AllFreeNovel
Share Us
I don’t have to open my eyes to know she’s talking aboutAlice in Wonderland.
It’s the opportune moment to tell her, or at least give her something. Mention Alice, drop in Cady. But I don’t because I haven’t got this all straight in my own head yet and right now, I just want to be uncomplicated Brooks who can simply enjoy this woman touching him.
‘A guy called Crazy Joe from Brooklyn gave it to me. It was my first tattoo. Before I really thought about how they would all look together. He was an old veteran who went mad. When he died, he left me some money – not a lot – and said in his will that I was to open my own gym.’
‘Wow, and that’s where it all started?’
‘Yep. Why don’t you tell me about the tiny love heart I’ve noticed on your hip bone?’
‘It’s pitiful really, isn’t it?’ She looks down at the solid inked heart, which can’t be bigger than a thumbnail. ‘I wanted to defy my parents but didn’t really want a tattoo. I wanted to do just enough to tick them off but didn’t dare go further.’
‘Your parents seem to have quite a lot to answer for.’
She shrugs and pushing up on my chest until she’s kneeling. ‘Not my dad. He was never around enough to have anything to answer for. At least not when the business took off. I was still young then.’
I sit up so that we are facing each other and peck the tip of her nose. ‘What business is your dad in?’
‘Have you heard of Russell’s Crackers and Rumble Tum biscuits?’
‘Um, no.’
‘Well, they’re just two of the better-known brands owned by my dad’s company. They’re very big in Europe.’
I whistle through my teeth. ‘You really are a rich girl.’
‘No, my parents are. And, boy, does my mother like everyone to know it.’
Feeling her mood shift to something less than happy, I hold her face and kiss her.
‘You must be ready for that steak now,’ I say, guiding her off the sofa.
We retrieve our discarded clothes from the lounge floor. I pull on my jeans and Izzy re-dresses in the sexy white shirt she had on earlier. Between us, we make an outfit.
She puts a large bowl of green salad on the kitchen counter with two plates, while I get us two glasses of iced green tea – actually not as awful as it sounds. After ten minutes of messing with the stovetop, she puts a sirloin on her plate, then turns to the oven and takes out a tray. I watch in astonishment as she uses a spatula to put a chicken breast on my plate.
‘What’s this?’
‘A peace offering. You were right; maybe I do need to think more about tailoring plans to different needs.’
‘I see. And by tailoring my plan, what you really mean is giving me sufficient food to power your orgasms.’
She plants a hand on her hip and points the spatula toward me the way she’d point a finger. ‘Do you want the chicken or not?’
‘Hell, yeah. I also want the orgasms.’
She snorts as she laughs.
‘Real attractive, Iz.’ My words only make her laugh harder.
After dinner, we sit on the sofa and I get the guitar.
‘Here, it’s yours, on loan, until…’ I can’t bring myself to finish that sentence.
She takes the guitar from me and rests it across her knee. ‘Why?’
‘Because you’re bored and I decided today that I would rather have you rattling away at my guitar than walking outside where I can’t see you.’
She looks up at me with wide eyes.
