BROTHER

Chapter 7

A soft little thud was the very first thing to register in Thea's sleepy mind. The second was the dual scents of bacon and chocolate, making her mouth water before she even realized she was hungry. The third and final thing was the touch of Miguel's hands as he softly traced her minimal curves.

"Come on, Speedy, can't sleep the day away."

"Yes, I can," she said in mock protest. "I excel at it." She turned on her hip, prepared to roll onto his side of the bed and chase that elusive sleep down again, but the motion was halted half way. Her green eyes shot open in response to the metal clink above her head. Her wrists were bound together by silver handcuffs, whose links were threaded through the bars in the headboard.

"Ollie," her gaze slid over to him where he now knelt beside her half of the bed. There was a devilish grin on his lips; she knew the answer before she even asked the question. "Why did you cuff me to the bed?"

"Because I wanted to," He leaned over the edge of the mattress and kissed her right cheek. His hands slid up her arms to the glinting metal. "Are they uncomfortable?" His thumbs swept over the inside of her wrists just below the tight clamp of the cuffs. Her heart fluttered in her chest and her nether regions pulsed with delight.

"They're fine."

Miguel nodded, removing his hands from her body slowly, "Besides, it's breakfast time."

It was on the tip of her tongue to inform him that the two items, breakfast and handcuffing her to the bed, were not mutually exclusive; that one could in fact have breakfast without handcuffs being involved at all.

"Tell me, little sister, what are your words?"

For a second, Thea was confused and she blamed that on her half asleep brain. Her initial thought was: words? Then she put it thought. "Red for stop, yellow means pause and green means please keep going."

"Good girl." Those two simple words made her feel odd like standing in warm sunlight. Thankfully, Miguel distracted her before she could over think it. He held a piece of bacon in front of her mouth and her rumbling stomach forced her to forget being witty in favor of biting off a piece of the meat.

"Thought you couldn't cook." She said between bites, watching him carefully as he leaned back a little so she'd have to strain against her bonds to get it. I am not a dog!

He chuckled and sat on the edge of the bed beside her knees, "it's just bacon and scrambled eggs, Thea, not a four course meal."

"How industrious of you."

Miguel deliberately pulled the almost completely eaten bacon piece away in response to her teasing. "Just for that, I'm eating my meal first."

It was obvious from his tone that he meant that like it would be some sort of retribution for her little joke. It wasn't. As far as mocking threats went, that one was horrible. "Okay, eat your breakfast first." She attempted a noncommittal shrug, but with her hands currently handcuffed to the headboard it was just awkward.

"I'm glad you agree." His knowing smirk set off alarm bells in her head. He was up to something.

She watched, straining her neck a little, as he reached over to a tray that she'd not notice before, on the bedside table and picked up a small, white bowl. He transferred the china to one hand and with his other, plucked a balled melon from a smaller dish on the platter. Her eyes widened slightly as she put his plan together.

"Really, Ollie? Plates piss you off?"

He held the dish over her stomach. Thea had to clench her fists to keep from squirming as she waited for him to do something. Anything.

"No. I just thought you might make a better one." Honey spilled out of the small bowl as he tilted it slightly to its side; she jumped solely because she was surprised by it. Not any other reason; nope. That was her story anyway and she was sticking to it. The slightly warmed liquid drizzled on her stomach slowly. She thought about tipping her head and seeing what he was drawing on her skin, as he moved the dish around above her, but she couldn't look away from his face. There was a tempered sort of glee in his eyes as he tracked the honey's descent with his gaze.

It was in that moment that she truly realized how deep he was into this; how this need to dominate, to control, ran to his very core. He might have had only vanilla before he'd been lost, but it would have never completely satisfied his, apparently, deep seeded need.

He set the bowl down on the tray again and with his other hand, dragged the balled melon through the sticky honey. It felt really weird, feeling the fruit running through the syrup-like liquid on her skin, but not entirely altogether unpleasant. He raised the glistening light green fruit up to his eyes as if he was inspecting it for imperfections. Man, am I ever glad that I'm not that melon.

