“Thank you.” He followed her in and tossed his keys into a ceramic bowl on a table. “Would you like a tour?”
“Can I just wander around and look?”
“Absolutely. How about I take your coat?”
She shrugged out of it and handed it to him. He took it to the aluminum coat rack in the corner.
“Did you do the decorating?”
He chuckled. “No. I had someone decorate it before I moved in. I’m pretty easy to please, so it meets my needs.”
“It’s so open – one room blending into another with no walls. And with all the brushed metal furniture and appliances, it’s very masculine. The grays and beiges with an occasional splash of color.” She was turning in a small circle as she spoke, and now she turned to him. “I approve.”
She reached up and gripped his tie, pulling him to her. She brought her lips to his and tilted her head. When he felt her tongue in his mouth, he groaned. He wrapped his arms around her and pulled her tight against him, her breasts poking him in the chest making it very difficult to remember why he shouldn’t pick her up and carry her to his bedroom right now. He slid his hands down her back and grabbed her rear end cheeks, pulling her closer to his groin. He felt himself harden, and knew that unless he made the torturous move to put the stops to this, no talking would occur right now.
He breathed deep and reluctantly pushed away from her, earning him her curious look. Clearing his throat, he ran a hand through his hair as he struggled to get control. “Uh, how about that champagne?”
“Okay.”
He walked to the kitchen, willing the tightness in his pants to relax. The need to tell Alyssa the whole story about Caroline’s paternity had arrived full force and he couldn’t justify keeping her in the dark any longer. He pulled the chilled champagne out of the refrigerator and set it on the counter. Reaching over his head to the upper cupboard, he pulled out two wine glasses. When was the last time he’d used them? A layer of dust inside the glass would most surely affect the taste of the bubbly.
At the sink, he ran water over them. Alyssa walked into the kitchen and picked up the bottle. He turned to her as he used a cloth to dry the glasses.
“I love the popping sound.”
He laughed. “Me too.” He finished his chore and joined her at the counter. “Would you like to uncork it, or me?”
She swept a grand gesture with her hand. “By all means.”
He pried the metal wrap off the top and pushed the cork with his thumbs. The bottle opened with a resounding pop and Alyssa was suddenly there, holding out a glass to capture the escaped liquid. Alyssa’s unrestrained laughter gave him a mixed feeling of joy and pain.
She took the bottle from him, filled two glasses and handed him one. “To my knight in shining armor.” She took a breath, then continued. “To the best thing that’s happened to Caroline and I in a good long time.” She took a sip.
“But, …” he began.
She put her hand on his arm. “Hold on before you start with the modest objections. I’ve got more.” She shot him a glance he couldn’t quite read. “But I need fortification.” She threw her head back and swallowed the rest of the champagne in a single gulp. She picked up the bottle and poured more in her glass.
He smiled, confused.
She cleared her throat, held her glass high in the air and drank it down. “To the sexiest man I’ve ever met, who, if he doesn’t make love to me right now, I think I’ll scream.”
Grant hesitated for only a split second before he went to her, capturing her mouth with his own. After all, there was a time for talk, and there was a time for action. And this particular situation didn’t require any analysis to determine which was which.
* * * *
His lips on hers made her heart pound. He brought his arms up behind her and pulled her closer to him by her shoulders. His urgency as a result of her brazen come-on words made her breathless with the possibilities of the night, of their future. His kiss was not sweet or gentle. He used his lips to communicate how willing he was to carry out her outlandish spoken wish.
“Oh God,” he murmured. He deepened his assault on her lips and plunged his tongue into her mouth. She felt a breathless hitch in her chest. He filled her so completely, he overwhelmed her senses. His taste filled her mouth, leaving her wanting to know him even better, more intimately.
She breathed in through her nostrils and inhaled his scent. He smelled so good, a combination of cologne and a natural scent that made her want to explore every inch of his skin.
