Grace Anne (7 page)

“He’s a bully,” she told Alyssa. “And
nosey. Why does he think it’s any of his business what I do in my own home? He
does know he’s not my dad, right?”

“Yes, I’m sure he does. Or at
least he’ll have a better understanding once I get off here.” Alyssa laughed. “He
loves you and worries. He wants you here with the rest of them.”

Grace felt her heart ache with the
knowledge that she couldn’t. Not now. She sat down and fingered the bra that
Michael had torn from her last night and tossed it in the trash when her body
reacted to that.

“I have a business to run. And…why
did he call anyway? You’re all married now so that can’t be it. I already know
that Lilliane is pregnant and that Sin and Payton are adopting another child. Is
it Quinn now, or you who is pregnant?”

“No, though, I think maybe Jazzie
is about to bust with the news that they are. He wants you to come home next
weekend. All of us are getting together for dinner at our house and he wanted
you there.” There was a very long pause before she spoke again. “You can even
bring home the man that has Cain all worked up. Does he get you all worked up
too?”

Grace flushed. “Yes, he does. Though
it’s none of your business. He’s just…” She wasn’t sure what he was, but she
didn’t want to tell her sister-in-law that. “He’s a fling.”

Alyssa laughed and Grace started
to say something when she looked up and saw Michael standing in the doorway. He
looked like every woman’s dream of a handsome prince and bad boy all in one.

“Then all the more reason to bring
him here. I’m sure Cain will have a cow about it, but right now I think he’d
rather have you here.”

Grace didn’t think getting Michael
involved with her family was a good idea. He might have been able to handle
them, but he had a son, and Trace couldn’t. She told Alyssa that she’d think
about it and call her later. She hung up before she could say any more.

Chapter 7

“Your brother is worried I’m some
sort of monster,” Michael told her softly. “He was upset that I was in your
bedroom. How did he know where I was?”

“This phone only rings in here. Cain
has always been overly protective of us girls.” She reached down, pulled off
the one sock, and tossed the pair of them on the bed. “You need to go. I don’t…I
don’t want you here anymore.”

He didn’t move, but she could see
his body stiffening. His cell phone going off made her wish whoever it was
would leave them alone and take him away at the same time. He didn’t move to
answer it.

“That might be important. Shouldn’t
you answer it?” She waited for an answer and, when none came, she walked to her
dresser and started pulling her brush through her hair. “I’ll follow you out
and lock up. If you could have the contract changes to my attorney as soon as—”

“Who was the person who threatened
my son?”

The question was so quiet that she
almost thought she’d not heard him, but when she looked over her shoulder at
him she could see that he had asked. She should have expected the question. She
had been thinking about an answer to give him when he did. But nothing came to
mind. Nothing, that was, but the truth and, that, she wasn’t really willing to
share with a man she’d only had sex with.

“I don’t know, not really. I’ve
been…” Could she tell him? Should she? “Once I leave, then you won’t have
anything to worry about with Trace. He’ll be fine. They’re just trying to get
me to be afraid.”

“And are you?”

She felt the tears at his question,
but tried to blink them away.

“Grace, are you afraid of the
person who calls you? And I’ve listened to the messages on your phone in the
kitchen. They’re getting progressively worse and you know it.”

She thought about telling him it
was none of his business, but she knew that the two of them having sex and
whoever it was threatening Trace made it his. She didn’t like it, but he had a
right to know some of what she had going on.

“I left home when I was seventeen.
It was…my family life wasn’t all that easy. Had it not been for my brother and
sisters I’m not sure how things would have ended. My parents were more into
each other and how badly they could hurt us than they were at providing for us
as a family. My father was killed by the police when he tried to kill my sister
for ransom.”

“Roscoe Waite. Matt just told me
you’re related to him. And Alyssa Howard is your sister-in-law.” He moved up
behind her, took the brush, and began moving it through her hair. “I also know
your brother-in-law, Payton. We went to school together.”

