Sweet Affection (Truth Book 3)

by Henderson, Grace

  “You were going too slow. It wasn’t safe which is why I was trying to get you to speed up, Grandma.”

  “Says you, who spent at least ten minutes riding up my backside. That’s not safe.” I spit out. When I see his eyes drop down to my ass and his eyebrow rise along with the corner of his mouth again, I realise my faux pas, and dig my finger nails into my palms.

  “Ugh, you’re disgusting.” I bite out. “You know I didn’t mean that so why are you even thinking it?”

  He runs his tongue along his bottom lip and looks back up to my eyes. They’re filled with hunger, lust and it only fuels my anger.

  “Stop.” I point at him. “Stop thinking. Right now.”

  He chuckles, and shakes his head. “You can’t look the way you do, say what you just said, and expect it to not even cross my mind, sweetheart. I’m a man, it’s how we’re wired.”

  I growl out loud and I’m just about to respond when my phone beeps. I take it out my pocket and swipe the screen. James.

  You make me harder than algebra ;-)

  I snort. I have a habit of doing that lately. He’s such a goofball. How did he even get girls before with lines that lame?

  “Boyfriend?” The voice asks, and I realise Mr Asshole is still in front of me, watching me with an unreadable expression. A little hint of jealousy, maybe? I guess I just ruined his plans then.

  “Yep.” I say, popping the p. “I’d like to say it’s been great talking to you but it really hasn’t. Adios.”

  He smiles again, straightening from the car, and catches my eye before I turn away.

  “Adios, abuela.”

  He chuckles, walking back over to his bike, and I carry on walking inside to pay. So he knows Spanish? I wonder what he said.

  Huh, Spanish is definitely sexy.

  I’ve been pestering James to get one of those CDs to learn it for a while. At least then, one of us will know the language when we go and visit his dad. That reminds me, I need to confirm James’ birthday present.

  I fire out a quick text.

  All set for the Spanish Invasion?

  That’s what we’ve been calling this little covert operation. I get a reply almost immediately.

  We’re at the airport now. All on time. Can’t wait to meet you.

  I smile at that, and rush around the store, gathering a few last minute bits for tonight. By the time I’m out the door, the bike is gone and I can breathe a sigh of relief that I don’t have to deal with him again. The ride back is a lot more relaxing, although every now and again I find myself checking the car’s speed to make sure I’m not going too slow. Then I kick myself mentally for letting him to get to me.

  I’ve made good time arriving back into to town so I decide to go and check on my store before going home to set up for the party. I park round the corner and walk down the street to the front of store. Meg’s out front with a client, so I quietly make my way past them and through to the back office and find Jess at the laptop.

  “Laurel.” She grins immediately as I enter the room.

  “Hey chick, how’s it going?” She scoots the chair back and crosses her legs as I sit on another chair by the desk.

  “Amazing. Such a busy day, and Joe came round from the menswear hire company. He heard about us expanding and wants to do another event considering the last was so successful. He’s willing to foot the bill for it all.”

  “Seriously? Wow.” I sit back and let that sink in. Our last fashion show was amazing. We had people coming from the next few counties and both companies saw a huge increase in orders. Not to mention we made a whole load of new contacts.

  “Yeah, ‘wow’ pretty much covers it. How are things up north?”

  “Great, chick. The shop-fitting team are a good bunch of guys, and the unit’s in a great location. James is coming with me in a couple of weeks to make sure everything’s running to schedule.”

  She smiles. It’s a goofy grin and catches me off guard.

  “What?”

  “He came in today too. That man is head over heels for you, hon’.”

  He came here? He knew I was away. How strange.

  “Why did he come here?” I watch her face and she wiggles her eyebrows.

  “Sorry Laurel. I’ve been sworn to secrecy.” Hmm, she’s still smiling so obviously it’s not bad. Maybe he just wanted to check on my store while I was gone and make sure everything was running smoothly. That’s sweet.

  “Well, I only came to make sure you were still coming to the party tonight?”

