by Ivy Nelson
“Jesus, Kitten, you sure do know how to get into trouble don’t you?” Peter said. She smiled warmly when he used the nickname he had given her years ago.
“Why didn’t you tell me it was this serious when you called?” he asked with a stern expression.
“I’m sorry. I just didn’t want to worry you any more than I had to.”
“When do we get to meet this fella’ of yours, Darci?” Carrie asked, expertly changing the subject.
At the mention of Bradley, Darci’s eyes lit up. “
He’s out of town, but he should be back before you have to leave.”
When they arrived at Peter and Carrie’s hotel, security insisted on coming in with her. Darci rolled her eyes but didn’t argue. Bradley would just call her and yell at her. Not to mention that Peter would give her a disapproving frown of his own.
“Are you guys tired? Do you want to eat? What do you want to do while you’re here?”
Peter’s laugh was deep. “Slow down, woman. We’re not tired, food sounds great, and we just want to hang out with you and see some of our other friends. Maybe we can hit up Exposure before we have to leave.”
“Sounds good. I’ll have to see how Bradley feels about the club, so maybe that can wait until he gets back into town.”
They settled on a restaurant and headed in that direction. After dinner, they headed back to Bradley’s and watched a movie. It was after midnight when they finally headed back to their hotel.
The next day they planned to meet some friends for lunch. Darci suggested seeing if Stephanie and Elise were free for dinner and promised to set it up. Not long after they left, Bradley finally called.
“Hey, baby. How are your friends?”
“Oh, they’re wonderful. I hope you get home in time to meet them.”
“Me too. I should be back in plenty of time. Sorry I couldn’t call you sooner. We hit the ground running, so I just got to my hotel. I miss you.”
“I miss you too. This bed is too big without you.”
“Just imagine I’m there holding you. I’ll be home as soon as I can.”
“I can’t wait.” They said their goodbyes and Darci got ready for bed.
The next day, Darci sent out messages to Elise and Stephanie. Stephanie was busy, but Elise called her.
“So, David is letting me drive his new Porsche Cayenne. Let’s go someplace fancy. I’ll drive us all.”
“I’m not sure. Elise. I have this stupid security detail. I’ll have to ask them, and they’ll probably want to ask Bradley. I’ll try to clear it though.”
“I’m glad they’re keeping you safe, Darci. Can’t they just follow us?”
“I’ll ask. I promise.”
When she ended the call, she struggled to decide if she should ask Bradley or the security guy. She took her chances with Savko
Turns out he wasn’t as against the idea as she thought he would be. “We’ll make it work, Miss Sanders. Especially since you have Mr. Mercer with you. Just let us know where you want to go.” Darci nearly kissed him she was so happy.
After work, Peter and Carrie met her at Bradley’s apartment where Elise was going to pick them all up. They were going to a swanky restaurant in a fancy car, so they got dressed up.
As they pulled up to the valet station and climbed out of the car, Darci froze when she got a look at the man behind the podium. There’s no way he’s back. The hair color was wrong, but the face seemed eerily familiar. He made eye contact with her and for a moment she thought he looked surprised, as if he recognized her too. She shook her head. She was being paranoid.
“Darci? You OK, Kitten?” Peter asked.
“Yeah, sorry, just thought I saw a ghost. The valet just looks like someone I use to know.” Elise was handing him the keys. Peter eyed her carefully, as if he didn’t quite believe she was OK.
“Sweet ride,” the attendant said gruffly as he took the keys from Elise. Darci blew out a breath and relaxed. The voice was all wrong too. She needed to go see Dr. Martin. She hadn’t been to a therapy appointment since before Marlie died.
“You know him?” Elise asked as the man drove off to park the car.
“No. He just looked a little like someone from the past. I’m fine.”
They headed in to wait for their table. Elise had gotten them reservations or more likely, Elise’s boyfriend had gotten them reservations. He had more money than sense and spoiled Elise with pretty much anything she wanted. The four of them enjoyed a fun evening eating delicious food and drinking expensive wine. When they came out of the restaurant, it was storming. Peter slipped an arm around her. “Need us to go home with you, Kitten?”
