Between The Sheets - Complete Collection (11 page)

Brandi shrugged.  “Not for me.”

Geoffrey gestured to the door.  “Well, if you’ll excuse us, Shelly.”

“Oh, okay.  It was a pleasure meeting you, Brandi.”

After showing the woman out, Geoffrey came and stood before her, arms crossed as he stared down at her.  Brandi snickered. He chuckled and soon they were rolling on the sofa, laughing uncontrollably.  Only the ringing of her cell phone managed to interrupt.

Still giggling, Brandi answered, only afterwards realizing she didn’t check the caller ID.

“Ms. Rafferty?”

Her laughter fading at the unfamiliar voice, she replied, “Yes.  Who is this?”

“This is Clark, the concierge.  You should get back here.”

She straightened.  “What is it, Clark?  What’s wrong?”

“There’s been a fire in your place. The police need to speak with you.”

“I’m on my way.”

“What is it?” asked Geoffrey, following her lead and preparing to leave.

“There’s been a fire at my place.”

“Was anyone hurt?”

“I don’t know.  I didn’t ask.”

They hurried out, waiting impatiently at the elevator.

“See?” Brandi blurted out.  “This is why I should’ve stayed at the condo.  I knew Nick couldn’t be trusted.”

“Do not jump to conclusions.  Just wait until you have all the facts.”

“That’s easy for you to say, Geoffrey.  That is
my
home that’s on fire, not yours.”  She slapped a hand against the wall.  “If I’d stayed at the condo, this probably would not have happened.”

“You do not know that for certain.”

“Which is why I used the word ‘probably,’” she stated with sarcasm. 

The doors opened and they entered, the tension silence filling the elevator and following them into truck.  She didn’t want to talk, afraid of what else she might say in her anger.

“Let me out in front,” Brandi said without looking at him.

Geoffrey ground his teeth, but he did as she’d asked. Not that he had a choice.  In her current mood, the woman could as easily curse him out and tell him to get lost as she would that Nick guy.

He parked in the first open space and took the stairs up to the first floor two at a time.  As was to be expected, the lobby was crowded with police, firemen and the residents who would have had to evacuate the building.  They must now be allowed back in, but the curious ones would no doubt wait around to find out all they could.

Pushing his way through the crowd as polite as he could manage, he searched for Brandi, but there was no sign of her in the lobby.  Making his way to the elevator, he waited with very little patience for its arrival.  Thankfully, he didn’t have to wait long.  In very short order, he strode rapidly to her condominium, the door of which was ajar.  Not bothering to knock, he pushed it open and entered.  Brandi stood in the middle of the living room speaking with a policeman.

She saw him, her gaze flicking over him for less than a second.  Not caring, he went and stood next to her.  The policeman glanced at him with no little curiosity.

“And you are?”

“Geoffrey Rasmussen, Brandi’s friend.  We were having dinner when she received the call.”

The policeman nodded and brought him up to date.  “The fire began in Ms. Rafferty’s room in a trash can filled with paper.  As she’s informed me that she doesn’t smoke nor has she had any use for matches or lighter, we will investigate this as a suspicious fire.  Who else lives here?”

“Nick Everett is co-owner of the property.  When I left, he and his friend, Renee Jinn, were making dinner for themselves.  My room, on the other hand, should’ve been locked and can only be opened with a key.”

“Why would you need a keyed lock on your bedroom door?”

“Because we’re roommates and I value my privacy.  Additionally, Nick and I have a past.  I don’t trust him, but until ownership of the condominium is resolved, we both have equal right to the property.”

The policeman nodded and indicated that they should follow him.  “I want to check the door to see if it’s been jimmied.”

Amazed at the number of people throughout the condo, Geoffrey found just getting through the crowd challenging.  By the time he caught up with Brandi, the policeman had already checked the door.

“Just as you suspected, the door was forced open,” he was saying.  “Let the forensics people do their jobs.  If there’s any evidence to find, they’re the ones to do it.”

“Do you have Nick and Renee detained?” Brandi asked in a controlled tone.

The policeman shook his head.  “We took their statements and let them go for now.  That could change, of course, once we see what the investigation reveals.  Once forensics concludes, you’ll need to go in and let us know what valuables have been taken, if any.  Most likely, that won’t be until the morning.  For now, it would be best if you slept somewhere else.  We’ll station a policeman here so you don’t have to worry about anything else for now.”

Brandi held herself stiffly, her arms folded across her chests.  Geoffrey longed to take her into his arms, but feared she might lash out at him again.  Instead, he laid a hand lightly on the small of her back and gestured for her to accompany him.  After another look around her room, which had been trashed, she glanced up at him and nodded.

___

Furious.  The red haze coated her insides, raged through her body so that she shook with it.  When would she learn?  She was the only one competent to make decisions about her life.  Yet she kept letting other people convince her to do something other than what she knew to do.

“You have to respect that I have reasons for the decisions I make,” she said to Geoffrey. The words burst from her, driven by a caustic mix of emotion.

“And you need to respect that I only have your best interests at heart.  You should trust me, Brandi.  You know well enough that I mean you no harm.”

“That’s not the point!”  She yelled the words, punctuating them with a punch.  Brandi shook her head.  “Look, I really need for you to take me to Diamond’s place.  Right now, I’d just rather not be with you.”

“I am not your enemy, Brandi.”

“I didn’t say you were.”

“Just give me the damn directions.”

Brandi cut her eyes at him, but managed to bite back her immediate retort.  There was nothing to be gained from any further argument.  Instead, she called Diamond and told her what happened.  Twenty minutes later, she climbed out of Geoffrey’s truck without another word.

Diamond hugged her tightly.  “I’m so sorry this is happening to you, girl.”

