Chapter 14
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
Brinley scowled at her cell.
Tamika just wouldn’t give up! Another two weeks had passed since she’d “met” Dash’s mom and everything else in her life was going extremely well.
Except for the damn woman who wouldn’t accept the word no.
Apparently it wasn’t just a guy thing. The beauty queen clearly thought that if she asked enough times, if she threatened Brinley enough, if she browbeat her and harassed her, she’d eventually give in.
But Brinley was made of sterner stuff. She’d grown up being bullied and harassed and wasn’t about to take the bitch on, no matter what she said or did.
Though, it was getting extremely old having to screen her calls. Having to delete the emails that came in through her website.
Having to hide what was going on from both Cypress and Dash.
Both her best friend and boyfriend would lose their minds if they knew how bad things had gotten with Tamika.
Brinley was copying every email before she deleted it, adding it to a file just in case.
So far the woman hadn’t actually crossed a line from vague “you’ll regret it” kinds of notes to “I’m going to kill you” threats.
She didn’t think the police would be able to do much other than tell her to stay alert and don’t engage.
Until the woman did or said something more specific, all Brinley felt she could do was keep track of the harassment and continue to live her life.
But if Cypress or Dash knew how often the emails and calls were coming in, they wouldn’t be happy.
Cypress would do something rash, like threaten Tamika back in a way that the police wouldn’t be able to ignore.
And Dash was so protective, he’d probably lock her in her apartment and hire a full-time bodyguard or something.
While she appreciated the concern both would likely have, the last thing she wanted to do was bother or worry either of them.
They both had their own busy lives. Cypress was working long days and nights on her climate projects, and Dash was, of course, busy with training other Army platoons who flew to Alaska for the skills only he and his Delta team could teach them.
Beyond Tamika, work was going great. Her new client, Natasha, wanted to order two complete pageant wardrobes, which would bring in a lot of income.
They were slowly working through the details…
what kind of outfits the woman wanted, what colors she liked.
Brinley had suggestions after doing more research.
She’d studied more clips she’d found online and on the woman’s social media sites, and she had thoughts as to how she could improve both her stance, and on colors and cuts that could enhance her assets.
Brinley took great pride in doing her research before she met with a client to take measurements—which she always did in person. She didn’t trust anyone else to get them right. She was very particular, and so far that had worked out well for both her and everyone she’d ever worked with.
She and Natasha had decided on a date for the girl to fly into Fairbanks, so they could meet each other face-to-face and Brinley could take measurements.
They’d go over the preliminary sketches of the gowns and outfits at that time, and then the real work would begin for Brinley—actually making the clothes.
Currently, she was sitting at the dining table in her apartment, material swatches all around her, as she worked on sketches for Natasha and other clients. Doing her best to keep her mind on her work…and not on how Dash had woken her up earlier that morning.
They’d fallen asleep on the couch watching another season of the baking show that Dash now freely admitted he was addicted to, then moved to the bedroom around two in the morning.
The next thing she knew, she was awakened to the feel of Dash sucking on her nipple.
He’d pushed her sleep shirt up, and all she could do was moan.
What followed was fast and furious sex, which ended with her on all fours and Dash entering her from behind.
They’d had sex that way before, but she’d been almost insatiable that morning for some reason.
Needing him to take her hard. And he had.
They’d dispensed with condoms, and Brinley had to admit she loved the feeling of Dash bare inside her. Even though it was messy, the feel of his come leaking out of her afterward made her feel…loved.
It might seem stupid to some, but she couldn’t help how she felt.
He’d then taken her hand and towed her to the shower, where she’d gone down on her knees and taken him into her mouth. She loved the power she felt when she did that for him. Knowing she could bring this huge strong man to his knees was extremely satisfying.
He’d returned the favor by pulling her up and pressing her chest to the tile wall, fingered her to another orgasm.
Being with Dash made her forget about all the things other boys and men had ever said about her.
How she was weird-looking. How she’d never find anyone who’d ever want to wake up to her ugly mug every day for the rest of their life.
Especially when, more than once, she’d woken up to find him propped on an elbow, staring at her, twirling a lock of her too red, too curly, too frizzy hair around a finger with an expression that had her believing happily ever afters could actually be real.
