by Lori Foster
“Grace Jenkins!”
Noah stared at the ceiling, but his shoulders trembled with silent laughter.
“It’s true, Agatha. I went to his house. I knew he was drunk, but still I stayed. And I was the one who—”
Grace’s words were cut off by Noah’s big hand. He pulled her back into his chest and with a hold on her hand and mouth, held her securely. He even rocked her a little.
She liked it. When she tipped her head back to see him, he winked.
To Agatha, he explained, “Grace is a little distraught at having missed the meeting. She takes her work very seriously.”
“You don’t have to tell me that,” Agatha replied sharply. Her gaze narrowed in challenge. “Then again, under the circumstances, it hardly matters, does it?”
Grace stilled at those shrewd, cutting words. With her free hand, she reached up for Noah’s thick wrist and gently pried his fingers from her mouth. Tension had invaded him; she felt it and wondered that Agatha didn’t also. “What are you talking about, Agatha?”
Agatha sniffed and patted at her silver hair. “You’ve shown a distinct lack of morals, Grace. The Callens are friends, very dear friends.”
“I know that.” Grace’s heart thumped and her stomach tightened.
“Of course you do. You’ve worked with them, through me, many times. We deal with them socially and through business on a regular basis. I’m sure you can see how awkward this would be for all of us.” Agatha turned away to stride to her desk. She didn’t go to the chair but chose instead to perch on the edge, her ankles crossed and her head lifted in challenge. She was a tall woman, quite slender, and even at seventy-eight, she had an imposing air.
Noah held Grace a little tighter. She felt his frustration and his growing anger. “What would be awkward, Agatha? Spell it out.”
“Why, Grace working for me.” Agatha straightened a paper, moved a pen. “She’s involved herself in this sordid little contretemps, and unfortunately, there’s no way to extricate her now. It would be an insult to the Callens, and to Kara especially, to keep her on.”
Grace sank into Noah, grateful for his support since her legs had turned to rubber. “I’m fired?”
“Bullshit, Agatha,” Noah all but shouted over Grace’s head. “You better rethink this.”
“Watch your mouth, Noah! I won’t tolerate that language in my house.”
“I’m fired?” Grace asked again. They both ignored her.
“And I won’t tolerate you using Grace against me.”
“You’re the one using her,” Agatha challenged, “to embarrass Kara, and to hurt me.”
“No one is using me.” Again, she was ignored.
“She’ll be better off taken out of the equation.” Agatha glanced at her nails. “Or are you going to tell me that you really care for her?”
Grace bit her lip, then almost tripped when Noah took an angry step forward. Because she was in front of him, she had to move, too.
“You couldn’t find a better secretary and assistant if you paid double Grace’s salary and you know it, Agatha.”
“I’ll make do.” She glanced up. “I’ll have to, since I have no intention of further insulting your fiancée.”
“Ex-fiancée,” Noah ground out.
“I’m really fired?” Grace couldn’t quite grasp it. She’d never been fired in her life. Of course, she’d never had a man of Noah’s appeal hugged around her either. Yet he was there, all but holding her up. Indignant on her behalf.
Agatha gave Grace a pitying look. “I’m afraid so, dear. I’ll give you two weeks’ pay, of course.”
Well hell, Grace thought.
Noah forcibly set Grace aside and confronted his grandmother nose to nose. Agatha was tall, but Noah towered over most men. He made his grandmother seem diminutive in comparison. She didn’t back down. She glared up at him with the same blue eyes, only hers were faded with time.
“Fine.” Noah’s smile was not a nice thing. “You’re on your own now, Agatha.”
Despite Agatha’s usual bravado, her face paled. “What does that mean?”
“It means I’m finished. I know you put on that little show of disowning me, but you haven’t had your hand in the actual day-to-day work in years. I figured you’d be calling in no time, looking for a way to make me keep things running for you. Odds are, I’d have done it, too. But not now.”
Agatha scowled, and Grace saw her eyes darken with a measure of guilt. Obviously, Noah knew how his grandmother’s mind worked.
