Chapter 7
“I’m going to get going now, is that okay?” Tori leaned in to ask.
The evening had been a fine gathering, but revelries were starting to come to an end; most of those gathered had reason to be up early in the morning. Ranging from needing to be at work to getting children ready in the morning for Football practice.
Brierley, from her seated position on Breht's thigh, nodded. An irreplaceable smile on her face, beaming brightly. She’d found the coveted perch earlier in the evening after someone had stolen her seat while she’d gone to fetch another drink.
It took little prompting for her to sit on Breht’s knee; he hadn’t protested an iota.
Tori turned to the orc and said, “You make sure my girl gets home safe, you hear?”
“Right you are, boss,” he replied, giving Tori a wink.
The second glass of wine had done his tense bundle of anxieties wonders by doing exactly what he’d claimed it would. The room had taken on a gentle sway. His inhibitions dropped with each mouthful.
Their friends had obviously conspired to give the two of them time together.
Even though their departure made room for Brierley to sit on the sofa, she had no intention of moving from her current perch.
Breht had his hand wrapped around her, resting on her leg.
Mostly under the pretence of keeping her from falling on the floor.
There was more to his touch than that; she could feel it.
See it in the way he kept looking at her to make sure she was comfortable, both with where she sat and where his hand was resting.
She was. She adored how safe she made him feel. How protected. How well looked after.
“You’ll be taking over as CEO of Merloft Corps, then, Breht?” Alluin asked, happy to remain playing host.
Breht made an unhappy face as the question came his way.
He’d never thought too far ahead. Never considered that he’d be the one to inherit the company someday.
Now that the question had been posed, he reluctantly answered with a vague, “I suppose so.” He already knew it wasn’t what he wanted.
He went to elaborate on his thoughts and speak his truth, but the touch of Brierley’s manicured nails touched the sensitive, pinched tip of his ear.
A strangled noise, a cross between a gurgle and a purr, sounded in his throat.
In an instant, all measures of pleasurable signals shot through his core straight to his groin.
Instinctively, he tilted his head to the side, away from her touch.
His hand reached up and took her away from her innocent explorations.
The red wine pumping through him made him lean back into her touch; conflicted between being in public company and desiring her alluring touch.
Alluin chuckled knowingly.
Breht looked pointedly at the woman on his knee.
There was a twitch of his brow, questioning, exploring her intentions, but she continued to look bemused.
“We should probably get going ourselves.” There was no questioning in his tone, just confident command.
His fingers squeezed her thigh before turning to their host. “Am I all right to collect the car in the morning?”
“Probably for the best,” Alluin replied. They’d only dated briefly, but the other man knew the secret behind those orcish ears.
Brierley got to her feet as the orc underneath her moved.
Alluin saw them both to the front door, where they said their heartfelt goodbyes, giving one another companionable hugs.
They wished one another all the best of luck for the future.
And made their inevitable promise not to leave it so long until the next time they got together.
The same fleeting promises being made and forgotten in a heartbeat.
The cool evening air was a refreshment against the heated rush of red wine coursing through his veins. He stuffed his hands into his pockets and walked down the garden path. He offered Brierley a smile, asking, “Can I walk you home?”
Brierley looked across at him, “Where is it you’re staying?”
“The Three Seashells,” he replied.
“That’s the other side of town!” She cried, “It’ll take you hours to walk back.”
“I’d rather see you safe, Princess.” The pet name slipped out before he had the chance to prevent it. An endearment that was spoken through the rush of alcohol.
Even if Brierley heard the faux pas, she gave no true indication. However, she drew up close to him and slipped her arm around his waist, knowing a lost argument when she saw one. Besides, Tori would have her hide if she didn’t accept.
“So, you and Alluin, huh?” She teased. “I never knew.”
“It would hardly have been a great announcement; my first girlfriend was actually a boyfriend, there was more of a stigma back then.” He said, “We both decided to keep it on the down low. Alluin wasn’t ready to come out yet, even though everyone already knew. I respected that wish.”
“And what about you?”
