‘You have great office space.’
He thought he heard Lauren sigh. ‘My father offered it to me. Unfortunately, I’m not in a position to refuse his help until I can start drawing more income out of the business.’
Done with pleasantries, Grayson studied her reflection in the glass. ‘Are you ready to go?’
‘I have to attend a cocktail party at one of my client’s homes.’
Grayson resisted the urge to grind his teeth together. ‘Fine, remind me where the nearest BART station is and I’ll get back to the airport.’
Lauren put down her pen and had the nerve to smile at him. ‘Are you leaving so soon? I never thought you a coward.’
Grayson sat back down in his chair with a thump. Dammit, the woman was right. Just because he’d expected instant sex didn’t mean he had to get it. It made him remember all the women he’d kept waiting over the years while he’d been too busy to attend to them. Perhaps there was such a thing as karma.
He guessed Lauren was trying to make a point. Grayson forced himself to relax. Lauren was in charge now.
‘I’m not going anywhere. What can I do to please you, oh mistress? And how long will it be before I can get you into bed?’
Lauren pointed to a door set in the back wall of her office. ‘I was hoping you’d accompany me to the cocktail party. I’ve got some clothes for you in there, if you’d like to change.’
Grayson narrowed his eyes. ‘You aren’t trying to get back at me are you?’
Lauren tried to look innocent and failed miserably. ‘Why on earth would I do that? I loved dressing like cowgirl trash.’
Picking up his bag, Grayson headed for the bathroom. He could only hope she hadn’t chosen see-through plastic pants and a black garbage-bag vest for him. To his surprise, he found a charcoal-grey Armani suit, a blue shirt and a silver tie. There was no underwear.
He washed up, shaved and put on the clothes. Everything fitted to perfection, reminding him of his days in the city. He folded his jeans and shirt and returned them to his bag. At least his black cowboy boots could stay on his feet. It was good to have something to remind him that at least the shit he waded through these days was of his own choosing.
Grayson straightened his tie one last time and sauntered back into the office. Lauren wasn’t there. He turned a slow circle. The outside door opened and he composed his features as Lauren came in.
She wore high sandals with diamanté straps and a long black coat which covered her from ankle to neck. He straightened as she walked towards him. The whisper of silk beneath her coat and the warmth of her body beckoned to his senses.
‘Grayson, you look . . . wonderful.’ Lauren’s open admiration made Grayson feel sexy as hell. She walked around him as if he were on display at a museum.
‘You can touch me if you like, I’m real.’
Lauren laughed, her soft amusement dissolving the lines of strain on her face. ‘I know you are. I’m just amazed at how well you . . .’
‘Scrub up?’ He bowed. ‘I feel kind of naked without my Stetson, but I’ll have to deal with it.’
Lauren stroked his arm, as if admiring the fit of the jacket. ‘You look as if you were born to wear this suit.’
Gray wanted to laugh. She was way too close to the truth. He’d started his first business at the age of five buying cheap candy at the local store and selling it at a profit door to door to local teenagers who were too lazy to go into town.
He took her hand and kissed her fingers. A surge of lust shook through him and he mentally sized up her desk. If he ‘cleared some space’, he could lay her down and make love to her before they went. Lauren pulled her hand away.
‘We really need to get going, Grayson. The party is in Pacific Heights and we’re already late.’
Gray looked around for his hat and then remembered he couldn’t wear it. He picked up his bag instead. ‘I hope this party isn’t going to last too long. I was kind of hoping we’d get to spend some time alone together.’
‘Welcome to my life, Grayson.’ She sighed extravagantly. ‘Business always comes before pleasure.’
Lauren waited in the corridor until he came past her and then locked the door. He followed her down to the front of the building where Ella waited in the car.
After Lauren settled herself in the seat, Grayson gestured at Ella. ‘How come you have a female chauffeur?’
Lauren looked surprised. ‘Why should it be a problem? She’s just as capable of driving around the city as a man.’
Grayson settled back against the leather seat. ‘I’m not trying to be sexist but wouldn’t you prefer to have a big guy behind the wheel in case you run into any trouble?’
Lauren’s face cleared. ‘I see what you mean, but I’ve never had a problem and Ella, well, Ella provides me with companionship and privacy when I need it.’
