Total pages in book: 154
Estimated words: 145091 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 725(@200wpm)___ 580(@250wpm)___ 484(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 145091 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 725(@200wpm)___ 580(@250wpm)___ 484(@300wpm)
“Yes, I got the tour last night, and even if I hadn’t the fact that the bed I’m sleeping in has a spreader bar built into the footboard would have given it away.” The way she kept giving herself away.
“So you know what a spreader bar is and you know to use the word bottoming rather than submitting, but you weren’t interested in the lifestyle.”
She could still turn this around. “Fine. Maybe I did look into it. Maybe I was interested, but I won’t bottom for you. I’ll probably walk into this dungeon when it opens tonight because I need a session given the amount of stress I’m dealing with and maybe I’ll pick out some hot cowboy top to help with my stress relief, but it won’t be you.”
“And what do I win if it is?”
“You’ll win my dead body because that’s what it would take.”
“I like a challenge, Taylor.”
“I’m not a challenge, Drake.” But she could already feel the heat building between them. They’d had this insane chemistry from the moment they’d met.
What if he’s telling the truth? What if he didn’t know?
And what if he did? How would she ever know if she walked away? How would she find the truth if she took herself out of play? Perhaps she was going about this all wrong.
Perhaps in order to take down the man who’d betrayed her she needed to bring him in instead of pushing him away.
After all, wasn’t that what she was doing with The Consortium?
He’d fucked her for intel. Why shouldn’t she do the same?
“I know.” His voice had lost the seductive quality, and there was a wealth of affection in it now. “I’m so sorry. I should have come after you no matter what I thought. Like I said, I was still bruised and battered from what happened with Julia. I was still…am still processing. I don’t think I’ll ever be done. She was my sister. It should be easy to hate her, but I remember playing with her, her being my friend. It’s hard because she’s the only person in the world who knows what it was like to grow up with our parents. Her dad was out of her life. She saw him some during the summers, but my dad took care of her most of the time.”
Taylor needed time to think, and listening to his sad stories wouldn’t help her make a decision. Still, she found herself wondering what it would be like to have a sibling and then to have him or her taken away, to feel the sting of betrayal from someone so close.
Would she have looked at the data the Agency would almost certainly have given him and judged herself, too?
“Hey, I was trying to find… Oh, hi, Taylor.” Kyle Hawthorne stood in the doorway looking like he’d fared far better than Drake after their drinking the night before. “I’m sorry to interrupt but my uncle’s on his way in. He took an earlier flight.”
In other words, it was almost time for the curtain to go up, and she would be center stage.
Unless she walked away.
Drake’s hand came out, fingers brushing up her arm and making her skin tingle like it was coming awake after a long sleep. “Don’t be worried about Taggart. His bark is way worse than his bite, and he’s quite a softie when it comes to women.”
Kyle snorted. “Sure he is. That man answers to one person in the world, and my Aunt Charlotte isn’t here, so good luck with that. I’m going to go find Brad and warn him. I hope there’s more whiskey here. My uncle can be a bear. And I need to find someone who’s good with lemons.”
She had no idea what he needed with lemons, but it was a good cue to leave before she made a fool of herself.
“Hey, I was serious about talking more,” Drake said as she moved by him. “It really is good to see you.”
She ignored the urge to look back and see him again, too.
She walked back to her room, her mind more confused than ever.
* * * *
“No, I don’t know how to make lemon bars.” Drake sent Kyle a frown. “You know you’re acting like the queen of England is coming to tea and you’re some British debutante. He’s your uncle not a celebrity you have a crush on.”
“I don’t have crushes on celebrities.” Kyle’s face settled in a fierce frown. “He’s my only connection to my family. He’s the only one who takes me seriously. I can’t contact my mom or my brother.”
“Why don’t you catfish them online like you do your girlfriend?” Drake shot back. He was irritated with the way the morning had gone, and it wasn’t all about the nasty hangover he had.
It was about the fact that he’d thought he had her for a moment. When he’d opened up about Julia to her, she’d been affected by his words. He’d watched her, and those shoulders had come down, her eyes had softened. If Kyle hadn’t walked in she might have offered him a hug, and if he could get under her skin he might be able to salvage this thing.