From Best Friend to Daddy

by Jules Bennett

  Well, hell. She was pissed and leaving? All because some woman flirted with him?

  If she was that upset, then she was definitely jealous. Gray had every intention of playing right into that little nugget of information.

  Gray lost track of Kate, but he never saw the front door open, which meant she had to be inside somewhere. He glanced at his watch and realized they still had another two business hours to go. He couldn’t get to Kate for a while, but she better be ready for him, because he wasn’t backing down from this fight. He was damn well going to call her out on her jealousy and forbid her to make any excuses for why they shouldn’t be together.

  Gray couldn’t wait to get her alone again.

  Chapter Twelve

  This was the most ridiculous thing she’d ever done in her entire life. But hey, at least she could mark spontaneity off her life list.

  Kate stared at the clock on Gray’s nightstand. The bar had closed thirty minutes ago. She knew he had cleanup down to a science and he should be wrapping things up any minute.

  She thought coming up here to cool off would help. Seeing that trampy redhead raking her false nail down Gray’s chest had set something off inside Kate she didn’t want to label...because it smacked her right in the face with jealousy.

  Why was she jealous? Kate knew full well that women found Gray sexy and did nearly anything to get his attention. But things were different now. Yes, they were just friends, but everything had changed.

  What would he say when he came up here and found her in his bed? Would he tell her they’d agreed to call it quits after the camping? Would he climb in bed and give her another night to remember?

  Kate came to her feet and grabbed the dress she’d flung at the bottom of the bed. This was a mistake. She looked like an utter fool. No, a desperate fool, and she needed to get the hell out of here before Gray came in.

  The front door to his apartment clicked shut, followed by the dead bolt. Too late to run.

  She clutched the dress to her chest, feeling even more ridiculous now. Why had she put that damn “be more spontaneous” idea on her list? And why had she let that busty tramp bring out the green-eyed monster?

  Heavy footsteps sounded down the hall seconds before Gray filled the doorway. His dark eyes widened as they raked over her. There was no way she could move. Just that simple, visual lick he gave her had her rooted in place.

  His eyes snapped back up to hers. “Put the dress down.”

  Kate dropped it at her feet before thinking twice. That low command gave her little choice but to obey. Warmth spread through her. There was no denying exactly why she’d come up here, just as there was no denying that heated look in his eyes.

  “You came up here a while ago.” He leaned one broad shoulder against the door frame and continued to rake his eyes across her body. “What have you been doing?”

  “Second-guessing myself,” she murmured.

  Gray’s lips twitched. “Is that so? I don’t recall sneaking into a man’s bedroom on your life list.”

  “I was trying to check off spontaneity.”

  “Is that so?”

  Kate crossed her arms over her chest. “I’m feeling a little silly standing here like this. Are you just going to stay over there and stare at me?”

  “Maybe I’m looking at you because you deserve to be valued.”

  Oh, no. He couldn’t say things like that to her. Statements so bold only pushed them deeper into this...whatever the technical term was. Friends seemed too tame of a label considering she stood in his bedroom wearing only her underwear.

  “Chris showed up at my house.”

  Why did she blurt that out? She prided herself on planning everything, even her words. But somehow hearing him mention her being valued made her think of the jerk who thought the opposite.

  Gray stood straight up and took a step toward her. “What the hell did he want?”

  Kate laughed. “To talk. He invited me to coffee.”

  The muscle in his jaw clenched. “Did you go?” he all but growled.

  “No. I demanded he leave and I haven’t heard from him since.”

  Gray’s eyes narrowed. “He’s trying to get you back.”

  “After all this time and after what he did? He’s a fool.”

  “Tell me if he comes back.”

  Kate stared up into those dark eyes. “You’re jealous.”

  Gray slid his palms up her bare arms, over her shoulders, and hooked his thumbs in her bra straps. “Like you were jealous downstairs?”

  Tipping her chin up, she met his mocking stare. “I was not jealous.”

  Gray’s fingertips left the straps and slid over the swell of her breasts. Tingles raced through her body.

  “You cracked the glass you slammed down.” One finger slid between her breasts and back up. “Seemed like you were upset about something.”

  “Consider the glass payment for the panties you ripped off me.”

  If possible, his eyes darkened at the mention of her underwear. In one swift move, he flicked the front closure of her bra and had it off. When he gripped the edge of her panties and met her eyes, she smiled.

  “You going for two?” she asked, quirking a brow.

  He gave a yank, and the sound of ripping material answered her question. Suddenly she stood before him completely naked and in the bright light of his bedroom while he was completely clothed.

  “This is hardly fair,” she informed him.

  “You snuck up to my apartment and came to my bed,” he reminded her. “You’re playing by my rules now, Kate.”

  How did the man continually get sexier? Seriously. Looks were one thing, but the way he treated her, spoke to her...how would she feel when this came to an end?

  “I wasn’t going to do this again,” she muttered, mostly to herself.

