“I went into this marriage of my free will, but I did it for my father and you. Except you both act like I’m some pawn.”
My heart twisted in my chest because this was something that I’d been afraid of. I had a lot at risk. Frank had a lot he needed to save. But Brooke had been the key to put everything in place. Without her, none of this worked.
“I respect what you’ve done for us.”
“Bullshit!”
I flinched, and then my own irritation started to bubble up. After putting up with Shelley, I didn’t need this from Brooke. “Just because I don’t think you and I should be intimately involved doesn’t mean I don’t appreciate your work.”
Her eyes flared hot. “None of you respect me. Trina just accused me of trying to take her job. She offered to help me with the paperwork to quit.” She picked up the report. “Turns out, this public works project has been her duty. You gave it to me without telling her or me. That disrespects both of us, putting me in a position in which she thinks I’m trying to take her job. Do you respect anyone but Sinclair in this office? Do you still carry a torch for her?”
I jerked back, wondering how she knew about that.
“Or Shelley? Did you two go find a nice place to fuck after your romantic lunch?”
I
swallowed, for a minute, feeling like I was in a dream. This was surreal. Finally, finding my bearings, I responded.
“You’re being ridiculous.” The moment it left my mouth, I realized it was the wrong thing to say. It only proved her point that I wasn’t adequately respectful of her feelings.
“And you’re being an asshole, Mo. Are you going to fire me for that?”
I raked my hands through my hair and caught my breath. “First, about Shelley, that was unexpected. I had no plans to see her and, no, I didn’t fuck her, and I have no plans to.”
Brooke glared at me like she didn’t believe me.
I blew out a breath to catch my bearings. “I met with a man who wants me to run for governor, and she showed up because, of course, that would mean I’d finally have the power and influence she craves. But I turned it down. I turned both of them down.” I studied her to see if my words were making any difference. Her anger level seemed to reduce from boiling to simmering.
“As far as Trina goes, I’m sorry for her behavior. She’s always been outspoken to a fault, but her current situation seems to have brought out the worst in her. I’ll talk to her.”
“I don’t need you to fight my fights, Mo. Especially with her. She’ll just think I tattled, and I’ll still be the child”—she used air quotes around the word child—“she thinks I am. Then again, you think I’m a child, so what’s the difference?”
“I don’t think you’re a child. I know you’re not.” She had the lush body of a woman. She was intelligent and clearly knew how to speak her mind. I stepped closer to her, putting my hands on her arms and rubbing.
“You think you’re going to calm me down. There, there, Brooke, it’s okay,” she said mockingly.
I inhaled a breath to keep myself calm. “I do want to help you calm down, but not because I think you’re being childish. I don’t think that at all. You’ve proven yourself in this office. You’ve given up a lot to help your father and me. And I’ve been a jerk. I know it. I hate that I’ve hurt you because I respect the hell out of you, Brooke. I really do.”
Her head tilted back, her angry eyes glaring up at me, and I realized I wasn’t just holding her arms, but that I’d pulled her closer, forcing her head back so she could see me. For a moment, I just looked at her. Those fierce blue eyes. Those lovely, delicious lips.
The air shifted around me as the annoyance morphed into a different sort of frustration.
“I don’t think you’re a child,” I said, my voice sounding husky in my ears.
Her blue eyes flashed with awareness. No, she wasn’t a child. She recognized that the air had changed. She knew I desired her.
“I know you’re not a child,” I said as I leaned my head down and captured her mouth with mine. She wasn’t resistant, but neither did she reciprocate. I pressed my hips forward so she could feel my erection. “You’re a sexy woman that I can’t get enough of,” I murmured against her lips. “My wife.”
This time, when I went full in on the kiss again, she surrendered to it, kissing me back. Her arms went around my neck, and even though all those same warning bells started clanging in my head, I told them to shut the fuck up. This. This smart, strong, sexy woman. This was what I wanted.
I maneuvered her to her desk, and it occurred to me that, at some point, I should do this with her in a bed. But right now, the desk was the best surface. I unzipped her dress, pulling the sleeves down and unclasping her bra.
Her breasts fell loose, and like a man dying of thirst, I sucked one into my mouth to quench my desire. “I love your tits, Brooke.”
She moaned, and I felt both regret at not telling her sooner how much her body drove me crazy and gratitude that my words elicited a response. It made me want to let her know everything about her that made my body heat up in ways I couldn’t ever remember feeling. It also made me want to be sure that I made her happy.
“Do you like it when I suck them?” I asked.