Brown Siblings - 01 Laid Bare (20 page)

But it was New York City. NYC was big and loud and chaotic. She wasn’t sure she had it in her to do it. Talking it over with Todd would help her figure things out. He’d be honest with her, she knew that.

“I thought I heard someone up here.”

She turned and caught sight of him in the doorway, leaning as he ate her up with his gaze.

“I was just dropping off some clean clothes and putting dinner in the fridge. I made enough for Ben and Cope, by the way.” She walked straight into his arms and really came home, laying her head over his heart, listening to the reassuring beat.

He kissed the top of her head and they walked into the kitchen. “I came up for a soda. Cope’s out on a call, but since you’re coming over, I’m sure he’ll be here. Ben’s downstairs; he stopped by to drop off some stuff.”

“Okay. I need to talk to you about something, but it can wait until you’re done for the day.” He tipped her chin with his finger. “What is it? I’ve always got time for you.” She told him then. Told him about the invitation to play the shows, told him about her excitement and her fears. Told him about why she wanted to do the Washington shows and the MSG show but also why it scared her. He just listened, leaning against the kitchen counter.

“Of course I’ll consult with the label about your security. I’ll speak with Adrian and we can get it written into the rider for the shows at the specific venues. In fact, I’d feel far more comfortable being in charge of your personal security. We have personal security—bodyguards—we contract with, but between Ben and I, we can be your personal detail and Cope can handle the logistics.” He kissed her softly. “As for the other stuff? I’ll be by your side the whole time. I’d love to see you play, be it just the two shows here or the shows here and in New York. It’s up to you. I respect your decision either way.”

“What do you
think
? I know you respect my decision, but I’m asking your opinion.”

“I think you’ll kick yourself if you don’t play the MSG gig.” He shrugged. “I know you, honey. I hear the way your voice changes when you talk about it. You’re scared, yeah, but you’re excited.

Wistful. I say do it. We’ll be your personal detail. We’ll work with the label, get things set up.

I’m sure Jeremy would want to do whatever he needed to in order to keep you safe.” She tried not to smile, but the way he said Jeremy’s name was cute. “I don’t love him, you know.

I love you.”

“Of course you do.” He raised a brow. “But he has something with you that I want very much.

He’s lived with you; he’s had a child with you. It’s hard not to resent him just a bit. And I’m sure he has some swank house in Holmby Hills and shit and wears three-thousand-dollar suits.”

“Benedict Canyon, actually. And yeah, it’s pretty swank. He likes suits too. Flies to London twice a year to buy custom stuff. He drives a Bentley. He spends four hundred dollars to get his hair cut and he gets manicures. He’s a nice man who cringed at the very idea of me wanting him to hold me down. Of me wanting the bruises from his hands holding my arms or wrists. He never bit me. He never made me feel even a shadow of what you do every time you look at me like I’m the most precious thing to ever breathe. You are everything to me, Todd. I don’t care what you drive or where you live. You have horrible taste in music, but I’m willing to overlook it. Thank god I exist to cancel out your vote on Election Day.” She grinned.

“I want
you
to protect me at these shows. I want
you
to”—she swallowed hard as emotion swamped her—“be with me and to have babies with me in the future. I never thought I’d want that again. I love you.”

He pulled her close, his hands sliding up and down her spine.

“And you were
married
! I’ve seen her picture you know, at your parents’ house, although I know your mom didn’t like her. Your wife is gorgeous and perfect.” He snorted and set her away from him enough so that they could see each other’s face. “How did you know my mom didn’t like her?”

“She said, when I was there a few weeks ago, ‘I have no idea what in god’s name Todd was thinking when he married that girl. She had no spine, she didn’t give him what he needed and she was more worried about what fork went where than whether or not she made my boy happy.’ I asked her why she had the wedding photo up and she said,” Erin paused to laugh, “she said she looked really good in the pictures.”

“She thought Sheila did?”

Erin laughed harder. “N-no, your mother thought she, your mother, looked good in them. She said she lost ten pounds just dealing with Sheila’s snotty attitude about the wedding and how much was being spent, and she was sure she’d never be that size again. She asked if I thought it would be bad form if she just cut herself out and left that part.” Todd laughed then. “What did you say?”

“I said I had scissors in my purse.”

He laughed until he had to wipe away tears. “You fit with my family, you know that? And yes, Sheila is pretty, but she’s my
ex
-wife and she’s now happily married to someone else. You aren’t pretty, you’re stunning. You make people turn and look when you walk into a room. It doesn’t matter that you might have pink hair when you do it, or that you’re wearing a torn T-shirt. You’re magnetic and you’re mine. Even if you have shitty taste in music, except for what you create, which I freely admit is amazing. Even if you are a bleeding heart liberal.” He winked.

“I love you too, and thank you for saying that. About babies. I want that too. I just didn’t want you to hurt more. We’ll take our time on that.”

“I should think so! We’ve only been together since May.”

“Pshaw. We’ve been together for years, Erin.” His posture changed. He transformed from sweet and loving to something else. Intense sexuality washed over her just looking at him.

“Mm hmm,” she managed to say as a flush built inside her.

He eyed her from head to toe, a slow, sexy perusal. “On your knees. Suck my cock right now. I want to come in your mouth.”

She knew the door behind her was open. The door leading down to the office where Ben was.

He’d be able to hear everything.

She sank to her knees and unbuttoned his jeans, thankful he wasn’t having a client-contact day where he’d have been wearing zip-up khakis or something.

His cock readily sprang from the confines of his boxers, and she took a moment to inhale, loving the warmth of him, loving the way he felt in her hands, loving the way his body smelled.

The floor was hard beneath her knees, but for whatever reason, it only added to the experience.

“Suck me. The head first.” His voice had gone rough and deep, sending a shiver down her spine.

