She tilted her head to the side. “Then don’t let her go.”
“You don’t understand . . . she has the whole world to see. I can’t stop her from living her life,” he said. He’d hate himself for watching her leave. From the little he knew about his mother’s relationship to his father, she was a bright woman from a poor family. Raised by a working class single mom, Nancy Davenport had the smarts but her attraction to his father drew her to the world of drugs, and she’d ended up corrupted and addicted. Would her life have been different if she’d never met his father? Maybe. But he’d hate for Kate to wonder the same about hers. He wouldn’t lure her into drugs obviously, but he’d prevent her from experiencing things a woman her age should—with a man her age.
“What’s so wrong about seeing the world with you?” Sheri said.
He squared his shoulders and stopped the drumming and tapping. The downside of personal conversations with Sheri was she always made him see the same picture under a different light.
“Graham. So glad you could make it,” Amanda greeted him when he walked through the entrance.
The past day and a half had been a whirlwind. He’d had lunch with Jacob, and didn’t do much but chat a couple of times with Kate at work. He couldn’t see her behind her father’s back. He understood she deserved to have her own sexual life, but given he knew for a fact Jacob would never approve of them, avoiding each other out of respect for him while he visited was the least they could do.
“Thanks. What’s this all about?” he asked.
She tossed her sleek long hair to the side, and lifted her champagne flute to her mouth. With cherry red lipstick and a flirty sleeveless dress, Amanda didn’t look like she was thinking about business. He knew the way she dressed when she wanted to get his attention and this came pretty darn close. “I mean it. I do want to do business with you and Preston, I want a piece of the pie.” Probably true. Smart and driven, Amanda recognized a good deal when she saw one.
“And what does Jacob have to do with it?” he asked. Inviting Jacob to the dinner party sure added to his stress.
She caressed her choker necklace, and her eyes lit. “He mentioned he was in town and I thought why not invite him? I call it a happy coincidence. Since you’re so hands-on with his daughter’s training, I suggested he bring her along.” She sipped her champagne then sat it on a table. “You know for the sake of learning,” she continued, sarcasm dripping from her voice.
His jaw clenched. Of course she knew about his and Kate’s affair. “Leave her out of this.” If Amanda thought she could intimidate him in any way, he had to set the record straight.
She narrowed her eyes, the contours of her face tightening. “Why should I leave her out? You haven’t. You should treat her like an employee yet you screwed her silly, didn’t you? It’s written all over your face.”
He swallowed. “My private life, or hers, isn’t any of your business.”
She glanced around them to make sure no one listened, and leaned closer. “It is if it puts the deal in jeopardy. Do you think Mark Preston will invest millions in a hotel chain where the owner is screwing his best friend’s daughter?”
If she wanted to blackmail him, she didn’t know him at all after their time together. His blood chilled in his veins. “I’m not playing any games. What do you want?”
“For you to see what’s right in front of you,” she said with a note of impatience. “When you broke up with me, I assumed you needed time to get used to the idea of marriage. We were a great team, Graham, and we can be a team again.” For the first time in a while, a veneer of vulnerability cloaked her and she tilted her head to the side, maybe anticipating his response.
He curled his fingers into a ball. “We’re over, Amanda. I’m sorry if you believed otherwise.”
“This girl is just a phase—you can’t be serious about her.”
“If you want to try for the Preston deal, it’s with the absolute certainty we’ll never get back together. If you blur the lines and think for one second our personal relationship is still at play, then I won’t pursue the account any longer.”
“You would do this for her? Wow. You must really care for her,” she said, her shoulders sagging with disappointment.
He reached for her shoulder and gave it a light squeeze, making her look in his eyes. “Amanda. You know me. I like to be honest, and I don’t want to hurt you more than I already have.”
“Yes.” She blinked a couple of times, her voice faltering for a moment. “Well, I won’t make it awkward for you anymore. I’m still in for the Preston account and I’ll remember the words you just said to me.”
