Tamed by Love (Agent Lovers Series Book 2) (24 page)

“It’s true. I assumed Liz started something with a man named Eddie. I even thought it was Banks, the SEAL.”

“And you didn’t just ask? Instead you moved to the couch and hit the bottle?”

“Not exactly. In a roundabout way I did. God, I wish I had handled it differently.”

“You made a scene in front of Liz?” assumed Jeff given the expression on Gray’s face.

“I believe
made a scene
is a huge understatement.”

“So, what happened? Why didn’t she just clear up the mistake?”

“She tried. Several times. But I was so angry and jealous that I interrupted her every time. I just didn’t want to hear about another guy. I never gave her a chance to speak.” He looked forlornly at his brother who listened to his confession. Gray rubbed his face with both hands and couldn’t understand how he could let himself get so carried away. The uncomfortable night on the couch didn’t have to happen. If he had only let her finish talking, instead of just assuming the worst. And because of his behavior, he figured the past night wasn’t the only one he’d be spending alone in the living room. Just great! He had really done it now.

“Just ask her to forgive you and maybe she will,” suggested Jeff as he sipped his coffee.

“I’ll do that right now! Though, I could get my ass kicked for even thinking she’d do that. Not to mention the way I treated her.”

Jeff got an idea, leaned forward, and said, winking, “Do you know what you both need?”

“Don’t tell me a marriage counselor, or I’ll kill you.”

“Yeah, right! Nothing like that. You two just need time alone. Since you got married, you’ve almost never been alone. Either I was here or Chris and Jennifer or Terence. No wonder there’s been friction.”

“Are you saying I should take a vacation with Liz? I’d like nothing more, but…”

“That’s obviously not possible with the current situation. But for a few hours, we should be able to see to it that you two are completely alone.”

“I’d like that. What do you suggest?”

“I’ll take care of it, okay? We’ll disappear within a half hour. Besides, we could all use a day to relax. Maybe then we’ll see things more clearly.” With a chuckle he added, “And make sure you shower before you go to her. You look like shit.”

“Thanks for the reminder.” Groaning, Gray stood up, straightened his back and headed up the stairs to the shower. He quietly slipped through the bedroom into the bathroom so as not to wake Liz. He had time to go over what he wanted to say to her to make up. Hopefully she wouldn’t hold a grudge.

Gray got out of the shower and dried himself off quickly. He put on clean jeans and a T-shirt and crept past Liz and out of the room.

Liz watched him between half-closed lids. If she correctly interpreted Gray’s expression, he was already aware of his mistake. As she sized him up, Gray was working out a battle plan on how he could best apologize to her.

She could certainly reproach him for many bad habits. Liz instantly thought of several: his bullheadedness, constantly having to take command, and his extreme possessiveness, just to mention a few. But when he made a mistake, he also accepted it. She smiled at the thought of him last night. Oh yes, he was definitely possessive and could be very jealous. And she was already looking forward to his apology because she knew how it would end. With a smile she pushed away the blanket, got up and scurried to the bathroom.

***

Jeff kept his promise and had already piloted the other three out of the house so Gray could be alone with Liz. Gray took a tray out of the kitchen cabinet and began to prepare a reconciliation breakfast.

A little later Gray balanced the tray carefully in his hands as he went up the stairs to their bedroom. After he opened the door, he discovered the bed empty, the bathroom door shut. He had pictured waking her up slowly by seducing her with kisses so she couldn’t resist him and would willingly accept his request for forgiveness.

Well, then he would proceed to
Plan L
and give her the look she had already referred to several times as his come-hither look. And he knew she couldn’t resist it.

Gray set the tray on the nightstand, pushed the alarm clock aside, the third since Liz had been with him, stood up again and was going to join Liz in the bathroom, when the door opened. Liz came out, wrapped in his dark blue bathrobe. She was drying her hair and stopped abruptly, let the towel around her shoulders drop, looked at him curiously and swept her tousled hair out of her face.

Slowly he walked up to her, and looked her in the eyes, only to see that her gaze was free of any reproach. With a soft sigh he took her hand in his and stroked her wedding ring with his thumb. Gray swallowed, looked at her face again and considered where he should begin. Totally unexpectedly, she came to his aid.