“You have no interest in Harper’s Bistro, is that what you’re telling me?” Agatha tried to brazen out the situation, but Grace saw the worry in her eyes, and it bothered her. She didn’t want grandmother and grandson growing further apart.
Though Grace knew it wasn’t true, Noah said, “I have no interest in any of your businesses.”
“They were our businesses.”
“Maybe—before you disowned me and fired Grace. But I’m sure you remember how to keep it all running. The boards for all the charitable organizations will welcome you back, I’m sure. They barely accepted me as your representative anyway. And Lord knows you’ll have no problem finding an informed escort to take you to the political functions fast approaching.”
Agatha looked more furious by the moment. Furious—and panicked. Grace wondered if Agatha even realized how full her social calendar had become. She had a lot of obligations pending, and without Noah to assist her, she’d either have to start canceling or be busy every night.
“And the restaurant,” Noah continued, “well hell, Agatha. You started it, so I have no doubt you remember how to keep it running.”
Agatha thumped her fist on the desk. “You’ve hired all new people! And you’ve repeatedly ignored my suggestions on schedules and pay and…”
“So now’s your chance to change things your way. Have fun. Just don’t come to me when it all blows up in your face.” Noah turned and caught Grace’s hand. “Let’s go.”
Grace was forced to skip along beside him or be dragged. She felt sick at heart, seeing the enmity grow between them. She’d wanted to mend things, not make them worse.
Agatha hadn’t been on her own in too many years. She was older now, and despite her assurances to the contrary, her age had caught up to her. Grace kept track of everything for her, and handled all her day-to-day affairs. She knew that Agatha often napped, that she had prescribed medications to take.
Grace had an awful feeling Agatha would be lost without the two of them, and a worse suspicion that she’d never admit it.
Until it was too late.
“Agatha?” Grace said over her shoulder, hoping against hope that Noah’s grandmother would say something profound to stop it all.
“You need me,” Agatha insisted loudly with only a slight ache in her tone.
Noah just laughed and paused briefly to stab her with a look. “I got along without you for sixteen years, Agatha, and that’s when I was a boy. I’m a man now. Believe me, I know how to take care of myself.”
“You’ll miss the restaurant,” she predicted.
Noah grinned without humor. “Not as much as it’ll miss me.” He jerked the front door open and pulled Grace down the steps.
“Enough!” Grace complained in the middle of the walk, tugging her hand free.
Noah turned to her, his frustration and impatience a palpable thing. “What?”
Grace unnecessarily dusted herself off and peeked back to see Agatha hovering in the doorway. “I’m not a sack of potatoes to be toted about, Noah Harper. For all you know, I might have wanted to stay.”
“You’re fired,” Noah reminded her. “What would you stay for?”
He had her there. When Grace looked at Agatha again, admitting defeat, the older woman shut the door with a snap. Grace sighed.
“Let’s go, Gracie.” Noah stood there with his hands on his hips, the sun behind him gilding his tall, solid form and making Grace’s heart beat double-time. “I can sure as hel
l think of better things to do today than hang around my grandmother’s walkway.”
Grace shaded her eyes against the glaring afternoon light and wrinkled her nose. “Yeah? Like what?”
In an instant, the air changed, became more charged around her. Noah’s pale blue eyes suddenly appeared hot rather than cool, intimate rather than annoyed. His gaze lingered on her mouth, her breasts, the tops of her thighs. “Like putting you into bed—after I strip you naked.”
“Oh.”
“The first time is going to be fast, Grace; I can’t help that. But I’ll make it up to you the second time. Or the third. I promise.”
Second or third?
His jaw locked, his shoulders bunched. In a voice rough with need, Noah asked, “Are you going to keep to your agreement, Grace? Will you do everything I tell you to and give me everything I want?”
Grace sucked in a deep breath of humid air. The previous night’s storm had left everything clean and fresh. New and ripe with promise.
The late spring sunshine suddenly felt sweltering hot, the sidewalk baking beneath her feet. She rushed forward and caught Noah’s hand, and now it was she dragging him toward his car.