“Thank you.”
“Now let’s talk to the others.”
They walked through the gardens of her place others may find beautiful and lush. All he wanted was this evening that had barely begun to get over with. When he found Kate talking to her father, he had to fight the urge to walk up there and kiss her, his body already showing signs of withdrawal. His throat thickened. His heart drummed foolishly at the sight of her. She wore a turquoise dress that enhanced the color of her big, expressive eyes. When she saw him, she walked toward him and he took a detour so her father wouldn’t notice him.
“Hey,” she said, joining him.
“Hi. How’s it going?” he said, making an effort to glance around the room instead of looking into her eyes.
“This mess is my fault, isn’t it?” she asked, fiddling with the fabric of her dress.
He shook his head. “You meant well. You know, maybe I should just tell Jacob what happened.”
She touched his elbow, bringing his attention to her. The softness from moments earlier vanished and she raised an eyebrow. “No. You have no right. It’s our story, albeit a short-lived one, and I should have a say in it.”
He clenched her wrist, bringing her closer. “I understand but wouldn’t it be easier if we told Jacob?”
She jerked away from him. “For who? For you, because then you don’t have to sleep with a heavy conscience?”
A waiter appeared with a tray filled with champagne flutes and he picked one, then chugged it down his throat. He inhaled, looking at her. If he told Jacob, his friendship was done, but Jacob would also make her life hell. Was it worthy to strain her relationship to her family when she’d be moving out of the country soon anyway? Jacob would try to suffocate her even more if he knew she had slept with an older man—even more than he probably already planned to by sending her sister for a “visit.” Just like this unannounced visit he’d made to check on her. “Hmm.”
“I’m telling you to go with the flow. Grin and bear it during this dinner. You’ll get your Preston deal, my father will keep living in fantasyland, and we’ll be able to enjoy each other until I leave,” she said steadily, and a wave of pride moved through him. She enjoyed submitting to him in bed sometimes but outside the sheets Kate knew how to take care of herself and keep him in check.
Damn it. She’d be okay in Europe away from her family. Away from me. A couple of guests approached them, and he should have known an intimate gathering in Amanda’s concept meant twenty plus people and someone playing a violin. He went through the motions, talking and nodding without really paying attention to the subject even when Jacob joined their group. Every once in a while, he glanced at Kate, and whenever his conscience caught up to him, he turned his head in the opposite direction as fast as he could manage. She chuckled, obviously more entertained than he, with a flicker of mischief in her baby blues.
What would his life be like after she left? The same as it used to be before. He cleared his throat. Less sex and laughter. Less . . . of everything. Shit. Out of all the dumb decisions he’d made in life, it was time to admit—at least to himself—that falling in love with her had been the worst of them.
Chapter 9
“Amanda mentioned you’re expanding your hotel group beyond Hawaii,” Mark Preston said after dinner. Most guests had gone inside to enjoy coffee, sweets, and dessert w
ine in the library, but Mark had stayed behind to smoke a cigarette and Graham kept him company.
“Yes. We’re solidifying our brand and the portfolio has never looked better,” he said, leaning casually against one of the bronze garden statues.
“And you would like my business?” Mark asked before puffing one more time.
“Yes,” he said, ignoring the smoke between them. God, he hated those invisible clouds—his mother had been a chain smoker for as long as he could remember. He’d go to school with the scent clinging to his clothes and the kids made fun of him. The teacher once ended up calling his mother about it.
Mark gave him a once over. “You’re successful, direct, and you don’t kiss ass, Graham. Tell you what. Send me the business proposal. I’ll have my team take a look at it but I give you my word, I’m very interested,” he said, and stretched out his hand.
Graham shook his hand enthusiastically. “Thank you.”
Silence stretched between them and Graham appreciated the quiet. Mark removed the cig from his mouth and held it between his thumb and index fingers. “One more thing. Kate isn’t just your trainee, is she?”