Then his tongue licked obscenely at the honey and the eighteen-year-old immediately regretted her previous thought. He popped the melon ball into his mouth and, before he even began chewing it, he had another one in his hand and trailed it through the remaining honey. He dabbed four additional melons in the golden liquid that graced her skin and ate them torturously slowly. By the time, he had finished with them, Thea was undoubtedly awake and utterly aware of everything, but he was nowhere near done. The bastard.

"Doing okay, little sister?"

She knew better then to open her mouth and say anything. He was baiting her and she refused to be so easily manipulated. Instead she simply nodded her yes in response to his question.

He grinned, "Good."

Suddenly he had another ceramic dish iand drew an even more intricate design on her torso. She felt whatever it contained drip in swooping lines that not only covered her stomach, but also swirled around and over her chest. It was only when the warmed liquid struck her slightly perked n*****s and the scent registered in her brain that she identified his second food t*****e.

"Melted chocolate? Really, Ollie?" It was such an utter cliché that her thoughts were startled out of her. Surely her big brother was more creative then melted chocolate! The slightly louder clink sound as he set the bowl back on the tray was her first warning of danger. I knew I should have just kept my mouth shut. He reached up and tilted her chin, forcing her to meet his eyes, despite her best efforts to feign ignorance.

"We will be discussing that later." He held a single finger up in her eye-line.

Is he counting off my offenses now? Three strikes and what? Immediately her mind jumped to the worst case scenario; him giving up on them… on her. When, she wondered as her heart squeezed in her chest, had that become the worst possibility? We've only just barely started this…thing. Why does it hurt to think of him wanting out?It shouldn't. I should be able to be glib. But I can't be nonchalant about this because he's him. He's Ollie. He'd always held an importance in her life that she'd never thought to question. If he leaves…if he thinks I'm not worth his time…The thoughts were sending her mind into a tailspin.

"Hey." He grabbed her chin ever so slightly tighter, forcing her to focus on him and not her spiraling thoughts. Once her gaze focused in on his face again, in a soft voice he asked, "Where'd you go there, Speedy?"

She had to swallow around a lump in her throat before answering. "Nowhere."

"Liar."

"It's nothing, Ollie, I promise."

He looked at her, scrutinizing her face for something; a sign that she wasn't as okay as she claimed, perhaps? She was careful to keep her face neutral and eventually he accepted her words as the truth. He released her chin and his hand stroked her cheek softly, "I'm going to finish my breakfast now."

It wasn't a question, but Thea answered him anyway. "Of course." It took everything in her not to layer the response in sarcastic wit, but clearly it would not be appreciated.

He plucked another piece of fruit from the tray on the nightstand, an oddly bright strawberry, and ran it through a straight, vertical, chocolate line on her left hip. The feeling of the fruit's seeds scraping her skin tickled as he dragged it from her top rib to the jut of her hip. Instinctively as giggles bubbled out of her mouth she twitched on the bed.

For a moment, Miguel smiled at her, every inch of his expression the older brother who offered to beat up every person who looked at her in an unpleasant way when she was a child. Her heart skipped a bit to see him so carefree. "Ticklish, Thea?" He need not ask; he was already aware that she was, he'd known it for many years.

She made a face in response and Miguel chuckled; the sound made her want to squirm even more then the scrape of the fruit. The strawberry moved across her skin, making divots in the chocolate sauce. After a few more seconds of it, Miguel finally lifted the berry up and instead of putting it to his lips like she expected, he held it up for her. She opened her mouth a little and he placed the berry's tip between her teeth,

"Bite."

She couldn't resist following the order. The strawberry's sharp flavor mixed with the richness of the chocolate and something else indescribable burst across her tongue. A small moan escaped her as he pulled the fruit away. "Good?"

"Mm..."

"Good."

He took the top half of the strawberry and ran it through the remaining undisturbed path of chocolate on her other hip. It left a trail of sticky red juice through the hardening line, but Thea didn't care. All that mattered to her was the intensity in his eyes and the slightly warm slide of the strawberry.