She smiled and leaned into him. “I’m fine, Peter. It’s not storming hard enough to knock out the power.”
Elise had consumed one too many cocktails, so Peter offered to drive her home and they would catch a cab to their hotel. Darci rode home with the security team. They went through their routine check of the apartment, and Darci went to bed. But she tossed and turned until the storm calmed down.
• • •
Bradley hated being away from Darci. It had been less than seventy-two hours since he kissed her, and it felt like he was having withdrawals. Thankfully, he was only a car ride away from seeing her again.
In the backseat of a black town car, he thought about texting her to let her know he was almost home. Instead, he decided to surprise her. When he checked in with her security, they told him she was at his place with her friends, Peter and Carrie.
When he arrived at the apartment, he had to resist the urge to jog to the main entrance. He said goodnight to the driver and nodded politely to the doorman. Unlocking his door, he frowned at what he saw. Darci was in the middle of the couch with her head on a man’s shoulder. A pink and blue-haired woman was snuggled up to her on the other side. What the hell? He thought. Darci turned her head in his direction when she heard him come in.
“Bradley!” she exclaimed excitedly. “I’m so glad you’re home. Come meet my friends.” He did his best to keep the scowl off his face as he set his bag and briefcase down and walked into the living room. Darci paused the movie they had on and stood to give him a hug.
She smelled delicious, and for a moment his jealousy disappeared. “I missed you, baby,” he whispered into her ear.
“I missed you too. Meet Peter and Carrie. My dearest friends.” Bradley released her and offered his hand to both of them.
“Pleasure to meet both of you. I hate to be rude, but I’m going to steal Darci for a few minutes. I need to say a proper hello,” he said with a wink that made Darci blush.
“Oh, I like him Darci babe,” Carrie said as she curled up next to Peter. Darci just laughed as Bradley grasped her hand and tugged her into the bedroom.
“I’m fighting the urge to spank you right now, pet,” Bradley said in a low voice as they entered the bedroom. Darci’s eyes grew wide, and Bradley stopped her when she started to speak. “You should know I’m a jealous man and I don’t share well.”
Realization dawned on her face.
“I’m sorry Bradley. They’re my best friends, but I swear there’s nothing sexual there. I mean, OK, I have made out with Carrie a couple of times, and I was Peter’s submissive for a short time but that’s it. They’ve been my mentors and best friends for a very long time. Please don’t be mad at me.”
Bradley raised one eyebrow at the idea of her making out with Carrie and brushed her hair back from her face with a sigh.
“I’m not mad at you, pet. I just didn’t like walking into my apartment seeing you curled up next to another man. You did nothing wrong.” He cupped her face in his hands and leaned down to kiss her.
“Hmm. I’ve missed this baby,” he said as he broke the tender kiss. “I can’t wait to bury myself inside of you later.” Darci shivered, and Bradley grinned. He liked knowing he had that kind of effect on her. “Do they know what our dynamic is?” he asked.
“Yes, Sir.” He smiled at her response.
“Good, then let’s go watch a movie with your friends.” Darci looked at him puzzled, but Bradley chose not to elaborate. In the living room, Bradley settled into the recliner next to the couch and motioned for Darci to sit on the floor at his feet. She offered him a shy smile but did as he asked. Bradley made small talk with Peter and Carrie while she got settled. The couples spent the rest of the evening watching movies and laughing.
Bradley liked how easy Peter and Carrie were to talk to. He felt even better about them when the subject of Darci ditching her security detail came up.
“Kitten,” Peter scolded. “Why would you do that?”
She blushed. “Can we not have this conversation again please? I already got in enough trouble with Bradley. I don’t need you mad at me too.”
Peter’s frown deepened. “I’m not mad, sweetheart. But if I hear about another stunt like that I might be.” She nodded and lowered her gaze.