A jolt of surprise surged through him, but Graham didn’t flinch. “No, she’s not.” Hiding the truth bothered him enough. Lying was beneath him, especially when asked. He stretched to his full height, wondering if this chance to nail that deal had just slipped through his fingers.
Mark nodded, apparently unfazed. “That’s what I thought. Do you intend on marrying her?”
Not the type of question he’d expected. “I love her, but there’s a lot we need to work out,” he said truthfully.
Mark inhaled and shook his head. “Her father doesn’t know about it, does he?”
“No. I wanted to tell him but she does not,” he said.
“All right. Well, like I said you’re direct. Send me the proposal.”
“Will do,” he said, then returned to the library and loosened his collar. Only a little bit longer to go. He found the guests discussing a mix of football and politics in a couple of different groups. Amanda seemed a lot more relaxed so he assumed Mark Preston gave her good news too. Graham would have to bite the bullet and work with her in the future.
After Mark left the dinner, he did the same. For the second day in a row, coming back to an empty home corresponded to eating mac and cheese without the cheese. For the past month, whenever Kate didn’t come home at the same time as him, he waited eagerly for the end of her shift and for her arrival.
Sighing with disappointment, he removed his clothes and slid into the shower. Somehow he’d have to get used to living without her. He’d told Preston he loved her but had things to work out. Had his response been a lie or wishful thinking? Could he really ask her to stay? She’d excel in the hotel industry and he could give her a really good executive position. Hell, if she didn’t want to work with him he’d give her a recommendation letter or introduce her to important hoteliers.
Would she even want to, though?
He let the hot water glide through his body, enjoying the side sprays. He closed his eyes and threw back his head.
“Do you need any help scrubbing?” asked the female voice he’d so foolishly gotten used to, and his eyes opened with a start.
Deliciously naked, she joined him in the shower. She grabbed the soap and smiled. Soon the water glided down her body.
“What? What happened?”
“Dad had to catch a flight tonight instead of the red-eye. One of his business partners requested an emergency meeting early tomorrow. So I drove over to your place.” She soaped him up and his cock jumped. “Did I do something wrong?”
Technically, he’d decided not to have sex while Jacob visited but that was no longer an issue. Or maybe his painful erection surpassed any moral ground. “No. You couldn’t have been more right.”
Smiling, he touched her breasts. God, how he had missed them. He slammed her against the wall, and she wrapped her legs around his torso. Holding her, he positioned his cock between her legs and enjoyed the sharp hiss fleeing from her lips. She bucked into him, and he caught her lips in a glorious, soul-searching kiss that left him barer than the absence of clothes.
She put her arms around his neck. He thrust into her, hard and strong. The curve of his knee buckled, and he straightened to keep balance. The sensation of being inside her again caused an indecent amount of tingles to tease his entire body. She caressed the back of his neck, her nails scratching his sensitive flesh. “You’re killing me, baby,” he said.
She licked his upper lip. “We have a lot of catching up to do.”
Holding her waist with one hand, he slid the other down her sex, and soon flicked her clit. If she tortured him, he’d be happy to do the same. Her moans filled the space, and even with the curtain of steam around them he could see her eyes semi-closed. He loved how she writhed under his touch whenever he played with her bundle of nerves.
“Graham,” she called when he pounded her pussy faster, deeper.
He intensified the flicks on her clit, while his cock no longer held back. Once he acknowledged his feelings, a sense of freedom washed over him. A freedom he never knew he didn’t have. She screamed, announcing her orgasm as she trembled undone in his arms. Soon, he let himself go, loving the experience of giving her his most intimate fluid, his seed, until he had nothing left.
The next minutes turned into a blur in her mind. He rubbed her, his deft fingers soaping her then washing her off. By the time he’d towel-dried her in the most careful, sweet way, her body already throbbed with awareness again. Her sex still ached a bit from the passionate encounter with his cock, but nothing she couldn’t handle.
“What are you doing?” she asked when she saw him dim the ambiance and light some candles around the room.
