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“Sure, laugh it up,” he advised, unperturbed. “But if you want to pass Mrs. Moore’s class, pay attention. Hearing it read aloud makes it easier to understand.”
She clasped her hands tight between her bent knees. He spoke the words as if he knew a girl was listening. One close enough to the brink of womanhood to wonder at her reaction to them.
"Love's mysteries in souls do grow / but yet the body is his book."
“Shit, man.” Todd snorted. “Rory, this could get Amanda to toss her pompoms and drop to her knees for you.”
The crude way they laughed—typical teenage boy swagger—had made her roll her eyes. But how Brick had lingered over those syllables had stayed with her.
“Hmm.” Brick straightened. His look made her wonder if he’d known she’d been outside the door. A ludicrous thought, one that wouldn’t have mattered then anyway. “Do you remember what you said to me last night? When you knelt?”
Her blush deepened. “Yes.”
“Do you know why you asked me not to be nice to you?”
Upstairs, she’d been afraid of him asking her about the event that had brought her here. Now she thought it might be an easier topic to address. She hated not having the answers.
“I’m a sexual Dominant, Les. Do you know what that means?”
She shook her head. “I mean, I’m familiar with the term, but I don’t know anything more than the surface.”
“I think you do. Your subconscious sure as hell knows it.”
She couldn’t deny that. It had responded to him last night in this room, and in his bed, when he’d made it clear he was in charge.
“What Todd said that day,” he said, “about getting Amanda on her knees. We laughed, because we were high school assholes making a joke about blowjobs. But it stuck with me, bugged me enough, I shared it with the Dom who mentored me.”
He'd just confirmed he’d known she was there. Her heart beat high up in her throat. “He said it bugged me because my Dom side knew if a girl knelt for me, I should honor that gift. Cherish it so much I’d want to stop time on that moment. It’s not about her lips being wrapped around my dick. Though that feels damn good, it’s like saying what’s best about Christmas is the presents.”
His gaze flickered. She’d moved several steps toward him, and she hadn’t even realized it. The words sounded like the Donne poetry had on his lips, unexpectedly natural. That picture from her computer was rotating in her mind, a flashing carousel. He didn’t reach out to touch her, but the energy between them vibrated with the possibility. Then his expression shifted, and he finished answering her question. The question she’d completely forgotten she’d asked.
“Tish has embraced her submissive side, and I’ve been helping her explore that. I’m a member of a local BDSM group here, so last night I took her to one of their events.”
She took a step back. “Oh.”
Brick noted it, but his voice remained even. “She’s a friend, and yes, in the past, we’ve occasionally had sex. She’s too busy to dedicate time to a relationship, and I had other reasons for not wanting to get myself in too deep with someone. You’re welcome to talk to her about it.”
At her alarmed look, he lifted a hand. “Not a requirement. I’m just not one of those assholes who tells a woman to take my word for what my relationship is with another one. The sure-as-shit flag that he’s lying his ass off.”
One of Beulah’s undergrad relationships had crashed and burned for that reason. Beulah had ended the relationship, steering the car for the cliff and lighting the match herself. “Got that right.”
“I think you and Tish would like each other,” Brick said, lips quirking at the edge in her voice. “You’re different personalities, but you’re both driven, accomplished women, determined to be good at your jobs.”
That brought other, less pleasant things back into her head, but he tilted his head toward the kitchen. “Come on and eat. As I said, we’ve got a busy day.”
“Yeah, I figured you did. I should go after breakfast, Brick. Head back to school. I need to deal with things.”
“I spoke to Beulah last night. You’re good for a couple days.”
“What?”
“I’m sure she’s texted you. Have you checked?”
“No…I haven’t.”
“Because you’re not ready to, are you? Give yourself a breath, Les. You look in better shape than last night, but that’s not saying a lot.”
“Again with the compliments.” She made a face at him. “I did something with my hair. That’s at least an improvement on the last time you saw me.”
