Once Forbidden, Twice Tempted (The Sterling Wives Book 1)

by Karen Booth

  Grant eased back on his elbows, wishing his pants were off. He could hardly stand the strain of his rigid length against his boxer briefs. Still, he relished the view as Tara, still wearing her black lace bra, unzipped her skirt with her back to him. She looked over her shoulder, her bright eyes conveying everything he’d ever wanted in a single glance. She wriggled it past her hips, bending at the waist and giving him a magnificent view of her backside in matching panties. She stepped out of the skirt and reached back to unhook her bra, nudging it from each shoulder as if she was a burlesque dancer accustomed to giving the audience the best possible show. He was dying of anticipation, but it was so worth the wait when she dropped the garment to the floor and turned around to face him. Her breasts were simply magnificent and he couldn’t wait to have them in his hands again. To take her nipples between his lips.

  She stepped closer and dropped to her knees before him. His heart was about to pound its way through his chest as he watched her delicate fingers unclasp his belt and unzip his trousers. He raised his hips from the bed as she tugged them down, taking his boxer briefs at the same time. That first brush of her fingertips against his length was like a rocket straight to the center of his body. It made him lightheaded. It made him delirious and thankful and hundreds of other things he couldn’t begin to put a label on. He did his best to stay grounded in the moment as she took him in her hand and stroked firmly.

  If only she knew that every single thing she did only made him want and need her even more. As she rolled her thumb over the tip when she reached the top, he thought he might pass out. If he didn’t concentrate and get with the program, he was going to come from only a few passes. He focused on her, on the beauty of her face and on the recollection that he’d waited too long for this to be anything less than perfect.

  Still, when she lowered her head and took him into her mouth, his mind and body resumed their battle, and this time, it was a full-body campaign. He could hardly believe this was happening. He eased his head back on the bed and combed his fingers into her hair, trying to wrap his mind around her hot and velvety lips riding his length. Luckily, she knew to take things slowly and carefully. She didn’t apply too much pressure, just enough to make him wish that this moment would go on forever. When she loosened the grip of her lips, he was disappointed for only a second. He opened his eyes to watch her removing her panties, then she straddled him on the bed, bracketing his hips with her knees.

  She ground her center against his erection, which was an awful lot of physical gratification considering how badly he wanted to be inside her. She was wet and warm against his length and she was clearly enjoying it, as she moaned softly and dropped her head to one shoulder, her beautiful blond hair cascading to the side. It was a vision worth holding on to, but he needed to make love to her the way he needed air and water.

  “Do you have a condom?” he asked.

  She hopped off the bed so quickly it was as if she had anticipated the question. “I do.” Sliding the bedside-table drawer open, she pulled out a foil packet, tore it open and rolled it onto his length. She then stretched out next to him on the bed. He rolled to his side and kissed her, cupping her breast with his hand, relishing the velvety feel of her skin against his. Tara rolled to her back and he followed, positioning himself between her legs. She let her knees drop to the bed and he took another moment to admire her beauty before he drove inside. Her body welcomed him, then gathered around him tightly, wrapping him up in the most mind-blowing heat. He was overwhelmed by the sensations as they began to move together. She was perfect. Exactly as he’d always hoped.

  He focused on her breaths as he found the perfect spot to deliver the pressure he knew she’d need. The tension coiled deep in his belly, pulling tighter and tighter until he was worried he couldn’t take it much longer. But Tara was showing her own signs of approaching that blissful moment when you come undone and still want more. She dug her heels into the backs of his thighs, meeting his every thrust with a forceful rock of her hips. A few more thrusts and she fell apart, tossing her head back on the bed and thrashing from side to side. Grant sucked in a deep breath as he felt the dam break and wave after wave of intense pleasure rolled through him. He closed his eyes and let every serious thought of friendship and foes, and love and loyalty float away. He knew that they would return, but for now, everything was perfect.

