Take a Chance (13 page)

“Have you two always been close?” I asked.

“Yes,” they both said.

“Grandmama always took me to stay at the ranch with Mase and his parents when I was a kid.”

“Parents?” I asked, because that didn’t make sense since his father was Kiro.

“My stepdad and my mom. He’s more like my father than my own father,” Mase said with his head resting on the seat and his eyes closed.

I hadn’t realized that. Interesting.

“Harlow’s visits were always something I looked forward to. I thought having a sibling was so cool. Especially one as proper and sweet as Harlow. Getting her all muddy and talking
her into riding a horse or feeding the cows was always entertaining.”

Harlow let out a small laugh from the backseat.

Maybe having Mase around wasn’t so bad. At least I’d get a chance to know her better.

A
s soon as we got on the jet, Mase ate a bowl of oatmeal and went to bed. He was not a morning person. I sat down on the leather sofa beside the
window so I could look out while I thought about where Dad could have gone instead of the fact that Grant was here. With me.

I didn’t turn to see what he was doing or where he was going to sit down. I wasn’t sure what to say to him now that we were alone. I also hated that my heart sped up when he smiled
at me.

His warm body sank down beside me close enough that his arm was brushing against mine. “Hey,” he said simply.

Ignoring him was impossible and it was rude. I wasn’t rude. “Hey,” I replied, glancing over at him then back out the window.

“You worried about your dad?” he asked.

Not really. This was common. “No. Just frustrated that he never seems to grow up.”

“You not gonna look at me?”

I didn’t want to. He made me forget that he was dangerous. “Probably not,” I replied honestly.

Grant chuckled. “That’s a shame. I like looking into those eyes of yours.”

I closed my eyes and swore silently.
Why, Grant? Why are you doing this to me? It isn’t fair.

“Are you going to hate me forever?” he asked.

I didn’t hate him. That wasn’t what this was about. Did he not get that? He had laid the terms down. I was just protecting myself from him.

“I don’t hate you. I just know where I stand with you and I’m being careful not to think too much about it, or you, for that matter.”

He didn’t say anything. Good. I’d shut him up. Maybe he would move and I wouldn’t have to keep smelling him. All warm and delicious. I knew how that skin felt against mine and
I did not need reminders.

“I made a mistake, Harlow. I was scared and I fucked up.”

I finally turned to look at him. We’d already had this discussion. I didn’t want to have it again. “I know. You told me already. I get it.” I started to turn away again
but Grant grabbed my chin and gently turned my face back to his.

“No. We haven’t talked about this. I told you bullshit that isn’t true. I told you I wasn’t ready for a relationship. That was a lie. I was fucking terrified of loving
someone so much and then losing her. But I’m not anymore. I can’t keep doing this to myself.”

I didn’t reply because I had no idea what he was talking about.

“I want you. I’ve wanted you since the moment I laid eyes on you. When I was buried inside of you I knew then I was sunk. Those pretty hazel eyes and angelic smile had started
digging inside me and making themselves at home in my heart. But that night . . . you claimed me, and I can’t shake it. I can’t forget it.”

Oh. I stared up at him as his words sank in. Did this mean he wanted this with me? Or was he just saying this because he wanted to have sex again?

He lowered his head until his lips were barely brushing my ear. “You’re all I want. Forgive me for running? Please.”

I moved away from him, putting some space there between us. “Don’t. I’m not ready to just forget that you slept with Nan or that you didn’t call me for two
months.”

Grant frowned and ran his hand through his long hair, making it even more tousled looking. “I did call. Ask Dean. He’ll tell you. I don’t know why you didn’t get calls to
your phone but I was calling the hell out of it. I thought you had found out about my drunk screw-up with Nan and were done with me. Your dad threatened to call the cops if I showed up at your
house. I started drinking a lot to forget you, and yeah, Nan happened to be there.”

Had he really tried to call me? Why would Dad keep me from him? Unless he knew about Nan and Grant. That would be a reason for Dad to threaten Grant. Was he telling the truth?

“I want to be near you. When I am, everything else fades away and I can’t concentrate on anything but you. That’s what scared me, but I’ve decided I was stupid to be
scared of that. It’s special. You’re special.”