He grinned, and shivers traveled down her stomach. “I’m setting the mood.”
“I’m afraid to ask.”
His gorgeous naked body implored for her touch. Or maybe her fingers implored to touch him, she wasn’t sure. Her clit pulsed again, and she touched the towel wrapped over her. “Tonight, my love, I’m feasting on your tight, pert, beautiful ass.”
Tension wrapped her body. She hadn’t brought the subject up ever since their first weekend together. They had done every position and naughty activity in the book, but no anal yet. She pushed an invisible circle of sand down her throat.
She’d always found anal sex the most dominating way a man could take a woman. From what she’d seen in dirty movies, it could be fun with the right partner. She chewed on her lower lip, part excited part fearful.
“Trust me, Kate.”
“I do.” In spite of their age difference, he listened to her suggestions and ideas. He would never hurt her intentionally. She hugged him, and soon her towel pooled at her feet. The friction of her body against his without the water from earlier caused a state of so much arousal she almost fainted. The hair dusting his legs rubbed against her flesh, and his cock showed pretty impressive signs of alertness against her belly. He squeezed her ass, circling the buttocks, and she moaned. She trusted him with everything she had and wouldn’t stop now. God, she loved this man and everything he represented.
He picked her up and took her to his bed. She rejoiced in being in his arms, and when he eased her down on the mattress, she lifted her head and he captured her mouth into a dreamy, heart-warming kiss. “These two days were hell, Kate. I miss eating your pussy. I can’t go a whole day without fucking you.”
Agony—the best way to describe the last two days without him. She should have used them as an opportunity to wean herself off of him when the situation came and she left for Europe, but her body disagreed.
He kissed his way down, leaving trails of goose bumps wherever his lips touched. She rocked herself into his mouth, her limbs fidgety, her nipples painfully taut. “It doesn’t matter how many times I fuck you, your pussy is still so tight it’s like I’m popping your cherry all over again.”
Only no
w he’s about to eat my cherry. “Baby . . .” she breathed when his head disappeared between her thighs. He nipped her thigh, and she sucked in a sharp breath. With his hand, he lifted her butt so he could really feast on her slick sex. “Yes.”
He licked her clit with the tip of his tongue. A thrill surged through her, causing her to clench the sheets in her hands. She tried to keep it together as he worked her swollen bundle and his tongue teased her folds. Moaning, she couldn’t help but arch herself into his mouth, wanting to give him all she could until she had nothing left to give. He took her, sucking her deep until a tremor started in her core and surged up her body, leaving her breathless and shaky.
She watched him leave her, grab a device in the drawer and return to her. She blinked—a dildo? She analyzed the device he placed on the bed, next to him. The color could pass for a blue or green, and Graham was bigger and thicker in size. Yet the vibrator seemed like it could take the edge off if needed.
“Get on your hands and knees for me, baby,” he said only a couple of seconds later.
She somehow gathered strength within her to follow his command, her legs still wobbly after the orgasm. He nudged her butt cheeks apart and she stiffened her back involuntarily.
“Easy . . . give me this sweet ass and I promise I’ll take good care of it,” he said, massaging her buttocks. She let out a sigh, her body relaxing a tad. He leaned over her and kissed her back, setting a number of shivers down her spine. His tongue traced over her flesh, sliding down until he got to her butt.
She moaned when he nipped her skin, and his hand glided down her front, his fingers brushing over her sex. He grabbed the dildo and pressed the tip against her entrance.
She squirmed. “Graham.”
“Trust me, baby.”
He thrust the dildo inside her, not finding much resistance. The compact size certainly differed from Graham’s. Whenever he plunged into her, a sensation of completion filled her just as every inch of him stretched her to the max to welcome him. Graham used the dildo’s rubbery texture and the smaller size to his advantage, and moved it inside her like he knew all her weak spots. Soon, she wriggled back and forth and moved her hips, undulating them in some sort of sensual primeval mating dance. “You like that.”
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