Betrayed by Love (11 page)

I woke later with a start to find Grant seated at the table staring at me.

I lay smiling at him until I realized I wasn’t dreaming. This was real. After a moment of pure elation, I sat up. “Grant! What…what are you doing here?”

He rose and came to kneel on the side of the lounger next to me. He wore a short–sleeved white pullover with dark, casual pants. “Jen invited me to spend a long weekend here.”

“Oh.” I looked at my watch. It was nearly five o’clock. I glanced around. “Where is Jen?”

“In Philly.”

I frowned. “Is she driving back with Jarrod?”

“She’s not coming back.”

“What?”

“She’s not coming back.”

I stared at him. “What happened? Did their cars break down?”

He shook his head. “They never planned to spend the weekend here.”

“What? Then why…”

“She’s clearly playing matchmaker.”

Oh, damn but her ass was mine when I got back to Philly. “Will you give me a lift back to Philly?”

“Sure—on Monday night.”

“On Mon…” I felt my cheeks burn. “You think I’m going to spend the weekend down here alone with you?”

He shrugged. “I was hoping you might. There are three bedrooms here. It’s not as if I’m asking you to spend the night in any one of them with me. Of course if that’s what you want, I’m game.”

The idea of spending the night with him held definite appeal, but I wasn’t about to admit that. The fact that Jen had taken it upon herself to strand me down there with him pissed me off big time. It was one thing to arrange a blind date without my knowledge, but this was just too damned much.

I stared at him. How much had he known the previous night during dinner? “Did you know this last night?”

“If you’re asking if I knew she was going to drive you down here and then leave, no.”

“What did you know?”

“I knew I’d already accepted her invitation to spend the weekend down here.”

“And?”

“And what?” he shrugged. “I assumed she and Jarrod would be here as well.” He smiled. “Imagine my delight when I learned they wanted to spend the weekend alone in Philly.”

Just how surprised had he really been? I didn’t like to think the three of them had decided I needed someone else to make my decisions for me.

He reached out and took my hand.

A tingle danced down my spine, but I tugged at my hand until he released it. “Why aren’t you seeing anyone special, Grant?”

“Special women want a special commitment.”

“And you’re not the commitment giving type?”

He shrugged. “There are a lot of available women. Narrowing the choice down to one isn’t easy or something a man should do without due diligence.”

What the hell had made Jen think I’d be interested in spending the weekend with a man who clearly wanted to play the field? Granted I wasn’t exactly looking to settle down myself, but it pissed me off that Jen seemed to think I was ready to drop my panties for Grant as soon as he winked at me. She’d done that with Jarrod but she and I were two very different women.

I rolled onto the other side of the lounger and stood up. I walked into the house without looking back at him.

Chapter Seven

He followed me inside. “Linea? What’s wrong?”

I swung around to stare at him. “What’s wrong? What the hell makes you think I’d take kindly to being tricked into a one–night or one–weekend stand with you, Grant?”

His gaze narrowed. “I had nothing to do with tricking you. Jen invited me down for the weekend. I accepted.”

“Obviously.”

“Don’t jump to wild, baseless conclusions.”

“Then tell me what happened.”

“Just before I arrived, Jen called me on my cell and told me she wasn’t coming. When I questioned her why, she told me she wanted us to have the place to ourselves for the weekend. I had no part is that decision.”

“How are you not involved?”

He shook his head. “I haven’t even tried to kiss you. Where the hell do you get off accusing me of trying to trick you into sleeping with me? This may come as a surprise to you, Linea, but I don’t need to resort to tricks to get any woman I want into bed!”

Clearly he was as pissed as I was, but I didn’t care. “Are you going to drive me back to Philly or not, Grant?”

“Why the hell would I drive you anywhere? You don’t want to be down here? Find your own damned way back to Philly!”

“You’re a jerk!”

“And you’re a…” He broke off, shook his head, and stormed across the living room. He jerked open the front door and slammed it on his way out of the house. Moments later I heard a car engine start.

I took a deep breath and sank onto the sofa. That went well, Lin. You sure know how to charm a handsome man. Besides, you shouldn’t have been pissed with him when you know damn well this is all Jen’s doing. And you just killed any interest he had in you.

