My heart hammered in my chest. "Are you really going to kill him?" I whispered. The idea horrified me. Jeremy didn't answer, he just looked away. He couldn't even meet my eyes.
I set my mug on the counter and left the room.
"Where are you going?" Jeremy asked, following me.
"To see Brett."
"Not possible," he said.
I spun around so fast he ran into me. "Not possible? Are you kidding me? After today, anything is possible!" I spun back around and continued towards Brett's room.
"Of course," Jeremy said, trying to reason with me. He stretched out an arm and put his hand on my shoulder, halting me. "But just because something is possible doesn't mean you should do it. Especially when it's so dangerous."
I ignored him, but slowed my pace. "He didn't hurt me earlier. He could have if he'd wanted to. He saved me." I squared my shoulders and steadied my gaze. "I trust him."
Jeremy laughed. It was deep and throaty and irritating as hell. "Trust? There is no trust when it comes to dragons." But I wasn't going to relent so easily. He sighed. "Fine. You want to see Brett? Let me show you then."
He jumped ahead of me in the hall and now I followed him to Brett's room. Jeremy punched in the key code and pushed the door open. The room was filled with smoke. It stung my eyes. I could barely breathe.
"Oh my God," I said, panic rising. Despite my desire to run, I stepped into the room. Brett's eyes weren't the blue green I'd come to love anymore, they were a muddy brown, flecks of black ran throughout them, making him look almost demonic. He was chained to the wall and thrashed wildly around, trying to break free. His razor claws slashed through the air, and I remembered how close I'd been to them. He roared at me like he didn't even recognize me.
"Satisfied?" Jeremy asked.
I nodded. He shut the door and walked me to my room. "Don't worry about the body," he said, and I realized he was referring to Colin. "I'll take care of it." I wondered what that meant exactly. Would he bury Colin's body in a cemetery somewhere? Burn it in a fire? I decided I didn't want to know. I shut the door on him, no longer tired, my mind racing as I tried to think of some way to help Brett before it was too late.
Chapter 12
The next morning, I walked to Brett's room with a mixture of excitement and trepidation. I'd thought of a million more questions during the night, and I intended to make Brett answer them all. I punched the key pad and pushed the door open, the image of Brett as a dragon still etched in my mind. What if Brett was still a dragon when I went in? What if he was still thrashing around with his giant claws and fire breath? But then I stepped inside and it was just Brett. He was sitting on his bed, newly reinforced chains and cuffs strapped to him like a wild animal, which I supposed in many ways he was.
He looked up as I entered. His eyes focused intently on me as I crossed the room. I wasn't sure, but for a second I thought I saw him blush.
"Hi there," I said, trying to sound playful. It came out stilted and awkward. I uncuffed him and turned away as he tucked the charred remains of a bedsheet around his waist.
He stood up, stretching his arms and legs out. "Er... Do you remember last night?" I asked. His eyes answered me with a pained expression. He remembered.
He seemed to shuffle around for a minute or two, walking around the room as if he were looking for something. I wanted to start asking my questions, but Brett seemed so frazzled right now that I didn't want to make his frustrations any worse. Finally, he stopped moving. "I apologize," he said, his voice strong but his head drooping.
"For what?" I asked, dumbfounded.
He looked at me incredulous. "For killing your boyfriend."
"Ex-boyfriend," I corrected. "And he deserved what he got for trying to... How could you be sorry? Are you sorry that you saved me from him?" Suddenly I was angry. Angry at the secrets Brett had kept from me. Angry at the connection I felt to him, because I wasn't sure that he felt it too.
"Of course not," he said. "I'd rip apart anyone who tried to hurt you." His hand reached out and stroked my cheek. I felt a pulse of energy dart from his fingertips to my skin. He quickly retracted his hand. "I'm not good for you," he said.
"Why don't you let me be the judge of that?" I asked.
He shook his head, a sad smile on his face. "You need to leave."
