Too Much Temptation (14 page)

He’d make it soon enough—even if it felt like forever.

Grace snatched up the phone on the fourth ring. Her hair was soaked, leaving rivulets of water trailing down her back, her legs, and onto her small decorative rug.

Because she’d raced straight out of the shower, she was a bit breathless when she said, “Hello?”

“I was just about to hang up, young lady.”

Disappointment seeped in. Though it was late and she’d seen him only a few hours earlier, Grace had hoped it might be Noah calling just to tell her good night. How dumb. The man had better things to do than spend his every thought on her.

“Hello, Agatha.” Grace tried to infuse a little enthusiasm into her voice. She wasn’t overly successful. “Sorry, but I was in the shower.”

“Well, that’s better than what I was beginning to imagine.”

“Oh?” A touch of caution struck Grace. Anytime she dealt with Agatha, she had to be on the alert. “What did you imagine?”

Agatha huffed. “After that lurid display you and my grandson put on, you have to ask?”

Grace frowned and refrained from replying. She’d have been happy with a phone call from Noah, yet Agatha thought he might still be with her? That was too ridiculous.

“Is he there?” Agatha asked impatiently.

“Noah? No, he’s not.”

A long pause filled the line, and then Agatha sighed. “Grace, we must talk.”

The towel Grace held around herself wasn’t substantial enough to ward off the evening chill of her apartment. She shivered and started down the hall to her bedroom with the portable phone caught against her shoulder.

She wondered if Noah was still at the restaurant. Had he worked things out? If Kara did in fact have a lover there, would Noah attempt to confront him?

That thought filled Grace with worry. Noah could more than handle himself physically; that wasn’t a concern. But she knew he’d regret causing a scene.

“He’s using you, Grace.”

The bald, blunt statement made Grace stall just inside her bedroom and scattered every other thought away. Her stomach cramped. She drew a calming breath. “This isn’t your business, Agatha.”

“Don’t you take that attitude with me, young lady. He’s my grandson and you’re my employee—”

“Ex-employee.” For the first time, Grace took pleasure in pointing out that fact. With equal pleasure, she tacked on, “I think I’ve found a new job.”

A heavy silence, fraught with disappointment, filled the line.

“Agatha,” Grace said gently, “you did fire me, remember?”

“Of course I remember,” she snapped. “I’m not so old that I can’t remember what happened hours ago.”

“True. You’re still sharp as a tack—except where Noah is concerned.”

Because she knew Agatha well, Grace could easily imagine the way she was now pacing in her anger, how her spine would be rigidly straight, her mouth tight.

“If anyone is acting blind about my grandson, it’s you.” Agatha’s tone trembled with annoyance. “He’s using you, Grace, and you’re letting him, when I always thought you had more sense than that.”

“He’s not using me.”

“You know what he did to Kara, and he genuinely loved her.”

“I know what you know,” Grace replied, “that he broke the engagement. But he wouldn’t have done that without good reason.”

“Whatever his reasons, they’re moot at this point. He’s with you on the rebound. But you’re too naïve, too…well…” Agatha’s voice rose. “Grace, you won’t hold his interest long.”

“I know what I’m doing,” Grace said. She had no illusions, despite Agatha’s assumption of her naïveté.

“On the contrary, you don’t have a clue. You just told me how sharp I am. Well, you’re right. I’m sharp enough that I’ve noticed you never date. Doesn’t matter what time I call, you’re always at home alone. I doubt you were ever that popular in school, either, were you, Grace?”

Taking a firm grip on the phone and her own insecurities, Grace admitted, “No.”

Agatha softened. “I want you to be happy, Grace, I really do. But my grandson is out of your league. And I’m not just talking about your weight, dear.”

Grace wanted to curl in on herself. She had no idea what to say to Agatha.

“You’re not homely or anything like that, Grace.”

Dryly, Grace muttered, “Thank you.”

“But…I’m going to be blunt here.”

“Yes, Agatha, don’t hold back.”

“Noah is used to beautiful women who present themselves perfectly. Far as I can tell, you’ve never had a manicure or been to a salon. You don’t know how to dress right and your hair…Oh Grace,
your hair.
”

Grace held herself silent. What could she say? It was all true.

