Bewitching You

by Estrella, Viola

~ * ~

  Gray pulled into his condo’s parking garage, questioning how ungentlemanly it would be to take Sofia straight up to his bedroom, lock the door, and throw away the key. The plane wasn’t supposed to fly out until tomorrow anyway. They had plenty of time, and her hand on his thigh for the past ten miles had made him quite uncomfortable in his jeans.

  He walked her through the lobby. The elevator might be a good place for loving as well. He’d never tried it before, but who better than Sofia to be his first and only?

  Her eyes were wide as she took in the high ceilings, extravagant fixtures, and modern furnishings. “This is where you live?”

  “My condo is a little more humble.” The elevator doors opened, and Gray led her in.

  “Hayes and I picked out this condo. He thought the women in his life would give it up easier if he walked them into a place like this. His words, not mine.”

  “And you?”

  “I liked the soundproof walls and windows.”

  “What is it with you and quiet?” She leaned against the railing and smiled up at him.

  Gray moved in front of her, trapping her against the wall. “What is it with me and you?” He brushed his mouth against hers. “I can’t seem to get enough. I’m addicted, I think.”

  She returned the kiss, sliding her tongue along his upper lip. She tasted of sweet tea and red licorice—her afternoon snack she’d picked up while he pumped gas into the BMW.

  Gray felt her leg slip up his. It was all he could take. He reached down, cupped her ass, and lifted her against him. He pressed her into his erection to show how much he wanted her.

  She rolled her hips forward, rubbing him, making him want her naked and under his sheets, or on top. Whichever was faster.

  She moaned against his tongue as he slid it against hers.

  The sound of the elevator door opening didn’t seem to disturb her, so he continued, getting as much of her as he could until she remembered their self-assigned duty to save thirty-plus lives.

  “That is so fucking hot, dude.”

  Shit. Gray broke the kiss and saw the curly golden-haired neighbor guy staring back and forth from him to Sofia.

  “You are my inspiration. I want you to know.”

  Sofia cleared her throat and wiggled away from Gray. Damn kid.

  “Sorry to interrupt you guys. You were having a moment there, weren’t ya?”

  “Oh, don’t worry about it,” Sofia said, cheerfully. “It’s not a big deal.”

  How did she do that? Gray frowned at her. “Again with the ‘no big deal’?”

  “Of course you’re a big deal, honey.” Sofia waved a hand from his toes to his head. “A very big deal. I just didn’t want to make your neighbor, here, feel uncomfortable.” She held out a hand for the kid to shake. “I’m Sofia.”

  He shook her hand and eyed her chest. “Andrew Dashmoor. You can call me Andy.”

  The elevator door began to close, and they all stepped out into the hall.

  “Dashmoor?” Sofia’s eyes lit up. “As in Dashmoor from DashAir?”

  “You got it.” He pushed a hand through his hair as if preparing to make a move on Sofia. “My old man owns the whole entire airline.”

  “That is so neat.” Sofia gave her cute smile. “I bet you can get all kinds of deals.”

  Gray’s jaw tightened. Did Sofia not see when men were attracted to her? Maybe she did and was playing it up. Either way, Gray stood behind her and decided to play along. “Do you believe in psychics, Andy?”

  “You mean, like, that chick on the Montel reruns?”

  “Exactly.”

  Sofia peered up at Gray with an arched brow.

  He would make it up to her later. “Sofia is just like that chick on Montel.”

  “No way. Are you kidding me?”

  Sofia stepped back hard on Gray’s big toe. “He kids you not,” she said, before he could.

  Gray knew damn well her ability was limited to her dreams, but certain circumstances called for certain measures. If they could convince Andy that she was an all-powerful psychic, they could convince him to call his good old daddy to stop that plane from flying. And Gray could have a little fun with Sofia in the process.

  “So who or what was I in my past life?” Andy eyed Sofia suspiciously.

  “Let’s see. I have to touch you to find out. Do you mind?”

  “Not at all, dude.”

  “Close your eyes,” Sofia said.

  Andy clenched his eyes shut, and Sofia looked up at Gray, sticking her tongue out at him. You’re going to get it, she mouthed.