My grandmama would tell me to ignore the sweet talk and walk away. But then my grandmama had never laid eyes on Grant Carter. He was too appealing for words. I missed him. This. Being with him.
I missed it. He had shown me how to enjoy life, if only for two weeks. I had felt like I was finally living when I was with him.

“I don’t think I can trust my good sense with you,” I told him honestly.

“You’ll find out you can trust me. I’m not a bad guy. Deep down you know that. I just made a very bad decision.”

Taking chances had never been my thing. I wasn’t a risk taker. I was careful. I didn’t get hurt. I protected myself. I had walls. Grant had made it past my walls once. Letting him in
again was asking a lot.

He moved over to me and put his head on my shoulder. “I’m not above begging,” he said.

I shivered from the tingle of his breath against my skin. This was a bad idea. Grant was good at sweet-talking. With his looks and his mouth he could talk a girl into anything. If I let myself
care about him any more it would only end in heartache.

“Don’t beg. Just give me some space. I need to think,” I replied, pressing myself further away from him. The fact that I wanted to crawl into his lap and wrap myself around him
was not good. I used to be stronger than this. He talked about me making him weak; if he only knew how weak he made me.

Grant gave me this sad look that only made his face more appealing. I closed my eyes and took a deep breath. “Don’t. You’ve been sleeping with Nan. I heard you. Do you have any
idea what that feels like? To know that the loud screams that kept you up at night were actually images of someone—” I stopped myself. I was going to say too much.

“It keeps me awake at night. I hate knowing you heard that. I don’t even remember much about that night. But knowing you heard us . . . it kills me.”

I looked out the window so I could open my eyes. I didn’t trust myself with those eyes of his locked on me. “Put yourself in my shoes. What if you had heard me having sex with
another man . . . one you hated. How would it make you feel?”

Grant didn’t reply. I thought maybe I had shut him up and he was going to leave me alone. I was relieved and disappointed at the same time.

Grant moved closer to me again and his hand reached up and brushed the hair on my neck away. “The idea of some other man touching you makes me so fucking insane, I want to destroy shit. I
can’t imagine it, and just thinking about it makes me shake with fury.”

I could feel the stiffness to his body as it brushed against my side.

“Your date with Adam haunts me. I can’t stand the idea of him touching you,” Grant’s finger trailed down my bare arm. “I don’t do possessive and crazy. Never
have. But you . . . I want to wrap you up and run off with you so no one can touch you again. Just me. Always me.”

Grant’s head dipped down and the tip of his nose grazed the skin on my neck. “You smell like heaven and hell all wrapped up into one,” he whispered.

My heart slammed against my chest and my legs felt weak. Did he mean all that? I turned my head to look into his eyes, and the determination and desperation told me that he meant every word.
Grant Carter wanted me that much. As hard as it was to believe, he had called me and I hadn’t known it. I couldn’t convince myself he was lying. He was so determined for me to believe
him. I wanted to believe him.

The memory of how good Grant could make my body feel was replaying vividly in my head. I didn’t want to remember, but he was making it very hard.

“If you don’t trust me, I understand. Just let me near you,” he said as his hand slipped under my shirt and rested on my stomach. “I’ll prove it to you. Just let
me. Give me a chance to prove it to you.”

His hand played with the skin on my stomach and I forgot to breathe.

“I don’t want to be another Nan to you,” I told him honestly. I had witnessed firsthand how easily he had slept with Nan then ignored her and her feelings the very next
moment.

“You’re nothing like Nan. What she and I had was shallow and based on her selfishness and neediness. She has no feelings for me and she made sure to kill all feelings I had for
her.”

I let his hand to continue to touch my skin and send tingles through my body. This might come back to haunt me, but I was good at reading people—and I believed Grant Carter.

“So fucking soft,” he murmured in my ear, and I let my head fall back to give him more access to my neck because I was incredibly weak when it came to wanting what this man could
give me. This wasn’t smart. I was making a huge mistake but I couldn’t seem to stop myself. I loved how he made me feel. My body wanted more. Even if my head was screaming at me to stop
this.