She reached up and tugged on a long, thick lock of sopping hair. It was slightly tangled—just as it had been the entire time she’d been with Noah.

Only once in all the time she’d spent at his apartment had she even thought to brush it out. He’d seen her this way, pretty much a mess.

Yet…it hadn’t seemed to Grace that he cared.

“You’re a lovely person, Grace, and you’re very sweet.”

Grace wrinkled her nose.
Sweet.

“But you need to find a man more on your own level.”

Grace briefly wondered what level Agatha referred to. Probably something subterranean, where all the homely, overweight, unpopular people hung out.

When Grace didn’t answer, Agatha asked impatiently, “Are you still there, Grace?”

“Yes.”

“I don’t mean to be cruel, Grace.”

Hoping to use that as a means to end the conversation, Grace said, “That’s great. I appreciate your restraint, Agatha, so maybe we should—”

“But Noah has to be my number-one concern.”

Resigned, Grace sighed and dropped to the edge of her mattress. She stared at her feet. Agatha evidently had a lot to say and there’d be no dissuading her.

“Noah will be happy with Kara as his wife. He’ll have everything he didn’t have growing up. Respectability, stability, all the luxuries and comfort money can buy. And he’ll have the influence necessary to make his own way.”

Personally, Grace felt Noah already had those things, just not in the abundance Agatha apparently deemed necessary. She made a noncommittal sound.

“
You
can’t bring him those things, Grace.”

Grace held the phone away from her ear and stared at it. Did Agatha think she had dreams of marrying Noah? Well, dreams, yes. But reality? Grace was a very reasonable, logical person, and marriage to Noah defied logic.

She loved him, and she, too, wanted what was best for him. For now, she was his sex slave.

It worked for her.

Replacing the phone to her ear, Grace said, “You know, Agatha, you should really be saying all this to Noah.”

“You think I should tell Noah that you have no fashion sense? Don’t be absurd.”

Grace almost laughed. Almost. “I’m sure Noah has come to that realization all on his own. No, I meant that you should be telling him how you have his best interests at heart. Disowning someone isn’t the nicest way to get that across.”

“He’ll be back,” Agatha said, “and then we’ll talk.”

On her terms, Grace assumed, shaking her head at the older woman’s stubbornness. “I hope it won’t be too late then.”

“What does that mean?” Alarm caused Agatha’s voice to rise again.

“It means that Noah is a man full of potential, and more than capable of making it on his own. He has a fast mind and a lot of energy, and he’s proven that he knows how to make money grow. He’s a natural leader, and all your business associates know it. Once word is out that he’s no longer working for you, how long do you think it’ll be before others try to hire him?”

It was Agatha’s turn to fall silent. After a moment, she asked, “You’re suggesting that Noah would betray me?”

“I’m saying Noah isn’t a man to sit around mentally or physically idle. He likes a challenge, and he likes to stay busy. He’s going to be working, and if you want him working for you, you’d better rethink a few things.”

“Grace Jenkins, that sounds like a threat!”

Grace shook her head, all but fed up with the conversation. “Agatha, how could I threaten you? I don’t even work for you anymore.” The more she said it, the easier it got. “And as you’ve just pointed out, I don’t carry any influence with Noah. All I’m trying to do is point out a few things you might not have considered.”

“I see.”

Grace could almost hear Agatha’s mind working.

“You were always good at that, Grace.”

“Thanks.” Personally, Grace thought she’d been a fantastic secretary. But Agatha had fired her easily enough.

“That aside, Grace, you have to understand. If Kara—who is beautiful and elegant and comfortable in any social setting—is having difficulty maintaining Noah’s interest, how in the world do you think you can compete?”

Rather than repeat herself, Grace said, “I really need to go, Agatha. Was there anything else you wanted?”

“I want you to stay away from my grandson.”

Because she had no intention of doing any such thing, Grace said, “Your wishes are duly noted. Now I gotta run. Good-bye.” And she hung up with Agatha in mid-protest.

Grace tossed the portable phone onto the bed and turned to her dresser. The triple mirror reflected her image back at her, and Grace winced.

She stood frozen for a moment, staring at herself then on impulse, she flashed the towel open. Seeing her own fleshy body made her wince again, and she quickly covered back up and turned away.

