by Tara Rose
When Teresa had discussed all this with Julie, she’d asked her why people couldn’t simply have it out in the open, and Julie had tried to explain that in the BDSM community it was considered taboo to out someone to another person, including those already in the lifestyle. It took away their right to consent to others knowing their choices. That explanation made sense to Teresa, and it made the recent changes in Ria that much more dramatic. To say she remembered her sister as the gossip queen of Racy was an understatement. But she wasn’t like that anymore.
Now, glancing from Alexa to Luke, his reaction made perfect sense. Luke had reacted that way on the phone, and again in person just now because Carson and Garrett were Doms. Holy shit. She’d been wondering when and if she’d ever have the chance to learn more about the BDSM lifestyle. Apparently she would. With two men.
As Teresa continued to watch the reaction on their faces, she soon realized she didn’t need to say anything. They weren’t stupid. They saw that she’d figured it out. She could see it in their eyes. But if they didn’t speak, no one could accuse of them of outing either man, so Teresa went back to wiping the glasses, just as if nothing had happened.
She loved her brother, and she respected Alexa too much to put them in that position. It was enough for now that she knew the truth about Carson and Garrett, but she wouldn’t say anything to either man. She would leave it up to each of them to tell her in their own way and time that they were in the lifestyle. They must not mind that she wasn’t, and that was good, right? It meant she had a chance to find out what all this was about from a firsthand point of view. Two of them, actually. Teresa couldn’t have asked for more than that.
Chapter Five
Sunday evening, Teresa’s head was still spinning from everything she’d learned at Luke’s Bar when her landline rang. It was Garrett, asking if she’d like to go to a movie the next day and then get something to eat at Nan’s Place afterward. “I have tomorrow off, so I thought we could spend the day together and get to know each other, since we missed that chance in high school.”
Something in the way he said the last part of the sentence sent shivers up and down her spine. Was his voice really sexier and more commanding on the phone, as opposed to when she’d heard it in person earlier? Or was that because she now knew he was a Dom? Either way, she liked it. It made her feel safe and protected. Hadn’t Julie told her that’s what a Dom did? Protect and cherish their sub?
“I’d love to do that.”
“Great. There’s a matinee at two. Is that good for you?”
She resisted the urge to laugh. What else did she have to do all day? “That sounds perfect.”
Garrett asked her what else she’d done with her day. It was the perfect opening, but this wasn’t a subject to discuss on the phone. “I spent some time with my brother and Alexa at his bar, helping out.”
“Oh? Is he going to give you a job?”
“No, actually he’s not. I think he feels having one sister working there is plenty.”
“I didn’t realize Ria still worked there. I thought her…I thought Trent and Wyatt asked her to quit?”
What had he been about to say? Her Doms? “They did. Luke said she won’t be working there much longer.”
“Do you talk to her a lot now that you’re back?” Was there a bit of hesitancy in that question, or had she imagined it?
“Not as much as I did when I first got home and she lived here. I imagine having two Doms keeps her fairly busy these days.”
Teresa counted five seconds of dead silence. Had he thought she didn’t know that Ria was in the lifestyle? Didn’t he know she was aware both her brothers were as well? Teresa shook her head. All this subterfuge for what? While she understood that it wasn’t always the best choice to tell anyone and everyone you were in a BDSM relationship, under these circumstances it seemed silly to pretend neither of them knew what was going on.
Teresa had always preferred directness. If Ray and the others she’d known who had turned out to be crooks had been up front and honest from the start, most of the shit she’d gone through in the past eighteen years wouldn’t have happened. She didn’t want to make that mistake ever again.
“I imagine it’s difficult being at home with your parents, knowing your siblings’ lifestyle choices. I understand they don’t approve.”
Now he sounded like a cop, but Teresa smiled at the tone of his voice. He’d clearly chosen his words carefully. But she still liked this much better than dancing around the issue. “I don’t agree with their disapproval. And while that makes living here awkward, it’s easier being in the apartment above the garage than if I were living in the main house. In retrospect, I’m glad they didn’t let me stay there. I wouldn’t have had any chance to get away from their opinions.”
“They didn’t let you stay there? Why on earth not?”
“That’s difficult to answer without first knowing whether you believe all the rumors floating around.”
She could almost feel his relief through the phone. “Teresa, I love your directness. Thank you. I’ve heard all the rumors. The entire town has. And you already know that Sean and Carson briefed the rest of us on what you told them last night. I believe your story. I never would have asked you out if I didn’t. I got involved with people on the wrong side of the law when I was younger, and I want no part of it now, just like you don’t. And, just so you know, the entire department believes your story, not the rumors.”
She let out the breath she was holding. “Thank you. That means the world to me to know that. And thank you for your honesty as well. I prefer it, especially after what I’ve been through. I won’t hide anything from you. I give you my word on that.”
“Same here. So, why didn’t your parents let you stay in the main house?”
