by Ivy Nelson
“I don’t have to do what you tell me anymore,” she said sticking her tongue out at him. She sounded and looked like a bratty child. He closed his eyes, praying for patience.
“Peggy Lynn Jacobs stop being a brat this moment.” His tone was quiet, but his eyes were hard and cold. Though she said nothing, the change in her demeanor was instant. He lifted her from the couch by her arm and walked her to the coat area. Thank goodness she wasn’t wearing fetish attire tonight.
After collecting her coat and bag, he put her in his car and drove them to a nearby diner. The meal was awkward, but halfway through bacon and eggs she had sobered up a bit.
“I’m sorry Bradley. Our break-up just has me so upset,” she moaned.
“I’m sorry Peggy. I hate hurting people. But be honest. Were you really happy with me or were you just happy at the idea of the power couple we made?” She blushed, and he knew he was right. “Peggy you’re a wonderful woman. I mean that. You’re going to find someone that’s right for you, and I have a feeling they’ll be even more powerful than me.”
They finished their meal in relative silence. Bradley could tell she was still somewhat drunk, so he planned to drive her home, but she insisted on taking a cab. As they waited for the one he called, he made her promise to text him as soon as she was home safe. She started to argue, but he stopped her.
“Peggy, I mean it. If you’re going to take a taxi you damn well better text me when you get home. If you don’t, I’m calling the police.” She stuck her tongue out again. It was something he had punished her for numerous times. He stifled a laugh and gave her his meanest glare as the cab pulled up to the curb. “I mean it, Peggy.”
“I will. I promise,” she relented. She planted a kiss on his cheek. “Thanks for taking care of me.” He gave her a little wave as she shut the cab door.
After the car disappeared, he stood in the parking lot for a moment. Poor Peggy he thought. At least she admitted that she wasn’t happy with him. Driving his own car, he headed home for the night. It was way later than he intended to stay out and tomorrow was a workday. To top it all off, he hadn’t run into Darci.
13
♥♥♥
“Peggy, come on, answer the door!” Bradley banged on Peggy’s door again. He hadn’t heard from her since late last night when she sent her home safe text. She was supposed to meet a friend for lunch but never made it. They called Bradley and asked if he knew where she was. She wasn’t answering her phone, and she hadn’t shown up for work today either. That must be one hell of a hangover, he thought.
“I'm going to use my key if you don't open the door,” he shouted
He glanced up at the second-story window he knew was her bedroom. That’s odd, he thought. It was freezing last night. Why would she have the window open?
After several more minutes of knocking, he gave up and pulled out the key she had insisted on giving him. He should have given it back to her already, but it was proving useful now. “Peggy,” he called as he opened the door. “Come on, I know you were drunk, but this is a little ridiculous girl.”
He climbed the stairs trying to decide how mean he wanted to be if she was still asleep. The bedroom door was closed, so he knocked again. There was still no answer, so he pushed open the door.
“Peggy, come on, it's time to wa...”
He stopped dead in his tracks as his eyes landed on the bed.
“Peggy! Oh my God no.”
Bradley's stomach churned and bile rose in his throat. Peggy was tied to the bed covered in blood. Her eyes were open. She had been terrified when she died. Bradley fumbled for his phone and dialed 9-1-1.
“FUCK,” he shouted not sure what to do next. The police instructed him to wait for them to arrive. He shut the bedroom door again and jogged down the stairs. This was a fucking nightmare.
• • •
He couldn’t believe Peggy was gone. How could this have happened? The image of her bloody, lifeless body was seared into his brain. After the police took his statement at the scene, they had asked him to come to the station.
Bradley's stomach was still in knots as he sat in a small room waiting to be interviewed. A tall man with dirty blonde hair and a five o’clock shadow entered. Bradley raised an eyebrow at the man. It was Detective Michael Silas, a fellow Dominant and member of Club Exposure. He started to say hello, but the detective gave a sharp shake of his head, indicating that Bradley should not acknowledge their friendship.