  Gray was looking forward to it. But did she really have to touch Andy?

  The elevator door opened again, and Mrs. Farley, Gray’s neighbor two doors down, walked out with her cane in one hand and a sparkly pink leash attached to her toy poodle in the other.

  “I’m waiting,” Andy said with a smile on his face. “Are you going to touch me or not?”

  Mrs. Farley gasped, and the poodle barked. The silver-haired woman had been Gray’s neighbor since the day he and Hayes had moved in. Lord only knew how long she’d lived here before that. Her hobby was walking around with a notepad and pencil, writing down occurrences that happened in the building. She’d gone through a new notebook every week when Hayes was alive. Yep, his brother had kept her very busy.

  Gray took Andy by one arm and Sofia by the other. “Why don’t we take this somewhere where Sofia can concentrate?”

  “Mr. Phillips,” Mrs. Farley called out. “Mr. Phillips. Mr. Dashmoor. There is to be no funny business in this building. Do you hear me?”

  Gray glanced over his shoulder to see her and the dog scowling up at him. “Of course not, Mrs. Farley.” He shoved his key into the lock. Gray had learned a long time ago the less said to the elderly woman, the better. He turned the key in the lock. It worked. The door opened without a problem. His luck was improving.

  “Yeah, Mrs. Farley,” Andy said. “No worries.”

  Sofia piped up. “I wasn’t going to touch him anywhere inappropriate, I assure you.”

  “You weren’t?” Andy frowned.

  “Well,” Mrs. Farley huffed. “I’m going to have to write this down on my list of grievances. I would’ve expected this from your brother, Mr. Phillips, but not you.”

  Gray blew out a breath. He really wished she hadn’t stooped to that level. “Mrs. Farley,” he said, after she’d started down the hall. “Your dog pissed against my door again last week. Next time he does that, I’m going to find that notebook of yours and use it as toilet paper to wipe my—”

  ~ * ~

  Sofia hadn’t realized she’d had the strength to push a man Gray’s size onto his butt. But she did and she had, and now he was sitting on the dark maple hardwood floor in his foyer.

  “Super psychic woman, baby.” Andy put his hand up for a high-five, but Sofia knew better.

  She shook her head for him to nix it and looked down at Gray. “I’m so sorry, honey. I had no idea I could do that.” She held out a hand for him to grab.

  Needless to say, Manly-man didn’t accept it. He stood on his own. “Don’t worry about it,” he grumbled.

  “Well, I couldn’t let you threaten to—”

  “I know, Sofia.”

  “Don’t be mad at me.”

  “I’m not.” He sure the heck sounded like it. He brushed past Sofia and Andy and headed to the kitchen.

  “This place is nice, dude.” Andy followed him. “Do you have more square footage than I do?”

  Sofia glanced around for the first time. The floor plan was open, revealing the living room, dining area and kitchen. The floors were all hardwood. A black leather sofa and loveseat and a glass coffee table sat in front of a flat screen television in the living room. A fireplace posing as a half wall separated the living room from the dining room. The dining table was a dark oak. Four high-back leather dining chairs surrounded it. The kitchen had dark granite countertops and an island bar with stools separating it from the re
st of the space.

  Everything was very masculine. Of course, Gray and Hayes were the only two people who’d lived here. Bachelors. Sofia was sure Mrs. Farley’s comment had hit a nerve with Gray. The twins had grown up together and lived together as adults…and now Gray was alone.

  He pulled out two bottles of beer and handed one to Andy. “Sofia, I can open a bottle of wine if you want. Or I have water, but that’s about it.”

  “I’ll take a beer.” She sat on the bar stool beside Andy.

  Gray grinned. “Yeah?”

  “Sure. I drink beer sometimes.”

  “Awesome.” Andy leaned toward her. “Super psychic woman who can drink a brewski. I like that. How do you feel about cozying up in a humongous bean bag and watching a football game on a plasma?”

  “Um.” Sofia wasn’t sure how to answer that, but it appeared she didn’t have to. Gray walked around, put an opened beer bottle in front of her, and kissed her cheek.

  “I love you,” he whispered into her ear, and sat down on the stool on the other side of her.