“They believe the rumors. That’s how they are.” She took a deep breath. The conversation was on a roll, so she might as well run with it. “I had a long talk with Rafe when I first got back. He told me that when he and Luke each told our parents they were Doms, and were sharing a sub with another man, their first reaction was that my brothers were also having sex with those men. Nothing either one said could dissuade my parents. They still won’t accept their relationships with Alexa or Marisol.”
She stopped for a second, suddenly hoping it was all right with Luke and Rafe that she told this to Garrett, then realized that Garrett most likely already knew. Rafe had told her that the Doms at Maddox’s club knew all this, and Garrett was a Dom there. Then again, he didn’t know that she knew that yet, but she’d already let the cat out of the bag. It was too late now, so she continued.
“The day Ria moved out of this apartment was also the day she told our parents about her choice to become a sub to both Trent and Wyatt. They told her she was dead to them now, as were both their sons.”
She stopped and waited for his reaction, hoping again that she’d made the right choice.
“Yes, I know. Rafe, Luke, and Ria have all shared that same story. I wish I knew what to say. I’ve never been one to knock the way parents choose to raise their children, but I can’t imagine treating my own that way. Then again, that’s easy to say when you don’t have any, isn’t it?”
“I suppose so.”
“I also didn’t realize until now that you knew so much about your siblings’ lives.”
“There are no secrets between us. It’s always been that way. We talk about everything.”
“And you’re comfortable with Luke, Rafe, and Ria being part of the BDSM community?”
Her pulse raced. “I’m totally fine with it. I only wish I knew more about it. It fascinates me, but it’s awkward talking to my brothers about it, and Ria is still fairly new to it.” She held her breath.
“I can help you there,” he said quietly. “I’m part of it, too. I’m one of the Doms at Maddox’s club.”
“I see. Thank you for telling me. I would love to learn more.”
“That’s wonderful. We’ll talk more about it t
omorrow, if that’s okay.”
“Yes. Thank you.”
“No, thank you for being so open and honest. It’s refreshing. You have no idea.”
She laughed softly. “Yes, I think I do.”
After they talked a few more moments, they said good night, and once the call ended, Teresa fell asleep without any difficulty for the first time in months.
* * * *
Garrett picked her up at one thirty, and he even opened the passenger door of his car for her. Teresa hadn’t had a man do that even once in her life, and she smiled up at him as she slid inside. The ride to the Cineplex was so short it seemed silly to drive, but she wasn’t sure where he lived. “We could have walked here.”
“We could have. But I live out on Elm Parkway, near Chad, Dustin, and Annalise’s place. I’m used to driving everywhere in town, I guess.”
“Is it still mostly farms out that way?”
He nodded. “It is. My house belonged to my parents. They moved to Florida a few years ago. They sold off most of the farmland but I still have three acres.”
“That’s a nice piece of land.”
“It really is. It’s quiet and secluded there.”
They pulled into the lot behind the Cineplex, and as they walked toward the building, Teresa pointed toward the new brickwork. “They did a nice job. How much damage did this have from the tornado?”
“Quite a bit. It was closed until a couple of weeks ago.”
“I’m glad I missed all that.”
“It wasn’t fun. I was working that night and we couldn’t even keep up with all the calls coming in. It’s a miracle no one died.”
He bought them a jumbo bucket of popcorn to share, and a bottled water for Teresa. She told him she never drank soda because it made her stomach hurt. “I totally understand that. I rarely touch it anymore. Isn’t it amazing how much we drank as kids?”
They made their way into the theater. “Not in my house. It’s expensive. We drank tap water or milk.”
He nodded, pointing toward the top row. “Is it okay with you if we sit up there? I hate anyone behind me.”
“Sounds good to me.”
“I imagine it was tough for your parents raising seven kids.”
“I’m sure it was, from a financial standpoint. I can’t imagine the Racy Auto Repair ever brought in a ton of money. My mom and Rosa both sew, but that isn’t much of a side income anymore. They each have a small steady base of customers in town, but not as many as they had when I was younger. As soon as each of us were old enough to work we had jobs, but very little of that income was ours to keep.”
They took their seats against the far wall. There were no more than a dozen people in the theater, and once the previews began, they continued talking in low tones even though no one was directly in front of them yet.
“Do you think you’ll stay in the apartment once you find a job?”
She shrugged. “I don’t know. I really don’t want to. I took two of my dresses over to the house yesterday to ask Rosa to take them in, and I got the third degree from my mom as soon as I walked in the door.”
“About your past?”
“That, and about not going to Mass.”
He chuckled. “My family is Catholic, too. But my parents weren’t quite that strict about everything. They weren’t thrilled with some of the things I did as a teen, but they never treated me the way your parents treat you and your siblings.”
The theater was filling up now, but the movie was less than ten minutes away, so it didn’t look like it would be too crowded. Teresa liked that. She wasn’t comfortable in large crowds. “Only four of us get treated that way. Rosa can do no wrong. Maggie has always gone her own way, and for reasons none of us understand, they never gave her shit about that. Peppi just shows up on Sundays and ignores them, or nods a lot so they think she agrees with them. But they leave her alone because she has a job and is going to school.”
“She has a job at a sex shop.”
