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He laughed. “I had to practice, doc, so when the time was right, I'd do the job right. Hey, you had Bart. Plus a couple not-Barts.”
“I was a virgin until Bart.”
His brow rose. “You were a virgin that long?”
“Have you met my brothers? Would I have risked any teenage boy's life by letting him get that far? To say nothing of my father and mother. Plus…I just, we’d get to a certain point, and I’d know what it was about for the boy. I wanted more than that.”
“Your mom always said you were exceptionally mature for your age.”
She studied him. “Your compass always pointed to me. It’s that simple?”
“Sometimes it is.” As he accelerated through a light, he cleared his throat to deepen his drawl. “‘When I saw you in yer pretty dress at church, I couldn’t find the spit to talk at you. But I knew good as anything that I was set to be yer husband and take care of you.’”
In his normal voice, he added, “Even when a soldier didn’t have much schooling, there was an eloquence to how he wrote about love in his letters.”
“That one reminds me of Rory and Daralyn. His reaction to what happened to us took me by surprise. Sometimes I’m still getting used to him being an adult. A man.” She shifted uncomfortably.
Brick glanced at her. “You’re a little freaked out by it, aren’t you? What you recognized in his voice when he told you to bring me the phone.”
“What?” At his significant look, astonishment rippled through her. “Oh no. Not Rory. He’s…”
“A Dom.”
“No.” She shook her head. “If anyone in our family was going to be a Dom, it would be…”
Thomas. Thomas, who—after their father died and Rory’s accident—had come home and taken charge of the family…
Yet his name faltered on her lips. Something about it seemed off. Had he come home and taken charge? He’d tried to take care of everyone…serve everyone’s needs, meet expectations, in a grimly determined way that could be construed as “taking charge.” Until his bleeding ulcers said what toll taking that role had cost him.
The subtle difference wasn’t so subtle in this light. Especially when that spotlight expanded to shine on who he’d married.
Thomas had strong alpha male traits in plenty of situations. But if triple-uber-alpha was a thing, it applied to his husband, Marcus Stanton. When Marcus had stepped in to help Thomas with their family, there’d been a notable difference in their support. Marcus’s had been more about direction and control; Thomas’s about service.
Confused, she shifted her thoughts back to her other brother. “So…Rory.”
“I’m not outing him,” Brick said. “With how you’re opening your mind to it, you won’t be able to miss it between him and Daralyn.”
In one of the painfully shy young woman’s rare expressive moments, she’d mentioned to Les that she loved sitting quietly under Rory’s touch while he brushed her hair. Probably different from how Brick brushed hers, but still...
Submitting.
“Is Marcus…?”
“Oh yeah. He’s actually the unicorn, the Dom that fits the romance novel mold. Rich, successful, in charge in all aspects of his life. He’s too goddamn pretty to pull off subtle anything.”
She wasn’t sure she wanted to know these things about her brothers and their sex lives. However, finding herself on a path they were already traveling was too incredible to keep her from asking questions. “So that means Thomas…”
She couldn’t say it, and she didn’t know why. It wasn’t supposed to be something shameful. It wasn’t supposed to be weak. Did she view her own submission that way? It was an avenue that had undeniably helped her cope and find strength, particularly these past few days.
“Yes,” Brick said, meeting her gaze. “Thomas doesn’t advertise it, but it doesn’t get under his skin for people to know it, either. Unless we’re talking about your mom.” Brick flashed his teeth. “Most kids don’t want to swap sex info with their parents.”
No disagreement there. Plus, Elaine had had enough of a struggle to understand and accept her eldest son was gay.
“How did you find out about them? I mean, yes, it seems like there’s some form of Dom-sub radar, but you know specific details.”
He shrugged. “Marcus and Thomas crossed paths with me at a big dungeon event in Atlanta. When Rory got involved with Daralyn and realized how deep her submission ran, and how that might tangle up with her past, he came to Marcus for advice. Marcus asked me if it was okay to let him know what I was, in case I could offer him further support.”
A terrifying thought gripped her. “Do they know I’m…”
