Chapter 9
Later that day and into the early evening, Grey broke through the water in the small cove on the edge of the Caribbean Sea that was as private as it was gorgeous. An inlet that was owned by the resort and was only accessible to those staying in the presidential suite for a private snorkeling experience. On either side of the small cove were a few caves, and a small beach, but the boat was anchored in the center, the bow facing out toward the North Atlantic Ocean.
Grey glided through the cool water toward the ladder of the speed boat, and tossed his mask, flippers, and snorkel onto the boat’s deck and then climbed the ladder. A quick look over his shoulder told him that Evie was still engrossed in the coral reef, her snorkel sticking out of the water. He smiled, never thinking himself someone who cared much for marine life, but Evie’s excitement over the fish made the experience a bigger deal.
His earlier conversation with Seth remained on his mind. On the one hand, he thought he should tell Evie about their conversation. On the other hand, he didn’t want to ruin this weekend for everyone. Who knew if Seth now regretted what he said. Perhaps he’d calmed down and realized he made a mistake. That he wanted to marry Holly tomorrow. Grey had no intention of crashing a wedding and hurting Evie. Fuck yeah, he’d protect her against Seth if he dared upset her. But Grey knew he had to let this play out. He couldn’t act without seeing what Seth’s next move would be.
He took in the state of the boat; the mess from their picnic earlier was still off to the side. Something he didn’t intend to worry about until later. He grabbed the towel off the navy pinstriped cushion, trying to recall a time he’d enjoyed an afternoon like he had today. He failed to find anything that could measure up to these last few hours alone with her.
“Amazing.”
Evie’s sweet voice warmed him, and he glanced over his shoulder, finding her climbing up the ladder. She placed her snorkeling gear next to his and then straightened up. The vision before him made the world disappear and his gaze narrow on her. As it had for the month he’d worked alongside her, hot desire flooded him, making him hot and hard, wanting to get even closer to her.
“Don’t move.”
Dressed in a black bikini, she froze. Perhaps at the heat in his voice, at the dominance flooding him. Their time together was counting down, and he wouldn’t waste any of the minutes he had left. He moved to her, never taking his eyes off her, consumed by the lust raging in her eyes. She’d given him this look many times before now. A look so hot and needy he’d jerked his cock many times thinking of her this way. Before, he couldn’t do anything about it, always having to stay professional. Not anymore. Now, he could fully unleash himself, not having to worry about scaring her off, being too much man for her.
When he reached her, he scanned her face, loving the delicate pinkish hue to her cheeks and the way her lips parted, her breaths seeming harder to drag in. His cock twitched in his swim trunks, throbbing to be deep inside her.
“Be still,” he murmured, tangling his fingers into her wet hair, angling her head where he wanted it. He dropped his mouth against her neck and kissed from her shoulder to her ear, swirling his tongue, enjoying the way she wiggled her stomach eagerly against his dick. Her sweet, salty taste made him groan. He slid his hand over her bottom, squeezing the fleshy skin. She began moaning, softening beneath his touch, offering herself to him in all the ways he wanted her.
Playing on her enjoyment of voyeurism, he tucked his fingers into the rim of her bathing suit bottoms and slowly pushed them down until she stepped out of them. While he doubted anyone would come by since the resort kept this cove private for its high-paying clients, he almost wished someone would. Even if Evie would likely be embarrassed, he didn’t doubt she’d also find being caught thrilling and exciting.
His cock throbbed as he pulled on the two bows of her bikini top until he had the fabric in his hands. He slid his fingers down her collarbone, and he stepped in behind her. She gave off a nice little shiver when he bound her wrists together at her back with her bikini top, nice and tight. He liked the way she looked like this, trapped to his desires.
Leaving her standing there with the sun glistening off her tanned skin, he moved to the bench and sat down. He dropped one of the seat cushions onto the floor and hooked a finger at her. “Come here, angel.”
“Right away, sir,” she joked.
He wasn’t joking, and when she moved to him and then dropped to her knees on the cushion, he reached for her, placing her over his thigh.
“Oh, my God.” She laughed.
“My way is better, if you recall,” he told her gently, rubbing his hand over the roundness of her bottom.