“Let’s go, Noah,” she said, in lieu of an answer. She didn’t wait for him to open the door of the Land Rover, but instead quickly seated herself. “We’ve got better things to do,” she agreed, “than hang around your grandmother’s walkway.”
And, Grace thought as Noah climbed behind the wheel with a grin, if she was naked, Noah would be, too. Oh boy. He’d touch her, but she’d get to touch him back. And more.
Under the circumstances, it was easy to forget about the family strife, the loss of a job she loved, and the sight of Kara Callen with huge wounded eyes.
Grace could only think of Noah and imagine what he might want from her, and how quickly she could give it to him.
Chapter Five
Noah held on to Grace’s arm as they entered his apartment building. Graham smiled at the sight of them, but his smile faded when he realized Grace still wore the same ruined clothes of the night before.
“Afternoon, Graham.”
Graham nodded. “Mr. Harper.” And then, with a bit of concern, “Ms. Jenkins?”
Grace blushed hotly and growled some incoherent complaint to Noah. She’d wanted to stop at her place and change. When Noah had told her that he couldn’t wait that long, she’d promised to just grab clothes to bring along. He’d nixed that idea, too.
He needed her beneath him in a bad way. Never in his life had he experienced such a driving urgency for a woman, and at the moment it felt like he’d explode if he didn’t sink inside Grace’s soft, welcoming body.
“No visitors, Graham,” Noah announced in passing, and Graham nodded, wearing his best poker face.
“Noah.” Grace sounded as though she was strangling. “Why don’t you just paint a big red A on my forehead, for heaven’s sake?”
He grinned. Grace was more prickly than usual, and Noah hoped part of that mood was caused by sexual frustration. She wanted him, but he’d deliberately kept her from knowing what he’d ask of her. He’d hoped to heighten her anticipation, and help her forget some of her nervousness.
“Gracie, you’re the one who announced to all and sundry that you’d taken advantage of me. What difference does it make if Graham knows your intent?”
She mumbled again and punched the elevator button.
Making no attempt to hide his good humor, Noah asked, “What was that, Grace?”
The elevator doors slid open and he allowed Grace to yank him inside. As the doors shut behind them, she glared, and her brown eyes smoldered. Indicating her clothes, she said, “I’d at least like to look presentable while ruining my reputation.”
The baby-fine hair at Grace’s temple drew him, and Noah reached out to touch it. Her hair was incredible, and quickly becoming an object of sexual obsession. He could already imagine how it’d feel spread over his shoulders and chest while she loomed above him, giving him her breasts to taste and tease. And then on his abdomen when he urged her soft mouth lower and lower…
His hands shook and he curled them into fists. “It’s not too late to change your mind, Grace.” Noah offered her the out even though it pained him to think of calling a halt now, when his body burned for her. He hadn’t shaken with lust since he was sixteen, but now he trembled with the need to have Grace.
Her annoyed frown changed to one of worry and her eyes darkened. “What are you talking about?”
“Your reputation, honey.” He continued to toy with that soft curl, wrapping it around his finger, rubbing it with his thumb. “You know, you can claim that little scene at my grandmother’s was stress-related or something. Odds are, everyone will quickly forget about it, and Agatha would probably even give you your job back.” He shook his head. “Everyone is a little disbelieving that you want me anyway.”
“You have that backward, Noah,” she said gently, “but either way, no, I’m not changing my mind. And neither are you.” She stepped up against him and went on tiptoe to kiss his chin.
Noah was so primed, he froze at the sensation of her mouth brushing his hot skin. “Grace…”
She caught his head in her hands and brought his mouth down to hers. Her kiss was tentative at first, tender, but they quickly became lost in heightened breathing and urgency. Grace tasted so good and felt so right. Her small hot tongue licked against his, and Noah lost it.
He had Grace off her feet, pinned between his body and the elevator wall in the next heartbeat. A ding signaled their arrival, and with an effort, Noah pulled back the tiniest bit. His mouth touching hers, his hand cupping her cheek, he whispered, “You’re sure, Grace? And before you answer, think about it, because once we get into bed I’m not positive I’ll be able to stop.”
