In one deft move, I sink into her and she releases a long moan. I capture her lips with mine and feel her warm breath on my lips. Her fingers claw at my back as I move inside her with long, languid strokes. Slow, methodical, careful. I press into her and almost pull out of her completely each time. With each thrust, she moans and her eyes roll back before she closes them completely. Her body reacts to mine with every move, every touch, every kiss. She bites her bottom lip as I press my pelvic bone to her clit, grinding into her.
I can feel her nipples pebble against my chest and her hips begin to buck. I know she’s getting close and I want to see her eyes when she comes on me. “Look at me,” I ask of her, and she does. I make love to her with such need, my throat tightens. Her hazel eyes hold mine as I slide in and out of her. “I love you, Gracie.”
I said it. Those three words I never thought I’d say or feel again. “I love you,” I tell her again, my voice hoarse with emotion.
Her eyes mist over as I plunge into her, stroke after stroke, again and again. I want her to feel my love. She doesn’t say it back, but I’m not worried. I feel it in her body. I see her heart, I hear the words she can’t say.
Gracie arches her back and I feel her legs tighten around my waist, pulling me deeper into her. Her right hand cups my ass and she holds me still inside her as I feel her body pulsing around me. She’s holding back her release.
“Roll over,” she says suddenly, taking control. I roll my hips and we stay connected with her now on top, straddling me. Gracie rides me, up and down. Slow and fast, and it feels fucking amazing. Her breasts bounce with each plunge she takes. I roll her taut nipples between my fingers, twisting the hardened little peaks. With each plunge and each pinch of her nipples, her head falls back. With her face pointing to the ceiling, she moans in pleasure with each descent. She’s fucking gorgeous. Her pussy finally clenches around me and she gasps loudly.
“Drew!” She calls my name as she descends one last time on top of me. I know she’s going to come. She’s wet and her body quakes around me. Reaching around her, I grab her hips and hold her still while thrusting myself into her over and over again. Her soft, wet pussy is tight around me. It takes only a few pulses and I’m spilling my release inside her.
She falls forward on top of me, panting heavily with her cheek pressed to my chest. I come down from my own release, but we stay connected. Fuck, I could live inside her.
We lie still, catching our breath, when I finally pull out of her. She carefully rolls to her back and lies next to me.
“You smell like whiskey,” she says with a hint of humor in her voice.
“You smell like sex,” I counter with a chuckle.
“I said I needed to get work done with no distractions, and you distracted me.”
“You were a willing participant in the distraction,” I remind her and she laughs, “and after this afternoon, I needed to stop by the bar.” I feel her shift in the bed next to me.
“Drew, I’d never do what Melissa did to you.” Her voice shakes as she says that.
“Sleep with my brother?” I ask, exhaling loudly and pinching my eyes closed.
“Your brother or anyone else.” I appreciate her telling me that, but I never in a million years expected Melissa to fuck anyone else either, especially Aaron. I want to trust Gracie, but I’m guarded.
Silence fills the room for a few seconds. “Let’s not talk about Aaron right now, okay?” I just told her I love her. I don’t want to ruin this moment.
I feel her nodding against my shoulder before she rolls to her side and traces her finger across my chest and down my abdomen. She spends minutes tracing and retracing every muscle.
We bask in the silence and just lie in each other’s arms. There’s something so content and peaceful about the quiet as we hold on to each other.
“Gracie.” I swallow hard. She turns her head to look at me, her hair wild on the bed next to us. “You know I’d never hurt you purposely, don’t you?”
She stares into my eyes. I used to see fear in them, but that has been replaced with trust. “I know you wouldn’t,” she says, her voice quiet but confident. “You’re the first person I feel completely safe around.”
Damn, my heart swells. I pull her into an embrace and hold her for what feels like hours. No words, just our hearts beating against our bare chests, and I know this is what love feels like.
* * *
We must have fallen asleep because I wake up at midnight and Gracie and I are still wrapped around each other. Her heavy breaths tells me she’s sound asleep. She’s going to be upset that we didn’t get any work done tonight, but it’s too late to wake her. And I know she needs the rest; we had a rough day.
I throw on a pair of boxer shorts and a t-shirt, grab my phone, and head to the living room, where I text Aaron that we need to talk in the morning. Instantly, three little dots appear then disappear. I never get a response to the message I sent him, but I know he saw it and that’s all that matters.
Pulling out my laptop, I draft some meeting notes and finally head back to bed around two in the morning. Gracie fills the center of the king-sized bed in all her naked glory and I want nothing more than to make love to her again, but I ease into the tight space at the far side of the bed and let her sleep. She groans as I shift in the narrow space, trying to get comfortable. I pull her into my arms, pressing a soft kiss to her forehead.
“Love you, Gracie,” I whisper to her.
“I love you too,” she mumbles in her sleep, and goddamn if my heart doesn’t nearly explode.
* * *
I may have slept the hardest I have in years, because when I wake up at seven in the morning, Gracie is gone and there’s a note on the dining room table. Meet you at the office, with a little heart drawn underneath it.
