Free Determined: To Love: (Part 2 of the Determined Trilogy) by Elizabeth Brown Page B

cocktails and a plate of cheese fries, Carrie and I parted ways, and I was whisked back over the glowing Bay Bridge to David’s apartment in the city.
    Stepping off the elevator, I was greeted by David, who was dressed down in a Cal t-shirt and pajama pants, barefoot in the foyer. He removed his hands from his pockets as I walked toward him.
    “Baby,” he murmured as he took me into his arms.
    “I missed you,” I returned. And I had. Desperately. I inhaled deeply and took in his scent as I nuzzled against his soft shirt. His strong arms wrapped protectively around me and for a moment I allowed myself to become lost in his embrace. Nothing else mattered as the concerns of the day slipped out of sight, giving way to a feeling of complete wholeness.
    He led me to the dining room, where two dinner plates had been set. I picked at my grilled chicken, still full from the cheese fries, as we shared highlights from our respective days. I was pushing around some green beans when David asked about my trip to Tiburon.
    “So,” he said, putting his fork down. “How was your meeting with Gina Moretti?”
    “Um, good. She’s really nice, and her house is gorgeous. She wants me to do all the art buying for it. And she wants to spend a lot.”
    “No doubt to the detriment of her ex, I surmise?”
    “How’d you know?”
    “I ran a background check on her.”
    Duh. Of course he did. I knew he was a little too cool about letting me go visit her alone.
    I looked him in the eye. “And what did you find out Mr. Investigator?”
    He met my gaze for a moment before returning to his meal. “Not much. Just a philandering husband. And lots of money.”
    “So she is wealthy?” I wasn’t sure why I’d doubted it.
    “Yes, very. Most of it’s in offshore accounts, so we can’t be positive of how wealthy, but all the signs are there.”
    “Hmm.”
    David looked at me and cocked his head. “What is it, Samantha?”
    I decided to get it over with. “The contract says the job requires extensive travel.”
    David paused and looked at me. “How much travel?”
    “Up to ninety percent of the time. Foreign and domestic. It’s in the employment contract.”
    He paused for only a beat. “Nonsense. I can’t imagine she holds fast to that request. So much can be done online now. Besides, every contract is negotiable.”
    Of course. I hadn’t even thought of that. “Would you look at the contract for me? I mean, you have much more experience with those kinds of things.” I smiled at him, fluttering my eyelashes.
    The corners of his mouth turned up, and he sat back in his chair, looking at me. “Hmm. I could. What’s in it for me?”
    “That, sir, is negotiable.”
    ~
    David ended up proofing my contract, and I thanked him with an extra special blow-job. It was a fair exchange. Done with our business transactions, we sprawled out on the bed. David turned over to face me, and eyed my naked body with a primal appreciation.
    “You are truly exceptional, Samantha.” He cooed.
    “You’re not so bad yourself, chief.”
    “Chief?”
    “Yeah. You’re the boss right? So you’re chief. “
    “Chief.” He smiled, looking pleased. He glanced down at the foot of the bed and paused for a few beats. “Mmm. I like that,” he murmured quietly.
    David hadn’t always had such a charmed life. His dad had never been in the picture, so he was orphaned when a horrific car accident took his mother and left him in the hospital. He was only five at the time. A nurse working on the floor convinced her husband they needed to adopt him, and they all lived together in Louisiana for about a year before his adoptive father got a position as head surgeon out here at UCSF. His adoptive mother had been told she was never going to be able to have kids, but soon after moving to California, something happened and she brought not just one, but two children into the world. Everything seemed to be going right, when tragedy struck again. When the youngest was