Bargaining for the Billionaire (13 page)

She drew a deep breath. “This is only for one night. No more, no less.”

“On this, I'll concede. For now. I don't want to argue with you. I just want to enjoy the time I have with you. What else?”

“I can't make you any promises, Gray.”

“I'm not asking for any. Only that you give me a chance.”

She wasn't sure she could do that, either. “What are your rules?”

“Mine are simpler. No sex.”

This made her laugh. She darted a glance over her shoulder. “You take me up here, distract me with your wandering hands and soft kisses and tell me you want me to sleep in here, with you, but no sex?”

His eyes glinted at her, playful yet intense. “Mmm. As in intercourse. Do you remember what I said the last time we were together?”

She turned back around, peering at the room. She couldn't forget. “Yes.”

“Tonight is all about you.”

“Why?”

“Because I want you to learn to trust me.” His voice lowered, gaining a somber edge. “And because I couldn't handle it if you woke up tomorrow looking at me the way you did the last time we made love. The panic on your face about ripped my chest open. I'm not using you. Not in the slightest. I just couldn't help myself. I can never seem to help myself with you. You're an addiction, and it's been so damn long since I held you. When I kissed you, you kissed me back, and I lost my mind.”

Regret tightened in her stomach. “I'm sorry. I said some cruel things to you that night.”

“Mmm. I probably deserved them, which is why I've decided on this particular rule. But I also need you to know that here, between us, you're safe. That's very important to me.”

He was serious. He really did care. Tears welled in her eyes, a lump formed in her throat. For sure leaving him tomorrow would hurt, because those words went straight to her heart. “I'm always safe with you. It's why I don't trust this.”

Grayson pressed his cheek to hers, his voice a low hum in her ear. “But do you trust
me
?”

“Yes.” Another whispered admission she probably shouldn't have told him. It gave him too much of her. Two weeks ago, she hadn't been sure if she could. Now, she couldn't deny the truth. When his arms closed around her, something in her responded. His embrace was so…right. Letting this happen would no doubt get her heart broken at some point, but she couldn't deny feeling safe with him.

“Good. I want you to let go. For tonight, baby, I'm asking you to trust me and to let go.” He didn't give her time to respond, but released her and took her hand again. “Come on. Dinner's done. You like seafood, right?”

Grayson sidled up behind Maddie, pressing against her back as he reached around her to set the last couple of dishes into the sink in front of her. They'd finished dinner and dessert ten minutes ago. Maddie had insisted on helping him clean up—what amounted to their wineglasses, the plates they'd used, and the pots and pans he'd cooked the scallops and pasta in.

To have her here was killing him. It took everything he had to control the urge to wrap himself around her and kiss her again. He wanted her body against his, her supple skin sliding against his. He wanted her as close as he could get her for as long as she'd allow.

And there she stood, in his kitchen doing his dishes. It was a damn domestic scene. She looked right there, like she belonged, and the sight of her filled his head with visions of the future. He ached to have her here on a more permanent basis, and if all went according to plan, this would be the first night of many.

Which meant he needed to cool his jets. Except she was scrubbing at that pot like her life depended on its being spotless, and watching her drove him mad. She looked incredible tonight. Her long tresses flowed down her back in soft, thick waves. Her emerald sweater floated over her curves, setting off the fiery color of her hair.

Her jeans tormented him. The skintight denim hugged her every blessed curve, and the harder she scrubbed at the frying pan, the more her ass wiggled.

Unable to contain the urge to be close to her, he set his hands on the counter on either side of her and peered around her shoulder at the sink. “You really don't have to do those. It's not many. I can do them later.”

It didn't help matters that her earlier quiet, husky words echoed in his head.
“I want you.”
If she didn't move, he was going to shift her hair out of the way and bend his head to her neck. He ached to say to hell with his plans, take her upstairs and sink into her. It likely made him seem as if he'd invited her here just to seduce her, but damn. He could think of little else.

She shook her head, her hair swishing in his face, filling his nostrils with the clean, feminine scent of her shampoo, her body shaking and shimmying as she scrubbed. “I don't mind. Dinner was superb. The least I can do is help you clean up.”