Bradley could tell she didn’t like disappointing Peter. They seemed to love Darci. And so did he. He hadn’t told her yet, but he planned to—soon. It was something he wanted to do right.
After midnight, Peter and Carrie took off for their hotel with promises to meet up tomorrow sometime.
“Let’s go to bed, pet,” he said as he locked the front door.
She nodded and let out a yawn, and he chuckled. “I hope you don’t think you’re going to sleep yet.” She pushed out her bottom lip in an adorable pout. “What’s wrong, pet? Don’t you want to come for me?” he asked as he took her hand and led her to the bedroom.
She grinned. “OK... I can stay awake a little longer.”
“I thought you might say that.”
Chapter Thirty-Six
The next day, it was rainy and gray. Darci tried to keep it from souring her mood though. The memories of the half a dozen orgasms Bradley had given her last night helped keep the gloom at bay. They road to work together, and on the way, coordinated with Peter and Carrie for lunch. They were going to be unavailable for dinner because they were leaving the city for a few hours to visit Gary and Edith. Her day was mostly uneventful, but as the day dragged on, the storms got worse.
It was still storming by the time Darci and the security team arrived at Bradley’s apartment that evening. Bradley called to say he had to work late. Being alone on stormy nights wasn’t easy for her, but she wasn’t ready to talk to him about that, so she had told him it was fine and that she had some work of her own to catch up on. She really hoped the storm would let up soon, but all the weather alerts on her phone indicated that it would only get worse.
Bradley had given her free use of his study, so she settled into his comfy office chair and opened her laptop. She needed to make another blog post and write up a report for work. Between that and some music, she might get her mind off the storm. It would be fine if the power didn’t go out.
The storm raged on outside while she tried to get lost in her work. It was hard to focus though because every few minutes a loud crack of thunder would jar her, causing her to tense. A glance at her phone told her it was eight-thirty. Hopefully he would be home soon.
Knots were forming in her neck and shoulders, and she needed to stretch so she stood and headed for the kitchen. A loud boom of thunder shook the windows, and half a second later the apartment went dark.
Fuck, Darci thought and tried to push back the panic welling up inside of her. Maybe it wouldn’t stay out long. She ran to the bedroom and curled up on the bed trying to stifle the tears welling up in her eyes. It was irrational to still feel so much fear. A moment later her phone rang, causing her heart to leap into her throat. She relaxed a little when she saw Bradley’s name flashing on the screen.
“Hello,” she answered quietly.
“Hey, baby. Are you OK over there?”
“I’m fine.” Her voice was strained. She hoped he didn’t notice.
“I got a strange call from Michael. He said I should check on you but wouldn’t tell me why. I’m on my way home. I’ll see you in ten minutes.”
Darci rolled her eyes. Leave it to Michael to interfere.
“I’m glad you’re coming home. I don’t like storms,” she whispered into the phone.
“Hang tight, baby. I’ll be there soon.”
She ended the call and tried to focus on the fact that he was almost home. Security knocked on the door to make sure she was OK. The flashlight on her phone lit the room but she still trembled. Darci told the guard she was fine, and he returned to his post. She wasn’t OK though. Why wasn’t the power back on yet? Ten minutes seemed like forever. Her phone rang again. This time it was Michael. She smiled when she answered.
“Hello, Michael.”
“Hey, Darci, I know the power is out in your part of town. Are you OK?”
“I’m better now. Thank you for checking on me, but I don’t appreciate you calling Bradley.”
“Is he there?”
“Not yet. Should be any second now. I’m just trying to keep the panic at bay. Talking to you helps.”
“That’s why I called, sweetie. I take it you haven’t told him then?”
“No, I haven’t told him.”
“Told me what?” Darci screamed and nearly jumped off the bed at the sound of Bradley’s voice from the doorway.
“Fuck. I didn’t hear you come in.” He rushed to the bed and sat down next to her.