Throughout the years, she’d tried a few diets and exercise programs. She hadn’t been overly triumphant with any of them. She’d lose ten pounds only to regain them right away. Since her high school days she’d weighed about the same, fluctuating only five pounds or so. Sometimes she weighed more, sometimes less. She always weighed too much.

Her doctor claimed it to be her natural weight and pronounced her fit.

Fit was not the same as sexy. Or desirable. Or popular. But, Grace decided, she liked herself, she really did.

And Noah seemed to find her desirable, so she wasn’t going to beat herself up over a few insensitive remarks by her
former
employer.

That decided, Grace indulged in a secret little smile while she took underwear and a sleep shirt from her dresser drawers.

She might be overweight and ordinary, but people, even Agatha, were labeling her as the “other woman.” That insinuated she possessed a certain amount of feminine wiles, didn’t it? People credited her with the ability to steal Noah away from Kara, and darn it, it was…fun. Complimentary. Grace’s smile widened into a grin, and in the next moment she chuckled.

Grace Jenkins, femme fatale.

It was almost as exciting as being a sex slave.

What a strange twist her common, boring life had taken, thanks to Noah. He might not want her for more than a plaything, but to Grace, that was pretty darn special, and more than she’d ever dared hope for.

K
ara watched her lover as he moved, so smooth, so sexy. Her heart sank a little when he flirted with other women, when he teased and touched.

Her stomach fluttered in the way it had when she’d been young and had sneaked off to the carnival. Riding the roller coaster without permission had filled her with the contrasting sensations of guilt and fear and excitement.

The guilt now was stronger, of course. It pushed at her, almost smothering; she’d hurt so many people.

At the same time, she felt daring and brave and sexier than she ever had in her life. How could she possibly regret that?

But the fear…God, the fear was the worst. What would her parents do if they found out? What would dear Agatha do? Their disappointment would be unbearable. They expected so much from her, because all her life, she’d been the perfect daughter, the perfect lady.

With her lover, everything was different. She wasn’t proper, but she was alive. With him, her body sizzled and burned, her heart expanded. He made her sweat and cry and laugh. He made her
feel
.

Which was probably why she’d stupidly fallen in love with him.

Kara drew in a shuddering breath and pondered all the awful possibilities. What if he didn’t really care for her as she did him, if he was just using her as a novelty, a woman normally out of his range?

She squeezed her eyes shut, fighting back panic. Dear God, if he didn’t really care for her, she didn’t know how she’d cope. No man had ever made her feel this way. No man had ever treated her as he did, a little coarse, a little rough.

She shivered, just remembering the base, carnal things he’d done to her—the things he’d relished doing. He’d wallowed in the unwilling responses of her body, licked at her sweat, at her belly, between her legs.

Kara gasped and looked around her. So many of the employees were watching her, wondering why she was still there when Noah had left. She’d witnessed signs of pity, curiosity, and even some interest.

Yet her lover ignored her. Oh, she understood it was necessary. By her own insistence, they couldn’t allow anyone to know of their involvement. But it still hurt. She wanted him to herself; she wanted to taste him again, to have him devour her.

In a rush, Kara grabbed up her small leather purse and rose to her feet. People stared, but she managed to politely ignore them. Enrique watched her go. Greg and Dean nodded her way. Andrew rushed to get her wrap.

She kept her head high and a reserved smile on her frozen face. “Thank you, Andrew.”

Andrew looked as stiff as she felt. “My pleasure.”

Without a backward glance, she walked out. This was difficult, and bound to get more so. But what could she do? She loved him, and for once she wanted to follow her heart rather than her parents’ expectations.

For once she wanted to be a woman, not just a lady.

Grace was in the middle of applying a light touch of makeup when her doorbell rang. She had exactly one hour to finish and get to Ben’s hotel for her job interview. She was strangely excited.

“Coming,” she yelled when the doorbell rang yet again. She closed her compact and headed for the door. Her long sleep shirt was wrinkled from a night of tossing and turning in between erotic dreams. Her flannel pants dragged the floor, almost hiding her thick gray socks. Her heavy hair, contained atop her head with a cloth-coated rubber band, wobbled as she bent to peek through the peephole.

Noah stood there, looking impatient. “Open up, Grace.”

