He set the glass down behind her. “Maybe I should go if you’re done with me, then,” he said, but didn’t budge. His dark gaze searched hers, waiting.
“Maybe you should.” Sofia shot back at him, feeling proud of herself. If only for a moment. “Isn’t that why you’re here? To get rid of me once and for all?”
He chuckled uneasily and shook his head.
“Is something funny?”
“Funny. Ironic. Insane. All of the above.” In a quick move, he was in front of her again, leaning forward and bracing a hand on each side of her.
“What are…” She couldn’t finish the question. His face was so close to hers…his lips just a tongue-lick away. If she were a bolder woman, she’d do just that—stick her tongue out and outline the ridge of his sexy, fierce lips. Yep, a bolder woman might want to do that.
She swallowed. Time literally ticked by as the grandfather clock tick-tocked in the corner. The sound was usually soothing. Now it only emphasized the rapid beating of her heart.
“Do you want the truth, Sofia?” His eyes glistened in the lamplight as if he couldn’t hold his secret back for another second.
She squelched her curiosity as best she could, then jerked a shoulder up and resumed breathing. “Sure. Go for it.”
“Those dreams”—a fresh grin slowly curved his lips—“are all I have to look forward to. I don’t want them to stop.” He gave a short laugh. “And you know what?”
“You’ve lost your mind?”
“Possibly. Because I have no desire to leave here tonight.” He brought a hand up and ran his knuckles across her cheek. “I don’t want to leave here. Can I stay? I promise to behave myself.”
Her skin sizzled under his touch. Geez, was he going to kiss her? No, he couldn’t. Not tonight. Not ever. It just wasn’t going to happen. She’d already come to terms with it, and now he needed to. Right?
“No,” was all she managed to say.
“Please. I’ll sleep on the couch. I’ll keep my hands to myself.”
“I’m still angry with you. You treated me awful.”
“I know.” His fingers traced her jaw, her neck. “I was an asshole. I don’t deserve your kindness.”
“You blew it.” She shivered. Her head swirled.
“An unforgivable asshole. If you punched me in the face and told me to go to hell, I wouldn’t be surprised.” His voice lowered as he spoke, his gaze dropped and focused on her lips. “But you won’t. Because you are kind. Because you’ll take pity on me…and the bad day I’m having. My car’s broken down. I don’t have anywhere to go.” He met her eyes again. “Please, Sofia.”
The room did another complete spin, but she tried to blink it away.
“We should go to bed.” She blurted out the words and instantly felt the heat reach her cheeks. “Um…I meant I should go to bed.”
And get away from you before I do something stupid.
Sofia stretched her arms out in front of her, simultaneously pushing Gray away from her. A safe distance. That was what she needed. “I’m exhausted.”
“And a little tipsy,” he added.
“No, I’m fine. I’m super fine. But you…” She dropped to the floor and felt the room spin around a few more times. Maybe she wasn’t so fine.
She gripped the butcher block to keep steady. How was she going to get rid of this guy without feeling guilty for throwing him out into the darkness without a vehicle? Dang it. Why did she care? “You can sleep in the guest bedroom if you want.”
“That would be great. Thank you.” He stuffed his hands in his jeans pockets and smiled mischievously.
“But you’ll have to leave first thing in the morning, understood?”
“No problem.”
“Because I don’t think—”
He put his hand up to stop her. “I know. I blew it.”
~ * ~
Gray had to admit, Sofia’s backside was starting to become his favorite part of her body, with the way her ass filled out those shorts. She led him up the narrow, dark wooden stairway, with two lamps hanging from her fingertips. Sweet Dreams stretched out with each step.
“I think Nana has a fresh toothbrush stored in the medicine cabinet. And I’ll have to make sure there are fresh linens on the guest bed.”
An orange cat zipped past at warp speed, nearly tripping Sofia on the top step.
Gray didn’t have enough viable brain cells left in his head to react in time. His leg curved into hers and his pelvis pushed against her bottom before he could stop.
