Body and Soul (Vanguard Towers #3) - Aiden Bates Page 0,26
me in place.
“Uh, no. It’s me who should be apologizing, Brax.” My name sounded bassy and smooth in his mouth. “I know better than to take advantage of you when you’re in a vulnerable state. I’m a better Dom than that.”
My breath caught.
I second-guessed what I’d heard. He didn’t say he was a Dom, right?
“Listen, I have to tell you something.” He lowered our hands and guided me over to the couch while I tried to convince myself I’d heard him wrong. If he was a Dom, it was too good to be true. I’d been looking for a real Dom my whole life, a man who’d take care of me and who I could take care of in return. Clear boundaries. Clear expectations. Caring, strong, dominant…
“Hunter knows what happened with Ian.”
The words snapped me out of my daydream, and I sat stiffly on the couch beside Ry, almost getting the hiccups from how shocked I was.
“Wait, what? How?” I sat up straight, panicked.
“It’s my fault. At work he… Well, he found out. But you should call him. He’s just worried, and I’m sure your other brothers are too.”
“Shit.”
I groaned into my hands and looked at him, worried. I didn’t want to be back in the real world just yet. I didn’t want to be thinking about what Ian had done to me.
Ry pushed a strand of my hair back behind my ear and looked at me with deep compassion. “I’m going to make you dinner. You should call Hunter. Get everyone together at the Tower and I’ll come with you to tell them what happened.”
I took a deep breath and a steady calm came over me. Yeah, he was right. And he was clear about it, too. There was no wishy-washy back and forth like there was in my head. I knew in every part of my being it’d all be okay if he was there beside me when I spoke to everyone. I could handle it.
But I was surprised he wanted to feed me. Such hospitality. Then again, if he really was a Dom, it made sense he’d want to nurture me…
Shit, I couldn’t go there. It was overwhelming how right he was for me. I’d told myself I’d been projecting my idea of an ideal man onto him, but here he was, up close and personal in his own home, and everything about him was still…perfect.
“Okay. Good plan.” I cleared my throat, and bravely reached for my phone.
The proud grin he gave me made my chest swell. I didn’t want to go home. I wanted to stay right there in Ry’s house. In his proud gaze.
But he had given me clear directions, and it actually felt kind of good to follow them as he got up and started cooking dinner. With shaky hands, I dialed my brother’s number. If I had to go back to the reality of my life, then so be it.
I just hoped I’d be able to come back here sometime, too.
10
Ryland
Brax was half hidden behind me as I stood with my arms crossed just inside Derek’s apartment. Sebastian and Wyatt, the latest additions to the Vanguard Tower, were off to the side, silent, and Owen, Eli and Sean were away working. But Derek, Richie, Matt, and Hunter more than made up for it by all talking at once.
“I’m going to take Ian’s scalp with my bare hands.” Matt popped his knuckles.
Derek held a hand over his mouth, as though he were horrified at Brax’s face. “Scalpel. To. His. Fucking. Jugular.”
“House fire. Give me the address, I’ll make it fucking happen tonight, I know plenty of guys who’d like to light up a party.” Richie clapped his big hands together like he’d won the game. “We can either block the exits on Ian or frame him for arson. Either, or. Brax’s choice.”
“Obviously we’re going to put him in jail for the rest of his life,” Hunter drawled like it was annoying to even have to spell it out.
Brax hadn’t even explained what had happened yet. We’d just walked into Derek’s place, his brothers had taken one look at his face, and everyone had immediately jumped to the conclusion Ian should get the worst punishment they could imagine. It made me kind of happy to know Brax really did have such passionate people on his team, but it was clear they weren’t helping him find his own strength. Let alone giving him space to find his voice.