She nodded. Of course. Payton’s
family had money, as did Alyssa. She was just a daughter of a dead ex-con who
happened to be related to them all. She turned and took the brush from him. “I
think you should go now. I have some things to finish up around here before I
sell and, if you don’t mind, I want to be alone.”

“I don’t think so, Grace. I’ll
purchase the building because I need it, but you’re not going anywhere. I don’t
know what it is about you, but I can’t seem to get enough of you.” He took the
brush from her and set it on the dresser. “Finish getting dressed and we’ll
meet my family. They’re waiting dinner on us.”

She supposed as they were getting
into his limo again that she could have refused. But short of throwing him out,
which she was reasonably sure she couldn’t do anyway, she wasn’t sure what to
do. She wasn’t even sure she wanted him to leave her alone. It had been so long
since she’d…she’d had anyone in her life that she was a little starved for the
feeling again. Neither of them spoke on the short drive over.

Trace meeting her at the door of
the restaurant made her hug him a little tighter than was probably necessary. He
held her hand, talking a mile a minute as he led them to the table overflowing
with people. She stopped and felt Michael bump into her from behind.

“This is my family, you know them,”
he said in her ear when she didn’t move. “Come on and sit down. They won’t
bite.” But he did.

“Grace, honey, come on,” his
mother said as she waved at the only two empty chairs next to her. “Michael, go
and find that lovely little waitress and tell her what you and Grace are
drinking. Then we’ll order as soon as you’re served.”

Michael pulled out her chair and
kissed her on the mouth before he moved to do what his mother said. Grace felt
her face flame when Joey laughed. She wanted to hunt the stupid man down and
smack the shit out of him.

“I guess you two worked out your
differences.” Grace flushed again at Joey’s statement. “I’m glad. You two
fighting was getting to be annoying.”

“I don’t know what you’re talking
about, Mrs. Cunningham. Your son and I are simply coming to terms on the
Washington Building, nothing more.” Grace continued, though she was sure she
was only making it worse. “He just kissed me because he knew it would irritate
me. He’s forever doing stupid things like that to get on my last nerve.”

“He can be like that, yes. But he
usually only gets on a woman’s last nerve at the end of a relationship, not at
the beginning,” Mr. Cunningham said with a smile. “And they usually are so
besotted with him they will let him break it off without much fuss. Women like
our Michael.”

Grace knew that Lucas Cunningham
wasn’t really Michael’s father. He’d adopted him when Joey and Lucas had gotten
married twenty-five years ago. Michael had been around five and he and Joey had
been living in a smallish apartment when the then millionaire Lucas had bought
the building they’d lived in. Instead of tossing the young mother and boy out
into the street he’d set them up in a nice place and began courting Joey.

When Michael returned she was
gathering up her things to leave. He would just have to explain what was not
going on between them on his own. She stood up just as he pulled her into his
lap. She squealed as he clamped his hand around her middle.

“Sit,” he growled in her ear, “or
I’ll tell them about the beautiful tattoo you have over your lovely ass. And I’ll
tell them how I happened to know that your nipples get really dark when you’re
aroused.”

She glared at him as he laughed. She
knew in that moment he’d do it too. She moved to the other chair again, vowing
that she wasn’t going to speak to him. Turning in her chair to face his mother
she heard him laugh. She closed her eyes on the sudden urge to pick up her fork
and stab him in the cock with it.

“If you do to him whatever is
going on in your head, know that he’ll get you back. He’s never been one to let
go of a challenge.”

Grace looked at Joey when she
smiled.

“He’s got it bad for you, doesn’t
he?”

“I don’t think it’s any more than
just sex. And he wants something from me. I’ve already told him I’ll sell him
the building. He’s just doing this because, for some reason, he wants to
prolong the inevitable. I am leaving, Mrs. Cunningham. I have to.” Grace had to
get away before the temptation to lean on him became more than she could bear.