“Sorry,” he said, and took a step back. Just in time. One second more, and she’d have felt his erection hardening in his jeans.
“My fault. I shouldn’t have stopped short.” She continued down the hallway. “Sam scared the bejeezus out of me. I really hate coming up here when it’s dark. It’s creepy, the way the old wooden floors creak.”
Rapid thoughts of how he could comfort her ran through Gray’s mind. Holding her in his arms, kissing her lips, making her forget about anything but him inside of her.
Keep your head together, Gray.
“It’s funny, but I think I had more courage spending the night here when I was a little girl. I guess I was naïve to what horrible things can happen in the world.” After a couple of steps, she spun around and pointed into one of the open door rooms. “This is the only bathroom. There are towels and whatnot in the small closet in there. Like I said, the toothbrush is in the medicine cabinet. And if you want to use the bathroom tonight for whatever reason, then take your lamp with you.”
“Running water?”
“Yes. Fortunately, that doesn’t give my Nana migraines.” She continued a couple steps to the next open door on the opposite side of the confining hallway. “This is my Nana’s room. I’ll sleep in here.”
Curious, Gray stuck his head in the room. The window was open, letting the moonlight in and the breeze whip the white curtains about. The room was a fair size, big enough for a large dresser and the queen-sized bed covered with a checkered quilt. The walls were bare and white, like the rest of the house. The smell of burning kerosene filled the air.
None of it seemed familiar. He hadn’t dreamed of this place. With Sofia. Actually, he hadn’t recognized the setting in the dreams at all that he could remember. He’d spent so much time trying to forget them. Erase them from his memory.
Not that he believed in any of them—that somehow they were visions of the future. Gray considered himself open-minded, but some things were a little too hard to believe.
Sofia cleared her throat from across the hallway as she pointed to the last door on the left. “This is where you’ll sleep. For tonight.”
Gray followed her inside, encouraged with where things could lead. Just one kiss. It blew his mind that he hadn’t had one dismal thought since he’d walked into her house. Not one recollection of all the pointless energy he’d put into his relationship with Rachel, or of how Hayes had betrayed him. No, his mind was captivated by the woman standing in front of him.
“Looks like the sheets are fresh.” She ran her hands across the top quilt. It was identical to the other one. In fact, the rooms were mostly indistinguishable, except this bed was wedged up against the window. Not that Gray gave a shit about the furniture arrangement, when Sofia was crawling across the mattress on her hands and knees with her rounded bottom emerging from those damn shorts.
“Getting comfy?” He hoped.
“No. Geez. This probably doesn’t look too good, does it?”
“Good doesn’t even begin to describe it.”
“The window’s closed,” she said, ignoring his flirtation. “I’m opening it so you won’t be stuffy.” She released the latch and began pushing up the window inch by inch.
Absentmindedly, Gray began getting ready for sleep, shrugging off his dress shirt and kicking off his loafers. It wasn’t until then that he noticed the black mark on his shirt. No way was he going to ruin Nana’s sheets with his filth. He slipped it over his head, rea
dy to climb into bed and dream.
Hot, sensual dreams of Sofia. He’d get entirely undressed when she left the room. No point in wrinkling the only clothes he had to wear.
But it seemed Sofia was having trouble getting the window up to where she wanted it. She struggled, grunting and yanking.
“Wait.” Gray crawled across the bed, feeling like an ass for not offering to help sooner.
“What are you doing?” Perspiration dampened her sweet face as she eyed his shirtless chest.
Holding back a laugh, Gray knelt beside her and grasped the bottom of the windowpane. “Helping,” he said, and forced it up.
Wind gusted in and blew her hair off her shoulders. One piece stuck to her moist cheek so he swept it behind her ear.
“What are you doing?” she asked again, her eyes wide in what seemed like fear.
“Are you afraid of me, Sofia?” Had he been that awful to her?
