TWENTY-SIX
A QUICK GLANCE in the restroom mirror, proved ego boosting. A sparkly-sheer perspiration covered my skin. Peachy cheeks flushed from arousal and my curls were soft and wild. I backed away adjusting off-the-shoulder sleeves. Feminine and slightly ravaged looking.
I opened the back door and stepped into the cool night air. My body thrummed like a vibrator I was so hot for him. How long had it been? Technically less than two days, but all of my carnal senses said get ready to fuck your brains out, Mr. Craig.
I crossed the narrow alley and walked into the parking garage. Bradley leaned against a sleek silver sports car. His eyes never left me as I took long strides, hitching up my dress to hook a finger into my panties. I wriggled the string off my hips and made sure he hadn’t missed the flash of full frontal pussy.
His gaze narrowed as I smoothed the skirt down and headed straight for him.
A low growl rumbled from the gorgeous ghost-like vehicle. Bradley’s hands were in his pockets, one leg bent, exuding as much male potency as the ferocious engine behind him. The passenger door was open. He reached out, and I dropped my panties in his hand.
“Get in the car and take off your dress.“
I stared at him. So darkly edible, all parts of him.
“You can keep the shoes on.” He swayed closer.
The sexual pull between us sent a raging surge of electricity through me. An arm went around me and he found the zipper. A cool rush of air swept down my spine.
I scanned the garage. Not a soul in the parking lot. I climbed into the passenger side and inhaled new car scent. Quilted leather covered seats in full recline—warm to the touch and as soft as a glove. Toasty air circulated through the interior. Thoughtful of him and pure Bradley.
I pulled my dress off and reclined onto the seat. Here I was again—naked, vulnerable, and unbelievably turned on. My legs trembled and my pussy ached for him.
Fucking in my boyfriend’s car—a deliciously sexy throwback to my youth.
His gaze moved slowly, ravishing every curve. “Spread your legs.” He helped position one foot over the console. “Rest the other foot here, along the door.”
He placed a finger at the top of the slit between my labia. His eyes filled with heat, but he didn’t move his finger. He waited for me to make the first move.
I lifted my hips slowly until his finger slipped in. His smile was fierce and flirtatious. “Again.” I tilted my hips upward. “Once more, love.”
He watched his fingertip disappear into soft folds. He wanted me in control of the speed and the pressure.
Finally, he lifted his gaze to meet mine. “Hold onto the headrest.”
I lifted my arms. Now I lay even more open to him—more exposed—if that was possible. I arched my back and sucked in a breath.
“Christ, you’re such a turn on.” He reached up and dimmed the overhead light.
Girl, I Got My Eyes On You filled the air, softly rocking a tune from Bradley’s playlist to fuck by. He unzipped his pants and crawled over me.
His large body hovered above mine, poised to lose control. “You and I are going to baptize this car.” He dipped lower and sucked a nipple into his mouth, tonguing the hard tip.
I uttered a feverish moan and he responded in kind. “Take me out, baby.”
I reached inside his pants and his cock fell into my hands—heavy, thick and rock hard. My finger traced the rim of the helmeted tip. Velvet skin stretched tight, straining to penetrate. Bradley’s head rolled back and he groaned.
“Knees up—that’s it—guide me.”
I wrapped my fingers around him and helped steer him inside. The stretch was extreme at this angle and he pushed in deep, filling me with his cock. I reached between his legs and stroked his smooth, newly waxed sac.
His balls drew up close to his body. He was as turned on as I was. He lifted me by the hips and my vaginal muscles enveloped him, clenching as he thrust and withdrew.
The head of his cock massaged my g spot. “Oooooh baby, yes,” I moaned.
The insides of my thighs trembled as I lifted my hips to meet him. He reached between us and circled my swollen clit with his thumb.
“Hold on tight, Gracie.”
I grabbed the headrest and entered the sensuous place where arousal would soon engulf then release me.
“Don’t stop,” I ordered and suddenly it was too much. Intense pleasure ripped thorough me and I came like a wild creature, scratching and tearing at him. To muffle my cry, I lunged forward and bit into his shoulder.