My stomach drops, wondering when she left and where to. It’s still early, and I don’t like not knowing where she is. I send her a quick message, doing my best not to get worried.
Where are you?
She doesn’t respond and my agitation grows.
Gracie?
Still no response, so I shower quickly and get dressed for the day, choosing a dark grey suit, white dress shirt, and red tie. I send a text message to Tony, who instantly responds he’s stuck in traffic and will be at the hotel around seven forty-five to get me. Until he gets here, I work from the room.
My worry grows as Gracie still hasn’t texted me back, but at five to eight, I get a message that the car is here, waiting for me downstairs. I grab my suit jacket, briefcase, and phone, and head down.
“Morning, sir.” Tony nods at me and opens the back door of the Town Car.
“Morning,” I say curtly in return, sliding into the backseat. It’s still raining, and even though it’s eight o’clock in the morning, the sky is dark. The fact that Gracie left only God knows when in the dark is still pissing me off.
“She’s safely at home, sir,” Tony informs me as we pull away from the curb.
“Excuse me?” I say, not sure I heard him correctly.
“Ms. Morgan. I got her safely home to Red Hook.”
“She’s in Red Hook?” I question. I don’t know if I’m angry she’s at home or happy that Tony got her there safely. Both, actually. “And how did she get in touch with you?”
“She didn’t. I saw her leaving this morning around five. She was walking and fighting with an umbrella and I didn’t think you’d want her out in this weather. I arrived early and was sitting in my car, enjoying some coffee, so I offered her a ride, which she accepted.” He looks at me briefly in the rearview mirror. “There was an accident on the bridge on my way back into Manhattan, which is why I am late getting you.”
Even though she left me—and for her shitty apartment, no less—my stomach calms as he tells me he got Gracie home.
“She said she needed clothes.” He smiles at me through the rearview mirror and I shake my head. I’ll make sure she has her entire damn closet at the condo. “Real sweet girl
you have there,” he says as we barely move in this Manhattan traffic.
“I’m very lucky,” I respond. If it wasn’t raining, I’d get out of this car and walk to the office, but the rain is coming down so hard again this morning.
“I offered to wait for her, but she insisted I leave.”
“Figures,” I mumble under my breath and Tony laughs. “I’ve never met a more stubborn, hard-headed woman in my life.” I pause, reflecting on all these life-changing days. “But I love her.”
He smiles again and nods as if he’s not surprised. “The difficult ones are worth it. Trust me.” He winks at me and I sigh. I know he’s right. Gracie is worth all of this and more.
* * *
When I enter the office, I see Gracie at her desk, her face buried in her laptop. As much as I want to make a beeline straight to her, I don’t. I head to my office and close the door as I wait for Aaron to get here. He still never responded to my text message from last night, but I know Aaron. He’ll be here.
There’s a light rap on the door and I answer, “Come in” without even looking up to see who it is. I know it’s not Aaron because that asshole would have just opened the door and let himself in.
“Mr. McPherson,” a soft voice says, pulling me away from my phone and the email I was reading. I look up to find a short woman with bright red hair, probably in her mid-forties.
“You must be Sue,” I say.
She nods her head softly.
Kevin Williams asked me for one favor when I bought this company. To keep Sue as an employee. She’s his niece and has been his personal administrative assistant for over twenty years. He swore she was top-notch and I wouldn’t be sorry. She also happened to be on vacation last week when I acquired the company and her job.
“Please, come in and sit down.” I gesture to the chair on the other side of my desk.
She’s pale, and her large-framed black eyeglasses pop on her face in comparison to her ghostly white skin and bright red hair.
As she approaches the desk, I stand, reaching across to shake her hand, which she promptly returns with a soft smile. “I’m Andrew McPherson. I assume your uncle told you about me?” I question. Now that she’s closer, I see a sprinkling of light brown freckles that pepper her nose and upper cheeks.
She nods and swallows hard before sitting down in the chair opposite me. I also sit and tuck my phone into the pocket of my suit jacket. Sue is nervous, wringing her fingers together in her lap and her neck has large red splotches all over. I smile in hopes of calming her before I begin.
“I’m sorry you found out about this acquisition while you were on vacation,” I start. “I had a team meeting while you were gone and assured the team there is a spot for everyone in the new organization.”
Sue’s shoulders visibly fall in relief, but she remains stoic, showing no emotion on her face.
“I’d really, really appreciate it if you’d stay on as my executive assistant.” I look away from her to the thick folder I have that lists every employee and their duties. “And in reviewing your position and workload, there may even be room to bring on another assistant if the work load increases any more. When that happens, that assistant would report to you. Is that something you’d be interested in managing?”
Her eyes widen and I see the first sign of emotion from Sue. “Yes, sir,” she answers, looking flattered.
“Good.” I give her a genuine smile. “Until everything settles down around here and we have a chance to reassess our needs, it’ll be business as usual. First thing I need you to do right away this morning is to schedule an all-office meeting for eleven o’clock. And I know this is short notice, but is there any chance you’d be able to have lunch provided for that meeting? Maybe have it delivered for noon? This could take a couple of hours.”