Once the remaining half was chocolate-coated, he bit off the top and set the greenery in one of the empty bowls on the tray. His tongue licked away whatever stickiness that his breakfast had left behind on her skin. It was a task that he clearly enjoyed if the pleased noises coming from him were anything to go by. She wasn't quite sure when it started, but even she was enjoying acting as his plate. She was fairly certain that said something unpleasant about her; it didn't matter. Three more strawberries were jointly consumed by them before he moved on to his next delight.

It was her fear of getting another point against her that kept Thea from making a comment about the cliché of whipped cream as he picked up and shook the shiny can. He paused briefly, perhaps in anticipation of the comment to which she refused to give voice, before he covered her breasts with the topping.

"Last night," Only two words in and Thea knew where he was heading with that start. He dragged his fingers through the thick dairy substance in a large circle around the very outsides of her breasts. "You tried to keep my attention focused elsewhere. Why?"

Does he drag all of his...conquests through their insecurities like this? The thought was only in her mind for a moment, but it couldn't be banished quick enough to escape the consequences of her musing. Thoughts of Miguel with women had always made Thea uncomfortable. When she was younger, it had been attributed to fear that he would be taken away from her. As she'd gotten older, she had written it off as a little sister being grossed out by the thought of her brother and romanticism. Now, there was a bitter layer atop what had always existed, it was jealousy.

She forced herself to put aside those feelings for another time. He'd asked her a question and his tone allowed for no answer except the truth. She huffed, "Because I was there, Ollie. I was young, not stupid; the women you like share several common factors, but one of the most noticeable was their...attributes." She attempted a gesture to clarify her response, but the clink of metal stopped her. Right. Handcuffed. "I'm just not so gifted. Hell, I'm basically one roll of bandage wrap and a short haircut away from being able to reenact She's the Man."

His blue eyes turned away from her whipped cream-covered chest then to scrutinize her face. Drips of the heavy cream slid off of his fingers, splattering the skin on her stomach, but neither of them paid any attention to it. When he finally did speak, he was fondly exasperated. "You look nothing like a man, Thea. Your breasts, and every other centimeter of you, are perfect." He kissed her lips again, a balance between pure heat and complete love. "Those others...they may have looked more beautiful to you, but they weren't. Besides none of them had what I need most."

"What's that?"

He reached up with his clean hand and pushed back some wayward pieces of her sleep tousled hair. "You."

It was such a sappy sentiment. If a guy in a romantic comedy had said such a thing, Thea would have left the theatre in disgust. Hell, if anyone else had said that to her, she'd probably be breaking things between them off about now. Miguel wasn't just anybody; it was obvious his words were genuine and her heart swelled with happiness and hope despite her cynical ideologies. It certainly wasn't the first time that her viewpoint on the world would change because of her brother. It would not be the last time either.

Nothing more was said between them as he began the apparently arduous task of l*****g the melting whipped cream from the top of her right breast. His tongue was oddly warm as it swept over her pale flesh in long arching strokes. If she didn't know better, she might have believed he was trying to paint a rainbow using only his tongue. With the very top of her breast now devoid of the dessert topping, his attention turned to the underside. The same actions were repeated like a mirror image. By the time he lifted his head to meet her eyes once more, her breathing was extremely labored and her body buzzed pleasantly.

To her surprise, instead of l*****g the dessert topping off of her n****e, Miguel moved and quickly straddled her hips. His calves were on the outside of her thighs and his hands came to rest on each side of her neck. His head bowed again and he repeated the l*****g motions of before with her left breast, leaving only her n*****s hidden from sight.

"Your skin's f*****g delicious," He whispered locking gazes with her for just a moment before his head dropped again. This time he licked away the whipped cream with feather light brushes of his tongue that gave her goosebumps all over. The circular licks left the hardening peak completely unattended. It was maddening.

"Ollie," His name was a groan as it left her lips. She felt, more than saw, his responding smile as his lips closed around her n****e. He started her off gently, running his devilish tongue over the whole thing, before he rolled the peak between his teeth. It wasn't painful, but still the sensation sent a spike of l**t through her body. Then he started to suck and an actual cry of shocked delight escaped her.