He pulled back and watched me come. His sweetly vulnerable gaze locked on mine. “Jeezus, Gracie, you own me.”
A delicious sort of goddess energy filled me and I arched my back, offering him my breasts.
“Then come for me.” The female deity in me commanded.
He kneed my legs apart. “Let me see you, baby.” He took a long, admiring look before he entered me again.
“Ah, Christ,” he rasped, and lunged into me—pure and raw—part primitive being, part mythical lover. I could feel each punishing thrust, every rock hard inch, as he drove that cock home repeatedly. “I’m going come, baby.”
Hot semen shot into my cunt and he jerked hard, climaxing with a shudder that rocked both of us. I pulled him down for a breathless kiss, and he collapsed on top of me, his face a beautiful play of anguish and ecstasy.
“Jeezus, Gracie, you amaze me.”
We lay in a blissful state of sex stupor, until we both heard an echo of laughter and footsteps close by. Bradley deftly reached for the car door and pulled it closed—at least as much as he could without throwing his back out.
He wrapped his arms around me. “Two strangers rubbing up against each other in a quasi-public place.”
“Check.” I murmured. Another sexcapade crossed off the list.
His lips brushed my temple. “And definitely not in a unisex bathroom.”
Usher crooned softly from surround speakers. The sound system was amazing. His voice floated around us, asking sweetly what had happened to me. Easy enough to answer—Bradley Craig had happened to me.
“So, you’ve purchased a car.” My finger brushed over glove-soft leather before tracing the edge of his upper lip. “And not just any car.”
His grin was pure man-boy. “Those splendid bastards at Aston Martin have designed the ultimate grand touring car. Comes equipped with a standard six-liter, v-twelve, five-hundred-and-sixty-five horsepower engine, and a six-speed a transmission with overdrive. The most powerful production engine in Aston Martin history.”
With great care, he took my face in his hands, tenderly brushing his lips over mine. “The Vanquish is a once-in-a-lifetime car, just like the woman laying beside me.”
I needed clarification. “Which makes me…?”
He ran his fingers into my tangle of curls. “A once-in-a-lifetime woman.”
A flutter of butterflies flew through my chest. Was he my once-in-a-lifetime man? I wanted him to be, more than anything.
To calm myself I asked a guy question. “Zero to sixty in?”
“Four point one seconds. It’s a wicked, wicked car, just like the woman—”
“Lying beside you.” I cut him off, snorting a laugh. “I get it.”
He rubbed a scruff of stubble against my cheek. “I ordered it in London several weeks before I left—got the call this morning from the dealer. I haven’t been out of the city yet. Would you care to take a drive, Moneypenny?”
“You can take me anywhere, Mr. Craig.”
I fished around for my dress and even though we were all elbows, he very sweetly helped me back into what he called ‘this dangerous little nothing of a frock’. He released the glove box and handed me some tissues, which helped stem the flood of semen until I could clean up.
“We should probably check in with the crew.” He helped me out of the car.
At the restroom door, he returned my panties. “What are you drinking tonight?”
“Pink Cosmo
made with Chambord.”
I made a few quick repairs and joined the group at the corner couch. Bradley handed me my drink.
“Matches that pretty pink of yours,” he murmured.
“Derek has been telling us about the ride over in the Vanquish—sounds amazing—was it?” Sarah winked.
I could tell from Sarah’s smile she knew exactly what kind of ride I’d just taken.
Bradley leaned across the square cubes that served as ottomans and drink holders. “I’m going to take Gracie for a spin, any ideas?”
“There’s a little all-night eatery in Oyster Bay—great beer and steamed shellfish. Forty-five minutes outside the city if you’re driving the speed limit.” Derek snorted a laugh. “Highly unlikely.”
I inhaled a deep breath. As much as I didn’t want to do this, I couldn’t let it slide. “Before you take me anywhere, I want to know what’s going on between you and Audrey.”
Bradley started at me. “Nothing.”