“Sorry, baby. I didn’t mean to scare you. What haven’t you told me?”
Michael was still on the phone. “Tell him, Darci. It will do you good to have someone else to talk to. I’m gonna let you go. Call me if you need to.”
She ended the call without saying goodbye. Damn him for pressing the issue.
She set the phone aside and curled up next to Bradley.
“What haven’t you told me?” he asked again. This time he sounded a little more irritated. She knew he hated repeating himself.
“Can we wait a minute to get into that, please? I just need to calm down, and I really need the power to come back on.” Her voice sounded whiny and she kicked herself. If she hadn’t been skipping sessions with Dr. Martin this might not be affecting her so badly. She had just been so distracted lately.
“Hold on.” Bradley stood and moved toward the door.
“Wait. Don’t leave me, please.” It came out as a whimper much to Darci’s chagrin.
“I’m just going to get a lantern, baby. So we can see better. Don’t want your phone to die using the flashlight.”
He kissed the top of her head and left the room. She could hear him rummaging in the hall closet. He came back a moment later with a bright camping lantern.
“Do you want to talk in here or in the living room?”
“Um, can we talk in the kitchen, actually? I could use a glass of wine for this.”
His smile was tense. “Sure, baby. Just talk to me please.”
She stood, and he grasped her hand. His eyes flew to hers. “Darci, you’re freezing.”
“It’s part of my panic attacks. I’ll be OK. I promise.”
He regarded her intently for a moment before giving her a nod. He led her to the kitchen and calmly settled her onto a barstool before pouring them both a glass of Cabernet Sauvignon.
Placing the glass on the counter in front of her he turned her barstool to face his.
“Talk to me, baby. Why was Michael so intent on me checking on you and what does he want you to tell me?”
She took a deep breath, a long drink, and closed her eyes. “I need to tell you how I met Michael Silas.”
Bradley didn’t say anything, just made eye contact and let her know he was listening intently.
“He’s a few years older than me and had already graduated by the time I got to college. He was working for the campus police department. I’m pretty sure it was his first job. It’s impressive really that he’s already made detective here in D.C.
“Anyway, my freshmen year I was still pretty upset about my parents dying in a car accident, and I
had no friends, so I set out to make some in a big hurry. I was going to any party I could get an invitation to; everything from frat parties to kink parties. The way everyone talks you would think the most danger would be at the kink parties but turns out that’s not the case.” She took another long drink of her wine.
She hated talking about this. He picked up her hand and squeezed. “Take all the time you need, baby.”
“The short version of the story is I was at a frat party on campus one night. There was a lot of alcohol, and I’m sure some drugs but I wasn’t really drinking that night. I think I’d had a half a beer—if that. It was storming badly outside. I’ve always hated storms.
“I had been warding off the advances of an older student all night. He was a rich kid who thought a woman would suck his dick just because he had a trust fund. I wasn’t interested. The building we were in lost power, and I couldn’t see anything. All the girls were screaming. People tend to get stupid when the power goes out. Anyway, I felt someone grab me, and they dragged me into the bedroom that was off the main living area. I screamed, but everyone just thought I was another drunk college girl freaking out about the power outage.”
She could see the realization in his eyes. He knew what she was about to tell him, but it didn’t make saying it any easier.
“It’s OK. You don’t have to tell me details.”
“I need to get this out. Just give me a minute.”
He nodded and refilled her glass.
When she was ready, she took a deep breath and spoke again. “I tried to fight him off. I really did, but he was bigger than me. So yes, he raped me. I can still smell him sometimes, and it’s revolting. In the struggle, he slammed my head against the wall. I must have blacked out because when I came to again, he was gone, and I was alone in the dark. I wanted so bad to get up and run out of that house, but I was paralyzed with fear. I couldn’t stop shaking. I was so fucking cold. I heard a lot of commotion out front.” With a shaky hand, she took a drink of her wine. Bradley kept his gaze fixed on her and she found the strength to continue. The hard part was out.