Untitled (24 page)

      And... I stopped fighting.

      This is what Gray felt.

      My entire body juddered and it could have been fright. It could have been the way each stroke of his cock pushed me closer.

      "Piper, I can't wait-"

      "Oh... Leo, I... I..."

      Just as my spine rippled with an orgasm so intense I couldn't even make a sound, I caught the look in his eyes. He watched me fall apart and only then let himself come, pulling me closer to him as if trying to get inside me in a thousand different ways, not moaning or even whimpering, just breathing into me.

      Leo rode it out until the last pulse inside me died, until his breathing slowed, until my thoughts remembered how to cohere.

      I didn't want this.

      "My God, Piper, that was something else." He gave a half-smile and laughed, and I wondered if his eyes were watering, or perhaps it was nothing more than their usual sparkle.

      This is going to hurt.

      "You're something else." He stroked my hair, kissed my lips, jaw, neck, finally allowed his weight to rest against me and even then his heart still pounded. Slowed, but thundered. "Fuck. You'll kill me." He pulled my arms around him but my limbs felt weak.

      Hollow.

      And it wasn't the aftermath of a spine-bending orgasm that made my heart gallop.

      It was fear.

      This was not supposed to happen.

      Somehow I managed to tear myself away from him long enough to shower and dress in the morning, breakfast quickly, make myself look respectable. As if we hadn't been naked and sweating and gasping and clawing at each other for thirty-six hours straight.

      He insisted on driving me to work, even though his riverside apartment was close enough to the city centre for me to walk there in ten minutes. He looked at me with those chocolate eyes and asked if I really wanted to trudge 'all that way' on my tired little feet. I think he pouted as well.

      Wondering if he was being a gentleman or trying to keep me as near to him as he could for as long as possible, I surrendered, even while telling myself not to get attached.

      No, Piper, he's just looking after you. He's a gentleman. He's fed you and fucked you; now he's safely delivering you to your next port of call. Passing you on.

      "I need to go into the office today anyway, so it's on my way."

      "What is it you do, anyway? And if you're your own boss, why don't you work from home?"

      "I'd never get anything done if I kept all my paperwork and computers here. Too many distractions. Television, music, cooking... the bed." He winked. "And sometimes a change of scenery is what you need. I work with another guy so it's better that way. Saves us shunting a bunch of folders and a laptop or two from one flat to another if we just meet up in the office. Keeps work separate from home as well. I like to keep this place for the more fun pursuits." He winked as he picked up his keys from the kitchen countertop and something inside me melted. "Property development."

      "Oh." I prayed it hadn't come out as a gasp of excitement, that I didn't sound too impressed. "That explains this place, then."

      "This place? What's wrong with it?"

      "Nothing, nothing, that's just what I meant. It's not your typical bachelor pad. Not that you are a bachelor, mind you, having been—"

      "Married and divorced, yes. I fail at life." Judging by his smirk, he clearly did not think that was the case.

      "I just meant... it's so fresh and clean and... big."

      "Everything about me is, babe."

      "Dirty bastard."

      Leo sniggered. "Sorry. Go on."

      "There's no clutter. It looks like a show home, if you want me to be honest."

      "Thank you. It was a mess when I bought it, which is why I got it so cheap. Put the mezzanine in myself. Well, not myself. Paid someone to do it, but project managed it. Bought a few things while on my travels. Those photographs on the wall, for instance. Picked those up at a gallery in Vancouver. Limited edition Jason Connors."

      The name meant nothing to me, so I murmured something neutral and waited for him to finish gathering his bits and pieces; keys, wallet, phone. While he did so I took a last glance around his loft apartment and tried not to sigh as he opened the door and we stepped out. Childish, but I wanted to say goodbye to the house or at least felt that I ought to.

      We said nothing as we waited for the lift. I carried my overnight bag; he didn't offer to take care of it for me. Standing side by side, we watched the panel counting up the numbers until the doors opened. He let me step forward first, ever the gent. Doors slid shut, he pressed the G button for the ground floor.

      No one has ever touched me—

      I cleared my throat as if by doing so I could clear my mind of the image of him sliding a finger inside me-

      "Something up?" Leo asked, frowning.

      "No, no."

"Sounded like you were choking."

"No. Just clearing my throat."

      "Oh. Good." He nodded, stood at my side, didn't seem to hear the screaming in my head.

      Touch me, just touch me, for God's sake. Just your hand, on my arm. Something.

      One floor down.

      He coughed. Lightly. Looked at me.

      I tried not to notice. Failed. Finally I gave in and met his gaze with my own.

      He bit his lip and although he didn't strike me as being lacking in self-confidence, he appeared uncertain then. "You know..."

      "What?"

      "I think you should put your bag down."

      "Why?"

      "Jesus..." he muttered. "Just do as you're bloody told, woman, will you? Quick."

      So I did, dropping my bag where I stood and he grabbed my waist with both of his hands, shoved me up against the lift wall, forcing the breath out of me and before I had a chance to catch it, his lips were on mine, his tongue in my mouth, his hands traveling up my body, clinging to every inch. Then on either side of my neck, in my hair, stroking my jaw. There was something desperate in his kiss, the way his lips were just there, his tongue was just there, in my mouth, more than tasting. Searching.

      "God." Even after he broke the kiss, he kept his hands in my hair still wet from the shower, panting against my face. "I had to do that before the doors opened." He kissed me again, a peck, still not ready to stop. "I've always had a thing about doing things I shouldn't, in places I shouldn't be doing them."

