Safe With Him (32 page)

“Don’t stop, baby, please, for fuck’s sake, don’t stop.”

Eyes locked with his, she opened her mouth wide and took all of him that she could in, wrapped her lips around him and sucked deep. She lost his eyes as he threw his head back and muttered something low in his throat. When she slowly pulled back, she ran her tongue over the tip, then swirled her tongue over the head. He moaned, then grunted as she again took his length into her mouth and sucked deep. She slowly slid him out of her mouth and felt his hips buck. “Breezie,” he moaned. “Fuck, baby, you feel good.” She wrapped her hands around the base of his erection, took him back into her mouth and started to use both her hands and her mouth as she worked the length of him, until she felt him hit the back of her throat. He moaned and his hips bucked again. She gripped him a little tighter as she swallowed. “Fuck, Bree, I’m gonna come, baby,” he growled. She swallowed again, heard Draco growl, “
Sei mia, Breezie, fottuta miniera,”
right before she felt hot jets shooting down her throat. She slowly let him slide from her mouth, licking him clean as she did.

Bree looked up at Draco and smiled. “Mmmm, candy coated male goodness.” She teased as she moved to the back of the chair, picked up the key lying on the floor and unlocked the cuffs. The first one had just ‘clicked’ as he jerked his hands away and before she could stand all the way back up he scooped her up, and in two steps had her across the room where he tossed her on the sofa.

He stood over her, looking down at her. “My turn,” he growled so low that she could have sworn she saw his chest vibrate. He leaned down, hooked one finger under the lace at each side of her undies, gave a quick yank and threw what was left of them over his shoulder.

“You’ve got to stop destroying my undies,” she protested halfheartedly.

“Buy you new ones,” he growled out as he came down on top of her. Then she didn’t think, couldn’t, as his mouth crashed down on hers. When he broke the kiss, he grinned at her. “Now, you wicked woman, I’m gonna make you scream.”

Draco grinned to himself, or it might have been just a mental grin. He was so worn out he wasn’t even sure. His Breezie had worn him out. Although, as her naked and passed out body lay on top of him, he was pretty damn confident that he had worn her out as well. Hell, he didn’t even have the ability to drag his ass back up the stairs, much less carry her. Damn good thing he thought to lock the house back up and throw together dinner in the slow cooker before he came down the steps. If they could ever make it back up the steps, in a few hours they would have food. He turned his head, caught sight of the support beam she had danced on, and though he already knew his Breezie was sexy as hell when she danced, add a pole and…damn. What she did today with that pole, with him…just damn! He had plans to finish the basement, sand and paint the walls, add a real ceiling and box off those support beams but now looking at that one, hell no! He would never box that off, so that every time he was down here he would remember all that she had done. Shit, who was he kidding? It was etched in his brain so deep he’d never forget it.

He felt Bree sigh as he ran a hand down her back. Yeah, he had made her scream over and over. He grinned at that thought and just as his eyes drifted closed, he mumbled, “Il mio cuore, Breezie”

Bree had settled herself on the blanket on the living room floor. Draco had apparently missed a call or two while he was…‘tied up.’ When he had told her that and she couldn’t hold back the giggle, Draco on the other hand didn’t laugh. His response was a ‘payback’ look he shot her before he disappeared in his office. That had been a few hours ago so to keep herself occupied, Bree had grabbed her sketch pad and made herself comfortable on the floor where she began to ‘design’ Draco’s living room. It was just something she liked to do for fun and for practice. She got a kick out of picking a room and redesigning it.
One day,
she thought. One day she would be doing it for real. When the time came and she had her own bar she would design it herself. In the meantime, she practiced on other places.

She was sketching the floor to ceiling bookshelves around the TV that she remembered Draco mentioning. She realized he probably wasn’t thinking so elaborate, but she was having too much fun just to keep it simple. She was so focused on the details she wasn’t even aware Draco was standing over her, watching, until he knelt down beside her and placed one hand on her lower back. She whipped her head around to see his eyes glued to her sketch pad before they met hers, then back to the pad. He reached out, picked up the pad and studied it for a long moment without saying a word. With her sketch pad in hand he stood up, looked around the room and then back at the pad. Still not making a sound, he once again looked around the room only to look back at the pad once more.

Not liking his silence, she stood up. “I know it’s not what you had in mind—”

“No, it’s not.” He interrupted absently, his attention divided between the pad and the room.

“I wasn’t trying to design it for you, I just…well, kinda do stuff.” She pointed at the sketch pad when he finally looked at her. “Like that.”

“You do this a lot?”

She shrugged her shoulders. “I wouldn’t say a lot, a lot, but yes, sometimes. It’s no big deal. Mostly it’s just for fun.”

“Bree—”

“Like I said, it’s just in fun, I—”

“This is incredible.”

“What?”

“This, baby.” He flipped the pad around with the sketch facing her. “Is incredible.”

