Chapter 7
Um.
What was going on?
Who was this man, and where was the real Brand? The gruff, rude, perfectionist who barely had a nice word to say to anyone.
Sure, she’d seen him turn on the charm. Sometimes. But mostly, he was crabby to everyone.
And for some reason, it just made his fans love him more. It was mind-boggling. Although that wasn’t to say he wasn’t good at what he did.
He was.
He was one of the most talented men on the planet. It was just… he could also be one of the biggest dicks on the planet.
But he wasn’t like that to you the other night, was he?
Nope. In fact, he’d stuck around for her entire set. Staring at her from the side of the stage. A firm presence that had felt supportive rather than threatening.
She’d liked having him there. As though they were a team.
And that feeling had been far too seductive.
Which was part of the reason she’d left as soon as she had. Because she couldn’t give in to those feelings. She couldn’t want Brand Starr.
He was about as unattainable as wanting an actual star to fall from the sky into her lap.
Totally improbable.
And yet here he was, wasn’t he? Offering to carry her to her room…
Um, no. Wait.
He’d said our room.
What was he talking about? And why did he say he’d give her medication to her? Why was he even here?
Her gaze moved to Derek. He’d said that Brand had been worried about her. Was that really what was going on?
“Brand, I don’t understand all of this. Why are you here?” she asked.
“Maybe we should give the two of them a moment,” Derek suggested.
“Yes, certainly. Nurse Beverly has all of the instructions for Jolie’s care if she wants them shared with you,” Doctor Nelson said.
Brand frowned and looked like he was going to argue. Reaching out, she grabbed his hand. He immediately turned to look down at her.
She was barely aware of everyone leaving until the door shut with a click. Startled, she jerked a bit then glanced around to find it was just her and Brand.
“Easy, you’re safe with me, Bumblebee.”
She should really object to that nickname. But it was the best one he’d come up with. “Shoot. I should have thanked Doctor Nelson.”
Brand waved his hand through the air.
Right. She bet he’d never once worried about whether he’d thanked someone or not. She doubted he’d ever suffered a moment of social anxiety.
“He’ll think I’m rude.” She bit her bottom lip. “Can you go find him? Tell him I said thank you.”
“Nope.”
“Okay, I’ll tell Nurse Beverly. She can tell him.”
Brand sat down. Not on the chair next to her bed where a person might reasonably expect he would sit.
Nope. He sat on the edge of the bed, facing her. Making himself right at home like he always did.
“Why are you so worried about thanking him?” he asked, looking perplexed.
“I just don’t want anyone to think I’m rude. Especially when I’ve been such an inconvenience.”
“You’re sick. That’s not an inconvenience. They’re doing their job.”
“Right. Of course.” That’s why they were taking care of her.
“Fuck. What did I say?”
“Nothing.” She tried to keep her voice even, but figured she’d failed when he reached out and placed a finger under her chin, tilting her face back.
“I said something. You hunched up and sounded like I’d just kicked your dog.”
She scowled at him. “If you’d kicked my dog, I’d kick you.”
To her surprise, he grinned.
“Will I ever understand you?” she asked grumpily.
“There she is,” he murmured. That was weird. She hadn’t gone anywhere. “I like seeing the real Jolie.”
“What do you mean? I’m always real.”
“No, you get caught up in your own head, worrying too much about saying or doing the right thing. I like when you just let go.”
He did?
“When I let go, as you put it, it’s usually because you’ve pushed me to the edge, then given me a last nudge,” she grumbled.
“I’m good at that.”
He sure was.
“Are you feeling all right, Brand?” she asked.
“Yes. Why? Do I not look well?” he asked. “I very rarely get sick.”
“That must be nice. It’s just the fact you’re here. And you’re acting odd. You just told everyone you were, uh, going to, maybe, take care of me?” It came out as a question because she still wasn’t sure she’d properly understood him.
“There’s no maybe about it. I am here to take care of you.” Reaching up, he brushed her hair off her face.
“Do you know anything about taking care of someone else?”
“I’ve done it before.” He frowned. “And I know how to provide aftercare. That’s taking care of someone.”
Aftercare?
“So, you are a Dom?” she asked.
“Yes. And you’re… a Little?”
Panic and worry had her tensing. She fought to keep her breathing even, but it was hard. “Are you… are you… do you think that’s weird?”
“Why the fuck would I think that?”
“I don’t know. Some people would.”
He snorted. “Screw them.”
“If the press got hold of it, they’d have a field day with me.” She’d lose her career; she was sure of that.
“Then we make sure they never find out.” It was said with such surety as though he could control what the press found out. But still, his certainty helped calm her.
Okay, she was grateful he wasn’t horrified. But she still didn’t understand what he was doing here.
“You came after me,” she said.
“Yep. And that was a bit of an inconvenience.”
She winced. “Sorry.” Although she hadn’t actually asked him to chase after her.
“If you’d just stayed where I put you, then I could have taken care of you as soon as you started feeling ill.”
Stayed where he put her?
“Are you for real right now?” she asked. Urgh, her voice was growing raspy. And even though she’d just woken up an hour ago, she felt ready for a nap.
Being sick sucked.
“Yes.”
“You didn’t put me anywhere,” she stated.
“Of course I did. I told you to wait for me. You didn’t wait for me. That deserves some sort of punishment.”
“Punishment?”
What was going on here?
“Once you’re feeling better, of course. I’m not a monster. Does it have a name?”
She felt like her head was spinning. And it wasn’t due to feeling sick. It was all Brand Starr.
“Does what have a name?”
“The teddy bear.”
Oh shoot. She shoved the bear down under the covers again. She started coughing and Brand grabbed the glass of water, putting his hand behind her head again to support her.
She couldn’t lie… it felt nice to have someone help her.
Don’t get used to it.
He settled her back on the bed with a frown. “We need to get you back to our room.”
“Our room.”
“Of course. I can hardly take care of you if we’re staying in different suites.”
“You really want to take care of me?” she asked. Maybe this was some sort of dream. Because she couldn’t imagine Brand ever looking after someone else.
“Yes. I do.”
Brand put his hand on her forehead as though feeling for a fever. “You feel warm. Did they give you something for that? Have they been monitoring you for a fever?” He got up, looking around.
“What are you searching for?” she asked.
“The piece of paper they have on a clipboard where they write your information.”
“Um, I’m not sure they have that.”
“Really? What kind of outfit are they running here?” he grumbled.
“You haven’t been to the hospital for a while, huh?”
“Not since my misspent youth.” He grinned at her.
Whoa. She fully understood why his fans practically swooned when he grinned like that.
“I think they have it recorded on a computer or tablet. Brand, what’s really going on? You follow me here. You turn up at the gate. Now, you seem to be staying here. You’re talking about taking care of me. P-punishing me. I just… I don’t understand what’s going on, what you want.”
“It’s simple, really. I want you. And to sound like a cliché rock star, what I want, I get.”