Page 98 of Coming Home Country
Jesus, this girl was going to be the death of me, but if fucking her into oblivion was what put me in the ground, it wasn’t a half-bad way to go.
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We took a shower together before cozying up on the couch, balancing plates of the dinner that had needed to be reheated on our laps.
When I grabbed the remote, Bex asked, “What’re we watchin’?”
A smile tugged the corner of my lips as I let the screen do the talking.
Her surprised laughter settled like a warm blanket over my heart. “Blood Oath Academy? Where did you even find this?”
I bit back a smile, pressing play on the first episode. The vampire show she’d been obsessed with as a teen had fizzled out after four seasons, but I managed to track down an obscure streaming service that carried the entire series. It was worth it to see her face as the opening credits rolled.
Bex beamed at me. “Seriously, Tucker. This is amazing.”
Looping an arm around her waist, I pulled her close enough to dust a kiss over her temple. “Glad it made you happy, baby.”
We ate in silence for a while, watching the terrible acting that hadn’t seemed so bad when we were younger, but now I found myself wondering how it had lasted so long before being canceled.
“What kind of shows are you into these days?” I asked, curious about her entertainment tastes as an adult.
Shifting forward, she placed her empty plate on the coffee table before sighing. “Don’t have much time for TV.”
“Oh, yeah?”
She lifted a shoulder in a half-shrug. “Leisure time is the first thing to take a hit when you’re working sometimes twelve-hour days and weekends more often than not.”
This wasn’t the first mention of how time-consuming her job was.
“Do you enjoy being a lawyer?”
“I’m good at it.”
I shook my head. “That’s not what I asked.”
Bex reclined on the couch, her head dropping back so that her face was tilted toward the ceiling before she blew out a breath. “Honestly? It depends on the day. There are deals that come together so perfectly that you almost get a high from it, knowing you played a small part in making it happen. But inside the firm? It’s cutthroat. Everyone is vying to be put on the best cases with the highest-profile clients. Pretty sure a few of my colleagues would sell their souls if it meant getting ahead and making partner sooner.”
“Is that what you want? To make partner?”
Her lips twisted to the side. “That’s the track I’m on.” She paused and corrected, “Was on.” My heart soared until she explained, “I knew better than to get myself tangled up with someone at work. There was always the possibility that blurring the lines between my personal life and professional life could get messy. I have no idea what I’m walking into when I get back to Chicago. And if, by some miracle, I do still have a job, I’m not sure I’ll want to stay at the firm. Doing so will likely mean a hostile work environment.”
My fists clenched involuntarily, thinking of that asshole punishing her for the blow to his pride.
“He didn’t take it well, I’m guessing?”
The woman by my side let out a snort. “Not by a long shot. First, he tried buying me off. Then, I got the lecture about marriage not having tobe about love. When it started to sink in that he was fighting a losing battle, it got ugly, and fast.”
Every muscle in my body vibrated with rage directed toward a man who had never deserved her in the first place. He should’ve been on his knees, thanking God that Bex had even deigned to give him the time of day. But instead, he chose to treat her poorly and lash out when she finally decided she’d had enough and ended their relationship.
Soft fingertips trailed over my clenched jaw. “It doesn’t matter. Not anymore.”
I grunted my disagreement, so Bex crawled onto my lap.
With her face taking up my entire field of vision and her dark hair creating a curtain around us, she whispered against my lips, “Why are we talking about him when you could be taking me to bed?”
She had a very good point. That idiot’s loss was my gain, and I’d have to be a fool not to take full advantage of having Bex in my arms, in my home, and in my life.
Chapter 28
