Letting Go (19 page)

“What?” Why couldn’t the man just leave Grant alone?

Grant placed his hand on her thigh. The warmth calmed her. “Yeah, seems there’s a line my brother isn’t willing to cross. A while back he gave me some papers to sign, I didn’t read them, but they were power of attorney forms transferring control of my finances from my dad to my brother. He protected my investment and made me a lot more money.”

She didn’t know what to say. Her family was large, they talked about each other all the time, were nosy as the ten o’clock news, but they’d never taken steps to destroy each other. Grant’s dad confused her.

“He returned all of my paperwork, along with his resignation as my financial advisor so I could hire someone else, someone I trust.” He glanced at her.

She hoped he didn’t want her opinion. After telling him not to fight Kip in court on the assault charge and the case was dismissed when Kip failed to show, she didn’t want to give him any more advice.

“I’m thinking about allowing him to continue handling it. He split from dad, and is opening his own company.”

Her brows shot up. “What? When did this happen?”

He shrugged. “I don’t know. We talked about a few things, cleared the air. He asked about you, Robin and Blair… in that order.”

“He did? You okay with that? I know you don’t want your family around Blair any more than I want mine calling Robin names.” Her aunt had never bothered to call or check up on them the entire time she lived in Virginia. But somehow she had found out about Robin and wrote a hateful letter blaming her for Robin’s twisted and sinful life. It might have made some impact if Kelly had sensed God or His love in the missive.

“I don’t know. Blair’s strong, he can handle himself.” She met his glance. “So is Robin, you don’t have to protect him from his family. If they call him a name, he’s a big boy, I’m sure he’ll handle it. You gotta let go.” He smiled.

She snorted at him throwing her advice to him back at her. “It’s his dad who has me concerned. Now that Robin is almost finished with school, he’s been calling, trying to reconnect.”

He squeezed her thigh. She looked at him. “That’s his son, you can’t change that. Let them work it out, you don’t need to get involved.”

She opened her mouth to explain the times Arnold had broken promises to Robin as a kid, and she’d been the one to dry his tears. She’d been Robin’s dad and mom. It wasn’t fair for Arnold to come around now that she’d done all the work.

His direct gaze stopped her. This wasn’t about her. Robin knew who had been there for him, he could handle his father. She had to let go of the resentment and step aside.

“Okay.” She pulled into a parking spot at the condo.

He stared at her a few seconds and nodded. “Okay.” He opened his door and walked around to hers. They entered the building, took the elevator and rode upstairs. He stepped behind her, wrapped his arms around her waist and pulled her close.

“Sex or food, which do you need first?” he whispered against her ear.

“I ate an apple. I need you.”

Smiling, he took her hand and pulled her toward the door. Once the door closed behind them, she ran to the bedroom, kicking off her shoes along the way. He wasn’t far behind. They stripped in record time. He snatched the cover to the bottom of the bed. Naked, he fell across the mattress and stared at her. “I’m waiting.”

She snorted, unsnapped her bra and threw it on his face. He grabbed it and inhaled deeply, setting off tingles in the pit of her belly. The man was lethal. She rolled down her panties and threw those at him as well. He caught the lace and rubbed it across his face and chest.

“I’m marking myself with your scent.”

Needy, she crawled toward him on the bed. “I’ve thought about this, tonight, being with you all day.” Maybe there was something in her voice or a look on her face when she spoke, she wasn’t sure, but his immediate response said there’d been something. He groaned loud and pulled her level with him. He snapped. There was no other explanation for the way his hands roamed in wild abandon everywhere on her body, followed by hot kisses. Not an area of her skin was ignored.

Her heart slammed in her chest as the desire that'd simmered all day intensified. She sighed in delight when his lips latched onto a nipple and his finger penetrated her pussy. No words were uttered. Their grunts and moans of pleasure communicated their feelings. He pulled one thigh toward him and pushed the other as he rolled on top. His mouth moved from her nipple to her lips, nibbling and sucking and distracting her with his soft sounds.

One moment she focused on his sweet kisses, the next, she gasped as he slid inside, filling and stretching her. Her mind stuttered as her body adjusted to his encouraged invasion. “Yes,” she whispered, widening her legs further and lifting slightly.

“You like this? You want this?”

Eyes closed, she nodded and grabbed his ass, pulling him closer. His thrusts drove her crazy, he was so close to her spot, she moved just a bit, and screamed when he hit it.

“That’s it baby, you feel so damn good. Give me that pussy.”

His words stoked her fire, it raced up her spine, lifting her higher. Faster and deeper he thrust, her body shook. Her walls throbbed. Suddenly she flew over the orgasmic cliff exploding in a million pieces. God, she wanted to do that again.

Grant’s eyes squeezed and he arched his back as her vaginal walls milked him. He erupted right behind her. He couldn’t breathe, didn’t need air, not now. Not when his body shuddered so hard from the force of his release. This woman always did this to him. She completed him in so many ways it scared him.

Still connected, he rolled to the side, pulling her with him. He needed to touch her, to keep her close.

“Mmmm, so good,” she whispered.

His chest expanded and he kissed her sweaty forehead. “My pleasure. Next time will be longer, I promise.”

She yawned and stroked his chest. “I’m not complaining.”

He rubbed his chin on the top of her head and then pulled the cover over them. “I am. I wanted to taste you. Next time.” He yawned and they lay content.

Grant woke and glanced at the clock. The boys should be home. He needed to call Blair and make sure everything went okay. After placing a kiss on Kelly’s shoulder, he eased out the bed, grabbed his phone from the floor, and headed to the living room.

