Total pages in book: 47
Estimated words: 46733 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 234(@200wpm)___ 187(@250wpm)___ 156(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 46733 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 234(@200wpm)___ 187(@250wpm)___ 156(@300wpm)
Pausing, I stare at the message, my breath coming quickly.
This could spiral.
The dirty talk could become something else altogether.
If she responds with something just as heated, I may snap.
Deleting it all, I type instead. Yeah, but I can’t talk about that. I’ll lose control. I’ll come and find you. And when I do, I won’t be able to stop.
CHAPTER 9
Brooke
His response causes a strange plummeting feeling in my gut, making me wonder if he’s losing interest. But then I read the words again, especially the part where he says he won’t be able to stop.
If we start dirty talking, he’ll come and find me.
It’s probably better that way. I type. Because, well, I’m a virgin.
I leave the message unsent, my pulse hammering, my nerves ablaze.
It would be for the best if he learned this upfront.
It might even put him off. The age difference doesn’t bother me at all…but would this bother him?
And that’s what stops me from sending it, not knowing if it would scare him away. I should want to, but I don’t. I can’t even think about it.
How was Tokyo? I write instead. Work, I mean.
You got me smiling here, Brooke. That’s one hell of a change of subject.
My phone is clutched in my hands while lying in bed, and a smile spreads with warmth across my cheeks. The warmth travels through me, whelming inside, making me think of days when we don’t have to hold back our true desires.
He’s been thinking of me all year, the same as I’ve been thinking of him.
Are you going to answer?
I imagine him smirking. I love when you get sassy. Work went well, and the CEO was very grateful.
I can’t stop myself from thinking of the many times dad has talked enthusiastically about Banner’s work. He started as an intern at a management consultant company, but it turned out he had a knack for it, perceiving things other people missed.
“He views a company like an engine,” Dad said once. “He can tell which parts are broken. He knows how to fix them. It’s a gift.”
When I asked dad how he knew all this, he said, “He once told me it was from watching his father at work. Don’t get me wrong. Banner loved his parents. He misses them every day. The house fire wrecked him for a while. But he always said when his dad would take him into the office, he saw the problems, even at a young age. He saw how it could be better.”
I’m sure you did an excellent job, I write.
I always try to.
We both know he does more than try. After working in the business for two decades, he has a worldwide reputation as a man who can single-handedly fix failing organizations.
What about you? Is everything going well at the shelter?
It’s amazing. I love helping the dogs so much. You won’t believe how poorly treated some of them have been. There’s this one, Gizmo, a little Chihuahua crossed with a toy poodle.
One of those designer dogs?
Exactly. He was eight when he came to us. His owners never walked him, kept him in a pushchair, yelled at him, and sprayed him if he did anything…well, dog-like. He didn’t even know how to be a dog. Then he bonded with – get this – with a two-year-old Great Dane. He’s learning how to be a dog from him. Sniffing, barking, marking his spot. It’s such a beautiful thing to see.
I wonder if I’m oversharing. As I listen to the waves outside, my gaze moves to the floor, the illuminated glass showing the passage of colorful fish.
I stare so I don’t have to think a nasty, defeatist thought.
That Banner only wants me for my body. And then I laugh, probably way too loud.
Earlier today, the thought Banner would want me for anything seemed like a distant, impossible fantasy.
And now I’m complaining because he doesn’t want me for the right reasons.
But that’s just it.
Would it be worth giving myself to Banner, ruining his relationship and possibly mine with dad for a fling?
I’m not sure I’m the sort of woman who would even enjoy a fling. I just know I’d fall for him if we went all the way…or fall even harder than I already have.
It takes him a long time to respond. I imagine him sitting there, sneering at the message, even if I’ve never seen Banner sneer before.
Finally, my phone vibrates.
You’re such a kind, loving person, Brooke. I can practically hear your passion for those animals in your words, and I know you’re doing an amazing job. And I know you’re going to become an incredible behaviorist. Your passion will MAKE that happen.
My belly feels like it’s glowing as if my insides are sparkling at his words.
Kind. Loving.
There’s nothing sexual about that. He’s talking about me as a person.
Part of me wonders if he’s saying this to get me into bed. But he remembers the passion at the grove as vividly as I do, I’m sure.