“You OK man? You look a little green.” The detective handed him a bottle of water. He took a long drink before answering.
“Uh yeah, I just... I can't get Peggy's face out of my head. There was so much blood.” Bradley closed his eyes but opened them again. Her lifeless face was there waiting for him.
“I’m detective Michael Silas. I'm sorry for your loss, but I need to ask you a few questions.” Bradley nodded his agreement. The detective sat down and pulled out a notepad and started up a digital recorder. “This is Detective Michael Silas with D.C. Metro, Interviewing Bradley Givens for the record.”
Bradley recounted the story, trying to decide how much to tell him about being at the Midnight Diamond the previous evening. He decided to be honest and hope it didn't get out to the media. He did leave out being at Exposure. No sense ruining the privacy of people he considered family. Halfway through the interview, the detective’s cell phone rang.
“Detective Silas,” he answered. He listened for a moment as a frantic voice gushed something he couldn’t quite make out on the other line. “Darci, Jesus, calm the fuck down woman. I'll have to call you back. I'm interviewing the guy that found her. No, you can’t talk to him. Jesus woman I’m doing an official interview. I'll call you when I can.”
Darci? Bradley wondered if it was Darci Sanders but decided not to ask. Michael had been a member of the club longer than Bradley. It would make sense they knew each other. A moment later his own phone lit up. It was Darci. He hit ignore and finished the interview. By the time he left the station, he had four missed calls and two texts all from her.
“Darci, I'm fine. What's wrong?” he asked when he called her back.
“Oh, Bradley, I'm so sorry about Peggy. I heard you were the one that found her. I tried to get details from Michael... Detective Silas but he was talking to you when I called. I’m sorry I’ve been avoiding you. I’m so sorry.” Bradley let out an amused chuckle. She was talking a mile a minute.
“Slow down, Darci. I wondered if that was you calling the detective. Where are you right now?” he asked. The prospect of going home alone did not sit well with him. After their clash on television the other night, he wasn’t sure where they stood. Especially since she had canceled their lunch, but he decided not to worry about that.
“I'm leaving the station now. Can we grab drinks or dinner or something? I could use a friendly face right now, Darci.” Hopefully he didn’t sound too desperate.
Her response was immediate. “Of course. I’m still at work. You're not too far from my office if you’re at Michael’s precinct. Come pick me up. We'll figure out where to go from there.”
He disconnected and took a deep cleansing breath. Time spent with the intriguing redhead would help him forget the gruesome things he saw today.
A few minutes later, Bradley stood against his car while he waited for Darci to come out. When she emerged, he gave her a lopsided smile.
“Thanks for this, Darci,”
Instead of saying anything, she wrapped her arms around him. After a long hug she said, “I’m so sorry, Bradley.” He returned the hug, and he couldn’t help but think about how good it felt to hold her. The scent of lemon and ginger washed over him, and he let it comfort him for a minute before he pulled away and opened the passenger door. As he closed it behind her, she offered him a shy smile.
They decided to go back to Bradley’s apartment with wine and takeout. Sitting on the floor in front of his coffee table watching her enjoy Chinese food, he smiled. Things almost felt normal.
/>
When she looked up at him, he said, “Thanks for hanging out with me Darci. We weren't together anymore, but she was still a friend. I was at Exposure last night. We talked, but she left and went to Midnight Diamond. I had to go rescue her because she was causing a scene.” Darci grabbed his hand as surprise filled her eyes.
“I’m so sorry. I didn’t know.”
He closed his eyes. “It’s OK, really. I feel bad that things were so tense between us. When I talked to the police, I told them about Midnight Diamond, but I left out Exposure. I figured outing myself as a member there would risk outing Michael too. If the media finds out they will have a field day with me. I'm thinking of resigning before Atleigh can fire me.”
“Bradley don't!” she exclaimed. “I can help you with the press if you'll let me. You know Gary won’t talk to the press or the police unless he’s forced to, and Michael will protect you as much as he can without risking his badge.”