“Nothing?”
“Gracie, how many times do I have to answer this?”
I raised my voice. “She’s been texting crazy messages to coworkers all day—intimating you more than kissed her, last night.”
“You got the crazy part right.” His cool stare softened, briefly.
A guilty look, if ever I saw one.
I exhaled, disappointed. “You kissed her.”
He hesitated. “I didn’t kiss her, she kissed me.”
I couldn’t look at him, so I allowed my gaze to roam. “Like that makes such a difference.”
He moved closer, lowering his voice. “It happened. And I didn’t follow up—got it?”
“I asked what was going on between the two of you, and you lied.”
Bradley stood his ground. “I didn’t fuck her.”
We were at a place where neither of one of us wanted to be, especially in public. And it galled me to think that crazy Audrey might win this round.
I stepped back and Bradley stepped forward. He slipped his arm around me. “Gracie.”
I took a deep breath and analyzed my mood. I wasn’t looking for a fight, not tonight. And Audrey just might be crazy. And…I totally believed him when he said he didn’t fuck her.
I looked into bluer than blue eyes. “Why does she keep doing this to me—to us?”
Bradley shook his head. “I don’t know, baby girl. I just know I’m not going to lose you over something so bollixed up.”
I swayed in his arms, even smiled a little. “Let’s take a drive over to her place. I like to put a stop to the texts once and for all.”
He pulled away and stared. “Sometimes, you knock me on my ass, Gracie.” Finally, he nodded, his expression determined. “Let’s do it.”
While Bradley collected my wrap, I continued the Audrey discussion with Sarah and Derek.
Derek actually had some interesting information. “She mostly likely sent at least some of the messages to her girlfriend, Lynn, who has a crush on her boss, Frank, who couldn’t resist sending it on to me, because he thinks I’m still fucking Audrey
Sarah jumped in. “Which sets up the possibility that Derek would revenge fuck Gracie.”
I finished the speculation. “Then maybe Audrey gets an angry revenge fuck with Bradley.”
Sarah shot a private eye roll my way. “She’s a plotter.”
“That is so…crazy…desperate.” My gaze moved between Derek and Sarah.
She shrugged. “She’s been acting loco en la cabeza since Tuesday.”
Bradley was back wearing a black sports coat. He helped me into a wrap coat with a funnel collar and handed over my clutch with the skull clasp.
Sarah leaned close. “Call us when you know something.”
I gave her a hug. “I will. Have some fun with Derek.”
FYI: Just in case I forget to mention it, a hot handsome man behind the wheel of a fast sports car is so-o-o-o-o-o sexy. I tucked myself into the shotgun seat and he buckled me in.
“I feel like I’m in one of those luxury car commercials.”
He grinned. “You’re certainly beautiful enough for it.”
“And you’re not?” I teased, flashing a little extra leg as I settled back.
He did a double take and frowned. “Please don’t do that while I’m driving.”
He eased the Vanquish out of the parking garage and turned north. The car accelerated swiftly and smoothly, pressing me back into my heated leather seat.
For the next few blocks I admired the way he handled the vehicle. So powerful and edgy and yet so refined—both the car and driver.
Eventually, my thoughts turned to Audrey. Her texts were barely coherent and weirdly provocative. A tricky puzzle to put together and crazier than the usual jealous, conniving, co-worker Audrey.
I chewed on my lower lip. “Just a feeling, but something could be really wrong. Audrey has never acted this unstable. Annoying troublemaker? Check. Backstabbing, thieving boyfriend stealer? Oh yeah, but…”
Bradley glanced over. “But?”
“Did she seem normal to you last night?” I turned to him. “You met at her apartment, right?”
“In hindsight an obvious mistake on my part.” Bradley thought a moment before answering. “There was quite a bit of paperwork to go over. I did a lot of reading and she did a lot of drinking. At one point, she veered into me and I held her up.
“That’s when she kissed you.”
He nodded. “I left shortly thereafter. I told her to get some rest, sleep it off.”