He let out a pleased growl and his lips found my arched neck and took small nips as he made his way down to the top of my shirt. His hand was there, unbuttoning it, and I didn’t care. I
wanted his mouth on my breasts. Grant had given me orgasms I hadn’t known existed, and I wanted that. He made my body do things I didn’t know it could do, and I wanted that.

“So beautiful,” he said in a reverent tone as he pulled my bra down and his hands covered my breasts. I moaned in relief. The ache that had settled in them was somewhat eased by his
touch. I wanted more, though.

Grant grabbed my waist and hauled me into his lap until I was straddling him and my bared breasts were in his face. “Fuck, yes,” he said before his mouth was on my nipple, sucking.
His other hand was pinching and twisting my other nipple. The sensation was causing the wetness between my legs to grow as I squirmed. A new ache was taking over. I sank down onto his lap and the
hard erection in his jeans pressed against me, causing me to cry out in pleasure.

Grant stopped sucking, and his eyes were fiery blue pools as he gazed up at me hungrily. “You need me to touch your sweet little pussy?” he asked as his hands began unzipping my
jeans. I only managed to whimper. I shouldn’t be doing this but I couldn’t stop.

The simple truth was I was horny. I hadn’t understood that term until Grant Carter entered my life. But this man made me lose it. All that control I possessed he made me forget in
seconds.

“Put your hands behind me and lift up,” he ordered. I didn’t argue. I wanted his hands on me. The excitement made my heart race and my body tremble.

His hand slipped into the front of my jeans and two fingers slid into my panties until they rubbed right against my clit. I bucked and moaned.

“Fuck,” he growled, and jerked his hand out. I started to beg him and he stood up, holding on to me. I wrapped my legs around his waist as he stalked to the back of the plane. Then
he stopped and looked at the closed door to Dad’s room. Mase was in there sleeping. I had forgotten about Mase, and I was pretty sure Grant had, too.

He looked at the room beside it and I knew even if we were quiet Mase would hear us. Grant turned and went the other way to the private bathroom and opened the door and slammed it closed behind
him.

“Get them off,” he said in a heated voice as he jerked his shirt over his head.

I glanced down at my jeans and started to fumble with them. Before I could get very far he had stripped and taken over, pulling my jeans and shirt off. Once we were both naked his mouth crashed
down on mine and his tongue invaded me. Hot, minty, and hungry. I clung to his shoulders and kissed him back just as fiercely. I had missed this. The heat, the passion, the need all wrapped up into
this one act. Grant’s hands cupped my bottom as he pulled me closer and continued to take nips and licks at the corners of my mouth while destroying me with a kiss I knew no one could ever
live up to.

When he pulled back he looked into my eyes then pressed one more small kiss to my lips before picking me up and sitting me on the counter. “I want inside you again, but I want to taste
you. I’ve missed how sweet you taste. But you have to be quiet.” He gave me a wicked smile. “Can you be quiet while I kiss this sweet pussy?” he asked, slipping a finger
into me and causing me to cry out.

“I don’t think you can. My sweet girl likes to be loud. I can’t kiss it if you’re gonna scream,” he said as he kissed my neck and continued to run the tip of his
finger between the slick folds.

I wanted his mouth on me. I wanted it more than I wanted to breathe. “I’ll be quiet,” I promised.

He grinned but didn’t look as if he believed me. I held my breath as he kissed his way down my body and pressed one simple kiss to my bare mound.

Then his tongue stuck out and he slipped it right over my clit. I slapped my hand over my mouth and threw my head back as the pleasure grew.

He stopped and I reached for his head to hold him there.

“If you scream I stop,” he said, looking up at me with a sexy smile that made me want to do anything he asked.

I nodded and held my hand over my mouth.

T
his was not what I had intended to do. I wanted to talk to her and ease her into talking to me. Get Harlow to smile at me and trust me as she had
before I screwed it all up by being a coward. But then she’d made me think about someone else touching her. Someone else knowing how incredible it felt to be inside her and knowing he was the
one making her cry out. Fuck no. I couldn’t allow myself to think about that. If she had thought about sleeping with someone else, I needed to make sure she remembered just how it was between
us. I wasn’t losing her. Not again.