“Hummm. I suppose, but I don’t
think you believe that any more than he does.” Joey patted her hand. “As for
the sex part, I’m reasonably sure you and he will come to some understanding on
that as well.”

~~~

Thomas watched the girl with his
mother. He didn’t know why, but he didn’t like her. That didn’t mean he wouldn’t
have her. Just for the simple fact that she belonged to Michael, he’d have her
under him. He liked having and taking things that belonged to his stepbrother. But
good Christ, this one was beautiful.

Her dark hair and darker eyes made
him think of hard sex. Her body looked like something he’d only seen in magazines
and he knew those girls had been touched up. But this one, Grace, looked like
she’d never had any work done and he was willing to bet his brother knew it. Thomas
reached under the table to adjust his cock again.

He turned to look at Michael when
he said something to his dad. They were talking about money again like it was
all there was to talk about. His brother had this fine-looking woman next to
him and all he was doing was putting his arm around her chair and practically
ignoring her. He leaned over the table to speak to Grace.

“How about you move over to this
side and I’ll talk to you. When Mike and my dad get to talking about spread
sheets, there could be a bomb going off and they’d not hear it.”

She smiled at him.

“Come on, you know you want to.”

“Thanks, but this is fine.” She
smiled at him again and he felt some of his anger fade. “You’re Thomas, aren’t
you? I remember you from the party.”

“Yes. I’m the baby. My mother has
these things where we’re all required to come at least once a week. It’s mostly
at her house, but she’s having the house done up for my sister’s baby shower
tomorrow.” He tried not to sneer at his sister who looked like a giant frog in
her green maternity dress. “This is her first one and my other sister thought
it would be fun to get a bunch of her friends together and have a girl’s day.” Thomas
didn’t understand the need for a pregnant woman to show herself. He neither
thought they were beautiful nor glowing. They looked bloated, fat, and clumsy. He
tried his best to steer clear of all of them, especially when they got as obese
as his sister seemed to be.

“That’ll be nice for her. I
understand her husband is fighting overseas. She must get fairly lonely without
him.”

Thomas looked at his sister and
tried to remember if he’d been told that Jake had been transferred. He
remembered someone saying something about him leaving, but he’d thought he was
going to the mall or some other shit.

“Yeah, I suppose she does.” Like
he cared. “But she has all those servants in the house, so I doubt she gets all
that lonely.”

Thomas noticed that Michael moved
his hand down under the table. He wondered if his brother was copping a feel
from Grace. When she closed her eyes he could just imagine his own hand sliding
up under her dress and feeling her wet pussy. She’d be very wet for him, he
decided, and he’d make her come with everyone around.

Michael laughed at something and
leaned over and whispered in Grace’s ear. He didn’t doubt that they were
talking about him, and Thomas decided that he would find a way to take her from
his stepbrother and fuck her in front of him as soon as possible.

When Grace got up a few minutes
later and said she’d be back, Michael stood with her. He thought maybe the two
of them were going together when, after she left the room, he sat down. But he
watched her like he was going to make sure she went to the bathroom. It wasn’t
a minute later when he decided he was going to see if he could persuade her to
have a little fun with him when Michael stood and followed Grace. Thomas wanted
to scream out his frustrations and was about to go after them both when his dad
put his hand on his shoulder.

“Stay here and leave them alone.
You’ve no business sniffing around that woman when she came here with your
brother.”

Thomas glared at his dad.

“I don’t want to have to tell you
again to leave her alone.”

“I wasn’t going to touch her. And
besides, she didn’t look all that thrilled about being with Mike anyway. Maybe
she’d like to have a real man with her and not some bastard you adopted.”

Thomas knew he’d gone too far the
moment the words left his mouth. He’d said that before to his father, not those
exact words, but close enough. He and Michael had been fighting over a car
then. The fact that Thomas hadn’t wanted the dark blue Mustang until his dad
had sold it to Michael was beside the point. He didn’t think that Michael
should have anything that belonged to his dad. He’d told his dad that a bastard
shouldn’t be allowed to sully the car that had been his father’s, much less his
name. His father had slapped him right across the mouth and told him to never
say anything like that again. To this day Thomas had never forgiven Mike for
turning his father against him.