“And you’ve just got yourself three more,” Tank said and my smile was anything but forced.
Tank and I danced and chatted a while longer, then Rollie came and decided it was his turn to woo the fair maiden – his words.
“So how goes our first Champers Day?” Rollie asked me as he twirled me around expertly.
I grinned. “Very well.”
“We’re doing it right? Tank tried Googling it, but couldn’t find anything.”
I snorted. “Ah. No. It was a thing my friends and I made up. Like girls’ night, but for special occasions. Graduations, passing exams, getting a job, or…” I paused.
“What?”
“Losing our virginity…” I laughed and he grinned warmly.
“Oh yeah?”
I nodded. “Yes.”
“Well, I for one am honoured you let us share this one with you.”
I felt a warm and fuzzy inside at his tone, but a familial one. “I’m glad I did, Ryder.”
He wrinkled is nose. “God, it’s been forever since anyone called me that,” he chuckled.
“Why do they call you Rollie?” I asked him.
“Ah.” He smirked. “Most of us got into the habit of smoking while we were deployed. The least mind-impairing stress-relief we’d allow ourselves–”
“You mean weed?” I hissed.
He laughed. “No. Just tobacco. But I’ve always preferred rollies, preferably unfiltered. The name stuck.”
“You still smoke?”
He shrugged. “Not often. The rest of the guys managed to quit all right. Nico replaced nicotine with the dark web or something. Tank replaced it with a punching bag. And Hawk and Chaos…” He stopped almost guiltily and I had an idea where this was going.
“Sex.”
He nodded. “Pretty much.”
I smiled. “I guess there are worse vices?”
He shrugged. “It could definitely be worse.”
Talk turned to lighter things after that. And after a while, Nico came to butt in muttering, “They’ll make me at some point anyway.”
“You don’t want to dance with me?” I joked as he put his hand on my waist.
He shook his head. “I didn’t say that. I just don’t like dancing. It’s nothing against you. But since this is Amber Appreciation Champers Day, I am beholden to dance with you. So, I thought I’d get it over with.”
I smirked. “And how long is an acceptable amount of time to do so?”
He looked down for a moment. “Actually, now I’m here, I don’t mind I so much.”
“Is that because I manage to make you look good?”
He laughed. “Yeah. Probably.”
His laughter was infectious and I couldn’t help laughing as well. Which meant we bumped into each other and that set us off harder.
“I am actually quite surprised to see you dance so well,” I said.
He nodded. “Sometimes, in the security business, we double as escorts.”
I stumbled and bumped into him without any laughter this time. “You mean you…?” I lowered my voice. “You mean you sleep with the clients?”
He blinked, totally unfazed. “I was referring to the whole escorting them to functions and the like. But…” He leant his lips to my ear. “There is a rumour swirling among the upper class that the Grace Grayson team guarantees complete…satisfaction…”
I burst into giggles and pulled back to look at him. “Seriously?”
Nico inclined his head in a way that was neither a confirmation nor a denial. “That’s what I hear.”
I looked into those blue eyes calculatingly. “Is there any truth to it as far as you could say?”
“Well I wouldn’t be permitted to say. We’re also prided on our confidentiality.” He gave me a wink and I snorted.
“May I cut in?” The voice slid over my skin, sending tingles rushing over my body.
I knew I’d probably had a little bit too much to drink. It hadn’t been enough to get messy, but it was enough to get giggly and chatty.
“Of course, boss,” Nico said with another wink to me.
I bit my lip against a laugh and nodded to him, and Kit slid into position effortlessly.
“Hey,” I said softly.
“Hi,” he replied and the look in his eyes made my stomach flutter excitedly. “Having a good night?”
I nodded. “Yes. Thank you.”
His eyes slid away from me for a moment. “You deserve it.”
“I will pay you back for the dress one day.” I waggled my head. “If I ever get a job that pays half as well as yours.”
He chuckled and his grip on my tightened momentarily, as though he’d been about to tickle me or kiss me or something. Then he cleared his throat. “I’ll make you a deal.”
“Oh yeah?”
“Yeah. Get through your doctorate and we’ll worry about what you owe me then.”
“What if I never finish it?”
His smirk was rueful and his eyes blazed with something that made tingles shoot through me. “Then I guess you’re stuck with me.”
Bare skin only touched in two places – our hands and my back – but it felt like everything ignited. It felt like nothing I’d ever felt before. I was no stranger to heavy petting, as it were, and Kit made me very interested just then in some very heavy petting. I kept replaying the almost-kiss from the night before in my mind and wondering what a real one would feel like.