“I know. I appreciate it.”  She sank down onto the sofa.  “I’m just so damn angry.  You should see my room, Diamond.  It’s been thoroughly trashed and I’m not sure that happened before or after the fire.  The lock had definitely been tampered with.”

“So you think either Nick or Renee did it?”

“Yeah.”  Taking a deep breath, she relayed the events that had occurred up to that phone call.  “Believe it or not, I actually felt sorry for Renee for a moment, up until she looked at me with hatred in her eyes.  As though it was my fault.”

“Okay, and Geoffrey?  What happened that you’re not staying the night with him?”

“I let him talk me out of remaining at the condo tonight.  And yes, although I know it was ultimately my decision, I still blame him for not listening to me as much as I blame myself.”

Silence fell between them.  When Diamond took a deep breath, Brandi tensed, knowing what that meant.

“I think you’re wrong in taking out your anger on Geoffrey, Brandi.  Furthermore, I’m not so sure it’s anger that you’re feeling toward him.  I think you’re scared so it’s easier to blame him for anything that happens in your budding relationship.”

Brandi scowled at her, not in the mood for this.  “Scared?  Of what?”

“Of trusting him.  Of being vulnerable to him.  You know, I’ve been thinking more and more about that book and the bondage/submission scene.  I think you need to consider taking that step with Geoffrey.  Prove to him and yourself that he is someone you can trust.”

“I’m too tired to get into this with you tonight.”

“No problem,” her friend said easily.  “God willing, I’ll still be here tomorrow to talk some sense into you.”

In bed and alone, Brandi couldn’t get Diamond’s observations out of her mind.  For one thing, she didn’t consider herself a coward, but looking at the situation through her friend’s viewpoint, she wasn’t really happy with the conclusions she’d drawn.  If she didn’t do something, she could lose the most honorable man she’d met in her whole life.  One who, frankly, had exercised considerable patience with her.

___

After calling Antonia to tell her what happened and so she could reschedule any meetings, Brandi returned to the condominium, dismayed at the condition.  The policeman told her she was the first to come back since the fire.  There was no telling where Nick, or Renee, was by now.

Continuing to her bedroom, she straightened her shoulders and got to work.  From what she could tell, nothing had been taken, although plenty had been destroyed. Clothes, mostly, but they could be replaced.  Since she kept her compact laptop with her, nothing else of value had been taken.  After making a list, she took a taxi down to the police station.  From there, she took a taxi to Geoffrey’s hotel.  She didn’t call him until she stood in the lobby.  If she had, she might have changed her mind.  He answered on the first ring.

“Brandi, are you all right?”

“Yes.  Um, can I come up?”

There was a small pause, as though she’d surprised him.  What if he sought consolation in his neighbor’s arms?  Even as the question filtered through to her consciousness, she dismissed it, recognizing it for what it was.  Fear.

“You’re here?  At the hotel?”

“Yes.”

“Of course, you can come up.  I’ll be waiting when the elevator doors open.”

The relief and concern he felt almost brought her to tears of shame.  How could she not have seen that she, alone, was the problem?  Not with Nick, but definitely with Geoffrey, and he was least deserving of it.

As promised, Geoffrey stood there and he swept her into his arms, holding her so tight that she almost couldn’t breathe.  Not that she was complaining.  His mouth covered hers and any thought she might have had dissolved in the face of the heat generated between her and this man.

They both gasped when they came up for air, her gaze locked with his.

“Geoffrey, I want you to tie me up.” The words tumbled from her lips right there in the hallway where anyone could have heard her, but she didn’t care.

His eyes widened.  “Pardon?”

“You heard me right.”

Setting her on her feet, he curved an arm around her shoulders.  “Come on.”

Inside his suite, he guided her to the sofa and sat beside her.  “Now tell me, what brought that on?”
“I have quite a bit of emotional baggage, in case you haven’t noticed.”

“Oh, I’ve noticed.”

“Well, I think I’ve found a way to get over it, if you’re willing.”

“Are you serious?  Do you really think I would deny myself the opportunity to have you at my mercy?”

“Okay, you’re making me nervous.”

“Only if you don’t trust me.”

“Exactly.”

He studied her for a long moment and she held his gaze.  “Are you sure?”

“Yes, I am.”

Geoffrey stood and held his hand out to her.  Brandi grasped it, her heart pounding hard and fast, and let him lead her to his bedroom.  As she stood in the middle of his spacious bedroom, she watched him retrieve several silken scarves.

“Something tells me you’ve done this before,” she remarked, staring at the feminine scraps of cloth.

“Actually, I have not.  I bought these two weeks after we met because they reminded me of you.  I planned to give them to you as a gift.”

“Oh.”

Scarves in hand, Geoffrey leaned against the dresser, legs crossed at the ankles.  “Undress.”

The one word command had her bristling, but she didn’t say anything.  Slowly, she slid the t-shirt up and over her head.  The rising in his crotched emboldened her.  Keeping her gaze locked with his, Brandi undid her jeans and slid them down her legs, bending over so he could see the deep cleavage of her breasts encased in her bra.  She kicked her legs free and lowered one bra strap and then the other, freeing her arms.  Reaching behind her, she unhooked the bra and let it drop at her feet.  Only her panties remained.  Brandi slid her hands, palms down, beneath the fabric and eased them down and off.

“Play with those pretty nipples.”

She hesitated.  “But I thought…”

He cut her off.  “When you asked me to tie you to the bed, you became the submissive and I, your master.  You will do whatever I ask or be punished.”

“Now wait a minute.”

Again he stopped her.  “I thought this exercise was about trust.”

She didn’t say anything.

“Come now, Brandi, are you inferring that you have never played with yourself?”