Teresa laughed softly. “True, but she still gives them part of her paycheck.”
“Really? But I thought she didn’t live there anymore?”
“She doesn’t. She lives above Luke’s Bar. But that’s Peppi. I don’t know for sure, but I’m pretty sure Maggie sends them money as well.”
“Well, they are your parents.”
“Sure. I get that. It’s just hard to deal with them. It’s bad enough when strangers call you a liar. But being called that by your own family is very difficult to take.”
He surprised the hell out of her by putting an arm around her as the theater went dark and the movie began. She leaned into his embrace, inhaling the woodsy scent of his cologne and enjoying the hardness of his body. It had been a long time since she’d been held. But Garrett’s touch was nothing like Ray’s had been.
There had never been intimacy between her and Ray, only sex. And that had been cold and clinical on the best of days. Only rarely had he shown her any tenderness. It was a long time before Teresa realized that not every man was like that, but since Ray was the only man she’d ever had sex with, she’d never experienced some of the things she’d heard and read about. She constantly dreamed about doing so.
What would it be like to make love with Garrett? Would he be tender, or would he be all alpha and Dom-like? Did she even understand what that meant? No, she didn’t. She knew next to nothing, but she yearned for someone to teach her. Someone strong, but not hurtful. Someone who would be patient and gentle with her, but who would also take charge and help her become the woman she was meant to be. Was that even possible? Did such a man exist?
But isn’t that what Luke and Rafe did for Alexa and Marisol? Look what Sean and Maddox had done for Julie. She remembered Julie as a mousy, shy girl who always had her nose in a book and barely spoke to anyone. She wasn’t like that anymore. She was vibrant and warm, and one hell of a fabulous psychologist. She was also a generous, open person. From what she’d been told by Rafe, Julie had completely come out of her shell after becoming a sub to Sean and Maddox.
The movie was an action adventure, and there was nothing sad or emotional about the beginning, but tears escaped her lids before she could blink them away. When she reached up to wipe them from her face, hoping Garrett didn’t notice, he did. He took his arm from around her and turned in his seat to face her, his face filled with concern.
“Are you okay?” he whispered.
She nodded. “Just thinking about everything. I’m sorry.”
“What can I do?”
She stared into his kind eyes for several seconds, wishing they were anywhere but in this theater. But movies didn’t last forever. They would have all day and evening to talk. “Just hold me again. That was so nice.”
He leaned close to whisper in her ear. “All night long, if that’s what you want.” Garrett put his arm around her again and pulled her closer this time. Teresa sighed out loud and leaned against him. Every emotion she’d been trying to hold back all these months came rushing in, but instead of bringing tears, this time they brought a smile to her face.
Everything was going to be okay. She knew it. The police in this town knew the truth, and they believed her. Garrett and Carson had asked her out. Two cops, with normal jobs, and both Doms. She was on a date with one of them, and he was a total sweetheart so far. He’d made mistakes in his life, just as she had, but he didn’t judge her now, and he wasn’t going to judge her past. She wouldn’t judge his past, either.
And, she had a date with Carson tomorrow. She’d need to tell Garrett that later. She wanted no secrets between her and the people who were trying to help her get back on her feet and reclaim her life in this town. She needed everything to be out in the open.
Teresa relaxed and enjoyed the movie, confident that her renewed life in Racy was off to a fabulous start.
Chapter Six
Garrett was grateful one of the back booths in Nan’s Place was free. Usually by this time in the afternoon, the high school kids w
ho had stopped in after classes had left to head home, and it was still too early for the dinner crowd. He wanted time to talk to Teresa without too much of an audience.
His dick had been rock hard through the first half of the movie because it felt so good to hold her. She was so vulnerable, and he should have realized she would be as soon as Sean and Carson told him her story. She tried so hard to hide it, and that tugged at his heart.
He tried to imagine what she’d been through, and found it so hauntingly similar to some of the stuff he’d once been involved with, that they might have been living parallel lives. Except for the abuse. He’d never been through that.
They took their seats and Emma Falcon came over to take their orders. Garrett had always loved Emma. She was the original Nan’s granddaughter, and had a warm smile for everyone. They each ordered water with lemon to drink, and Teresa ordered a cheeseburger with jalapeno peppers and cheddar cheese, plus onion rings. Garrett chuckled, imagining what something like that would do for his digestion, and played it safe with a grilled chicken sandwich and a side salad.
As soon as Emma left, Teresa frowned. “I’ll be up all night, won’t I? I was warned that the food here hadn’t changed a bit.”
“You might be.” He’d keep her company, if she let him.
“It’s just that it tastes so good going down.”
He nodded. “It does, but I can’t handle it anymore. Guess I’m getting old.”
“Oh, right. Thirty-seven is so old.”
“It feels old some days.”
“Well, I’m only a year younger than you but I don’t feel old at all. I feel like my life has just begun.” She rested her elbows on the table and her chin in her hands, then gave him such a wistful look that his heart gave a strange lurch. “I’m just so happy to be back home. I wish I had words for how lost and confused I was for so long.”
