Homewrecker Incorporated (28 page)

"You don't have to let me in, but I couldn't stop thinking about you," Grey's deep voice said through the door.

I smiled, realizing I'd been hoping he would come over since the moment I'd walked out of his parents' house. I wasn't entirely sure I deserved him, but I wanted to find out if someday I could. I looked down at the water that dripped down my legs and puddled by my feet. What was there to fight anymore? The job had changed. I could honestly say I believed Gregory was faithful to Elsa, and between Bridget, Lydia and the investigators Patty hired, it wouldn't be long before we knew exactly what was going on with Kristen Page. I'd have to find a way to explain everything to Grey eventually. I still had no idea what I would say or how he would react, but I was slowly finding my way and I felt a kind of hope for the future I'd never imagined.

Opening the door, I didn't say a word before I backed up a little and tugged the belt of my robe. The tie came undone easily and the satiny fabric parted a few inches in the front. Grey hissed and stepped toward me before crashing his lips down on mine. I pushed my hands into his thick hair as he backed me into the room and kicked the door closed behind him. I tugged at his shirt, pulling the bottom free from his khakis as we kissed wildly. He followed my lead, breaking our kiss for just long enough to pull it over his head and toss it somewhere while I moved to the buckle of his belt.

I pulled him down the hallway as I slipped the belt free and let it fall to the hardwood floor. He pulled my robe off my shoulders and let it drift to the ground. Goose bumps covered my bare skin. Backing away from him while he kicked off his shoes and pants, I sat on the bed, legs spread wide. I traced my hands slowly from my knees and up my inner thighs while he stood in the doorway, his large cock hung heavy to one side. I moaned as I let my fingers drift ever so lightly over my swollen clit and then down between my wet soft folds.

Keeping my eyes on Grey, I put my fingers in my mouth slowly and sucked off the moisture. He growled low in his throat but remained where he was, watching me with eyes darkened by desire. I moved my hand back down between my legs, circling my clit slowly.

"Stroke your cock," I commanded in a breathy voice.

His eyes grew heavy with lust as he did what I'd asked. I moaned seeing him grip the thickness in his strong hand. He moved his hand slowly over the silky hard skin with his gaze pinned on my hand and its motions.

I stopped touching myself and slid back on the bed as I crooked my finger at him, calling him to me. He didn't need to be asked twice. My body tingled with anticipation as he stalked toward me before crawling onto the bed and over my body. He grabbed my hands and pinned my wrists on the pillow above my head.

"You like to tease me, Claudia," he groaned against my ear and then dipped his tongue inside and up the outer rim. "Do you want me to tease you?"

"No, Grey, I want you to fuck me."

"I'm not going to fuck you," he replied, moving to look into my eyes.

I squinted at him, confused and on fire with the need to feel him inside me. I squirmed beneath him, my body trying to persuade his to give me what I wanted despite what he said.

"I'm going to make love to you, Claudia," he whispered and gently kissed my lips.

Those were words I'd never heard, and I didn't know what to do with them. I honestly didn't know what to do with Grey or any of the feelings he incited in me. I felt the sting of tears in my eyes and panicked, trying to turn away from him before he could see. 

He released my wrists and turned my face toward him. "Don't do that. Don't hide from me, Claudia. I want all of you--your joy, your ecstasy, your sadness, your anger, your fear." He pressed his lips to mine and whispered, "Your love."

I couldn't speak; I was too overwhelmed. Instead I lifted up and pressed my lips to his, trying to pour all the words I couldn't say, the words I was too afraid to say, into that one simple action.

Grey stroked my face as he lay on top of me, returning the kiss.

"I need to feel you--" I finally whispered when the urge to cry passed "--inside me."

He nudged my legs further apart and gently rubbed my clit with his fingertips for several seconds before sitting up to scoot off the bed. He grabbed a condom from the pocket of his pants, then climbed back onto the bed and slipped it on.

He covered my body with his, his erection pressing against my sensitive flesh. I reached between us, guiding his width to where I needed it. He pushed inside me slowly, achingly so, staring into my eyes the whole time. 

I held his gaze, getting lost in the emotions I saw reflecting back at me. I liked the way I looked in his eyes. He made me want more, made me want to be more, to be better, for him and the possibilities I saw in the way he saw me. I held on to that, gripping it and him tight as we moved together, both coming apart slowly but completely in each other's arms.

Chapter 16 

Waking up in Grey's arms, I didn't panic or feel the need to rush him out.

Something changed and I knew what I had to do.

"Where are you going?" Grey pulled me back against him as I tried to slither out of bed unnoticed.

"Sorry I woke you. I just need to make a phone call. Are you hungry?"

His hand slid over my belly and landed between my legs.

"For this," he murmured against the side of my neck before he feathered the sensitive skin with kisses up to my ear.

I squirmed against him and his growing erection pressed against my ass. Any other phone call could have waited, but the one I was about to make needed to happen before I did anything else. And before I had a chance to lose my nerve or change my mind.

"Hold that thought. I'll be quick, I promise," I said finally, wiggling free.

He groaned in disappointment as I ducked into the bathroom and slipped into another robe.

I didn't have Elsa's number in my phone, but it was in the file I'd brought from my office at Homewrecker Incorporated. I tiptoed down the hallway, picking up Grey's shirt and my other robe along the way.