"Fine," I said. "I'll meet you in the dining room. We can have breakfast and talk and maybe—"
"No," he said, shaking his head, his voice rising and becoming unsteady. "You need to leave this house. Today. Now."
I smiled, waiting for the joke, only there wasn't one. "What are you talking about?" I asked.
"It isn't safe for you here any longer."
"Not safe? After you saved me? This is probably the safest place for me," but I could sense his resistance. "Brett," I said, stepping closer to him so that I could feel his breath on my face. "I don't want to go. I want to stay here. I want to help you." I reached out to caress him and he pushed my hand away.
"How can you want to help a monster?" he demanded.
"Because you're not a monster," I yelled back. "You're a man, like any other. "His laugh was cynical. "Okay, maybe not like any other," I amended. "I just mean that everyone has another side to them. Everyone needs help with something. You're no different."
"Except that when other men get mad they don't try to eat the person they're fighting with." I laughed—I couldn't help it; it was a bizarre image to conjure in my head. The laughter only made Brett angrier.
"Do you think this is funny?" he asked. His eyes glowed a bright yellow and his fingers began to transform into talons. My breath caught in my throat and I stepped away from him. His eyes swam with pain as he struggled to hold the dragon inside. Puffs of smoke actually flew from his nostrils. Finally, his head snapped from side to side and his body trembled, and then he was Brett again.
He stared at me with a menacing look. "You see. I can barely keep it at bay." His eyes were hurting. "You won't go?" he asked.
I shook my head, my heart hammering. Every synapse in my brain told me to run, but every fiber of my being told me I had to stay. "Then I'll just have to make you leave," Brett said, rushing from the room.
I ran after him as he crossed the hall to my room.
"What are you doing?" I asked, as he picked up a suitcase and flung it on the bed.
"What does it look like?" he snapped.
"I'm not leaving." I pulled the suitcase off the bed and hurled it across the room. Brett retrieved it without a word and started to fill it with my clothes. My anger was bubbling over the surface, but so was my heartache. If he wanted me to go this badly, maybe I should just leave. His hand touched mine as we struggled over a dress that he was trying to put in. It sent a wild buzz of energy up my skin. I couldn't believe Brett didn't feel it too.
"This isn't even my dress," I said, holding one end of it, trying to get it away from him so I could put it back in the closet where it belonged.
"Yes it is," he yelled, "I bought it for you."
"Well I don't want it. I don't want any of this stuff."
He yanked the dress hard and it ripped down the middle. He glared at me and I glared right back at him. "Fine," he said. "Leave the clothes if you don't want them. It matters little to me." But I saw a flash of hurt in his eyes.
"Why can't I just stay?" I asked. "Let me help you find your treasure. You must have some idea of what it is."
Slowly, he shook his head. "No," he said. "I haven't a clue. I've tried everything I could think of, but none of it has done any good."
"So let me help then. Maybe you're just searching in the wrong places."
He turned his eyes to me; they were brimming with tears. "No one can help me," he said. "It's too late. I was barely able to pull myself back in my room just now. I can feel my body wanting to shift even as we talk. I have days left. Perhaps a week, if I'm lucky. You have to leave. It's for your own safety."
I shook my head, tears filling my own eyes now. "I have nowher
e else to go," I said. "I've tried making a life here, a career and friends, and until I met you, I'd failed at both. You're the only good thing that has happened to me since moving to L.A. If I leave here now, the only place for me to go is back home. And I won't do that."
Doubt flickered across Brett's face. "I can't have you stay. What if I hurt you? I'd never forgive myself. Let me get you an apartment. A car. I'll handle everything. You won't have to worry and you can stay in Los Angeles as long as you’d like."
I turned on him. "You can't buy me Brett! I want to help you because I love you, not because I feel obligated to you."
"What did you say?" he asked.
I replayed my words and froze when I realized what he was getting at. "I... I said I love you." I searched myself and realized it was true. It had been since day one. Brett was my heart and soul. I couldn't deny that.
