“Are you kidding?” My hand slides down to her forearm, and I tug her close, her chest pressing against mine. “You’re the only one I want to be with.”
She stumbles back a step, and I’m not sure if she doesn’t believe me or if my words sound a little too heavy for this casual sex stuff.
I need to clarify probably. “I have zero intentions of sleeping with anyone else.”
“Me neither.”
“Good, because I was hoping I’d wear you out enough that you wouldn’t need to get off when I’m not around.” I still have no idea if she was kidding the other night when I showed up and she was without underwear. I wonder if she’s wearing any now.
Jesus, I’m already hard.
“Mm. I was alone last night, so—” She wets her lips, turning me on even more.
“Then we’d better not go that long without being around each other.” I swallow the lump in my throat. “Do you want to go on my boat? Not sure if I have the patience to wait until we can get back to your place.”
She looks over my shoulder at the water then back at me again. “Yes, please.”
I take her hand and our fingers lace, but as we walk down the docks, I feel the need to offer her more of an explanation. I know our sort of relationship doesn’t necessarily require one, but after what Cindy did to me, screwing with my head, I don’t want Grace to have to question my intentions.
“I had to cancel because I was having dinner with my new lawyer.” I tip my head over my shoulder while we walk as if the lawyer is behind us.
“Oh.” Grace suddenly tightens her grasp.
“She thinks I can get joint custody.” It’s strange that Grace knows this but not my parents or Bella. But it’s kind of nice having someone to share this with. Sure, I told Jessica, but that was only because I needed her help.
“That’s great news.”
I stop in front of my boat. This gorgeous woman is looking at me as if I’m the damn sun or something. Maybe even the moon. It’s an odd feeling, and a good one.
“So maybe we should have some wine to celebrate.” She flashes me a smile as the back of her hand goes over my smooth cheek. I finally shaved the three-day-old stubble-slash-beard.
She looks over at the water, and I notice her flinch a little.
“We’ll stay down in the cabin.”
She nods, and I take her hand and guide her on board. I unlock the door, and we go beneath.
“Mind if I play some music?” she asks while I search for a wine opener, hoping I even have one. I’ve got a bottle of wine a client gave me after I finished a job last month, I think.
“Please do.” I search through the few drawers and find a bottle opener, but I also realize I don’t have wine glasses. “You good with red cups?”
She laughs. “Never had wine out of a red cup before.”
“I figured as much.” I tip up my shoulders. “Always a first time.”
“And I like that it’ll be with you.” She immediately looks away as her brows pinch together, and I can tell she regrets her words.
I never knew how hard it could be to try to maintain a relationship based on sex and no emotions. Is that even possible? I’m willing to find out. I’ve only had a taste of her…
I pour the wine as Frank Sinatra begins crooning “My Lady.”
She fakes a curtsy when I hand her a red cup. I watch her raise it to her mouth, realizing I would rather be tasting her instead. Why not skip to the good stuff?
“Mm. It’s, well—”
“Horrible?”
“I’ve had worse.” She laughs and sets the cup on the table, near the record player, and I follow suit, not giving a damn about the wine.
“Well?” She raises a brow.
I take that as my cue and close the short gap between us in one stride. I lift her, and she chuckles as I toss her onto my bed.
“Well,” I say while unbuckling my pants, “I’d like to know if you’re wearing any panties tonight.”
Her hand darts to the hem of her jeans, and she holds my eyes as she slowly unzips. “Why don’t you come find out?”
14
Grace
Sex.
It was once a three-letter word to me, but God—I swipe a hand through my hair, closing my eyes as I think about Noah on his boat last night. Being with him is like taking a vacation to an adult amusement park where it’s all about a woman’s pleasure.
Yes, sex—S.E.X. All caps with cheerleaders shaking their pom-poms. It’s that good with him. And knowing he’s in my apartment right now, working up a sweat while sawing or sanding or whatever it is that he does, makes me want to leave the office and attack him. I’ve become a sex addict since we started this up on Sunday.
Hell, who am I kidding? I became a crazy horny woman when I met him at the bar two weeks ago.
Never has a man done this to me.
“You’re glowing. Like hardcore glowing. And last night—you lied to me, didn’t you?”
I open my eyes. Rachel’s sitting on the edge of my desk, staring at me with pursed lips.
“I didn’t lie.”
“Yeah, okay.” She rolls her eyes and shakes her mass of hair to her back. “You’re having sex. Don’t even try to tell me no this time. You’re either pregnant”—she draws some sort of circle in the air with her finger—“or you’re banging someone. A lot.”
“And you’re an expert?” I close my laptop and practically squirm in my seat, anxious to get out of the confines of my office. It feels like a prison now, especially after the wonderful heart-to-heart Cade and I had in here.
“I’m an expert. I’m, like, the queen of sex.” She hops off my desk. “Speak, woman. I demand it.” She coils her hair into a bun at the top of her head and ties it with a rubber band.
Maybe I’m becoming the sex expert now. I almost laugh, but Rachel wouldn’t get the joke. “It’s with the guy remodeling my apartment.”
