by Brenna Zinn
It is too good to be true.
“But you and I are as different as chicken-fried steak and filet mignon,” she insisted. “I’m a simple girl from Texas and you’re Big Slick from New York. We have so little in common.”
“That’s not true,” Bennett interjected. “I can prove it.”
“Well I can’t wait to hear this. Do tell.”
“What’s most important to you?” he asked.
She needed only a second to think through her answer. “Family.”
“Me too.” He applied pressure to her palms with his thumbs as though helping to prove his point. “All I’ve ever wanted was to have a family to love and to love me back. Until now, I didn’t think that was possible. Then you came along and turned my world upside down. I’m even getting along with my father.”
“Really? Lyle?”
“Hard to believe, but true.” He placed her trembling hands on her knees, picked up the ring from the table and held it before her. “I’m a man who acts when I know what I want. I know for a fact that I want you. And I want you exactly the way you are. I only hope you’ll take me the way I am.” Once again he slid the ring on her finger. “I’ve made the mistake of throwing you a curve ball, and I want you to know that no matter if you decide to stay in Austin or move to New York, I want to be there with you. What do you say?”
She noticed his hands were trembling as well. Could he be as nervous about her answer as she was at his proposition?
“I say,” she started, then stopped.
Could they really make a go of a relationship? Did they have what it took to make a relationship last? She didn’t doubt the sincerity of every word he’d said. Nor did she doubt her feelings for him. But was that enough?
And she still needed to figure out her career, another stomach-twisting decision.
What did she want?
A life in Austin, the city she had come to adore?
Here she could find satisfaction managing a strip club for woman and using her skills to teach others how to dance. She would be around people she knew. She would be relatively close to her family in West Texas. Plus if she and Bennett stayed together, he would be close to family too.
New York?
There she would finally dance professionally. Fulfill her ambition, her dreams. Shoot for the stars. See where her career took her.
She swallowed hard as though the decision not only clogged her mind, but her throat as well. So much was happening too quickly. So much was riding on her decision.
“I say,” she started again, reaching down deep to find her answer. “I want to stay.” Relief swept through her as the heavy weight of the choice fell from her shoulders. “I want to live in Austin and really make something of Iron Rods. I just feel the club is getting ready to take off. It’s going to be huge. And I’ve got some great new dancers, including a mystery man who wears a mask. The guy has enough talent to slay every woman who comes in to the club.” He looked up expectantly, clearly wanting to know if she’d stay with him. She felt a mulish satisfaction at making him squirm about her answer. But only for a moment. Strong relationships weren’t built on hurting the ones you loved. And she definitely wanted theirs to be as strong as she could make it.
“And I will live with you,” she added. “I want to make something of us.”
Bennett bolted to his feet, grabbed her off the chair and swung her around the small kitchen.
“You’ve just made me the happiest man in the universe,” he said when he finally stopped.
He held her tight and then kissed her long and hard. When he pulled back, a giant grin pulled his cheeks so high his eyes were little more than slits.
“Gheesh,” she chided. “I only agreed to move in. You’re acting like I gave you the keys to a gold mine.”
“Oh, but you have.” He gave her another squeeze and then lowered her feet to the ground. “We have a lot of plans to make. Packing to do. People to tell.” He pulled out his phone. “I’ll cancel my appointments until we have everything arranged. Lyle is going to be ecstatic. He’s crazy about you.”
“He is?”
“He thinks the world of you. Now that you’ve decided to stay and continue running Iron Rods, I wouldn’t be surprised if he dances a jig in his front yard buck nakedk..”
“Ugh.” Tatum shivered. “I love your dad, but that was an image I didn’t need in my mind.”
Bennett grabbed her hand and kissed her fingertips. “For now, forget about Lyle, the club or anything else but us.”
He tested her already unsteady balance with each touch of his lips as he moved on to the back of her hand. She leaned on the kitchen table, not trusting her legs to keep her standing. Eyes closed, she blew out a heated breath while focusing her mind on the man she wanted to see naked, not to mention lying on top of her.
After several steamy minutes, a wry smile pulled at the corners of her mouth. She stood up, grabbed Bennett’s hand and pulled. “Come with me, big fella. I’ve got clean sheets on the bed and I hear them calling.”
Bennett whisked her up in his big arms and gave her a look that made Tatum wish her clothes were already in a heap on the floor. “I’m just hoping your door isn’t locked, so I don’t have to kick it in.”
She laughed and nuzzled his neck, breathing in his heavenly scent that she’d come to love as much as the man himself. “As long as we’re together, you can tear down any door you want.”
About Brenna Zinn
Equally at home camping in the mountains of Montana or shopping on the Champs-Elysees in Paris, Brenna Zinn's journey through life has taken her all over the United States, as well as many places throughout the world. Using her travel experience as a guide and peppering in interesting characters she's met along the way, Brenna loves nothing better than artfully weaving erotic tales of romance and leaving readers yearning for adventures of their own.
Brenna welcomes comments from readers. You can find her website and email addresses on her author bio page at www.ellorascave.com.
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Also by Brenna Zinn
Rise of the Dom
Ellora’s Cave Publishing
www.ellorascave.com
Iron Rods
ISBN 9781419947179
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
Iron Rods Copyright © 2014 Brenna Zinn
Edited by Jillian Bell
Cover design and photography by Syneca
Model Georgio
Electronic book publication June 2014
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