Chapter Three
Brute stared at the beer bottle in his hands but couldn’t bring himself to lift it to his mouth. He’d ordered it when he arrived at the bar because he could really have used a drink to settle his nerves. Then, of course, he remembered the note in his instructions from Madame Eve that he was not to have any alcohol before his date. He knew why now. Sex games were dangerous if you’d been drinking. He looked over his shoulder across the mostly empty bar to the doorway. Still nothing. Any minute, she was going to come chasing after him, and he didn’t want to give her any reason to call off the date.
Fifteen minutes of picking at the label on his bottle had passed before Lizzie’s scent hit him. His pulse kicked up, and all his blood headed south. He tried to conceal the grin threating to make an appearance.She came after me!
“So?” she said from right behind him. “Any chance we could go somewhere to talk about things?”
He turned around to face her and couldn’t believe she still wore the corset and leather mini. He took his jacket off and held it out to her. “Put my jacket on, and, yeah, we can go talk about it.”
Lizzie looked down, and he had to stifle a chuckle as her expression morphed to one of horror when she realized how she was dressed. She snatched his jacket and quickly slid her arms into the sleeves. Their size difference meant the hem came to just above her knees.
“So, where shall we go?”
She glanced around. “How about the booth in the back there?”
It wasn’t quite what he had in mind, a little dark, but it would do. Being a shifter meant he wouldn’t have problems seeing her even though there wasn’t much ambient light, and they could talk at a level no human would register, but they both could.
“Did you want a drink?” When she answered with a no he hopped off his stool and guided her over to the booth.
Seated on a plush velvet bench, with his arms resting on the solid wood table, he wasn’t sure whether he should start the conversation, but something told him to hold off. This was her show, and he should take his cues from her. So, he waited, continuing to play with the label on his beer.
It took a few minutes, but Lizzie finally spoke. “Why did you tell Garth you only thought of me as a sister?”
If someone had asked him to guess what she’d ask first, that wasn’t even on his lists of possibilities. “When did you hear that?”
Her wide-eyed expression told him she didn’t expect the truth, but he wouldn’t deny what he’d said to her brother. There’d been many a time he’d said it to keep Garth off his tail.
“Two years ago.” She sounded so fragile. “I came to see Garth about something, and you were in his office. He asked you about me, and you told him you only saw me as your little sister.”
With one sentence, everything made sense. Right around Lizzie’s twenty-first birthday, their interactions had taken on a really flirtatious nature. He’d thought maybe it was time to tell her how he felt, but, before he got a chance, she started avoiding him, and when they did interact, she was either angry with him or gave him the cold shoulder.
“Lizzie, I am so sorry you overheard what I said. And you’ve had to bear the weight of my words for two years. You, better than anyone, knows how protective Garth is of you.”
She grimaced at him and nodded.
“And occasionally, he would ask if there was something going on between you and me. I’ll admit it was purely self-preservation which had me lying to him.”
Brute tried not to smile as she scrunched up her face in an adorable scowl. “But was it really a lie?”
“Heck yes. There hasn’t been a moment since you were a teenager I haven’t wished it was the right time for us to take our relationship to the next level. But there has always been something in the way. Your age, your school, my friendship with your brother. Then, when you pulled away, I figured I’d missed my opportunity altogether until I overheard you talking to Maddy.” He reached across the table and wrapped his hands around hers. “I knew this 1Night Stand was my last chance. If it didn’t work, at least I’d given it the good old college try.”
Lizzie pulled her hands away and placed them in her lap. “You were right, you know.”
He wasn’t sure about what, but he hoped she’d continue.
“I had the biggest crush on you from the moment I hit puberty.” She smiled at him then her expression turned serious. “But when I heard you talking to my brother, I realized you would never see me as anything but a little girl. So, I took all those feelings I had and locked them in a mental box, doggedly ignoring them, but I’m not sure I can anymore.”
“So, does that mean we can give this a try?” He couldn’t stop his excitement from leaking into his voice.
“Yes, we can give this a try, but there are rules.”
“I can do rules, been doing them all my life. Lay them on me.”
This time when her gaze met his, there was twinkle in her eyes, one that had all of his blood flooding south. “Rule one. I am in charge. There is no if, buts, or ands. While we are in that room, I am in control and you will do what I want, when I want it, and how I want it. Do that well and I will reward you. Do it badly and there will be consequences.” With every word, she seemed to get more confident, a little more joy seeping into her tone.
He nodded.
“I need your words, Brute.” Though it was a command, he could hear the underlying plea.
