4. Brielle
brIELLE
I yawn for the fiftieth time this morning, then groan when I look at my computer and see I’ve only officially been on the clock for twenty minutes. My eyelids feel like they’re made of iron, and it’s taking all of my energy just to keep them cracked open.
I glance at my schedule, noticing someone canceled their appointment this morning, which means I have enough free time for a coffee run. The coffee here is… well, let’s just say I don’t hate myself enough to subject my stomach lining to that kind of acidity.
Grabbing my purse, I head out of my office, only to run straight into someone.
“Oh!” I exclaim, taking a step back.
“Brielle,” comes the familiar, deep, gravelly voice that follows me into sleep at night.
“Elliot?” I take another step back, accidentally pushing my office door open with my wide hips. “Uh, what are you doing here?”
I try closing the door before he can see inside, but it’s too late. Elliot looks over my shoulder, his eyes scanning over my office, which includes a pillow and blanket on the couch, as well as an overnight bag.
He frowns, those heavy eyebrows of his angling down while he presses his lips together. "You slept here?" he asks. I can tell he's trying not to come off as angry, which I appreciate. Still, this is embarrassing and I don't like him seeing any more into my personal life than he already has.
“Uh…”
“Do you do this often?”
Elliot focuses back on me with an intensity I don’t know how to handle.
I shake my head no, but he’s not going to let me get away with that.
I tip my head toward the open hallway behind him, indicating I’d rather not discuss it out here in public.
I was hoping he’d take the hint and leave, but instead, he pushes my office door the rest of the way open and ushers me inside.
“I know this looks bad,” I start, keeping my eyes on the floor so I don’t do something stupid like spill all of my secrets. “I’ve never slept here before, I just…” My voice fades as I think about last night.
Elliot’s warm hand wraps around mine, the same way he did yesterday.
I stop my anxious fidgeting and take a full breath for the first time all day.
Elliot tugs on my hand lightly, pulling me closer to him.
I have no choice but to look up, those captivating green eyes peering down into the most tender part of my soul.
The usually gruff man surprises me again when he lifts his free hand to my face, tucking a few strands of hair behind my ear. I lean into his touch, loving his rough skin against my cheek. Elliot brushes his thumb under my eye, where I’m sure I have dark circles from a lack of sleep.
He takes a deep breath, encouraging me to do the same. I do. We breathe together while he cradles my face. Elliot doesn’t have to say anything. I know he understands. This man has had many sleepless nights.
“What happened, sunshine?” he murmurs. I lift my eyebrows at his pet name for me, surprised at how easily it rolled off his tongue. Has he been thinking of me as his sunshine? I want more than anything for that to be true, but that’s crazy. We don’t really know each other.
Even as I think that I know it's not true. Elliot and I have connected on another level, a deeper level than I've ever shared with anyone. I don't know his favorite color, but I know he probably thinks things like favorite colors are silly and a waste of words.
“Brielle, are you hurt? Did your mom do something?” I blink up at Elliot, still not sure why he showed up here in the first place.
Was he here to see me? To ask me something?
To check up on me? “Talk to me, honey. I never thought I’d be the one begging for conversation, but you have to give me something. ”
Honey. Another pet name. I’m on the verge of tears, so damn exhausted, and not just from last night. It’s been an exhausting six years since my dad left. Even before then, it’s not like I could please anyone.
“I’m not hurt,” I tell him before he jumps in his truck and hunts down my mother.
“Good. That’s good,” he soothes. “Come on, let’s sit. I can’t help if I don’t know what’s wrong. Let me in, Brielle. Just a little.”
I appreciate the irony of our flipped positions. Yesterday, I was asking him the same thing. I nod, knowing I need to talk to someone. After what happened between my mother and me, I’m done. I can’t go back and support her lifestyle. But what does that even look like?
"Start at the beginning," Elliot murmurs, drawing my attention back to him.
He sits on the couch, pulling me down with him, and then he wraps an arm around my waist and tucks me into his side.
The world doesn't seem quite as scary and overwhelming when I'm all wrapped up in Elliot.
"I dropped you off last night, your mother was clearly intoxicated. What happened when you went inside?"
I take a deep breath and let it all out, ready to pour out my soul to the only man who has ever asked.
