blush (Westbrook Series) (4 page)

The next few days were hectic at Westbrook
Advertising.  Missy spent most of the week thumbing through the Mercer design
sketches the rest of the design crew presented her with.  They really had some
astounding ideas, if she hadn't experienced what she had on the Mercer yacht,
many of the proposals would have been suitable.  Her little research trip made
it much more difficult for her to settle on any of the designs.  They weren't
nearly romantic or cutting edge enough.  After three days of rejecting their
ideas she turned to the computer and started doing a bit of magic on her own. 
Brandon had meetings all week to finish up the sports drink campaign, and he
flew to Dallas to woo the CEO's of two mammoth corporations.  Missy hadn't
heard from him all week. 
Maybe he took what he wanted and now he was trying
to avoid her at all costs. 
By Thursday with no contact she started to
assume what she experienced the past weekend was nothing more than a figment of
her imagination.  Chloe questioned Missy's foul mood so Missy filled her in on
the latest misfortune in her life without revealing too much information. 
Missy didn't plan on letting everyone know she had fallen for the smooth
talking new boss.  She had worked too diligently at her job; she didn't need to
be the subject of office gossip.  After the commotion at the club, Chloe had
pretty much figured things out.  Plus Chloe was Missy's best friend, she told
her everything. 

"He is totally pulling the three day rule on
you," Chloe assured Missy. 

Nicole had told Missy about the rule when Missy was
younger, but surely men had evolved some since then.  "I think that rule
is a little old fashioned for a guy like Br.... you know who."  Missy brought
her voice down to a whisper.  Even though the ladies were behind the closed
door of Missy's office, she wasn't taking any chances of someone overhearing
them. 

"No way," laughed Chloe.  "Men love
to seem aloof.  They think it gives them the upper hand to keep us hanging by a
string."  Chloe put her hand onto Missy's and continued,  "And that
particular show at the club completely tells you he likes to have the upper
hand."

Missy contemplated what Chloe was saying.  If she
was right Missy would hear from Brandon today.  Chloe threw Missy a wink through
her long black lashes and walked out of the office.  "You'll see I am
always right about these things," Chloe declared before closing the
door.  

So much for always being right. 
Missy
thought as she drove home from work that evening. 
Oh well she knew who he
was and she fell into his bed anyway. She would have to just get over the
emotions she felt when she was in his arms.
 Missy had never experienced
the connection she felt with Brandon, especially when their clothes were off. 
They fit together perfectly and when he touched her,  fireworks went off in the
pit of her stomach.  He had to feel them too.

Missy pulled her car into the parking garage and
crossed the street to the front door of her building. 

"Hi beautiful."  Missy looked up and
Brandon was sitting on the stoop waiting for her to get home.  "You worked
late tonight.  You should really tell your boss you can't do that every
night."  He looked at her and gave her his most charming grin.  The
fireworks in her core instantaneously went off.

"He hasn't been around much.  Someone has to
pick up the slack,"  Missy remarked as she handed him the key to let them
into her apartment.  Brandon gave a warning glance at her snarky comment, then
popped her on the bottom as she sashayed past him and put her purse on the
table. 

"Keep it up and I'll have to give you a
spanking you won't forget."  He looked deep into her eyes and licked his
lips. 

Missy heated all over, she quickly turned her face
to conceal the pink tone it was taking on.  Brandon caught her chin and touched
his lips to hers before she could hide it.  "You know what that does to me,"
he groaned as he nuzzled his face into her neck.  "I've been hard all week
just thinking about touching you." 

Missy lifted her arms around his neck, falling into
his embrace.  Brandon tenderly ran his finger tips up her skirt toward her hips
as Missy sucked and tickled his ear lobe.  They stood there holding one another
for a moment, enjoying the feeling that jolted between them when their bodies were
touching. 

Finally she whispered in a low, luscious tone,
"You know what I want?"

"Mmmmm, I think I do," he murmured grinding
his erection into her.   

Missy swiftly spun out of his arms and giggled,
"Dinner!  Do you like spaghetti and meat balls?" She asked putting on
her favorite blue ruffled apron.

"Sure.  Sounds great," Brandon mumbled not
hiding that he was actually pouting. 

"So where did you learn to cook?" He asked
watching her mixing ingredients while she hummed cheerfully. 

"I used to cook with my sister, Nicole, when I
was younger.  My mom worked a lot so if we wanted to eat, we had to make it
ourselves.   We tried so many different recipes and ingredients we became
really talented at throwing together a good meal."