  Eight

  Tara didn’t like the idea of regret over sleeping with Grant. But in the light of day, as the early-morning sun streamed in through her bedroom window, casting him in a golden glow, she was torn. Last night had been incredible, and it had been too long since she’d had a man in her bed. But her choice of man might not have been the best. She hadn’t been looking at the long-term ramifications last night. She’d only been looking at how hot Grant was, and reacting to the pure power of his kiss.

  But she couldn’t afford for her position with Sterling to be compromised, not when she was just getting started. A woman couldn’t start work at the company her dead ex-husband had founded, sleep with the CEO and expect her colleagues to hold her in high esteem. It simply wasn’t how things worked in the real world.

  “Last night was amazing.” She didn’t want to lay it on too thick, but Grant had earned the accolade. Tara smoothed her hand over his sculpted shoulder and kissed his collarbone, allowing her lips to linger a few extra heartbeats. Now that they’d had sex, it was impossible to be around him and not touch him. She was going to have to find a remedy to that.

  “What time is it?” He had one eye open and the other closed. His voice was groggy and sleepy. So sexy.

  “A little before seven. I wasn’t sure what time you wanted to get up. You must want to get back to your place to get dressed for work.”

  Grant groaned and rolled to his side, draping his arm across her waist and then pulling her closer. “Let’s call in sick. No one will care if we aren’t there.”

  “You’re the boss. Everyone will care.”

  He drew in a deep breath and blew it out, seeming duly exasperated. “I suppose you’re right. Still doesn’t make it any better.”

  Tara was about to agree with him when the doorbell rang. For a moment, she and Grant looked at each other in confusion, and then it dawned on her. “It’s probably Britney next door. She’s always complaining that my sprinklers are watering the sidewalk. Her dog doesn’t like it. He has very sensitive paws.” She threw back the covers and grabbed her silk robe from the chair opposite the bed. She loved seeing her clothes and Grant’s mingling on the floor, a distinct trail leading from her bedroom door to the bed. “I’ll be right back.”

  “Don’t be long.” Grant swished his hand across the spot on the bed where she’d just been. “I’d like a replay of last night before I go.”

  “Which part? There’s no way there’s time for all of it.”

  “So we start and see how far we get.”

  Tara smiled, but a wave of goose bumps raced across the surface of her skin. Grant had always been sexy and fun, but she hadn’t banked on how different he would be in bed. She never, ever would have guessed that there was a growling alpha beneath that quiet exterior. The doorbell rang again and she rushed down the stairs. “I’ll be there in a minute.” Tara arrived in the foyer and plucked last night’s heels from the floor, chucking them into the front closet. She flipped the dead bolt for the front door, amazed she’d had the presence of mind to lock it. Grant had been all consuming and he’d wasted no time getting things started.

  She opened the door and her mouth fell open. Astrid.

  “Good morning, Tara,” Astrid said, snoopily peering inside.

  Tara left the door open only a sliver. “Astrid. What are you doing here?”

  “I thought I’d drop by and say hello.”

  This was all kinds of strange. It was seven in the morning and Astrid lived downtown. Why had she decided to turn up at Tara’s door on a lark? “I’m ab
out to get ready for work, so now’s not a good time. I’m sorry. Maybe we could grab lunch sometime soon?”

  “I haven’t heard from you about my position at Sterling. I’ve been waiting and there’s been nothing.”

  Dammit. No, Tara hadn’t pushed Grant on the question of where Astrid would fit within the company structure. “I’m sorry. It’s been a crazy week. Just trying to get settled and everything.”

  “That’s great for you, but I own just as much of the company as you do, and I feel like I’m being left behind. If we’re going to do this, I need to be included. Right now, I’m just sitting in my apartment all day long. It isn’t fair.”

  These were all valid points. Tara had promised Astrid a role and she’d done nothing about it. She needed to get her act together or this was all going to fall apart. Astrid could do anything she wanted with her share of the company...like sell it to someone who had no interest in keeping Grant and Tara in their positions. “I’m genuinely sorry. I’ll talk to Grant and we’ll get something worked out.”