Despite the champagne powering my system, I was determined to keep at least a semblance of cool.
12
Kit
I looked down and my heart thumped awkwardly in my chest at the look in her eyes. She was so light and free and happy that night and it hit me in a place I hadn’t been aware I still had. And now she was looking up at me like there was definitely more.
I’d danced with a lot of women in my time, but none had felt like Amber. None had given me that feeling of butterflies in my chest and a goofy smile on my face I was barely able to hide. Certainly, none had had me cutting in out of jealousy. Something seemed to be zinging between us, something that I couldn’t control and something I had no delusions was one-sided.
I wanted to pick her up and wrap her legs around my waist while we found the nearest surface and… And, while the look in her eyes suggested she’d be very willing if I kissed her, if I wasn’t going to do something inadvisable then I needed a break. I gave her a warm smile and passed her off to her brother as soon as possible.
“She’s something else, isn’t she?” Rollie asked as I dropped back into my seat.
I nodded. “She is.”
Amber had danced with each of the guys and I’d watched her with each of them with no concerns at all. Except for the twinge of jealousy that hit me at the way she laughed with Nico. I couldn’t get a read on the two of them, but she was comfortable with him and he with her. Which seemed odd on both sides. It was good. I wanted Amber to get along with the Grace Grayson team as much as I was sure Hawk did. I had far less reason to, so I wasn’t quite sure why I did so much.
And I couldn’t work it out while I was constantly distracted by the way her hips swayed in that dress. She was dancing with her brother, so there was nothing inherently sexual in the way she was moving. But I was fighting for control.
“Whiskey,” I said to the waiter as he went by and Rollie held his hand for one as well.
Amber had spent all week messing up my tidy equilibrium and it was now totally shot. I needed to get my head on straight. I pulled my eyes off her and managed to get through most of the rest of the night without thinking of her in ways I really shouldn’t.
We finally said our goodnights, being the last customers and realising we should really let McLean and his people pack up and go home. I invited the guys back but, as high as our tolerance for alcohol had become, if we were going to make it into work before midday, then we were going to need to sleep.
Amber gave eac
h of the boys a hug goodbye, then I slid her coat on and we headed back to the Mayhew. She seemed to shiver a little so I put my arm around her as we walked and chatted about the evening.
She laughed. “Has Tank always been so–?”
Everything happened so quickly I barely registered it all. Amber was ripped out of my arm as she fell to the floor with a yell of surprise. I heard myself call her name as she said, “Johnson, I’m so sorry!” and I realised that she’d bumped into the doorman and they’d both fallen on the stairs.
“No, Miss. My fault. Are you okay?”
“Amber!” I called again and I held a hand out to her.
She smiled at me like she was waving my worry away. If only it was that easy. “I’m fine.”
She took my hand but, as she put weight on her right leg, she winced.
“Oh, Miss. Are you hurt?” Johnson asked, concern marring his fatherly features.
Amber shook her head. “I’m sure it’s just twisted. It’ll be fine.”
“I can get some ice?”
I steadied myself as Amber leant more weight on my arm. “Thank you, Johnson. I’ve got plenty upstairs. I’ll see to her.”
He nodded. “Of course, Mr Grayson. My apologies.”
I gave him a short smile. “Accidents happen.”
Johnson nodded and stepped back. I swung Amber into my arms.
She squeaked, “What are you doing?” and put her arms around my neck.
“Carrying you up. Just a precaution.”
Her eyes found mine for a moment and I realised how close our lips were. Her already flushed cheeks went redder and she bit her lip with a nod. She wanted it. I wanted it. But was it really such a good idea?
“Sure,” she said softly.
“Good night, sir,” Johnson said.
I nodded to him. “Good night, Johnson.”
I carried Amber carefully to the elevator, not hating the feel of her in my arms.
“I’m sure I could walk,” she huffed as she leant down to press the button.
“I’m sure you could,” I replied as she put her arms around my neck again.
“It’s not even that sore.”
“Of course not.” I felt the smile tugging at my lips as the door opened and Nigel looked up in shock.
“Everything all right, Mr Grayson?”
I nodded as I stepped into the elevator. “Amber just had a spill on the stairs.”
“I’m sure I could walk by myself,” she interjected.
“Just a precaution,” I finished.
“Well, I’m sure Mr Grayson knows what he’s doing, Miss Grace.”
I felt her laugh. “I’m sure he’d like to think so.”
