Total pages in book: 79
Estimated words: 77354 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 387(@200wpm)___ 309(@250wpm)___ 258(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 77354 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 387(@200wpm)___ 309(@250wpm)___ 258(@300wpm)
“He’s my sister-in-law’s best friend’s husband,” I say, shutting down what I need to and locking my laptop.
He rolls his eyes, toes off his shoes, and pads over to the sofa. A sensation of relief settles in me. He’s not come for a quick argument. He’s planning to stay. A little while at least.
“All right,” he says, encouraging me to elaborate. He sits close, pulls my feet over his legs and drags his knuckles down my cheek.
“He and Parker are in New York for the weekend and Eira put us in touch. He works in tech and thought it would be a good chance to meet and talk about options I have.”
“Options?” he asks.
“Job options. Now I know I can’t work at Fort. That one-night stand crushed my dreams.”
He pulls me onto his lap. “Do you regret it?”
I sigh and sink into his chest. “How could I?”
“That’s good to hear. I thought after this morning… things might have changed.”
Our breathing begins to synchronize. As his chest rises and falls, my body moves with his. He’s warm and safe and I don’t ever want to fight with him. But… “Nothing’s changed. I still… like you. And it’s still frustrating as hell not being able to just be.”
“But we can just be. I just met your brother-in-law’s sister’s uncle’s niece.”
I smile despite myself.
“We shook hands,” he continues. “My name is actually Bennett Fordham. And that’s who I introduced myself as.”
“I know,” I say. “But that’s not all of who you are.” I look up at him. “And all of who you are is pretty great. It would just be nice if I could be honest about that. But it doesn’t matter. It’s not like…”
I don’t finish the end of my sentence.
It’s not like this is a long-term thing.
It’s not like I don’t go back to London at the end of the summer.
It’s not like you’re going to change your mind. You’ve spent your entire adult life hiding.
He knows how this ends. I know how this ends. What’s the point in making the time we have left miserable?
“It’s not so difficult,” he says. “I’ve lived like this a long time.”
“Have you?” I stroke my finger along his jaw. “Like fully lived? You’re hiding in hotel rooms, concerned about stalkers. Because why? I get you don’t want to be famous. I get you don’t want to bait the sycophants. But honestly, if you can’t be who you are, on your own terms, how can you ever be free?”
He presses a kiss to my temple and we sit, entwined, able to hear each other’s heartbeats in perfect tandem. For now.
He’s not going to change. I get it. And I can talk to Eira, give her enough information so I don’t feel bad and don’t uncover Bennett at the same time. Because at the end of the summer, I’m going to walk away. I’d just rather not leave Bennett half the man he could be if things were different.
TWENTY-FIVE
Bennett
I roll to Efa’s side, exhausted but still not sated. I never am with her. I don’t know what it is about her, but I can’t help but want more at every turn.
“You know how you said I could look into the security issues you’re having?” she says from beside me.
“You came about fifteen seconds ago and now you’re thinking about tech security. You really know how to kill the mood.”
She laughs and cups my face in her hands. “What can I say?” she replies. “Maybe I’m just so overwhelmed that I have to distract myself with thoughts of tech.”
“Okay, let’s go with that theory.” I gather her in my arms and pull her towards me, nuzzling into her neck. I don’t know why, but this part—the time between the bouts of sex, when we’re talking and feeling and just being—are becoming some of my favorite moments with Efa.
“Will you let me talk to your internal people so we can compare notes? You didn’t answer when I asked you before. And I know you think I couldn’t possibly help, but what have you got to lose?”
“Notes about what?”
“About the attacks on your systems. Some patterns I noticed. Look, I know you’ve got the best in the business working for you and everything, but I’ve been doing some investigating and I think it might be worth pursuing.”
“What have you found?” I ask, moving her legs so she’s astride me.
She pushes up on my chest and sits, my hardening dick between her folds. “Nothing that stands up on its own, but I wonder if matching it up with your people’s info might prove useful.”
How can I say no to this woman? Do I think she’s made some breakthrough about who’s attacking Fort Inc. and why they seem to be closing in on us? No. Do I think it will do any harm? Also no.