  “And I wasn’t going to let you run, either.” He banded an arm around her waist and jerked her body against his. “Why is there a time limit on what we’re doing? We both like it. Neither one of us is dating anyone. It makes sense.”

  Kate closed her eyes. “Because we could lose ourselves and forget who we really are.”

  He leaned down and nipped her lips. “Maybe we’re only just discovering who we really are.”

  Those words barely registered before he lifted her off her feet and carried her to his bed. He eased her down onto the plain gray sheets that were still rumpled from when he’d gotten out of them. She’d never been in his bedroom. They’d been friends forever, but crossing this threshold was taking things to a whole new territory.

  Gray eased back, leaving her lying spread out. She watched as he reached behind his neck and jerked the black tee up and over his head. After he tossed it into the corner, he started unfastening his jeans, all while keeping those heavy-lidded eyes on her.

  “You look good here, Kate.”

  She closed her eyes. Maybe if she didn’t look at him when he said such meaningful words, they wouldn’t penetrate her soul. But he kept saying little things. No, not little, not in the terms of the impact they had.

  Instead of responding, because she truly had no words, she lifted her knees to make room for him. Once he’d gotten protection from his nightstand, she reached out, taking him in her arms. His weight pressed her further into the bed. She wasn’t sure how she looked here, but she knew she liked it. Being wrapped up in Gray and knowing they shared something no one else knew about...there was a thrill to what they were doing.

  A thrill she wasn’t sure she ever wanted to see end.

  But was he on the same page? If she threw out that she was having stronger feelings, what would he say? Would he tell her they were done with sex? Would he tell her they could be friends and have sex only as long as they were both single? Because suddenly, she wondered if there could be more.

  “Hey.”
/>   Kate focused on the man who flanked her head with his forearms and smoothed her hair away from her face.

  “Stay with me,” he murmured.

  Curling her fingers around his bare shoulders, Kate smiled. “I wouldn’t be anywhere else.”

  Gray joined their bodies and Kate locked her ankles behind his back. She wanted to stay just like this, to forget the outside world, to ignore any warning that went off in her head about what could go wrong. Because right now, everything in her world was absolutely perfect.

  Gray’s lips slid over her skin, along her jawline, down her neck, along her chest. Kate arched into him, needing more and silently begging him to give it to her. Gray murmured something into her ear and she couldn’t make it out. He’d done that before and she wondered what he was saying, but that was something she’d ask later. She’d rather enjoy the euphoria and sweet bliss of being in his arms...in his bed.

  In a move that shocked her, Gray held on to her and flipped them until he was on his back and she straddled him. The way he looked up at her...

  A girl could get used to a man looking at her like she was the only good thing in his world.

  Gray gripped her hips and Kate’s body instantly responded to his strength. His fingers bit into her as she flattened her palms on his chest and let the moment completely consume her.

  Before Kate’s body ceased trembling, Gray’s stilled beneath her. His lips thinned. His head tipped back. His eyes shut. But his grip on her never lightened. She remained where she was, watching the play of emotions across his face.

  Slowly he relaxed beneath her. As he slid his hands up over the dip in her waist and urged her down, Kate smiled. She fell against his chest and closed her eyes.

  “What now?” she asked, unable to stop herself.

  His chest vibrated with the soft rumble of laughter. “We don’t need to plan the next move. Relax.”

  When she started to set up, he flattened his hand on her back. “You can stay just like this a few more minutes.”

  She could, but she had questions. So many questions and only he could answer them. Well, they could figure them out together, but what was going to happen when she told him she might want more? He’d never even acted like he wanted a relationship. They had sex. They had never even been on a real date.

  Kate couldn’t take it anymore. She sat up and shifted off him. With her back to Gray, she sat on the edge of the bed and leaned down to pick up her discarded dress.

  “We really need to talk.”

  Silence filled the air, as she’d expected it would once she uttered those five words that would put any man’s hackles up.

  Kate threw a glance over her shoulder. Gray lay there naked as you please, with his arms folded behind his head. His eyes held hers, but he still said nothing even when she raised a brow, silently begging him to speak.

  “Why are you making this difficult?” she asked.

  She came to her feet and threw her dress on, sans all undergarments. When she spun around toward the bed and crossed her arms over her chest, Gray merely smiled. Still naked, still fully in charge of this situation, because he just watched her. The man could be utterly infuriating.

  “What are we doing?” she muttered, shaking her head. “Seriously? Are we going to keep doing this? Is there more?”

  Her heart beat so fast, she wondered if he could see the pulse in her neck. Again without a word, Gray came to his feet and strutted from the room.

  She threw her arms out. “Well, that went well,” she whispered to the empty room.

  Moments later, he came back in, still not the least bit concerned with his state of undress. He carried two wine stems between his fingers and in the other hand he had a champagne bottle.

  “This is another bottle of what you had the other night.” He set everything on the nightstand and poured her a glass. “You need another drink if we’re going to get into this discussion.”

  “Drinking isn’t the answer,” she retorted.