I clear my throat as if that will diffuse the tension. I wanted this thing between Noah and me to stay between us. Not that it’s forbidden, but well…who am I kidding? It kind of is.
Her eyes bulge. “You’re screwing a construction worker? Are you friggin’ kidding me?” Her face lights up, and she slaps her hands together. “Oh, he must be so hot. Does he spank you with his tape measure?” She waggles her brows.
She’s crazy, but I love her.
“Oh yeah,” I joke.
“I knew it. I knew you had some naughty in you waiting to come out.” She comes around next to me. “How about a threesome? If this guy is good enough for you, he’s got to be unbelievable in bed.”
“Now you’ve lost your mind.” I stand and massage the small of my back, a little sore from Noah’s bed. It’s not all that comfortable, and I shouldn’t have stayed the night.
“You guys aren’t serious, though, right? I mean,” she says while setting her hands on her hips, “he’s a handyman.”
I pause to think about her words. “What are you trying to say?”
I don’t need her to spell it out for me, but I’m giving her a chance to back out of the shit pile she just stepped in. I expect this kind of attitude from my family, maybe even some of my colleagues, but not from Rachel. She scratches the back of her neck and her forehead pinches as she studies me, eyeing me as if I’m a scared animal about to jump and run the other way. I’m considering sharpening my claws and going straight for the jugular actually.
“Oh my God. It’s not just sex.” She shakes her head. “When your family finds out you’re falling for this guy, you’ll be in so much trouble with them.” She covers her mouth and steps back, her eyes widening.
“Falling for who?” My brother’s words sail through the room, and the deep timbre of his voice has the hairs on my arms standing.
Rachel shoots me an apologetic grimace, a little too late. “See ya, babe. We’ll pick this up later.”
“Yeah, how about never?” I gripe as she smiles at Cade and makes a beeline for the door.
“I guess you didn’t take our talk the other day all that seriously.”
I don’t want to turn and face him. I don’t want to deal with him right now. I want to go back into Noah’s arms and lose myself. I want to be nineteen and in college, majoring in music and enjoying my life. That’s how Noah makes me feel. Free.
“Why is Dad sending you to do his dirty work?” I cross my arms and finally turn to confront him.
He’s pouring himself a glass of bourbon at the bar on the other side of the room. When he approaches with the drink, his pupils dilate a little as he takes a sip. “He’s in London with Richard Pierson.”
“Great, is Dad writing the prenuptial agreement?” I half-joke, my stomach becoming even more knotted by the moment.
“Yes.” The muscles in his face are taut, and I can barely read any emotion there—he’s become such a cold, icy person. “Who was Rachel talking about? Is there something I need to know?” There’s a slight pull around his eyes, finally displaying concern. Of course this subject makes him uneasy.
I sit back down.
Cade’s brows pull together as he sets his drink before him. “Please tell me your neighbor’s suspicions aren’t right.”
My head drops forward a little. “Say what?”
“You’re not screwing the guy remodeling your apartment, are you?” He can’t even look at me. It’s as if he’s accusing me of doing something repulsive—like committing murder.
My family thinks they walk on water and have the ability to part the seas. I’ve tried to fit inside the hard mold they’ve created for me, but this desire to break out has cracked the case. It’s crumbling, and I don’t know whether I should fight to keep up the walls or just let them down. But what will I do with my life if I don’t do what my family tells me anymore?
“Grace?” Cade drags in a deep breath before letting it go. “Jesus Christ, don’t tell me you actually care about this guy you’re—” He waves as if shooing a fly.
“Don’t.”
“You and Corbin are going to give me a heart attack.” He rolls his eyes as I stand and approach him.
“At least Corbin knows how to live his life.” Unlike me. “Dad ruined you. You weren’t always like this.”
His eyes darken, and he steps back, bumping into the chair. “Do you love this guy? This man you’re running around with?”
What the hell did Evan tell him? Does he spy on me or something? He only saw Noah and me that one time, right? It’s creepy.
“Why don’t you focus on your own life and tell Dad to come talk to me himself? Don’t let him make you the bad guy.” I turn away, my hand darting to my chest as I try to stay strong.
“No good can come from being with someone he doesn’t approve of.”
When I finally get up the nerve to face him, he’s gone. But the tension has left some sort of shadow in the room, and it’s like a stranglehold.
I settle back in my chair and wave away one of my admins when he appears in the doorway a moment later. He tucks himself back out of sight, and I look at my phone. I want to do the one thing my brother doesn’t want me to do—I want to see Noah.
But the thing is, I don’t even feel like having sex right now. I just want to see him because being around him makes me feel so much better. And that scares me to death.
15
Grace
This day has turned out better than I could have expected, and I don’t want it to end. I want it to bleed into Sunday. When my father comes back from London on Monday, I’ll have to face reality—so right now, I just need a piece of heaven, and part of that involves a delicious piece of pizza.
“You’re right. Brooklyn does have the best pizza.” Noah swipes at the sauce on his cheek with his napkin before taking another bite of his deep-dish pepperoni.
After the nightmare confrontation with my brother yesterday, I decided I needed to clear my head and have a little fun. And of course, spending time with Noah came to mind.
