by Mia Carson
Greyson’s hand stilled her. “Wait,” he grunted. “I want to see your eyes.”
Her heart warming, she turned carefully around and straddled him, her eyes never leaving his dark browns overflowing with love and pure, raw need. His hands gripped her hips, and he thrust up within her, plunging deeply. She held him close, their breath mingling as her body tightened its hold around his smoldering length. Belle moaned, the pressure building, until Greyson thrust faster and a scream of pure ecstasy poured from her mouth. She fell limp against him, riding the waves of pleasure as Greyson growled, his body going completely rigid before he sagged into the chair, his arms holding her against his heaving chest.
After he pulled out, making them both gasp and quiver, Belle pushed herself up to stare into his eyes once more, smoothing down the stray hairs from his beard.
“I stand corrected,” she muttered.
“About what?”
“Dildos can be fun,” she said, and he burst out laughing.
“Told you.” He tucked her hair behind her ears. His laughter died, as did his smile. “I’m sorry. I should’ve told you what I was up to, but I can’t afford to lose you, not when everything’s going so right for us.”
“Is it?” she asked, worry nibbling at her gut. “Some days, I worry our tempers will drive us apart.”
“They bring us closer together. Look at tonight,” he said. “Besides, I think I’m going to make you an offer you can’t refuse.”
One eyebrow raised in question, she tugged his beard until his mouth was close enough to kiss. “And what might that be?”
He stood, picking her up with him as he did so, and tossed her lightly on the bed. She rolled onto her stomach and watched him move across the room, admiring the smooth lines of his toned body with every step.
“What are you doing?” she asked when he disappeared into the closet.
His laugh echoed before he reemerged, his hands once again behind his back. “Both of these are offers, and before you ask, yes, they are serious, and no, I haven’t gone crazy yet.”
Belle sat up and crossed her legs. “What are they?”
“Which one do you want first?” he asked, a boyish grin lighting his face.
Belle studied his face, but he wasn’t giving anything away. Heart pounding against her ribs, she pointed to his right hand.
“Good choice,” he said and pulled out a folder. “Open it up.”
She flipped open the folder and stared at the top paper. “This is a contract to be joint CEO… of Greystone Games.”
“Exactly. I’ll have to have legal do up a new one. This is from a year ago when I considered having someone help me but never found the right person. Until you.”
“You’re asking me—an intern who hasn’t even graduated yet—to be the CEO with you?”
“Yeah, I am,” he said sincerely.
She glanced from the paper to him. “You’re serious?”
“I told you I was,” he said with a laugh. “Is that a yes?”
“Can I sleep on it?” she asked in disbelief. “What’s in your other hand?”
He let out a deep breath through his nose and when his hand came into view, Belle dropped the folder. “Oh, God,” she whispered.
“I know it might seem sudden,” he said as he opened the small black box. The ring glittering at her was breathtaking, but Belle barely looked at it, her eyes drawn to Greyson’s face instead. “Belle, we drive each other crazy. Most days, we’re stuck in a storm together and just go along wherever the winds take us, but I don’t want to be with anyone else. I don’t want this storm to end. Will you do me the honor of being a pain-in-my-ass for the rest of my life? Of fighting me tooth and nail when I try to take care of you?”
“Are you… are you sure?” she whispered, leaning forward. “It’s like fire and water, Greyson. I can’t promise this will be easy.”
“It hasn’t been so far,” he said with a smile. “I can’t live without you, Belle. I don’t want to. Will you take me with my faults, too? I can’t change overnight, but for you, I’ll do my best not to push you away.”
Belle held out her shaking left hand and nodded fiercely. “I won’t let you,” she promised, and he grinned, pulling the ring from the box and slipping it onto her finger. It fit perfectly, and she held it up in the dim lighting before shrieking in delight. She leapt off the bed into Greyson’s arms. He kissed her, holding her against his naked body.
“How about we celebrate with a nice hot bath?” he asked, kissing her nose.
She grinned and nodded. He set her down only to scoop her back up into his arms, his lips never leaving hers as he carried her to the bathroom. Once inside, he kicked the door closed, and Belle knew her life was about to drastically change.
She could only hope that it was really for the best and that her doubts would finally be put to rest.
THE PLAYBOY’S
VIRGIN #4
Chapter 1
Seven Years Ago
Greyson ground his teeth as he stalked around the living room, hating how the day had been going. He tugged roughly at the tie around his neck and tore at the buttons below it. They had choked him throughout the meeting with his father and the rest of the board, and all he wanted was to change into his jeans and flannel, find a bottle of whiskey, and disappear for a while. His dad was still convinced he was going to follow directly in his footsteps, which was the last thing on Greyson’s mind.
He had to put his foot down and face the consequences before he lost it. Working in finance was nowhere close to what he wanted to do with his life. His talent would be wasted. He and several of his pals were interested in starting their own company—a gaming company where they could put their talents and ideas to good use.
