More Than a Billionaire (6 page)

His forehead wrinkled. “No, I’m sure I only have two.” Gray took a step closer. “But we can spend time together and you can enlighten me on any others.”

One step closer and her breasts would touch his chest. The thought of which sent her pulse racing. Maybe she should take him up on his offer. They had known each other a long time and he’d never lied to her.

“Okay.” She made her decision before she second-guessed herself. “I’ll help you discover the rest of your faults.” Kiera closed the gap between them and kissed him.

She intended to give him a peck on the lips, but Gray had other ideas. Before she could step away, he locked his arms around her and pulled her against him, taking control of their kiss.

After awhile, he ended the kiss and Kiera sighed. Even though her eyes remained closed, Gray’s rapid breathing and the erection she left pressing against her told her he was affected by their kiss, too.

“Now might be a good time to frost those cupcakes.” His hands traveled lower and slipped into her back pockets.

Kiera couldn’t agree more. She needed some space between them. Opening her eyes, she found him looking at her. “I think you’re right. Do you want to help?”

Gray nodded.

“Then we’re going to need to move. We can’t do anything like this.”

Gray cocked an eyebrow. “I wouldn’t say that.”

Kiera pictured them kissing again. “You know what I mean.” She took a step backward, which forced Gray to pull his hands from her pockets. “If you do a good job, I’ll even let you lick the extra frosting from the bowl.”

She turned back to the counter and gave the frosting one final stir before picking up a cupcake.

“You’re a slave driver.”

“I’m serious when it comes to cupcakes. Now, get to work my friend.”

“Whatever you say.” Gray came up alongside her and kissed her before he accepted the frosting spatula she handed him. “Did Boston really trade Quinn? He was the ace in their pitching rotation.”

As they fell into a rhythm, Kiera shared what she’d heard about the changes Boston had made to their baseball team. While not an overzealous fan who had to watch every game, she, like most New Englanders, was a Red Sox fan.

“Keep doing such a good job, and I’ll let you in my kitchen again.” She stopped working and watched Gray frost the cupcake in his hand.

Gray put down the cupcake he held and put his arm around her. “And what would you have me doing?” He kissed her jaw and then traced a path toward her ear.

Excitement zinged through her as he sucked on her earlobe. “You’ll just have to wait and see.” She could picture them doing so many things in the kitchen, and none of them involved cooking.

“I like the sound of that.”

Kiera left one cupcake behind, but wrapped the rest on the plate. While she loved sweets, she tried to maintain a healthy diet. If the cupcakes stayed with her, they’d only go stale. She doubted that would happen if Gray took them home.

“Here. You can enjoy the rest later.” She handed Gray the plate. He’d spent the entire day at her place, but when she started to fall asleep on the couch, he’d announced it was time for him to go.

Gray zipped up his leather jacket. “Trust me, I plan to.” He accepted the plate, but set it down. “What time should I pick you up tomorrow?” He put his arms around her.

“The rink opens at ten o’clock, but I can meet you there. It doesn’t make much sense for you to drive here just to drive back to Providence later.”

“I have a better idea. How about I pick you up at nine, we grab some breakfast, and then head to the rink?”

If he wanted to go out of his way, that was his business. “I’ll be ready for nine.”

Gray gave her a final kiss, then grabbed his cupcakes, and left.

“Wow.” Kiera leaned against the closed door. She hadn’t kissed a guy like that in forever. She’d shared a few brief kisses with the blind dates her friends set her up with since her return, but nothing like the ice-melting, steam-producing ones she’d shared with Gray today.

And tomorrow there might be more. Hopefully, she wouldn’t evaporate during one of them.

Kiera closed her eyes. The man kissed like someone who’d had way too much practice. She knew Gray liked to party, but she’d never considered him a playboy. That honor belonged to Trent and Jake. Maybe she’d been wrong. Maybe he was both a party animal
and
a playboy. After all, no one mastered any skill, whether it be playing an instrument or, in this case, kissing, without plenty of practice.

Pushing away from the door, Kiera opened her eyes. If he’d mastered kissing so well, had he also mastered other skills?

