Page 56 of Passion in Bloom

Chapter 19

Heather

At work the next morning, I almost forgot that I was supposed to be scared and on edge. Sleeping with Roarke made me calm. I woke up refreshed, actually resting through the night. I didn’t know what kind of dark magic it was that this man’s hard, hot body could act like a security blanket I needed, but it had. I couldn’t recall the last time I’d rested so thoroughly. It seemed he’d gotten up well too, smiling and turning me on with that sleepy voice again.

I bit back a little smile at the soreness between my legs as I walked into the bank’s rear entrance door. It’d been a while since I had sex. And I’d never taken a man as rugged and well-endowed as Roarke.

It was a good reminder, though, and as I switched my work bag to my other hand to type in the employee code on the panel at the second door to get to the office space, I smiled.

I want it again.

The concept of expecting something with him wasn’t right. Not with my supreme need for independence. But we fit so damn well. There was no keeping score or tabs. No obligations or favors or expectations. Just natural attraction that we were both terrible at resisting for long.

“Well, someone looks like they got up on the right side of the bed this morning,” Janelle said in greeting from the breakroom door. She grinned, nursing her coffee.

Or I look like someone who got fucked all over the bed this morning.

I cleared my throat, hoping I wouldn’t blush at the memory when Roarke used up the last condom he had.

“Morning,” I replied instead.

“It looks like letting you work at home was the change in your routine that you needed.”

I nodded. Or...caving to this lust for Roarke Canton is what I needed. “I appreciate your flexibility, Janelle.”

“Oh, no worries.” She dismissed me with a wave but wasn’t done talking yet. “In fact, I have something else to run by you that might make you smile even more.”

“What’s that?” A raise? It was way too soon to count on that.

“A manager at another branch was asking around for someone to fill a supervisor role. It’d be at a new bank in Wisconsin Dells, but I might have hinted at you being a possibility.”

I set my laptop bag on a table. “Wow. Really?”

I felt good that she’d think of me. Knowing my boss had high opinions of me was a form of praise I never had in Chicago. Since I’d worked in the legal firm where David was employed, everything was biased. Praise, discipline, reports, and rumors. They were all touched by his control and skewed to distort what really happened. That man hadn’t only tried to take over my personal life as my boyfriend, but as someone at work too.

“Yes. You’ve impressed me from day one, Heather. You’re one of those young go-getters who will never let the boss down.” She laughed lightly. “I can just tell.”

“Thank you.” It could’ve sounded like flattery, but she didn’t have any ulterior motives with me. She was honest.

“What would you think about that?” She held up her hand before I could answer. “I know you’ve only just started here, but I truly think you’d do well with more responsibilities. You have room to grow, to be challenged. I think you’d appreciate moving up.”

“I do like my job here,” I said.

She nodded. “But it’s still below your qualifications. I’ll admit that I thought of you because it would be a relocation. Given what you, um, said about your past, it seemed like maybe it wouldn’t be hard to leave Burton again. To get that new start—again.” She smiled widely. “I would hate to see you go, but I would love for you to go after your dreams.”

And being in Burton had been the opposite of my dreams for so long. When I was younger, I convinced myself that staying in this small town would be equivalent to letting my dreams die.

That escapism that I sought before wasn’t the same though. Now that I’d been here for almost two months, and now that I was seeing that old, rickety cabin as home, my first instinct wasn’t to think about rushing out of town and starting over somewhere else again.

The idea of moving and starting over in another place almost seemed...daunting, not exciting.

I’d never imagined staying here. To be stuck in this town around people who’d formed such a crappy opinion of me without any cause.

After last night though, I couldn’t be honest with myself and think that way anymore.

Lying with Roarke and talking about the future adjusted my perspective. I didn’t tell him much about my past. I hinted at vague things that he’d likely already heard from others in town, the details about my childhood and family. I did not even consider mentioning facts about David. My ex was a part of my past that I never wanted to think about again.

Talking, even loosely, about the future was interesting. When he scrolled and looked at properties to rent or buy around here, I knew he did so because his cabin was toast. He had to find somewhere to live. Envisioning him settling in Burton for good, with a mortgage to tie him to this area, got me to thinking that it wouldn’t be that terrible if I did the same.