"Are you and your sister still close?" He
questioned as he took a spoon from her and started combining the ingredients
she had put together in a bowl. 

Missy stiffened.  After all these years it was still
really hard for her to talk about Nicole's accident.  Missy grabbed a knife and
focused on cutting vegetables.  "My sister was in a fatal accident when I
was fifteen." 
That's what everyone had called it when she was younger.
A fatal accident.  Her mother could never call it what it was.  Nicole was
dead. 
Just the thought brought tears to her eyes.  Missy quickly grabbed
an onion and started chopping.

"Wow, can you take over here this onion is
killing my eyes."  Missy gave Brandon the knife and went to her nightstand
to get a tissue. 

Brandon set the knife down on the bamboo cutting
board and followed Missy.  As she blotted the wet drops from her eyes he pulled
her into a hug.  He could hear the small whimpers she couldn't stop from
escaping.  "You don't ever have to hide anything from me.  You can trust
me."  He kissed her on the head and rubbed the tears away with his thumb. 
Comforting Missy came so natural to him.  He wanted to say anything he could to
stop her pain.  He had never talked this way to a woman before; of course, he
had never cared about a woman this way before.  The realization of this scared
the shit out of him.

They made small talk during dinner.  Brandon was
trying to wrap his head around the way he was reacting to her.  There had been
ladies in his life, but Missy was different.  She was strong and gentle at the
same time.  She was independent, yet he felt she needed him. 

"Cade wants us to join him and his wife, Marcy for
a drink tomorrow night,"  Brandon announced trying to rid his mind of the
feelings overwhelming him.  "Mark will be there too."   He put on a
sour face.  "You remember him right?"

"Oh yes!  He's quite the ladies' man,"
Missy replied, licking her lips.  When Brandon looked up, she giggled.  Her
laugh relaxed him. 

"Okay you just remember you asked for it." 

"What?" 
Oh shit. 
She recalled the
warning Brandon had given her earlier.  He rose to his feet and started rubbing
his hands together.  Missy stood up and ran to the couch taunting and teasing
him.  He clumsily chased after her making her laugh even harder. 

"The more you run the more my hand twitches,"
he said trying to give her his best angry glare.  After she blushed and giggled
more intensely, Brandon knew his look had failed.

He reached his large arms around her and tickled her
until she stopped trying to break his hold around her waist.  Missy let herself
ease into his hold, which she soon learned was a mistake.  Brandon picked her
up and situated her nicely across his knee raising her skirt to her waist.  He
had an outstanding view of his target.  Missy had never had a man actually
spank her before so she held her breath and closed her eyes tightly, anxiously
awaiting her punishment.

Brandon rubbed her bottom until she whimpered with
lust then gave her three firm pops close to her core.  "You are way too
good at that," she moaned in appreciation.  Missy felt tingles followed by
wetness.  She lifted her tush and shook it at him requesting another.  Instead
he bent her across the bed and placed kisses on the red marks he had left, his
fingers touching her opening.  She bucked begging for more.  When she attempted
to roll over, he held his arm over her body keeping her in place.  Missy heard
the foil and excitedly waited to feel the head of his erection touch her. 
Brandon only teased her with his finger tips and mouth until she pleaded,
"Please Brandon."  As soon as his name came off of her lips he
plunged into her with vigor.  He slowed down when she let out a whimper.

"Harder," she demanded.  He pulled out
softly and pushed himself back in swiftly.  Missy shrieked with delight while rotating
and moving her hips, driving him mad.  Brandon reached down and nipped the nape
of her neck.  It was all she could take.  She moaned loudly and started
pulsing.  The pressure of her orgasm made her tight around his cock.  He thrust
aggressively one more time and came hard as she vibrated through him. 

"Wow!  You really know how to punish a
girl."  Missy muttered in a satisfied but tired voice.

Brandon chuckled kissing her bottom once more,
"I'll go run us a bath." 

Missy and Marcy became fast friends.  Marcy grew up
in the neighborhood right next to the one Missy lived in when she was younger. 
They reminisced over the hang outs they frequented in their younger days.  Even
though Marcy was a few years older than Missy, she was surprised they had never
met before, especially since she was the same age as Nicole.  The guys laughed
at their quick camaraderie and went on discussing the game displayed on the
television of the bar. 

"Men!" Marcy shook her head and looked down,
"You put them in front of a television and they lose all focus of the
world around them."

