"Stroke your cock," I commanded in a breathy voice.
His eyes grew heavy with lust as he did what I'd asked. I moaned seeing him grip the thickness in his strong hand. He moved his hand slowly over the silky hard skin with his gaze pinned on my hand and its motions.
I stopped touching myself and slid back on the bed as I crooked my finger at him, calling him to me. He didn't need to be asked twice. My body tingled with anticipation as he stalked toward me before crawling onto the bed and over my body. He grabbed my hands and pinned my wrists on the pillow above my head.
"You like to tease me, Claudia," he groaned against my ear and then dipped his tongue inside and up the outer rim. "Do you want me to tease you?"
"No, Grey, I want you to fuck me."
"I'm not going to fuck you," he replied, moving to look into my eyes.
I squinted at him, confused and on fire with the need to feel him inside me. I squirmed beneath him, my body trying to persuade his to give me what I wanted despite what he said.
"I'm going to make love to you, Claudia," he whispered and gently kissed my lips.
Those were words I'd never heard, and I didn't know what to do with them. I honestly didn't know what to do with Grey or any of the feelings he incited in me. I felt the sting of tears in my eyes and panicked, trying to turn away from him before he could see.
He released my wrists and turned my face toward him. "Don't do that. Don't hide from me, Claudia. I want all of you--your joy, your ecstasy, your sadness, your anger, your fear." He pressed his lips to mine and whispered, "Your love."
I couldn't speak; I was too overwhelmed. Instead I lifted up and pressed my lips to his, trying to pour all the words I couldn't say, the words I was too afraid to say, into that one simple action.
Grey stroked my face as he lay on top of me, returning the kiss.
"I need to feel you--" I finally whispered when the urge to cry passed "--inside me."
He nudged my legs further apart and gently rubbed my clit with his fingertips for several seconds before sitting up to scoot off the bed. He grabbed a condom from the pocket of his pants, then climbed back onto the bed and slipped it on.
He covered my body with his, his erection pressing against my sensitive flesh. I reached between us, guiding his width to where I needed it. He pushed inside me slowly, achingly so, staring into my eyes the whole time.
I held his gaze, getting lost in the emotions I saw reflecting back at me. I liked the way I looked in his eyes. He made me want more, made me want to be more, to be better, for him and the possibilities I saw in the way he saw me. I held on to that, gripping it and him tight as we moved together, both coming apart slowly but completely in each other's arms.
Chapter 16
Waking up in Grey's arms, I didn't panic or feel the need to rush him out.
Something changed and I knew what I had to do.
"Where are you going?" Grey pulled me back against him as I tried to slither out of bed unnoticed.
"Sorry I woke you. I just need to make a phone call. Are you hungry?"
His hand slid over my belly and landed between my legs.
"For this," he murmured against the side of my neck before he feathered the sensitive skin with kisses up to my ear.
I squirmed against him and his growing erection pressed against my ass. Any other phone call could have waited, but the one I was about to make needed to happen before I did anything else. And before I had a chance to lose my nerve or change my mind.
"Hold that thought. I'll be quick, I promise," I said finally, wiggling free.
He groaned in disappointment as I ducked into the bathroom and slipped into another robe.
I didn't have Elsa's number in my phone, but it was in the file I'd brought from my office at Homewrecker Incorporated. I tiptoed down the hallway, picking up Grey's shirt and my other robe along the way.
I grabbed the file from my messenger bag and my phone from the table and carefully opened the front door. I pulled it closed gently behind me so Grey wouldn't hear I'd left the apartment. I opened Elsa's file and dialed her number. My mouth was dry, my palms sweaty. I hadn't really thought through what I was going to say. I seriously considered hanging up, but she picked up on the first ring, surprising considering how early it was.
"Hello?" she answered, sounding half asleep. Shit, I didn't think. She was probably in bed lying next to her husband. My options for talking were suddenly very limited.
"Elsa, it's Claudia. I'm so sorry to call you so early and out of the blue like this," I blurted.
"Hi, no, it's okay. I was expecting to hear from you," she replied, her tone unreadable. Shit, what did that mean?
"I don't really want to do this over the phone, could you meet me later to talk?"
"Yes, of course. How about we have lunch? We could meet somewhere close to the office around noon. There's a little French bistro just around the corner."
"I know the place. I'll see you at noon. Thank you, Elsa." I hung up the phone. I took a deep breath, which felt like the first I'd taken in weeks, before I slipped back into the apartment and put her file back in my bag.
"Everything okay?" Grey asked, scaring the shit out of me when I walked past the kitchen. "Sorry," he said, seeing me jump. "Just thought I would make us some coffee while I waited."
"Yeah, sorry, everything's great. Just had to take care of something."
He seemed satisfied with my response.
"I just realized I never asked how you take your coffee. I gave it to you black the last time." He looked a little upset by the revelation.
"That's how I like it," I said with a smile. "How about you?"
He carried a mug over to me where I was leaning against the island. He moved around behind me and kissed the side of my neck as he set it on the countertop in front of me and took a seat.
"Same," he whispered, his warm breath tickling my ear. "How long have you lived here, the furniture's a little...sparse?"