“My mom was in a terrible mood,” I start. “And yes, very drunk. She started drinking back when… Well, anyway. I won’t bore you with all those details,” I mumble. When I get flustered, my thoughts scatter in a million directions.
“Hey. I want all of the details eventually,” Elliot says. “But for now, just one step at a time, right?”
I nod, falling right into those forest-green eyes. "It's been just us for a few years now. The drinking has gotten worse, and at some point, it turned into pills. I didn't know for sure if she was using drugs until I met her dealer last night."
Every muscle in Elliot’s body stiffens, and a low, beastly growl rumbles up from his chest. He doesn’t say anything, however, so I take that as my cue to go on.
“They were, um… Oh, god, how do I even say it?” I shut my eyes, which makes me feel a little less vulnerable.
“I woke up to the sounds of them, uh, having sex,” I whisper.
“I didn’t even know he was in the house or that my mom was seeing anyone.
I tried ignoring it by going down to the basement to watch a movie on the big screen, and it worked for a little bit.
Then, halfway through the movie, he was just… there. Right next to me.”
“What the fuck?” Elliot roars. I put my hand on his chest to calm him down. He rests his hand over mine, squeezing it and silently thanking me. “Did he… did he touch you? God help me if he laid a finger on you–”
"No," I'm quick to say. "He scared the shit out of me, but he didn't touch me. He never introduced himself, he just said that my mom has been a loyal client of his for a while now. He usually sells Vicodin for ten dollars a pill, but he'd be willing to give me the same discount as my mom."
I shiver as I remember our conversation. It took a second for his meaning to sink in, but once I understood what my mom was giving him instead of money, I knew I had to get out of there.
“Jesus Christ,” Elliot curses. “I’m so sorry, sunshine. So goddamn sorry I wasn’t there.”
A second later, his arms are around me, pulling me into his lap. I don’t realize I’m crying until he wipes my tears away with his thumb. I sniffle, feeling pathetic and so damn tired. Elliot holds me through it all, tucking my head under his chin as he strokes his fingers up and down my spine.
“I’m here,” he repeats softly, infusing his strength into me with each word.
“Your leg!” I exclaim, suddenly remembering that I’m on his lap.
“I’m fine, woman,” he grunts, getting me settled back into his arms. “Let me hold you.”
I smile against the side of his neck, loving that even when he’s sweet, he’s still a little grumpy. We stay wrapped up like that for long moments. I soak up his leather and spice scent and nuzzle into his beard, loving everything about being folded up in his embrace.
“You can’t stay here, and you can’t go back home. You know that, right?” Elliot asks after a bit.
“Sounds like the start of a bad country song,” I joke.
Elliot doesn’t even flinch. “I’m serious. Stay with me.”
“Uh, what? Me? You? No. I mean, what?” That’s insane. But what other choices do I have right now?
“It’s the best option,” he says confidently, nodding to himself.
“Have you forgotten about my car that won’t start? I was miraculously able to find an Uber driver to pick me up and take me here last night, but in a town this size, I can’t exactly count on being driven to work every day.”
“I’ll drive you.”
“Don’t you live way up in the wilderness so you can practice being a loner?”
This finally earns me a slight smirk. “Yes, I live way up in the wilderness, but I’m not just practicing being a loner. You’ll see for yourself that I’ve pretty much perfected it.”
A wave of lightness, passion, and lust flows through me, sizzling the tips of my nerves. The glint in his deep green eyes, the way he’s looking down at me, how he held me close and wiped my tears away… I can’t stop myself.
I close the distance between us and kiss the incredible man in front of me, because how could I not? Elliot parts his lips, allowing me to slide my tongue inside his mouth. I whimper softly as I pour out every unnamed emotion, drinking his down as well.
This is all new to me, not just relationships, but… all of it. Kissing, touching, being with someone like this. I’m not sure I’m doing it right, but when Elliot deepens the kiss and adjusts me so I’m straddling him, I know I must not be too terrible.
His hands are everywhere, sliding under the dress I'm wearing, caressing my back, my hips, and my thighs. His large, calloused fingers roam over my skin in the lightest of touches and then dig into my flesh, rocking me against his hardening cock.
“Fuck,” he grunts into the side of my neck before kissing me there. “You’re so soft,” he groans, trailing more kisses down my neck and shoulder.