Her next two days were roughly the same. The Familial representatives took up Ash and Brandt’s time, and she was left to her own devices for most of the daytime hours.
She’d found the small screening room on the lodging deck, and the staff brought her snacks while she watched vids and movies. Leisure had been a scarcity in her life until that point, and it was truly a luxury to laze around watching movies, tucked up under a soft blanket with no one to answer to.
There still hadn’t been any fucking, which frustrated Sera to no end. Brandt did, however, order her in a very dark and velvet voice to suck his cock. Which she eagerly complied with.
He still hadn’t overtly topped her. It was there between them, the unspoken air of command, her desire to be controlled and dominated, his to exert that control. But neither had stepped into it fully. She knew he waited for the right moment, and that made sense, but it still made her achy all over even as it scared her.
On the afternoon of their last day, Ash came to the door of the screening room.
“Sela, may I join you?”
His presence had been respectful and considerate since they’d left Borran, but it still filled her with apprehension. But she knew she hadn’t spent much time with him in establishing a cover. Mainly because her feelings about him were so damned complicated.
“Of course.” She waved to the spot beside her on the large couch.
His scent invaded the space along with the heat of his body.
“Are you enjoying my screening room? I thought perhaps you’d enjoy watching films while Brandt and I were occupied all day.” He knew she did, of course, they’d spent many an evening going to the cinema or watching at their home.
“I am, thank you.”
The movie queued up and began, and they settled back to watch. The cook had prepared little crackers with cheese and fruit and sandwiches of all kinds. The two of them ate while they watched, slowly growing comfortable again.
He took her hand in his and massaged it between his own in exactly the way he remembered she’d loved before. Heat spread up her arm and into her chest. Big, gentle hands kneaded the space between her fingers and over her knuckles, up her wrist and forearm. If he’d been so inclined, he could have easily snapped any of her fingers right in half, or broken her wrist. But he only gave gently to her.
She looked up into his face, and the shock of his eyes shining with love made her take in her breath sharply. No! Damn it, not him. She could not feel for him.
“Don’t fight it, or it might pull the tendons I’ve just loosened.” His eyes gave her the multiple layers of that sentence. Hellsfire.
She shook her head sharply and mouthed, Stop. And to her utter surprise, he did, but not before bringing her hand to his lips and kissing the space on the inside of her wrist.
“I’m sorry if I hurt you.”
Oh gods. His cover words referred to the hand and wrist, but he meant ten years ago. And his eyes meant it. He wasn’t the belligerent man he’d been before, blustering to save face. There was so much laid bare for her to see. He’d done it on purpose. And it worked. She felt for him. She believed what he said was true.
She pulled her hand back gently. “Thank you for your apology. I’m fine now.” She motioned to the screen with her chin. “Next movie’s starting. You going to stick around to watch with me?”
She saw his surprise at her invitation and then the pleasure. He settled back against the couch cushions. “Sure. This is one of my favorites.”
They both sat there, cuddled up but not quite on each other, for another few hours. As each minute passed, Sera relaxed with him again. He didn’t press, didn’t use the chip to speak to her; he just let things be between them.
After the movie was over, Ash stood up and stretched. Sera closed her eyes to keep from watching him. “Come on, I’ll walk you back to your quarters, shall I?”
Opening her eyes, she saw he’d extended his hand and watched her with exposed hope.
With a sigh she reached out, taking it and allowing him to help her stand. He kept her hand wrapped in his as they walked to her door.
“Thank you for spending your afternoon with me. I quite enjoyed myself.” Ash leaned in, and before she knew what to do, he’d brushed his lips across her brow.
“I’ll see you shortly at dinner.” Proud her voice hadn’t gotten breathy at his close proximity, she managed to take a step back.
With a nod of his head and a smile, he turned and walked toward his rooms, whistling.