“Of course not.” She wrinkled her nose. “Why would I be afraid of you?”
Her tone wasn’t convincing. Carefully, Gray cupped her cheek. Her skin was soft, speckled lightly with freckles. Beautiful in a way he hadn’t noticed before.
A wary sigh heaved up her chest. Then she leaned into his hand and pulled in her bottom lip only to release it, wet and inviting.
Just one kiss.
Gray brushed his thumb over her lip, desperately wanting to erase every bad notion she had of him. What was it that made him want to be more to her than a cold-hearted jerk?
So much more.
Another gust of wind blew in, and she closed her eyes. Before she could open them again, he tilted her head up and molded his mouth to hers.
She gasped slightly, but didn’t pull away. Her lips were supple and sweet to the taste. Like in his dreams, but better.
This was real.
He wasn’t going to wake up and find her gone. To make sure, he grasped her waist and held her close. Faint whimpers muffled against his lips. He almost drew back, but her fingertips running up his arms gave him permission to continue.
Eager for more, he slid his tongue into her mouth. Her hips arched against his growing erection. Her hands glided over his shoulders and clasped onto his neck, nudging him down. Did she want him to take her? Now? Here?
He was a free to do whatever he wanted with whomever he wanted. For some reason, he only wanted to be here in this moment with this woman. From the way she was luring him toward the mattress, she desired more than just one kiss.
Gray wouldn’t refuse her. He wrapped one arm around her for support. The other arm braced against the bed as he lowered her, kissing her thoroughly all the while. He wouldn’t disappoint her like he had already. This time, he wouldn’t give her anything less than his best.
~ * ~
Sofia was out of her mind. Or maybe it was simply cluttered at the moment. With how great he kissed. With how he looked and felt, half naked on the bed beside her…on top of her.
Oh, geez. What am I doing?
Lying down. That was what she was doing.
Running her hands over the lean muscles on his back. Intertwining her legs with his. Going mad over the way he was making love to her mouth with his tongue. He tasted so good, so…so him.
His hand sneaked under her tank top, and she jerked her eyes open. His touch, slowly sliding along her skin up over her abdomen, made her tremble with both desire and anxiety. He must have noticed her nervousness because he peeked down at her through narrowed eyes.
They both took in a breath, but his hand kept traveling.
What could be going through his mind?
No, don’t think about that, Sofe. Just let it happen. Enjoy it.
Had he done this with his ex-fiancée? Had he loved her? That gorgeous woman he was going to marry up until today?
“Wait,” Sofia said, as his hand gripped where no man had ever touched her.
His thumb brushed across her pebbled nipple, sending chills down to where heat rose, surged. He pressed his jean-covered erection into that spot, against her heat, as if he knew how close to the edge she was, and wanted to propel her over.
It was working. She held back a moan by biting into her lip.
“Sofia,” he breathed, obviously as on edge as she was. “Are you sure?”
Summoning the last of her sanity, she nodded and pushed against his solid chest.
“I’m sure.” She couldn’t do it. Sofia Good was not going to be his rebound. His last resort.
“Okay.” He lifted off her and stood, exhaling and raking a hand through his hair.
“Sorry,” she muttered as she hurried to the door.
“For what?” He followed behind her, grabbing her waist before she could leave. “Don’t apologize.” His voice was a whisper, his warm breath feathered along her neck.
Sofia sucked in a breath. Her body trembled. Geez, he was going to think she was a prude…which of course she was. Didn’t help that her cheeks were burning, which meant her entire face was most likely bright red. Here was the hottest man she’d ever laid eyes on holding her in an embrace, and all she wanted to do was run like hell to get away from him.
“I’m the one who’s sorry.” He kissed her temple and loosened his hold on her. “Goodnight, Sofia.”
“Okay,” she said stupidly, still mesmerized by what had happened, what could have happened—quite possibly her only chance to lose her virginity. And to fall in love. Because who wanted to be with a woman who had visions of the future, other than the only man she’d ever envisioned loving?