Cade pinched Marcy's ass making her yelp a little,
then giggle.  He turned his attention back to the screen.

Brandon smiled at Missy and kissed her nose before returning
to the conversation the men were having.

"You've really done a number on that one,"
Marcy said quietly trying to speak so the men didn't hear.  "I have never
seen him like that."

"Really?  How long have you known
Brandon?"

Marcy thought for a second, "Around four years
now, I guess; he introduced Cade and me."

Marcy looked back at the guys, who were still
focused on the game, and rolled her eyes.  "Come on."  Marcy pulled
Missy to her feet.  "Let's go play a game of pool." 

"Man, she really has you pussy whipped," 
Mark gushed as he turned to watch the women leave, not taking his eyes off of
Missy's ass.

Brandon glanced at Mark giving a warning glare. 
Brandon didn't understand exactly how he was feeling for Missy but he WAS NOT
whipped.

"She must be good.  Maybe I'll take her for a
drive when you're finished."  Mark continued as he sucked down his fifth
beer.

Cade stared and waited for it.  He knew it was
coming.  Brandon didn't make him wait long, he jumped out of his chair, reared
back and punched Mark square in the nose.  "What the hell dude?" 
Mark whined grabbing a napkin and wiping the blood pouring out of his nostril.

Missy and Marcy observed from the pool table in disbelief. 
"Marcy, I'm not feeling so well, can you take me home?" Missy asked,
still shocked at what Brandon had just done. 

"Sure, let me go grab my purse and tell Cade. 
I'll meet you outside."

"So do those two always go at it like
that?" Missy asked Marcy after they left the parking lot. 

"No, usually we all just ignore the stupid shit
that comes out of Mark's mouth.  Most of the time he is a really good guy.  I
mean other than the whole womanizing issue."  Marcy chuckled.  "They've
all been friends since high school, anyway when he drinks he turns into a real
dick."

Marcy added, "Cade told me he was talking shit
about you so I guess that's where Brandon drew the line."

When they pulled in front of Missy's building, Missy
gave Marcy a melancholy smile. "Thanks for the ride.  I'm sure after some
rest I'll feel better."  Missy didn't know if rest would do the trick
though.  She had seen Brandon out with his friends twice now and both times he
flew into a heated rage.  Missy recognized she was starting to feel strongly
about him, but she didn't sign on as an anger management counselor.  The
knowledge that both times he had lost his temper were because of her didn't
escape her mind either. 

"Don't worry over tonight.  Those guys will
make up in no time."  Marcy threw Missy a sympathetic wave and drove away.

Brandon sat and pouted after the women left.  He was
not going to run after her, especially tonight. 
He was NOT whipped. 
After
twenty minutes of staring at the television Brandon was done.  "Screw this
shit guys, I'm going home." 

Mark sighed, "Dude I am really sorry.  I didn't
know you were into the chick like that."

Brandon shrugged it off.  "I'd of probably
messed it up soon anyway," he said and headed out the door. 

Brandon contemplated going over to Missy's.  He
pushed that idea away as quick as it came.  His hand was still red and swollen,
so he chose to head for home to hide in the corner and lick his wounds. 
This
was getting too serious too soon anyway. 

After two aspirin and a cold pack the pain had
stopped enough for Brandon to try and get some sleep.  He tossed and turned
with only unsuccessful attempts at dozing off; his thoughts kept going back to the
night before in Missy's apartment.  He adored laying with her as they stared
into each other.  He had committed to memory each of her features as he traced
them gently with his fingers.  They laughed and nuzzled until they both fell
asleep.  It was the best he had ever rested.  Now just twenty-four hours later,
he was miserable.  He reached for his phone and sent her a quick text.  "Sorry
about tonight.  I'm an ass."  He waited for a response until his eyes
became heavy. 

The next morning Brandon had still not heard from
Missy.  He swung his legs over to the floor and slowly pulled himself out of
bed.  After an hour run and a thirty minute scalding shower, he still had no
response.  He couldn't stress about it now, he promised his mom he would have
lunch with her, his sister Dayna, and the new man in his mother's life, Enrique. 
Great! This is going to be awesome
.  Brandon picked up his cell giving
it one last glance.

"Brandon, I would like for you to meet Enrique." 
Brandon put his hand forward and shook.  He eyed the man then continued around
to the other side of the table to sit next to his sister.  She chuckled when he
rolled his eyes.