“You know, don’t you?”

He nodded.

“Who told you? Jennifer?”

“No. Jeff let me in on it. Chris told him.” Gray released her hand and held her face. Then he kissed her gently and put his forehead against hers before he said, “I’m sorry, Liz. You can’t even begin to know how very sorry I am for my behavior last night. I acted like a complete fool, an enormous idiot. I hope you can forgive me.”

“Hm…” Liz pursed her lips and acted as if she were considering it. Then she began to negotiate, as was usually his style. “So if I get a delicious breakfast, am showered with affection and hear your apology about a thousand times, maybe I could bring myself to forgive you again.” A sparkling laugh came out of her when he snatched her around the waist, lifted her up and pressed her tightly to him.

Liz wrapped her arms around his neck, her legs around his hips and let him carry her to the bed. Gray sat with her on the edge of the bed, buried his face in the crook of her neck and breathed in her fresh, sweet scent. Then he showered her with small kisses from her neck to her mouth. The kisses were interrupted again and again by his murmured apologies.

“I love you, Liz. I was an idiot; I behaved like a jerk. Do you really forgive me?” He looked at her. When she smiled at him again, the last of his anxiety left him.

“Of course I forgive you! It’s immensely refreshing that for once you’re the one apologizing.” Liz chuckled, amused, so Gray rolled over with her, pressed her to the bed and tickled her side.

He suddenly understood that she had already forgiven him shortly after the scene last night. “And I slept on the couch and got totally wasted because I thought you cheated on me and didn’t know what I should do. And that didn’t even have to happen,” he said and bit her playfully on her shoulder.

Liz grabbed his hair with both hands and pulled his head back. “That’s because you chewed me out in your office and later bombarded me with your idiotic accusations. You should have just let me have my say. Serves you right!” She raised her head, slid the tip of her tongue seductively over his lower lip and whispered, “Is that enough compensation? In return for letting you stew, you pig head.”

“A little more of that and I might be inclined to forgive you. Besides, the hangover has been dealt with, thanks to some tablets and a cold shower. But there’s another part of my body that is thick and swollen,” he said with a sensual smile and moved his hips slightly to prove it. She could feel his erection through the rough material of his jeans.

“Do you want me to look after your little problem and to take care of it?” Liz asked with an innocent face. One hand wandered down his body and rubbed his crotch. His answer was a suppressed moan. Then he pushed against her hand.

“A little problem? If you keep that up, it will be a much bigger one.”

“Hm. I like it when it’s big; otherwise it wouldn’t be as much fun. So, put yourself in my hands and let me see to that, darling.” Her hands pressed against his shoulders. Liz sat up and Gray let her push him backward onto the mattress.

He had planned to seduce her and yet now the shoe was on the other foot. But that was okay with him. Liz straddled his hips and reached for his wrists. Then she raised his arms above his head and bent close to his face.

“And you’ll remain lying there, otherwise I’ll have to tie you up. Understood?” When he didn’t answer, only nodded, she pressed him, “Understood?”

His smile grew broader. “Understood.”

Her gaze traveled from his face to the tray next to the bed. “Hm. Honey. I like honey on fresh rolls.”

Gray laughed because at first he didn’t know what she was driving at. “I know.”

“Do you know what else I like it on?”

Recognition dawned in his eyes but he shook his head. “No, what?”

“On you.” Then she dipped two fingers in the small bowl and lifted out a small amount of the golden, gooey mixture. She spread it on his lips and ran her fingers over his chin and down his neck. When she reached the neck of his shirt, she raised an eyebrow and made short work of it, tearing the shirt in half at his neck and continued moving her fingers over his shoulders to a nipple. Then she bent down, moved her tongue across his lips and drew his lower lip into her mouth, before she kissed him. Her tongue went deeply into his mouth.

Gray raised his head to meet her, but Liz held him on the pillow with both hands so he moaned. She released his mouth from hers and followed the trail of honey on his skin with her tongue. Her tenderness almost drove him over the edge and he had to use all his willpower to lay there quietly. When she nibbled on his shoulder, bit him lightly and turned to his nipple, a powerful shudder ran through his body and he gave a low-pitched moan. “Liz!”