“You like it?” She reached out, took the pad from him and studied it herself. She had taken out the half wall that separated the living room and kitchen in order to open up both rooms. This also gave extra room for a bigger table that would set more than just four. The wall that the TV was on was where she had added the built in floor to ceiling bookshelves that could be built around the TV. Those were the only major things she had changed and now looking at it, she thought yeah, just those few changes did make a whole lot of difference in both rooms.

“Yeah, a helluva lot more than what I had in mind, never thought ‘bout taking out that pony wall.” He took the pad back from her, pulled her over to the sofa, then tugged her down in his lap. “So explain everything you would change.”

They actually spent a few hours going over her ideas in detail. Bree was so ecstatic over Draco’s genuine interest in her ideas that she had completely lost track of time until his phone rang, and Draco once again disappeared in his office. That was when she realized she was starving. Draco had told her about dinner in the slow cooker, and glancing at the clock she noticed that it was getting close to the time he had said it would be ready. She figured she might not be able to cook, but dang it, she could at least set a pretty table, and that was what she set out to do.

*  *  *

Draco sat behind his desk, going over Warwick’s file once again. There was something they were missing, he felt it in his gut; he just couldn’t figure out what
it
was. He had been on the phone with Lee, the captain, as well as half the cops in and around Mt. Eve. So far nothing of substance had surfaced…yet, but he knew it was there, and he would damn sure figure it out. Bree’s safety depended on it. He leaned back in his chair, staring up at the ceiling. “What the hell am I missing?” he grumbled just as he heard a light tap on the door. Sitting back up, he closed the file and slipped it into his desk so Bree wouldn’t see it. Not because he was hiding it from her, he just didn’t want the reminder left out for her to see it. “Yeah?”

“Dra,” she called to him through the door, but didn’t open it.

He got up and went to the door and opened it to see his Breezie with that damn unsure look on her face. “Baby, what’s wrong?” He immediately pulled her into his arms and kissed the top of her head.

“Nothing’s wrong. I didn’t mean to interrupt you, but I just wanted to ask you about dinner.”

As soon as she said ‘dinner,’ he realized he was starving. “Let’s eat.” He moved her to his side, holding her close to him with one arm around her shoulder as he walked them both to the kitchen.

When the kitchen came in to view, Draco paused in his steps, looking down at Bree before he again started walking into the now dimly light kitchen. As he made it into the kitchen he noticed that there were candles lit all around the room, and he could hear Jack Wagner’s
Whenever Hearts Collide
playing low. The table was set beautifully, complete with a table cloth—
Do I even own a tablecloth?—
along with the vase full of flowers that he had given her.

“Breezie.” His emotions caught in his throat. He knew she had done this for him, and he loved her even more for it.

She shrugged her shoulders. “I needed to do something nice for you…that wouldn’t set off any alarms.” She teased. “And afterward I’m going to clean up.”

Wrapping both arms around her, he held her tight to him. “Baby…” was all he could manage. He cleared his throat and tried again. “Baby, this is nice. It’s very nice, but you didn’t have to.” He stepped back so he could look down into her face. “I never want you to feel like you
need
or
have
to
do something for me.” He kissed her lightly. “Okay?”

She smiled that gorgeous smile at him. “I just meant that I’ve been wanting to do something for you that didn’t…end with you having to clean up my mess.” She cast her eyes downward as that smile faded. “You’ve been doing that enough.” He could barely hear her mumbled words.

“Bree—”

“And, well, I…uh…kinda want to ask a favor,” she mumbled just a little bit louder as she turned her head toward the table. “I really love the flowers and like I said no one’s ever given me flowers before and…”

When she said no more, he moved his hand to her chin and turned her face back to him, “And?”

“And I want to keep them forever.”

“If I could make that happen for you I would, but—”

“I can. I just…well, I need…”

“Breezie, whatever you need, whatever you want, just tell me, and, baby, I swear I’ll do everythin’ in my power to make that happen.”

She took a breath, blew it out. “I need to go to the store.”

The store?
All she needs is a trip to a damn store
? He had to be missing something. “What?”

She stepped away from him, walked over to the stove, then back to the table. “Sit,” she told him. He sat, thinking she would do the same, but instead of sitting herself she walked back across the kitchen. When she made it to the sink she turned around, leaned back against it and looked at him. “I need to go to the store, and I can’t right now or, at least, I can’t by myself.”

“So you want me to take you?”

“Yes,” she answered but for some odd reason she sounded…pissed?

“Bree—”

“I hate this!” she screeched as she pushed herself away from the sink and started pacing. “Don’t get me wrong, I like being here. Being with you. I love that. But I hate that everything I do, everything you do, has to revolve around my safety. That’s not right. It’s not fair to you. You aren’t even working, and I bet that’s because of me too.” She didn’t pause long enough for him to even answer. “You can’t go to work, Storm has completely disappeared, and I have to stay locked in a freakin’ house
a-freakin’-gain
!” she ended, screaming the last words to the ceiling.

