His Turn (The Turning Series Book 3)

by JA Huss

  “Hey,” Bric says.

  I look up and find him in the kitchen holding a spatula. He’s wearing an apron that has a buffed-out cartoon man screen-printed on the front.

  “Hey yourself,” I say. “What’s going on out here?” When he turns his back to me I can’t stop the snicker. “What the hell are you wearing?”

  He looks over his shoulder and winks, then goes back to hovering over the stove. What he’s wearing is that apron and nothing else. His tight ass is clearly visible and accented by the apron strings fluttering against his butt cheeks as he moves.

  “Like it?” he asks, pushing some bacon around on the griddle.

  “Yes,” I say, walking up to the island and taking a seat on the stool. “I do, actually. But your body is much nicer than that cartoon on the front.”

  “Yeah.” He sighs. “But it makes you appreciate me more, right?”

  Elias Bricman. Officially an enigma.

  “What’s for dinner?” I ask.

  “Breakfast. I had breakfast in mind when I planned last night and I’m kinda set in my ways, so we’re having bacon, eggs, and pancakes.”

  I think about that for a moment. Last night, specifically.

  “Did you have fun?” he asks.

  I admit nothing. Still thinking.

  “We did. I talked to Jordan. He left early to get some work done on that big case. But he said to tell you he’ll be around this week when he has a chance.”

  “OK,” I say.

  Bric grabs plates from the cupboard and starts piling food on them. His kitchen is very nice. Gourmet chef kinda nice, with one of those elaborate range hoods made out of glass and stainless steel instead of a microwave that doubles as a vent. His counters are almost black, with thin white veins running through them. Soapstone, I figure. The cabinets are all black too, but the sink is white and deep and the appliances are industrial high-end stainless steel.

  “Here,” he says, sliding a plate in front of me. “I’ll have the toast in a second.”

  On cue, it pops up in the toaster. I watch the muscles move in Bric’s back as he butters the pieces, cuts them diagonally into triangles, and then turns and drops two on my plate. “Eat up,” he says. “You can’t leave until you eat.”

  I pick up a piece of toast and dip the corner into my sunny-side-up egg. I cannot remember the last time I had eggs and toast and that first bite is heaven. “So we’re still playing?” I ask, needing clarification.

  “The date’s not over until I take you home, Nadia.”

  “Just asking,” I say.

  “Unless you don’t want to go home,” he adds, grabbing a plate and setting it on the counter. He doesn’t sit, just leans his body into the island and starts cutting his pancake with a fork.

  He brings the food to his mouth and I watch him eat. He has nice lips, I decide. And then I picture his face between my legs. His unshaven jaw of stubble. His tongue doing its thing.

  “Do you want to go home, Nadia?” he asks.

  “I… think I have to. I live there, after all.”

  “You could just stay here.”

  “I don’t want to stay here,” I say.

  “We’re getting a place anyway, right?”

  “Are we?” I ask. “Seems to me that we were supposed to do that last weekend and you bailed.”

  “I forgot.” He shrugs. “New Year’s weekend. My real-estate guy wasn’t working. But we can look this week.”

  “Well, if we find a place I’ll move into it, I guess. But I don’t want to live at your club.”

  “Why not? You’re wearing my club shirt.” He waggles his eyebrows at me.

  “I don’t have any clothes. You let people rip them off me last night.”

  “That was fun, wasn’t it?” He grins like a boy who is very proud of himself.

  “I’m not sure I’d call it… fun.”

  “Well, I do,” he says, redirecting his attention to his food. “And since the date is not over yet, we’ve got more fun coming.”

  “Do we?” I ask.

  He nods knowingly. “Of course, you can say no if you’re not into fun.”

  “What are you into?” I ask. “Besides fun?”

  “Oh, is this getting-to-know-me time? What does Bric like? What makes Bric tick?”

  I pick up a piece of bacon and take a bite. “You’re a good cook,” I say. “I know that much.”

  “I’m an excellent cook. Did you know,” he asks, “that I own a tea room with Chella Walcott? And I actually helped create one of the scone recipes.”