“I still can’t believe you’ve lived in New York almost your entire life and have never been to the Statue of Liberty or the top of the Empire State Building.” Noah smiles.
I slide my plate to the side, my stomach protesting—any more food and I won’t be able to walk out of here. “A lot of people here don’t do the touristy things. But since you’re new, I thought you might like to go.”
He finishes his last bite and tosses his napkin on his plate. “Well, it was cool going to those places with another first-timer.”
“And I’m totally exhausted now. I suck as a tourist.”
“Maybe you need to start working out with me to build up your stamina.”
I stand up fast, lean across the table, and slap his chest. “I’m in damn good shape!”
He catches my wrist and presses a quick kiss to my lips. I pause in front of his face, his eyes holding mine, then I slowly shift back and onto my seat. He clears his throat, and I swallow, trying not to decipher whatever odd moment just happened between us. A simple kiss shouldn’t feel so strange, but it does. Maybe it’s because we’re in the open, or maybe it’s because it felt like a “couple” thing. I don’t know, but I’m struggling with what to say next to break the sudden tension.
“I never thought I’d like living here,” he says while tucking his hands in his lap, leaning back.
“And now?” My heart is beating erratically as if I’m going back and forth between a slow-paced jog and an Olympic-style sprint with hurdles. A lot of hurdles…
“It’s growing on me.” His lips go tight, and his eyes flash to his plate. “It’ll be better when I can see my daughter on a regular basis.”
His daughter—we haven’t talked much about her, and I haven’t wanted to bring her up. I never know how to broach the subject of his ex. I mean, he’s still officially married, which always makes this feel a tad on the iffy side.
I work up the nerve to ask, “Do you have a photo?”
He nods and pulls out his wallet. He opens the black leather and hands me a small picture.
She must take after her mother because she’s got light hair and green eyes, the total opposite of Noah. “She’s beautiful. What does she like to do?”
I hand him back the photo, and he studies it for a moment, as if in a daze. I can’t imagine what he must be thinking right now. It must hurt to be so close to someone you love and not have access to them whenever you want.
He stuffs his wallet back into his jeans pocket and scratches the nape of his neck. “I was gone more than I was home, and that’s the life she knew—but when I was home, I spent every minute with her. I had no problems dressing up like whatever she wanted and drinking tea if that made her happy. Of course, the fact that she likes sports was a plus. We’d throw the ball around.”
He’s speaking in past tense, and it breaks my heart. I hope to God the judge sees what an incredible man he is when he goes to court.
“She starts elementary school in September. I have no idea where the time went.” He snaps his fingers. “I blinked and bam! She’s almost six.”
“I doubt if I’ll ever have kids.” I don’t know why I said that, and I want to take the words back right away.
“No?” His eyes narrow, and he’s clearly waiting for me to elaborate.
“Truth?”
“That’s been our thing, right?”
A slow smile sweeps across his face, and it gives me pause. He’s so gorgeous. Inside and out. How’d I get so lucky to meet this man? Then I remember Luke’s warning—don’t hurt Noah.
Maybe I’m the one who’s going to get hurt.
“I don’t want my kids becoming like me,” I say.
“And what’s so bad about you?”
I take a sip of my drink to stall. I almost want to tell him about the shit situation I’m in now, to have a shoulder to cry on, but he has his own problems, and he doesn’t need mine. He’s already held my hand to face my fears of the water and listened to the nightmare of what happened in Greece. Why add more to
the mix?
My drink is empty and my stomach too full to eat more, so I have nothing to do now but speak. My shoulders sag as tension wraps around my spine at the thought of having to talk to my dad in a day and a half.
“I mentioned my family is overbearing, but they’re so intense that it’s like I can’t breathe half the time. After what happened in—” I take a quick breath. “Greece…”
I just can’t say more. I don’t want the negativity to ruin the happiness I feel when I’m with him.
Noah’s hands go to the tabletop, and he clasps them tight, as if he’s hesitant to reach for me, but wants to.
The situation is confusing.
“They must have done something right. I’ve never met anyone like you before.” His voice is deep and gravelly, and there’s emotion there. Sincerity. He isn’t some guy trying to get into my pants—he’s already been there—this is something more.
I wave a dismissive hand and force a smile. “You’ve just been hanging out with too many guys in the SEALs is all. Limited contact with women.” His wife. Shit. “And you were married.” Is married. Damn the details.
Noah doesn’t look away from me as I expect him to with the mention of his wife. Instead, it’s as if his focus on my eyes intensifies, as though he’s trying to solve the puzzle of me. Ha. Good luck with that. I’m clueless in that department.
“She cheated on me.” His back meets the booth again as my lips part in surprise.
“Ohh.”
His Adam’s apple moves and his breathing becomes a little deeper as his chest inflates. There’s anger beneath the surface, and I don’t blame him.
“Being in the military can be hard on spouses, but Cindy—my ex—well, we were never right for each other. She wanted different things in life, things I could never give her.”
“Like what?” I didn’t mean to ask, but I’m honestly shocked that someone could be with Noah and find herself ever wanting more. I’m almost envious of this woman for being married to him. She had him all to herself. Who would ever want to risk losing a man like him?
Someone Like You Page 14