Protege(10)

She was so lonely yet saw no solution to her solitary existence, not when the thought of venturing out into the world was crippling. She’d done online dating but found nothing notable. The silence of her home was deafening, and she refused to become a crazy cat lady. Worse, her quiet life made the outside world all the more daunting. Every time she ventured outside her home, the presence of others grated, emphasizing every harbored insecurity she owned until she was convinced she didn’t fit in anywhere.

Her anxiety had spiraled to the point where she could barely make it into a store and to the register. Her breaking point, the moment she admitted to herself how out of control her anxiety had gotten, came when she thoughtlessly shoplifted a bottle of shampoo because a man in the drugstore looked suspicious. It used to be a simple sense of not fitting in, but lately it had bloomed into a crippling fear of being too different, too vulnerable, and too alone to protect herself from an ever-changing world.

She very much wanted someone to look after her and love her, but she no longer knew how to find such a person on her own. With social paralysis as debilitating as hers, she didn’t see dating as a possibility. “I’d like to meet someone who accepts me as I am.”

“And do you believe Fernweh can help you find that?”

She swallowed. It seemed a lot to hope. “I don’t know.”

His hands, large and warm, closed over hers. “You’re freezing.”

“Sometimes I—”

There was a sharp knock at the door. She slipped her hands out of his grip as he stood. “Excuse me for a moment.”

Hunching low in the chair so her bare shoulders were hidden, she waited as he opened the door, using his body to hide the interior of the room from whoever was on the other side. “I’m with someone. I’ll call you when I’m through.”

“Do you want me to wait?” a deep voice asked.

“Don’t go far. I’ll call you.” The door closed.

Shaking off her apprehension, she stood and unfolded her skirt.

“You don’t have to rush out.”

“That’s okay. My meter’s run out. I need to go.”

“Collette.”

She stilled. It was the first time he used her first name. She laughed to herself.

“Something funny?”

“Throw away the second application. I lied on that one too.”

He didn’t seem amused. “What did you lie about?”

It was stupid. “My middle name isn’t Catherine. It’s Piper.”

“Piper suits you better,” he said, voice level. “I’ll correct it. When would you like to finish the application?”

She shook out the skirt and stepped into it, sliding up the zipper. Her bra needed to be fastened, but she didn’t want to spare the time it would take. With her sweater loosely concealing her body, people might not notice. She’d walk to her car with her arms crossed.

Bending for her clip, she lowered to her hands and knees and snatched it from the floor. Twisting her hair into a practiced bun, all she could really manage as her curls were too thick for rubber bands, she locked the clip in place. Tucking the springing wisps behind her ears, she turned and stilled.

His gaze burned into hers as he stood just a foot away with her down on her knees. “We’ll schedule your next appointment before you go.”

Her breasts lifted behind her loose bra as the sudden urge to do something seductive came over her—what, she hadn’t a clue.

“Say yes.”

“Yes,” she rasped.

“Good girl.”

His muttered comment sank into her belly and heated her insides. Good girl? She frowned, unable to recall anyone ever saying that to her. Strange that it was being said to her as an adult and even stranger that she sort of liked it—coming from him.

Her body shivered and he abruptly turned, breaking the spell. Forcing herself to her feet, she found her purse. Fiddling with the strap of her bag, she asked, “Do you think you can find someone for me?”

“There’s a process, Ms. Banks.”

She met his gaze, letting a bit of her vulnerability show. “I’m not asking for your process, but your personal opinion, Mr. Duval. I’m not independently wealthy and this membership will take all of my savings. If you think there’s hope, then I’ll stay and look for work in the area. But if you’re just wasting my time, I’m afraid I have to get back to Georgia and beg for my old apartment back. Please don’t play games with me. I can’t afford them.”

“I can’t offer guarantees—”

“I just want your honest opinion.”

He snickered. “Willful.”

Her eyes narrowed. “Equivocal,” she corrected.

***

His mouth hooked upward in a half smirk. She was exasperating at times, but her natural charm made it easy to overlook those moments. “I’ll pack my thesaurus for our next meeting.”

“So you think there’s hope?”

He wasn’t sure if he’d find her a partner, but he definitely wanted to find out more about her—perhaps how she tasted and if her tongue was as sharp when he had his cock buried in her ass. “Yes, there’s hope.”

She nodded. “When?”

“Friday.”

“I’ll have to check my schedule and—”