  “He’s upstairs, isn’t he?”

  The air was knocked right out of Tara’s lungs. She wanted to construct a cover for what was going on, especially since it was never going to happen again, but she couldn’t lie. She didn’t have it in her. She opened the door a little wider. “How did you know?”

  “I was at the game last night. I couldn’t sit in my apartment for another night. The kiss cam? You two really went for it. It was almost like this has been going on for some time.” Astrid pressed her camera-ready lips together, playing coy.

  “It hasn’t. At all.”

  Astrid shrugged, but it was apparent she didn’t believe Tara’s answer. “Well, whatever. I followed my hunch and drove over this morning. As soon as I saw Grant’s car in front of your house, I knew I was right.”

  Tara’s neighbor Britney with the sensitive dog was standing out on the sidewalk, watching Tara’s exchange with Astrid. Just what Tara didn’t need—more people talking. Tara had to take away the show. “Do you want to come in?” she asked Astrid.

  “I thought you’d never ask.” Astrid stepped across the threshold.

  Tara closed the door behind her, struggling to come to terms with this turn of events. She was always so careful about things like discretion, but she hadn’t ever had someone as shrewd as Astrid watching her. There was no question now that things with Grant could not continue. They could not be sleeping together while he was in charge at Sterling and she was carving out her niche. It was stupid of her to think for even a moment that it might work. She’d let her desire for him overshadow everything that was truly important—her new career, her rightful place at Sterling and her chance to finally stop waiting to be happy. Work made her happy. Not men. That had been proven time and again in her life. Aside from any of that, she’d promised Miranda and Astrid that she would make this work for all of them. She’d been entirely too focused on herself.

  Tara led Astrid into the kitchen and made her a quick cappuccino with the professional machine she’d had installed when renovating the kitchen. “Do you want to go sit out on the balcony? It’s a beautiful morning. I’ll only be a minute.”

  “Tell Grant I say hi,” Astrid quipped before sliding the glass door open and letting in a rush of sea air.

  You’ll probably get to tell him yourself. “I’ll be right back.”

  Tara took her time walking to her bedroom, carefully composing her thoughts. She didn’t want to hurt Grant’s feelings, but Astrid’s arrival was her wake-up call. She’d made promises to her and Miranda, and she had a duty to perform at Sterling. Being involved with Grant stood in direct opposition to that. Drawing in a deep breath for confidence, she opened the door and slipped inside, discovering that Grant was getting dressed.

  “I forgot that I have a meeting at the office at nine. I really do need to get home and grab a shower.” He shook out his shirt and threaded his arms through the sleeves.

  “We have a problem.”

  “I wanted to spend more time with you, too, but I can’t blow off this meeting.”

  “That’s not what I mean. Astrid is here. She was at the game last night. She saw the kiss. There’s no telling who else saw it.” She didn’t want to be so annoyed by something as silly as a kiss cam, but she was. If it hadn’t happened, if they hadn’t gone to the game at all, they wouldn’t be in this situation. Then again, something told her that she and Grant might have found another excuse to fall into bed. Their attraction was that incendiary.

  “I didn’t even think about that.” Grant furrowed his brow. “This is not good.”

  She nodded. “No kidding. What are we going to say if someone calls us on it?”

  “Honestly? I have no idea. I mean, it was a pretty hot kiss.”

  Incredibly hot. Just thinking about it sent a shudder through Tara. But she didn’t have time for that. Not now. “We have to tell people it meant nothing.” Tara gestured to the bed, where the sheets were rumpled and the comforter twisted and piled. “Just like we have to tell each other that this meant nothing. There’s too much on the line.”

  Grant cast a look at the site of their tryst. “I agree. It was impulsive. We obviously weren’t thinking straight.”

  Apparently Tara had hoped for at least a little resistance from Grant. Why else was she feeling so utterly disappointed by his agreement that they’d made a mistake? “I don’t think you can say that about everything last night. I got you to agree to move forward with the Seaport project. We were both thinking straight when that conversation happened.”