  He picked up the glass and handed it to her. “I never said it was. But I brought this bottle up earlier and got sidetracked when I found you naked in my room.”

  She took the glass but didn’t take a sip yet. “Why did you bring it to begin with? I didn’t take you for a champagne drinker.”

  “I’m not, but I knew you were up here so I brought it for you.”

  Kate jerked. “How did you know I came up here? I was discreet.”

  Gray laughed as he filled his own glass and then downed it in one gulp. He set the glass back on the nightstand and turned toward her.

  “I’m a pretty smart guy, Kate.” He pointed toward her glass. “You’re going to want to start on that.”

  She took a small drink, relishing the bubbles that burst in her mouth. Champagne really wasn’t bad at all.

  “You were jealous,” he started, holding up his hand when she opened her mouth to argue. “You were, so be quiet for a minute.”

  Kate took another drink and sank onto the edge of the bed. “Could you at least put something on? It’s hard to concentrate with all that hanging out.”

  Gray laughed and turned toward his dresser, where a stack of clean laundry lay neatly folded. He grabbed a pair of black boxer briefs and tugged them on.

  “Better?”

  Actually, no. The briefs hugged his narrow hips, drawing her attention to that perfect V of muscles leading south. Mercy, how had she missed all of his flawless features in the past?

  She took another drink.

  “So you were jealous,” he went on.

  “Move to something else,” she growled.

  Gray laughed, propping his hands on those hips she tried so hard to stop staring at. “Fine. Then I saw you grab your purse and disappear, only the front door didn’t open and I couldn’t get a clear view of the back hall. Nobody goes that way, but I had a feeling my Kate had done just that.”

  She narrowed her eyes. “Jacob told you.”

  “He didn’t have to say anything.”

  Kate polished off her champagne and set her empty glass next to his. When she glanced back up at him, she shivered at the look in his eyes.

  “You didn’t like that woman flirting with me. That was a good piece of information to have.”

  Kate hated that she’d let her emotions get the better of her. “Fine. I was jealous.”

  Gray knelt down in front of her and clasped her hands in his. “I didn’t think you’d admit it.”

  “Why hide it? We may just be having sex, but that doesn’t mean I want to see some woman pawing you.”

  Kate stared down at their joined hands and willed herself to be strong and just say what she wanted to say. But before she could tell him her thoughts, he placed one hand beneath her chin and tipped her face to meet his.

  Gray leaned forward and nipped at her lips before murmuring, “Marry me.”

  Chapter Thirteen

  Why wasn’t she saying anything?

  Gray waited.

  “Kate?”

  She blinked. “Marry you? But we’ve never discussed anything like that.”

  When she came to her feet, her abrupt movement had him standing as well. Then she began to pace his room. She couldn’t go far in the small space, but since he had only a bed and dresser, she didn’t have much to maneuver around.

  “Marry you,” she repeated beneath her breath as she turned on her heel to walk in the other direction.

  “Why not?” he asked. “We get along, we’re good together in bed, and we just understand each other. That’s more than most married couples have.”

  She stopped and stared at him as if he had grown another nose on the side of his head. “Why on earth do you want to marry me?”

  “I talked to Dad about selling the bar.” Now it was his turn to pace because the thought of everything closing in on him
made him twitchy. “He’s most definitely not on board and he seems to think I just need to settle down. Perhaps this way, I could sell it and you and I could use that money to start over somewhere. Or hell, build a house here. Whatever. We’d have freedom and that’s all that matters.”

  He’d come to stand directly in front of her, but she continued to stare. No, glare would best describe what she was doing now. There was something he couldn’t quite pinpoint in her eyes. Gone was the desire he’d seen moments ago.

  “So, what, I’m just a means to pacify your dad so you can collect a check?” she asked. With a shake of her head, she let out a humorless laugh. “I was already going to marry one jerk who obviously didn’t get me. It’s quite clear you never understood me either if you think I’ll marry you.”

  Anger simmered within him, but he didn’t want to lash out.

  “What the hell is wrong with marrying me?” he asked.

  “I want to know your first thought when I asked why you wanted to marry me. Don’t think about what I want to hear. Just tell me the first thing that comes into your head.”

  This was a trap. Somewhere in that statement she’d set a trap for him and he was about to fall headfirst into it.

  “I think it makes sense,” he answered honestly. “What’s there to think about?”

  She stared at him a bit longer and that’s when he saw it. Hurt. That emotion he couldn’t pin down before had been pain and it stared back at him plain as day. He’d seen that look before from patrons who wanted to drink their worries away. He’d seen it too often. But he was completely baffled by why the hell she stared at him with such anguish.

  “What did I say?”

  She chewed on her bottom lip for a moment before skirting around him and picking up her underwear and bra. He watched as she dressed fully and then sat on the edge of his bed to pull her sandals on.

  “Where are you going?”

  Without looking up, she adjusted her shoe and came to her feet. “Home. I’ve had enough of...whatever this is. We never should’ve slept together.”