She visibly relaxed over his knee, her head hanging down, her long hair blanketing the deck. He dragged his fingernails up her back and then brought them back down before circling his hand over her bottom again. He waited, moving slowly until she went completely lax, then his hand landed with a heavy thud on her cheek. Her gasp of equal shock and excitement drifted over him.
The sun was hot, beating down on him when he circled his hand again, waiting for her to relax. When she did, he swatted once more. She moaned, unknowingly spreading her legs. He didn’t miss the opportunity, giving her exactly what she wanted from him. And he wasn’t at all surprised when he slipped his hand between her spread thighs, finding her hot, wet, and ready.
From behind, he swirled her clit, tickling his finger across the bundle of nerves until she wiggled. He knew her body better now, and he fondled her clit until she was gasping. Only then did he place an arm over her back, pinning her to him, then he put all his focus on that sweet ass that had haunted him for a month.
“This is for me, Evie,” he murmured. “This is your punishment for all the times you bent over in front of me. Did you do that to tease me?” His hand came down on her ass with a hard slap.
“Yes.” She gasped.
“Did it make you wet to know I was watching you…wanting you?” Another slap on the cheek began to redden her skin.
She moaned and wiggled. “God, yes.”
He swatted again, and again, sending her moaning, begging for him. And he didn’t stop, not for a second, warming up her lovely skin. Sometimes, he swatted her warm bottom, other times he stroked her slit until she soaked his fingers, beyond ready to take him.
“Did you tease me because you wanted me to fuck you?” he asked, squeezing one bright red cheek then repeating the move on the other.
“Yes, I don’t know, maybe,” she breathed. “I wanted you to want me. To crave me.”
“Is that so?” He assisted her off his lap to kneel on the cushion before him. Keeping his eyes on the lust in the depth of her gaze, he lifted his hips, removing his swim trunks, exposing his hefty cock to her.
She stared at him, nibbling on her lip, and that damn sexy mouth of hers enticed him. He cupped her face, sealing his mouth across hers. She smelled of coconut and sun, as he sucked on her tongue, on her lips, devouring her mouth, informing her that she belonged to him right now.
When he finally broke the kiss and leaned away, he grabbed the base of his cock. “Prepare me to fuck you, angel.”
His cock throbbed as he watched her slowly lean forward. With her hands bound behind her, her mouth slid across the tip of his dick. “Fuck,” he exhaled, tossing his head back against the edge of the boat.
This, her beautiful mouth, those gorgeous eyes…he needed to see her. He forced his head up to gaze upon her pleasuring him, a bound beauty, moving her head up and down, with the sunscreen on her flesh shining in the sun. “Look at me.”
Her heated eyes snapped to his. She bobbed her mouth on the tip, and all his control fled just that easily. She did this to him. There was something there in her eyes, something vulnerable but utterly powerful, and something that drove him crazy.
“Goddamn it,” he growled, rising to his feet, grabbing a condom from his wallet resting on the table next to them and applying it quickly. “You’re so fucking sexy, Evie. Come here, angel.” He reached for her, assisting her onto the bench seat. Her chest rested sideways against the cushion, her reddened bottom available to him. Unable to wait, fueled by this raw desire for her, he kicked her legs open and entered her soaking slit right to the hilt.
She gasped, a heady sound of pleasure. That single noise brought out something primal in him. With fierceness spurring him on, he reached for the wet strands of her hair, fisting it in his hand. “You drive me fucking crazy,” he told her, pressing the other hand against her shoulder blades. “Your pussy is so fucking good.” He slammed forward, withdrawing quickly to return just as fast.
“Yes!” she screamed, the side of her face pressed against the bench seat, her eyes pinched shut. “You’re so hard…God, yes!”
He growled, an inhuman sound, unleashing himself in the way he’d wanted to since he met her. He pounded her sweet pussy until she began to tighten, telling him her climax was rising. Yet so was his.
Wanting to draw this out, he pulled on her arms, bringing her back to his chest, and he switched their positions. He sat on the bench with her on top, the long strands of her hair before him. She didn’t miss a step. She moaned loudly now and trembled atop him, expertly riding him to sweet satisfaction. Her reddened ass jiggled perfectly, her moans mixed alongside his. He gripped her bound wrists with one hand, and then held onto her hip, assisting her, sweat dripping down the side of his face. She rode his cock and began panting, her tight pussy a vise grip, telling him yet again she was right there and ready to dive into the pleasure.