      "Why..." I took a few more seconds to catch my breath. "And why shouldn't you have kissed me?"

      He motioned up to one corner with a tilt of his head. "Security cameras."

      "Fuck."

      Standing back, lifting his hands off me, he laughed. "What? You don't let a little CCTV bother you, do you?"

      "You never told me there was a camera up there."

      He shrugged, faced front again, as if the kiss had never happened. "Meh. They've probably recorded worse. And..." Leo waited until I picked up my bag and stood at his side again. "I know I sure as fuck have done worse on camera."

      "What?" I looked up at him and he winked, saying nothing more as the lift doors opened and he strode ahead, looking over his shoulder only to throw a few words at me.

      "Well? Are you coming with me or not?"

      Shaking my head, I followed him into the underground parking garage.

      "This is mine here."

      I stopped in my tracks. "This...?"

      At the passenger side, he looked back at me. "Yeah, what's wrong with it?"

      "Nothing's wrong with it. It's... a Jag."

      Leo grinned under my obvious approval. "Yeah. I love her."

      "Her?"

      "All cars are female. I'm sure you can insert your own joke about a 'ride' there."

      "A black Jag, eh?"

      "Yes. A black Jag. Would madam care to get in? Oh, you can put your bag in the boot if you'd prefer."

      "No, no, I'll be fine. There should be room." It was a rare thing, having a man open a car door for me, so I enjoyed it while it lasted. Feeling deliciously decadent, I got in, backside first, then legs, and arranged my bag at my feet.

      When he got in the driver's side, I laughed softly. "I'm surprised you got a two-seater though."

      "Don't tell me." He started her up and we pulled away. "You're thinking I look like the kinda guy who'd make good use of a backseat?" He kept his eyes on the road but I was free to look at him, drink in the line of his jaw and the stubble loosely covering it, the smirk, the dimple.

      "Given what I know of you..."

      "Yeah, yeah, I know. You think I'm a pervert."

      "I know you are." When my own smile grew almost painfully wide, I turned away, looked out of the passenger window. "You know how to get there?" I asked and my

throat swelled up, painfully so.

      "Yeah, yeah. I've never been inside your diner but I know where it is. Passed it plenty of times."

      I'd never seen a black Jag speed past, but given the speeds of which it was capable, all I had to do was blink to miss it. "They're gonna love me rocking up in a Jag this time on a Monday morning."

      "Impress them, will it?"

      It impresses me, I wanted to say. "It'll stand out. They'll probably wonder who's driving it."

      "And now you'll be able to tell them."

      "Ah. I'll just say I picked you up in a bar and don't know your name."

      He reached across to my knee, his hand inching up the inside of my thigh for a moment or two before he lifted it away. "Damn it. Apparently there are laws about keeping both hands on the wheel, so much as I'd love to..."

      "You'd break laws on hotwiring a car but not on driving it when you're in it?"

      "Hey, wench—this is my car, not stolen!" Through his protestations, Leo laughed. "Bought and paid for, fair and square. Besides, all those laws I broke were in my youth."

      "Even the coke...?"

      "Okay, okay, you got me. The laws I break these days are in the safety of my own home."

      "Or the safety of a lift?"

      "That wasn't breaking the law. That was just mischief. And..." He shrugged. "And, I felt horny."

      "When do you not?" I sniggered, surprised at my own ability to laugh, despite the fact it was Monday morning. I was about to start work.

      Leo Carson was about to drop me there and speed off into the sunset.

      "You sighed. You sound fed up."

      "Did I?" How to cover my tracks? "Oh, just work. Not in the mood."

      "You should pull a sickie."

      "And risk getting the sack, or facing the wrath of my boss?"

      "Hell, I could've gone in there and sorted them out for you. No one can resist the might of the Carson. And here we are." He pulled over, cut the engine and sat back. Leaning against the headrest, he turned to look at me. "Safely delivered to the diner. So this is where you work, huh?"

      "It is." I undid the seatbelt, not looking at him now, because one mere glance would have me wanting to stay.

      I already did want to stay but the way his voice had dropped to a husky whisper... I knew he'd be looking at me through his eyelashes, giving me puppy dog eyes... driving me a hair's breadth from the decision to let my job go hang and telling him to take me back to his place...

      "Hey..." His hand came to rest on top of mine, as my other reached for the door. "I think you're forgetting something." He lifted the hand which had made contact with my arm, beckoned with his forefinger. "A goodbye kiss is in order, I think."

      Ah, there it is. The word 'goodbye'. My heart sank even as he leaned in and I mirrored him. Even as his hand brushed my hair away from my cheek and mine came to rest on his thigh. Even as his tongue slipped into my mouth and my chest heaved with instant arousal.

      The kiss broke off, but as before, his hand stayed in my hair. "Piper," he whispered against my lips.

      "You're making it very difficult for me to get out of this car and go to work, Carson." I tried to sound admonishing, but my voice was soft and breathy, as was his, husky with desire.

      "And you're making it very hard for me, Holt."

      "You know what'll happen."

      "You'll have another orgasm or two, so will I. We won't be able to walk for a month, stupid grin on my face, everyone's happy. I really don't see the fuckin' problem." He lifted both hands in a Gallic shrug and raised his eyebrows, looked for all the world like a man trying but not quite managing to look innocent.

      I knew better.

      I knew him better.

      Hand. On door. Open door. Exit. Now. "Bye Leo." I winked and turned away before he could reply. Get the fuck out of here. Despite the thundering of my heart and panic rising in the back of my throat, I managed to get out of the car without knowing how I summoned the willpower.