I moved in closer so I was standing between his legs as I sipped my coffee.
"I just moved in about a month ago. I was living with my friend Grace before that, but it was time for me to have my own space."
My insides twisted at the lie, but I needed to talk to Elsa and my partners before I could tell him the truth. I fought the panic brewing inside me as I considered how he might respond.
"Listen, I'm sorry to do this, but I have to work today. I assume you do too." I hoped he got the hint even though I really didn't want to let him out of my sight.
"I think you should take the day off and spend it in bed with me. I am technically your boss." He flashed a cocky grin.
"As my boss, do you really want me to be the kind of employee who blows off work to stay in bed with my boyfriend?" That just slipped out. My stomach flipped.
His grinned broadened into a megawatt smile. "Yes, that's exactly the kind of employee I want you to be." He rubbed the tip of his nose over mine.
I poked my index finger into the front of his chest. "You're awful." I laughed. "But really, I have a lot to do today. I promise I'll make it up to you later," I said, waggling my eyebrows.
"Fine, I'll get out of your hair as soon as I finish this coffee, but I'm going to hold you to that promise."
❖
"What's the big emergency? Why are we meeting so early?"
Lydia groaned, flopping into the chair next to Bridget. I looked around the room at all my partners--my friends--who were regarding me with curiosity and maybe a touch of annoyance for getting them out of bed so early.
"I'm not sure where to start." I stood and paced in front of the table.
Confusion was the general expression of the room with the exception of Bridget, who was looking down at the table, smiling.
"After this we need to call Patty. Then I'm meeting with Elsa Michaels for lunch, and I'm going to tell them everything I'm about to tell you."
"Claudia, what the hell are you talking about? " Grace leaned forward.
&
nbsp; "I should start from the beginning. The first day, when I went to meet with Gregory's assistant, Janet, I saw Gregory staring at me down in front of the building. I don't know how to describe it, but I've never felt chemistry like that before. I panicked. I wasn't ready to meet him like that. I felt too out of control, so I hid in the bathroom until the coast was clear. When I finally went upstairs to meet Janet, he showed up and the pull I felt toward him was even stronger once I met him up close."
Grace and Bridget exchanged a look before I sat down and continued.
"He didn't try to hide his attraction to me when he took me into his office and once the door was closed, I did what I do best. I flirted, I seduced, but he gave as good as he got. I can't stress enough how it was unlike anything I've ever felt before."
I stood and started pacing again.
"Then Gregory Michaels walked in."
I was facing away from the group. When I turned around, Grace was trying to hide her smile behind her hand. I furrowed my eyebrows, wondering what the hell she thought was funny.
"The man I was with, the one I felt things I'd never imagined with wasn't Gregory Michaels; it was his twin, Grey. By the time I realized the truth, I'd already agreed to go to dinner with the wrong man."
All of them looked around at each other but said nothing, so I went on detailing my secret relationship with Grey--the time at his house, dinner with his parents, the night before, all of it.
Finally, when I'd spilled it all, Grace spoke. "So, let me get this straight. You're going to call Patty and tell her you're meeting with Elsa Michaels to officially breech our contract and forego the bonus for a man you've known a few weeks?"
It sounded pathetic when said altogether like that, but it was exactly what I intended to do. I nodded and shrugged. What else could I say?
"You know what this means?" Grace continued, looking around at the other girls.
"Claudia Mason is fucking in love!" Lydia answered, crude as ever, earning a round of laughter from the room.
Shit. I didn't actually say the L word, did I? Did I even think it? But what else could it be? I was willing to blow up my entire life just for a chance with a man who might not want me back in the end. If that wasn't love, I wasn't sure what was.
Grace got up and rushed over to throw her arms around me.
"So, you're not mad?" I asked, not sure how to respond. I kept waiting for one of them to get pissed, like they were all entitled to be. "You were all, we were all counting on that money."
"Girl, I would gladly pay money to see you happy for a change." Grace nudged my arm. "We've made more in the last few years than I'd ever expected. I know my foundation is going to happen. What's a few more years compared to my best friend's happiness?
"I never imagined having as much money as I do now," Bridget said quietly. "And I've never had any big plans. I just love working with all of you."
"Yeah, I'm with them. It's just money. Don't get me wrong, it would have been nice but like Grace said, it's nothing compared to you being happy for a change."
"Again with that! What do you mean for a change?" I asked, trying to sound offended, but as I scanned back over my life for the past fifteen years, I couldn't point to a time when I could honestly say I was content. I'd tried to act as though I was, put on a brave face, so to speak. Clearly my efforts weren't as successful as I thought.
"Look, you're strong, you work really hard not to let your feelings show, but whether you realized it or not, we could see you wanted more."
"Even I could fucking see it, and you know I'm not big on all that touchy-feely shit," Lydia added.
"This isn't quite as much of a surprise as you think." Grace glanced sideways at Bridget, who immediately turned red. I pinned her with a hard stare, but I couldn't be mad at her for sharing what she knew about me and Grey with the other girls. We were partners, and it was wrong of me to ask that of her.