“I don't know Darci, Atleigh will lose his shit if he finds out.”
They agreed to table the issue for now and enjoy the bottle of wine and dinner. He didn’t want her to leave, but he knew it would be awkward to ask her to stay. To his delight, she suggested putting a movie on. Tomorrow was Saturday, and neither of them had to go into the office. A late-night movie sounded perfect to Bradley.
They settled on a comedy. Halfway through the film, Darci dozed off, and her head wound up on his shoulder. He placed a blanket around them and fell asleep himself.
The next morning, Bradley woke up disoriented. Why am I on the couch? As the fog cleared, he realized Darci had shifted and was sleeping with her head in his lap. He resisted the urge to run his fingers through the wild mess of red hair flowing around her face. She was so beautiful, and she looked so innocent sleeping there. In that moment, he knew he wanted to pursue this woman. The typical arrangement he made with women was unlikely to be enough for her. He needed to figure out what to do about that.
She shifted and opened her eyes, confusion filling her sleepy face as she sat up and looked around. “Oh, my goodness, I'm so sorry.” She was flustered, and it was adorable. He smiled.
“Good morning, sleepy head.”
“Morning? What time is it?”
“I’m not sure, I just woke up a moment ago, but it's light out.” He nodded toward the window across the room.
Darci groaned. “I'm so embarrassed. I didn't mean to pass out on you.”
“Hey, I passed out too. I promise I didn't watch you sleep all night. Just the past five minutes.” He winked, and she turned an even brighter shade of red.
“I should go.” She started to get up, but he gripped her hand to stop her.
“Stay. I'll fix breakfast.” He glanced at his phone. “It's early. We can finish the movie while we eat. I must say, it was nice waking up with you curled up with me. I wouldn’t mind experiencing that again.” His voice grew quiet.
She opened her mouth to speak, but nothing came out. “Don't say anything,” he said pressing a finger to her lips. “I want to kiss you right now, but I'm not going to. Mostly because I don’t want you threatening to kick me again,” he teased. Her eyes grew wide, and he put his hands on either side of her face, letting his hands run through her hair like he had been dreaming of doing.
“Thank you for being here for me. I'm not sure what it is, but there's something here.”
She nodded, still speechless and pressed her forehead to his. After a moment, she spoke. “I've been feeling it too, but Bradley I would ruin your career if we dated. We can't go there. You work for a man I abhor.”
“Shhh.” He pressed his finger to her lips again. “Let's not get ahead of ourselves. Let me cook you breakfast.”
“I should be cooking you breakfast.”
“Why?” he asked, puzzled by her statement.
“The whole I'm a submissive, and you're a Dominant thing I guess.” She shrugged looking sheepish.
“Well you're not my submissive,” he trailed off as if to say “yet,” but left the word unspoken. “And besides, I like cooking breakfast. Would you deprive me of that pleasure?” One eyebrow quirked upward as he gave her a stern look. Hope soared when she got up and followed him.
“Can I help at least?” she asked, as her eyes darted around his kitchen. It was larger than a lot of apartment kitchens in D.C., and he found himself wondering what her kitchen looked like. Hopefully he would get the chance to find out soon.
“You can make coffee and chat with me.” Pointing out the coffee supplies, he set about making a pancake batter.
It had been a long time since he’d cooked for a woman. Most of the women he had arrangements with didn't come over to hang out, and they rarely spent the night. He never paid them, but they could have been seen as professional submissives. It worked for him, fulfilled his dominant desires, and didn’t get complicated while he focused on his career.
In college he dated around, and he always had a play partner at parties. But when he got more involved in politics, he felt the need to be discreet. Peggy—who had been a friend since college—had told him about Exposure. He became a member there because he trusted the leadership and it was far enough out of town that nobody recognized him.
It delighted him to have this woman perched on his barstool watching him cook. Every time he came near her, he was overcome with the urge to kiss her. Her face was flushed, and there was a hitch in her breathing whenever their bodies connected. She felt the sparks between them the same as he did, or his name wasn’t Bradley Givens.
