Binnie’s face turned to thunder. “Warren, you will not attack one of my guests. Either keep a civil tone or leave.”
He turned his outrage on her. “You can’t seriously condone this ridiculous farce!”
“It’s not for me to judge. Nor is it for you to. I trust Ellison knows what he’s doing. He’s not a child, Warren. He’s a grown man.”
My mom tried smoothing everyone’s ruffled feathers. “Why don’t we go back up to the patio and get a drink? I want to ask Ellison about Gigi and the wedding plans.”
We followed Binnie back up the boardwalk to where the tables had been cleared and the buffet spread had been replaced by a bar attended by one of the bartenders on staff this weekend. I made a beeline to it and started ordering drinks for everyone. Grey and my mother made polite small talk while my father stewed and Binnie smirked. Once I’d brought everyone their favorite drinks, I took a seat next to Grey.
Considering our conversation right before my parents’ arrival, I was jumpy and untethered, unsure of where exactly we stood. Were we fake boyfriends? Real boyfriends? Horny acquaintances? The confusion infuriated me. I’d hoped for clarity and had come away more confused than before.
My father shot me a narrow-eyed glare. He was clearly waiting for an explanation, and despite all of our careful planning about our story, I was at a loss for what to say. After a few more words of useless chatter, Grey finally took charge.
“Warren, I understand your anger and frustration at learning I am here as Ellison’s personal guest. While I do not apologize for any action I took to acquire York Capital, I am sorry you had to find out about Ellison’s and my relationship secondhand. I’d like to assure you that my personal relationship with your son is just that: personal. It doesn’t have anything to do with my interest in York Capital, and it has everything to do with my interest in a man who is intelligent, kind, funny, energetic, adventurous, curious, engaging, and sexy enough to stop people in the street. I promise my interest in your son has nothing to do with trying to take anything from you or do you any kind of wrong.”
I stared at him. He looked relaxed and sure of himself, but since that was his default, it was nearly impossible to tell if he’d meant what he’d said.
Until his pinky finger moved the slightest bit over to curl around mine under the table. And then I pretty much wanted to fling myself on him bodily and promise to bear his children.
“Aww,” my mom said, clasping her fingers together under her chin. “That’s so sweet!”
My father sighed. “He’s a master manipulator, dear. Don’t believe a word he says.”
Coming from my father, the criticism was particularly ironic.
“What could he possibly be doing this for otherwise, right?” I snapped, forgetting for a moment the truckload of reasons he was actually doing this for otherwise, namely to get close to Ian Duckworth.
“I don’t know yet, but he’s been using you to get to me for years now, and I won’t stand for it.”
Finally, Grey’s calm facade began to weaken. His body tensed, and he took a deep breath. I knew if he opened his mouth, he would flatten my father, so I jumped in first.
“I was the one who started everything back in college. I told you that already. I had a crush on him. I wanted to… kiss him. I found him in the hallway. It wasn’t his fault. None of it was. Yet all of you ruined his life. I ruined his life.” Saying the words out loud was worse than all the times I’d thought them. Emotion filled my throat, and helpless anger made me shake. “I’m so sick and tired of you treating me like a victim. I was an adult! And I was the club member while Grey was the employee. Even if it had been his idea, which it wasn’t, I would have been thrilled, but it still would have been my fault! Please. Please stop blaming this man for something I did. Me. I did it.”
My voice broke, and Grey shot up out of his chair, grabbing my hand and pulling me up into his embrace. “Hush, baby. Hush.”
He muttered polite excuses to my mother and Binnie and ushered me away from the party. Within moments, we were inside the house. I followed Grey blindly up the stairs and into the cool quiet of our bedroom. Once the door closed behind us, Grey pulled me into his arms.
“I’m so sorry,” I said, trying to pull back from feeling so emotional. I was sick to death of this. Sick of the guilt, sick of being deliberately misunderstood, sick of explaining myself.
Instead of responding with words, Grey kissed me. And kissed me. And kissed me some more. I grunted and moaned against his kiss but fisted his shirt to make sure he didn’t stop. This was all I wanted: him, me, us. Here together without anyone else around getting in the middle of things.
I refused to beg again. I’d done that enough earlier. But I felt it all the same. The words were there between us, even if they were left unsaid.
Please. More. I’ll do anything you want.
His hands took charge of my body, stripping my clothes off until I was completely bare to him. Grey’s growling sounds vibrated through his chest, and the heat in his eyes when he looked at me almost turned my legs to jelly.
As soon as I realized I was letting him take the lead, I changed things up. I wanted to be the one growling in pleasure at seeing his body bared to me.
I yanked at his clothes awkwardly, nearly strangling him with his own shirt. The rumble of his laughter made me smile, and I ducked my face into his chest to hide my embarrassment.
“You’re fucking beautiful,” he murmured, tipping my chin up with a finger. “Don’t hide from me.”
My heart felt like a drunken bumblebee knocking around happily in my chest. I reached for the button and zipper on his shorts and opened them to see the bulge in the front of his underwear. “Oh hell yes,” I whispered to myself. I ran my hand over it, reaching down into the front of his shorts to tease his balls with my fingertips. He was hot and hard. Even though I hadn’t done this before, hadn’t deliberately felt up another man’s junk, I didn’t hesitate for a second. I’d wanted this, him, for so long, it was more relief than anything else.
Thank fucking god.
Grey groaned and arched into my hand. “Don’t stop.”
I pulled his shorts all the way down and then knelt in front of him with my face level with his dick. It was intimidating, big enough to give me pause, but gorgeous enough to make my mouth water. I leaned in and brushed my face against him, relishing in the intimacy of the moment, the gentle feel of his fingers in my hair, the private peek of the starfish-shaped scar on his leg I’d noticed all those years ago.
I ran a fingertip over it and felt Grey’s fingers tighten in my hair. “Don’t tease me.” His voice was stern, commanding.
I grinned up at him. “You don’t scare me.”
His mouth frowned, but his eyes twinkled with amusement. “Then I’m doing something wrong.”
Grey leaned over and grabbed me under the arms, hoisting me onto the bed behind us and crawling on top of me. The heavy weight of him was hot as fuck. I wrapped my legs around his and arched up into his body. I wanted him to touch my dick. Suck it, stroke it, hump it. I didn’t care.
“Make me come,” I said.
He laughed against my collarbone, where he was sucking up marks. “We’re nowhere close to that point. Lie there and be patient.”