  I smile and shake my head. “I did not. But very interesting.”

  “It’s called Bric’s Strawberry Tart.”

  “Does it taste like pussy and come dressed in red leather thigh-highs?” I ask, shoving some toast into my mouth before I laugh.

  “Strawberries,” he says. “Hence the name.”

  “Why are you telling me this? So I can gush over the fact that you bake?”

  “I thought you wanted inside my head? I’m just trying to give you a well-rounded example of who I am.”

  “Playboy,” I say. “Check. Deviant. Check. Bisexual.” I smirk now. “Check.”

  “So you liked it, huh?”

  “You sure seemed to. Especially the parts that involved Jordan. Kissing him. Touching him.”

  “If you think that’s gonna set me back, embarrass me, well”—he laughs—“you’re gonna have to try a little harder. I’ve been doing this a long time, Nadia. I’ve had plenty of guys in my game.”

  “But you won’t fuck them?” I ask.

  “Why would I? I’m not gay.”

  “I’m pretty sure bi men also like to fuck each other.”

  “I like to fuck women,” he says. “But if it turns you on I’ll play a little harder next time.”

  I take whole moments to picture what that might mean.

  “Does it turn you on, Nadia?”

  I nod. “Mmm-hmmm.”

  “You’d like to see a little more of that?” he asks.

  “Yes,” I say.

  “And let me guess, you’d like to be in control too?”

  I get wet from that offer.

  “For sure,” I say, scissoring my legs together. Enjoying the stimulation.

  He nods, smiling as he looks down at his food, then looks back up at me, smile gone. “You’re not in control here, bitch. So make sure you remember that.”

  “Fuck you,” I say. “You’re the one who wants me here.”

  “You want to be here, Nadia. Otherwise you’d have never agreed to any of this.”

  “I was playing with Jordan, not you.”

  “And now you’re playing with both of us. So either get on board or get the fuck out.”

  I just stare at him for a second, then recover. “You’re an asshole, you know that?”

  “Everyone knows that, Nadia. Try to keep up, will you please? You’re making this so easy.”

  “Easy?” I scoff.

  He reaches across the table and grabs me by the hair so fast, I gasp. “Do you want to play the game or not?” He growls it out. A low, deep rumble like it came from deep inside his throat. His eyes are intensely serious. No trace of a smile on his lips. No sign of the man who just cooked me breakfast.

  And all this while wearing that ridiculous apron.

  I grab his wrist and push him away, but he holds onto my hair and pulls me halfway over the soapstone counter.

  “Stop it,” I say.

  He lets go and I ease backward. A smile slowly forms. His lips barely curling up at the edges. An evil smile, I realize. A smirk. Nothing friendly about it. “Do you want to know why you’re here, Nadia?”

  “I came here to fuck,” I say, practically spitting the words out. “And I did that. And now I’m done.”

  I turn away, but he grabs my hair again and it pulls. Harder this time. I refuse to react again. I refuse to give in to him like this. “If you hurt me again I will press charges.”

  “You’re the o
ne who said—what was it again? ‘We’re all gonna get hurt, that’s not a secret?’ You said that, Nadia. You came into this game to hurt us. And now you’re what? Mad because we’re gonna hurt you back?”

  “Let go of my hair,” I snarl. “Now.”

  He lets go and then eases himself back over to his side of the counter. “Do you know why you like to submit?” he asks.

  I have to laugh at that. “I don’t like to submit, Bric. I’m playing a game, remember?”

  “You like it because you’re out of control. You like it because someone hurt you in the past. You like it—”

  “Shut the fuck up,” I say, cutting him off. “You have no goddamned idea what you’re talking about.”

  “Were you abused, Nadia? Did your daddy—”

  I slap him. Hard. Right across his stupid fucking face. And then I slap him again and make it count.

  Chapter Nineteen - Bric

  She’s absolutely still. The slaps still echoing in my ears. My face stinging like fuck.

  She hits back. And she hits hard.

  I like it.