Brett's cheeks flushed. For a moment I thought he was going to get angry, but his hands came up to cup either side of my face and his eyes bore a look I’ll never forget. It was the first time anyone had ever looked at me like that… like I was everything.
Chapter 13
The energy between us was too intense to ignore, even for Brett. He'd tried to fight it at first, but the attraction was too palpable and I felt him slowly lose himself to his desires. His mouth descended over mine like fire on my skin. I moved my hands across his back, feeling his muscles ripple under his skin. I tightened my grip on him, afraid he might pull away at any moment. His lips were sweet tasting and hot as hell as my tongue rolled across them, tasting him.
My heart pounded in my chest and my breath quickened. "Brett," I whispered. His response was to hoist me up and walk me backward until I felt my back crash against the wall. Instinctively I wrapped my legs around his waist. His body rolled against mine and I could feel Brett’s long, thick erection pushing against the fabric of my clothing. His mouth moved to my neck, he was kissing my throat. His teeth grazed the pulse at the base of my neck as my hips continued to rock against him, the bulge under the thin sheet he wore to conceal it hitting me in just the right spot. I could feel a tingling heat burning through my core.
“Brett…” I choked out, “I want you… inside me.”
Brett's whole body burned. I could feel it even through his clothes. He swung me around and threw me down on the bed before pulling his shirt over his head, tossing it to the floor. His chest was a map of muscles- mesas and valleys highlighted in his bronze skin. He was hard as a rock and I wondered how he got this way when I never saw him work out. He pushed me back and crawled over me on the bed.
"Uh uh..." I murmured, placing one foot against his chest to stop him from getting too close. “Not just yet,” I said slyly. I backed away from him, pushing myself to the corner of the bed (which was so big it could have held eight people) and slowly unbuttoned the shirt I wore. Brett's eyes bugged out of his head as I freed my breasts He looked almost as though he would drool on himself. I reached behind my back and unhooked my bra letting my breasts bounced out, spilling into the open air, full and round. I was enjoying the hell out of the expression on his face as I toyed with him. He looked at my tits like he’d just won the lottery.
He moved across the bed; a fire flaring in his eyes. I watched him, waiting for his touch. He moved over me, caressing my breasts with huge, strong hands that were surprisingly tender. I arched my back for him. "Don't be shy," I purred. He grinned and leaned into me, his tongue stroking my nipples. They grew hard as pebbles as worked his tongue over them. It was so evident the enjoyment my body brought him and I relished in it. I’d never had a man worship me the way Brett did.
I moved closer to him, wrapping my legs around him. He stopped me, pulling my legs away one at a time and sliding his hand up and over my thighs. He undid my belt buckle with lighting speed and tore my jeans off me. He tossed them aside with a wicked grin.
"Now what?" I asked, teasing him. I licked my lips and waited to see if he'd take my hint. Brett's mind had already gone there though, and when my legs parted for him, he rubbed a finger over the crotch of my panties, already soaking wet. He ripped my panties in two with ease before his tongue sank into me, lapping at the folds of my slick pussy with perfect speed and agility. I moaned and couldn't stop myself from gyrating my body under him. His hands reached out and pushed down on either side of my hips, holding me still.
"Don't move," he whispered. "I wouldn't want to bite you."
I looked down to see if he was joking and the smile in his eyes was answer enough. I laid back and tried to be still as his tongue circled my clit, sending shockwaves through my entire body. It felt as though we were meant for each other. I pushed my hips against his mouth and he worked faster, sensing my pleasure with each tremble of my body.
I wanted to taste him and so pushed him backwards. His back fell on the mattress and I untied the singed sheet slung low on his waist that he’d been using to cover himself with. I saw him grin as my eyes widened into saucers. "Is that real?" I asked, feeling my cheeks burn for asking such a silly question.
"Last time I checked," he said. I drew him into my mouth before I could say anything else so foolish. He tasted like a cross between red wine, a deep Merlot that ripens with age, and fresh peaches. I drank his bottle, filling myself with the exotic flavors of his manhood as he moaned under me. I explored every inch of his body with my tongue. I had wondered if there would be any differences between him and other men, but except for his size, I found none.