"I'm sorry for putting you in that position, Bridget." I put my hand on her shoulder. "I shouldn't have asked you to lie for me, especially not to family."
"Do you know what you're going to say to Elsa?" Grace asked.
"Well, considering she was at dinner last night, she's probably got a pretty good handle on the situation. I'm just going to be honest about what I've done, my feelings for Grey, and my perception of her husband. I know he's not a cheater. Seriously, you should see the way he looks at her, especially when she's not looking. He adores her and not to overstate my charms, but I think I could have stood completely naked in front of him without getting more than an offer of his jacket to cover myself."
"I've seen the look you're talking about," Bridget added. "Grey looks at you that way."
My heart fluttered in my chest at the mention of his name. Did he really look at me that way? Would he still when he knew the truth?
"I feel so guilty about all of the lies I've told him, and I'm terrified of what he will think of me when I tell him the truth. What if it changes things for him? What if he can't love me when he knows?" I said, confessing the fear I realized had been dancing in the back of my mind since the day Grey and I first met.
"If he really loves you, nothing you share with him about your past will change that. What matters now is the future. At least that's what Jared said when I told him," Grace confessed, biting her lip as she looked at all of us.
"Jesus, Grace! Why didn't you say anything before?" I said, pushing her leg.
"It's a long story and I'll fill you in later. Right now, we need to talk to Patty and then you need to meet Elsa and go get your man!"
❖
The call with Patty wasn't as bad as I anticipated. She'd almost seemed amused when Grace started the call by blurting out I was in love with my mark's twin. According to her and Grace, we weren't necessarily in breach of contract with Elsa because I assured them I was confident in my assessment of Gregory. I just had to persuade her to give us little more time to dig into Kristen Page.
"I'm so glad you called, Claudia," Elsa said, standing to hug me. I returned it easily.
I took my seat across from her at the table out on the patio of the quaint little bistro.
"I took the liberty of ordering drinks for both of us," she said as the waitress set down two glasses of white wine.
"Thank you." I picked up my glass. "I'm not sure where to start," I said with a sense of déjà vu.
I took a long sip of wine, a very nice Pinot.
"Actually, I want to ask you something before you say anything else," Elsa said, stopping me. "Do you love him?"
I nearly spit out my wine.
"Grey, are you in love with him?" she asked again.
I probably looked as if I was having a seizure with the way my eyes fluttered from the surprise of her question. I'd assumed she expected there was some sort of relationship between Grey and me, but for her to jump to that conclusion after only seeing us together once... I was shocked to say the least.
I took a breath, gathering myself before I responded. "Yes."
It was as simple as that in the end. No dressing it up with excuses or explanations. That one answer was at the heart of it all. I loved Greyston Michaels.
She regarded me closely and then smiled wide.
"Thank God!" she said, taking a drink. And I'd thought I was shocked by her question. Her reaction was even more surprising and doubly perplexing.
"So, you're not mad?" I asked as the noise of the city moved around us as if my entire world wasn't shifting on its axis.
"Not at all," she continued. "I'm not sure if you're aware, but Grey and I have always been rather close. Gregory and I were best friends, and Grey had always been his best friend before me, so our connection was a natural result. I've known him as long as I've known Gregory, and he leaned on me when Ashley broke his heart all those years ago. He didn't want to tell his family about all of the messy details because of her connection to them. Grey's good like that."
God, even after everything Ashley had done to him, he tried t
o protect her.
"After dinner last night he pulled me aside, and let's just say he's fallen for you--hard. I encouraged him to go after you."
"Why? Why would you do that?"
"Because for a long time I worried, we all worried, what happened with Ashley was it for Grey. In five years away, he hadn't so much as had dinner with someone romantically. He'd thrown himself into the work, which had never really been his style. Don't get me wrong. He's a hard and very capable worker, but family always comes first for him. Ashley hated that about him. Despite coming from a wonderful, loving family, she's most concerned with status and power, so she pushed Grey toward things he didn't want. I think when we all got over the initial shock of what Ashley did, we were relieved she'd left Grey. I'd always worried they weren't right for each other, and then you came along and I was certain they weren't."
"But I was supposed to be working for you, not falling in love with your brother-in-law," I said, feeling guilty.
"You may not realize it but in following your heart, you showed me mine again." She smiled as she looked down at her ring.
"Last night wasn't the first time a man mentioned you to me. Gregory told me about you the very first day you showed up in the office. All he could talk about was the way his brother was looking at you. That's why he asked you to the gala. We usually have to drag Grey to the event, but he changed his tune when he found out you were going," she said, laughing.
I nodded along, clinging to her every word as I finished my glass of wine.
"The day before your partner met with my attorney, Gregory came home so excited for his brother and so happy to see me after my time away in Guatemala. We spent the evening watching one of our favorite movies as we snuggled on the couch and then when he was away at conventions, he would call me and we'd stay up talking all hours of the night like we hadn't done since we were teenagers. I almost asked him about the photos a million different times, but I couldn't find the nerve. Then Patty told me about Arrow Components and I knew there was an explanation, but Patty persuaded me to hold off."
Homewrecker Incorporated Page 20