The sound encouraged Miguel; he enclosed his teeth again and pulled a little. While his mouth was busy erasing every trace of insecurity from her mind, his hands were busy moving every line and dip of her upper body. Her entire form bowed off the bed causing the metallic links of the cuffs to clink. He released the glistening pink peak after a few seconds and climbed off of her, to kneel beside the bed again. He repeated the same process on her right n****e and suddenly Thea understood the handcuffs. They were to keep her from trying to control this interaction. Control freak, Thea thought, as he lifted his head from her chest; his hands moved to resume the task of paying attention to her unimpressive breasts while he mouthed at her ear gently.

"So responsive, little sister," his breath was warm as it ghosted over the shell of her ear. The noise she made in response was inhuman. "I wonder what would happen if I..." he trailed off as his right hand slipped below her waist. His hand was splayed across her s*x for a moment and two of his fingers, one on each lip, started to slide up and down the length. There was no rush to his movements; slow and methodical, delibrate. If he'd not already worked her up so much, Thea would be more inclined to appreciate the thoroughness of his actions. As it was, she couldn't resist bucking up into the touch, desperate for more than teasing.

"No, Speedy," his left arm pushed down on hips until they met the mattress again. He didn't move his hand. "I set the pace. I set the rules." He paused, all movement stilling as his blue eyes locked on her green ones. "Do you understand?"

"Yes."

"What's your color right now?"

"Green."

With her consent reestablished, Miguel returned his attention to simultaneously worshipping her breasts and running his fingers over her swollen entrance. They slid over her slowly before slipping further inside. His left arm held her hips firmly down. "So wet." His mouth moved from her breast to her lips. The kisses they exchanged were soft and unhurried; a direct contradiction to the increased speed of his fingers as she grew closer and closer to the promised zenith of pleasure.

So, of course, that's when he tore his fingers away from her aching center. Protests died in her brain when he raised his coated fingers to his lips and made a show of l*****g them clean. The image of him made her whole body buzz; there was no thinking anymore. Just sensations; lots of marvelous sensations. It was new, but so utterly welcome. It was nice not having to wonder, worry or plan. She was okay because she knew that she could trust Miguel to handle everything. She was safe with him.

When he moved to join her on the bed and his mouth drew temptingly near her own, Thea didn't hesitate. She needed to taste. There was just a hint of some foreign flavor in his mouth, but her tongue chased it away in just a few seconds. When he separated their mouths once again, delight fluttered in her stomach as she noted how breathless she'd made him. It was a small thing, yet she felt oddly powerful seeing the effect of her kiss.

"I don't think I can wait until we get home to really play with you, little sister." His hands ran down both sides of her body from wrists to knees. One at a time, he pushed at the joints in each knee with a gentle firmness, that she was coming to associate with him, until her legs were spread wide. Her heart rate spiked immediately.

He slid down the bed until he was comfortably positioned in the space provided by her spread legs. "Maybe a little playtime could be worked into our vacation..."

"Playtime?" Hadn't we been 'playing' since last night?Is that not just a code word for s*x?

He nodded absentmindedly; probably already shifting things around in his mind for this future time. After a moment his attention returned to the situation quite literally at hand. His slightly roughened palms were smoothing up and down the insides of her thighs. The actions made her feel like a slow-to-light glow-stick inside. It was mere instinct that kept her from squirming. All this teasing was driving her mad; the skills to handle it were not within her possession.

No answers to her question were forthcoming; he was far too invested in driving her to the brink of insanity using just his mouth. He started with long sweeps of his talented tongue over the entirety of her s*x. Back and forth. Back and forth as though she were ice cream in a cone that he was determined not to lose a drop of. Then he kissed her clit, just a soft brush of his lips, and a strangled noise escaped her as her body bowed under such a gentle touch. There was no comment from him, which would have worried her were she still thinking beyond the moment. Beyond the pleasure.

Instead, he wrapped his lips around the small nub and sucked. Soundless gasps left her mouth over and over as he continued paying attention to the nerve bundle. By the time, his tongue probed her depths, Thea was already verging on the edge of o****m. The feeling of his tongue inside her sent her headfirst into bliss.