  “Humans are violent by nature, Nadia.” She’s breathing fast. Just two feet away across the island. Hand still in the air. “They require limits. That’s why you want to submit.”

  Her chest rises and falls. “I don’t submit to anyone, Elias.”

  “No?” I ask. “Then why are you here?”

  She says nothing.

  “To bend me over and fuck me backwards like you do the boys at that club the other night? Do I like Jordan? That’s your question? Sure. I like him enough. He likes me enough. And we’re alike in a lot of ways.”

  “Not that many as far as I can tell.” She says it softly. Trying to convince me she’s in control. “And I’m going to leave now.”

  But she’s so out of control. “Why?” I ask. “Your needs aren’t being satisfied?”

  “You only care about your needs.”

  “Funny,” I say, looking away for a moment before looking back. “That’s funny. I seem to recall meeting all of yours last night.”

  “After you fucked my mind for a few hours.”

  “I’m not gonna make a big deal about the slaps, Nadia. So if you’re worried about that—”

  “I’m not worried about shit,” she snarls.

  “You’re worried about everything. But it’s not your fault. You’re so young and there’s so many expectations, right? Be this and be that. Look this way or look that way. Do this. Do that. Life is just one long expectation after another. Make more money. Buy more shit. Become more powerful. Or in your case, dance better, be stronger, fit the mold they’re trying to put you in. You’re lucky though.”

  “How’s that?” she says, blowing out a long breath of air.

  “You have the body for it,” I say, nodding at her, standing there provocatively in my open dress shirt. “Long legs, graceful arms, tall enough to fit in but not too tall that you stand above the others. You’re naturally thin. Naturally athletic. Naturally”—I reach over and place my hand on her cheek, cupping her face—“beautiful.”

  “But,” she says. “There’s a ‘but’ coming. But I need a man like you to show me the way? Guide me through life like some pathetic, helpless woman?”

  “No,” I say. “And yes.”

  “Save your breath, Bricman. I’m not into you.”

  “You’re still here, Nadia.”

  “I don’t have any clothes.”

  “So take mine. I’m sure there’s a pair of sweats in a drawer back in the bedroom. Take them. There’s a car for you downstairs. You won’t be walking home. I have a coat too. Take anything you want, actually. Whatever it is you think you need to be able to walk away from me right now. Take it and go.”

  She stays absolutely still.

  “Or stay and shut the fuck up.”

  “Why—”

  “Shut. The fuck. Up. Nadia.”

  She crosses her arms. Defiant, but submissive at the same time.

  “Good,” I say. “That’s better. Now eat your breakfast and make small talk with me.”

  “Why should I?”

  “I don’t like to repeat myself,” I say.

  “You never told me anything, Elias.”

  Elias. Bric. Bricman. Who does she think I am? “I did tell you. You need limits and I’m here to provide those limits. That’s why you should stay. You need my limits, Nadia. Very badly. So sit the fuck down and eat your fucking breakfast.”

  She sits.

  I’m stunned. But I hold it in because this is way too much fun to laugh and risk pissing her off just yet.

  “It’s cold,” she says, looking down at her plate.

  “Hmm. I guess it is. Let me make a new breakfast then. Would you like coffee?”

  “No,” she says.

  “Orange juice?” I offer, turning back to the stove and starting again.

  “Sure.”

  “Good. See how nice this is?” I ask, breaking more eggs onto the griddle. I get the bacon and pancakes started too, then get the toast ready in the toaster before I grab the OJ from the fridge and pour her a glass. When I turn to set it down, she looks at me with tears in her eyes. “Why are you crying?”

  She wipes her face but only says, “Thanks,” as she takes the glass of juice from me and drinks.

  I turn back to the griddle and push the bacon around. Check the pancakes. Keep an eye on the eggs. “What kind of houses do you like?” I ask her.

  She huffs some air, so obviously frustrated with me.

  “Modern?” I prod. “Or traditional?”

  “Traditional, I guess.”

  “Good to know. I’ll tell Lawton to concentrate on traditional then.”

  “Who’s Lawton?”