He wasn’t ready for this to end. Not yet. He reached forward with his free hand and massaged one breast and then the other, tweaking her nipples tightly. She moaned against the bite and moved harder now…faster. Anything less than exploding against him wasn’t acceptable today.
He didn’t only want to be a weekend memory for her.
He wanted to be her greatest fuck of all time.
Determined, and with another low growl, he was on his feet again, one arm across her chest, the other around her waist, supporting her. He didn’t pause and let her high fade, he pounded into her from behind. Skin against skin, every one of his thrusts grew more intense as the seconds drew on until he set a rhythm that didn’t give her a chance to refuse his call. His cock was straining to blow, hitting the perfect spot inside her, and the loss of control he heard in her screams tightened his balls.
Sweat glistened along his body with each hard and unforgiving shift of his hips. His muscles strained and burned. Needing her to come with him, he assisted her forward, helping her rest against the edge of the boat, and rocked his hips harder.
With his other hand, he grabbed her hair none too gently, tipping her head back. In her ear, he growled, “You want to come, Evie?”
“Yes,” she screamed, her soaked pussy quivering against him.
Owned by him, he moved harder, faster, pushing his muscles to their very limit. “Make me come with you.”
And with her ravenous screams and pussy pulsating against him, she did. With force, making him near cross-eyed, his semen exploded into the condom, and he bucked and jerked his pleasure.
As his strength left him, so did hers, and she sank down all the way to the deck. On her side, she looked up at him and laughed, a sound of pure happiness and satisfaction. He couldn’t smile with her. Something potent and raw washed through him, tightening his throat and chest.
He squatted down before her, taking her chin in his grip, and she suddenly went quiet, looking back at him. The exchange between them was long and intense. “Are you going to tease me again with that fine ass of yours?”
She grinned. “When I can move again, that’s a big fat yes.”
* * *
Redressed in her bikini, Evie stepped back onto the boat’s deck, returning from the cabin and bringing the two glasses of white wine she’d gone to fetch. She found Grey back in his swim trunks and sprawled out on the bow’s cockpit. His arms were resting behind him, chin tilted up, eyes fixated on the sun beginning to set over the horizon. Sculpted, hard lines, rough masculine beauty, his thick muscular arm covered in shaded tattoos; Grey was what men aimed to be, right down to his spectacular cock.
Though, as she approached him, she wondered if she truly knew him, the real Greyson Crawford, the man behind the sexy smile and extravagant lifestyle, beyond his sinful touches? They only had this wedding weekend together, could you truly know someone in only three days?
When she approached, he glanced her way, his eyes going from peaceful to heated in an instant. “Stop there for a minute,” he murmured.
She froze. “What now?”
“It’s just you,” he said, cocking his head, giving her a very thorough once-over before reaching her gaze again. “There, under the sunlight like that, you’re perfect. Let me remember it.”
She melted a little bit and smiled. “All about the romance today?”
“Is it working?” he asked with a grin.
“Most definitely.” She laughed and began walking toward him again, and offered him one of the glasses.
He winked, accepting the glass. “Then I’ll lay it on thick.”
She chuckled softly and sat next to him on the blanket that he had laid out. With a long exhale, she glanced out at the quiet, mid-deep, aqua-colored water, and sipped the expensive wine with the citrus hints. “We only have another hour or so before we have to head back.”
Grey took a big sip of the wine and frowned. “I don’t approve of this sleepover Holly has planned.”
“Of course you don’t because that means no sex for you tonight.” At his deeper frown, she laughed softly. “Sadly, it’s part of my maid of honor duties, and honestly, I haven’t spent much time with her, so you’re going to have to suck it up.”
Alpha male irritation sprinkled the air, but Grey nodded. “I’ll have to make do without you then.”
Evie hesitated, wondering what he’d do without her. Then she reminded herself that he had just fucked the living shit out of her and he was hers for the weekend. She smiled. “Poor, baby.”