Miguel was crawling up her body when her eyes focused in again. His mouth and chin were glistening with evidence of her release; it was such an erotic sight that an unconscious moan escaped her. She strained upward as he settled in above her.

"What's wrong, little sister?" His grin spoke to the fact that he knew exactly what she sought, but he was enjoying teasing her. The jerk.

"Uncuff me...please."

He pretended to consider her request for a moment. "Only because you said please."

He leaned to the left and plucked a small key off the tray. How much stuff is on that thing? It took a few seconds for the telltale click of the lock releasing, but as soon as it did, she pulled him down into a filthy kiss. When oxygen became a dire issue, she switched her attention to cleaning his face with her tongue. Now it was his turn to groan.

"Stop."

Thea ignored the single word. He had to be joking; she just got free reign of her hands. She wanted so badly to touch. Her hands skimmed down his arms before running over his chest. She could swear that there was a tremble under her eager palms, but Miguel wasn't willing to indulge her whims.

He grabbed her wrists firmly and pulled her hands away. "Stop, Thea." It was an unwavering order.

She pouted, "But don't you need-?"

"No."

"But-" The front of his blue boxers was obviously tented. He couldn't honestly be denying his need, could he?

He sighed and dropped her hands, "you need to eat your breakfast."

"Can I go to the bathroom first?"

He looked embarrassed by the oversight and quickly climbed off the bed to let her up. "Of course." He gestured to the adjoining bathroom as though she didn't know where it was. She shook her head in good spirits and made her way to the ajar door. He was watching her walk away in all her glory and there were no worries about what he saw or thought; there was only a peaceful hum in her mind. It was marvelous.

Once she finished with her morning routine, Thea found herself looking in the mirror. Her hair was all wild, s*x mused, after the morning's activities. Her makeup was almost completely gone, but what little did remain, was faded and smudged. She could even see faint chocolate smears on what little of her collarbone was reflected in the glass. I look like a...woman well f****d. The thought made Thea blush furiously. She cupped her hands under the faucet and splashed her face until the traces of makeup were gone.

"That warming tray will only keep your food warm so long."

Thea nearly jumped out of her skin as Miguel appeared behind her in the mirror. Taking the not-so-subtle hint for what it was, the youngest Queen padded back into the borrowed bedroom on bare feet. She was quick to wrap the sheet around her n***d body and removed the top off the warming tray. Her fork was settled between the empty bowls which had contained the chocolate and honey; it clinked against the ceramic containers as she picked it up. It wasn't until she started eating that Thea realized how hungry she actually was. She was so invested in devouring the slightly warm scrambled eggs and bacon, which had not been under the top, but was still crunchy and delicious, that she didn't notice Miguel failed to follow her out of the bathroom until half of her eggs were gone.

"Do you want some of my breakfast, Ollie?" She called, feeling guilty that she failed to notice his absence. "You didn't eat much." By her recollection he had a few melon balls, and half of some strawberries. That was no breakfast.

As if summoned by her voice, her brother finally exited the bathroom. He snagged a bacon strip from the remaining stack on her plate. "I ate plenty." The wink that followed the statement inspired her new memories to come back. His tongue, his fantastic tongue, doing things to her that she'd only ever heard about.

For a few minutes the siblings fell into a companionable silence. Thea ate her breakfast and tried to force her thoughts to stay innocent. Miguel, on the other hand, began pulling out clothes, first for himself and then for her. She was preparing to argue with him as he rooted through her clothing, but then she remembered the rule: he gets veto power. His selecting her outfit just saved them several unnecessary debates. She just ate and watched as he pursued the options that she'd packed. It wasn't as if she was hiding anything that he couldn't know about.

"You weren't kidding when you said you didn't pack any underwear."

The fork froze halfway to her mouth, "why would I joke about that?"

"I don't know why you do half of the things you do, Speedy." He tossed one of his sweatshirts onto her pile of clothes. He explained before she even had a chance to think of a way to inquire, "It's too cold out there for you not to be bundled up."

"We're going outside?" Thea was surprised by the declaration; there was so much to do inside that it hadn't even occurred to her that they would leave their rented residence.

