Chapter Four
IT TOOK A colossal effort for Grayson to hold his tongue as he and Parker left Abe’s suite and headed for the elevator. Parker was visibly shaken, but she kept her game face on much better than he did. Grayson clenched his teeth so hard he was afraid they’d crack, hoping to remain silent long enough to calm himself down before he cursed a blue streak and told Parker what he really thought of Bert for leaving the letters that led her here.
The second the elevator doors closed, Parker grabbed his face and pulled him into a scorching-hot kiss, turning all that anger into white-hot desire. He backed her up against the wall, pressing his hard frame into all her supple curves. She clung to the back of his neck, filling his lungs with her sexy moan and setting loose all the pent-up lust he’d been holding back. His hands moved over her hips, around her waist, up her back, earning another sexy sound that brought his mind to dark, erotic places. He rocked his hips against her, and when her nails dug into his flesh, it yanked him from his steamy fantasies. She felt so good, tasted so sweet. He wanted her now, here. He wanted more of her, more than he’d ever wanted from any woman before, because beneath his hunger for sex and seduction was the passion to protect her with everything he had. She was vulnerable, sad, and angry, and he couldn’t take advantage of that; he had to protect her from himself. Now.
He drew back, kissing her more tenderly, and finally, reluctantly, pulling his mouth away completely. She pressed her fingers harder against the back of his neck.
“Kiss me, Grayson,” she pleaded.
The ache in her voice shot straight to his heart, shredding his control, and he claimed her again, deeper, harder, wanting her to feel what he felt for her, setting free ten months of pent-up emotion.
When the elevator stopped, he reluctantly pulled back again. Parker’s eyes fluttered open, and he couldn’t look away, wondering what had caused the unexpected—and exquisite—assault.
She cleared her throat, fidgeted with her blouse, her shorts, tucked her hair behind her ear, and when the elevator doors opened, she said, “That should help you relax.”
Holy cow, was she for real?
He matched her quick pace as they crossed the lobby. “Is that what that was?”
“Uh-huh.” Her eyes remained trained on the doors as they pushed through and stepped outside. “Wasn’t that why you kissed me?”
It had started out that way, but he’d enjoyed every second of it.
She slipped on her sunglasses, walling off her emotions, and motioned to the valet. He should have taken care of that, but his blood was still pooling below his belt.
The hot afternoon sun had nothing on the charged sexual tension sparking between them as they waited in heated silence for the valet to bring her car. He was acutely aware of the leers from nearly every male on the premises. Jealousy clawed at him, an unfamiliar and frustrating emotion, but there was no way he could do a thing about it. He struggled to tune out the ogling men, fighting the urge to claim her with another flaming kiss, because if he did, he was afraid he wouldn’t stop there. It didn’t help that she kept touching her lips, as if she was battling the same excruciating resistance. He shoved his hands in his pockets to keep them from acting on their own. If only he could turn his brain off, too.
When the valet brought the car, he whipped out his wallet and handed him a few bucks, then opened the passenger door and motioned for Parker to get in. When she didn’t, he removed her sunglasses so he could see her eyes—which were so full of lust it nearly stole his voice.
“You’re safer with my hands and mind occupied.”
Her breath whooshed out. “I…Um…”
He guided her into the seat and closed the door, wondering how he’d resist her when they got out of the car.
PARKER’S MIND SPUN. She’d kissed Grayson in the elevator to calm her nerves as much as his, because he’d looked like he was ready to blow and she’d been on the verge of exploding with disappointment and anger. But after a second, as with their first kiss, she’d stopped thinking at all and had succumbed to the greediness burning inside her, taking as much of him as he was willing to give.
On the way back to Wellfleet, his eyes were trained on the road, giving her a moment to really look at him. His thick, inky black hair looked finger-combed. The muscles along his chiseled jaw jumped to a frantic beat. His sleeves strained across his rigid biceps. He held the steering wheel so tightly his knuckles blanched. He was so different from the men she knew. Actors tended to be slimmer all over, less masculine, prettier. There was nothing pretty about Grayson. Even his name was rugged. On looks alone, he was all sharp edges and bulbous, hard muscle. But she’d already gotten a glimpse of his tender side, and when he spoke to her, there was nothing rough about his rich, soothing voice. Like the emails he’d sent her, every word felt important, made just for her.