Greystone Taylor Games. He would be the founder, and his friends would be his incoming talent. They needed a building, a hell of a lot more employees, and a backer—which he’d hoped would be his father. But after today, Greyson understood that Richard Taylor would not let him slip away from the Taylor family legacy in the world of finance. The meeting today had been about bringing Greyson in as a joint CEO with his dad, learning the ropes side by side with the man in charge so that when his father passed many years from now, he could step in and take over.
“Greyson?” Sally called as the front door opened and closed, echoing through the over-sized mansion. Her heels clicked across the floor as she searched for her son. She smiled gently when she spotted him by the cold hearth, her long, black hair slowly turning silver hanging over her shoulder in a loose braid.
“I can’t do it,” he muttered and rested his fist against the mantle. “I can’t.”
“Oh, Greyson,” Sally sighed, pulling her knitted shawl tighter around her shoulders. “You need to attend the function. Show him that you can make a commitment.”
“I don’t want to commit to him,” he growled.
“No, but if you want him to back you and your venture, you still need to show him you are willing to do the tough work,” she insisted. “It’s just a fancy dinner, nothing more.”
“He’s going to spend the entire time telling everyone how proud he is of me, lying through his teeth, and at the end, he’ll expect me to make a speech like he does every year about how thankful I am to have a father like him.” He turned on his heel and grumbled under his breath, picking at his beard—a beard his father despised.
Greyson heard leather creak as Sally plopped down on the couch, watching him closely. “You know he loves you.”
“He loves the idea of a son who will do exactly as he wants,” Greyson argued.
“No, he loves you for who you are. He told me so himself. He’s just too damn stubborn—like everyone else in this family—to actually admit it,” she said, an edge to her words.
Greyson’s shoulders sagged. He didn’t want to upset his mother, but he couldn’t help it. Richard Taylor was not known for being a loving man to anyone in his family and certainly not in public. He was a hard man, had to be
in the cutthroat world of finance, but he forgot to leave his attitude at the office and brought everything home with him. The twins had it easier than Greyson. Richard didn’t expect his daughters to work in the same company, just to eventually marry two men he approved of from said company. He smirked, imagining his dad’s face when Mel finally told him she was a lesbian.
“Did you hear me?” Sally called, and Greyson shook his head. “Typical. Here I am, telling you what to do, and you ignore me—what are you grinning about?”
“Not a thing,” he said and forced his smirk to fade. “What am I supposed to do?”
“Tonight, at the dinner, you pull him aside and tell him the truth—the whole truth—about what you want for your future. If you’re reasonable, you know your father will listen and make a deal.”
Greyson sat down hard in the chair across from her. “A deal that will involve me working almost full-time at his company, spending no time working on my own.”
Sally’s head tilted side to side as she cringed, not exactly agreeing with him outright. “You’ll never know unless you try.”
“I have tried,” he replied dryly. “I’ve tried for years.”
“No, you’ve fought him tooth and nail for years,” she argued. “You’ve never tried to find a compromise.”
“He wants me to give up my dreams, my talent,” Greyson said, hanging his head as he glared at the floor. “I won’t do that, and until he figures that out, I don’t want anything to do with him or his company—or his damn dinners to show off his wealth.”
Sally frowned and reached for his hand, but the front door flew open, slamming into the wall, and she cringed as Greyson counted the tenth dent Richard had put in that wall. He stomped into the house, whistling as he walked, adjusting his tux jacket with a grin as he spotted Greyson and Sally.
“Well? Ready for the dinner?” he asked. “The meeting went well, and I know tonight will be fabulous. Why did you two take off so soon?”
“I wanted to change,” Sally said as she hopped to her feet and fiddled with Richard’s bow-tie until he brushed her hands away.
“Don’t fix mine, fix your son’s,” he grumbled. “What happened there?”
Greyson yanked his tie off and tossed it on the table. “Uncomfortable.”
“Are you going to change into your tux? I don’t know why you didn’t leave it at the office with mine, then we wouldn’t have to stop by the house,” he said with a critical glance at his son.
Greyson shrugged. “I'm not sure I’m feeling up to another dinner.”
Sally paused at the bottom of the stairs, a warning in her eyes, but Greyson ignored it. Richard’s body stiffened, and he shoved his hands in his pockets, glaring as his son’s jaw clenched. The tension built between them until Greyson thought he could reach out and touch it. He should’ve waited, but suffering through yet another dinner where Richard pretended to dote on him and went on and on about how great Greyson would be at the company was not something he could sit through—not again, not when every single word was a lie.
“You’re not feeling up to dinner,” Richard repeated as Sally walked back over slowly.
“No, I’m not. I’ve had a long few days, and I’m exhausted,” Greyson stated. “Going to call it an early night, but you have fun with your lackeys. I’ll be here, working on my next game design.”
Sally sucked in a breath when Richard blew out a furious breath and took a step towards Greyson. “You insolent child,” he snapped. “How dare you spit in the face of all I’m doing for you!? Again!”
“I’m not spitting in your face. My God!” Greyson yelled. “I’m simply not going to do what you want me to do!”
“Why the hell not? I’m offering you a steady job for life, a company that will never fail, and a CEO position you can be proud of,” Richard said stiffly, “and you want to throw it all away for some damn gaming company? To play all day long instead of work?”