  Sofia’s skin prickled with delight. She’d never tire of hearing that, and hoped he’d never tire of saying it. The make-out session in the elevator had left her wanting more.

  She took a sip of the beer, and from the corner of her eye, caught sight of Gray’s upper arm flexing as he leaned against the island. She looked farther up to see him smiling at her.

  “Super Psychic Woman,” he said teasingly, “are you going to tell Andy his fortune?”

  “Wait,” Andy said. “Doesn’t she have to touch me first?”

  “Right.” Sofia hopped off the stool and swiveled Andy around to face her. “First, I’ll tell you who you were in your previous life.” She sized him up like her mother did with all of her clients.

  Andy was an average-sized man, but seemed smaller in the presence of Gray. Maybe a couple inches less than six foot. He was lean, but not too skinny. He had some muscle to him. He appeared to be a year or two younger than she was, so maybe he was twenty-one or twenty-two. He wore a shirt with the name of a rock band she’d never heard of and ripped jeans his daddy probably paid a bundle for. He was attractive in a boyish way, with his curly blond hair and puppy dog brown eyes.

  “Close your eyes again,” she said.

  He did, and added the extra step of flinging his head back and bracing his arms against the island. The man was ready to be touched, that was for sure.

  Tell him something he wanted to hear. That was always her mother’s motto, and it would be Sofia’s for this task, since she didn’t really know who the guy was in his previous life or even if he had a previous life. Might as well make him happy.

  She brought her hand up to his neck and slowly swept it down his chest. Gray cleared his throat and raised his brows at her.

  Hello! This was his idea. She ignored him and continued with the act, stopping just above Andy’s abdomen before starting back up again. She needed more time to think. What would Andy Dashmoor want to hear?

  “You were a king,” she blurted out. “Of a foreign country. You had several wives that catered to you and fed you grapes from the vine.”

  Andy smiled, but kept his eyes shut. “What else?”

  “The people of your kingdom adored you and bowed at your feet.”

  “Cool. How did I die?”

  “Do you really want to know that?”

  “Duh. The Montel chick always ’fesses.”

  “Okay.” Sofia rubbed circles on his chest with the tips of her fingers and thought of how to end the highly fabricated tale. If this didn’t please him, she didn’t know what would. “Two of your wives were fighting over who was going to sleep with you that night. The argument got out of hand and one of them said if she couldn’t have you, no one would, so she stabbed a knife into your heart.”

  “Dang. That’s harsh.” Andy opened his eyes and winked at her. “There’s plenty of me to go around, as you can see.”

  “Okay.” Gray straightened in his seat. “Can I talk to you in the other room, Sofia? We’ll be right back, Andy.”

  “No prob, dude. You got any chips or anything?”

  “Help yourself.”

  Sofia followed Gray into a hallway. He pushed a door open and gestured for her to enter, all the while not giving her the courtesy of eye contact. Great. Was he grumpy again? What happened to the sweet I love you in her ear?

  His bedroom was large, but taking up most of it was his California King covered by a black and beige striped comforter. The bed frame was a dark mahogany wood that matched his dresser and nightstand. The walls were white, and vinyl blinds covered the window. The man needed some color in his life, for sure.

  “Do you want me to paint you something so you can hang it up in here?” she asked.

  The door shut behind her and suddenly she was being picked up and set down on the bed.

  Gray’s body covered hers as he continued the kiss that had begun in the elevator. His tongue and lips were potent and powerful, like the rest of his body, leaving her senseless and full of desire. She imagined what he could do with that tongue on other parts of her body. She had dreamed that experience before, but as she’d realized, real life was far more satisfying than her visions. Far more emotional, as well.

  She eased away from him long enough to tell him she loved him.

  “I love you too,” he said, “and I want you.” He kissed her again. “I know you’re having fun out there, but could we move it along so I can be alone with you?”

  “Fun?” Sofia looked up into his amused eyes. “You think I was having fun?”

  “Well, you were getting into that chest rubbing.” He chuckled. “Thought I’d bring you in here and remind you what a real man feels like.” He pressed his erection between her legs. “A real king,” he said, and chuckled again.

  “Oh, ha, ha. Real funny. Get off me, now, Grayson Phillips.”

