The car ride on the way back to Commander Branson's house was quiet. Sienna wouldn't look at Brandon. She kept her face pressed up against the glass staring out of the window. Brandon kept glancing at her. She hadn't moved.
He wanted to say something to her, but he wasn't quite sure what he could say. He also couldn't help but stare at her legs. That damn dress was dangerously close to riding up her thigh and giving him a show.
He tried to keep his focus on the road, but chanced another glance at the riding hem of her dress. Big mistake. When he glanced up at her face, she was staring at him. And not just staring at him, but she looked like she was trying to channel all the hate she could into her eyes and sling it at him. Her face was tear stained and her puffy lips were turned down in a frown.
He tried to smile at her to lighten things up, but he couldn't manage one. Finally he blew a sigh.
"I can take care of that for you," Sienna offered lowering her eyes to his semi hard erection.
When his eyes followed her path and it clicked in his brain at the same time, semi was replaced by full blown hard on.
"What?!" he choked out.
"I've seen guys get boners before because of me. Just wanted to know if you wanted me to help you out."
Brandon flexed his jaw again, and he couldn't help but think of some little bastard pointing his intruding cock at Sienna. And then the thought of her 'helping' them out made his blood boil.
But Brandon had to chuckle to himself. Commander Branson had wanted him to visit the shrink on base so he could get rid of his past demons and look to the future. Said it was the only way he could reign in his quick violent temper and force it into positive energy or some shit like that.
It didn't work because Brandon didn't consider himself one of these flaky guys who liked to talk about his emotions. For him, they were locked away in a deep chest buried at the back of his mind and that's where they would remain.
But the shrink did teach him some techniques to control his anger. Normally, he just liked to drop people. One quick hit to the bridge of the nose and they would fall to the floor and grab their face. The blood usually scared them and anyone else who would have tried to jump in on their behalf. But now, he'd count backwards from ten and breathe. Worked sometimes. Other times, blood was necessary.
But what caused Brandon to chuckle was the fact that Sienna seemed to piss him off more than anyone else he had ever met. And there wasn't a damn thing he could do about it.
But he decided to call her on her bluff. Someone really needed to teach this young woman a lesson and obviously her still bruised ass didn't do the trick.
He pulled his Jeep over to the side of the road.
Sienna kept staring at him wondering what the hell he was doing. He removed his seatbelt and turned to her and rested his hand over her headrest.
"So...you ready to help me out?" he said through a smirk.
Sienna gulped praying he didn't hear it. She tried to maintain her straight face, but inside she was panicking. She wasn't sure if she was ready. Not like this anyway.
Brandon slowly licked his lips and ran his eyes down her body, resting on several parts that made her shiver.
"Get in the back seat," he whispered.
Sienna was frozen. Nervously she smiled and tried to search his eyes to see if he was serious. He looked serious.
"I, uh...well, I didn't mean it like that," she stuttered.
"How did you mean it?" he asked twirling his fingers around a strand of her hair.
"I just meant, um...I mean that--"
He cut her off, "I know exactly what you meant." He put the car back in gear and sped off.
"I'm not one of your little high school boyfriend playthings. Don't fucking come at me like that again if you can't back that shit up," he continued in his Bostonian drawl.
He glanced back over at her and she was staring out of the window again. He hadn't meant to get testy with her but she needed to learn.
After a few minutes of silence Brandon decided to speak.
"Okay, since you're not going to say anything, I have something I need to say. I'm sorry about what happened back there in my house. I got carried away. And if I hurt you, I'm even more sorry."
"Do you want me?" she asked and turned back around for his answer.
Of all the things he was expecting her to say, THAT wasn't it. And he didn't know how to respond. If he said, yes...then it would encourage her. But if he said no, after tonights little display, he'd seem like a liar. He chose to be brutally honest.
"Of course I want you Sienna. What man wouldn't? But that's all it can ever be. Just want. I can't have you," he answered quietly while looking straight ahead.
