Sorry she went through it.
Sorry she had to then pick up the pieces all alone.
Sorry she rebuilt her life, only to have mine and Skyler’s twisted proclivities drag the past back up.
She offers a small nod, but doesn’t say anything.
“And now he’s talking about you to the press?” I don’t want her to keep having to talk about it, but the more attention on her, the harder it’s going to be for us to make it all go away.
Leaning over me, she grabs her computer, typing in the password to make the screen light up with the headline.
MYSTERY WOMAN IDENTIFIED. BÁS DORCHA’S LADYLAWYER, A PRETTY PICTURE OR A DEVIANT IN SUIT PANTS?
This fucking dick.
Further down, there’s Brigit’s name and a short history of her education and employment, ending with her latest workplace and their refusal to share a comment. Small mercies, I guess.
The quote from Ian is typical asshole speak. A whole paragraph detailing himself and how he knew her, and a few short sentences about her trying to drown the company because she took his professional guidance as something else entirely.
I still think I should kill him.
But Brigit doesn’t need to know that.
And my bigger concern currently is that Skyler knew everything and chose to be a colossal asshole about it.
“I’m gonna deal with this, Brig, okay?” I assure her, taking the computer with me. “Just… just go eat. There’s take out in the kitchen. I’ll be right there.”
She offers me a shaky smile and a nod.
While part of me relishes how quickly and happily she takes orders from me, it weighs heavily on me. This faith that she’s placed in me is scary. I’ve silently begged her to let me carry her guilt, to help her with the things in her life she doesn’t trust anyone with.
But the reality of it is terrifying. All I want is to be worthy of her, to be someone in her life that makes the rest of it easier to face. And that’s a lot of responsibility. She’s trusting me with this, and I refuse to be another person who lets her down, even if it means stepping into frightening new territory.
“Hey,” I say quietly, my palm wrapped gently around her neck, bringing her face to mine.
When my lips land on hers, the tender press fills my chest with warmth, bleeding an unfamiliar, uncomfortable fullness into me. If nothing else existed in this world but Brigit and me, I know I’d still be content.
Her arms drape around my shoulders, bringing her body againstmine between my legs. It feels uncharacteristic of me, but I make no moves to deepen the kiss. As much as I always want to feel her as close to me as possible, and as tempting as it is to distract her with spine-arching orgasms, she needs me to be something else right now.
She needs a steady place to hang her problems, and I need to be that for her.
She releases a soothed sigh, and I feel the sentiment echo through my fucking soul.
Pulling her lips from mine, she whispers, “Thank you.”
I nod, rubbing my thumb against her jaw before letting her go completely, watching her disappear to find some kind of distraction while I deal with the problems she can’t on her own.
Skyler picks up on the second ring, “I’m already on it.”
“I figured,” I tell him. “That’s not why I’m calling.”
He takes a beat before responding, “Are you calling to yell at me, Fomori?”
It takes all the fucking relief out of it if he knows before I even have a chance to do so.
My teeth grind together, “Why did you have to be such a fucking dick about it?”
A sardonic laugh spills through the phone, “Because you wanted to be a fucking hero, Cormac. Now you can be.”