He chuckled, "Yes, Thea. I know spending time outside is repulsive to your generation," She threw a pillow at him in revenge. He made it sound like their age gap was so vast; he wasn't that much older than her. "but we're going outside today. Now, finish your breakfast and go get cleaned up."

Thea shoved another forkful of lukewarm eggs into her mouth to keep from saying something that she might regret. Her research had made it quite clear that orders were par the course, but she hadn't quite gotten used to taking them in stride just yet. A few bites of eggs and two bacon strips later and she was leaving the warmth of the bed for the coolness of the bathroom.

Inside the smaller adjoining room, the bathtub was filled with warm water, bubbles pushing at the large tub's edges, a cup of coffee steaming on the ledge. Where did that come from? She smiled at the sight of the prepared pampering. The bubbled water rose to accommodate her legs as she stepped in; it was still delightfully hot. She groaned and submerged her body into the porcelain tub. "Coffee and a bubble-bath," Thea called, picking up the mug, taking a sip with eyes closed in delight, "you're a godsend, Ollie."

"Those cannot be the only reasons."

"Don't go getting cocky on me now." The joke had them both laughing as he sat down on the floor beside the tub; his back was to the opposite side that hers was and their shared k****e sat on his lap. "So there's something we need to discuss…"

Her heart skipped a beat. He might have used different words, but the sentiment was the same: we need to talk. I already ruined this. She nodded softly, eyes dropping to the coffee cup in her hands. The bright red handle stood out harshly against her skin. You can be mature about this. Just smile softly and agree. "Okay."

He tapped on the k****e a couple times and then met her gaze. "We really should have done this before our… breakfast this morning, but," He shot her a wicked grin, "you looked so tempting, I couldn't resist."

"What?" She shook her head, "Ollie, what are you talking about?"

"Hard and soft limits, Thea." He held up the k****e so she could see the labelled word document on the screen.

"Oh," a relieved breath escaped her. He's not calling it quits. "Okay, I can do that. Though I might not know the proper words…"

Together the next fifteen minutes were spent discussing limits while the cooling water washed away the vestiges of Miguel's breakfast. The list of kinks he read off, which he claimed was acquired from the vast depths of the internet though she wasn't entirely sure that she believed that, was astoundingly lengthy and each one that she vetoed made her feel more and more like a prude. She'd always believed she was open-minded and adventurous, but with each hard limit that she set, she began to doubt whether or not that was true.

Luckily, she and Miguel seemed to be on the same page about most of the kinks. It made her feel less like a prude to know that he too wasn't interested in some of the items on the list. Other people, animals, r**e play, or scarring were just a few of their shared items within the 'hard limits' column. The one or two points on which their opinions did differ were placed into an additional 'maybe' column for them to discuss at some future point when they were more settled into their new dynamic.

Thea stepped out of the bath and Miguel wrapped a plush white towel from a nearby stand around her mid-section. He wrapped his arms around her waist as he kissed her shoulder softly. "You still doing okay?"

She smiled and turned into his arms so he could read the truth in her eyes. "How could I not be? Every step of this has been so thorough, so planned-"

He snorted, "Speedy, none of this was ever planned."

"What?" He'd had rules set out, explained everything she asked of him, and he'd just made sure they'd discussed limits. How can he say nothing was planned? I've had classes with less structure than this.

The look on his face was one of immediate regret, but she wasn't about to let him off of the hook. He'd said it, he would have to explain himself. "I spent five long years without any control over my own life, that's the first thing you've got to understand. Everything after the Gambit just… happened to me. No matter what I tried to do to change things, everything always went wrong. When that freighter picked me up, I decided, among many other things, I was going to regain control."

He sighed and the sound of it was so genuinely downtrodden that Thea couldn't help but wrap her arms around him and hug him tight. She didn't know what he'd gone through and, no matter how much he may tell her in the future, she knew she'd never get the entire story, but she did know that it was something unimaginable. Of course he'd felt the need to control everything when he'd been so long deprived of it.

"My plan had been to come home, get settled as best I could, have my playroom constructed, furnished, and then begin the search for my perfect submissive. But then there was you and everything I planned was out the window."

"I didn't do anything." Thea objected against his collarbone. He'd begun his search way before she'd confronted him.