He smiled behind his wine glass. “Poor me, indeed.”
She shook her head at him, staring off into the distance at the white caps, and sipped her wine. But her mind circled back to the guy beside her. “So,” she said, turning back to him, “is it my turn for a little Q and A?”
Grey lowered his wine glass to the deck, giving her his full attention. “Sure, why not.”
She pondered all the things she wanted to know about Grey, who kept surprising her, including bringing her to this cove today. Though considering what they’d just done, there was one thought that stood out from the rest… “Do you like normal sex?”
His eyebrow winged up. “What is normal sex?”
“I mean, like touching sex.” She glanced at the water, hating how her cheeks flushed. “Intimate sex.”
“Because I bind you, you mean?”
She looked his way and nodded. “Exactly.”
After examining her for a few long seconds, he added, “No, it’s not the sex I usually have.”
“Why is that?” She wasn’t sure why she needed to know, but she did.
His brows furrowed when he looked at the water. The boat rocked a little, and then he turned to her again and explained, “Because it complicates things for women.”
“You mean that the intimacy makes things too emotional?”
“For them, yes,” he agreed, inclining his head. “I used to allow sex without the kink, but I noticed that if a woman could touch my face during sex, let’s just say…it became too personal.”
Evie pondered that, and after thinking about it, she concluded, “Are you sure that it didn’t become too personal for you and that’s what you had a problem with?”
He glanced away, and the firm set of his mouth told her he didn’t intend on answering her.
It didn’t matter, she didn’t need him to. “It’s a boundary you place. I get that. And I guess I respect that, too. You don’t want to hurt anyone.” His soft eyes came to hers, something passing between them in that moment, and she smiled. “Actually, it’s kind of sweet that you do that because you think you’re protecting your lovers.”
He reached for her hand and kissed her palm.
How confusing was he? For a guy who clearly hated intimacy, he was pretty damn good at it. Leaving that behind for now, not wanting him to shut down, she changed the subject. “All right then, tell me this: why do you play this cold-hearted, skirt-chasing ladies’ man?”
He snorted and heaved a long heavy sigh. “I’m beginning to regret saying yes to having this conversation.” She laughed, and he added, “But do explain, what do you mean by play it?”
“You’re not that guy,” she explained, crossing her legs and resting her wine glass between them. “I see that now, but when I first met you…it’s like you’ve got this wall up, keeping everyone out. I’ve seen you turn it on in front of strangers like it’s second nature. So, what is it, a nasty ex-girlfriend who broke your heart, a lover that moved away? What’s got your heart all tangled up in knots, Greyson Crawford?” She took a sip of her wine.
“It’s actually none of those things,” he said, the sunlight shimmering on his cheekbone. “I had girlfriends in the past. A couple of them throughout high school, but that was young affection.” He drank back another big sip of his wine and added, “In college, I partied a lot.”
“With your friend, Maddox?”
“That’s right,” he said, dipping his chin. “Our lifestyle at that time never led to a girlfriend. It’s not that I didn’t want one, but I was a young kid, and I liked…” He paused and then smirked. “I liked women—and a lot of them.” Another pause. Then, “I’ve witnessed many relationships end in pain. If I were to put myself through that, I’d want it to be right, something like I’ve seen from my parents or even what Maddox has now with his wife, Joss. But I’ve never had that personally before, so I never wanted to be tied down.”
“No, you wanted to tie them up.”
He barked a laugh. “Truer words have never been spoken.”
Evie hesitated and drew in a deep breath, pondering his relationship history. Her life had simply been so different. She’d been madly in love up until college. But Grey was right, it was young affection. She knew that her forever relationship would look a lot different than what she had with Seth.
In the silence, Grey’s eyebrow arched. “Does hearing about my past upset you?”
“No,” she replied, softly shaking her head. “I actually appreciate your honesty. It’s refreshing.”
“It’s refreshing to you because you’ve been hurt before,” Grey said, giving her a measured look. “That’ll leave a mark.”
She stopped with her wine halfway to her lips and frowned at him. “Are you saying that I’m damaged goods?”
He grasped her chin, tilting her eyes to meet the amusement in his. “What I’m saying is that there’s a mark on your soul because of what Seth and Holly did to you. Marks like that either make you stronger or weaken you.”
