The Grayson Trilogy

by Georgia Rose

  Cavendish said goodbye, adding his sympathies for the loss of my car, and indicated to Trent that he wanted to have a word before leaving. They wandered off a little way and although I tried I couldn’t catch much of what they were saying, other than I thought I heard Cavendish say something about keeping on searching, to which Trent nodded in response, but he looked worried, glancing over at me a couple of times anxiously during the discussion. Cavendish ended the conversation looking like he was trying to reassure Trent, who appeared to nod reluctantly in agreement; then Cavendish left, lifting his hand briefly at me as he did so. I lifted mine in response, my thoughts on edge, knowing something was amiss but feeling unsettled with not knowing what.

  Trent came back to me and although I asked him what was going on he just reassured me that it was nothing for me to worry about, they’d be doing all they could to find out who was behind this.

  The fire crew were packing up and the paramedics took me off the oxygen, advising me I might be coughing for a few days.

  Wade was left clearing up some of the debris in the yard while Trent, Carlton and I headed into the kitchen, which fortunately had remained more or less clear of smoke. Susie went back to her bed even though it was getting towards her breakfast time and as I sat down at the table Carlton and Trent remained standing. Trent started speaking firmly and decisively, although I thought I could detect an anxious note to his voice.

  “I’m not sure what’s going on, or whether the two incidents are linked, but after what appears to be an arson attack we’re going to have to put in place some additional security measures. Grayson, once you’ve finished evening stables and been to the gym I want you in here with the doors locked. Carlton will take over doing the late watering. I do not want you out of this house at night unless one of us is with you, do you understand?” He stared at me sternly as he said this, not continuing until I confirmed that I did indeed understand.

  “Carlton, I want two on guard here in the yard overnight, every night. You can arrange a rota between you while I’m away, then I can help out once I’m back. Is that clear?” Carlton nodded his agreement.

  “If you’re really worried about me perhaps Carlton should move in twenty-four-seven so he could guard me at all times,” I suggested, innocently looking up at Trent and smiling sweetly as I did so. Carlton beamed at this as Trent glanced anxiously between the two of us.

  “It’s bad enough that I’m having to leave the fox guarding the hen house, so to speak – I have no wish to open the door and usher him into it as well. I think we’ll leave things as they are,” he finished guardedly. And with this he came round the table, bending to growl, “Behave yourself,” in my ear, as I smiled at his reaction to my teasing, before saying his goodbyes and heading off.

  Carlton gazed at me, then shook his head and smiled. “You certainly know how to wind him up.” Then looking at his watch he took charge: “Right, look at the state of you – go and get cleaned up and join me in the yard, I’ll get going on the feeding.” I hadn’t realised it was that time already, and looking down at myself I saw I was covered in sooty patches, looked decidedly shabby and stank of smoke, not that he looked, or probably smelt, much better. I went off to get showered and dressed before tackling the day, which was going to have to include contacting my insurers to get that ball rolling.

  Before I went in for lunch I walked over to the garage to have a look at the damage caused by the fire and stared sadly at the burnt-out skeletal remains. I was sorry to have lost my beloved car and thoughts kept going round and round in my head as I wondered who I could have offended so much that they would want to do this to me, as well as there being the possibility that they may have been responsible for my fall from Regan.

  I hadn’t been concerned after my fall, thinking it was an accident, but now I was starting to feel differently. It didn’t seem real at all that this could be happening and I was starting to feel quite jumpy at the thought that there was someone out there wanting to cause me harm. A couple of times during the morning I’d caught myself looking up into the trees that surrounded the stables thinking I’d seen someone there, only to find it was nothing. My eyes as well as my mind were playing tricks on me. I was pleased Susie was around and made sure I kept her close to me, which gave me some comfort.

  Trent called that evening to see how I was, to check I was locked in for the night and that my guards were out in the yard. I assured him I’d seen Hayes and Turner arrive and I was perfectly safe. I didn’t add how pleased I’d been to see them or that I’d immediately felt better knowing they were there as I didn’t want him to know how nervous I was starting to feel, and how much I wanted him to be there with me. There wasn’t any point in telling him that when there was nothing he could do about it. I went to bed, trying to get rid of my anxiety by looking forward to the fact I would be seeing him the next day, and fortunately, as I’d been up most of the night before, it wasn’t long before I was asleep.

  Trent was a little early picking me up and we left the estate in his truck, driving to a pub in a nearby village. Ordering our drinks we studied the menus at a quiet table. I chose quickly and looking up, I took the opportunity to watch Trent while he was still deciding. He looked tired and strained. I mentioned this to him but he shrugged it off as being the result of the long days they’d been working.

  “Should be coming to an end soon though and I’ll have some recovery time. More importantly, how’ve you been? You seem tense.”

  I assured him everything was fine but I wasn’t sure he believed me, though before he could ask more the waiter came to take our order.

  I updated Trent on the fallout from the fire, and that the insurers would be coming out to look at the damage to the garage and the car before the clean-up could begin, and I started filling him in on any news I had about the estate. Talking about anything other than how I was feeling.