She drew her hands over his shoulders and down the tight, firm muscles of his back. The man was no stranger to exercise. He was a good-sized man, not skinny or scrawny. He had bulk to him, but not an inch of excess fat.
Suddenly, his erotic kiss wasn’t enough anymore. She wanted more of him.
She moaned, a “mmmm” deep in her throat while, still connected by their mouths, she reached for his belt buckle and fumbled with it. He was immediately in tune with her. She’d barely managed to slide the leather belt to allow her access to the fastener when he ripped his mouth from hers and stared deep into her eyes. His hands joined hers at his waist and he helped her unbuckle the belt. Connected by their deep gazes, she moved her fingers now to unbutton and unzip his pants. He paused when she had finished, raised his eyebrows in an unspoken question.
Alyssa’s face grew hot. She knew exactly what she wanted. Her faint smile was enough of an answer to him and he quickly removed his pants and tossed them aside. She tore her gaze from his eyes in order to take in the sight of him in his underwear. His shirttail hung down below the waist a bit, but she caught a glimpse of his snug dark gray boxer briefs that hugged his manhood and strong thighs. She ran one hand over his firm buttocks. His muscles shimmered as she trailed a hand over him and squeezed. With the other hand she cupped his sack through the cotton and he leaned in close to her ear. His gasp made a shiver travel throughout her body.
“Alyssa,” he whispered. “Do you want me?”
She tried to whisper but was so overcome by the intimacy of her touching, she had to clear her throat and try again. “Yes. Yes, I want you.”
He made a sound that could only be described as a primal celebration. He landed his lips on hers again and bending slightly, he wrapped one arm under her knees and the other under her arms and in one effortless swoop, he lifted her and carried her down the hall. He walked to his bedroom and laid her down on his bed, lowering her so carefully that she felt like a prized gift to be presented to royalty.
He joined her on the bed, one knee coming between her legs and his face so close she could feel his hot breath on her hair. With his hands he made quick business of unbuttoning her blouse and tossing it across the room. At the sight of her lacey pink bra, he made a growling sound and nudged his face against it, his nose poking into the soft cleavage it revealed.
“You’re gorgeous.”
She smiled her appreciation in response. She was heating up so quickly, and her breath was coming so fast now, she started to feel tingly sensations on her fingers and toes. Grant reached for the clasp of her slacks and unfastened it, followed by the zipper. He tugged on the pants until they got past her hips, then she kicked them off with her legs. He tossed them onto the pile of clothes on his floor.
He wrapped his index finger around the skimpy bit of pink elastic that made up the side of her thong underpants and with one swipe, pulled them off her. On his knees in front of her on the bed, he slid both his hands under her bare buttocks and squeezed her cheeks. She gasped and arched her back. He came forward to plunge his face into the center of her womanly core and inhaled deeply.
“Oh baby, you smell so good.”
She struggled to catch her breath. She was shocked at his action. She had never allowed a man to know her so intimately as this, not even her husband, Bradley. Her impulse was to pull away, to stop it from going further. To come to her senses and put an end to it.
But she couldn’t. God help her,
she couldn’t.
Grant turned his attention to giving her the most erotic of kisses. As he worked his tongue over the sensitive folds of her flesh, she felt a wave of emotion build in her. A delicious, irresistible, crushing feeling took over her whole body. Her orgasm came sudden and furious, and she screamed out in a fit of surprise and delight.
When her body’s shaking subsided, Grant shifted his position, now above her. He tugged at the cotton briefs he still wore to reveal his full, hard length. She saw it only for a split second before he positioned himself between her legs. She closed her eyes, anxious for the feeling of fulfillment she knew was coming. She wanted to momentarily remove her other senses so she could concentrate fully on the feel of him entering her.
But he didn’t. She heard him breathing, but other than that, he was motionless.
She popped her eyes open to find him staring at her, looking a little confused.
“Are you okay?”
She nodded, her smile forming quickly.
