I’ve never known anyone to be so hot and cold.

Yesterday, the longer I spent with Grayson during our tours and lunch, the more he seemed to loosen up, so...that’s hot, right? Sure, it was still obvious that he didn’t want to know anything serious about my life, plus he revealed next to nothing about himself except for his work at Colossus, but I’m pretty darn sure I saw his guard slip a little. There were some chinks in his walls that weren’t there before, and I guess it’s because he’s more willing than ever to make our mail-order arrangement work. Also hot? The heat I saw whenever I would catch him giving me sweltering gazes that made me tremble while I anticipated what might happen in his bedroom. I even spent the entire limo ride back to his mansion holding my breath.

But then came the cold.

It started when he got a phone call from his lab at the end of the day. It continued when he barely acknowledged me after he dropped me off at the mansion. I waited in his bed for hours, startling at every little sound, my heart sparking every time I thought I heard him come up the elevator and walk into the suite. I waited so damned long that I finally just fell asleep, and when I woke up this morning, I found his side of the bed empty and untouched.

At least he was decent enough to leave a voicemail though. On it, he brusquely told me that he’d spent the night in the lab, finessing a formula. He even invited me to meet him after breakfast so I could take a tour of his offices.

Back to hot?

When I got there, Dr. Vangelis greeted me and ended up showing me around, and just as we were on our way to the lab, we met Grayson in the hallway. His expression was stony as he told us that the breakthrough didn’t happen, and they were back to the drawing board.

And that’s how he stayed when we left for the Red Sox game he promised to take me to.

Chilly as hell.

I know he really wanted to be back in that lab, but what we’re doing with this fake girlfriend charade is important too, because if Grayson can’t convince Jake Foreman at the dinner in a couple of nights that we’re a real couple and he has changed, he won’t be working anywhere near Colossus.

Even hours later, after the baseball game, he’s still in a cold, moody place. In spite of that, he seems determined to carry through with this girlfriend act, because he had Jayne deliver all the fixings for a picnic on Constitution Beach near the airport. Now she’s gone, leaving us with a basket full of gourmet goodies from Chef Lefevre and a blanket that’s spread over a grassy section near the shore. The place is deserted on this overcast day except for the planes that keep flying over our heads.

I can tell Grayson’s mind is still about as far away as those planes will be going.

After we eat, I clean up the food and place everything in the basket. I keep looking over at him. His hair is perfectly coiffed, his chiseled face thoughtful, his designer button-down and khaki trousers creased just exactly so. My heart twists, because I want him so badly, but he’s still as cold as the air around us.

I’m saved from my doubts only when my phone dings yet again with another text. I read it and then lean back on the blanket, stretching out my booted legs and watching another plane fly overhead. “I almost wish all those paparazzi pictures hadn’t been published on the society pages this morning. My friends and family are freaking out about my suddenly glamorous and exciting life. They have a million questions about you, and I keep telling them that I’ll answer each one when I see them again. I’m much too busy living this whirlwind of a romance at the moment.”

“As long as they believe it’s true, I’m happy.”

But is Grayson happy? I’m not so sure.

Then he slides me a look that’s so heavy with pent-up desire that he inflames me. God, he confuses me so much.

Cold...now hot.

Another plane flies over our heads, echoing the sound and soar of my pulse.

He wants me to go to him. So I go, nestling between his legs and then leaning back against his wide chest. He wraps us in the huge plaid blanket, warming me up everywhere, making me tingle and long for more.

My stomach flips as I take in his delicious scent, wishing I could feel his bare skin against me instead. When I speak, my voice shakes, thanks to how the lining of my belly is trembling. “You’d better be careful, Grayson. People are going to see another side of you if you don’t watch out.”

“Isn’t that the idea? For everyone to see another side of me?”

His words travel from his chest and right into me, causing a carnal hum to spread through me.

No one is around — we might as well be the only people left in Boston. When Grayson rests his chin on top of my head and holds me as we watch another plane fly overhead, I can almost believe this is real.

And real is only going to break my heart, because this won’t last.

“You’re more quiet than usual,” I say.

“I’m fine.”

I tense up at the disappointment in his tone, but then he wraps his arms tighter around me. It’s as close as someone like Grayson probably ever gets to an apology.

“We haven’t gone over Jayne’s schedule for tomorrow,” he says. “It will be our last day before the weekend.”

“You mean the last day before the dinner with Jake Foreman.”

He slides his hand over my waist. The blanket covers everything — my cardigan sweater, my knit wool dress, my fashionable boots. But when Grayson begins to knead my side, I start to think about heat and passion and getting caught messing around with him in public.

It sends a twist of fear through me.

It turns me on.

He whispers hotly in my ear. “Your hair smells so damned good.”

