Page 73 of Truth

“Fine.” He looked me in the eyes as he spoke. “But if I ever find out you’ve done something, forced her into doing something she doesn’t want, I will come after you, Coleman. I don’t care how much money you have. I’ll make sure you pay one way or another.”

Brianna

It was all my fault. If I hadn’t called Stephan Sir, Cal wouldn’t have gotten upset. He and Stephan wouldn’t have argued. Why had I done that?

I walked with Stephan to the door to see Cal and Jade out. Jade had stood up for Stephan, for us.

“I’ll check my schedule and give you a call.” She hugged me before stepping into the hall.

Cal watched me closely before taking a step toward me. “Am I allowed to hug you, too?”

Nodding, I took a deep breath and waited.

He wrapped his arms around me. “The offer stands. Always. If you ever need a place to go, you call me.”

When he leaned back, I looked up at him. He seemed sad, but I didn’t know how to fix it. He wanted me to leave Stephan, and I wouldn’t do that.

Cal took several steps backward until he was also in the hallway. “I’ll call you tomorrow.”

He turned to go before I could respond, leaving me wondering if I’d done something else wrong.

“Brianna?”

“Yes?”

“What’s going through that head of yours?”

I pressed my lips together, trying to decide how to put my feelings into words. “I don’t know how to make it better.”

“Oh, sweetheart,” Stephan said, cradling me against his chest, surrounding me with his strength, his warmth. “It’s not up to you to fix. Ross seems to be having a hard time with the fact that you’re not a little girl anymore.”

“Why can’t he like you?” Holding on to the back of his shirt, I wanted... I needed to get closer to him.

He kissed the top of my head and then held my face in his hands, his face very serious. “There are a lot of people who won’t understand our relationship, Brianna. I understand that what I like, what I need in a relationship isn’t what many would consider normal, but I don’t care about them or what they think. What I do care about is you and what you want. If at any time you want this, us, to stop, I want you to tell me, do you understand? I don’t want you to ever think you don’t have a choice.”

“I want to stay with you.” I was saying that a lot, but it was true. I didn’t want to be anywhere he wasn’t.

He smiled, and I smiled back.

“I was so proud of you tonight. You talked yourself through your panic, and then you stood up to Ross.”

I dropped my gaze, heat staining my cheeks.

“No need to be embarrassed.” He tilted my chin up until my mouth lined up with his. “I was thinking you did so well tonight that you should get a reward.”

His lips hovered just an inch from mine. I could feel his hot breath, smell the coffee with a hint of chocolate from our dessert. I closed my eyes automatically, waiting for his kiss.

“Would you like a reward, Brianna?”

The waiting was almost intoxicating. I wanted him to kiss me. “Yes,” I whispered.

“Mmm. And just what should I give you as your reward, hmm? A kiss perhaps?”

He closed the distance between us, brushing his mouth ever so gently against mine. Then, before I’d really gotten to savor them, they were gone again.

I opened my eyes to find him staring down at me with a smirk on his face. “Maybe more of that later. But for now, I want you to pick something you want to do for the rest of the evening. It can be anything you want.”

It was a challenge to concentrate on anything other than the small taste of his lips I’d had just moments ago. He’d said maybe we could do more of that later, though, so that helped ease my disappointment. I had to focus.

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