18 Heart Rate

"OH HOLY HELL!"

I jump out of my damn skin at the sight of someone sitting on my bed.

"BRIAN!" I scream, making my way to him, as he bursts into laughter.

I growl and smack his arm, "What the hell were you thinking?! Were you trying to give me a heart attack?"

Straightening himself up, he rubs his arm, "Ow! No, I was not. I thought you were trying to give me one though!" His face pinches, as he purses his lips at me.

"Me?" I lean back, What the hell is he talking about?

"Yes, you! I'm talking to you and you tell me Carson is here. I waited to hear something from you, gave you a text, no response. Called you three times, nothing." He crosses his arms over his chest, "So I came over, rang your bell, nothing. Your car is here, no answer at all from you. I was about to call the cops. Thank goodness I know where you keep the spare key to the place."

"Oh." Is all I can say at the moment.

I guess he's right. If I was in his shoes, I'd be concerned too.

"I guess, I owe you an apology." I take a step back from him.

"Oh, No. Trust me, the show I was given, has been apology enough." He grins, looking me up and down again.

I look down and realize I'm still naked.

I scoff and roll my eyes, "So easily placated..." I turn to go fetch my robe and he pulls me back to the edge of the bed, in between his legs.

He takes a deep breath, as if he's catching my scent.

"Not as easily as you believe..." His eyes are intense and hungry as he returns my stare.

My heart starts to pitter patter in excitement. I feel my pussy quiver into life at the thought of Brian tied up and being covered in my red hand prints..

What kind of sounds would he make?

I try to push back from his chest, "Brian..."

He doesn't let go, "What? You were going to placate me before, right?"

My excitement starts turning to apprehension over the lack of control I have right now.

His canines flash at me through his dark grin, making me double my efforts to struggle away, but then he quickly lets me go.

"Sorry, I was just teasing you. I forget myself sometimes." He says sheepishly, as I grab my robe and wrap myself up in it.

I clear my throat, "It's fine."

damn it... I said fine...

I suck my bottom lip in between my teeth and cock a brow in question at him as he stands up sighing.

"Fine?... " He mumbles...

"Sorry, Brian. I intended to say it's alright. Not fine."

I start catching the loose skin around my thumb with my ring fingers nail.

"I know, Lirael. I'll get out of your hair, now that I know you're alright." He gives me a strained smile and heads out my bedroom door.

"Oh, I'll leave this with you." He turns around and hands me the house key, that I have hidden outside normally.

"Thank you, Brian. Seriously. I appreciate that you made sure I was alright." I tug his shirt sleeve as he goes to start heading downstairs again.

"You're welcome, Lirael." He turns back and gives me a strained smile.

"Um... Brian?" I ask unsure of myself at this moment.

Do I want to cross that boundary and have sex with him?

He pauses and turns on the stairs, "Yes?"

I lick my lips to moisten them and gather my confidence.

I pull on the ties of my robe, "I wasn't kicking you out of the house, you know...." I dip my chin and glance at him from the side, motioning for him to come back up.

His eyes brighten, his head and body turn and straighten. His whole demeanor tense and becoming more alert of my body language.

My heart starts to pick up pace, with each step he gets closer to me.

I take a step back with a coy smile, about to open up my robe, when he grabs my hands and holds them where they are.

Confused, I look at his face to read what's making him stop.

I thought he has been wanting a chance with me for a long time?

He closes his eyes and takes a controlled breath before releasing it.

"Thank you, Lirael. I... can not though... I ... have got to go." He leans down and kisses my head before he is back down the stairs.

I'm left, utterly confused and feeling slightly rejected at the moment.

"Wow... I was not expecting that..." I mutter. I get dressed into some comfy clothes and head downstairs to fix me dinner and watch some tv.

After giving the rejection some thought, I came to the conclusion that because I recently was evaluated, he felt it would be unprofessional to cross that line tonight, or I need to check my evaluation.

I pull up the evaluation and see nothing. I scan through it till the bottom and find a little note that I can't read. I zoom in and it is too fuzzy for me to make out what it says.

I chew on my lip, fidgeting with the skin of my thumb, debating if I should ask him or not.

I go to select his number but hesitate.

It can wait.

I finish cleaning up downstairs and go to head up when I'm stopped.

*ding dong*

Who the heck is here at nine?

I flick the porchlight on and open up the door, but leave the metal screen door closed. I can tell it's a man, but they're facing away from me.

"Yes?"

"Oh hey, I'm sorry, were you about to go to bed?"

Lance turns around and I take a sigh of relief.

"Yeah, but only cause I had nothing better to do. Come on in."

I let him inside and lock the door back up.

"So what brings you by tonight?" I ask turning on the living room light and heading to the kitchen. "Would you like a drink?"

"Sure, that would be great." He answers me looking around at my place. "You have done well on the renovation since you bought the place."

I airily laugh, "Thanks, I forget you have not seen it in a while."

He follows me to the kitchen and whistles, "Wow, I never would have pictured a French country style kitchen would have been what you did in here." He looks around in amazement, probably remembering when it was a dinky, galley style with a downstairs bed and bathroom overpowering the space.

"Yeah, well after we gutted this whole back section and I explained what I had to have and what I would like to have, my contractors daughter was with him, she suggested it and after some thought I fell in love with the idea myself."

I hand him the drink, "Come on, I'll give you the tour." I smirk at his impressed expression, feeling proud of my home.

"Lead the way." He grins.

After a quick show of the butler pantry and library downstairs, I take him upstairs to show off the two guest rooms with the shared bath.

"Wait, isn't that the clawfoot tub that was in the master bath?" He asks as we exit the bath.

Nodding, I lead him to my room, "Yes, I placed it in there because I realized I wanted a larger tub that I could soak my whole body in, so I moved it in there." I flip the lights on in my room and show him the bathroom.

"Wow, this looks amazing. You did an awesome job on it all." He praises me, leaning back against the entryway's frame of my bathroom.

He takes a long drink from his glass as I beam with pride, "Thank you. So what brings you by tonight?" I ask him, making my way to take a seat in the window seating of my little turret section.

He joins me and smiles wide, avoiding my gaze as he busies himself with fidgeting with his glass. "Well, I wanted to thank you.. for... visiting with my mother."

"Oh..." I pause, "you don't need to thank me for that." I wave it off and look down at my feet, feeling awkward suddenly.

"Oh... but I do."

The sincerity in his voice has me glancing back up at him, noticing how tense his posture is, like a tiger getting ready to pounce.

It made me suddenly very aware of the proximity between our two bodies, the woody scent of his cologne, the bob of his throat as he swallowed.

My own body tensed, my heart rate steadily beating faster, my chest rising and falling with each breath, my mouth becoming drier as we just looked at each other.

I lick my lips, desperate for the moisture, and realize I still have a glass in my hand. I lift the glass and drain it, clearing my throat as soon as I set it down on the window sill.

"You're making it seem like I did something huge, Lance. Your mother is a sweet woman and I enjoy spending some time with her."

I fidget with my thumb as his smile begins to show off his handsome pearly whites.

Why is he always so damn sexy?