“Grace, it’s early yet—only six thirty—and before we drove out here, you said you were hungry. Take your shower and come downstairs. I promise not to attack . . . for tonight, at least.”
He didn’t try to cajole her any further, just turned around and walked from the room, leaving the decision to her. She appreciated that more than anything else at the moment. Even if she had just half an hour to gather herself together after having so much thrown at her in one day, she might begin to feel a little more human again.
Grabbing a pair of her most unsexy flannel pajamas, she went into the bathroom. She took a little more than half an hour, though, because after the heavenly shower, she couldn’t resist soaking in the giant tub, and to get out before sitting there for an hour would be a waste of good water.
She wasn’t going to admit even to herself that she was putting off the inevitable. Cam was downstairs waiting for her, and her resistance was zilch. Would they finish what they’d begun that very morning?
When Grace was all out of thoughts about how to avoid him, she sat up in the tub, an evil idea taking place in her mind. He’d left her reeling this morning. Wasn’t payback a bitch?
Cam sat on the couch trying to read a legal thriller he’d had lying around for the past four months, but he just couldn’t get into the story. Was Grace ever going to come back down, or hide out in her room? He knew she had to be hungry, and although his meal of sandwiches and chips wasn’t the best dinner ever, it was still food and it was sitting on the coffee table, waiting.
He would have had his cook, Mrs. Bateman, come out and fix up some meals, but he’d been in and out so much that he’d given her a few days off. Bad timing.
Cam finally tossed the book aside. Why even pretend to read? He leaned back and tried to listen for the sound of Grace’s footsteps.
He shouldn’t care if she didn’t come down tonight. They would talk tomorrow. Well, they would if she climbed out of bed before he went in to the office. He had meetings and couldn’t play hooky all day—although he’d like nothing better than to lie around with Grace, eating his meals off her delectable body.
The first creak of the staircase had him sitting up straight. He shouldn’t be this anxious around a woman, but after this morning, his body was still hurting. What in hell had possessed him? Why had he tried to get more from her than just the pleasure of the moment? She’d wanted him, and he’d been a fool to want more.
And now he was paying.
When she came in, Cam felt as if all the oxygen had been sucked out of the living room. “Grace?” His voice was little more than a croak as he watched her saunter toward him.
“Yes, Cam?” she asked with far too much innocence.
“What are you doing?”
She smiled the smile of a woman who knew who she was, and knew exactly what she wanted, and what she was going to get. Her long, dark hair hung down her back; her eyes—so dark, so exotic—were bright and enchanting. Hell, even her toes were turning him on as she moved closer and closer.
She stopped a few feet from him, her short silky robe held together only by a slim belt that looked a little too loose. Yes, he’d seen her naked—that very morning, in fact—but her peaked nipples poked tantalizingly through the thin fabric and were making him pant like a dog.
Raising her arms, she ran her hands through her hair; her head fell back, and she sighed. Cam couldn’t have spoken if his life had depended on it. She had him in a trance, and if this was the show, he prayed it would never end. Maybe he’d really just fallen asleep and this was his fantasy invading his dreams.
Reaching down, he pinched his leg, sending sharp pain shooting through him and proving he was actually awake. Thank the powers that be, he thought as she finished running her fingers through her hair, brought them to her neck, and began playing with the lapels on her robe, slowly sliding her fingers up and down the edges, opening the robe just a little bit more with each pass.
He’d been holding his breath, but it all rushed out in a gasp when she pulled one side of the robe open, revealing a perfectly round breast with a dark, pointed nipple. Then she revealed the other side, ran her hands across both those treasures, and moaned as she felt the pleasure from her own caress.
He was afraid he might actually explode without a single touch from her if she continued her jaw-dropping performance. “Grace . . .” he gasped again.
She pressed one finger to her lips and shook her head, those sensational eyes twinkling as she took another step toward him, her other hand trailing between her breasts, down the line of her toned stomach.
Cam had dated Grace for only one year, made love with her for months, and had thought he’d seen and done it all. But she had never stripped for him, not once, and she’d never looked as gorgeous as she looked now.
The breath escaping his lungs felt like fire, and his erection was so hard, he had surpassed the point of pain.
“Grace, I can’t take a whole lot more, not after this morning,” he groaned. To hell with commitment. They would fight about that another day. Right now, he just wanted to feel her body take him within its warm grasp.
When he reached out to her this time, she undid the robe, freezing him where he sat, and then surprised him when she stepped forward and then climbed onto his lap. Without a word, she pressed against him, took his hair in her hands, and leaned forward, connecting their mouths in a clash of power and hunger.
Cam immediately opened up to her as she rocked her hips against the denim of his jeans and moaned into the kiss, her fingers tightening in his hair and pulling hard, anchoring him exactly where she wanted him.