“What’s my mark? The latter or the former?”
“You know the answer to that question, not me.” He lowered his hand, glanced out at the water again, resting his arms on his knees. “But no matter what, we can’t be strong all the time. Sometimes, you need to break fully in order to heal.”
Evie took a sip of wine, and while citrusy hints lingered on her tongue, she realized now that the mark Grey mentioned had weakened her for years. She had reacted defensively for a long time. And if she were honest with herself, she could feel, even now, that sore spot on her soul that told her why she hadn’t had a solid relationship since Seth. It wasn’t that she still loved him, it was that she no longer trusted anyone.
That’s what she liked the most about Grey, she realized. His world was solid. That meant something. “So, back to you,” she said. “You’ve never broken a heart or two?”
“Upset, probably,” he said, “But have I left a woman heartbroken? No, it’s not my way. I’m clear with what I want, and I don’t get involved with women who I don’t think can handle the arrangements we set.”
“Like ours?”
He gave a knowing smile, tipping his wine glass at her. “With you, there was a little more on the line because you’re not the type of woman to have a one-night stand with a guy like me.”
“Which brings us back to my original point,” she said. “You’re not a ladies’ man with me. That part hasn’t come out when we’ve been together. Not since you first suggested joining me this weekend. It’s why I agreed to the arrangement. You’re different.”
His brow winged up again. “Do I truly act differently, or are you perhaps seeing me in a different way because you’re finally letting me in?”
She paused and sipped her wine, stumped.
Could that be true?
Was he softening, or was she simply opening up to him? “It’s both,” she decided after a minute of thinking it over. “You’re definitely not the cutthroat, stern, far too arrogant businessman I’ve known these past weeks. You’re not the overly charming ladies’ man either. But, yes, maybe I see life differently than before.” The moment her mouth shut, she realized he’d distracted her again from digging a bit deeper into his life. “And will you stop trying to change the subject?”
He chuckled, shaking his head. “Honestly, Evie, there’s not much to know here. It wasn’t that I never planned to date long-term or find that special someone. When I finished college, I hit the ground running to make my company successful. There wasn’t time for a steady relationship, and if I did have a girlfriend, they always broke it off because I picked work over them.”
“You never once chose them?”
He finished off his wine. “No. Never,” he finally answered.
“You don’t think that’s kinda cold?” she asked, quickly looking at the birds soaring overhead.
“I think it’s very cold,” he agreed, “but business is a cold thing. I didn’t have time to worry if I was hurting a woman’s feelings. So, I was always clear. If they wanted sex, I could give them that. Hell, I could even date and take them out sometimes. But if business came up, they came second. That was the deal they had to accept.”
She sipped her still half-full glass of wine to pause the conversation, giving her time to think. It was hard to see Grey the way he described. He simply didn’t seem like the cold guy who only cared about his job. He had more passion in his pinky finger than Seth had in his whole body. But could he turn it off so easily? “I’m beginning to see why some women in your past had a problem with that.”
He nodded. “I never said it was fair, only that it happened.”
The boat rocked against a small wave, and she watched her wine swish in her glass before she addressed him again. “Do you regret how you treated women in your past?”
“Regret?” He paused, brows drawn, then shook his head. “No, I don’t regret anything I’ve done. I did it for a reason, and I trust my instincts. But I also never hurt anyone like you’ve been hurt because we never got that close. It simply never happened. At the end of the day, my business was my priority.”
“And now?”
“Now, my business is solid.”
There were a lot of things unsaid between them, and all the unspoken words felt heavy in the air.
Obviously, he felt it too since he broke the silence. “You, angel,” he said, reaching for her, “are looking far too serious.” He wrapped an arm around her back, guiding her to straddle him. “Now come here and kiss me before we start dissecting my past and breaking it into all my painful memories.”
“Were there painful memories?”
He chuckled and flipped their positions until she was lying on her back against the deck and he was resting between her thighs. Hovering over her, he frowned. “Evie, what did we agree upon?”
“Your game. Your rules. My surrender.”
“Precisely,” he said firmly. “Now, kiss me.”
This time, she listened.