I grabbed the file from my messenger bag and my phone from the table and carefully opened the front door. I pulled it closed gently behind me so Grey wouldn't hear I'd left the apartment. I opened Elsa's file and dialed her number. My mouth was dry, my palms sweaty. I hadn't really thought through what I was going to say. I seriously considered hanging up, but she picked up on the first ring, surprising considering how early it was.

"Hello?" she answered, sounding half asleep. Shit, I didn't think. She was probably in bed lying next to her husband. My options for talking were suddenly very limited.

"Elsa, it's Claudia. I'm so sorry to call you so early and out of the blue like this," I blurted.

"Hi, no, it's okay. I was expecting to hear from you," she replied, her tone unreadable. Shit, what did that mean?

"I don't really want to do this over the phone, could you meet me later to talk?"

"Yes, of course. How about we have lunch? We could meet somewhere close to the office around noon. There's a little French bistro just around the corner."

"I know the place. I'll see you at noon. Thank you, Elsa." I hung up the phone. I took a deep breath, which felt like the first I'd taken in weeks, before I slipped back into the apartment and put her file back in my bag.

"Everything okay?" Grey asked, scaring the shit out of me when I walked past the kitchen. "Sorry," he said, seeing me jump. "Just thought I would make us some coffee while I waited."

"Yeah, sorry, everything's great. Just had to take care of something."

He seemed satisfied with my response.

"I just realized I never asked how you take your coffee. I gave it to you black the last time." He looked a little upset by the revelation.

"That's how I like it," I said with a smile. "How about you?"

He carried a mug over to me where I was leaning against the island. He moved around behind me and kissed the side of my neck as he set it on the countertop in front of me and took a seat.

"Same," he whispered, his warm breath tickling my ear. "How long have you lived here, the furniture's a little...sparse?"

I moved in closer so I was standing between his legs as I sipped my coffee.

"I just moved in about a month ago. I was living with my friend Grace before that, but it was time for me to have my own space."

My insides twisted at the lie, but I needed to talk to Elsa and my partners before I could tell him the truth. I fought the panic brewing inside me as I considered how he might respond.

"Listen, I'm sorry to do this, but I have to work today. I assume you do too." I hoped he got the hint even though I really didn't want to let him out of my sight.

"I think you should take the day off and spend it in bed with me. I am technically your boss." He flashed a cocky grin. 

"As my boss, do you really want me to be the kind of employee who blows off work to stay in bed with my boyfriend?" That just slipped out. My stomach flipped.

His grinned broadened into a megawatt smile. "Yes, that's exactly the kind of employee I want you to be." He rubbed the tip of his nose over mine.

I poked my index finger into the front of his chest. "You're awful." I laughed. "But really, I have a lot to do today. I promise I'll make it up to you later," I said, waggling my eyebrows.

"Fine, I'll get out of your hair as soon as I finish this coffee, but I'm going to hold you to that promise."

❖

"What's the big emergency? Why are we meeting so early?" 

Lydia groaned, flopping into the chair next to Bridget. I looked around the room at all my partners--my friends--who were regarding me with curiosity and maybe a touch of annoyance for getting them out of bed so early.

"I'm not sure where to start." I stood and paced in front of the table.

Confusion was the general expression of the room with the exception of Bridget, who was looking down at the table, smiling.

"After this we need to call Patty. Then I'm meeting with Elsa Michaels for lunch, and I'm going to tell them everything I'm about to tell you."

"Claudia, what the hell are you talking about? " Grace leaned forward.

"I should start from the beginning. The first day, when I went to meet with Gregory's assistant, Janet, I saw Gregory staring at me down in front of the building. I don't know how to describe it, but I've never felt chemistry like that before. I panicked. I wasn't ready to meet him like that. I felt too out of control, so I hid in the bathroom until the coast was clear. When I finally went upstairs to meet Janet, he showed up and the pull I felt toward him was even stronger once I met him up close."

Grace and Bridget exchanged a look before I sat down and continued.

"He didn't try to hide his attraction to me when he took me into his office and once the door was closed, I did what I do best. I flirted, I seduced, but he gave as good as he got. I can't stress enough how it was unlike anything I've ever felt before."

I stood and started pacing again.

"Then Gregory Michaels walked in."

I was facing away from the group. When I turned around, Grace was trying to hide her smile behind her hand. I furrowed my eyebrows, wondering what the hell she thought was funny.

"The man I was with, the one I felt things I'd never imagined with wasn't Gregory Michaels; it was his twin, Grey. By the time I realized the truth, I'd already agreed to go to dinner with the wrong man."

All of them looked around at each other but said nothing, so I went on detailing my secret relationship with Grey--the time at his house, dinner with his parents, the night before, all of it.

Finally, when I'd spilled it all, Grace spoke. "So, let me get this straight. You're going to call Patty and tell her you're meeting with Elsa Michaels to officially breech our contract and forego the bonus for a man you've known a few weeks?"

It sounded pathetic when said altogether like that, but it was exactly what I intended to do. I nodded and shrugged. What else could I say?

"You know what this means?" Grace continued, looking around at the other girls.

"Claudia Mason is fucking in love!" Lydia answered, crude as ever, earning a round of laughter from the room. 

Shit. I didn't actually say the L word, did I? Did I even think it? But what else could it be? I was willing to blow up my entire life just for a chance with a man who might not want me back in the end. If that wasn't love, I wasn't sure what was.