Free In His World (For His Pleasure, Book 28) by Kelly Favor

say that,” Chloe told her.
    “But you didn’t deny it,” Dana reminded her.
    “Always the lawyer,” Chloe said, dropping her piece of bread and pushing her chair away from the table. “I can’t talk about this right now. I can’t do this.”
    “Please, don’t be mad,” Dana told her.
    “I’m not mad. I just…I need some time. Can I go to my old room, Mom?”
    Her mother nodded. “Of course. You know that.”
    “I’m staying over tonight, too,” Dana said.
    “Do whatever you want,” Chloe said.

    * * *
    S he went up to her old room and lay in bed reading one of her old Anne of Green Gables books. She’d read it more times than she could count, but holding the book in hand and paging through those well-remembered lines of text was comforting, just as her mother and sister had comforted her.
    Even though both of them also sometimes infuriated her.
    They were all so close and knew one another too well sometimes.
    It was hard to get distance, especially when she simultaneously craved their support. The problem was that she couldn’t keep failing and falling back to her childhood ways.
    How long would she keep running home to mommy every time something went awry in her life?
    Meanwhile, Dana somehow had managed to craft a life that made sense to her, that grounded her.
    Chloe was floating at sea, directionless, lost and alone.
    She put the book down and tried to sleep, but every time she shut her eyes, he appeared behind her eyelids—his face floated, his eyes boring into hers.
    The vivid memories of what he’d done to her surged back, and her body responded almost painfully to the thought of him.
    A couple of hours passed and she finally roused herself from her vague drowsy depression. Getting out of bed, Chloe walked downstairs and found Dana and her mother both sitting in the living room, watching an old episode of Seinfeld and laughing wildly.
    Chloe had never been able to appreciate the goofy humor of the show the way her mother and sister had. She stood in the doorway and sighed to herself.
    Then, just as she was turning to go and rummage around in the freezer for some ice cream or some other soothing snack, she caught sight of a shadow in the rippled glass next to the front door.
    The doorbell rang, startling her.
    Chloe’s mother turned. “That must be my delivery—I ordered a dehumidifier for the basement.”
    “I’ll get it,” Chloe told her, walking to the door.
    It was only as she was opening the door that she realized something was off—there was no delivery truck out front, and the man standing on the doorstep was not a Fed Ex delivery man either.
    Her breath caught in her chest and she took a step back, gasping.
    Brody Hawk was standing there, wearing a dark leather jacket that hugged his muscular frame, hanging open to reveal his white shirt. His pants were brown, and the belt buckle was gold.
    He looked as if he’d come to pose for one of his magazine photos.
    Chloe’s mouth opened and closed.
    Brody gestured to the storm door, which was still shut. She remained motionless, stunned at seeing a ghost turn up on her mother’s doorstep.
    After a moment, Brody opened the storm door himself with a slight grin. “I know this is a bit of a surprise,” he said.
    “Is someone there?” Chloe’s mother screamed from the living room.
    Chloe grabbed Brody’s arm. “You have to go,” she said softly but urgently. The idea of her mother seeing him in there and peppering him with questions—let alone Dana, a lawyer…
    But it was already too late. Dana emerged from the living room and into the front hallway. Her eyes immediately widened and her jaw dropped. “Hey, that’s—that’s that guy…” She pointed at him in disbelief and then her eyes got even wider as she looked at Chloe. “Oh my God. This is the Brody you were talking about?”
    Brody’s eyes shifted to Chloe and his grin returned, more mischievous now. “Oh well,” he said, shrugging. “Too late to turn back