“Do you know how much the sessions are going to be?”
“The photographer said it’ll depend on how long the shoot is. He’s trying to do a few packages at a couple price points. I don’t think James will balk at it, though.”
“Okay.” I took a long sip from my cup. “So you don’t think James will say he’s disgusted or repulsed by me?”
“Not on your life, Bran.”
I appreciated the fact that Andrew said that with a straight face. He understood that I tended to get nervous and second guess things. I never used to be like that and had been trying to overcome it.
An erotic photo shoot would be fun and could give me the confidence to maybe get back into modeling. What James would think was yet to be seen, though.
3
JAMES
I was just gettingout of the shower and was drying off after a long day at the hospital, when I saw my cell phone light up on the bathroom counter. I used to hate feeling like I always needed the phone near me. That was one of the perks of taking the job of hospital administrator, as it got me off being on call all the time. However, now I had someone. And when Brandon was out or wasn’t with me, I was very much on call with that phone in my hand.
I took a few steps closer to the phone to see who the incoming text was from. When I saw that it was Andrew and not Brandon, I relaxed and finished drying off. I got dressed and then checked the message.
Bran’s on his way home. He had a rough day.
I frownedwhen I read the text. Brandon had been doing well. Really well, in fact. It had been a few weeks since he’d had a nightmare. Brandon had calmed considerably since he landed in my hospital, but he had a very short fuse for patience. And once he detonated, he tended to cut himself. He hadn’t cut himself in a long time, and I wanted to keep it that way.
One step forward, two steps back. Thank you for the heads-up. I’ll talk with him.
I knew you would.
I deletedthe few texts and slipped my phone into the pocket of my pants before walking through our bedroom, through the great room, and to the kitchen. After I grabbed a bottle of water, I went back to my den, which was the room where I could see the street in the front. I sat by the window and sipped on the water while I waited for Brandon.
Finally, I saw his black BMW pull into the driveway and then the garage. Now that he was home, my stomach relaxed. I stood and walked into the great room when he came in and headed toward the kitchen.
“Hey,” he said when he saw me. He didn’t stop walking and went to the sink and washed his hands.
Even if Andrew hadn’t sent me the warning text, I would have known my pup was off. He didn’t have a full-blown scowl on his face, but his eyebrows were slightly narrowed, and his shoulders were a tad higher than when he was relaxed. But if those hadn’t been dead giveaways, his posture would have been the next clue. His head was tilted down, and that was a tell-tale sign that Brandon’s mind was occupied.
“How was the coffee shop?”
As I walked to him, he shut the faucet off and pulled some paper towels off the holder. He pulled them at an angle that knocked the whole roll off.
“Dammit,” he swore. He sighed loudly in frustration as the paper towels rolled onto the floor. His fuse was lit.
He picked up the roll from the floor, and I noticed his forehead was creased. He started to roll the paper towels up, but I stopped him. I wasn’t going to let this build and build until everything compounded. I wrapped an arm over his shoulder and rested it on his chest, pulling him backward to lean against me. I took the roll of paper towels out of his hand, set it on the counter, and wrapped my other arm across his abdomen. I kissed his ear and squeezed him in my arms.
“Relax, pup.”
“I’m sorry,” he muttered. Brandon’s chest rose and fell rapidly as he tried to calm himself down.
When I heard the apology tumble from his lips, I closed my eyes.Definitely two steps back. As Brandon reacclimated to society outside of the sex ring and captivity with Sebastian, apologizing for anything and everything had become a coping mechanism for him. One that I’d worked with him on since day one.
“What are you apologizing for?” I asked calmly. I moved my hands up and down his torso to remind him whose arms he was safely in, and so I could slyly get my hand over his chest to see how hard his heart was pounding.
“Just a bad day,” he said.
“Everyone has bad days, Brandon. Having one doesn’t mean you need to apologize.” I pressed my lips against his ear and kissed it softly. “Please try to relax, pup.”
Brandon nodded and took a few deep breaths.Good, pup.
He was trying, and that was all I’d ever asked of him. Talking about whatever it was that was on his mind would eventually come tonight, but step one with Brandon had always been to get him to calm down and focus on relaxing. Even if Brandon had never fallen into the hands of Sebastian, it would have always been difficult to get him to release the tension and relax. With the way I’d gathered that he was “cared for” while in the womb, he was destined to be a busy body who would always feel anxious.