  “You bet. Wouldn’t miss it. I’ll close up here, then go and get changed. I’m picking up Meg at seven.”

  “Great! I’ll see you soon, chick.” I wave as I leave, and wiggle my fingers silently at Meg as I pass her in the showroom.

  The cool air hits me as I walk outside, but it doesn’t stop the yawn forcing my mouth open wide. I shake my head again and as I pass the café, make the decision to get a coffee to try and wake myself up. I order a caramel macchiato with a double shot for an extra boost.

  I duck my head to put my change in my bag, with my coffee in the other hand, and push the door open quickly. I need to get home and set things up.

  “Fuck,” I hear the harsh mumble from the other side of the door. As I push it wider, I realise I’ve hit someone.

  “You.” I say with disgust when I see the beautiful face attached to the annoying man standing in front of me. He’s bent over holding his nose, but looks up when he hears the frustration in my voice.

  “Ah, mi abuela hermosa.”

  Fuck that sounds sexy.

  But he’s still a dick.

  “Sorry, I have no idea what you just said. I don’t speak asshole.”

  “Ooh, burn!” He chuckles. “I’m starting to think I really piss you off. But what could I have done?” He appears to look thoughtful, then holds up his finger, “Oh I know. Called you out on your complete lack of driving skills. I get it now. Damn, that really must get to you, huh?”

  I close my gaping mouth and shake my head, then decide to take the risk. “You are so not worth it, gilipollas.”

  When I was fifteen my school had an exchange with a Spanish school. I wasn’t part of it, but a cute boy called Javier who I had a thing with, taught me a few choice words in Spanish. I’ve never had the inclination to use them until now. I raise an eyebrow, hoping my pronunciation was correct, and inside I get a little proud flutter when his lip hovers slightly.

  “Okay. Not what I expected. But I’ll adjust.”

  “What does that mean?” I snap back. Who the hell is he anyway?

  “Nothing, sweetheart.” He sighs, like I’ve pissed him off. What the fuck? I don’t have time for this anyway.

  “Right, well again, can’t say it was fun, but I’m off home.”

  “Is that an invitation?”

  “Fuck you.” I flip him off then turn back round, cursing myself for the immaturity.

  “Name the time and place, sweetheart. I love an older woman, abuela.” He shouts out as I continue walking down the street and a few people turn in my direction but I hold my head high and ignore them.

  Oh my God. I want to scream. I slump back against the seat of the car and quickly get out my phone to see what the word means. When the translation comes back I curse the dickhead over and over again before turning the radio up and drowning out all thoughts of him.

  Chapter Eight

  Laurel

  “Surprise!” Everyone shouts out as I turn on the lights, and the shock on James’ face makes me giggle. He didn’t know anything about the party I had planned. We celebrated his birthday a few days ago before I went up north, but he didn’t realise I was coming back this early. As far as he was concerned, he and Blake were just going for a few quiet drinks at the bar. Instead, I’ve invited around fifty people to this surprise party at his house. I’ve spent the last hour with Blake, Ryan, Cassie, and Jen setting up the food and drink while he was still working.

  He grins, an unbelievably hands
ome, excited, boyish grin that looks good on him. I step forward and stand up on my tiptoes to kiss him on the cheek.

  “Happy non-Birthday.”

  His arm hooks round my waist, and he leans his head down to my ear.

  “You organised all this?” He asks quietly. I nod my head watching his eyes, trying to decipher the look he’s giving me. He places a gentle kiss just behind my ear and squeezes my hip.

  “One hour. Bathroom. Don’t make me wait.” He whispers, and he presses his lips to my forehead, then walks behind me to greet everyone patiently waiting. My body automatically sways and I have to turn and lean back against the wall to steady myself. The throbbing starts between my thighs and clenching them together is the only way to ease the ache. Just a few words and my heart is beating wildly in my chest with anticipation.

  “Aww, he seems happy.” Cassie joins my side and watches the crowd that swarm him as he wades through them all.

  “I hope so, Cass. I couldn’t imagine life without him now.” I’m so sickeningly happy at the moment, I want to slap my own face.

