Part 16 (1/2)
Sandra wasn't sure what to say, but she returned Valerie's smile, and fortunately, Brent broke the awkward silence.
”It's great to see you, Val.”
Valerie laid her hand on Brent's arm and looked up at him. ”I heard from Gary today. You didn't have anything to do with that, did you?” Her voice held a firm resolve, but no anger that Sandra could detect. ”Did you talk him into coming to Club Desire this weekend?”
Brent shook his head. ”I did see him, but coming to the Club was his idea. However, once he mentioned it I did offer him a tour and answered a few questions. But I didn't coerce him, if that's what you're worried about.”
Valerie studied Brent's face for a long time, as if trying to find any hint that he wasn't telling her the truth. But then she nodded and dropped her gaze. ”I have to admit, I was happy to hear from him.” She pursed her lips. ”In fact I was surprised at how excited I was to see his name flash across my cell phone screen.” She glanced at Sandra and then back at Brent. ”It was only a text, but it reminded me how much I still love him.”
Brent took both of Valerie's hands in his and gently squeezed them. ”You two were great together, Val. He misses you.”
A slow smile blossomed across her face. ”If I'm honest, I miss him too, but I'm just not sure if we can make it work if we give it another try.” She slid one of her hands out of Brent's and patted his arm. ”I know you need to get going. I just wanted to know if you had talked him into coming to the Club or not.”
Brent brushed a kiss over Valerie's cheek.
”It was great to meet you, Sandra. Master Brent, I'm sure I'll see you on Friday night. I invited Gary to meet me to watch the big event down on Bas.e.m.e.nt 4.”
She gave a wide grin, and Sandra wondered what big event was going on down in the ber-kinky dungeon.
Valerie walked away, leaving Sandra and Brent to continue toward the elevator.
Once they were inside and headed toward level 4, Brent turned his head to look at her. ”You looked good doing those self-defense moves.”
The knowledge that he'd watched her even while he was working with other women warmed her. ”It felt good.” She gave him what felt like a wide, goofy smile. ”It made me feel like I could actually defend myself if needed. At least enough to get away or to make that person back off.”
Brent smiled and squeezed her hand. ”I'm sure Master Dex told you to concentrate on getting away and going somewhere safe where you can contact one of us, or someone else, to help you with the situation long term.”
She nodded. ”Yes. He stressed that and gave me his card. Don't worry, I've had my fill of being a punching bag and taking it lying down, so to speak.”
He reached over and gently stroked her cheek. ”Good. There's no need for you to ever do that again.” He took her hand in his, threading their fingers together. ”Let's get you home so you can rest up for work tomorrow.”
She pursed her lips, wis.h.i.+ng they could play tonight and she could rest up here. But she knew it was probably better to go home, relax, and have some alone time. ”What's the big event down on Bas.e.m.e.nt 4 on Friday?”
Brent chuckled. ”Just this afternoon we had a large party book Bas.e.m.e.nt 4 for a Roman-themed orgy.” He gestured with his hands as he spoke. ”Jake and his team are redecorating and moving scenes as we speak.”
”Wow. I remember you mentioning large events down there, but it will be interesting to see.” She ran her fingers through her hair as she tried to picture what it would be like to watch an event like that. ”What time does it start? I don't think I can pa.s.s up a chance to watch an orgy in action.” She laughed and shook her head, amused that she was excited to see it.
”Would you join me in my private alcove on Bas.e.m.e.nt 3, so we can watch together?” The raw desire in Master Brent's voice was unmistakable.
Excitement curled through Sandra and she had a sudden mental image of pus.h.i.+ng him against the elevator wall, dropping to her knees, and taking his beautiful c.o.c.k in her mouth. She exhaled in a rush as her body responded to her thoughts, and she raked her gaze over Master Brent, centering on his c.o.c.k through his black dress slacks where the cloth covered it.
Brent brushed his lips across her forehead with a soft ”mmm” sound. ”Is that a yes, or a no?”
She threw her arms around his neck, pulling him close and kissing him hard. ”Yes,” she managed through the heated kiss as he took control, pulling her against him while he kissed her until she was breathless and shaking.
When the elevator dinged and the doors slid open, Master Brent pulled back slowly, breaking the endorphin-laden spell she had been caught in.
She glanced out through the open doors, disappointed that there wasn't anyone there to catch them in their heated kiss.
Brent turned his head to see what she was looking at and smiled. ”Hoping we would be caught again?” he asked, amus.e.m.e.nt clear in his voice as he echoed her thoughts.
She laughed. ”I think letting my kink run free has become my new obsession. And I'm loving it.”