Her eyes were heavy, her lips parted. She offered no hesitation. “Yes.”
Noah let out a strangled breath. Thankfully, the hall was empty as he made record time rushing her to his apartment door and then inside. Late afternoon sunlight poured through the open balcony doors, making lamps unnecessary.
Noah caught her hand and said, “To the bedroom, Grace.”
He wanted to race her there, but he could feel her nervousness, so instead he spoke to her as they walked at a very discreet pace. “Do you want to know what I’m going to do to you, Grace?”
She peeked up at him, then away. A pulse throbbed wildly in her throat. “Yes.”
Her voice was so low he barely heard her. He felt like smiling but didn’t want her to misunderstand his happiness for amusement at her expense. They stopped next to the bed and Noah turned her to face him. “First I’m going to get you out of your clothes. All your clothes.”
Her magnificent breasts rose and fell with deep breaths. “Are you sure you want to do that?” She fretted, looking toward the wide wall of windows where yet more sunlight flowed into the room and across the bed.
Very slowly, Noah tackled the tiny top button on her sweater. “Absolutely. You’re a sexy woman, Grace. And,” he added, when she started to shake her head, “I don’t want to hear a word about weight. I have no idea where you got the idea you were too heavy.”
Her mouth dropped open and she momentarily forgot that he was disrobing her. “I’ve always been overweight. Even when I was a little kid.”
“That’s nonsense.”
“It is not. Everyone knows I’m overweight.”
“Who?”
She shrugged. “My parents, friends, relatives. Even Agatha.”
Damn his grandmother. “You’re kidding. What the hell did Agatha say to you?”
“Just that I should try to eat less and exercise more. She offered me use of the pool and the gym equipment in my off hours, and whenever I’m there through lunch, she orders Nan to cook low-fat foods.”
Noah opened the last button and pulled Grace’s sweater open. She turned her head away, but Noah caught her chin and lifted her face. “No, Grace. Don’t hide from me.”
“I’m embarrassed.”
“And here I thought you were excited.” He eyed her breasts and murmured, “Your nipples are puckered.”
Her shoulders slumped. “I am excited,” she admitted in a tiny voice, “but it’s not easy for me to stand here in front of you like this. At least last night you were drunk, and probably not seeing straight anyway.”
“Grace, look at me.”
If anything, she ducked her head even more until her long hair fell like a curtain, hiding her expression.
Gently, Noah lifted her hair over her shoulders. He loved her hair, but he didn’t want anything to shield his view of her body. “This is the bedroom, Gracie, and you agreed to follow my every instruction, remember?”
Her blush intensified. “I remember.”
“Good. Then look at me and keep looking at me.” Tentatively, her gaze locked on his, filling him with primal satisfaction. “That’s right. I like your pretty eyes, Grace. They turn me on.” Knowing she watched his every move, Noah reached behind her and unhooked her sturdy bra, then pulled it away. Without the support, her full, heavy breasts rested softly against her chest.
As Noah examined her, weighing her in his palms, cuddling her, his testicles tightened and his heart pounded. He had big hands, but Grace filled them to overflowing. Her small, tight nipples were flushed a dark rose, and he rubbed his thumbs over her, making her quiver and gasp. He liked it that she watched him, that she saw the lust darkening his face.
Noah smiled. “I want you to forget anything my grandmother told you. You’re lush and curvy and one hell of a temptation, Grace Jenkins. Seeing you like this makes me nuts. Seeing you completely naked will be even better.”
“Clothes hide a lot.”
“Too much.” It’d take time to reassure her, but already Noah felt on the verge of coming. He wanted to be as slow and easy as he could, but he wouldn’t be able to wait much longer. “Hold on to my shoulders while I get your shoes off.”
Noah crouched down, and Grace obediently braced a hand against him as he removed her shoes, tossing them aside with her discarded sweater and bra. Before she had time to anticipate his next move, he trailed his fingertips beneath her long skirt, up her smooth, soft thighs, and hooked his fingers into her panties.