She straightened with a jerk. Elation hit her first; she’d missed him so much!

Bemusement quickly followed because after Agatha’s painful phone call, she’d really planned to try to look her best when next she saw him. The clothes she wore, not to mention the mess of her hair, were about as far from her best as she could get.

Trying to improvise, Grace called through the door, “What are you doing here, Noah?”

The question must have thrown him because he pounded on the door so hard it about stopped her heart. “Open up,” he said again, this time with some annoyance.

Giving up, Grace turned the locks and pulled the door wide. “Hi.” Her smile came easily. No matter what, Noah still made her heart lift and her body tingle. He looked especially good today in casual black slacks and a soft gray pullover. The dark colors made the pale blue of his eyes more noticeable than ever.

He’d never been in her apartment before and he started to automatically look around. But his gaze got caught on her, instead. He went still as he quietly scrutinized her body, starting with her piled-up hair and ending at her thick socks. Obviously amused, one side of his mouth kicked up and he said, “Hey.”

“You want to come in?” Grace asked, a little unnerved by that hot stare. It made her jumpy and needy, and truth was, she didn’t have time for that right now. She had an appointment to keep.

Noah stepped in and closed the door behind him, then leaned on it. His gaze did dart around her uncluttered living room but came right back to her. “You look cute.”

Cute, in Grace’s estimation, was not a term reserved for women who tipped the scales the way she did. Cute referred to “little” things or people. “Um…thanks.”

He still watched her. “Come here, Grace.”

Grace knew what that look in his eyes meant, especially when accompanied by that husky tone. She cleared her throat and asked, “Why?”

“Come here,” he countered, “and I’ll show you why.”

Damn, damn, damn. The man was far too tempting. “Noah,” she complained, even as she found herself inching forward, “you have lousy timing.”

He stalled and his eyes narrowed. “You have another date?”

She scoffed at that. “No. I have to finish getting ready. I have a job interview today at noon.”

Noah had started to reach for her, but at her announcement, he dropped his hands. “A job interview? Where?”

“I don’t want to tell you where yet. I may not get it, and then I’d be embarrassed.”

He looked surprised by that admission and finally pulled her to him. Hugging her close into his chest, Noah said, “You don’t ever have to be embarrassed with me, Grace.”

“I know I don’t have to be, but I still would. I want this job. It’s sounds like fun and I think I can make enough money there.”

Noah tipped her back to see her face. “When do you have to be there?”

“Noon.”

He rubbed his hands up and down her back, stopping to squeeze her waist beneath the large shirt. “We’ve got an hour.”

“Now stop that!” Grace swatted at him, then settled her hands flat on his chest. She could feel the steady thumping of his heart. “I have to be there in an hour, but it’s a half-hour drive and I’m not even dressed yet. If I’d known you were coming over…”

“Sorry. I finished some errands early.” As if they’d been lovers for months instead of days, he leaned down and kissed her forehead. “I should have called first?”

“No, I don’t mean that.” The last thing Grace wanted to do was discourage Noah from seeing her. She smiled. “Let it go on the record right now that you’re welcome to drop in any time. I just wish I didn’t have to go. Now that you’re here, I want to be here, too.”

“How long will you be?”

“I’m not sure. He said something about a trial run, so he may work me a few hours or something.”

“He?”

Grace blinked at the particular tone infused in that one word. Surely that wasn’t possessiveness she heard. More likely it was mere curiosity. “The person who would hire me. He owns a business—a nice, respectable business—and he needs a new employee.”

“I see.”

He still looked disgruntled, and Grace patted him. “I am sorry, Noah.” And then, feeling a little shy, she added, “I missed you.”

“That right?” His smile relaxed and his look became lazy. He leaned down and touched his forehead to hers. With his breath brushing her mouth, he whispered, “Did you think about me last night, Gracie? About what we did?”

“Yes.”

“Me, too.”

She gulped. “I’m thinking about it right now.”

“Good.” Using the edge of his hand, he tipped up her face. “Then how about a kiss to tide me over until I can get you naked again?”

Grace wrapped both arms around his neck and pressed her mouth to his. Noah let her have her way, bending enough to accommodate her but not taking the lead. It was wonderful, as she’d known it would be.