I was too pissed to trust myself to call Jen and give her a piece of my mind. If I didn’t allow myself to calm down first, our friendship, such as it was, probably wouldn’t survive the weekend. Of course at that moment ending our friendship didn’t seem to have any down side.

But in my heart, I knew that wasn’t a decision I should make when I was hurt and angry. I decided I’d cook dinner, call Jen to tell her she’d better get her ass in gear to pick me up in the morning, and spend the evening reading. I wouldn’t waste another moment of my time fantasizing about Grant. And if Jen even dared mention Grant to me again, I’d rip her a new one.

Even as I told myself I didn’t want to see or think about Grant again, I couldn’t deny a small part of me regretted that we wouldn’t get to know each other. I’d never get to see him naked and know how he stacked up to my dreams. Oh, well. No use whining now. You’ve blown it. Even if he had been involved in deceiving you, you could have chosen to take it as a compliment instead of going ballistic.

I went into the kitchen to start dinner. I’d toss a salad, make garlic bread, and broil a steak. I was sure Jen would have at least one bottle of red wine in the house. I’d chilled the wine and just finished making the garlic bread when the doorbell rang.

I frowned. It must be one of Jen and Jarrod’s friends who had expected them to be down for the weekend. I left the kitchen and went to answer the door.

Grant stood on the doorstep with an elaborate bouquet of flowers. “Before you say anything, you’re right. I’m a jerk. I’m sorry. Of course I’ll drive you back to Philly.”

I was happy to see him, but after the display of his temper earlier I wasn’t so sure showing that was a good idea.

He extended the flowers to me. “These are for you, Linea.” He treated me to a slow, cajoling smile. “And the girls.”

The reference to my breasts should have pissed me off. It had the opposite effect. I caved. I took the bouquet and stepped back.

He followed me inside and stood with his back against the closed door.

We stared at each other.

He sighed and spoke first. “Last night at dinner, I knew you didn’t know I’d be here this weekend. I should have told you, but I promise you that I had no idea she planned to trick you.”

Looking into his eyes, I saw no sign of deception. He was a handsome, polished man. We’d flirted and he must have been astute enough to know that I shared his interest. He’d had no reason to trick me. I sighed and nodded. “I believe you.”

“Good.” Some of the tension left his body and he flashed a smile at me. “Now do you want that ride back to Philly before or after?”

I squinted at him. “Before or after what?”

His nostrils twitched. “Something smells good. We could drive back after we eat.”

“Aren’t you assuming a lot?”

He shrugged. “Probably, but surely you wouldn’t deny a starving man a meal?”

“And if I would?”

He leaned close to whisper against my ear. “I don’t think the girls will let you.”

Feeling my nipples harden, I shook my head before stepping away from him. “I wouldn’t count on them too much if I were you.”

He locked his gaze on my breasts. “Face it, Linea, they like me.”

Unfortunately so did I.

“So I’m invited to dinner?”

I’d be back in L.A. in less than two weeks and wouldn’t see him again. I decided to take advantage of the second chance I’d been given. “You’re invited to dinner and welcome to spend the night.”

I watched a flicker of interest flash in his eyes. “Spend the night?”

Feeling flirtatious, I ran the tip of my tongue over my lips before I took the flowers and smiled at him. “Yes.”

“You’re sure?”

“Yes. I’m very sure.”

He stared at my lips. “Linea—”

“There are three bedrooms. I have the middle one. You can have the back one.”

“Ah.” He gave an exaggerated sigh. “That’s what you meant.”

“Of course.” I gave a wide–eyed stare. “What did you think I meant?”

He laughed. “You’re the most charming ball buster I’ve ever had the pleasure of meeting.”

I laughed, deciding I liked flirting with him. “Are you spending the night?”

“Oh, hell yes.”

“Good.”

We had dinner out on the patio. We flirted with each other all through the meal and I enjoyed looking up to find his gaze locked on me. When he asked me to dance, I willingly waltzed into his arms.

He held me close with both hands on my back as we slow danced under the stars. It felt natural to wrap my arms around him and lay my cheek against his shoulder.