  “You deserve it, Laur.” She grabs my hand, and after a few seconds of watery eyes and huge smiles I snap out of it.

  “Enough of the mushy crap. I need a drink. I think Tequila is in order. Come on.”

  After a few shots of Tequila, I turn the music up and people start spilling out of the lounge, onto the patio, in the corridors, the kitchen. There’s laughter and chatter all around, and I lean against the kitchen island with a glass of wine in my hand taking it all in.

  “What you doin’ here by yourself?” Ryan puts his arm round my shoulder and I lean against his side, taking another sip of my wine.

  “Just people watching. I love it when everyone’s together. And everyone looks happy, don’t they?”

  “Of course. It’s a birthday party. Which you have done an amazing job organising by the way.”

  I grin. “Thanks. Where’s Mandy?”

  Ryan and Mandy started seeing each other a couple of months ago. I thought he and Jen might get together but when I tried to talk to them both about it, they just shrugged it off. I see them sneaking glances at each other every now and again though. I’m just a little bit rusty on my matchmaking skills.

  “Uh, it didn’t work out. We’re not seeing each other anymore.” Ryan throws back the last of his beer then goes to the fridge to get another. “She was a little too high maintenance for me.”

  I laugh and put my glass down on the side. “You know most girls are at some point, right? It’s just the way we are.”

  “No, sweetheart. This was something else altogether. I’ve not met anyone like her before. We went out for dinner last week. She took three hours to get ready.” He holds up three fingers, shaking his head in disbelief and I raise my eyebrows thinking that must be an exaggeration.

  “I’m not joking. I’d made reservations and I had to beg them to squeeze us in towards the end of the night because of it. Then, she proceeded to spend one whole fucking hour trying to decide what to eat. And before you say it, it wasn’t even like she was allergic, she was just really picky about how different foods are cooked.” He raises the bottle to his lips but then stops, “Oh, and she also got pissed at me because it was our two month anniversary and I hadn’t bought her anything. I didn’t even know that was a thing!”

  I cover my mouth with my hand and giggle into it. I can just imagine her shouting and him just sitting there with his mouth wide open looking completely clueless. He sighs into his bottle, “I can’t handle shit like that.”

  Jess and Meg come practically skipping through the kitchen door with a whole load of bottles balancing from their hands.

  “We’re here. The party can officially start now! And we’ve brought goodies.”

  Ryan walks over and takes some of the bottles off them before they drop them. “You think you’ve got enough alcohol here, ladies?” I hear the sarcasm but Jess looks down and assesses the table with concentration.

  “Oh shit. You’re right. I should have got some more. I’ll go to the offie now.” She nods like she’s made the decision and turns to get her keys from her bag. He laughs and reaches out to tug at her wrist.

  “I was just kidding. Looks like you’ve got enough here to stock my bar for a week.”

  “Oh,” Jess relaxes and turns back to us. “Your bar?” She looks at him questioningly and then I realise I haven’t introduced them yet.

  “This is Ryan Murphy. He works for JBR Construction and runs the bar Encore. Ryan, this lovely lady is my second in command, Jessica Wells, and the other beauty is Megan Knight. My Proposals Angels.” I smile a genuine smile as I introduce them and feel a warm tingle. I love it when I can bring different parts of my life together. Even just for a while. When Ryan and James actually started hanging out on their own, without me around, I was smiling for weeks.

  “Good to meet you, ladies. What would you like to drink?” He opens the cupboard and sets some glasses on the counter.

  Jess shakes her head and takes them from him quickly. “Nuh, uh. You serve people every night. Relax. I’ll do it.”

  Ryan smirks at me in a sideways glance as Jess and Meg huddle round the alcohol trying to decide what to have. He crosses his arms and watches them with amusement as they do a few shots and giggle into their glasses. Meg leans in and says something to Jess, and she throws her head back laughing, catching Ryan’s eye in the process. It brings a warm pink blush to her cheeks and she ducks her head, running her hand through her hair.

  Oh, I’m so going to tease her about that tomorrow.

