Talking Dirty with the CEO - By Jackie Ashenden Page 0,56

wanted to keep holding her. Keep exploring the fascinating landscape of her soul. Like discovering a new and interesting country, finding out the lay of the land, mapping hills and valleys, seeing places in the distance he wanted to visit. There was so much to learn about her.

And why couldn’t he? What was wrong with wanting that?

The past week had been amazing and he hadn’t felt even a hint of restlessness.

He could do this. He could try. He could be the man she deserved and more.

…

Christie woke the next morning with a peaceful feeling sitting inside her heart. She felt like a new person. As if a long-hidden wound inside of her had been healed and Joseph was the instrument of that healing.

Turning over, she reached automatically for him, only to find that the bed was empty.

Odd.

She sat up, looking around the room, but he wasn’t there.

Puzzled, Christie slid out of bed and did a quick reconnaissance of the whole apartment.

But Joseph wasn’t anywhere. It was as if he’d vanished into thin air.

Going back into the bedroom, she picked up her phone. Perhaps he’d left her an e-mail or a message or something.

But he hadn’t.

A vague unease settled in her stomach. Okay, so they hadn’t been going out long, but he’d never run out on her like this before. Never left her without any explanation at all.

Then again, maybe it was nothing. Maybe he’d gone out for a run or a bike ride. Or maybe he’d gone to get food or something.

She dressed and went into the kitchen to get coffee.

She’d wait a bit. He’d be back. She was sure of it.

But a couple of hours later he wasn’t, and her phone remained stubbornly silent.

It didn’t matter, right? At least it shouldn’t. Because this…whatever it was between them was only a casual thing. There’d been no promises on either side, no commitment. And if he wanted to take off after spending the night holding her in his arms then he could.

Yet no amount of telling herself that moved the huge boulder that sat right in the middle of her stomach. Or made her feel better when eventually she gave up waiting and went home.

…

Joseph stood outside Jude’s loft-style apartment and leaned on the doorbell, cursing himself all the while.

He’d woken up that morning, Christie’s warm weight in his arms, with that niggling sense that he’d forgotten something important. Instantly he’d reached for his phone and found, much to his annoyance, that once again he’d switched his reminders off. He’d done it the previous night, before getting to Christie’s parents’ place, because he hadn’t wanted to be disturbed. But as per usual, he’d forgotten to turn the reminders back on again.

Then the moment he’d switched them on, the phone had started vibrating like crazy and he’d seen what it was he’d forgotten.

Jude’s birthday. He was supposed to meet her for dinner last night.

He’d never forgotten her birthday before, never. He always did everything he could to remember it, and these days he’d thought it was so cemented in his brain he wouldn’t ever forget.

But he hadn’t counted on this crazy obsession with Christie St. John.

Shit. He couldn’t believe he’d stood Jude up. She was the only person in his life who’d put up with all the ADHD crap and stuck by him, when even their mother had given up on him as a bad job. Jude was important to him, and it hurt when he slipped up.

Joseph stabbed the doorbell again.

He should have left Christie an explanation for why he’d gone, but he hadn’t had the time. He hoped she’d understand. He’d have to tell her about the ADHD stuff, of course. Maybe he should have done it sooner, but he didn’t make a habit of spilling his guts about it because he hated the way it made people stick him in a box and put a big fat label on him. Plus it always sounded like an excuse and he hated that, too.

The door abruptly opened, Jude on the other side. She didn’t say anything, just looked at him.

“I’m sorry.” It was all he could say.

Wordlessly, she gestured him inside.

In her light, airy living room, he paced while she made coffee, the restlessness so bad it felt like a million ants moving under his skin. With Christie it hadn’t felt this bad. In fact, when he was with her he felt almost settled. Calm.

But that was just the hyper-focus, right? The way he always got when he had a new