Page 13 of Reluctantly Yours

“That’s it.He sent me to China to learn what I needed to know to take over for him, but he only set the stage for his biggest competitor to emerge.Once I’ve expanded our East Coast operations, I will have officially surpassed him.”

“That’s what it’s all about for you?I mean, I would probably feel the same way,” she allowed in a soft voice.Feeling me out, making sure she didn’t go too far.“I would want to bury him just to say I did it.”

Incredible.For the first time, we were speaking the same language.She got it.“That’s exactly it.”But not all of it.Some things I could never talk about.Some betrayals couldn’t be voiced.

“Then good for you,” she decided with a firm nod.“I hope you leave him in the dust.”

“Thank you.”There was something disarming about her right now.It had to be the wine going to her head.Maybe it had gone to mine.Maybe that was the problem, even if it didn’t feel very much like a problem from where I was standing.Not when the overhead lamp lit her the way it did when it made her rich brown hair gleam, shimmering with every move she made.When she flipped it over her shoulder, the fragrance of roses slammed into me and made my dick swell.

“So now you know why I’m determined to get this deal through.Is there anything else you want to know?”I asked, fighting to ignore what she was doing to my dick simply by existing.

“It was wrong of me to ask the way I did.Really, it’s just curiosity,” she explained as her cheek flushed.“I didn’t have any business wanting details.”

“You’re curious.You hear me walking around here on the phone all the time.I don’t blame you for wanting to know what’s going on.”It was like picking my way through a minefield, fighting to find the right words.Maybe it was how pretty she looked with her hair down, blushing when our eyes met from across the counter.

Come to think of it.It had been much too long since the last time I stuck my dick in something warm and wet.No wonder she looked good enough to eat in those ridiculous pajamas, which should’ve made her look innocent but somehow were sexier than any negligée or see-through nightgown.

“Can I ask you something now?”I ventured.She gulped but nodded.“How the hell are you so goddamn chipper all the time?”

She snorted, the sound bursting out of her before she clamped a hand to her mouth.“It’s a good thing I didn’t just take a sip from my glass.”She laughed, then managed to get ahold of herself.

“Sorry about that.I want to know.I should have you teach classes.Show my employees how to keep a stiff upper lip when things go sideways, which they do all the time.”She arched an eyebrow, and I explained, “Unexpected storms, mechanical problems on this or that ship, partners complaining something is running behind schedule.You name it, it can go wrong.”

She fought a grin and failed.“Are you saying you need a nanny for your staff too?”

“Something like that.”Instead of being irked by her playful response, I found myself grinning with her.The wine was a good idea.I needed to unwind, and it obviously wasn’t happening on its own.

It was her turn to stare into her glass, frowning, avoiding my gaze.“Something happened to me when I was younger.Something pretty big.”

My heart sank when I realized what she was about to tell me.I wasn’t supposed to know.She had no idea I had already dug into her past, so I would have no reason to know as far as she was concerned.

Strange, but my immediate impulse was to stop her, to tell her it was all right, I didn’t need to hear it.Not if it meant making her dredge up something painful.At the same time, part of me yearned to know more about her.Who she was, what made her tick.Could I bottle some of the relentless positivity she carried with her like it was one more item in her backpack?

“My family was really close.Like to the point where I had friends who would roll their eyes when I would tell them I couldn’t hang out because I would be hanging out with my family.They couldn’t understand why because their families weren’t like mine.You’ll think it’s corny,” she predicted, laughing gently.

“Who says?What was that like?My family was certainly nothing like what you’re describing.”

I could almost feel her relief.“Well, don’t get me wrong.It wasn’t always fun.There were fights, like in any family.We would go on camping trips together all the time.My parents loved the outdoors, and most of us did too.I’m more of an indoor girl,” she confessed, looking almost guilty.

“I’ve never liked camping,” I agreed.“Camping is like swapping a silk bed for a rough patch of ground.Why trade luxury for discomfort?”

“Was that a joke, Mr.Knight?”I scowled just as a smile lifted into the apples of her cheeks.When I didn’t bother responding, she continued, “But anyway, we were always spending time together.And I was the oldest, so I was sort of like a second mom in some ways.I liked it,” she explained.“It wasn’t like they forced me.I felt a sense of responsibility toward the kids.”

Her tongue darted over her lips, and I waited as she took a breath.“On one of those trips, my little brother… he wanted to fish.He kept begging Dad.The river was rushing, and Dad was a little hesitant, but Josh was so sure he’d be all right.”She lowered her gaze again and her voice with it.“But he wasn’t all right.We woke up one morning, and he wasn’t in the camper.None of us heard him leave.It’s like he wanted to surprise us.”

A tender, painful smile tipped the corners of her mouth.“I can imagine it.He was ten years old, totally convinced he was a grown-up.And maybe if the river hadn’t been so high and so swift, he would’ve been all right.But it was high,” she concluded with a catch in her voice.“And it was swift.And it swept him away.He must’ve lost his footing and…” Pressing her lips in a tight line, she lowered her head, then shook it.

“That’s enough,” I said.“You don’t have to tell me any more.I didn’t mean to ask a question that would…” Fuck, I was no good at apologizing.I absolutely sucked at it, in fact.I hadn’t had very much practice.

She shook her head hard, running a hand under her eyes.“No, it’s okay.If anything, it hurts more when I try to push it all down inside.It took me a long time to figure that out.”

“That must’ve been terrible for your family, as close as you are.”

“It was.It was brutal.But you know, something came out of it.You asked why I’m… how did you describe me?”she asked with a playful gleam in her eyes.How could she look playful after telling me that story?“Right.How I’m so goddamn chipper all the time…”

I winced.“That sounds shitty now.”

“It already sounded a little shitty.”She held her thumb and forefinger, maybe half an inch apart, giggling.

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