"So you two, tell us how you met," Dayna requested
cheerfully.  She tossed her most dazzling smile toward Enrique, hiding the pain
Brandon was causing by kicking her under the table.  When she unyieldingly
kicked back, he bit his lip and rubbed his shin.  "Yes.  We would love to
hear about it," Brandon stammered trying to push back the stinging in his
leg.

Brenda started laying out the accounts only stopping
for Enrique to add a comment here and there.  He lovingly had his arm around
her shoulder and tucked her in to kiss her head every so often, not
interrupting her story.  He joked around with Brandon and Dayna about the
touristy things Brenda had made him do all over the Mediterranean.  Enrique was
actually a really great guy.  He had a wonderful sense of humor and was much
more down to earth than the stuffy control freaks Brenda usually associated
with.   By the end of the meal, Brandon was feeling a tad more optimistic about
everything.  He was happy his mother had found someone she truly seemed to
enjoy, even though the sight of two people gushing over one another reminded
him of Missy.  He shook the thoughts out of his mind.  His mom was a pro at
reading his emotions and he didn't want to worry her. 

Brandon had still not heard from Missy that evening;
he came to the conclusion that the times they shared were a thing of the past. 
She was obviously not able to forgive him for his barbaric actions at the bar. 
He remembered the paralyzed fear she had on her face before she turned
completely pale and insisted on leaving.  He was going to bring her home but
Marcy was adamant about taking her instead.  Marcy advised Brandon to give
Missy some time to process everything.  He really did try to do just that, but
he wanted to be able to apologize.  Now that he had, he should let her calm
down.  He would see her on Monday at work so anything else he had to say would
need to wait till then. 

Missy laid in the uncomfortable bed trying to replay
the events of the past few days:

She remembered walking into her building, but still couldn't
recall where she had been.  She recalled heading up the third flight of stairs
toward her studio apartment when she felt him grab her from behind.  His large
frame towered over her; he had to be at least six foot four inches.  He held
her arms tight to her body and jabbed his fist into her ribs.  Missy felt the
opportunity to escape and she went into action, bending her knees and plunging
her elbow into his flabby stomach.  She didn't stop there, without thinking
twice she reared her elbow back for another hit, this time to his face.  When
he let go, Missy ran for her apartment, but he caught her before she could
unlock the door.  He clutched her hair and drug her back to the stairs, making
sure to snatch her purse in the process.  Then with one swift blow to the face
she saw nothing but darkness. 

When Missy woke up in the hospital, she remembered
the doctors and nurses fussing around her.  She tried to move but the pain and
the IV didn't allow it.  She tried to rationalize what was going on but only
fell into darkness again. 

The next time Missy roused she was in a room, quiet
and dark other than the light of the television.  She tried to move but only
felt pain.  "You're awake!" Missy looked over and saw a petite blonde
covered up with a small blanket in a chair by the bed.  "Wh-what
happened?" Missy managed to stammer out. 

"You were attacked in the stairwell of your
building.  Your neighbor called 911 when she heard you screaming."  The
blonde rubbed Missy's hand.  "The police caught him before he made away
with your bag." 

"Who are you?"  Missy questioned grimacing
from the pain.

"Missy it's me, Chloe....I am the first quick
dial in your phone so the hospital contacted me when you arrived."  Chloe
stood and pressed the nurse button. "Don't you recognize me?"

"Everything hurts."

"Yeah the jackass broke three of your ribs.  You
also have some nasty stitches in your head, not to mention that badass black
eye you are sporting."

"Hi, Ms. Duncan.  You gave us quite a scare."
The nurse quickly went to work checking Missy's vitals.  She also inserted
something into the IV for the pain. 

"She doesn't remember who I am," Chloe
informed the nurse with concern in her voice. 

"That is fairly normal in this type of event,
but I will let the doctor know.  He will be in shortly."

"Missy do you remember anything before the
hospital?"  The doctor quizzed.  He had already gone through the basics of
what's your name and the date.  Missy had been asleep for thirty- two hours
straight.  The elder doctor blamed the long rest on the medication they were
giving her. 

"Not really; I see flashes of things but
nothing else." 

"Well you endured some mild trauma to your head
so temporary amnesia is, to some extent, par for the course.  You also just
went through a very traumatic experience so repression is also normal.  I will
check on you before my shift ends.  Definitely let someone know if anything
changes and for now try to get some rest."  The doctor jotted down some
notes on his clipboard.  "I am going to prescribe you something to help
you sleep.  This should help the swelling which should aid with the memory
loss."