  Our food arrived, and as he ate his ravenously I picked at mine, my nerves taking the edge off my hunger.

  “Why are you not eating?” he said, frowning at me, to which I replied rather unconvincingly that I just wasn’t hungry. I knew from his look he didn’t believe me but I chose to ignore it, changing the subject, deflecting his attention onto the blossoming romance between Carlton and Greene.

  “That should cool his ardour towards you anyway,” he muttered gruffly, though he appeared a lot more relaxed once he’d eaten and obviously felt better too, as we chatted whilst waiting for the bill. I asked if there was any news about who was responsible for the fire but he said there wasn’t, it was early days. I felt he was holding back, keeping something from me, as he didn’t want to talk any further on the subject.

  We left soon after and although I could feel the tension growing between us, as soon as we were in the truck heading home I knew what was coming, and as he walked me to my door I stated a little forlornly, “You’re not coming in are you?”

  “I can’t…I’m sorry…duty calls,” he answered apologetically, as I sighed loudly.

  “If I’d known you were going to be here for such a short time I’d have taken you to bed the moment you arrived,” I sounded as exasperated as I felt.

  Trent’s eyebrows shot up in sympathy with his rather shocked expression though he then chuckled before saying somewhat wistfully, “While that is certainly an enchanting prospect, it would hardly have been appropriate behaviour for our first date now, would it?” He was trying to be serious, pretending to tell me off, but the small smile at the corner of his mouth betrayed him.

  “Oh God, what is happening to me?” I put my hands to my head, running my fingers through my hair in frustration. At this he stepped towards me, reaching for me, but I held my hands up like a barrier to stop him. “Oh no, you stay where you are. No touching, not if you’re going to leave me again.”

  Stopping just in front of me he put his hands in his pockets, exhaling softly in frustration as he gazed at me. “Night, Grayson,” and he leaned forward, kissing me softly on the corner of my
mouth – it was beautifully sweet and my eyes closed briefly at his touch.

  “Trent,” I whispered almost painfully.

  “I know, baby,” he murmured. “Couple of days, I promise,” and he was gone.

  I went inside, and locking the door behind me I leaned up against it for a moment deep in thought. I’d surprised myself as well as Trent with my rather forward comment and was now embarrassed by it. It made me sound considerably more confident about where our relationship was going than I felt. The truth was that I was nervous about Trent’s return and what he might be expecting and that hadn’t exactly been made obvious by my behaviour this evening. The truth was I’d had little experience of men and it had been a long time since I’d taken anyone into my bed, however brazen I might have sounded about it. I went upstairs now, my mind full of these concerns but secure in the knowledge Carlton would soon be there to do the watering, and then I’d have my guards reassuringly in place for the night.

  Chapter 18

  After a restless night I was an unbearable ball of frustration by the next morning, and decided to work flat out to try and ease the tension. I went out to the yard to start the daily routine, waving to Wade and Hayes who were just leaving. Working all of the horses hard, I made both them and myself sweat; I then washed all four of them, rinsing them thoroughly before removing as much water from their coats as possible. As it was a warm, sunny day I turned them out for a few hours.

  While the stables were empty I cleaned all the tack, got the boxes ready for the evening and tidied the yard, sweeping it from end to end. Getting each horse in I groomed them until they gleamed before finishing evening stables. Following this with a workout at the gym, I came back for a shower and something to eat.

  I’d kept myself busy all day, aiming to block out my concerns of last night as well as any thoughts of somebody out there wanting to do me harm, but I was relieved when I saw Carlton and Turner arrive in the yard and as I went upstairs later I slept better purely because I’d exhausted myself.

  The weather was fine and warm the next day and I put myself through the same level of punishing routine. Once I’d finished evening stables, given my still-fractious state of mind I went to the gym and after my standard workout decided to kick the shit out of the punch bag for a while. After half an hour every part of my body was aching; sweat ran down my face and I was bent over, my hands on my knees, breathing heavily when Carlton arrived, his face creasing with concern when he saw me.

  “Are you okay? It looks like you might be overdoing it.”

  “Fine, just ridding myself of some tension,” I replied with what I hoped was a grin but probably looked more like a grimace. Making a feeble waving gesture with my hand I encouraged him to go and get on with his workout.

  “I know of an excellent way to get rid of tension,” he smirked, as I shook my head at him. I had to give the boy his due, he never gave up.

  “You’re a bad man, Carlton. What do you think Greene would do to you?” He winced at the picture this conjured up for him.

  “Yeah…you’re right, that wouldn’t be pretty,” he said, and grinning he wandered off to start his workout at the other end of the gym.

  I definitely felt less tense now, probably because my body was too exhausted to be anything other than relaxed, so I went home for a shower. Once dry I pulled on some shorts and a short-sleeved linen top, and took a beer out into the garden.

  I sat there, Susie under the table, winding down and enjoying the evening. It was quiet and I could hear the gentle noises of the horses in their stables, listening to them moving around through the straw, munching on their hay, contented.

  I heard a car approaching, it slowing down, stopping outside the cottage. Susie’s low warning growl started, my personal protector, alerting me along with a prickling on the back of my neck. Hearing the gate open and close I peered anxiously towards the corner of the cottage; not knowing who to expect, my nerves on edge in anticipation.