He playfully pinched her nipple and nipped at her bottom lip before pulling away again and leading her down the hall toward the room where she had left her bag. ”Let's grab your things and get you home before we get distracted again. Work is going to come early in the morning, and I'm going to make another attempt to get Mich.e.l.le to schedule a time for those security updates. She keeps telling me she's too busy, but I'm pretty sure she's reluctant to accept such an expensive gift.”
Sandra nodded but remained silent for a long moment. Brent was right. Mich.e.l.le had balked at Brent paying for the security, even though she couldn't afford it on her own. But Mich.e.l.le also knew it was necessary. A few days ago they had come home to find a junkie trying to break in through the window in the office. As soon as they drove into the driveway, he ran, leaving behind a trail of used syringes and a few baggies of drugs that the police had collected when they responded. They confirmed it sounded like a local junkie. The incident had spooked both of them, and Mich.e.l.le had promised she'd take time off next week and call Brent to set a time for his security consultant to come out. Considering how old and rickety the house was, they hoped it would take only a few days.
Beyond suggesting newer windows or bars over them, the police hadn't been much help, although they said they would see if a squad car could do a few drive-throughs of the area each night since it was an older neighborhood and only a few miles from the police station. Sandra purposely hadn't told Brent about the incident because she knew how protective he was, and trying to strong-arm Mich.e.l.le into doing anything, even if it was for her own good, just made her even more stubborn.
Brent led her to the room so she could grab her bag, and then she followed him down to the garage for the drive home. Sandra had hoped to spend more time with him, but he was probably right. She needed to be fresh for work in the morning.
Until she could get her own car, Mich.e.l.le had agreed to drop her off and pick her up since she worked downtown as well.
”d.a.m.n.” Brent shook his head at the flas.h.i.+ng orange-and-white signs stretched across the on-ramp. ”Surface streets it is. I forgot the 51 is closed for resurfacing tonight.”
Sandra laughed. ”That's Phoenix for you. There's always one freeway or another closed. That's why I'm so glad this entire city is one giant grid. I still remember how to get around, even though I was gone for ten years. The grid stayed mostly the same.”
Brent glanced over at her before returning his gaze to the road. ”True. Although the neighborhoods and businesses turn over enough so that even a decade can change things until they are almost unrecognizable. I had to drive to Tempe to meet a client a few weeks ago and I barely recognized it.”
Sandra frowned and pursed her lips. She had never thought to ask where he went to college. ”Did you attend ASU?”
”Yes. Got my master's in Business from there.”
”I didn't realize you grew up in Phoenix.”
Sandra turned her head so she could look at Brent's profile as he drove. She wasn't sure why the stripes of light from the streetlights as they pa.s.sed made him look like he had stiffened. She shrugged. She had to have imagined it. Brent had no reason to stiffen at such a basic topic of conversation.
”I've been here for quite a while. I feel like I've seen this city really grow up.”
The answer wasn't exactly evasive, but it also wasn't as straightforward as she was used to from Brent. She shrugged and looked back at him. ”That explains why you're a pro at navigating Phoenix even with the detours. A lot of people hate this place, even though I think it's much easier to get around here than New York. I usually took the subway there. I don't think I would have survived having to drive in New York.”
He laughed and steered them into the left-turn lane. ”I have to admit that the few times I've been there on business, I was very thankful for cabs and good maps.”
Sandra opened her mouth to ask him more about his time at ASU, and about where he grew up, but her cell phone rang and buzzed inside her bag. She fished it out and saw Mich.e.l.le's number flas.h.i.+ng on the screen. ”I should get this-it's Mich.e.l.le.” She swiped her finger across the phone screen to answer.
”Hey, Mich.e.l.le. What's up?”
Mich.e.l.le spoke in a rush. ”I got called back in to work to fix an issue, but I forgot about all the d.a.m.n planned freeway closures tonight, and I just found out the hard way that the I-17 just closed at Thunderbird for a car crash fatality. I resigned myself to taking surface streets all the way there when my car died. I'm on the southwest corner of 19th Avenue and Thunderbird in front of Macayo's.” She was obviously upset. Before Sandra could speak or offer any comment, Mich.e.l.le pressed on.
”Anyway, you said you were going to be with Brent tonight, and I didn't know if you guys were able to come and give me a jump. I think it's the battery. I hope. Especially since I need to drive you to work in the morning.”
”Hold on a sec, Mich.e.l.le. Brent is right here with me.”
She took the phone away from her ear, covered the mic with her hand, and turned to Brent. She outlined the problem, and before he even agreed or offered any comment he had turned and headed toward where Mich.e.l.le had broken down.
”Tell her we're on our way and we'll be there in about fifteen minutes.” His voice was full of rea.s.surance and the general protectiveness that she had come to a.s.sociate with Brent. ”Let her know that I can give you both a ride to work in the morning if needed, so not to worry.”