Then she added, “Besides, I already know what it’s like to be with women. I’m bisexual, Daniel, I’ve dated and had sex with women before. With you as the exception, I’m usually attracted to people’s minds before their bodies. So don’t go thinking you ruined penis for me!”
She felt the truck swerve and gripped the doorframe, hoping he didn’t hit anything. Perhaps she shouldn’t have imparted that little piece of information until they were safely parked. She smirked to herself. It wasn’t often a person got to surprise Daniel. Apparently he didn't know everything there was to know about her.
When they arrived in the parking garage, he hung up the keys and turned to her. “Your place or mine?”
“You’re giving me a choice?” she asked in surprise.
“Need to talk,” he said, taking her by the hand and leading her toward the elevators.
“Just talk?” she asked warily. “I want to go to my place then, if I have a choice.”
They went down to her apartment where he opened her door and ushered her inside. He poured her a glass of wine while she sat on the chair in the living room. She purposely didn't choose the couch so she wouldn’t have to sit with him. She needed all of her senses and he had a tendency to overwhelm her. She accepted the glass of wine gratefully while he sat opposite her.
“I want to be with you, Addison,” he said.
“No,” she said instantly taking a healthy sip of wine to steady her nerves and brace herself against what she knew would be his potent brand of persuasion. He didn’t so much as make a move toward her though.
“More than sex this time. I want to be with you. I can try to figure out this boyfriend thing,” he said gruffly.
Addison choked on the wine, spitting it back into the glass. Her jaw dropped. Neither said anything while she processed. Then, she finally said, “I don’t think you can be a boyfriend.”
“Probably not,” he agreed. “I’m too fucking old for this, but we’re going to try anyway.”
She sighed in annoyance. “I don’t get a choice, do I?”
“No,” he agreed. “But I’m going to make it easier.”
“How?” she demanded.
“Ask me your questions, Addison. I’ll answer what I can, best I can.”
Once more she was speechless. And cautiously optimistic. Daniel was actually willing to try this time. And he seemed to want more than sex. If it was just sex he wanted, he could easily take it. Hell, she was easy when it came to him. No matter how badly he treated her, she always capitulated.
“Right now?” she asked.
“Now is all you get,” he said quietly. “After this, no talk about my past, ever. Stays buried.”
She nodded. It wasn’t a healthy attitude, but she knew better than to argue. At least for now. If he was willing to allow her this much, perhaps in the future he would let her push a little more to help him heal. She took another steadying sip of wine and brought her leg up to curl against the side of the chair.
She launched right in. “Sometimes you speak with an accent, especially when you’re upset.”
“Yes,” he confirmed.
“What is it, what language?” she asked, quietly, barely daring to ask. “Where are you from, Daniel?”
He hesitated and then spoke, his voice steady with barely any inflection. “Portuguese. I was born in Brazil. Lived there until I was about seventeen.”Her mouth opened, but she didn’t speak for a moment. She’d known he was from somewhere else, yet the information about his birthplace was somehow precious to her. She held it close to her heart, even though he clearly hated thinking about the place where he was from.
“And before you ask, I don’t know how old I am. Probably thirty-nine or forty,” he said gruffly.
“Oh, Daniel,” she said sadly, her heart hurting for the little boy that didn’t have a birthday.
“Don’t,” he warned her shortly.
She nodded and quickly cast her mind on to something else. She wondered what he looked like. Oddly she hadn’t really asked anyone before. She’d touched him of course, and been told by others that he was handsome in a chilling manner, but she didn’t know superficially what he looked like.
“Is… is your skin darker than mine?” she asked curiously.
He chuckled, clearly not expecting her line of questioning to take a physical turn. “Yes, several shades darker than yours. Your skin’s very pale and mine looks darkly tanned.”