  “Ah, I’m only playing with you, Sofia. You know I’m teasing. And I’ll admit I’m a little bit jealous.”

  “It serves you right. Why did you bring this whole psychic thing up anyway? I’m in way over my head.”

  He grinned and whispered his plan into Sofia’s ear. “What do you think he’ll do if you predict his daddy is going to lose all his money after this plane goes down? I predict the families are going to sue, and he’ll lose all his business and have to file for bankruptcy, don’t you?”

  “And then Andy can’t depend on Daddy anymore?”

  “Exactly.”

  Chapter Eighteen

  Gray had thought a quick telephone call would do the trick. Then he’d have the rest of the evening to spend alone with Sofia. Yet, here he was, driving up the long cobblestone lane of the Dashmoor Estate, preparing himself to meet Andrew Dashmoor Senior, because Andy Junior was a pansy who didn’t seem to know how to do anything on his own.

  Andy stretched out in Gray’s backseat with his hand over his forehead. “This can’t be happening. This can’t be happening.”

  “Try to relax, Andy,” Sofia said to him from the passenger seat. “We can prevent this, remember?”

  “I don’t know,” Andy whined. “I just can’t deal with this in my life right now. I’m under so much stress.”

  Gray held back a groan. Had he known Andy would’ve reacted this way, he’d have come up with a different plan. Now, it was too late, and the kid had Sofia feeling sorry for him.

  “It’ll be a cinch, Andy.” Sofia reached back and patted his leg. “You can talk to your father and convince him not to let that particular plane take flight. Then everything will be all right. “

  Andy jolted up in between the seats and took Sofia’s hand. “You’ll go in with me, right? He’s never going to listen to me. He hates me. He always has.”

  “Yes, I’ll go.” She squeezed his palm. “It’ll be okay. Gray will go in too.”

  Gray shut the engine off when they reached the end of the drive and stared up at the large red brick mansion as dusk descended. Flowering
vines crept up the sides of the exterior, and a vast stone staircase led up to the enormous front door.

  “It’s gorgeous.” Sofia’s eyes widened. “I can’t wait to see the inside.”

  Only she would find excitement in these circumstances. Gray supposed that was one of the reasons he loved her. He only wished her little “gift” weren’t so intrusive. Not when his body ached to have her alone and in his arms. Ah, well. He’d push through this and then take her back to his home.

  A leggy, overly tanned blonde stood at the door when they walked up. She wore a cleavage-baring halter-top and a short tennis skirt. Gray didn’t think she was much older than Sofia. Apparently, Mr. Dashmoor had his very own trophy wife.

  “Hi, Andy!” the woman said, her voice a high-pitched squeal. “We weren’t expecting you. Who are your friends?” She ruffled her fingers through Andy’s hair.

  Andy blushed and did the introductions. Trophy wife’s name was Barbie, Andy’s newest stepmom. How appropriate.

  She took her time shaking Gray’s hand, gazing up at him with heavily made-up eyes. “Wow! Aren’t you a tall drink of water?”

  Sofia’s glare bore into Gray. Certain steam was shooting from her ears, he wrapped his arm around her waist and escorted her into the house, holding back a grin the entire time. Didn’t she know he only had eyes for her? Guess he’d have plenty of time to show her.

  Barbie led them into the enormous living room with vaulted ceilings and an impressive mural of angels flying through clouds painted on two of the walls. Gray sat next to Sofia on one of the dainty vintage-style couches. Definitely not made for a man his size, but he held his tongue and made the most of it.

  “Barbie.” Andy’s face paled again. “We need to talk to Dad. It’s really important.”

  Barbie squealed a little more about who knew what and headed up the grand staircase. Her flip-flops made an annoying clopping sound.

  “Your dad’s house is beautiful, Andy.” Sofia leaned over and patted Andy’s hand. “Did you grow up here?”

  “Sort of,” he mumbled, and stood up from the chair at the sound of Barbie and Mr. Dashmoor striding downstairs.

  Gray and Sofia stood as well. Andrew Senior looked like a modern-day Napoleon Bonaparte, and Gray wondered if he had the complex to match. Guess he was about to find out.