She loved him. So much it was scary.
And it wasn’t because he was her first sexual experience.
Or because he was the first guy to tell her that she was beautiful.
Or because he complimented her all the time.
It was because of who he was as a human being. Because he saw her. The real Brinley, under the skin she was born into. He was a hard worker, kind, protective, didn’t mind Cypress’s teasing and kind of brusque manner, and he loved his mom and wasn’t afraid to admit it out loud and often.
He was as masculine a man as she’d ever met, and yet he didn’t act macho or like he was better than anyone else. Even though he was a Delta Force Operative, one of the best of the best, he was humble and went out of his way to teach others everything he knew.
But he could also be ruthless. Brinley had seen that firsthand down in Fiji. And he still couldn’t load a dishwasher in a way that would allow every dish to get adequate soap and water. Had a tendency to be incredibly stubborn at times.
Brinley forced herself to stop thinking about Dash, and to try to forget about Tamika and her annoying texts and calls, and to get back to work.
Until her phone rang once more.
She sighed in frustration. But when she looked at the screen, her mood lightened when she saw it was Dash. Pleasure swam through her veins. He usually didn’t call her in the middle of the day because he was busy with work.
“Hey.”
“Brin.”
She frowned. He’d only said her name, but she already knew something was wrong. She could hear it in his voice.
“What’s wrong?”
“My mom…she…she’s gone.”
Brinley froze. What? No! He couldn’t mean what she thought he meant. He’d just talked to her last night. He told her about the call when she’d arrived at his apartment. “What happened?”
“I’m not sure. Her neighbor found her on the floor of her bathroom this morning. I…I have to go to Phoenix.”
“Of course you do. Have you bought a plane ticket yet?”
“No. I just found out.”
He’d just found out his mom died and the first thing he’d done was call her. Hurt made her chest ache, but love for him was just as overwhelming. “Where are you?” she asked, feeling so sad for Dash.
“At work.”
“You can get leave, right?”
“Yeah, Zamora is putting in the request now. Echo’s going to take me home so I can pack.”
She knew Zamora was his lieutenant colonel, and she was extremely grateful for Echo because there was no way Dash should be driving right now. “I’ll meet you there. We’ll figure everything out together.”
“You don’t have to do that.”
“Yes, I do. I want to. I need to. Please let me help you.”
She heard him take a deep breath. “I don’t know what I’m going to do without her. She was…”
“I know,” Brinley soothed. Her mind spun with everything that needed to be done. Plane tickets, hotel reservations, funeral arrangements, dealing with Pauly’s bills and her belongings. It was a lot, and nothing Dash should do on his own. Not when he was grieving. “I’m on my way, Dash.”
“Thank you. I…I need you, Brin.”
He was breaking her heart. “I’m coming. Hang in there.”
She took a precious few minutes to pack a suitcase, having a feeling she wouldn’t be coming back to her place for a while.
The next ten minutes were the longest of Brinley’s life. Thank goodness traffic was light. She definitely drove too fast as she made her way to his apartment. She barely remembered turning her car off before she was rushing up the stairs, lugging her suitcase along with her.
Brinley had sent Cypress a voice message while driving, to let her know what was happening and that she’d be gone for a while. That she’d be going to Phoenix with Dash. She wasn’t going to let him go by himself, no matter what he said.
She knocked on his apartment door and the next thing she knew, she was in his embrace.
Brinley could feel Dash shaking as he held her.
He buried his nose in the crook of her neck and sobbed.
It was heart-wrenching. His tears soaked the material of her shirt but she only held him tighter.
She kicked the door shut and backed them into the apartment toward the couch.
They collapsed onto it, Dash not letting go of her for a second.
Brinley’s own eyes were leaking, her heart breaking for the man who’d just lost the most important person in his life.
After a few minutes, she pulled back and took Dash’s face in her hands. “Why don’t you go pack. I’ll book us some tickets.”
He took a deep breath. “I can do it.”
“I know you can, but so can I. Let me help you, Dash. I’ve got this.”
He sighed. “Okay.”