Frozen, she watched his retreating form. The phantom of his touch still radiated on her skin. The gentle brush of his lips across her brow was worse than if he’d laid a lascivious tongue kiss on her. The startling sweetness of his behavior was incredibly alluring, and it put her off balance. Just when she’d begun to expect one thing, he did another. Damn the man!
Sera walked back into the living room feeling slightly dazed. Brandt was there, dressed for dinner and looking like a wickedly handsome reprobate. It suited him. Probably because he was the opposite of that. She wondered if it bothered him when people thought of him as a lazy, shallow, spoiled rich boy.
“Hello, there. Why didn’t you come and get me? I didn’t know you were free.” She kicked off her shoes and padded over to him. She slid her hands up his chest, over the fine material of the shirt, and into his hair.
Clearly pleased, he dipped his mouth down to claim hers, his hands moving down to cup her ass.
“I just got free not too very long ago and came back here to get ready for dinner. The representatives will be going on to Ceres, so this is their last night with us.”
“Well then, I’ll go and get ready.” She stretched up and kissed him quickly before ducking out of his grasp with a laugh.
In the mirror of her dressing area, she realized there’d been no acting just then. She’d been pleased to see him and kissed him. He’d been pleased and returned her affection. Her hands gripped the side of the sink.
In six days she’d fallen for Brandt Pela. Six frigging days. She stomped her prettily heeled foot in frustration. She’d held off feeling anything for anyone for years, and now she was falling in major like for the man out in the living room and considering forgiving a man she’d pretended to hate for ten years.
She shook her head at herself. Weak. Damn. It was what happened when you denied yourself sex for so long. Your brain ceased to work in a coherent fashion.
Her hands shook as she put on a midnight-blue gown. It was sheer; gods, all of her clothing was sheer these days. She’d begun to miss wearing comfortable clothing that didn’t make her feel so exposed. She wasn’t sure how concubines did it. Being on display all the time was tiresome.
Brandt knew that Ash had spent the afternoon with Sera. It hadn’t bothered him at all, which was puzzling. Brandt understood he and Sera were building something far deeper than their mission, and that excited him.
At the same time, he knew she and Ash had a complicated history, but there’d been a lot of love there at one time. And he sure as hells knew Ash still loved her. Each time Brandt saw Ash’s eyes and body language when Sera was in the room, it was totally obvious. Not to mention, Ash had come out and said it. If Ash had been an asshole like he’d been back at the house, it might have been a different story. But he’d shown a side of himself Brandt hadn’t seen before: soft, humble. His love for Sera had made him into a better man.
As each day passed, Brandt began to feel more and more strongly that the only way he could be with Sera was if Ash was with her, too. They’d be working together all the time in close quarters. A couple would not work between two of the three. If it were he and Sera, they’d drive Ash away, and Brandt couldn’t imagine watching her with anyone else and not having her, too.
All of that fell right out of his head as she walked back into the room. “Good gods, Sela, just when I think you can’t possibly look any more beautiful or sexy, you outdo yourself.”
“It’s the clothes, darling. Spend a great deal of money on something, and it generally makes you look or feel better.”
She was an excellent actress. In his time with her, he found her to be one of the most genuine and nonmaterialistic people he’d known. But mind to mind through the chip, it was different, a sort of knowing on two levels. She’d let him into her real self.
“Hmm. I think I need to spend a great deal of money on you once we get to Nondal tomorrow then.” Winking, he caught her hand and kissed it.
She laughed, low and throaty. “You’ve already done that. I’m quite eager to make you feel better at any time, in any place. You just say the word.”
“All right then. I’ll be saying that word after dinner. If you’re ready.”
The weight of what he was saying hung in the air between them. “Well then, I’ll try not to drink too much and keep my strength up, shall I?”
He took her hand and put it on his forearm, covering it with his palm. “That’s a very good idea.”
Chapter 9
Sera found it nearly impossible to concentrate at dinner. The heated looks Brandt sent her seared her, shooting straight to her pussy. Each movement she made brought home just how he affected her as the slick lips of her sex slid against each other.