Page 91 of The Love Position

His words ran through her veins like warm honey, pooling low in her abdomen. Why did men as wonderful as Isaac choose a life of chastity, when others such as Marcus couldn’t keep it in their pants?

As she opened her eyes, his gaze dropped from her face to the floor.

A sudden flame of bravery flickered inside her. She wouldn’t ever ask him to break his vow, but she could ask why he chose it.

Come on. What would Estelle do in this situation? Jessica?

Sophia smothered her smile. No doubt Isaac would have been tied up on the bed inside ten minutes ago if they’d have been in her place.

‘Isaac?’

He lifted his head. ‘Yes?’

‘I was wondering why you chose to be celibate?’

His tanned cheeks flushed.

‘You don’t have to answer!’

‘It’s okay. I don’t mind.’

He kept rocking the hammock, but his mind seemed elsewhere, his gaze unfocused.

Then he cleared his throat. ‘As you know, I’m the youngest of four boys and we all became lawyers. I got a job at a brokerage firm in the City and thought I had my life sorted.’

‘My brother used to work for a brokerage company, too.’

Isaac smiled. ‘Which one?’

‘Conqueror.’

‘No way! Same as me.’

He paused, a frown furrowing his brow, as if this information was no longer a nice surprise.

‘Was he there thirteen years ago?’

‘No, he was there for the last six years.’

Isaac’s face relaxed. ‘Well, I’m sure you know what the hours are like and the pressure you’re under. As the youngest in our family, I was always playing catch-up and wanted to be as rich and successful as my older brothers.’ He gave her a rueful smile. ‘But youth and working out at the gym will only prevent you from hitting the wall for so long.’

Sophia knew he’d been burnt out by his job. But what did that have to do with celibacy?

‘I had a girlfriend, Daniella. She was in her early twenties and she moved into my place because we hoped it would make it easier to see each other with my long hours. But I didn’t just work late into the evenings, I also worked weekends as well and so we hardly ever saw each other.’

‘This was my life, and it was normal, but I couldn’t see what I was doing to my mental health. I was a hamster on a wheel, surrounded by other hamsters running just as fast as I was. Daniella was unhappy, but I didn’t notice. I was always working towards the next pay packet, the next bonus.’

He broke off, rubbing his jaw with one hand, the other still gently rocking the hammock.

‘Daniella got a job at Conqueror, working for one of the partners, a guy called Victor Thornfield. He was in his fifties, big and bullish. The kind of man who has to be at the top of every pile. She kept telling me he was a creep, but I didn’t pay enough attention to what she said. I knew he was an arsehole, but I was a bloke so had never experienced him acting inappropriately.’

Isaac hung his head. ‘A few of us had been working on a big deal and were still at the office at ten o’clock one night. I got a hysterical call from Daniella and found her hiding in one of the disabled toilets at Conqueror, crying that Thornfield had groped her. She begged me not to say anything, and that she would handle it, but I ignored her and stormed through the building to confront him. It just made everything worse.’

‘How?’

‘It cost Daniella her job.’

‘What? Seriously?’

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