But none of that happened. He grabbed my hand and yanked me up before turning without a word and walking out of the tennis house. By the time I put my clothes back on, gathered my wits, and followed him out, there was no sign of him.
I lowered myself onto one of the court benches and leaned over to put my face in my hands. I’d just had the hottest sexual encounter of my life.
With a man who clearly still hated me.
I lifted up my head and turned in the direction of the path back to the house. I was sick and tired of feeling sorry for myself. I’d apologized to Grey a million times. Why in the world would he agree to suck me off if he hated me so much? And how rude was it to walk away from someone without a word after nutting on their fucking face?
Grey Blackwood was an asshole. And if he thought I was going to help him get his precious building sale from Ian while treating me like shit, he could think again.
I stopped silently ranting and took a breath. Was I falling for Grey’s bait the way I had fallen for Jake’s? Was Grey simply fucking with me to keep me in a state of confusion and hostility?
I needed to keep my eye on the prize and make sure I didn’t let my ego get in the way of achieving it.
And, especially after what had just happened between us in the tennis house, I was very clear on the prize I wanted.
Grey Blackwood. Whether he liked it or not.
15
Grey
“Startled beasts indicate that a sudden attack is coming.”
~ Sun Tzu, The Art of War
My long legs ate up the gravel path as I strode back to the house. My balls were singing a happy tune of thanksgiving while my brain was busy lecturing me on the epic fuckup to beat all fuckups.
It was one thing to touch Ellison, to kiss him even, when we were in front of others trying to pretend to be something we weren’t, but there’d been absolutely no excuse to pretend to be boyfriends behind closed doors.
None of that was pretend.
I gritted my teeth. It wasn’t pretend from my side, but from his?
No, even as pissed off as I was, I knew it couldn’t have been fake on his side either. I’d seen the naked desire in his eyes, heard the pleading sound of his voice. He hadn’t faked anything.
After all this time, he’d finally gotten round two of the little gay experiment he’d been looking for in that closet at the club. And I’d happily handed it to him on a silver platter.
Fool me twice, shame on me.
“Fucking fuck,” I muttered. I knew this had been a mistake. Why hadn’t I just stayed in the city and taken my chances with Duckworth? It was clear he wasn’t going to soften toward me here any more than he did back home.
Ellison was too tempting, too enticing. All he had to do was look at me and I wanted him with an urgency that scattered my wits. When Ellison was around, my rational brain was nowhere to be found.
And I was nothing without my rational brain.
God, he’d tasted good.
Ellison had received that blow job the way he did most things: with enthusiasm and utter openness. I envied him that freedom of spirit. He had a casual confidence I would never have. It was one of the reasons I was drawn to him against my better judgment.
When I stepped into the house through the open glass doors of one of the sunrooms, Ian Duckworth was the first person I saw. Great.
His face lit up with a genuine smile. “Great game out there. I didn’t realize you were so talented.”
I nodded and tried to drop the residual anger from my self-imposed lecture. “Thank you. It’s not talent so much as dogged determination to hold my own,” I admitted with a tentative smile. I took a deep breath and tried to let it out slowly.
“Well, I was impressed by your sportsmanship. It’s not easy to lose when everyone’s watching, but you handled it well. I’ve seen plenty of people lose their cool even during a social match, and I appreciated how gracious you were both on the court and off. It speaks well of your temperament in general.”
His compliment surprised me. “Thank you, sir. I’m grateful to be here, and I enjoy getting a chance to spend time outside moving around, especially when the weather is this nice. I have to admit, your facility made me envious. Sometimes I wish I could just walk outside and start up a game without heading out of the city.”
Ian nodded and gestured me toward a table with a selection of cold drinks. I grabbed a flavored sparkling water and cracked the bottle open before downing several gulps.
Ian looked back toward the open doors. “Where’s Ellison? Didn’t he come back with you?”
“He’s a bit behind me. I went ahead so I could beat him to the shower.” I smiled through the lie. “I should probably head upstairs before he catches up.”
He laughed and squeezed my shoulder. “Alright. Be sure to make it quick. I believe Binnie will be announcing lunch on the patio in a few minutes.”
I thanked him and headed up to the room, intent on showering and dressing as quickly as I could in hopes of avoiding Ellison.
No such luck. When Ells entered the room, he looked even hotter than before. Damp, dark wisps of hair were plastered to his forehead and neck, and his eyes shone with anger.
“Coward,” he bit out angrily. “Is that what you do, big man? Run away from your mistakes? I wouldn’t have thought you’d be such a fucking baby. Not to mention wishy-washy. One minute you’re hot and then, boom, cold. Make up your fucking mind.”
“Shut your mouth,” I warned.
“Whatever,” he muttered, moving past me to the bathroom. I grabbed his arm and held him still.
“Not whatever. You’re calling me a baby? Stop acting like a child. Wasn’t it enough that I got on my knees for you again? That you got to relive your big gay experiment? Did you expect me to cuddle you too?”
The words were out before I saw what was really written in Ellison’s eyes. Behind the anger, there were true hurt feelings. I opened my mouth to apologize, but he shoved me before I could get the words out.
“Fuck you,” he spat. “And get out of my fucking face. I don’t need shit from you.”
It wasn’t true, and we both knew it. He needed his father’s company. He needed his pride. And he needed control back over his life. It had only been a few days, but I’d already seen enough of Ellison’s life to notice he did what everyone else asked of or expected from him but rarely had the chance to do what he wanted.
What had I been telling him just the other day about how the key to any business negotiation was understanding your opponent’s emotions and motivations?
Too bad I couldn’t take my own damn advice.
“Ells,” I began.
“No,” he snapped over his shoulder as he went into the bathroom. I followed him in before he could lock me out. He stripped off his clothes anyway and yanked the shower controls on. “Get away from me.”
“I’m sorry I walked away from you in the tennis house. I shouldn’t have.”
“Not listening to you,” he said under his breath before stepping his fine naked ass into the shower and putting his head under the spray. I kicked off my shoes and stripped off my clothes before following him in and closing the glass door. “What are you doing?” he asked in surprise. His eyes betrayed him. They skated all over my body as if memorizing details for an exam later.