Page 56 of Brody

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I hadn’t paid attention to what kind of knot he’d used to secure the ropes around my wrists, other than noticing that they were tight. However, they must have been expertly tied, because despite how securely they held me, the knots easily came free when Brody tugged on them in just the right way.

My arms landed like limp string on the mattress beside my head. I tried to thank him, but the only sound that came out of me was a useless little grunt.

Brody just laughed. “You’re welcome.” He sounded nearly as tired as I felt, but still managed to raise himself off the bed. “Hold on for a second. I’ll get you cleaned up.”

Time no longer mattered. He could have been gone for seconds or hours as I lay there, face down and utterly spent. Eventually, he returned, and a warm washcloth was dragged along my skin. The soft material soothed my hurts, and soon enough, I was left with only the ache of a very pleasant evening.

Everything hurt in the best way. I hadn’t been so thoroughly fucked since before my brother got sick, and I hadn’t realized how much I missed it. Not just the sex, but the mindless oblivion that came afterward. My mind was quiet, and my body lay completely still.

Without realizing it, I dozed off under Brody’s gentle care.

Sunlight streamedthrough the window at a much steeper angle than I expected when I woke up. As soon as rational thought returned to me, the first thing my gaze did was jump to the nearby clock.

It was nearly noon.

The bed beside me was cold, but there was a distinct impression among the sheet where Brody had slept, so I knew I hadn’t been abandoned the previous night. Brody was a man of action. Hecouldn’t just sit there while he waited for me to wake up and was no doubt working on some project around the property.

They really needed to come up with a name for the place. Calling it “The Property” even in my own head was annoying.

It was comforting to trust someone enough to know that even if I couldn’t see them, they were still around. With all of my previous friends, partners, and even my brother, there was always a lingering fear that they would disappear the moment I took my eyes off them. I’d assumed it was my own anxiety that caused such feelings, but I was beginning to realize that the fear stemmed from the fact that I never trusted them. I never felt valued and was left wondering if each time we parted was the last time they’d bother reaching out to me.

Brody was different. From the first moment we met, I knew I could rely on him. He made it clear that he never did anything he didn’t want to do, so if he was spending time with me it was because he wanted my presence in his life.

Even after such a short amount of time, looking through Brody’s wardrobe for something to wear had already become a familiar routine. Most of his clothing was casual, with only a few more formal pieces. Most looked brand new—some even still had the price tag on them—but I avoided those pieces, nonetheless.

The only formal outfit that had clearly been worn several times before was a military full-dress uniform hidden at the back of the wardrobe. I trailed my fingers over the gold buttons and the collection of various badges pinned to the lapel. I didn’t know what they meant, but the sheer number of them was still impressive. I’d have to ask Brody to explain them sometime, so I could fully appreciate his accomplishments.

Maybe I could even convince him to wear the uniform for me sometime.

Letting the uniform go for now, I grabbed a set of clothing that looked like it would fit me and headed for the bathroom. I was immediately greeted by the sight of my own image, and the number of bitemarks and bruises that decorated my skin.

I lost myself for a few minutes just admiring the marks. The worst of the marks still stung when I ran my fingers over them. Brody had come really close to breaking the skin a few times and it would take days for the marks to heal.

I wished they would last forever.

Eventually snapping myself out of my self-exploration, I turned my attention back to my morning routine. A smile came to my face when I saw a brand new toothbrush sitting on the sink right next to Brody’s regular one. The fact that Brody had put supplies for me here among his own items rather than storing them in the guest bedroom was a clear sign of my place in this house. I wasn’t a guest. I still wasn’t sure what exactly we were, but our relationship had definitely passed the casual stage.

After getting dressed, I made my way downstairs to find breakfast already waiting for me on the table.

Well, it was technically lunch, but Brody had chosen to make breakfast food, so it still counted.

“Hey,” Brody greeted when I sat at the table across from him. “How’re you feeling?”

“Famished,” I said as I started piling food onto my plate, grabbing a little of everything he’d prepared.

There were no eggs. He’d made sausage, pancakes, and even fresh-squeezed orange juice, but eggs were clearly missing from the table. They were a standard breakfast food, and I’d seen Brody eating them before, so I knew he liked them.

I, however, hated them, and that was apparently enough reason for Brody to completely forgo serving them at all.

Tipping my head so I was looking up at Brody despite our similar height, I let the collar of my shirt fall open. I had purposely chosen a shirt that was too loose along the shoulders so that more of my bruised skin would be on display, and my effort paid off. Brody’s gaze immediately snapped to my neck, and a desire smoldered in his eyes as he stared at the marks he’d left behind.

With one finger, I traced the edge of a bite mark right over my pulse.

“I’m also really sore. I could barely get out of bed.”

It was a lie and we both knew it. A few bruises weren’t enough to leave me bedridden, but it was still a fun fantasy.

Brody licked his lips and pushed his chair away from the table. “Maybe you should have breakfast in bed, then.”