Greyson’s laughter was bitter. “You think I play games all day long? Do you have any idea what it takes to create a game? No, you don’t. You’re wrapped up in your comforting world of finance and numbers. You don’t even realize what’s going on in your own family!”
Sally shook her head and stepped between them. “We’re not doing this again.”
“Sally, go get ready,” Richard told her firmly without looking away from Greyson.
“I’m not leaving you two alone to deck each other,” she announced and shoved them away from each other. “Enough, Richard. You can talk about this in the morning.”
“No, we’re talking about it right now.” He stepped closer as Sally tried to push him back harder. “I said to go get ready.”
Sally stood on her toes, and Greyson recognized the fierce look on her face as she stared Richard down. He’d seen it directed at him enough times. “I said to leave it ‘til morning. Now move your ass towards the door, Richard Taylor, or I will not be joining you tonight either.”
Greyson stepped back and moved around the couch, headed for the back patio.
“You get back here! I’m not finished discussing this with you, and you are going to the dinner tonight,” Richard raged, stomping after him as Sally yelled at him to let it go. “I will not! No son of mine is going to have a start-up gaming company.”
“Why the hell not? What is so wrong with embracing the twenty-first century?” Greyson bit off each word harshly as he whipped back around. “Scared I’ll actually be successful and make a new name for the Taylor family?”
“If you do this, you will not use my name,” Richard said, planting his feet.
Sally slid to a stop beside him. “What do you mean, Richard?”
“I’m saying if our son wants to deviate from the path I’ve established for him, he will do it on his own merits with nothing from us. Nothing at all.”
Greyson’s stomach twisted. “What… what are you saying, Dad?”
“I’m saying if you use the Taylor name in any capacity for your company, I will sue you,” he said, the words issuing from his mouth in a furious whisper. “And you will not see a cent from me or your inheritance. Understood?”
“Richard,” Sally scolded, but he held up his hand to silence her.
“Nothing from me, do you understand me? I have done everything for you, and I will not have you throw it in my face so you can go fail… So you can embarrass us!”
“I’m the embarrassment?” Greyson said and threw his head back. “Wow, you really are that blind.”
“What are you talking about?”
“Greyson, don’t,” Sally said, but he was too enraged to hold back any longer. It was time his dad heard the truth about what everyone thought of him—or at least what his own family thought of him. “Greyson, please.”
“Sorry, Mom,” he said, “but I can’t.” He switched his gaze to Richard. “I already started my company, bought the building, and found a few employees to get it off the ground.”
Richard’s eyes narrowed. “You don’t have enough money to do that.”
“I did, and now I’m broke, but I was hoping tonight you would give me a chance to show you my plan. Guess not. And I’ll save you the embarrassment of saying all of this at the dinner tonight. I will never follow in your footsteps. I will never be the man who works so damn much he misses out on his family and his life! Do you even realize what’s going on with the twins? Or with Mom, for that matter? Or any of the rest of the family?”
Richard glanced at Sally and the guilty look on her down-turned face. “What is he talking about?”
Sally sucked in a deep breath, and Greyson waited for her to speak, but she didn’t and he knew she was trying to spare Richard again.
“Mom thought she had cancer,” he said quietly. “She’s been through test after test over the past few months and didn’t want to tell you so it wouldn’t disrupt your latest deal at work. Mel? She’s pretty sure she’s a lesbian, and Molly was in a damn car accident last week and you never even noticed the car was missi
ng or the cast on her wrist!”
Richard’s mouth opened and closed a few times as Sally’s hands fidgeted with each other in her shawl as she slowly stepped farther away. “Sally? Why… why didn’t you tell me?”
“You were busy,” Greyson answered for her. “She tried, and your secretary said you could not take any calls for anything.”
“But she’s my wife.”
“And you told her no exceptions,” Sally muttered sadly. “Molly tried to show you her cast yesterday, but you breezed in and disappeared into your office. You’ve been so wrapped up in your work, you’ve forgotten your family.”
Richard’s face fell, and for a second, Greyson thought they might’ve broken through his wall, but then he turned his glare at Greyson. “You did this. It’s your fault!”
“My fault? What the hell did I have to do with anything?”
“I’ve been so busy grooming you, chasing you down to get you into this company, that I couldn’t focus on anyone else!”
“Don’t you dare blame me for your shit,” Greyson yelled, his hands curled into fists. “I was the perfect son for years until I realized you didn’t want a son, you wanted another damn lackey who you could manipulate and brainwash!”
“You get out of this house,” Richard yelled. “Get out and do not come back, understand me? And you will get no more money for me, Taylor or not! Get out!”
“Greyson… Wait,” Sally called out, but Greyson didn’t stop as he stormed for the door. “Richard, do not let your son leave this house!”
Richard didn’t follow him, and Greyson opened the door and slammed it behind him. Through it, he heard Sally yelling at Richard, but he didn’t go back inside. He took his keys and climbed into the old Mustang, taking off to the only other place he could go to—the new office building he'd bought for his start-up company. A company that now might not have a hope of getting off the ground if his dad were really going to cut him off from the Taylor money.