She nods her head quickly and her voice perks up. “I have a deli on speed dial that works with us on short notice. How does an assortment of sandwiches and salads sound?”
“That sounds perfect, Sue. I can’t tell you how relieved I am to have you on my team.”
She finally offers me a wide, delighted smile. “Anything else for this morning?”
“No. Just the meeting and lunch. Let’s regroup this afternoon and discuss the rest of the week.” With that, Sue steps out, closing my door behind her.
Ninety seconds later, an email arrives with an attached invite for the all-office meeting. She’s good.
My mood shifts suddenly when my office door opens abruptly and closes, followed by my brother’s arrogant voice.
“I was going to be pissed off about the black eye, but it got me a lot of attention last night.” The asshole smirks and slides into the chair Sue just vacated.
“Please, have a seat,” I say, matching his sarcasm. “Is that why you couldn’t be bothered to text me back?”
Aaron reaches both arms above his head and stretches. “That and the fact that I was buried inside Ashley,” he frowns, “or was it Amy?”
I shake my head and rub my eyes with the heels of my palms. Typical Aaron behavior.
“What?”
I huff. “You’re always going to be an asshole, aren’t you?”
Something about this, the words I said or my tone, strikes him. He shifts uncomfortably in his chair, his icy blue eyes glaring into mine.
Swallowing hard, he finally speaks. “Are you always going to hate me?”
Hate is such a strong word. At times in my life, I have hated Aaron. I’ve hated things he’s done and things he’s said. But he’s my brother, and deep down, I could never hate him.
“I don’t hate—”
“Bullshit,” he cuts me off.
“I don’t.”
We stare at each other for several long seconds, not knowing what to say next.
“Gracie.” He says her name quietly and the hair on the back of my neck rises. I hate that he called her Gracie, and I hate the way her name rolls off his tongue like he knows her. He’ll never know her like I do. “I didn’t know.” He clears his throat and pauses. “I didn’t know that you two—”
“It happened very fast,” I start, but then stop, not wanting to share too many details with him. While he is my brother, I still don’t trust him. I don’t know that I’ll ever fully trust him again. I’m not ready to talk about Gracie with Aaron. My relationship with her is new and private and something I’m holding close to my heart.
“You know I would never—” he starts before I cut him off.
“Don’t, Aaron,” I growl at him. “Don’t make any fucking promises you can’t keep.”
He nods his head slowly and something like remorse flashes across his face. I’m not ready to get into the past and everything that happened with Melissa right now, so I change the subject.
“I called you here this morning because I want to introduce you to the team. While I don’t have plans at this moment to expand public relations to the New York office, it can’t hurt for you to give them some insight into your end of the agency and how we might partner for future clients.”
He rolls his fingers on his knee and listens intently.
I continue. “Everyone seems to be fascinated with the celebrity clientele you keep, so I think it’s important that you discuss confidentiality, as well as company social media expectations.”
“Anything else, boss?” His voice weighted with sarcasm.
I can’t help but chuckle. “Yeah. Tell a fucking fascinating story to the team on how you got that shiner. You’re good at the art of spinning, so spin a good story for that one.”
He huffs out a laugh and rolls his eyes.
* * *
It always amazes me how Aaron can be the ultimate professional when he needs to be. He moves around the conference room, wowing the team with his presentation and his energetic personality. He’s presenting an overview of his team, his clients, and professional decorum on how we interact with our celebrity clients.
“As much as we want to believe these people are superstars
, they’re just normal people. They want to be treated with respect, confidentiality, and professionalism.” He pauses, changing the slide on the PowerPoint. “At this time, we don’t have any PR needs in the New York office,” he starts, chancing a brief glance at me. “But I’m open to it. It makes sense that the advertising team is bi-coastal; the PR team should be as well.”
My heartrate kicks up a notch, but now is not the time to argue this with him, especially in front of the staff. I’ll let him have his five minutes and we’ll hash this out later in private. I have taken notice that Aaron hasn’t so much as blinked at Gracie for more than a brief second, which pleases me.
She sits in the same spot she always does, taking diligent notes in her notebook while Jamie sits next to her, arms folded across her chest. She can see right through Aaron’s professional demeanor. She saw the real Aaron yesterday and she has a look on her face that says, “I’m not buying your bullshit.”
I can’t help but smile. If anyone can put Aaron in his place, it’s Jamie.
“Any questions?” Aaron asks as he shuts off the projector.
Bethany, a quiet girl from accounting, raises her hand. “Who was the biggest nightmare client you’ve ever had?” The room erupts in laughter.
Aaron shakes his head. “Professional decorum,” he says, pointing a finger at her. “Also, libel. I’ve got a handful of ex-clients who were nightmares, but I’m not discussing any of them.” He smirks to woo the crowd.
Everyone laughs again. I forget how charming Aaron can be. The team has taken to his energetic personality. He’s a professional storyteller, which is why he’s fucking fantastic at his job.
As the conference room clears, Aaron takes a seat at the table and disconnects his laptop from the projector cords. “Whatcha think?” he asks, looking at me out of the corner of his eye.
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