He tapped in Blair’s number and turned toward the kitchen for a glass of water. “Everything okay?” he asked his son when he answered.

“Yeah, we’re playing games. Robin’s getting slaughtered.”

Grant chuckled at the competitiveness of the teens. “He’s home? You’re home?”

“Yeah. Ava cooked, so we ate here after the movies and then he went home. You and Ms. Kelly having fun?”

“Always, brat. I’ll see you tomorrow.”

“Okay, bye.”

His son continued to amaze him. The accident seemed to center Blair. He stepped out of the gray areas and made clear choices. He hadn’t come out publicly, but he didn’t hide either. Since he and Robin went to different schools neither of their teammates knew the real deal. And the boys had no problem keeping it that way. Gone was the indecisive boy, moved by the opinions of his peers. He excelled in French and football, proving he could have both when he put his mind to it.

Grant heard a sound and whirled around, spilling his water while searching the darkness. Inching toward the wall, he flicked on the light switch and flooded the kitchen with light. His eyes widened.

“Uncle Ray, what the hell are you doing here?”

Gone was the dapper man commanding attention when he walked into a room. His uncle’s ruddy complexion, coupled with the fumes of alcohol, announced the activities the man had engaged in earlier. Grant waved his hand back and forth in front of his face as his relative’s stale body odor hit his nostrils.

He stepped back to escape the rank smell and leaned against the counter, his mind raced over possible reasons for this nighttime visit. He hadn’t seen or talked to his uncle since that day at the hospital. “How’d you get in here?”

His uncle weaved a bit and then stared at him with one eye. “Your dad bought this place for you, I took his key. Plus your dad and I own units in this building, it’s where we keep, we used to keep, our women.” He wagged his finger in Grant’s face and almost toppled to the floor. “But not anymore. You ruined all of that.”

First thing tomorrow, he’d have the locks changed. “Is there a reason you’re here this time of night?”

“You.” He jabbed his index finger toward Grant. “You don’t know what you’ve done. Selfish bastard.”

Grant jerked at the harsh tone. “What? How’d you get in here?” He’d be talking to security downstairs. “Uncle Ray you want coffee? Something to eat? A shower. You’ll feel better.”

“No,” he yelled. “I want nothing from you. You ruined my life. I lost everything because of you.”

The old man didn’t make any sense. “What are you talking about? What did I do to you?” His uncle’s wrinkled pants, shirt, and jacket had numerous stains and spots, making him wonder how many days he’d worn those clothes. The black shoes had scuff marks and caked dirt in the creases. Where the hell had his uncle been to have dirt on his shoes and beneath his nails.

“I asked you, begged you, to run in the election. I told you we needed the win to pay off favors. But what did you do at the first sign of trouble? You bailed. You quit over your queer boy.”

Grant straightened. “Watch it, Uncle.”

The old man whipped out a gun and pointed it at him. “Or what? You’ll beat me like you beat your friend? He didn’t have this, did he?” He waved the pistol.

Grant froze at the sight of the weapon. What the hell? “What are you doing with a gun? When did you start carrying a weapon?”

His uncle grinned, or grimaced. “If you had men searching for you, you’d carry a gun too.”

That surprised Grant. “Someone’s after you? Who? Does dad know?”

His uncle shook his head, a flash of sorrow crossed his face, and then he hardened his features. “You think you’re so smart, just like your dad. Except I outsmarted both of you. I played the game for years until you started running your damn mouth. You ruined it all.” He pointed the gun at Grant’s midsection.

He had no idea what his uncle was talking about, but he didn’t want the gun to go off while waiting for an explanation. “How?”

“Priscilla,” his uncle spat.

That shocked him. “What? What about her?” He didn’t understand what his ex-wife had to do with anything.

“She was my mistress.” He pointed to his chest with his other finger. “I loved her, but I was married and too old. She wanted to meet you, promised me we could still be together. I needed to keep her close. So beautiful and young,” he said in a mournful tone which made Grant wonder if she had died.

Stunned, he couldn’t form a thought or sentence. The idea of his dad with his ex had been hard to swallow, but he'd let it go and had maintained a shadow relationship with the man for his mom’s sake. But his uncle, he couldn’t wrap his mind around that.

“I introduced her to your father. I fed him a bunch a lies about her pedigree, pushed him to push you to meet the girl and then marry her. She and I set it up from the start.”

Grant’s mouth dropped. “But she said –”

“She lied. She hated Robert because he realized his mistake right after the wedding and made her life hell. He knew she cheated on you with someone, but he never figured who until that day in the hospital when you mentioned a video. You just had to prove you were a smart guy and tell everything.” He shook his head. “Now he blames me for everything, won’t talk to me or allow me anywhere near him. After all these years of working together, he blackballed me, and once certain people discovered that bit of information I haven’t been safe.”

“Safe? What do you mean?” There were too many curve balls coming at him, he couldn’t keep up to follow the threads.

“I need money and you’re going to get it. I promise not to miss this time.”

“Miss? This time?” Grant’s world tilted. The man couldn’t be implying what he thought.

His uncle waved the gun. “I need five million dollars by tomorrow. Get it.”

Grant jerked at the staggering amount. What the hell had his uncle done to need that much money?

“I can’t get that much –”

“Your dad has it, get it from him, the stingy bastard. All these years I worked with him, dirty deal after deal, and he gets angry over a little… I don’t care how you get the money, just get it or this time I will kill you. I’ve got nothing left. I swear I’ll take you and that boy of yours with me to the grave.”