Grayson reached forwards and took Lauren’s hand. Soft-pink nail polish glinted on her perfectly manicured fingernails. ‘So she’s like the three wise monkeys?’
‘I suppose she is.’ Lauren’s smile turned inwards. ‘I trust her Grayson. She’s my best friend. She would never betray me.’
He licked her fingertips and she shivered. ‘So if I pulled you onto my lap and started making out with you, she’d turn a blind eye?’ His shaft swelled, brushing against the soft fabric of his pants, as he imagined driving himself into her tight wet heat.
Lauren licked her lips and he followed the motion of the delicate tip of her tongue. She disengaged her hand and sat back. ‘Perhaps we’ll find out on the way home.’
Grayson smoothed his hand over his bulging groin and watched Lauren check him out. ‘How about now?’
She smiled then. ‘Oh no you don’t. We have a cocktail party to attend.’ The car turned a sharp corner and climbed another monstrous hill, the engine straining against the gradient. Lauren glanced out of the window. ‘We’re almost there anyway.’
Grayson pretended to frown. ‘How do you want me to behave, Lauren? Like a business associate, a boyfriend, a lover or a husband?’
The car stopped at the kerb and Ella got out. Lauren drew her coat around her as she prepared to open the door. She looked uncomfortable. ‘I want you to behave like yourself.’
Grayson followed her up the steps of the magnificent Victorian mansion. He’d owned a similar house not far from here and knew how expensive they were to buy and maintain. A butler awaited them in the hall. Grayson waited while Lauren unbuttoned her coat and then eased it from her shoulders.
It took him a few seconds to comprehend what the coat had covered. Lauren’s back was bare from the nape of her neck to the swell of her buttocks. A thin circle of black silk encircled her neck anchoring the front of her dress. He wanted to lick his way down the swanlike curve of her spine, to feel the soft flesh against his mouth, to make her his again.
‘Grayson?’ Lauren turned towards him, an enquiring look on her face.
If the back view made him speechless, the front view made thousands of lights explode throughout his brain. Her black silk halter-neck dress was held together between her breasts with a silver brooch and then flowed down over her hips to just below her knees.
Grayson struggled to swallow. ‘You look great.’
Lauren smoothed her hands over the front of the dress emphasising her curves. ‘Do you like it? It’s nineteen-fifties Dior couture.’
He nodded wisely as if what she said made a lick of sense. He briefly wondered whether she’d mind if he ripped the dress off her writhing body.
She gave him a concerned glance and touched his arm. ‘Grayson, are you ready to go in?’
Grayson tugged her closer until he could whisper in her ear. ‘Anytime. I’m ready whenever you are.’
Lauren ran her finger along his jawline making his toes curl. ‘You’ll have to catch me first.’
‘Is that a dare?’ Grayson asked as they mounted the ornate staircase to the second-floor reception rooms.
Lauren paused outside the main door and bit her luscious lower lip. Grayson’s cock threatened to drill a hole through his zipper.
‘I suppose it is,’ Lauren whispered. ‘But only if you can seduce me without destroying my reputation.’
Grayson tipped an imaginary hat at her. ‘Lady, I love a challenge, you’re on.’
Chapter Fifteen
As they waited in line to meet their host, Grayson idled away the time stroking his fingers up and down Lauren’s exposed spine. Every time he reached the lower curve of her back, she shivered and moved closer. Grayson’s confident smile widened. If he had his way, she’d be naked and straddling him very shortly.
He’d expected to see a different side of Lauren in her work environment, in fact, he’d looked forward to it, but she was definitely on edge. She was presenting a more sophisticated, harder image. It was like watching a little girl play dress-up in her big bad sister’s clothes. All Grayson had to work out was which sister Lauren really wanted to be.
He placed his palm in the centre of Lauren’s back as they were introduced to the owner of the house and his wife. From Lauren’s relaxed conversation, Grayson gathered that the Cooks were old friends of Lauren’s father. When Lauren introduced him, Grayson stepped forwards to shake Mr Cook’s hand.
The older man gave him a thorough inspection before relaxing his grip. Grayson wondered how long it would take for the news of his appearance at Lauren’s side to get back to her father. He knew, even if she didn’t, how business really operated – through old friendships, over a round of golf, in a men’s club. He realised Mr Cook was speaking.