“I'm
trying
to behave myself, baby. But if you keep wiggling that ass while you scrub I'm going to come in my jeans.” That was a little too honest. He'd done a lot of that lately; been a little too honest with her. Now his body tensed, tied in tight, painfully aroused knots as he waited for her to say something. Anything.

Her hands paused beneath the water. Her awareness of him sparked in the air. “Maybe doing the dishes is a distraction. Ever think of that?”

Now this he couldn't resist. If only because he needed to hear her say the words. “A distraction for what?”

“You. I meant what I said. I want you. Badly. But I'm determined to take this slow, so I don't scare myself again. Being here with you just makes me want. You look good, you know. I don't know what you've done with yourself these last three years, but you have more muscle than I remember, and I can't stop thinking about you in my apartment with your shirt off. Or the way you kissed my neck.”

Grayson stifled a groan. God, she had to say that. Her words were a tease and a blessing all rolled in one. His cock ached. Trapped in his damn jeans, it pressed painfully against his zipper.

He rested his chin on her shoulder to keep from doing everything he shouldn't. He needed to take this slow. He had one shot at this. One night. If he moved too quickly, he'd startle her again. “That was the wrong thing to say if you're trying to keep me at arm's length. Do you have any idea how sexy you look standing there? Your jeans are killing me. They caress your fantastic curves, and all I can think about is how desperately I want you out of them. So please, do me a favor and leave the damn pan, or I'm going to do everything I shouldn't.”

She drew a shaky breath, a shiver moving through her that damn near undid him. “Such as?”

This time he groaned outright, and his hands moved of their own volition. Damn her honesty.

He pulled her hair off her shoulder and bent his head, skimming his nose along her neck, luxuriating in the scent that seemed to emanate from her skin. “Such as this.”

She shivered again, a shaky exhalation moving through her, and pushed that tight little ass back against him, grinding against his aching cock. “And?”

He nipped at her earlobe this time as his hands worked their way beneath her sweater, sliding upwards to curve around each breast. Maddie was a luscious, perfect handful. Her breasts were high and perky, and her nipples puckered against his palms. “And this.”

A soft moan vibrated out of her. The blue sponge thudded wetly into the bottom of the pot as her fingers released it. “Who said you had to hold back, Gray?”

Now this made him stop. He released her breasts and instead wrapped his arms around her. “I meant what I said. You look at me the way you did in the hotel last week, and it'll crush me. I'm trying to take this slow, because I don't want you to wake up with regrets. Your one-night rule I can handle. If it's all you'll give me, I'll take it. But I couldn't handle you waking up with regrets again.”

That was the most honest thing he'd told her yet, because it came straight from the heart. It left him shaking, his heart bare in her hands. Truth was, if being with her meant he had to wait for her, he'd wait until the sun no longer rose every morning. But he needed her to want him, too, and if she didn't…well, he'd rather know now.

She froze then turned her head, twisting at the waist to peer at him. “And I meant what I said. I want you. Inside me. Now.”

As if to somehow prove her point, she reached back, slid her fingers into his hair, and pulled his head down. Her mouth settled on his, her lips plying and tugging, her kiss full of urgency and need. He melted into her, drinking her in. Christ, he couldn't get enough of her.

The desperate need for air finally forced them apart. His chest heaved with his ragged breathing, and her body trembled against his. Her eyes fluttered open again, but this time, instead of the vixen from moments ago, soft vulnerability rose over her. Her voice lowered to a whisper between them.

“All right. You want the truth? I missed you, too. I've spent three years wondering if things would have been different if I'd shown up that weekend.”

Her hand once again came back, this time caressing his cheek. The gentleness of her touch had his breath halting in his lungs. It had been so long since she'd touched him with such tenderness, and he closed his eyes, luxuriating in the simple sensation.

