beautiful and enigmatic man in the world. His kiss drowns me, and he is hungry. He thrusts his tongue into my mouth, greedily devouring mine. All I can hear is the sound of our kiss. I feel dizzy from the demanding possessiveness of his mouth. I don’t realize his hand is already on top of my breast. He gives it a gentle squeeze.
“Ahh...”“Shh... Your reactions are going to be the death of me.”
I blush. My insides are tingling, a pressure building in my core. He’s the only one who can make me feel this way. I’m already getting addicted to this.
Brandon pulls away first.
“It’s getting late. You need to rest.”
Oh, God. How could he leave me so turned on like this?