“Hm?” She continued to tease his small, hard nipple and turned her attention to the second one.

“You’re driving me crazy!” gasped Gray, closing his eyes and clawing the pillow under his head.

“That was my intent.” Liz raised her head. Mischief danced in her eyes before she bent down again to continue to subject him to this sweet torture. Her words inflamed him more and his body reared against her. He swallowed with difficulty and closed his eyes.

Liz let her lips continue to wander, nibbling on his skin, biting him gently and enjoying the raw noises he uttered with passion. Her tongue circled around his navel, dipped in and elicited another gasp. She slid down him slowly, pressed him back with both hands when he pushed out against her and continued to caress him.

She moved across his stomach with her fingertips, stroked over his muscles and followed the dark trace of hair which disappeared under the waist of his pants in a V. Gray sighed almost in relief when her fingers opened the buttons on his pants, then he gasped when she playfully pulled down his zipper with her teeth. Then she put her hands in his pants and pulled them down over his hips as he lifted them slightly. She pulled the pants off and threw them on the floor.

Liz pushed his legs slightly apart to make room for her; she knelt between them and continued her sweet torture where she had left off. She stroked over his inner thighs and followed with her tongue. She was pleased to see how he trembled. She got even closer to her intended goal. Gray stiffened and moaned loudly when her lips closed around the tip of his hard, hot shaft.

His pure, male scent intoxicated her and she took him deeply into her mouth. She sucked him gently, nibbled his tender skin with her teeth and circled the base tightly with her hand. While she gently needed his testicles with one hand, she began to move the other hand rhythmically up and down. Over and over, her lips slid up and down, so Gray exhaled with a hiss. He grabbed her hair and clung to it while his hips lifted up from the mattress and rhythmically surged against her.

Moaning loudly he arched against her until he couldn’t bear the torture any longer. He sat up, pulled her head off him and looked deeply into her eyes, dark blue with passion.

“That’s not how I planned it,” he gasped, pulling her to him and pressing his mouth roughly against her. Then he fumbled with the belt on the bathrobe, pushed the material apart and off of her shoulders until it fell on the bed. His ripped T-shirt landed on top of it.

She let him pull her into a kneeling position on his lap and rubbed his body demandingly. Liz wanted to feel him inside her and tried to do it, but Gray kept his distance and shook his head. His eyes were veiled in passion and he knew, as soon as he joined her, he would explode. So he prolonged the moment and regained some of the composure she had taken from him.

Liz rubbed her hips against him and made sensual sounds to persuade him. But Gray wouldn’t change his mind, held her head tightly and plunged his tongue deeply into her mouth to savor her sweetness again. He could still taste the honey and moaned.

“Please, Gray. Don’t make me wait!” she said, gasping, her hands sliding between their bodies and enclosing his erect, hard shaft. But it was his turn to string her along.

His hands moved over her back, down to her hips and stroked across her thighs. With one hand he released her grip on his manhood, pulled her arm behind her back and held it there. Then he reached for her other wrist and pulled her second arm back too. With one hand he held them there and delighted in her impatient tone of voice. “Gray. I want you. Now!”

“You’ll get me,” he said with a sensual smile and lowered his head to her breast. Tantalizingly slow, the tip of his tongue wandered over the silky soft skin down to the small, hardened nipple. He drew it into his mouth and it was her turn to moan loudly.

Her body arched against him and she began to move her hips in circles against his lap. Gray’s free hand moved down her body, across her neck, her full breast, her stomach, which wasn’t as flat as it had been a few weeks ago and between her thighs. Only a hint of it hovered over her sensitive spot; he removed his mouth from her breast and looked in her passionate eyes.

“Where do you want me?” he asked and put his hand on her pubic mound. “Here?”

She pressed against his hand and said, “Yes!”

“What about here?” He delved further and his fingers moved between her swollen lips to rub the small, hidden knob in small circles which became even more swollen.

“There too,” moaned Liz as she writhed under his touch. She thought she was going to combust.