He slips his hand to the front of my sweater and starts to unbutton it.

I suck in a breath, and then say, “We’re in public, Grayson.”

“And no one is around, unless you count the planes flying overhead.”

“But —”

“This blanket covers everything. All you have to do is pretend as if we’re watching the planes. Don’t give anything away.”

Oh, my God.

He kisses my ear then bites my lobe. Lust spears through me, and I arch away from him a little.

“Shit,” he whispers against me. “My baby has a fucking responsive erogenous zone there. I want to discover every one of them — maybe not all in one day though.”

He sucks my earlobe all the way into his mouth, and I squirm again.

“If someone were to see us out here or, God forbid, take a picture, there goes your image overhaul,” I whisper. “And there goes my reputation. You need my reputation, Grayson.”

“I just fucking need you.”

He’s got my sweater unfastened, and now he’s working on the zipper that holds the front of my dress together. The soft buzz of him undoing me travels over my skin, giving me goose bumps. My pussy starts to throb with temptation.

“We really shouldn’t do this,” I say.

“Do you know what it does to me when somebody tells me I shouldn’t do something?”

“I think that’s what got you into trouble in the first place with your reputation.” I laugh nervously. “I’m not here to get you into more trouble.”

“All I want to do right now is get into a lot of trouble with you.”

His bad-boy confession makes me feel like I’ve stuck my finger into a light socket, and everything inside of me flashes. He only makes it worse when he slides his hand into my gaping dress. He deftly undoes the front of my bra — one of the lacy, sexy ones Jayne had me buy — and then cups my breast. As he strums his thumb over my nipple, I lean back into him, trying not to let my face show how much I’m starting to get off.

He eases his other hand between my thighs and rubs me, and I press my cheek into his shoulder.

“Grayson...”

“Don’t worry, baby.” He softly strokes me through my panties. “Just open up for me a little more. I’m going to make you come right here, fast and hard and without taking off a stitch of clothing. But don’t you dare let your face show what is happening. Can you do that for me?”

“I don’t know...”

“Yes, you can. You will.”

It’s almost as if he’s challenging me, but I think we both know who’s going to win this contest. And as I part my thighs slightly, giving his fingers access to my sweet spot, I forget that we’re in the middle of a beach. I forget the disaster that’s sure to happen if someone is around and a camera captures us “cuddling” under a blanket.

He rolls my nipple between his thumb and forefinger as he uses his other fingers to press against my clit, circling it and driving me crazy. I can feel how slick I am for him, and I’m almost embarrassed that it didn’t take very long to get me so wet. But, then again, all I have to do is think of him to get this way.

He goes back to sucking on my earlobe, and I dig my fingers into his hard thighs. I want to mark him, let him see the signs of my passion so he’ll remember what he does to me. The combination of him sucking on my ear, fondling my breast, and stroking my clit is like dynamite, the fuse lit and sizzling its way to an explosion. Sparks nip my belly, and I start to whimper.

“There’s my sensitive girl who comes with just a touch,” he whispers. “Now blast off for me.”

He keeps rubbing, toying with me, sucking at me and I wish this would go even further. I wish he would fuck me, take me, make me all his...

With a rumble of thunder, I come like lightning splitting the sky. I come like a burst of fire flaring everything around me up, turning me inside out, completely destroying me with a frenzied, long-lasting bolt.

When it’s over, Grayson breathes against my ear. “Fuck, Harlow. I love watching you come.”

I can’t form words, and I’m grateful that he’s here to straighten my clothes under our covering. He kisses my neck and keeps the blanket around us like a warm cocoon where it’s just the two of us in our own little secret place.

Hot and cold. Cold and hot. I don’t know what I’m going to get out of Grayson Royal from one minute to the next. I don’t know if he’ll ever claim me all the way, even though I want it so bad I could die.

There’s no denying it anymore — it’s more than just my body wanting him.

It’s my heart.

But I’ll take this moment of heat for all it’s worth. I’ll even let it keep me warm if he doesn’t show up in our bed again tonight.

We watch more planes fly over our heads, and I can almost believe that, at this moment, he’s at peace. We are who we are right now, and nothing is going to change either of us...

Except maybe each other.

I can’t believe I’m even entertaining the possibility, and I don’t dare say anything that hints at my deepening feelings. And when his phone rings, I know staying silent was the right thing for me to do.

He unwraps us from the blanket and takes the call, his expression blank. Then, after listening and giving a noncommittal murmur, he hangs up.

He stands and extends his hand to me. “It’s time to go. Rick wants to meet with me about the dinner with Foreman.”

I take his hand, and he helps me to my feet. Then we both clean up the picnic, just as if our hot little piece of paradise never existed in the first place.