  “My real-estate guy.”

  “I don’t think I want to move in with you,” she says.

  I flip the pancakes and the bacon, then turn to her. “You’re staring at my ass, aren’t you?”

  She tries not to smile, but doesn’t quite succeed.

  “And of course you don’t want to move in with me. That’s practically the point of making you.”

  “You can’t make me do anything, Bric.”

  “Elias, Nadia. You need to choose a name for me. So let’s just go with Elias. And yes, I’m very good at making reluctant women do my bidding. So I can make you move in with me. I’d just prefer if you gave in a little to set the proper tone. Plus it will save us time in the house hunt. What neighborhood do you like?”

  “This game isn’t going to end the way you think,” she says.

  “Maybe this game never ends? Ever think of that?”

  She actually laughs this time. But I don’t see it. I’m back at the food.

  “Oh, yeah, I can picture it now. Nadia, Jordan, and Br—Elias forever.”

  “Why not?” I ask. “If we all play well, it could happen. I spent three years with the last girl.”

  “Who,” she spits, “the fuck would spend three years with you?”

  Rochelle, I say in my head. And Quin. “People who play well, that’s who.”

  “Then why aren’t you still together?”

  “Because they fell in love and left together.”

  “Wait,” she says. And when I turn to look at her, she’s got her hand up in a stop gesture. “You had a threesome for three years?” Her face is all scrunched up like this makes no sense to her. “And they fell in love. So you just… bowed out? Or it was a bad break-up?”

  “It doesn’t matter—”

  “The fuck it doesn’t!” And now she’s animated and smiling again. So… getting the upper hand is what makes her tick, huh? “How about this, Elias. You want to get to know my secrets? Then you have to offer yours up in return.”

  “I have nothing to hide, Nadia. We played a good game.”

  “Did you love her?”

  “Sure,” I say, shrugging. “I loved her. But not the way Quin loved her. And they had a baby.”

  “A baby!” She’
s practically cackling now. “Holy fuck. This is a delicious story, isn’t it? I need to know everything.”

  I turn back to the food, find it ready, and then push the toast down in the toaster. “Ask anything you want. I have nothing to hide. And if you think talking about them makes me uncomfortable, you’re wrong. I’m happy to tell you all about them.”

  “It was his baby?” she asks.

  I roll my eyes as I grab two more plates from the cupboard. But she can’t see me because my back is still turned. “Yes. I wouldn’t walk away from my own baby, even if they were in love.”

  “Boy? Girl?”

  “Girl,” I say, loading up our plates. “Adley. Fucking adorable, if I do say so myself.”

  “How old?”

  I think for a second. “Like seven months now.”

  “Were you there for the birth?”

  “No,” I say, just as the toast pops up. “Rochelle left when she was only a few months pregnant. We didn’t meet the baby until she was six months old.”

  “Wait,” Nadia says. “So this shit just happened, didn’t it? Was this the reason Jordan sent me to you on Christmas? Awww,” she says. And when I turn and place the new food in front of her and take the old plate away, she’s got her hand over her heart in a mock gesture of swooning. “Jordan gave me to you to cheer you up.”

  I butter the toast, cut it, and place her diagonally-cut pieces on her plate. “Congratulations,” I say. “You’ve got me all figured out.”

  “So how—”

  “Eat,” I say, kinda sick of this game but not willing to give her more ammunition than she earned. “I won’t make it again, even if it does get cold. And you’re gonna eat it no matter what this time.”

  Surprisingly, she gives in to that and picks up a piece of bacon. “So how come you were sad that night? I mean, if you so willingly walked out of that game?”

  “Who says I was sad?”

  “Well, obviously Jordan doesn’t go around giving away his best woman to just anyone.”

  I raise an eyebrow at her. “He’s got more than one of you?”

  She laughs. And it’s a good laugh. Real too. “I don’t know. Maybe. But I know he’s been pretty preoccupied with me these past few weeks.”

  “Training you,” I say. “For me, I think.”

  She has a forkful of pancake heading for her mouth when she stops and says, “What?”