“Are you ready for me?”
“Oh, yes.” She reached for him and took his hard bulk into her hands. It felt hot and hard, and at the same time, velvety soft. She ran her fingers over him and felt a tremor run through his back. Gripping his penis firmly, she jerked it up and down, eliciting from him a primal moan. Her heart raced faster.
He plunged into her then, his shaft reaching far into her body. She gasped at the tremendous stretching inside her, but just as she was beginning to adjust to the foreign but lovely intrusion, he withdrew almost all the way out, and then back in again. She reached for his rear end cheeks and massaged them through the cotton of his briefs while he thrust into her again and again, until finally he reached his climax. His body went rigid while he climaxed inside her, and then every muscle went loose and he fell onto the bed beside her.
Her pulse raced with the sensations he had let loose inside her body. Unable to get enough, she rolled onto her side to face him and ran a finger over his perspiring forehead. “What a workout.”
He chuckled. “No kidding. If I could do this for an hour every day, I could give up running.”
She laughed. She ran her finger over his face and onto his chest. “You rat, you never even took your shirt off!”
He sat and quickly pulled his shirt over his head and tossed it. “Sorry. Ever since I saw your sexy underwear set, I had my mind on other things.” He lay next to her again and she stroked her hand over his chiseled chest.
“You are so firm.”
He made a showy display of looking down at his groin, now covered again by his underwear, which never had gotten fully removed. “Not yet, but give me a minute.”
She laughed and picked up a pillow, swiping him with it. She slipped her hand under the elastic waist of his shorts and gripped his penis. She massaged it gently and he let out a low groan.
“Baby, at this rate, I’ll be ready again in a few minutes. Will you?”
She smiled. “Make up for lost time?”
He gripped her hand and squeezed it around his member. “You may or may not believe this, but you’re my first time since Marguerite died.”
She went quiet. Marguerite had died at least ten years ago. She knew he’d been deeply in love with his wife and they’d had a wonderful life together. But a decade of mourning? Even by her conservative standards, that was an awfully long time.
But she knew deep down he’d never lie to her about that. Of course, she believed him. She just didn’t know quite what to do with that information.
She pulled away from him, turned her back and started to get out of bed.
He grabbed her wrist. “I’m sorry, baby. I didn’t mean to …”
“No,” she interrupted. “It’s okay, really.”
“I shouldn’t have said that. Talk about a mood killer.” He tugged on her arm and she tumbled backwards onto the mattress.
He leaned over her and kissed her gently, cupping his hand along the back of her head, under her hair. When he finished, he lingered close to her face. “I love you, Alyssa.”
She looked up at him, straight into his eyes. “Are you serious?”
He nodded. “Totally.”
“You’re sure you’re not just thinking this because you haven’t, you know, done this for a decade?”
He laughed. “Alyssa, I’ve been celibate for a decade, not dead. I know what love feels like, and this is it.”
She sat up and turned so she was facing him. “Good, because I love you, too.”
A smile burst onto his face, so sincere and happy that it made her heart hurt from the sweetness of it. He pulled her close, her face against his bare chest and kissed the top of her head. She listened to his steady heartbeat – so secure, so strong, and then pressed her cheek tighter against him so she’d feel the beating against her face.
“So, what does this do to us? From a work standpoint?”
He grunted. “You get right to the hard conversation, don’t you?”
She nodded. “Too soon?”
“Yeah. Why don’t we bask in the afterglow for a little while at least before we start solving the world’s problems?”
She chuckled. “You’re right.” She settled back against his glorious naked chest and wrapped her arms around his waist. After a moment, she sat up. “In fact, I’m going to go get our champagne bottle and glasses so we can celebrate with some bubbly in bed.”
She jumped out of bed and padded barefoot out the door.