His eyes darted to her, catching her staring.
“You okay?” He looked at the road again.
Um, not really. “Sure.”
“What’s going on in your pretty head? Just spit it out. It’s better that way.”
“I wasn’t…I don’t…”
“You were, and you do,” he said with an air of seductive authority.
“Fine,” she snapped. “I was admiring you. Okay?”
His lips curved up in a gratified smile. “Fine with me.”
“Of course it is. Just tell me this—do you kiss all your friends?”
He shrugged and shifted a brief, serious stare to her before returning his attention to the road. “Don’t you?”
Unexpected disappointment gripped her. “No, I don’t kiss all my friends. Not that I have that many, but…No. That’s weird. Why would you do that?” She should shut up, but her brain was spinning and her pulse was racing, making it impossible for her to keep anything inside. “That felt like an intimate kiss. A lover’s kiss, not a friendly kiss. I don’t even kiss like that when I’m acting.”
He chuckled, which infuriated her.
“You’re laughing at me?”
“Relax,” he said so casually she wanted to slap him.
She was too busy fuming over the idea of him kissing other women to say a word.
“You never asked how I kiss my friends.”
She scoffed but couldn’t suppress her relief. “You’re a big pain in the butt.”
“Probably so. If you’re asking if I kiss my friends the way I kissed you, the answer is no. That was a kiss reserved for only my special friends.”
She rolled her eyes. “Of which you probably have a harem.”
He opened his mouth to respond, and she held up her hand, silencing him.
“Don’t say a word. I don’t want to know.”
He shrugged again. “You did great in there with Abe, by the way.”
“Why didn’t you stop me from going in?” I hate the idea of you kissing other women!
“Because you needed to do it.”
“Right.” He had no idea what she needed; that much was clear. “There is no way I’m going back tomorrow. That was so stressful. No stinking way. Never.”
“Yes, you are. Tomorrow, same time, just as he asked.”
“No, I’m not. You don’t know me very well yet. I’m not going back.”
“I know you well enough.”
She picked that apart as they drove back to her house. He had gotten a pretty blatant glimpse of her losing her mind last night, but that didn’t mean he knew her. And she’d told him about Bert, and he knew she had a big slobbery dog, which not many people knew. But that wasn’t really knowing her, either, was it? She cringed inwardly, recalling that he’d also seen her morph into her actress persona. Okay, so maybe he’d gotten a fairly good glimpse at parts of her, but still. He didn’t know her.
He pulled the car into the garage, and before she could gather her thoughts, and her bag, he opened her door and offered a hand to help her out. The designs he’d had with him earlier were in his other hand. She’d totally forgotten about them.
She looked at his outstretched hand, realizing she was as attracted to the gentleman in him as she was to the stubborn guy who’d jumped in her car and the possessive man who’d taken her in that incredible first kiss in the elevator and pressed her against the wall. Oh, that was nice. You felt so goo—
He took her hand and pulled her to her feet. “Friends help friends from cars. You overthink everything, don’t you?”
“No.” You just get me all hot and bothered. She snagged the keys from his hand and unlocked the door to the house, hoping he couldn’t tell that she was still having trouble cooling her jets.
Christmas woofed and bounded over. She loved him up, kissed the center of his big head. He pushed from her hands and lunged at Grayson. Grayson laughed as Christmas’s paws landed on his chest. Why did seeing him with her dog make her heart go all sorts of crazy?
“Hey, buddy. I missed you, too.” He let Christmas lick his face, and her heart melted even more. Christmas gave him one last lick and trotted out to the yard.
Grayson followed her into the house. “Overthinking. That’s why you’re always making design changes. It’ll hold you back.”
“Like you know anything about that?” She wasn’t about to admit she’d constantly made changes so she could read more of his thoughts on designs and the process he went through to come up with the final products. Or that when he wrote about his family, every word seemed like it came straight from his soul. No way was she going there. Their emails felt intimate in ways she was embarrassed to admit.