“Bree—”

“And now just to keep my flowers I have to beg for a ride to a stupid store. Can I go on my own? Oh no! Not me! I have a flicked-ass, lunatic stalker, creep-a-zoid, that won’t leave me the hell alone!”

That was it! He jumped up from the table, went to her and grabbed her by the shoulders, leaned down so he would be face to face with her and growled. “Breezie, I swear, woman, I don’t know what the hell goes on inside that head of yours, but don’t you ever fuckin’ think you have to beg for a damn ride or any damn thing!” He pulled her to him as he gentled his voice. “I don’t mind takin’ you anywhere you need to go. In fact, I want to.” He stepped back so he could see her face as she looked up at him. “Will you let me do that for you?” At least now he was beginning to understand parts of her. When she gave a reluctant nod, he walked her back to the table, pulled out a chair for her, and when she sat he went about fixing there plates.

“Dra,” she started when he joined her at the table, but he wasn’t quite done yet.

“Bree, baby, how long did you stay in that first apartment by yourself?”

“What?”

“The apartment Storm set you up in when you were fifteen. How long were you there?” He still was having a hard time with the thought of her being locked away somewhere alone.

“A year and a half,” she whispered to her plate.

“
A what
?” he barked and saw her body jerk, but she still wouldn’t look at him. He moved his chair beside hers, tugged her over into his lap, then in a much softer voice, he asked, “You were locked away from the world for a year and a half? Alone?”

She remained sitting on his lap, but she held her body tense. “Storm came to see me.”

“Yeah? How often?” When all she did was shrug her shoulders he knew it wasn’t very often. “You’re not alone this time. I promise you, Breezie, I won’t leave you alone.”
Even if it cost me my job
, he thought. When he had talked to his captain today, he was informed that his vacation time was up, and he had to report to work by Monday. Now…
That sure as fuck isn’t happenin’
.

She finally relaxed into him and with her head on his chest, she whispered to him softly, “I’m sorry.”

“You got nothin’ to be sorry for. You didn’t ask for this, and you sure as hell didn’t do anythin’ to cause it.” He nudged her up, kissing her lips lightly before he spoke again. “Eat. Then we’ll go wherever you need to go.”

After they ate and Bree had insisted on cleaning up, they were on their way to the small hardware store right there in town. They didn’t say much going, coming back, or even when they were in the store, although Draco did give her a few ‘what the hell’ looks as she picked up what she needed. With a few, “I did research, this is the stuff I need,” comments, he let it go. By the time they got back to Draco’s, Bree was feeling…out of sorts. She wasn’t sure what Draco was thinking, with him being so quiet, but she knew her thoughts kept drifting back to all the time she had spent in that apartment alone. It was hard, one of the hardest things she had ever had to do. If it hadn’t been that Storm had begged her to never leave, never be seen, that he could get into a lot of trouble if anyone ever found her, she wouldn’t have stayed. But as hard as it was, as lonely as it was, and sometimes even scary, she had promised Storm, and she never broke her promise. Yes, in some ways this was different, but she still felt locked away, almost like the walls were closing in on her. It was true that this time she wasn’t alone; she had Draco and she loved him, loved being with him, but she also knew that he didn’t like women in his house, and she was a twenty-four-seven guest that wouldn’t leave. She couldn’t help but wonder if when this was all over he would even want to see her again? Want her to ever step foot back across his door? She almost laughed at that thought and it wasn’t a happy laugh either.
Yeah
, she thought,
he’d probably be too scared that I’d never leave again.
And on that unhappy thought she sat about the step by step procedure on preserving fresh flowers. But as she worked, she still thought about Draco. She knew he cared about her…her, not just as Storm’s sister, but her. She felt so conflicted. She wanted that stupid Marcus to just…go away and leave her alone, but yet when he did, then what? She would no longer need to be locked behind closed doors, but…did she just go back…
home
?
Her apartment
?
Where she lived
?
Lived
? Yeah, like she had done so much
living
there. She had never felt more alive, happier, or more at home, than she did being here in Draco’s house. Maybe that was what she needed, a house, not an apartment, but an actual house. Maybe then she would feel…
home
. Who was she kidding? It didn’t matter the structure of the building. What mattered, what made anything you lived in feel like home, were the ones you shared it with. Not the building material, the shape or size, or even the possessions in which it held. No. What made a place, any place,
home,
were the
persons
, the
love
it held. And Draco was her home, she knew that. But she wasn’t his. He didn’t want that. He had told her himself that he liked his house to himself. And she had taken that from him. Not by choice, no, and she tried to keep her things out of his way, always tucked away out of sight, always picking up after herself. Well, she would have done that anyway, but still, she made extra sure not to leave any of…‘her’ lying around that would remind him that he had someone, a woman, in his house.