Page 42 of Driving Him Wild

bedroom. Who understood my needs without flinching from fulfilling them. Part of that involved

honesty. And openness.

I exhaled my apprehension. ‘I didn’t fully embrace my needs until a few years ago. Don’t get me

wrong, I’m not ashamed of who I am.’

‘That’s good to hear,’ she murmured.

‘I just choose not to be a raging advertisement for the lifestyle. But I know what I want in the

bedroom and I’d rather not have to settle for a diluted version of it.’

She nodded. ‘Again, good to hear.’

‘Because?’ I asked, my insides jumping, the need for confirmation running amok inside me.

She didn’t answer immediately; her gaze drifted to the snow falling hard outside the window.

‘Because I have a proposition for you, Jensen.’

‘Ja?’I replied, slipping into Danish. My mother tongue was comforting, I’d found, in times of stress. Probably something to do with it irritating the bastard who I’d had the misfortune of calling my father. The bastard who’d made his wife and children’s lives a living hell for a decade and a half

before doing a disappearing act.

Sure, this was stress of a different kind, but it didn’t make enduring it any easier as I waited for Graciela to respond.

Her gaze pinned mine, resolute. Commanding. My fingers tightened around my coffee mug,

anticipation rushing through me.

‘As long as that storm rages just outside, you will be mine.’

‘Yes,’ I responded immediately. Without reservation.

It was temporary. A start and end date. What could be better?

‘You don’t want to know what being mine entails?’ she asked, a little amused.

‘I do. Very much,’ I said thickly, barely able to get my vocal cords to work.

‘Put that coffee down and come here, Jensen.’

I set the cup down without taking my eyes off her.

But I didn’t move from where I stood. I needed something from her first. ‘Before we

start...whatever this is, I want you to promise me one thing.’

A flash of a grimace twitched her nose, but I suspected it was a flippant gesture to hide a deeper

reaction. ‘People break promises all the time. What makes you think I’ll keep mine?’

‘I’ll give you the benefit of the doubt and accept you at your word.’

She seemed momentarily startled. Then she shrugged. ‘Fine. What do you want?’

‘That whatever you’re feeling, be truthful with it.’ I’d had enough of lies and half-truths to last me a lifetime. Refusing to face up to reality was the reason my relationship with my mother was still

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