Chapter Fifteen
Grant lay back, instantly missing her from the spot she had made her own in his bed. He inhaled a deep breath. Where she’d lain, he recognized her scent. Ten years, his life had ambled on without love or romance or the touch of a woman. Ten years of throwing himself into Calibrite and working hard and getting professional results. But on the personal side of his life, a dead zone.
Since he’d met Alyssa, everything had changed. When Fate threw him the unexpected pleasure of meeting his daughter face-to-face, he never expected he’d fall so hard for her mother.
But he did.
Now he lay in the afterglow of his first lovemaking in a decade, and he couldn’t imagine a more hot and sexy roll in the hay. But their love for each other made it so much more. They were in love. They had a future to look forward to. After facing a lifetime of loneliness, he couldn’t quite believe his luck.
“Are you coming?” he called out. What was taking her so long? The bottle was right where they’d left it, on the kitchen counter. Or maybe she was hungry but if she was hoping to find a refrigerator full of possibilities to snack on, she would be unfortunately disappointed.
“Alyssa?”
The silence on the air floated to him. Because the penthouse was so open, sound traveled very well. Normally a raised voice in one room was easily discernible in another. He swung his legs over the side of the bed, stood, and left the room.
He found her behind his desk in the main room, looking down at something on his desktop. “There you are. I was starting to wonder if you’d gotten lost.” He strolled over to her and laid a hand on her bare shoulder. She instantly turned to stone and with a flick of her shoulder, let his hand fall off her. “Sweetheart? What’s wrong?”
She stared, her forehead creased and her mouth agape. He followed her line of sight. She was studying his computer monitor.
“What the hell is this?” Her voice was tight and constrained, and a finger of ice travelled down his spine.
He turned to look at the dark screen, then back to her face so tense with anger. “What?”
She pressed a key. An image of Caroline emerged on the screen, filling the darkness with a multi-color picture of their daughter in Chicago about two years ago. It was a favorite shot of his, taken, of course, secretly by Tom from a distance with a zoom lens while Alyssa pushed her on a swing in a public playground after school. The child’s joy beamed through her smile and her eyes sparkled. He’d had it as his screensaver so long that when he’d recently swept the apartment clean o
f any trace of Caroline, he’d totally forgotten this one.
Of course Alyssa would discover it. And now he was in for the explanation of his life.
“What is the meaning of this?” Alyssa’s voice quivered with emotion and he reached out again, another attempt to touch her, to regain the intimacy they’d experienced only moments before.
“Okay, I need to explain. I know it looks like …”
“Do not touch me, Grant. This is a picture of Caroline on your computer. A picture taken years ago, before you even met us. How? Why?” She reached out and pushed his hand away from her.
He nodded and gestured to the couch. “Please, sit. And we’ll talk.”
She looked down at herself, as if realizing for the first time that she still wore her lovemaking outfit – the only article of clothing he hadn’t pulled off her was her sexy pink bra. “Oh, we’ll talk all right. But I’m getting dressed first.” She stormed off and disappeared into his bedroom.
Grant pulled a shaking hand over his chin. How was he going to coax her into understanding? She had every reason to be angry, and he could deal with anger. But she needed to forgive him for not revealing his whole story sooner, so that they could move into their future together, in love. A real family to raise Caroline together.
Alyssa strode back out, now fully dressed and Grant suddenly felt under-clothed in just his boxer briefs. But he pushed his discomfort aside to focus on the important job in front of him. She took a seat on the leather couch and he walked over to her and sat opposite her on the love seat.
“I have run this through my mind a dozen times, and I don’t want to overreact, Grant, I really don’t, especially after everything we just ….”
She shook her head, and he knew she was remembering their intimacy in the bedroom and their professions of love for each other. His heart ached with the knowledge that she probably regretted all that she’d shared with him, under this new evidence that he’d, at some level, lied to her.
“Alyssa, I can explain everything. But before I do, let me just assure you that what I said … I love you … it’s true, Alyssa. I love you and Caroline, regardless of what I have to reveal to you now.”
Hidden Agenda Page 16