‘Your name sounds familiar. What do you do, Mr Turner?’
Grayson smiled. ‘I’m a rancher, Mr Cook.’
Lauren pressed his arm. ‘Grayson runs a horse-breeding and training programme in South Oregon.’
Mr Cook’s gaze lingered on Grayson’s jacket. ‘It was good of your employer to let you out for the weekend.’ He smiled revealing over-whitened teeth. ‘Judging by that suit, he must pay you real well.’
Forgetting his party manners, Grayson winked. ‘Hell, no, Lauren bought me this. She didn’t want me to feel out of place amongst all you city folk.’
Lauren drilled her heel into his foot. He tried not to wince.
‘Grayson’s just kidding. He’s actually his own boss.’
Grayson held Mr Cook’s derisive stare and allowed the anger he felt to spill over into his gaze. He despised men like Mr Cook and his own father who judged everyone by the size of their bank account. He already regretted his promise not to spoil Lauren’s evening.
‘As the lady said, I was kidding. I wouldn’t want you getting the wrong idea about me being Lauren’s boy toy or something.’
Mr Cook remained silent and lowered his eyes first, leaving Grayson feeling victorious. Lauren grabbed his arm and smiled warmly at Mrs Cook. ‘Thanks for inviting us and give my regards to Amy. I heard she’s getting married in the fall?’
Lauren dragged Grayson as far away from their host as she could in the limited space available. Grayson steeled himself for her anger. In attempt to delay his fate, he plucked two glasses of champagne from a passing waiter and handed one to her.
‘I should imagine that’s one wedding I’m not going to be invited to and thank goodness,’ Lauren said. ‘His daughter is the biggest bitch going.’
Grayson touched his glass to hers. ‘Aren’t you going to scream at me for my appalling behaviour?’
To his surprise, Lauren smiled. ‘I’ve never seen anyone reduce Mr Cook to silence before except my father.’
Grayson wasn’t sure why, but that appeared to be a point in his favour. He wasn’t inclined to question it.
‘He’s been known to make his staff cry.’ Lauren toasted him with her champagne glass. ‘You made him look vulgar and prying.’
Grayson smiled into her eyes. ‘My pleasure, ma’am.’ He looked around the crowded room. ‘Is there anyone else here you’d like me to insult for you?’
Lauren raised her eyebrows. ‘I thought you were trying to seduce me, not make me laugh.’
Grayson brought his hand up between their bodies and stroked her breast through the black silk of her dress. His breath caught as he grazed her tightened nipple with his fingertips. He trapped the tip between his finger and thumb and squeezed. Lauren made a soft sound and closed her eyes.
He leant into her, rolling her hardened flesh between his fingers, urging her closer. ‘When I get my mouth around this, I’m going to suck for hours until you beg me to stop.’
He watched her lick her lips and wished he could drag her down to her knees and push his cock into her luscious, willing mouth. The butler announced another guest. Grayson reluctantly pulled away but not before he’d inhaled the wondrous scent of her arousal mixed with champagne.
Lauren turned to the window and Grayson followed. Looking down at her, he could see her nipples straining against the silk. He wanted to be inside her with all the urgent lust of a sixteen-year-old kid. He kissed her shoulder and then smiled at their reflection in the old Victorian window glass.
‘How long do we have to stay at this party?’
Lauren let out her breath. ‘Not for too long. Mr Cook likes to give a tour of his house, which usually starts in the wine cellar. He’s an avid wine collector and likes to show off his knowledge to his guests.’
Grayson considered the advantages of a wine cellar. Most were badly lit, had barrels to hide behind and secluded dark corners. It could suit his plans for seduction very well.
‘I say we do the tour and then get out of here.’
Lauren gave him a relieved smile. ‘You don’t have to worry about all that “seduction” business. I was only teasing you.’
Grayson didn’t bother to answer, his attention on their host who had come forwards to invite his guests on a tour of his historic house. He took Lauren’s hand and walked back into the centre of the room.
‘Let’s go and enjoy the tour, honey. I love a good wine buff.’
As he’d hoped, Mr Cook’s wine cellar was shadowed, badly lit and quite extensive. Grayson held Lauren back as the other twenty guests gathered around their host. Casually leaning against one of the oak supports, Grayson turned Lauren towards him.