“I'll admit it. I'm scared. It's why I'm in here doing the damn dishes. I have bad memories of sex, and I freaked last time we were together, because you make me feel vulnerable, like I can't hide. I can't deny I want you, but I'm terrified the panic will come again.” She held out her right hand, showing him the way her fingers trembled, then dropped them to the sink's edge. “I want to stop being afraid, Gray, and it starts with this moment. Right here.”

For a long moment she said nothing, and he opened his eyes to find her watching him, her gaze searching his face.

“I can't promise you tomorrow, though. I'm sorry, but I can't. But I want this.” She lifted onto her toes and brushed her lips over his, a barely there kiss. “I want
you
. Can you accept that? That this is all I can give you for now?”

 He pressed a kiss to her neck. He honestly didn't know if he could settle for one night. His heart had become too invested in her, but he had to give her this one, because he couldn't let her leave tonight. Besides, she'd been honest with him, and he had to respect that. “Yeah. If time is what you need, I've got all the time the world.”

Maddie unbuttoned her jeans, shoved them down along with her panties and kicked them aside. She widened her stance, then she reached back, palming his cock through his pants with trembling fingers.

She peered over her shoulder again, hair spilling down her back, eyes blazing. “I need you, Gray. Now. Because if I wait, I might just come out of my skin.”

“Shit.” Of all the things for her to say. Her quiet, vulnerable words went straight to his heart, leaving him shaking with need.

He claimed her mouth, kissing her hard, and fumbled in his back pocket for a condom. He hadn't carried the damn things in over two years. He hadn't anticipated needing one tonight, but he'd bought some just in case, because he couldn't help hoping. Oh, he'd laid everything on the table earlier. He had plans for her, but he'd made them unsure if she'd even go along with them. Thank God he'd thought to buy them.

Condom in hand, his fingers shook as he undid his pants and pushed them down enough to free his aching cock. This wasn't in the plan. The rules were no sex, and he'd made that rule on purpose, because he wanted to earn her trust. He wanted to make love to her, to spend hours learning every inch of her flesh, so she wouldn't have any doubt in her mind that she was safe with him.

But Christ. What man in his right mind could resist her plea? Certainly not him.

He rolled the condom into place. No sooner had he grabbed her hips then she pushed back onto him. Her soft moan as he slid all the way into her made his whole body hum. God, he wanted her to keep making that addicting sound.

She braced her hands on the sink and he wrapped an arm around her waist, laying over her back, and let himself go, thrusting into her hard and deep. He didn't have it in him at the moment to be slow or gentle. He needed her too badly, had passed the point of no return an hour ago when she'd lifted onto her toes and thrust her tongue into his mouth.

Luckily for him, she didn't seem to want slow and gentle, either. With every hard thrust he gave, she pushed back with equal force. The sounds of their lovemaking filled the room, reminiscent of the last time they'd come together. He'd sworn when he'd left her in the bathroom that night if ever he had her in his arms again, he'd take it slow. Make sure it was good for her, that she'd come away from it with no regrets.

Now, she was hot and tight, and her ecstatic moans filled his ears. Her body shook against him, and her thrusts gained a desperate jerky rhythm. As if she were as lost in the moment as he was. Determined to take her with him when he went, he slid his hand beneath her sweater, and found her right breast, circling and pinching the distended nipple. All the while he feasted on any part of her he could reach. Up her neck. Over the curve of her jaw. Her delicate earlobe.

When he had her once again trembling in his arms, he reached around with his other hand and found her slick folds. Her clit was swollen with arousal, and one caress had her crying out. As he massaged her, her head lolled forward, her back bowing, shoulders hunching, as if whatever strings had held her up had been cut. Her pussy began a rhythmic squeezing that told him she was close. So he slowed his rhythm, taking long, deep strokes, and focused his attention on her.

It only took a few circles around that hard little nub before she groaned low and deep, and began to shake in earnest. A couple of soft strokes over her pulsing clit pushed her over the edge. On a soft cry, she clamped around his cock and convulsed in his arms. Despite every intention to make this last as long as possible, her walls squeezing him proved too much. His orgasm ripped through him, a rush of searing pleasure that had him groaning along with her and emptying his soul into her.