50 Shades of Drake 1 and 2

50SOD II: Chapter Ten

    "I'm not used to that," Aubrey confessed. "I haven't opened up to a woman in...in a very long time."

    "Since your fiance, who cheated on you?" Destiny supplied for him, trying to demonstrate what she meant by opening up.

    He turned his head and met her gaze head-on.

    "See?" she asked him. "That look you're giving me. You hate that I even know about her."

    "That was a dark period for me," he said after struggling to find the words he wanted to say.

    "A dark period of your life that you never talk about," she said.

    His eyebrows drew together. "Yes. Never."

    "And you don't see what holding in that darkness has done to you?" she asked him.

    He lowered his eyes.

    "Would you like me to show you what holding that darkness inside has done to you?"

    He kept his eyes lowered.

    She turned her head and cast her gaze downward. She grabbed the zipper on the side of her skirt. She pulled the zipper down and slid the skirt, along with her lacy purple underwear, down her hips. Then, she turned her back to him and lifted up her blouse and her blazer. "This. This is what holding it in has done to you. Look at what you did to me." She'd checked herself in the mirror that morning before showering. Large bruises were beginning to form on her butt cheeks, bruising from the paddle. They hurt whenever she put pressure on them.

    He reached out and cupped one of her ass cheeks in his hand.

    She closed her eyes and dropped her head down.

    "I'm sorry for this," he said softly. "I never intended...I never meant..." He wrapped both arms around her waist and lowered his chin onto her shoulder.

    It was too easy. It was way too easy to forgive him. It was too easy to love him more than fear him. She remained in his arms, feeling slight discomfort when he pressed his body to hers but ignoring it. Because it felt good to be held by him. "I want to forgive you," she said. "But you really hurt me last night."

    "I know," he said, his voice tinged with sadness and regret.

    "And ironically, you said it best. I can't reward you after you've done something wrong. It would send the wrong message."

    She could feel his body tense up. Preparing himself for whatever she was about to say.

    She closed her eyes, savoring his warmth pressed up against her. Knowing that it was short-lived. "This week, I will spend in my condo. I will not visit you at all this week. I will not see you. I will not talk to you. Speak to me only if it's work-related. I will report to you Friday evening, as outlined by the contract. I will serve you however you see fit...as outlined by the contract." She turned around in his arms. "I need time to sort through my emotions over what happened. And while I take that time, I want you to think about what happened. I mean really think about it. I want you to think about why you reacted so strongly. You feel like you can't open up to me for some reason, and that's something you're going to have to deal with. Because until you deal with it, something like last night can happen again. And, Aubrey...I can turn my head and look the other way once. I can continue to stand by your side this once. But..." She dropped her gaze and smoothed down his tie.

    "But if it happens again, you'll leave me?"

    "If it happens again, I might have to walk away from you. And the contract."

~~~~~~

    Brian leaned on the door to Aubrey's office, eavesdropping without feeling one ounce of shame. He frowned at the conversation he'd overheard. From the sounds of it, Destiny's inability to sit down wasn't a result of an intense workout. From the sounds of it, Aubrey had roughed her up. Brian had known Aubrey for years. Years and years. Aubrey wasn't the type of man who would slap his girlfriend around. Aubrey was a romantic in every sense of the word. Sure, he tried to deny it. Tried to cover it up, tried to make it seem like he was some robot incapable of feelings, but everyone saw past that. Aubrey was a romantic, through and through.

    Aubrey wouldn't hurt a fly, much less a girl that he obviously cared about. Aubrey cared enough about her to try to make sure Brian was too busy to spend time around her, despite the fact that Brian was her manager. Most likely because after I met her in that deli, I talked his ear off about her. I hadn't known that she was his girlfriend at the time. He probably feels like he has to stake his claim on her. I can't blame him for that. Me being devilishly handsome and all. But contract? What contract?

    What kind of setup does he have with Destiny? Brian wondered, his frown deepening. He listened for a bit more, then straightened his posture and looked towards the attractive, brunette receptionist wearing a compact headset. "On second thought, Bridgette, I'll just give him a ring when I get back to my office," he said nonchalantly. "He sounds busy."

    "Told you," Bridgette said with an arched eyebrow.

    Brian walked over to her desk with a lazy grin on his face. "You couldn't wait to tell me 'I told you so,' could you?" he asked, deliberately dragging his eyes down her petite frame.

    She blushed and shifted in her seat.

    He winked at her, pushed away from her desk, and sauntered down the long aisle separating two very busy office areas. He had no interest in Bridgette. Been there, done that, kept the receipt so he could one day request a refund. Bridgette was easy pickings, and anything that was easy to obtain was rarely worth any effort at all. Destiny, on the other hand, he thought as he pressed the Down button located in the wall space between the two elevators. Destiny is quite another story.