Page 17 of Whispers in the Dark

“Maybe thought what?” She asked when my voice trailed off. “Maybe thought I would basically tell you to fuck off like you did to me?”

I slightly winced at that, especially because I knew she was right.

“That’s actually why I’m here. I know I was a jerk to you the other night, and for that, I’m sorry.”

There. I had actually said those two blasted words, and I had managed to do so without becoming nauseous afterward. I supposed that was something to build off of. My eyes stayed on hers as I waited for her to accept it, and just as I opened my mouth to speak, she beat me to it.

“Apology accepted. Now, if there’s nothing else you need, I have to go.”

For a moment, I actually wanted to follow her inside, not that she had actually invited me in. There was still a level of irritation on her face that I had never seen before, so I wouldn’t overstep my bounds and even suggest it although I knew I could seduce her back into my good graces.

It would be so easy to go inside, then pull her against me. My own hands itched to do that, but I knew if I touched her, I wouldn’t be able to stop. I would remove the robe, and anything else she might have on, and take her on the first solid surface in her house. The door... the wall... foyer table... or even her bed. Once I touched her, I wouldn’t be able to stop until she was crying out my name as she came on my cock.

I’d always heard that the sex after a fight was some of the best you could have, but I wouldn’t allow myself to feel strongly enough about anyone to give a damn about any altercations. At least not until now.

I cared for Brynn, and not just about this. I cared about her. Since the two of us met online, I had been slowly becoming a stranger in front of my very own eyes. She was turning me into someone I couldn’t recognize, not that I hadn’t done a stand up job of that myself over the last ten years.

Brynn now had her arms crossed, so I held my breath for a moment, then let it out in a whoosh. She wanted me to leave, and it was for the best that I did. I knew it, so I cleared my throat.

“No, that was it. I just wanted to apologize for the other night. In the future, I would just like to not discuss my past, or anything related to it.”

“Fine,” she said, then stepped back and turned the knob in her hand. “Is that all?”

I knew she was itching to slam the door in my face, but I wouldn’t give her the satisfaction. “Goodnight,” I finally said, then turned. As suspected, the door closed with force seconds afterward.

I shook my head slightly, then walked back across the street to where I had parked. I wasted no time leaving her neighborhood, and I returned home a short while later. By the time I pulled into the parking garage, the rain that had been threatening to fall once more, did, and I was thankful I had left when I did. At least, I wouldn’t get soaked when getting out of the car.

A few minutes later, I was back inside my penthouse nursing a glass of scotch. I had already kicked off my socks, shoes, and shirt, and was now barefoot in a pair of loose jeans. A wicked streak of lightning flashed across the night sky and instead of turning away from it, I walked to the large floor-to-ceiling windows and looked out of them.

The rain was really coming down now, so much so that I could barely make out the Golden Gate Bridge in the distance. Large drops pelted the glass, and I just stood there for severalminutes. More lightning and thunder followed, and the loud, violent weather soothed me in a way that little else could. It was comforting, even if I didn’t know how or why.

Slamming back the contents in my glass, I then took it into the kitchen where I washed the small tumbler, then put it back on the shelf. I replaced the liquor with water, grabbing a cold bottle from the refrigerator before heading back to my room. Once I was in bed, my thoughts turned back to Brynn, and while it had been the wrong time before to think about the woman in hers, it wasn’t now, and I fisted my cock as those earlier visions returned.

12.Brynn

Ihad abandoned my plan of a hot bath and taken a hot shower instead, having been more than slightly rattled by my unexpected visitor. Lug Nut had not left my side since Adrian’s visit, and I knew it was mostly because he was picking up on my energy. To say it was unsettling to see him on my front porch was an understatement, and I still hadn’t completely recovered.

The man was a fucking enigma. Bea had told me in hushed tones when we were off-site at lunches that he was a “bit quirky bordering on eccentric”, but that he had always been fair with her even when he was especially demanding. A bit quirky was also an understatement. I really wasn’t any closer to learning much more about Adrian Benedict than I’d been when I’d logged on to Olympus for the first time. Unless I could get credit for knowing he liked extra grainy mustard on his corned beef sandwich. And he liked me to use my teeth when I sucked him off.

Bea had also confided in me that she worried about Adrian because she felt he was lonely. “He really doesn’t have any friends, Brynn, and as long as I have worked for the man, he has never had a girlfriend. I’m hoping you can change that.” AfterI’d nearly choked on my salad that day, she hurriedly explained. “I’m not encouraging you to date him, but I do hope you can perhaps strike up some sort of personal friendship with him. He could use someone to talk to. I think you’d make a very nice someone to talk to. That’s all.”

I’d looked at her skeptically and gently steered the conversation in a different direction, but it had stuck with me. The man did seem to be alone. No personal pictures in his office, no personal phone calls, no personal office visitors, either. Ever. Considering his awkwardness when it came to making an apology, it was obvious the majority of conversations he had were business related.

In a D/S relationship, the expected exchanges were mostly one-sided, or consisted of the submissive responding to directions given by the Dominant. That didn’t involve a lot of free form dialogue, either. Those scenarios could be controlled by Adrian, and control was his comfort zone. I felt a mental puzzle piece slide into place.

Wrapping a towel around my hair, and another around my body, I went in search of my cell phone. Locating it on the bed, I accessed the cloud storage for my doorbell camera and replayed the video from earlier when Adrian had come by. He’d stood there for longer than I’d thought before Lug Nut had alerted me that someone was close to the house.

The expression on Adrian’s face made it clear that he had wrestled with the decision to be there. That actually tugged at my heartstrings just a bit. Well, that, and his shocked surprise that I would be at work the next day. I hadn’t been very nice to him, and while he had deserved my attitude, I could at least thank him again for the apology. Maybe it would reconfirm that he had made the right choice.

Before I changed my mind, I pulled up his number to fire off a text.

Sir, I appreciate you making a trip over here to apologize. Thank you. I will see you in the office tomorrow.

It didn’t matter if he replied or not. I now recognized some of what it had taken for him to say he was sorry. At the very least, I hope he saw the text for the olive branch it was meant to be.

I still wasn’t motivated to unpack, but I did want to wear one of the shirts my father had saved for me along with something else he had returned to me. Digging around in my duffle, I pulled out the old Nirvana concert shirt that had been Blair’s favorite and slid it over my head. The soft material felt like a hug as it fell down around my hips.

She’d left the shirt at Dad’s place the last time we’d been up there together and had pouted about it, lamenting that it would be a while before she would be able to go back and get it. I had talked her out of asking him to mail it, assuring her we’d be able to make a trip up there soon. Obviously, we never got the chance.

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