Noah tasted hot and exciting, and when she slipped her tongue into his mouth, he made a rough sound of pleasure that shivered down her spine and into her heart.

Pulling back the tiniest bit, Noah whispered, “You know, if I took you into the bedroom, the decision would be out of your hands.”

The fog left Grace’s muddled brain slowly, and she frowned. Maybe this sex-slave business would be more complicated than she’d figured on.

Noah pressed her, saying, “Right, Grace?”

She scowled, wondering if he’d be cad enough to take such an advantage. “I suppose,” she muttered.

He grinned and kissed her again. “Good thing I’m a generous task master, huh? At least, when I need to be.” He patted her behind and stepped back. “But my patience isn’t unlimited, woman. When
can
I see you?”

Both relieved and shamefully disappointed, Grace said, “I’m not sure. Do you…do you want me to maybe call you when I find out?” She hoped Noah didn’t take that as an intrusion on his privacy. This relationship business, even if sexual rather than romantic in nature, had invisible lines that couldn’t be crossed. Grace just didn’t have enough experience to know what those lines might be.

Noah didn’t even blink. “You’ve got my cell phone number, right?”

Relieved, Grace nodded. “I’ve got the numbers for anyone who ever had contact with Agatha.” She didn’t mention that she knew his home and cell phone numbers by heart. “I’ll let you know as soon as I know.”

Noah started to leave but hesitated at the last second. He turned back to Grace, cupped her face gently in his large, hot hands, and kissed her witless. “I like your hair like that. I like it down, too. And Grace, I love how you look at me.”

Grace stared at the closed door for several moments after Noah had gone. She couldn’t remember ever being so happy.

Ben watched Grace work and had to shake his head in wonder. Damn, he never would have believed it, but she was perfect. Her smile, genuine in nature without an ounce of flirtation, did incredible things to every guy in the room. From five months old to eighty-five, they all responded to her. Grace somehow lit the place up, made it seem happier, more relaxed.

Better.

Ben had no illusions. He was prosperous enough with his moderate, spotlessly clean hotel. He offered quiet, efficient service, so the rooms almost always stayed booked. And because he was located right off the expressway, the diner drew a lot of passersby, including regular truckers who stopped for breakfast and lunch.

Ben was happy with how things were going, but his clientele didn’t include elite vacationers booked by upscale travel agents. More often than not, those who checked in were financially tight at best, on the shady side at worst. His spacious and orderly parking lot was filled with dusty, rusty, aged vehicles, and the luggage that passed through his doors often looked like it’d been through a war.

But he liked these people, and he related to them.

Luckily, this was his quiet crowd, a mix of truckers and families who’d stopped for lunch and not much drinking, so they rarely got out of hand. In fact, lunch tended to be subdued to the point of morbid.

Today people were chatting and laughing—
responding to Grace.
Her enthusiasm was infectious, and even his old balding cook, Horace, whistled while frying cheese sandwiches. Grace had struck an immediate rapport with the surly cook merely by admiring his tattoo. It was a naked woman, shown from the back, with her legs wrapped around his biceps. When Horace flexed his arm, the woman’s ass wiggled.

Horace had done plenty of flexing for Grace, and she’d been genuinely enthralled each and every time. The bond was forged.

She had a similar effect on everyone.

And Grace loved it. Her pretty brown eyes were alight with pleasure as she went from one task to the next without pause. Ben continued to watch her, and he continued to be amazed.

He could see what Noah found so attractive—inside and out. How he’d known her so long and never noticed amazed Ben.

Rushing up to him moments later, Grace said under her breath, “A six-dollar tip!” She squeezed the money as if it were gold rather than a few crumpled bills, and then she stuffed it into her apron pocket. “Do you believe that? And I only served him a deluxe burger and fries. Amazing. I
love
this job, Ben.”

Then she was off again, warmly greeting a young couple who had just come in, waving to acknowledge a man in a booth who wanted more coffee. She was a bundle of inexhaustible energy and generosity.

Ben had to hire her, no way around it.

He had hoped there’d be an excuse to gently turn her down. There’d been the slight possibility that she’d confuse or forget orders. Or that she’d be put off by the familiarity of some of the customers who couldn’t seem to remember that this was the enlightened age of equality between the sexes.