The Sound of Submission Pt. 03

Then Elena was back, bouncing with energy, grabbing his hand and pulling them away without so much as a goodbye to her brother.

She skipped across the parking lot, euphoria from her success clearly taking hold of her. Thad, while refusing to skip, did go quite readily to his car, pressing her against the passenger door and kissing her deeply. He'd wanted so badly to kiss her since his confession, as if to seal his promise.

"What on earth did you say to my brother," Elena laughed, pulling his head down closer to hers for another. "I've never seen him look so confused."

"Not much," he smiled. "Just that I loved you, and we were a couple now."

Elena burst out laughing, tightening her arms around his neck and lifting herself up, wrapping her legs around his waist. Thad stumbled, tipping forward, wedging her between the car and his body.

"Oh, Thaddeus," she smiled brightly. Gone was the little lift of her lips. In its place was a beaming, radiant smile that hurt his heart it was so good to see. He felt sure he would move mountains, just to keep that smile on her face.

"Will you ever stop surprising me?"

"I hope not," he growled, bending for yet another kiss.

***

Hours later, Thad and Elena lay in bed watching a movie, their naked limbs entwined. The room smelled like sex, and his body felt faintly sticky. He'd poured the words like a dam released into her ear over and over as he brought her to climax, making her hear them, making himself hear them too. He hadn't needed her to reciprocate, the way she'd clung to him and the shine in her eyes had been enough for now. They had all the time in the world.

His phone pinged, and he ignored it. Then it pinged again, and he groaned, reaching for it, thinking it could be work.

It was Mateo.

"We need to talk," read his first text, followed promptly by "Tomorrow, 8am."

"Who is it?" Elena asked sleepily.

"Just business," he reassured her, typing out his reply and hitting send.

***

"You want a drink?"

"The sun's barely out, Thad," Mateo said, a note of disgust in his voice.

"Never stopped me," he said drily, shrugging.

"I'll have coffee."

Thad nodded, going to the restaurant kitchen and pouring two cups of coffee. He brought them out, stopping at the bar to pour a finger of rum into one cup. He looked up at Mateo, who sighed heavily.

"Fine."

He added rum to the second cup, and sat down with both at a table. Mateo made no move to sit, and Thad acknowledged this little power dynamic without rancor. Mateo had extended the olive branch asking to meet on Thad's territory, so Thad was going to let him be a dick about it.

"You know, I hate this whole thing."

Thad bit back a smile. "I know."

"It's actually really disgusting. She's my fucking sister."

"Alice is like a sister to me."

"That's different," Mateo pounced. "Elena is blood. Alice is just your friend."

Thad chose not to rebut this inane point. "When I found out about you and Alice, I thought I was going to throw up. I was equal parts pissed and nauseous."

Mateo waited, watching.

"I know what you are, and I know Alice. I felt she deserved better than you. She deserved something normal, something healthy."

Mateo said nothing, leaving his coffee untouched.

"But then," Thad went on, drinking leisurely to mask the beating of his heart. "It looked like you weren't going anywhere. And I had to live with it, or lose her. And I'd give anything not to lose Alice in my life, Mateo, you know that."

"I know," Mateo said mildly.

"So I sucked it up, and played nice."

"Is that what you want me to do, suck it up and play nice?"

Thad shrugged. "I'm not asking for that. But I think it's safe to guess you'd do anything to keep Elena in your life."

"Of course I would, she's my sister."

"If you gave her an ultimatum now, you might not like what she chose."

Thad's words floated in the air between them.

The silence extended, until Thad's coffee cup was empty. He thought about going back for more pure rum, but resisted. Mateo stood motionless, thoughtful. Thad wondered who was supposed to break first. He'd said his piece.

Finally, Mateo spoke.

"You're not brainwashing her into some mindless sub?"

Thad laughed, unable to help it.

"Do you imagine that's even possible with Elena?"

"No," Mateo conceded grumpily.

Mateo bent down to the table, lifting his coffee cup and draining it entirely in a few seconds, the empty cup clattering on the table. He took a deep, heavy sigh.

"On Sunday we have breakfast together as a family. You'll come?"

A ripple of shock coursed through Thad, and he struggled to contain his surprise. It was more generous than he'd ever imagined Mateo would be. It spoke volumes to his deep, complicated love for his sister.

"Of course," Thad said, trying rather unsuccessfully to keep his tone steady.

"Bring those potatoes I like. The ones you smash."

Thad scratched at his chin to cover his growing grin. "Yeah, sure."

Mateo picked up his briefcase and opened the restaurant door, exiting.

Just as Thad was about to breathe a sigh of relief, Mateo poked his head in.

"And Thad?"

"Yeah?" Thad asked, twisting.

"If I ever see a bruise on my sister, I'll rip your fucking throat out."

***

Thad waited as the phone rang once, then twice, and winced.

"Hello?"

"Did I wake you? I'm sorry."

"No," she said groggily, and he heard her sit up. "What is it? Wait, where are you?"

"At the restaurant."

"What? Why?"

Thad swallowed.

"Something crazy just happened and I had to call you."

"What happened?" she laughed, happiness evident in her voice.

"I just got an invitation to Sunday breakfast at your brother's house."

A moment's paused, followed by a cacophony of feminine shrieking. Thad held the phone away from his ear, chuckling. Elena's exuberant, joyful yelling went on for a very, very long time.