An image of Gray, naked in her bed, materialized in her head. She’d never been one to sit and fantasize, but after the afternoon she’d spent with Gray, who could blame her?

“Stop. Right. There.” She forced the image away and walked up the stairs to the loft. After removing her sweatshirt, she pulled on a clean t-shirt.

She was fantasizing about Gray. A guy she’d known her entire life. A man way out of her league. She had a better chance of opening her own chain of restaurants tomorrow than having anything come from this weekend. Besides, they might spend tomorrow together and decide they couldn’t stand each other.

“It’s Gray, you idiot.” She already knew she liked him. She just wasn’t sure how much.
Fudge.

Gray sat in his brother’s kitchen, his feet propped on the chair across from him. He’d been up since five o’clock and had already exercised in Trent’s home gym, showered, and watched the morning news. Now, he was working on his first cup of coffee while he ate a bowl of cereal and toast. He had another two hours to kill before he picked up Kiera for breakfast, and he knew he’d never last that long without some food. He’d considered a cupcake instead of the toast and cereal, but decided he should stick with something a little healthier since he planned to order a Belgian waffle topped with strawberries, whipped cream, and syrup.

That didn’t mean he wouldn’t have any cupcakes today. He had five left, and he did enjoy a snack before bed.

Soon his thoughts of eating cupcakes changed to memories of Kiera making cupcakes. When he’d landed in Providence, he’d had two things in mind: his brother’s wedding and time with his family. Starting up a relationship with someone hadn’t been on his radar, yet he hadn’t been able to stop himself with Kiera. When he’d watched her lick the batter from her finger, desire rolled over him and he’d gone on autopilot. Even later, when he knew he should play it cool and let her set the pace, he’d kissed her as if he needed her lips to survive.

He reviewed yesterday’s events once more and smiled. He’d surprised her, no questions about it. However, she’d wanted him, too. He might have instigated their first kiss, but she’d been a willing participant and she started their second one.

With a little luck, they’d get the opportunity for a repeat performance today. Sure, they planned to go ice-skating, but they couldn’t skate all day. Once they came off the ice, they would need a way to warm up. He couldn’t think of a better way than coming back here or her place for a few hours of adult activities.

He let himself picture Kiera in sexy lingerie. Before he could enjoy the image too much, though he forced it away. If he wanted to pursue things with Kiera, he needed to take it slow. He couldn’t pull a love-’em-and-leave-’em with her. Not that he made a habit of doing that with any woman. Still, he’d had a few one-night stands and brief flings. He’d known Kiera too long to treat her that way.

If he pursued a relationship with Kiera, he had to do it right. Thanks to his crazy-ass work schedule, he realized that wouldn’t be easy. Regardless, he intended to make the effort

Gray drained his coffee and went to get another, but the ringing of his phone stopped him. Over the past nine months, he’d come to hate that particular ringtone. This morning he had no intention of answering it. Work could wait until tomorrow.

The ringing stopped but immediately started back up again.

Apparently, it couldn’t wait or his boss would have left a message.

“Damn it to hell.” Gray grabbed the phone. The sinking stone in his gut told him he was going to have to cancel his breakfast plans.

“Gray, it’s Randall.” Randall Hunter started every phone conversation the same way. “How was your brother’s wedding?”

He’d worked for Randall Hunter for almost four years now and had noticed a long time ago that the man cared about his people’s personal lives, even if he was often responsible for ruining them. Regardless of the seriousness of a phone call or meeting, he always asked about Gray’s life. An outsider might assume they were co-workers who spent time together outside the office, but Randall didn’t know what a life outside the office was.

“The wedding was great.” Gray propped his feet back up while he waited for Randall to drop the pleasantries and reveal the purpose of his call.

“Good. Good. My daughter said everyone is talking about it on social media.”

The comment didn’t require a response, so Gray took another sip of coffee.

“Are you still in Providence?”

As if the guy didn’t know. “I decided to spend a few extra days visiting family.”

“I understand that. Family is important.”

What did Randall know about family? Work was his life, which explained why he was on his fourth marriage.