Miguel pressed a kiss into the top of her head before breaking their hug and taking her hand to lead her back into the bedroom. "Oh, but you did." She sat down on the unmade bed while he went over to the dresser and retrieved her hairbrush, putting the k****e down in its spot as he did so. He climbed onto the bed behind her and started brushing her hair without hesitation. "To you it was nothing beyond what it should have been, I'm sure, but for me, it was like...being struck by lightning. Heart-stopping, terrifying and yet oddly invigorating."

"What was, Ollie? I need some details here."

The brush snagged on some knotted strands near the ends of her hair, but instead of yanking, as she expected he might, Miguel worked the knot through with minimal pain. "Seeing you again for the first time."

"Oh." She'd not yet given much thought to how Miguel ended up in this deeper relationship; she'd been so concerned with her side of this. She was suddenly desperately eager to know his point of view.

"Don't get me wrong, Thea. My first reaction to seeing you was as it should have been. You were at the top of the stairs and I thought of how much you'd grown, but you were still my Speedy at heart. I could see it in the way that you ran down the stairs with that smile." He brushed her hair over her left shoulder softly, "It eased my worries to see you so. You were different in appearance, but you were still my sister. You were the one person I didn't have to worry about having lost in the last five years; we would always be Miguel and Thea."

"But?" Thea prompted softly, shivering as his fingers parted her hair in two halves. He ran the brush from the top of her head on the left side down to the ends of her hair.

"But then you wrapped your arms around me and held on so tight, whispering only for me. The only thing I could think with you so close was…mine. The feeling, the certainty of it, was so strong; I was terrified."

"Terrified?" It was so relaxing having someone else touch her hair that her brain went a bit fuzzy around the edges. She couldn't put together a better question then that. I could get used to this.

He made a vague noise of agreement, "I was aware that I was a dominant, have been aware of that for a few years now, but I'd never felt those instincts as strongly before. In the moment all I could think of was whisking you away and making you mine. I panicked."

"That's why you were distant. That's why you pulled away." It was a relief to finally have a reason for Miguel's strange behavior in the beginning.

"I needed to move up my timetable then, find a submissive immediately for fear that if I didn't you'd figure me out. I was so scared that I rushed trying to find someone to fill that role. Each moment I didn't I came one moment closer to following my instincts right to you. I knew if you found out you wouldn't be able to see me as anything other than a depraved monster. Disgust shining in your eyes was something I couldn't bear."

Thea couldn't resist turning around quickly to look at him. "I would never ever think you were a depraved monster. Not ever." She leaned forward a little and gave him a chaste kiss on the lips, "You're my hero, Ollie, and you always will be, okay?" As she watched, his shoulders sagged slightly with relief. He's been worrying about this for so long. If only he'd shared his concern with her sooner, his mind could have been eased earlier. They both stayed silent for a moment, just looking at each other.

He put his hand on her shoulder and turned her back around. "You were so tempting, but I was doing the best I could to resist you. Then you just came and called me out on my secret like it was no big deal. You really know how to surprise a guy, Thea."

She laughed, "A girl's gotta have some talent."

"When I asked you to meet me at the club, I honestly had no plans what so ever." He ran her brush through her hair again over and over as he talked, "I put those rules I gave you into words because I thought if I wrote them down I could stop thinking about them. I was never going to give them to you, it was just an exercise to free my mind. As soon as I found my submissive, the file would be deleted and replaced with one for that woman. But yet again, I was surprised by you; being so open-minded, kissing me back, being willing to try. It was more then I'd dared hope for, more than I had planned for."

He placed her brush down beside the tray still on the nightstand. "All done. Let's get dressed and outside before the sun gets too high in the sky."

All the new information that he'd just given her had her brain running a mile a minute. It was a great deal of information to get in such a short conversation. He'd been as conflicted as me. Even in retrospect, it was nice to know that she hadn't been alone in that regard. She got dressed on autopilot in the outfit that he picked out. By the time they were both back on the first floor, sweaters and long pants topped with coats, Thea was actually curious about what awaited them outside that he was so eager for. What could it be?