  Grant buttoned his shirt, shaking his head. “That’s all that really matters, isn’t it?”

  “What’s that supposed to mean?” She greatly disliked his tone.

  “It means that you took me out and flirted with me all night, then you kissed me at the baseball game. Now that it’s the next day, I’m starting to think that the whole night was a campaign to butter me up. To get what you want out of me.”

  “Do you honestly think that?”

  “We were both caught up in the moment. I got wrapped up in your vision and you got wrapped up in me saying yes to your ideas. It might not have been the best time to decide to sleep together.” He stuffed the tails of his shirt into his pants and buckled his belt.

  Something in Tara wanted to challenge Grant, but he wasn’t wrong. She had been swept away by him taking her seriously. It was so validating. “In the meantime, what do we do about Astrid? I can’t lie and tell her nothing happened.” Tara sat on the bed, her mind scrambling for a way to deal with Astrid.

  “She’s not stupid. You know that.”

  “Of course.”

  “We need to convince her to keep this to herself. She owns a sizable piece of Sterling and this could damage the company. Therefore, she needs to keep it quiet. Which I mean, is the only fair thing, anyway. We’re consenting adults—it was a one-time thing. Time for all of us to move on.”

  A one-time thing. Tara had thought that at one point last night, but that was before they’d arrived back at her house and he’d pinned her hands against the wall in the foyer. Just like the moment out on the promenade, that made her see him differently. She’d even gone to sleep with nothing more than thoughts of wanting more from him. But maybe she’d been delirious from orgasms. “So we’ll go talk to her now?”

  Grant shook his head and pulled on his socks, then stuffed his feet into his shoes. “I think this is all on you. You three are the ones who made the decision to band together. I don’t want it to be seen as me interfering if I say something to her. But I do want you to make it clear to her that she needs to stay quiet.”

  The only trouble was that Astrid had a mind of her own. There was no telling what she might do or say if it benefitted her in any way. “It’ll make my job a lot easier if I can tell her when and where she should report to work. She’s mad that an entire week
has gone by and she’s been sitting in her apartment with nothing to do.”

  “Tell her I’ll call her this afternoon. She can start on Monday.” Grant glanced in the mirror and straightened his shirt. Tara was taken aback by the change in his demeanor. A switch had been flipped. He was no longer sweet, fun and sexy Grant, nor was he the take-charge man she’d slept with. He was all business and all too ready to distance himself from her. About to leave, he held out his hand. “Thanks for a nice night, Tara.”

  “A handshake? Seriously?”

  He cocked an eyebrow at her, which felt like he was telling her she was an idiot for asking. “We’re back to being colleagues and nothing else. It’s probably for the best.”

  “It’s just us in this room. You can at least give me a hug.”

  “Honestly, I think a hug will make this more difficult.”

  Tara choked back a sigh and shook Grant’s hand. “Got it, boss. I’ll see you in a little bit.” She leaned against the doorway as he strode down the hall and escaped into the stairwell. The sound of the front door closing a minute later confirmed that he was gone.

  Tara wasn’t sure what she was feeling right now. Regret came to mind, but as for what she wished she hadn’t set in motion, she wasn’t sure. Had this idea to bring the wives together and shoehorn themselves into Sterling been a stupid idea? Or was Grant the poor choice? She didn’t want to slap that label on either of her decisions, but she knew that she couldn’t have it both ways. She couldn’t have this powerful new job and Grant. And since she knew that her compatibility with Grant in bed was zero predictor of anything beyond sex, she needed to get back on track. She needed to get back into Astrid’s good graces.

  After throwing on a pair of yoga pants and a light sweater, Tara grabbed a cup of coffee and went out to the balcony. Astrid was reading something on her phone, but she quickly tucked it inside her purse.

  “Sorry about that,” Tara said.

  “I saw Grant leave. I decided to be discreet and not yell goodbye.”