"Why not?" Sienna asked, more inquisitive than mad.
"Well, the Commander for one. You know he's like a father to me. And this would betray his trust in the worst way. I couldn't stand to look at his face if I ever let him down. That would kill me." Even just thinking about Commander Branson not trusting him or being his confidant put an unsettling feeling in the pit of his stomach.
Sienna sat quietly for a moment thinking about his answer. Then she turned back to stare out of her window. "But you don't mind killing me," she replied more to herself than him.
Brandon took another deep breath and decided to turn on the radio and drown out the sad silence they both were forced into.
When they reached her house, he barely had the car parked when she jumped out and slammed the door. She stopped dead in her tracks when she saw her father sitting on the steps. She was too tired and emotionally drained to deal with one of his moral speeches. She walked up the steps and right past him even though he had called her name.
Brandon stared at the Commander for a second before he got out of the Jeep. Jackson looked tired. He rubbed his hand over his face and five o'clock shadow. He gave a weak smile to him as Brandon strolled slowly up the steps to sit beside him.
"Hey Commander. Long night?"
"Yeah. Very. So where was she?" he asked already dreading the answer to that.
"Well, she uh, she walked to my house," Brandon answered sheepishly.
He knew what Jackson was thinking. It was no secret to either of them that his baby girl had a crush on Brandon, but now that she was a beautiful and sexy young woman, it was getting harder and harder for both of them to pretend it didn't matter.
"Is she okay?"
"Yeah, she's fine," Brandon lied.
Jackson just sat there for a moment staring out into the driveway. Brandon was about to leave when he heard him speak again.
"It's just that...I don't know what to do with her sometimes. I...hell," he whispered.
Brandon leaned back against the steps. He knew it was hard for Jackson to say anything touchy, so when he did, Brandon always listened. Actually, he listened to him all the time regardless. He had never really had much respect for anyone in his life until he met the Commander.
Jackson continued, "She has so much of her mother in her and it scares me. She looks like her, she has her free spirited fighter attitude. But I don't want her to be like Dara. But I see her going down the same path. Dara always wanted everything the world had to offer. I was never enough, but I was okay with that. Just being with her made me feel special, but after awhile, your love for someone can't carry an entire relationship."
Jackson had to stop for a moment. He had tried hard over the years to forget his past relationship.
"When she ran off with that guy, I wanted to kill her. For leaving me, for leaving our baby. That guy was no good for her and now she's all damaged goods. On drugs last I heard. How does that happen? She was such a sweet girl when I first met her all those years ago. Just like Sienna is now."
Brandon didn't know any of this. The Commander never talked about his wife. Brandon sat in silence and continued to listen.
"I'm so scared that I'm going to lose her one day. She's so naive and impulsive and she's constantly doing things that scare the hell out of me. Like she's daring the world or something. God, if anything ever happened to her, I'd die."
Brandon looked out into the front yard thinking of how he would feel if something happened to Sienna. The thought paralyzed him. He couldn't bring himself to think of any harm coming to her. Not his Sienna. His thoughts were interrupted by the Commander.
"I'm sorry Brandon, it's late. You should probably get back home. Thank you so much for watching over her. As always."
Brandon got up and smiled at Jackson.
"Not a problem sir. Just glad she's safe."
Brandon walked to his jeep and then thought about something else. "Oh, hey Commader!" He yelled back at him before Jackson entered the house.
"Yes?"
"Please find that dress and burn it," Brandon said with a smile on his face.
The Commander smiled back at him. "With pleasure."
*******************
Lori was in her bed asleep when Sienna came barreling through. She pulled the dress off and put on a thin shirt and got into bed. Lori turned to ask her a question right as they heard a knock on the door.
"We're sleeping, dad," Sienna yelled through the door.
"You just got in there. Let's not wake Lori up. Please come to my study, we need to talk."
Shit, she thought. This was easily racking up to be the worst night of her life. She just wanted to go to bed and dream that it never happened.
