Drip Drop Teardrop

“You’re a creep.”

“Avery,” he warned.

She shrugged, still refusing to look at him.

“It’s my turn you know.”

Despite herself, Avery whipped her head around to glare at him. “Your turn to what?”

“To ask the questions.”

She shrugged. “Fair is fair. Go ahead.”

His smile slipped and he was glaring at her again.

“What?!”

“Why on earth did you date Josh for three years?”

Avery groaned and flopped back on the sofa, not caring if her head was cushioned against his arm. She should have known his question would be related to sex and relationships somehow.

My Name is Yours…

Can I Sleep on your Floor?

He interrogated her for what seemed hours. Avery was surprised by the things he knew about her life. After she stumbled through a clumsy explanation of why Josh had been perfect for her in high school, Brennus nodded, telling her he knew about her fear over being centre of attention. He said he still remembered her freak out at her junior prom when the prom committee told her she had been nominated for prom court. She had urged Josh to leave, practically prostituting her way out of the situation by promising him a chance to go to third base with her if he did. Brennus glared and she glared back, demanding to know if he had stuck around for the rest of the show that night. His face mottled red with seething anger but he shook his head. “I for one am a gentleman,” he said, reminding her that Josh had humiliated her anyway by telling all his friends the next day that he’d gone down on her the night before. Come to think of it, she couldn’t believe she’d stayed with him as long as she had.

Among his seemingly never-ending questions, Brennus apologised for embarrassing her when he danced with her at 4.0. Immediately she felt ashamed because he seemed to know she had been humiliated to be seen with him and his scarred face. Somehow she found herself apologising back, telling him she couldn’t help it, her fear of being noticed by crowds of people was some psychological bullshit she’d picked up after the death of her parents. But they both knew that was only half the truth. Suddenly, Avery wondered why he wanted anything to do with her. She wasn’t the nicest person.

When he was done unravelling her little mysteries, Brennus finally let her drift off into sleep just as the sun broke the horizon.

Avery awoke hours later, the vast darkness beyond the glass windows telling her she’d slept all day. It had been a wonderful, dreamless sleep. She felt refreshed for the first time in a long time.

A throat clearing above her head shot Avery upwards, and she found herself gazing into the grey eyes of Ames.

“Miss.” He nodded his head congenially at her. “Sir has asked me to show you to your room where you can freshen up, have a bite to eat and get dressed for tonight.”

“Tonight?” she queried slowly, rising to her feet to follow Ames who was already heading out the door. “What’s tonight?”

“Sir has plans for you both.”

That sounded ominous. Shivering in her pj’s now that she was no longer near the fire, Avery hurried to follow Ames through the gorgeous modern house straight out of Interior Design Magazine. He took her up this huge, wide staircase with chunky oak banisters to the second floor. At the end of the hall was a double set of doors. He thrust them open with a flourish and Avery gaped as he led her inside the bedroom suite. It was bigger than her and Caroline’s apartment in Brooklyn. A king-size bed dominated one side of the room, sitting on a massive circular dais. The other side of the room had an ornate fireplace to equal the one downstairs. Avery shivered deliciously. It was lit. There were sofas and chairs, an entertainment unit. Her eyes widened as they passed over the open doors to a walk-in closet bigger than their Brooklyn sitting room. The bedroom must have faced the same way as the sitting room downstairs, for another glass wall dominated, leading out onto a balcony that looked over Brennus’ estate.

“Through that door is the bathroom, miss. Why don’t you freshen up? There are some clothes that should fit quite well in the closet. I’ll have a tray of food sent up.”

Avery was in a complete daze as Ames left, shutting the doors behind him. She numbly followed his directions and wandered into the bathroom.

“Holy moly…” she breathed.

Correction. The bathroom was bigger than her apartment.

Floor to ceiling, the bathroom was decked out in lavish travertine and gold. There was a spa in one corner, a claw footed tub in the middle of the room, and separated by a tiled wall, a wet room at the back. Before she had time to think about it she was stripping out of her clothes and heading with excitement towards to the wet room. Three shower heads came on automatically as she stepped inside and Avery gasped at the shock of the beautifully warm water hitting her skin. She sighed happily and leaned back against the wall. That’s when her eyes fell on the shelving unit built into the wet room. It was like something out of a his and hers catalogue. The top shelf had men’s shampoo and conditioner, aftershave, deodorant, razor, shaving foam, shower gel. All of it used. The bottom shelf had her favourite shampoo and conditioner, deodorant, coconut shower gel, shaving foam and the Gillette Venus razor she preferred. None of it used. Her heart thudded in her chest and she struggled to draw breath.

This was Brennus’ bedroom suite.

And clearly he had been waiting for her to join him in it for a while.

His harsh face flashed before her eyes and she shuddered, confused and disgusted for the way she felt about her would-be kidnapper.