“Girls, boys, all the same to me,” Breht answered with a casual shrug,
“But you broke up.” Brierley pried, wanting to understand the measure of the complicated orc.
Breht nodded. “Yes, but if his reasons were what he just announced, he never complained about it before,” he joked at his own expense.
“What did he tell you?”
“He was more interested in girls, which, we all now know, is a lie in itself,” he gave a shrug. The air was bringing clarity to his head, and the wooziness brought on by the wine slowly dissipated.
She leaned up and whispered close to his ear, "Have you ever thought about staying?"
Breht stopped in his tracks, causing Brierley to halt next to him. He turned to face her, his expression softening. "Staying?"
"Here." She said it quietly, almost afraid of the answer. "I know you have a life in the city, but—"
"I think about it," he admitted, his voice low and sincere. "More than I probably should."
Brierley's breath caught. She hadn't expected such honesty. The vulnerability in his eyes made her heart skip, and she found herself reaching for his hand. His fingers intertwined with hers, warm and solid.
"Good," she whispered, and tugged gently on his arm to keep walking.
The orc went with her willingly. “I’m sorry that I spent most of this evening outside,” he said.
“I’m assuming Gorim told you about Rosani?
” He hadn’t meant for their light-hearted, fun to suddenly turn serious, but some things needed saying, apologising for.
Ignoring Brierley was not a gentlemanly thing to have done, and he felt wretched for it.
“It’s okay,” Brierley said, her hand giving his waist a comforting squeeze.
Breht looked skywards. The colourful arrangement of stars in the complicated hues of the night sky caught his eye. “It’s not,” he answered. “I wanted to spend more time catching up with you this evening, but I had to put whatever she and I had been to bed, once and for all.”
She rested her head against his strong bicep, clinging to his forearm. “I’d have liked that too, but you needed to do what’s best for you first.”
As they crossed town, talk became more relaxed, and he tried his absolute best to keep Rosani’s name out of his mouth.
Brierley was enthusiastic about everything they discussed, which helped.
The faint dizziness of the red wine returned, and he revelled in its effects.
Casual pleasantries turned to snickering gossip as they discussed snippets of overheard conversation.
They chatted at length about some of the people they had once known, taking simple delight in how some of them got their comeuppance after leaving school.
About how some were fortunate to have escaped the country and flown halfway around the world on random adventures.
For what it was worth, Brierley tried to pry information out of him in regard to what he’d done at her store.
He remained a vigilant wall of silence on the matter.
Realising that she’d get nowhere, Brierley changed the subject.
Instead choosing a topic that they spoke about for most of the way home: music and movies.
She was surprised to discover that he’d mostly left his industrial hardcore days behind him.
Now tending towards indie-electronic. Or the soft, easy-going voices of popular icons such as Ed Sheeran and Dermot Kennedy.
It was a hard shift from the music they’d listened to as teenagers: White Zombie, Nine Inch Nails and other alternative, edgy music that he couldn’t stand to have in his ears now that he’d matured past that phase.
“I like the odd song, now and again,” Brierley admitted. “But, I got out of all that when I left my ex. Steve.”
“The one with the bike?” Breht asked.
“That’s the one.”
“What happened?” He asked, seeing as she had been so curious earlier about Alluin
“He cheated on me,” she replied flatly. She felt the muscles in his forearm clench.
“What a bastard,” Breht grumped.
“It hurt at the time, but to look at him now,” she cringed, “I dodged a bullet; prison sentence for domestic violence, apparently.”
Breht put his arm over her shoulder and held her close.
Offering her comfort regardless of how much time had passed, even though the wounds had long healed.
She rested her head against him. Content to let the comfortable silence wash over them until the next stride in their conversation took over.
His heart rate had kicked up a notch at their closeness.
He was reluctant to let her leave his embrace when she motioned to a house with her thumb and indicated the front door.
“This is me,” Brierley announced, as though he didn’t know where she lived. The walk had passed by in a heartbeat. Over all too soon.
He opened the gate for her, and she asked, “Would you like to come in? Have a coffee?”