“We have a situation in Cozumel. I need you to fly out there and handle it.”

Gray had expected something like this, but still… He swore under his breath. “Can you send someone else?”

Under normal circumstances he never passed his work on to someone else. However, the past several months hadn’t been what he considered normal.

“I haven’t slept in my own bed in weeks. I planned to spend at least the weekend here. I’ll be back in New York no later than next Tuesday and ready for anything you toss at me then.”

The world wouldn’t end if he stayed on vacation for a few more days.

“You’re it, Gray. There’s no one else who can handle this situation.”

Gray rubbed the tension in his neck “Okay. I’ll fly out tomorrow morning. I’ll call my flight crew and tell them to prepare.”

“No good. I need you there ASAP. I’ve got you booked on a private charter leaving Green this morning. If you leave the airport by 10:30, you’ll arrive in time for phase one of my plan.”

Randall’s comment confirmed Gray’s earlier assumption that his handler had known where he was before he’d asked.

“Have your flight crew meet you in Cozumel when you’re ready to come home.”

At least his flight crew could enjoy their stay in New England a few more days.

“There will be a courier at the airport with the briefing package.”

Gray gave up rubbing his neck. No amount of massaging would get rid of this headache. “Anything else I need to know?”

“The report should be sufficient.”

“Fine. I’ll be airborne by 10:30 then.”

Gray ended his call and wished he’d been talking on one of those old-fashioned phones so he could slam the receiver down rather than hit the End button. The last thing he wanted was to fly out to Cozumel.

After taking a final bite of toast, he cleaned up his breakfast dishes and headed back upstairs to make phone calls. Besides arranging a ride to the airport, he needed to cancel his plans for the day.

***

Kiera turned on the dishwasher. She’d spent the morning making soup that she and Gray could take with them. It’d make a nice warm lunch after ice-skating outside.

With the kitchen once again clean, she grabbed the crossword puzzle and was sitting down to wait for Gray when the intercom buzzed.

She glanced at her wall clock. Either it was off or Gray was thirty minutes early.

A nervous flutter settled in her chest as she let him in downstairs.

Squeezing her eyes tight, she reached for the doorknob. “Relax, you idiot,” she whispered to herself. Kiera opened her eyes and pulled the door open.

“Gray.” She’d expected him to be on the other side of the door, but she hadn’t expected him to be standing there in a suit and long wool coat. “Come on in.” She took a step backward. “Did you change your mind about ice-skating?”

Gray closed the door behind him, but made no indication he planned to stay.

“I can’t make it today. Work called this morning and there’s an emergency with a hotel deal that I need to take care of.” He pulled off his leather gloves and stuck them into his pocket. “I’m really sorry.”

He stepped toward her and put his hands on her shoulders. “Trust me, if it wasn’t an absolute emergency, I wouldn’t go. I’d much rather stay here with you.”

I shouldn’t be disappointed.
Sadly, her heart refused to listen to her inner monologue. “I understand. Don’t worry about it. It’s no big deal.” The lie sounded convincing to her ears; she hoped it did to his as well.

Kiera shoved her hands into her pockets. “Where are you off to? Someplace warm and sunny?”

Gray’s hand traveled up her neck, and she fought the urge to touch him as well.

“Cozumel. And it
is
a big deal. I wanted to spend the day with you.”

“This morning I made some carrot soup. I thought we could have it for lunch. I’ll get you some to take with you.”

She doubted he planned to travel via a commercial airline, which regulated what could and couldn’t come on board. Kiera tried to step away, but his hands kept her in place.

“I’d love a rain check for today.” His fingers made tiny circles on her skin beneath her ponytail. “I don’t know how long I’ll be gone, but I’ll come back as soon as I can.”

Kiera shifted her weight to her other foot. “Sure. No problem.”

The corner of his mouth inched upward. “Thank you.”

She intended to ask if he wanted some soup again, but before she got a sound out, he kissed her. Thoughts of soup and skating got pushed aside as heat built up where his hands touched her.

Unlike the kisses they shared the day before, this one remained tender. And quick.

“I need to go,” Gray whispered when he ended their kiss.