  “Right, off you go. I don’t want you stuck in the kitchen anymore. I’m just going to pour another drink so go find some of the others.” I shoo Ryan off towards the door, and while I get a new bottle of wine out of the fridge, I see the flash of my phone on the side. I set an alarm for an hour. Stupid I know, but I’ve not seen James in two days and I’m going to make the most of whatever he’s thinking.

  I walk through the hall and poke my head in the lounge. Everyone’s chatting in small groups and there are a few people dancing. I scan the room and can’t see James so I walk upstairs, taking a glug of wine as I go, and into our bedroom. The lights are off, so it makes me wonder whether he meant the main bathroom or the one attached to our room.

  I move further inside anyway and decide to just go in and re-adjust my make-up. I flip the light switch and dig out some light powder from my cosmetic bag, dusting it over my face. Then reapply my cherry lip gloss which James loves the taste of.

  I step back and adjust my dress under my boobs and tilt my head appraisingly. I’ve just smoothed it over my hips when my breath catches at the sight of him filling the doorway. He’s got a light blue denim button down shirt on over a white t-shirt that fits him like a glove. He looks nearly as good in clothes as out of them.

  Nearly.

  I lick my lips, thinking about peeling him out of it, and run my eyes over his face, which has replaced its boyish grin with a look of pure sex and lust. I turn so my back is to the mirror and the sink countertop, and rest my hands on the edge. God, I want him to kiss me. I’ve missed him so much. I hold my ground though and push myself up so I’m sitting on the counter.

  “Hey gorgeous.” I kick my heels off and swing my legs gently, watching him make quick work of closing the distance between us.

  He opens up my thighs and stands in between my legs. My stomach’s turning one-eighty and my pulse is racing like it always does when he’s so close. He drags his thumb slowly over my bottom lip then puts it into his mouth and sucks gently, tasting the cherries. I’m mesmerised by the tongue I see darting out to his thumb, the tongue he knows how to use so fucking well.

  “What did I tell you about looking at me like that, angel?” His voice is a low, hoarse groan, full of homage to our frantic, desperate interlude on the kitchen counter a few days ago. His lips graze my cheek, then my jaw and the spot behind my ear that kick-starts the shiver straight up my spine and the ache b
etween my legs. My throat’s so dry I struggle to speak; his hands move from my hips to stroke at my back, replacing the cool shiver with a trail of fire. He pulls back slightly to wait for me to respond. I’ve always been a talker, but this man has the power to render me speechless with his touch. My eyes explore his face and I see the arrogance in his smile and the hunger in his eyes. He’s well aware of what he does to me. But this is a game; it always has been, and always will be. I can make him feel exactly the same way.

  I lean closer into his body again and place my hands on his chest. His eyes darken with lust and I’ve barely even started. I tap my finger against my chin whilst biting on my bottom lip. His eyes drop down to my mouth and he swallows hard, heart beat racing under my fingers.

  My legs come out to wrap around his waist and I pull him forcefully against me. His breath draws heavily, eyes still staring at my lips as I run my tongue over them.

  “You said it would get me fucked senseless.”

  He groans as I shift my hips further into him and through the thick material of his jeans I can feel he’s ready to go. His hand shoots straight to my ass and he grinds his hard length against me, to which I respond by moaning in his ear and grinding back.

  “Laurel, keep that up and I’ll take you right here.”

  I reach down in between us and rub my hand over his cock.

  “Oh, don’t worry baby, I’ll keep it up.”

  “Fuck,” he growls out and slams his lips against mine, kissing me deeply. My hands fumble for his belt, and his desperately undo the zip on the back of my dress, peeling the front down to my hips. He hurriedly unclasps my bra and slings it to the floor.

  “Up.” He orders, tugging the bottom of my dress and I lift my butt up so that it pools at my waist. I unzip his jeans. His mouth breaks away from mine to kiss down my chest and when his hot, wet tongue lashes at my nipples I arch right back and whimper loudly.

  He groans and pulls me forward on the counter so I’m right on the edge.