Page 32 of Every Breath

It was a mess. Pictures were smashed, and furniture was knocked over. What the hell? Who would do this? He knew that Brandi got along with all of the neighbors and this was a good neighborhood. He couldn’t remember anything like this happening when they lived here together. “Did anyone see anything?”

“No. The police knocked on a few doors, but no one saw anything. Why my house? Who would do this to my home?” She cried.

He pulled her into his arms and let her get it all out. As he held her, he quickly surveyed the rooms he could see; it didn’t look like anything valuable had been taken. The electronic equipment was still there. What struck him was that all the family portraits that had once been so lovingly displayed around the house were destroyed.

His ’ears of police Ie told him that this was a personal attack, not the work of some random stranger. With nothing apparently stolen, this looked like someone was trying to scare her. But Brandi and he lived relatively quiet lives; who would…? Rodney. It had to be. He didn’t know why it hadn’t occurred to him in the first place. What was that bastard up to now? When Brandi’s sobs subsided, he held her away and looked at her.

“Where is your fiancé?” he asked.

“I don’t know. He’s been out of town all week. I don’t want to talk about him, okay?”

“Okay.” He had no problem complying, but it seemed mighty convenient that Rodney would be out of town. Mason didn’t put it past the psychopathic son of a bitch to do something like this.

“Did you take inventory of the things in your house already?”

“Yes, I did a walk through with the police. I didn’t notice anything missing. Thank God the kids weren’t home.”

“How did you discover this?”

“I dropped the kids off at my mom’s was on my way to your house when I realized I’d left my overnight bag at home. I turned back, but when I got here the door was slightly ajar. I called the police because I knew I had closed and locked it. I should have invested in one of those home security systems, but this is such a nice neighborhood and Damon installed good locks on the doors. I didn’t think anything like this would happen to me.”

“Well, I think maybe we should start cleaning up. At least there isn’t anything here that can’t be fixed.”

“You’re helping me?”

“Yes. Why not?”

“You didn’t seem like the type.”

“What does that mean? Did you think I just came by for some ass?” He lifted a brow.

She gasped. “No. Of course not.”

“You’re lying, Brandi, but I’ll forgive you because you’re upset.”

She pursed her lips and placed her hands on her hips. “I’m not lying.”

“You are. Did you know that your nose twitched when you aren’t telling the truth?”

Her eyes widened in disbelief.

“Yes, I noticed. I’ve noticed a lot about you, Brandi. Now, there’s no point in standing around here arguing about it. Let’s get to work.” He winked and gave her a pat on the cheek.

They worked diligently to get the house back in order. Every now and then Brandi would give Mason sidelong glances. What was it about this man that could make her feel so at ease? All week, the prospect of making love with him filled her with excitement and fear. She was excited because with just one look from his sexy green eyes, her panties were instantly wet. Brandi would find herself daydreaming about how his cock felt pressed against her bottom, and the feel of his hands on her breasts. When he whispered such wicked things in her ear, Brandi was hotter than she ever remembered being.

She felt fear because she was scared that her sexual need could develop into something much more with him. The fact that she was happy to hear his voice when he called earlier should have been an indication in itself. She still couldn’t believe that she actually agreed to go to his house to have sex with him, but then again, she couldn’t believe anything she did where he was concerned.

One complication she had to deal with, however, was Rodney. She planned to end things with him this week, but because he’d left her a message saying that he would be out of town to take care of some business, she didn’t get the chance. Now she had to harden her resolve all over again when she saw him.

She refused to take the coward’s way out by telling him over the phone. After all he done for her and the children, she felt she owed it to him to tell him face-to-face. She hoped that one day they could be on friendly terms again, but she knew that things would never be the same once she gave him his ring back.

DJ’s strong reaction nagged at her. It was odd because Rodney had been in the children’s lives from the day they were born. She supposed that it was moot now since she wasn’t going to marry him, anyway.

“A penny for them?” Mason asked.

She looked over to see him smiling at her.

“Umm, I was just thinking about the past week.”

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