I lost track of how long we danced before I felt his cock stirring against me. I shivered. He probably knew my nipples were hard peaks. Ok, Lin, this is getting out of hand. Take your head off his shoulder and step away from him so he knows he’d better keep his lust under control. Instead, I ground my hips against his groin. And then rubbed my breasts against his chest. “The girls say hello,” I whispered.

He sucked in a breath before he slowly slid his hands down my back to my waist.

My heart raced. Slide them down further, Grant. Cup your big palms over my ass and grind your cock against me. Make me wet and horny for you and then fuck me all night long.

After several moments, I lifted my head from his shoulder to look up at him.

He bent his head.

I closed my eyes.

The tip of his tongue touched my lips.

I shivered, my lips quivering apart. Oh. Nice.

He tightened one hand around my waist, slid his other hand down to my ass, and settled his warm, firm lips on mine.

Oh…yes. I eagerly leaned into him.

Sweeping his tongue into my mouth, he kissed me with a slow, deliberate hunger that set my entire body on fire. I slid a hand up his back to his neck. I curled my fingers in his hair, returning his kiss with a greedy delight I made no effort to conceal.

I love to be kissed and I’m a sucker for a man willing to spend time getting me turned on by not rushing the kissing phase.

It was almost like Grant had read my mind. Sliding one hand between our bodies to caress my breasts, he spent a lot of time holding me in his arms kissing me and stroking the girls. He alternated between deep, hot kisses that made me burn for him and soft, sweet, nibbling caresses that slowly turned me into one big, throbbing nerve ending in desperate need of the ultimate release only obtainable at the end of his hard shaft.

Feeling his cock pressed tight against me, my determination not to sleep with him vanished under a wave of longing so strong I moaned against his lips and shook in his arms. I suspected I’d regret my decision in the morning, but I knew I wouldn’t be able to deny my need for fulfillment that night.

He dragged his lips from mine and stared down at me with his fingers in my blouse between my cleavage. He took a slow deep breath before he stepped away from me, withdrawing his hand.

I bit my lip, confused and horny. Why was he releasing me?

He raked a hand through his hair. “I think I’d better say good night before things get out of hand.”

As far as I was concerned, things were already out of hand and that’s the way I wanted it. However, I wasn’t so far gone that I was ready to toss my pride to the winds. If he didn’t want to sleep with me, I wasn’t going to beg. Or was I? I moistened my lips.

He brushed a hand against the back of mine. “Why don’t you go inside? I’ll clean up out here, lock up for the night, and see you in the morning.”

I stared at him. I could see he was serious. He wasn’t going to try to sleep with me. Why the hell was he so intent on being a damned gentleman? I swallowed the urge to tell him I wanted to sleep with him and nodded instead. “Okay. I…I’ll see you in the morning, Grant.”

He nodded, hesitated briefly, and finally bent and pressed a quick kiss against the corner of my mouth. “Good night.”

I placed a hand on his chest and leaned against him. “Should I…lock my door, Grant?”

“You can if you like, but I can promise you I won’t be making any midnight raids on your room.”

Damn him! I leaned away from him.

“I’ll see you in the morning, Linea.”

Oh, damn, I was so aroused, but clearly he didn’t share my need for intimacy. I nodded and quickly went inside. I undressed, left the door unlocked, and lay naked in bed. Maybe he wouldn’t keep his word.

But after lying sleepless for over an hour, I decided to go relax in the hot tub until I could unwind enough to fall asleep.

I put on a bathing suit, slipped on a robe, and went out to the patio. Grant was in the hot tub with his eyes closed. I turned to go back inside.

“Join me, Linea.”

I turned back to the hot tub.

His eyes were open and I saw the flash of his teeth. “Couldn’t sleep?”

“No.”

“Neither could I. Join me?”

I hesitated. “Are you…decent?”

 “Am I…oh…” He laughed and stood up.

He wore a pair of dark trunks. “It’s safe to join me.”

I took off my robe and slipped into one of the two spaces opposite him.

I closed my eyes, enjoying the warm jets caressing my body.

“What are you doing over there? Join me here.”