He arched a brow. “Overthinking?”
“Being held back,” she clarified. There had been a brief time, as a teenager, when she’d been bitter and angry and wanted someone to blame for her landing in foster care. But there was no one to blame but Mother Nature. Eventually she’d moved past those ugly emotions and realized that at least she hadn’t been born to a drug addict who lived on the streets. But she heard a hint of that bitterness in her tone now, and it made her sick to her stomach.
She put down her bag, and when she turned, she smacked into his chest. His enticing scent filled her senses, making her even more aware of just how many things she liked about him. “Sorry.”
“I’m not.”
“No. I mean…” You’re not? That made her falter. “I meant I’m sorry for snapping at you. I’m edgy because of Abe. I wish I could just forget that he was Bert’s brother and move on, but I can’t. He’s so unlike Bert that it’s hard for me to remember they’re family. But they were, and the things he said pissed me off. I didn’t expect to get so upset.” She closed her eyes and breathed deeply.
“Don’t overthink it,” he said with the same calm confidence he seemed to do everything—except when it came to protecting her around Abe.
Or kissing me.
“You’re doing something that means a lot to you,” he reminded her. “But that doesn’t mean it means a lot to him. It’ll take time to break through to him, but you need to try.”
“Why should I bother?” She wasn’t sure she could go through another visit.
He looked at her for a long moment, holding her steady gaze before answering. “Because you care.”
He said it like it was a fact, and he was right. She’d never forgive herself if she gave up now, but that he knew that momentarily bewildered her.
“I’m going to leave these design ideas for you to look over.” He set the drawings on the counter. “Just give me a holler when you’re ready to talk about them.”
“You’re leaving?” She sounded as panicked as she felt. She was used to him being there, distracting her from missing Bert. And, okay, she liked him. A lot. A whole lotta lot.
He cracked a sexy smile that went all the way up to his eyes and simmered. “I do have a life.”
“Oh, right.” She waved a hand, feeling like an idiot. “Of course you do. I’m sorry. I’ll look these over and give you a call.”
“Great.” He turned toward the door, and the pit of her stomach sank.
When he turned back, hope sprouted in her chest.
“I know you’re going to overthink the whole Abe thing again, so I’ll say it once more so you don’t have to. We’re going back tomorrow because Bert was important to you, and you’d never forgive yourself if you didn’t at least try to fix their mess.”
She crossed her arms and lifted her chin, pretending he hadn’t nailed her with his assessment. “You think you know me so well.”
He shrugged again, apparently his go-to answer. Or maybe it was his way of letting her know she’d never really given him the chance to get to know her, which stung, because in all those months they’d been emailing, she’d absorbed everything he’d given—which was a lot—and she’d closed off her most intimate secrets.
“You think you’re so smart, all stable, and wise, and in control.” And able to leave so easily. Shutupshutupshutup. She tried to laugh it off, as if she were teasing, but she didn’t want him to leave her alone in that big, empty house. And she didn’t want to go back and see Abe tomorrow. But he was right. She was going to, no matter what. No one had ever read her so clearly, except Bert, which made her even more anxious. But she couldn’t tell him all those things now. He had a life.
“Don’t you ever crack?” she asked more calmly. “Stumble? Drink too much and wake up not knowing how you got in your bed?”
He sighed, his massive pecs rising and falling and making her stupid mouth water. He slid one hand casually into his pocket and rolled his shoulder back, looking at her with a careful gaze. “It must be hard trying to figure out who you are.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?”
He shrugged again. Of course he shrugged, the big pain.
“Give me a call or shoot me a text if you want to go over the designs.”
Christmas came through the door again, and Grayson crouched to let him slurp his entire face. She wished she didn’t love that so much. And why did it make her a little jealous?
“See ya, buddy.” He gave Christmas one final pet, then pinned Parker with another sinful look that made her lips tingle. “I carried you up to bed, right after you started to take your clothes off.”
He disappeared into the garage, leaving her in another panic, wondering what else she’d done last night.