He already knew that her family Sunday brunches meant just that. Her whole family would be there. This was a little different, and she hoped it would make it a little less intimate so he wouldn’t feel so overwhelmed on his first meeting with them. Since it was her nephew’s baptism, it would be at her sister’s, not her parents’ place like the usual brunches. There would also be other people there besides her immediate family: extended family, friends, and her brother-in-law’s family. Brandon wouldn’t be the center of attention as she knew he’d be had his first visit with them been at one of their brunches.
Running her fingers through his hair, she stared at her new love as he slept soundly. He shifted at the touch of her fingers and wrapped his arms around her even tighter. A soft moan escaped him, but he didn’t open his eyes. “How much time do we have?” he murmured.
She smiled, continuing to run her fingers through his hair. “A few hours. I’m gonna get in the shower, but you can sleep longer if you want. We have time. I just take long getting ready.”
Fortunately, since her sister had chosen a Sunday to have her nephew baptized, those Masses were held in the wee hours of the morning at their church before all the other Sunday Masses began. Her sister had told everyone who wasn’t an actual mandatory part of the ceremony they needn’t be there at the early Mass and the family gathering at her home wouldn’t be until noon. They were having the ceremony professionally taped anyway, and no doubt Regina would be watching it over and over as she did the other videos of her niece and nephew.
Brandon ran his hands up and down Regina’s naked body as he squeezed one eye open. “I could join you in the shower if you want.” The corner of his lip tugged as he nudged her thigh with the erection she’d already felt earlier. “It’s not like I’ll be able to go back to sleep now anyhow.”
Un-wrapping his arms from around her, Brandon jumped out of bed suddenly and headed to the bathroom. She knew what he was in a hurry to do more than actually use the bathroom—brush his teeth. She’d already brushed hers and knew it was just one of the things he was obsessive about. Within minutes, he was back and crawled in next to her again with a very mischievous smile. His hands were already roaming her body.
Staring at him with a smirk, she knew it was a risk but one she’d chickened out of too many times already. She’d waited so long for him to bring it up on his own. A few weeks ago she noticed that the tote with the handcuffs, the riding crops, and the paddle was gone. As exciting as their sex life was, this past Friday was one of the few times they’d done anything out of the ordinary in bed or in the shower. He was as meticulous about making sure she was absolutely satisfied each and every time as he was about everything else he did, so she had no complaints there. Still, a part of her was very curious about his naughty tote and especially why he hadn’t introduced her to it. Now with it gone, she was fairly certain and slightly disappointed that he wasn’t going to ever.
“I have a confession to make,” she whispered.
His roaming hands stopped midway down her back. The mischievous smile flattened, and both his eyes were on hers now. “What’s that?”
Suddenly a little nervous and tempted to take it back, Regina felt her heart speed up. Biting her lip, she tried to continue smirking playfully, but the way he was staring at her now made it tough to do. “You have to promise you won’t get mad.”
Brandon’s brow creased as he adjusted himself and sat up a little. “Is it about Ricardo?”
“No,” she said, surprised he’d even go there. “I told you I haven’t seen or heard from him in over seven years.”
He didn’t appear at all remorseful to have jumped to that conclusion. His expression remained vacant, but his eyes searched hers still. “Then what?”
“I . . .” She glanced at his closet. “I saw what was in that tote on the top shelf of your closet. I wasn’t snooping,” she added quickly, knowing that was a bald-faced lie. “I just happened to glance up when the door was open one day weeks ago. There were some things in there . . .”
She waited, but he said nothing. His expression was still the same—unreadable—and the stirring in her belly started up, the kind that always did when he turned back into Sergeant Billings. It was usually a mixture of nervous but exciting anticipation. Right then it was mostly unnerving. “I was waiting for you to maybe share with me about them—”
“No,” he finally said, still staring at her very seriously. “I got rid of all those things.”
“But why?” As tense as the conversation was beginning to feel, she wasn’t backing down. “Obviously you had them for a reason. I’m not judging you or anything. I’m just curious.”
“Judging?” Now his expression was readable, but that wasn’t a good thing. She’d struck a nerve. “Is that why you think I didn’t tell you? Because I was afraid you’d judge me on something you knew nothing about?”
“No,” she shook her head, reaching for his hair again, but he sat up quickly. “I just wanna make it clear that I’m not asking because I had a problem with it. I was curious about it actually. I uh . . .” She swallowed hard, the unyielding hardened expression he now wore almost making her regret bringing it up. But she didn’t want to regret it. She wanted to be able to talk to him about anything. “I thought maybe you’d use some of those things on me.”
Finally his hardened featured gave way to a softer stare, but he shook his head. “Never,” he said with such finality it felt almost like a slap. “I’d never use those things on you.”
Just like that, he brought his legs over the side of the bed as if the conversation were over. “Wait,” she said before he stood up. “Why not? You don’t think I’m up for that kind of stuff?”
The unexpected smirk was even more insulting. Then he topped it off with small smile, shaking his head and mouthing, “No.”
He stood up, his hard body completely naked, making Regina lose her train of thought for a moment. This wasn’t the first time she’d seen him like this, but it took her breath away every single time.
“Ready for that shower?” he asked as if they weren’t in the middle of discussing this.
“No,” she said, completely irritated now. “You really think I don’t have it in me to do those things? I suppose you think only skanks like Serenity can think outside the box?”
His shoulders dropped dramatically. “Let’s not start with that, okay?” He walked around the bed, so she stood up, holding the sheet in front of her. “What are you doing?” he asked, looking down at her covered body as he approached her.
“It’s too bright in here,” she said sarcastically. “I’m not comfortable unless the lights are off.”
Unbelievably, he smirked again. “Since when?” he asked, tugging at the sheet, but she held it tight.
“Oh, don’t you know?” She took a step back. “I’m a prude. At least that’s what you seem to think.”
“I never said that.”
The continued smirk on his face was beginning to infuriate her. “Yes, you did. You’d never use those things with me, yet you had an assortment of them.” She backed up with every step he took forward until she was backed up to his bed. “Things you used with all those other women but with me—”
He lifted his fingers to her lips. “Shh,” he said gently.
She tried to move away from him, but there was nowhere to move. He had her backed up to his bed, and he pressed his body against hers. The sheet she held in front of herself did nothing to block what he so boldly and shamelessly pressed against her, considering the circumstances. “I never said I didn’t think you could handle it.”