Page 13 of Doubling Down

“We both know it’s more than just a guy,” Remi commented. “That look on your face gives you away. What’s going on?”

“I…” It was time to come clean. “He makes me feel things that I haven’t before,” he confessed.

Dane hummed, drawing Eric’s attention.

“What?”

“You’re interested in more of a unique relationship with him,” Dane said. It wasn’t a question.

Leaning forward, Eric braced his elbows on his knees. “It’s all I can think about. Which is crazy since I’ve never been interested in a relationship like that before.”

Dane was nodding. “Brandon isn’t the only one that opened your eyes. When we were in Rocky Lake, you saw how the LT was. Sam had the LT wrapped around his finger before they were even together.”

“Carson was always into a Daddy and boy relationship though.”

“But he kept that part of himself from us. It wasn’t until you saw Lincoln and Caden together though that you saw another side of the lifestyle. Before that you believed you needed to get Brandon away from any relationship like that.”

“It was nice to see how Caden responded to Lincoln. How protective Lincoln was,” Eric shared. “Eventually I understood why Brandon needs that.” It had taken many long talks with his brother and help from their therapist.

“Then what’s the problem?” Remi inquired.

Eric wished he knew. Leave it to Remi to ask the hard questions.

“You don’t understand how you missed such a big thing about yourself,” Dane said.

That was it. Eric had always considered himself a pretty self-aware kind of a person. He knew he had faults, but he wasmostly a good man. “Yeah.” Looking up, he met Dane’s gaze. There was something there that showed Eric might not be the only one having these feelings. He had promised himself not to push and let Dane come to him. His suspicions were confirmed by this conversation though.

“That’s not necessarily true. For either of you,” Remi said. “Or me.”

Eric looked over as Dane leaned closer. Remi had both their attentions. That was for damn sure.

“What?” Dane asked before Eric could get the word out.

Sitting behind the tall wood desk, Remi looked perfectly in place. Remi hadn’t wanted to take the position of the new lieutenant but honestly there was no one better. Remi had worked closely with Carson when the man headed up their division. The last lieutenant had been more interested in filling his pockets with favors and pay-offs, leading to his dismissal. Remi slid right into the job, and it was where he should be. Eric still missed working on the streets with him though.

Remi rubbed the bridge of his nose as he studied them for a long moment. Finally, he sighed. “Can we all admit that in the last six months we’ve all researched Daddy kinks?”

“Yes,” Eric agreed. They both knew all about Brandon. They’d offered to help in any way. That had been reason enough for Eric to learn more about the lifestyle. He might have dug deeper than what was actually necessary, but Eric had been curious.

He caught Dane nodding from the corner of his eye.

“Me too,” Remi admitted.

“This isn’t much of a secret. We’ve discussed this a few times,” Eric pointed out.

“Except we haven’t admitted that all the research we’ve done wasn’t all for Brandon’s benefit. At least not since you both started to see the therapist and he was able to communicate what he needed.”

Eric ducked his head. That was true. Brandon was able to clearly and precisely share with Eric what he needed to help him heal. It was better than Eric guessing and accidently triggering his brother. “Okay.”

“From what I’ve discovered, there are many aspects of this lifestyle that call to different people for different reasons. All three of us share similar traits that I’ve noticed within the Dom community.”

“Just how far into the Dom community have you gotten?” Dane asked.

Eric wanted to know that too. For himself he was more interested in the dynamic of having a partner.

“I’ve spoken to a few Doms online and even met with one in person,” Remi shared.

Wait. “Are you saying that you’re looking for a Dom?” That shocked Eric. Remi was so put together, independent, bossy.

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