“Damn it, woman. I still want to kiss you,” he whispered, stepping toward her.
“Is that all you want to do?” She smiled up at him, her eyes big and innocent.
“Don't be a tease,” he warned. In an unexpected motion, she reached out and pulled him close to her, locking her gaze with his. His heartbeat quickened as he stared into the sea of green that were her gorgeous eyes. After staring at him for a moment, she leaned in close and he thought she might kiss him.
“You're going to burn the bacon,” she whispered. Before dropping the handful of his shirt she was gripping, she leaned up and planted a quick kiss on the corner of his mouth and pushed him away.
“Devil!” he growled. It crossed his mind to pull her to him and fist his hands into that head of hair, but she was right, the bacon would burn if he didn't get it out of the pan. She giggled and he shook his finger at her.
“Careful little girl. I said I wanted to move slow, don't make me regret that.” He gave her his most stern expression and grinned when her demeanor changed.
While they ate, conversation flowed easily. He was enjoying himself, and he didn't like the thought of her leaving, so he suggested spending the day together. Darci’s expression changed, and she set her fork down.
“Bradley, what are we doing?”
“Eating breakfast,” he responded casually.
“Not what I'm talking about, and you know it smart ass.”
“Watch it,” he warned instinctively. She’s not yours. She can call you a smart ass if she wants to, he thought, mentally chastising himself.
“Bradley, we can't do this. I can't hide my feelings for you, and if we start a relationship how do I explain hiding it from my friends?”
The easy conversation was gone, and so was the relaxed woman he was enjoying.
“Who says we have to hide?” he asked, not fully understanding her panic.
She huffed and closed her eyes. “You’re infuriating. You're the one who said you would be fucked if your boss found out where you were the other night.”
Picking up both of her hands, he squeezed gently. Her eyes were closed again, so he waited for her to look at him.
When she did, he said, “I'm saying, let's see where things go. No pressure, no public dating, just two people getting to know each other. And besides, I’ve been going to Exposure for almost a year and no one has discovered me.”
“I can't. I don't want to be the reason you lose your car
eer.” He shook his head. He was regretting expressing his concerns about his job.
“Let me be the one to decide if that's what will happen.”
“No!” she exclaimed, pulling her hands from his. “I should go,”
Bradley rose to stop her when she jumped up and started for the door. “Darci please stay and finish your food. I’m sorry, I shouldn't have pushed.”
Crossing the short distance between them, he placed his hands on her shoulders. “Look at me.” She refused at first, but he squeezed her shoulders, and she sighed, giving in and looking him directly in the eyes. “Good girl. I said I'm sorry. But Darci, there's something here, and you can't deny that. We don't have to act on it if you don't want, but don't withdraw from me because you're scared I'm going to lose my job.” He was overwhelmed with the desire to kiss her again as she stared up at him with wide eyes.
“I can't risk that Bradley. It's not worth it.” She turned her eyes away again as she spoke.
“I’ll be the judge of that.” He moved his hands from her shoulders. Gently he turned her face to his, forcing her to meet his gaze. “Let's agree to be friends. If it goes farther, we'll explore it, but promise me you won't avoid me.”
“Fine,” she agreed. “But we are not dating.”
“Fine,” he said echoing her tone. “Finish your breakfast.”
She hesitated a moment longer. When she lowered herself onto the barstool, he gave himself a mental high-five for the small victory. She was staying. He could figure out the rest of it later. For now, he wanted to enjoy his time with this beautiful woman sitting across from him.
• • •
Darci stepped out of Bradley’s building and headed for the street. What are you doing Darci Sanders? You know you can't get involved with this man. As she walked down the sidewalk to the metro station, she mentally scolded herself.
Once she was home, she took a long shower and contemplated recent events. Peggy was the second woman in the local BDSM community to be murdered. This couldn't be a coincidence. She considered calling Michael but took a nap instead. Being curled up on the small couch with Bradley all night hadn’t given her a great night’s sleep.