"Are you done examining me?" he asked, teasing me now when I came up for air.
"That depends," I said. He raised an eyebrow. "On whether or not you're ready to finish what you started."
His eyes darkened and he rolled me over so that his body was on top of me now. His cock pressed against the folds of my pussy and I felt electric heat spark between us. My body flexed under his, preparing myself for his intimidatingly thick shaft. I shivered I anticipation. "Now," I said, and he thrust himself into me without waiting for another word.
I felt his mass fill me like a tidal wave covering the shore. An explosion went off inside my body. My head filled with sensations of ecstasy I'd never known existed. He looked at me with worried eyes. "Are you alright?" he whispered, worried when he saw my eyes water.
"I've never felt so alive," I told him. He smiled and pressed his lips to mine as he continued to pleasure me, his thrusts keeping time with the steady rhythm of our hearts.
His movements were gentle and focused on letting me get used to him. I liked the way he filled me so completely. We were like two puzzle pieces finding a match. I moved my hips up hard to meet his, letting him know he didn't need to be gentle with me. He answered my call by pushing deeper, his cock making slick sounds as he pumped furiously in and out of me.
I screamed under him and clawed his back with my hands. His body arched and I felt his lower extremities stiffen.
My skin tingled each time his pelvis slapped mine, and soon I saw the door to a new world open before me. I stepped through it and felt my body give in to the erotic sensations that racked me now. I shuddered uncontrollably and Brett picked things up, pushing himself harder and faster as my body began to convulse. My heart raced and my mind stopped being able to think.
"Brett!" I screamed as he pushed into me one last time. Then the world went black except for his face, which glowed above me. His warm cum rushed into me in throbbing pulses and my head filled with light and air until my body gave out and we fell together into a deep abyss. We laid quietly together for a long moment, his breath soothing me.
"I love you," I whispered, nuzzling my head against his chest.
"It doesn't matter," he said. "This will never work." Then he fell asleep, leaving me alone with a fresh hurt and time to think.
Chapter 14
I walked towards the bus gasping for air. The idea of going home sent waves of panic through me, but I didn't know how to stop them. The sidewalk wavered and for a second I thought I might faint, then I regroupe
d somehow and felt my resolve steady. At least for now. For a moment last night, I'd been so certain that everything was going to work out. Brett loved me too, I'd thought. It had seemed that way when our bodies were connected. I'd almost thought I could read his mind. Then he'd said it: "This will never work."
Even after the incredible physical connection we'd shared, he still wanted me to leave. My heart had crumbled into a million pieces while he'd gone to sleep. I wondered if he had any idea how much those words had hurt me. If he knew now, would he be sorry? Did he even have feelings? I was beginning to think he repressed everything about himself. Maybe he didn't even know what he wanted himself.
I'd written him a quick note and had left it on the pillow next to him. It was still early when I'd left. Brett had been snoring, but I had been certain he would wake up before night fall. I'd stopped in to say good-bye to Jeremy and let him know he'd have to lock Brett up that night. He'd actually hugged me and told me he was sorry to see me go.
Now, I was waiting for the bus to open its doors so it could whisk me back to Bliss, Idaho, where my mother was waiting to berate me until I died. I was leaving Brett against my will, but at least I was leaving with my pride intact. No putting me up in an apartment or paying my bills like I was his painted doll.
Rejected, painted doll.
I pictured the small town I was from, it's general store no bigger than a closet; one doctor for the whole town; the boys I'd have to settle for or end up an old maid. My phone rang and I jumped, dropping it. I fumbled to pick it back up, so certain it was Brett I didn't even check the caller id.
"Hello," I said, breathless, my heart starting to race. My agent's voice crackled over the line back to me.
"Hey kid, glad I caught you. I got you an audition for today. Get to Sunset and La Brea by noon."
"Er... that might be a little difficult," I said, disappointment rushing me.
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