She took him into her mouth, sucking hard against the slick of pre-come on the slit, straight to the crown and then stopped. Suck and draw, suck and draw. She licked around the crown, sucking against the ridge of sensitive flesh there, moving back up to suck the head again. His balls were hot in her palm, slowly drawing up against him the closer she brought him to coming.

“Now take me deep. I want to feel the back of your throat.” She took a steadying breath through her nose and sucked him down, back as far as she could, keeping her breath even through her nose and concentrating on staying relaxed. When she pulled back, she swallowed, to mollify her gag reflex.

In and out, over and over, the floor digging into her knees, his hands tight in her hair as he guided her mouth on him. He made low sounds, growls and moans of her name, gave her instructions on what he wanted, told her what he’d do to her later that night. All the while fucking her mouth, all while Ben was just feet away.

Could he hear them?

Erin’s pussy bloomed and slickened as she knelt there, sucking Todd off in his kitchen, the late summer afternoon sun flowing over his shoulder and down her back.

“Oh, honey, yes. I’m going to blow right down that pretty little throat of yours.” His fingers tightened and he pressed deep as he came, filling her with his taste over and over until she was nearly drunk with it. Finally he pulled back and she licked across the head before tucking him back into his jeans.

Strong, big hands took her upper arms and brought her to stand as his mouth crushed over hers.

She held on, reveling in the way he felt against her.

“I love you, honey,” he said softly, kissing her once more, this time on her forehead.

“You’d better, buster.”

“I should get back to work. You gonna be okay?”

“Yep. I’m going to make some calls. To Adrian to tell him yes about the shows, and then to Jeremy to have him start getting this all in the works. I may work for a bit; I have a song I’m trying to finish.”

“I owe you one.” He waggled his eyebrows at her.

“Yes you do.”

He headed downstairs, where Ben just looked at him with a smirk.

“You’re a right bastard for teasing me like that. Twice now I might add. I’m beginning to wonder if we’re not all playing a game together in some sense.”

“Teasing
you
? I guess you could look at it that way. I thought I was teasing
her
with knowing you could hear.” Todd grinned.

“She seemed more than okay with it.”

“Yes.” While sharing in depth with Cope was fine, Todd had been initially unsure of how much Ben knew or wanted to know. He hadn’t heard much about Ben’s sexuality, but Erin had made a mention of Ben being kinky under the surface, and ever since, Todd had been intrigued with the idea. And then he’d been sort of uncomfortable that he’d been intrigued. He was still a work in progress he supposed.

“Too bad there’s only one of her.” Ben shrugged, but the air changed.

“Ah, it’s like that?” Todd hoped he wasn’t blushing. His buttons were being pushed in a big way.

There was just one Erin, but could he live that fantasy of sharing her, of seeing her with someone else he trusted?

Ben laughed. “What? You think you’re the only guy who gets off on kink? Seattle is a kinky town . . . or so I hear. Certainly seems that way when I’m out and about.” He paused before continuing. “My ex Caroline and I had a triad, a relationship with another man, for nearly four years. I’m pretty sure I’m a poly kind of guy.”

Todd just stared at Ben, dumbfounded. Erin had known his best friend better than he had.

“I can’t believe you never said.”

“That what? I’m bi and lived in a threesome? You lived in Boston and until you came back here you seemed very straightlaced about sexuality, so I didn’t think it was something you’d want to know.”

Todd wondered what that tug low in his gut meant, but then only felt shame that he’d not been open enough for a friend to come to. “I’m sorry, Ben. Sorry you didn’t feel safe enough to come to me or to be open around me. I don’t care that you’re bi. I don’t care that you’re kinky. God knows I’m not one to judge; I get off when I bite my girlfriend and when I think about watching her have sex with other people.” He shrugged. “I only care that you’re happy. What happened?

With Caroline, I mean.”

Ben grinned. “She got a transfer to Austin and I stayed here. I loved her and Greg, our third, but we all sort of went our separate ways. It was time to end it, I suppose. As for you, you kinky bastard, who’d have guessed? If you ever . . . Well if you’re ever looking for a third, let me know.” Ben blushed a bit and suddenly the front of Todd’s jeans seemed a lot tighter.

“Really? I mean, if she was up for it, you’d . . .” Todd sent a questioning glance at Ben.

“Would I love the chance to see Erin naked? To see her nipple rings and hear her gasp around the cock in her mouth?” Ben raised a brow in his direction. “To quote the kids these days: duh.” He hesitated but then continued. “Uh, if you were interested in more, I’d be good with that, too.” A flush worked through him at the image of Ben’s mouth on him.

“Okay. I’ll think about it.” He cleared his throat.

19

Erin had settled herself into the big overstuffed chair in a corner of the living room and was strumming the guitar, breaking to scribble something down occasionally, when the workday finished and Todd came back upstairs with Ben.

She stopped when she noticed them both smiling.

“Hey, you two.” She moved to put her guitar down and Ben put a hand on her arm.

“Wait. Will you play something?”

She blushed.

“Please? I love your voice.”

“I’d love that, too.” Todd sat across from her and Ben joined him.

She licked her lips and pulled the guitar back to her lap, dropping her legs to the floor. “Any requests? Covers? Sometimes playing my own stuff is odd.” She shrugged and Todd realized a lot of the stuff she sang on the Mud Bay CDs was about Adele and then about losing her.

Ben moved forward and touched her leg. “Yeah, I get that. How about ‘Untouchable Face’? I love your cover of that one.”

She smiled and started to play and Todd loved the magic she made. The song was sad but playful and her body language changed when she got to the title punch line.

When she finished, he and Ben both clapped and she laughed, putting the guitar in the case.

“Thanks. Stop now! I’m better on the bass, not singing, but I do love that one.”