The mere mention of the kiss set my teeth grinding. “On the other hand, this could just be another throwback to junior high. Audrey is good at playing these kinds of games, but I never learned.”
At the yellow light, he down-shifted, but there was no stick anywhere to be seen on the console.
“How did you down shift like that?”
He grinned. “This is a six-speed, sequential-shift, manual gearbox. It utilizes F1-style paddle shifters.” He moved his hand and showed me the shift buttons on the squared-off steering wheel. “Ferrari was the first one to introduce them.” He tilted his head. “Do you know much about performance cars?”
I shrugged. “I grew up in a richy-poo community, pretty much everyone drives great cars.”
His gaze moved over me possessively. “As we left Madison Square Garden tonight, Derek told me he blew it with you.” The engine rumbled quietly, confidently waiting for the light to change. He leaned close and kissed me, sensuous and soft, with a bit of tongue. “Do you still care that Derek fucked Audrey?”
“Not really, why?”
Bradley’s scrutiny went beyond the usual perusal of my features. His gaze probed deeper—reading hidden thoughts—uncovering the fragile girl no man had ever known. “I don’t want you to care about him. Not much anyway. Actually, not at all.”
A love tingle traveled through my body, similar but different from a tingle of arousal. “He’s a coworker in the same way you and Audrey are co-workers.”
Bradley raised a brow and I exhaled a sigh. “It’s not that I don’t like Derek…as a friend. It’s just that I like you so much more.”
The sweetest, most charming grin spread across his face, but all I could feel was the scrape of my upper teeth on my lower lip.
“Glad you’re happy. I’m terrified,” I murmured
He reached over and pulled me close. I wrapped my arms around him and let him rock me in his solid embrace.
“This is all happening so quickly.” When I trembled, he held on tighter.
“I could fall hard for you.” He rubbed his weekend beard stubble over my cheek. “I probably already am.”
I eased away. “Do you think we should slow down?”
The light turned green and he gunned the engine. “Not possible for us, Gracie.”
TWENTY-SEVEN
BRADLEY WHIPPED A U-turn and slipped into a space yards away from the apartment building entrance. Apparently his parking karma matched his luck hailing cabs. Totall
y unfair and so wrong, but I wasn’t complaining.
I picked his phone out of the cradle. “She’ll pick up if she thinks it’s you.”
He helped me find the number in a list of recents. The phone rang and rang, then a click. I listened to a second of two of atmosphere. “Audrey? Are you there?”
Alarmed, I gave the phone to Bradley.
“Audrey, answer your phone. We need to know you’re okay.” He waited a few seconds. “I can hear something in the background. I think it’s the news.”
I nodded. “She’s home.”
He pressed end call. “We need to get in there.”
Bradley approached the security guard at the desk. “We have reason to believe that a resident here, Audrey Lacoste, might not be feeling well.”
“We’d like to check on her, just to be sure,” I added.
“My name is Bradley Craig. I was here last night. I should still be on the list.”
The security guard checked Bradley’s I.D. and waved us through.
At the bank of elevators, Bradley took me by the hand. “It’s been what? Two weeks since we were alone in a lift together?”
We entered the walnut-paneled car. “Two and a half.” I grinned.
“That’s a relief.” He exaggerated an exhale. “For a moment there I thought the relationship might be moving too fast.”
He led the way down the carpeted corridor, to apartment 17C. He knocked quietly at first, then louder. After awhile I joined in, creating an even greater disturbance.
An elderly woman with her hair in foam rollers peeked out from behind a squeaky door.
“Sorry to disturb.” Bradley apologized.
“We’re concerned about Audrey,” I explained. “We know she’s at home, but she’s not answering her phone or the door.”
The nosy neighbor opened her door wider. “I saw her this afternoon. We haven’t been too friendly since Mr. Lacoste moved out.” The woman tsked. “Such a nice man.”
I checked in with Bradley. Without a doubt the marriage was troubled. Audrey’s affairs were at times, the talk of the agency. Then, more recently, there was the cancer story.
The Do It List (The Do It List #1) Page 23