  Trent appeared and I breathed a sigh of relief, noticing his pace slow momentarily as he saw I was there, then he continued to stride purposefully towards me. Wearing a dark suit and white shirt, the collar of which was undone, he looked delicious. Even at this distance I could feel the tension radiating off him. I stood, my heart racing, and as he reached me we took a moment drinking in the sight of each other. He was breathing deeply, then spoke quietly, “The longest two days of my life.” Bringing one hand up to the side of my face, his fingers in my hair, he brought his lips softly to my other cheek. I could feel his breath and as he grazed my earlobe with his teeth I inhaled sharply. His other hand was at my waist, pulling me closer to him.

  “Mmm…me too,” I murmured softly as my fingers found their way into his hair, my concerns from the last time I’d seen him dispelled the moment he touched me. I felt his lips tracing the line of my jaw, a tingle running through me every time they touched my skin. He pulled back a little, looking down at me, his eyes dark and intense, his lips at last touching mine so tenderly I melted inside, moaning softly as our lips parted, his tongue gently finding mine and when it did our mutual passion igniting, our kisses becoming harder, demanding. He pulled back, releasing his hold on me, breathing deeply, and for one awful moment I thought he was going to leave me again. Instead he shrugged out of his jacket and holding that in one hand he took my hand in his and without a word led me into the house.

  Throwing his jacket over the back of a chair he kept moving until we were upstairs in my bedroom. He stopped then turned to me, seeking affirmation that this was okay, that he hadn’t overstepped the mark. Moving towards him and without losing eye contact I silently removed each of his cufflinks. Kicking off his shoes he removed his socks as I reached to undo the buttons on his shirt, torn in my desires – it was all I could do not to just rip his clothes off but at the same time I wanted to savour every moment. Sliding his shirt off his shoulders and down his arms I let it drop to the floor. I gazed at him, admiring his well-muscled body, I noticed a scar at the top of his chest towards his shoulder, and had to remind myself to breathe; he was looking so intensely at me when I met his eyes I could feel myself blushing. Embarrassingly, I think I might have actually whimpered out loud at the sight of him, and he looked at me as if I amused him. Cool, Emma, really cool.

  Passing my fingers through the light covering of dark hair over his chest and down across his stomach where the hair tapered before it disappeared into his waistband his stomach muscles flexed, contracting under my touch. I heard him inhale sharply when I reached to undo his belt, his hands coming up to stop mine as, holding them still, he spoke: “Not so fast – my turn. Arms up.” As I obeyed he reached for the bottom of my shirt, swiftly pulling it up over my head and off my arms, it landing on the floor next to his. Taking a breath he looked at me, then reached round to undo my bra, taking it off before putting one arm round my waist to pull me closer. His other hand caressed my breast, my nipple stiffening at his touch. Reaching into his pocket he pulled out a condom, threw it onto the bed, and nervously I glanced up at him.

  “We don’t need to use that, I’ve already taken care of it.” I hesitated, watching him carefully, wondering what his response would be.

  “Have you now…” he frowned down at me. “That was forward thinking of you.”

  “I’m an all or nothing kind of girl,” I murmured. “And I didn’t want there to be anything between us.”

  These words were his undoing. His lips came down on mine harder as I dropped one hand to the front of his trousers, hearing him groan as I touched him. His whole body trembling, as I ran my hands up and over his chest, pushing my fingers through his hair. His hand dropped to my shorts and as they fell to my feet he reached into my pants and I felt his breath hitch when he realised how ready I was for him. Barely containing myself, I moaned as he caressed me, my legs weakening.

  “I like that,” he whispered against my lips, “I like that a lot.” Bereft as he withdrew his hand and feeling a desperate need for his touch ag
ain instead he pulled down my pants, and moving backwards, I lay down. He stared at me as he undid his belt and trousers and taking those and his pants off in one smooth motion he stood upright again, gloriously naked. My eyes drifted at that point from his beautiful face, my thoughts clearly showing on mine, as when I glanced up at his again the amused smile was back and he cocked an eyebrow at me. Flashing my eyes I grinned in return, breathless as he approached the bed and bent to reach for me.

  Gasping, I arched my back, feeling the lightest of touches from his lips on my lower abdomen; he crawled across the bed, over me, leaving a trail of kisses up my body and across my breasts before reaching my mouth and kissing me hungrily.

  Ready to combust as his knee came up to push my legs further apart, I yearned for him, my body aching as he teased me. Then, unable to hold back any longer, I gloried in the feeling of him inside me, filling me as he thrust forward, his eyes finding and holding mine. I wrapped my legs around his ribs as he started to move strongly, urgently claiming more and more of me, building with each thrust. I clung to him, wanting every inch, sensation growing within until it peaked then came crashing through me like an explosion at my very core. Waves of pleasure rocked my body as gasping his name I came around him, my body shuddering in its release as he came too, groaning as he thrust deep into me. Clinging tightly to each other, not wanting to let go, we gradually came round, our ragged breaths easing.