Page 35 of Takeover

“You’re insatiable,” he says, kissing the side of my neck.

“Gotta get it while I can. The clock is ticking, Mr. Bradford. And before you get cocky, it hasn’t beenthatgood,” I lie.

He snorts and pulls my back closer to his chest.

“We’ve already established how cocky I am. We established that many times this weekend, didn’t we?”

“Was that you?” I ask.

“The pretty ones always have a quick response.”

I lean back and smile. “You think I’m pretty?” I tease.

He thrusts and I feel his hard dick against my back. “Clearly, I’m not the least bit attracted to you. I misspoke. I meant to say the spoiled ones, not the pretty ones.”

“I’m not spoiled. I’m confident. Big difference.”

“Mmhmm,” he says against my ear. “Me too. I’m confident I can get you to come in this tub in under two minutes.”

“Pervert.” I elbow him in the ribs and try to get away, but his arm around me is like a vise. “I can’t wait to purge you from my life.”

“I can’t stand having you here,” he says. “I think I’ll throw a party when you finally leave.”

“I’m going to have the best week knowing I’ll never see you again.”

“Yeah? How?”

“I have two job interviews, and one of the people I’m interviewing with is a Columbia grad. I have a spa date with my sister and so much more,” I tease. There’s also a possibility of a date, but I keep that to myself.

“Where?” There’s a sudden edge to his voice now.

“Where what?”

“The job interview.” He sighs and bites my shoulder.

“I’m keeping that one close to the vest.” It’s with his direct competitor.

“I can find out before daylight if I want,” he says.

“Now who’s spoiled?” I ask. He lets out a breath and splashes water at me. “What do you have planned?”

“Let’s see. Work. Vincent. Take over the world by Friday. Easy stuff.” I can’t help the laugh that escapes. We stay in the tub, his arm wrapped securely around me, and for a second, I imagine what it would be like if this didn’t have to end. If leaving him tomorrow only meant we’d go a few hours or a day without seeing each other, but I remind myself that’s not what we agreed to.

My eyes become heavy, and it seems seconds later Ethan is lifting me from the tub. I don’t protest when he dries me, but when he starts to put on my pajamas, I say, “I want to stay naked,” right before I let out a big yawn.

“I want you to stay naked too, but if Vincent wakes up before we do, he’ll be barging in.” I don’t argue. I let him dress me before I crawl under the sheets and give in to my exhaustion.

22

We were supposed to say goodbye on Sunday, but that didn’t happen. I woke up to find a sleeping Vincent between us. After breakfast, he begged to go ice skating, so we did. It had been a while since I’d ice skated, and neither father nor son could stop laughing at me clumsily moving across the ice. It got so bad that Ethan held my hand for an hour and guided me across the rink. I didn’t need him to hold on to me for that long, but I couldn’t bear for him to let go.

“It’s time I head out,” I’d said, letting out a loud yawn. After we left the skating rink, we had lunch at a nearby Italian restaurant, and the pasta had made me sleepy. “I’ll just grab an Uber.” I walked to the room, a heavy feeling in my chest as I grabbed my duffel bag.

“Why don’t you take a nap?” He’d pulled down the sheets and gestured for me to get in. “Just stay for one more night. I have to work tomorrow, and I’ll take you first. You can unleash your awfulness to the rest of the world on Monday.” Too tired to argue, and relieved not to have to leave, I had nodded and climb in the bed.

Now Monday morning has come much too quickly, and I’m given a rude awakening. It had only been the three of us all weekend, and I didn’t think about what a weekday would bring. I was totally unprepared for the reality of a weekday morning in the Bradford household. When I walked past one of the guest rooms upstairs, Ethan was in a chair with a man cutting his hair while another applied shaving cream to his face.

“Hey, Tara,” he said, waving me in. “Susan and Joan are downstairs, and Joan will make whatever you want for breakfast. Carla should be here too, but she’s probably getting Vincent ready for pre-school.”

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