She backed out into the hallway, only stumbling once when she realized it was really dark.
“Here.” He handed her one of the lamps. “Don’t want you to be scared.”
“Thanks. Um, goodnight.” She started toward Nana’s room. With each passing step, she could feel him staring at her backside.
“Sweet dreams.” His voice was soft and playful, and followed by a sexy chuckle.
Sofia turned abruptly to respond with something witty and reproachful but couldn’t think of a damn thing to say, so she stuck out her tongue.
Very mature, Sofe.
He laughed again. “Night, sugar. See you in the morning.”
The man was nothing but trouble. Good thing he was leaving first thing tomorrow.
Wasn’t it?
~ * ~
“You should be ashamed of yourself, Mom.”
Penny looked at her daughter and sighed. “I just walked in the door, Laura. Can we save this until the morning, please?”
“No, we can’t. I can’t believe you went through with this.”
“You know I only did it for her own good.” Penny set her suitcase against the wall and sat her weary body down on the couch. The spell sure had taken a lot out of her. She wasn’t as young as she used to be, that was for certain.
“What if she comes home and sees you here?”
“She won’t be able to leave my house until—”
“Until what?”
“Until the spell is complete. Until they admit they’re in love.”
“Oh, shit.” Laura paced a line in the carpet in front of the couch. “You are truly something, Mom. What gives you the right to interfere in my daughter’s life like this? And lie to her about it? Shouldn’t she be the one to decide whether she’ll fall in love with this asshole?”
“Spare me the guilt trip, Laura. Look what you did to Hayes Phillips. You could have saved that boy’s life, if you’d only told him his true fate.”
“No!” Laura stopped and pointed a finger at Penny. “I am not responsible for these people’s actions. That kid was going to jump off that airplane no matter what I said. I told him to be careful, but of course he didn’t listen to me. They never do.” With a red face, she stomped up the stairs, but turned once to add, “Besides, aren’t you the one who told me when I started this business that I shouldn’t play God? Being a little hypocritical, aren’t we, Mom? And with your own family?”
Before Penny could respond, Laura
disappeared upstairs. A second later, she heard the bedroom door slam shut.
Good. She didn’t have the energy to argue with her stubborn daughter anyhow.
Surely, she didn’t get that quality from me.
With a harrumph, she grabbed at her suitcase handle and started upstairs. She’d sleep in Sofia’s room tonight. Being close to her granddaughter’s things would give Penny a better feel for how the spell was working.
Penny had taken Hayes’s word and read his thoughts that Grayson Phillips was a decent man. A man Sofia could love. A man who would return the love unconditionally, even with the knowledge that Sofia was “gifted.”
As Penny lay in bed that night, she prayed for many things. She prayed Sofia would forgive her for lying and interfering. She prayed Grayson would treat Sofia right.
She prayed Grayson would never find out that Sofia’s mother could have prevented his brother’s death, and didn’t. But mostly she prayed Laura would find a love of her own.
Because Penny was convinced no spell would be strong enough to push through her daughter’s bitter heart.
Chapter Eight
Rachel rolled over onto her side and opened her eyes. The sun was rising and spilling soft light through her sheer pink curtains, reminding her of the night before.
She glanced down at what she was wearing. The red dress she’d worn the night Hayes had made love to her. She’d put it on just for him, thinking he’d love it. The memory made her want to slap herself silly. What type of awful person was she?
She’d known Hayes was going to come over to check up on her. He’d told her, whispered it to her when Grayson wasn’t watching. Then she’d gone out and purchased this dress. This daring red dress. A color she’d never had the nerve to wear before for anyone else.
Now, her head throbbed from a hangover.
How many glasses of wine had she drunk before stumbling into bed? Who knew? Who cared? She didn’t want to cry anymore. Her eyes were dry and crusted over with the tears she’d spilled the night before. Pathetic. Truly pathetic.
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