Curtains (3 page)

At midnight, I sent him a text then passed out during my second viewing of
A Christmas Story
.

I sat on the couch at my parent
s
'
house on Christmas morning as my son screame
d
"
Vi tet Da DAAA! Vi tet
!
"
in delight at the TV. My sister Heidi heard him and came rushing in to see him wiggling back and forth as he watched the Christmas parade. The host did look a little similar to Violet, with long blonde hair and green eyes. My heart became heavier as his excitement grew with the thought it was her on screen hosting. She had invaded my every thought since the day I met her, and now she had my so
n
'
s attention.

"
ViTETTT
!
"
He shook animatedly to the music as the dancers surrounding the Snoopy float dazzled the spectators.

"
Vi tet
t
..
.
Violet
.
"
Heidi smiled as she caught on, averting her gaze from Bryce to me with a smug smile
.
"
I knew it, brother. You are a true ass for keeping this from me, you know that
?
"

"
Shut it, little H. I mean it
,
"
I said sternly. She waddled over to me, her belly completely full and near bursting and took a seat on the footrest in front of me, forcing my attention to her.

"
Is this the one that will finally tame you, dear brother
?
"
she asked, all smiles as she giggled at Bryce who was dancing his tail off, imitating the dancers as best as he could.

"
Heidi, drop it
,
"
I snapped, unable to hide the grit in my voice.

"
Not this time. As a matter of fact,
I
'
ll bring it to the table if you do
n
'
t spill it
.
"
She nodded toward the kitchen where the rest of the family was gathered, prepping the da
y
'
s feast.

"
Okay, dear brother, so you introduced a woman to your son? Come on, Rhys, she must be important to you. I remember her from the restaurant. She was beautiful and seemed really nice
.
"
My sister refused to move from her spot, her expectation clear as she watched me.

I gripped the edge of the couch as I gave in
.
"
She is important
,
"
was all I could manage.

"
And Bryce, he seems to like her
,
"
she added, watching me carefully.

"
He loves her
,
"
I said quietly.

"
You love her
,
"
Heidi said, reading my expression.

"
Can we please not talk about this here
?
"
I pleaded with her.

"
Oh my GOD, you do love her. Rhys, tha
t
'
s incredible
!
"
My mother leaned back from her kitchen stool to look into the living room at the two of us talking, and I quickly stifled Heid
i
'
s excitement.

"
Shut up right now. And anyway,
I
'
m not so sure i
t
'
s going to work out
,
"
I said, dismissing the whole conversation.

"
Brother, I love you, but this time, I wo
n
'
t shut up
.
"
She looked at Bryce and then to me
.
"
I never thought you were the type to settle down, but watching you with Bryce, I ca
n
'
t see you any other way. Honestly, if you have
finally
found a woman who will put up with your shit, and your son loves her and you love her, I do
n
'
t see what the problem is
.
"

I gave her a warning glare.

"
Mom, guess what
!
"
Heidi said, rubbing her belly as she eyed me with nothing but mischief.

"
What, honey
?
"
my mother answered from the kitchen.

"
Fine
,
"
I gritted out
.
"
What do you want to know
?
"

"
Never mind
,
"
Heidi chimed in reply to my mother, victory in her voice.

I leaned in, ready to strangle her.
"
What, Heidi
?
"

"
I
t
'
s jus
t
..
.
I want to see you happy. Yo
u
'
ve been alone for so long
.
"
She looked down at her stomach then back to me
.
"
If you can find someone, it kind of gives me hope, yaknow
?
"
Once again, my sister had misplaced her affections for the wrong man and found herself alone, but this time with a constant reminder of the failed relationship.

I understood her need to see a different result for me. She was about to be a single parent, a predicament I was all too familiar with.

"
Sh
e
'
s everything
I
'
ve ever wanted
,
"
I admitted
.
"
I hate being without her. Sh
e
'
s smart and so completely beautiful. Sh
e
'
s real and raw and embraces her flaws, when to me she has none. Her vulnerability is refreshing and yet she has no issues calling me out on my shit or putting me in my place. You should see the way she looks at Bryc
e
..
.
Sh
e
'
s not anything like the women before her and she makes me fee
l
..
.
everything
.
"
Heid
i
'
s eyes filled as she nodded. Tha
t
'
s all it took to reduce my very pregnant sister to tears.

I did
n
'
t want to admit to Heidi that I was uncomfortable and felt helpless for the first time in my life when it came to a woman; that my past may have completely screwed up my future. That I had selfishly forced her from being my submissive into a relationship she may not have been ready for, then broken her trust repeatedly because I had
n
'
t trusted her enough with the truth.

"
He does
n
'
t want anything to do with the baby
,
"
she said, her eyes reflecting her sadness
.
"
I do
n
'
t understand that, Rhys
.
"

I put my hands on her full belly and her smile returned
.
"
Yo
u
'
ve got everything you need right here
,
"
I said, rubbing her swollen stomach
.
"
And you will always have me, I promise
.
"

She threw her arms around me and gave me a quick hug. I braved a look at my phone as she went to join the rest of the family in the kitchen.

V: Merry Christma
s
.

"
Take off your panties and hand them to me
.
"
Rhys had been waiting for me in his bedroom, his black bag on the dresser. The bed was covered in things
I
'
d only read about and I quickly looked at him with wide eyes. I did as I was told as Rhys held out his hand, dressed in his unbuttoned, crisp white shirt that revealed his perfectly etched chest, jeans and sexy bare feet. He took my hand and put it through one of the leg holes of my panties, twisting them until they were tight then pulled my other hand through, securing them until they were clasped at the wrist.

Bound with my own panties, oh God, yes!

"
I still have a lot of work to do with you, Violet, so I need you to do as I say. No questions, or you will be punished. Do you understand
?
"