“Hey!” I objected and she laughed out loud.
Nigel waved us into the penthouse since my card was a little difficult to get to and bid us goodnight. I carried Amber inside and put her on the bench.
“All right. Let me look at it,” I said, trailing my fingers down her leg a little unnecessarily to slip her shoe off.
“Were you a medic in another life, Kit?” she teased and I looked up at her in humour.
“We’ve all had first aid training,” I replied, taking her other shoe off and dropping it with the other on the floor.
She was looking at me with nothing but heat in those violet eyes and a playful smirk at those gorgeous lips. All thoughts of checking her ankle or getting her ice left my mind as I planted my hands on either side of her. She chuckled and I felt it in my cock.
It felt like we’d been waiting for one of us to move forward all night – fuck, for days. There were so many reasons why we shouldn’t. I wasn’t the relationship type, she was worth so much more than I had to offer, her brother would kill me if I touched her and he’d be none too pleased with her either. But I felt like I couldn’t keep living on the edge like this without tasting her once. It took all my self-control not to kiss her.
She caught her lip in her teeth. “What would you say if I asked you to kiss me?” she asked teasingly.
“Ignoring the fact we shouldn’t?” I asked, not even caring my voice was husky and desperate. I bent my nose to her neck and breathed in deeply.
“Why shouldn’t we?” Her hand trailed up my arm tantalisingly.
There were so many reasons. I was just having trouble remembering what they were just then. “You know why.”
“Because you’re you and I’m me.” Her voice came out with a slight sigh as her head tilted, giving me better access to her neck.
“And exactly who are we?”
Her hand rested lightly on my arm as I moved my nose gently along the skin of her neck and shoulder, barely touching her. “You’re the arrogant, sexy guy who stars in the sordid dreams of anyone who sees you and I’m the twenty-three-year-old frumpy virgin geek.”
“Have you seen yourself?” I asked her.
She took a shaky breath and I felt her lean into me. “I look beautiful tonight.”
“You look beautiful every night.”
Her breath caught for a second but, when she spoke, I heard the smile in her voice. “But you still can’t kiss me?”
“That doesn’t change the fact that my aggro best friend and your overprotective older brother are one and the same,” I told her, my self-control waning steadily at the tone of her voice. She was demanding but coy, like she was playing at me being the one in charge when we really knew it was her.
Even so, she surprised me when her grip on my arm tightened and I looked into her eyes. “I still want you to kiss me.”
I wanted to kiss her. I wanted to kiss her more than I remembered wanting anything in that moment. I shouldn’t. I should stay strong, for Hawk if nothing else. But her knee hugged my hip tightly, pulling me towards her. She leant into me, her lips stopping close enough that our noses bumped and I could almost feel her.
“Kiss me, Kit?”
I couldn’t take it anymore. Call me weak, call me stupid, call me insensitive. I’d own it all. But I needed to touch her. I took her cheek in my hand and pressed my lips to hers. Something bright and warm spread through my chest as her arms wound around my neck and she kissed me back deeply.
One taste of her and I was hooked.
I could taste the whiskey and chocolate on her as her knee hugged my hip. There was nothing else sweet about it and certainly nothing chaste. My tongue swept into her mouth, but she wasn’t the submitting kind. And I didn’t mind in the slightest.
“We really shouldn’t be doing this,” I panted between kisses.
“Probably not,” she admitted, making no effort to pull away and, if anything, holding me tighter.
“Probably not,” I agreed.
“We should stop,” she said as she untucked my shirt.
“Could we, though?” I teased, hoping too late she’d understand my thoughtless words. It wasn’t like me. She had me out of my mind.
“Probably not,” she said against my lips. I felt her lips tilt in a smile against mine and knew she hadn’t been offended.
“Do you want me to stop?” I asked her, knowing I didn’t want to but would if it was what she wanted.
I felt her shake her head. “No.” It was a forceful, definite answer and it was all I needed.
We were done with words and our kiss deepened. Her hand slid up my stomach under my shirt and mine slid up her skirt. As my thumb traced the inside of her thigh, she flinched and I froze. I started to pull away slowly but her hand shot out and wrapped around my wrist, keeping my hand in place.
“I’m sorry,” I started. “I shouldn’t have–”
But she shook her head. “I wasn’t reacting to you.” She looked up at me, those near-violet eyes boring into mine, beseeching something of me. “I want you to touch me, Kit.”
“Are you sure? We can stop.”
She shook her head again. “I want you to touch me, Kit,” she repeated, pointedly.
She wanted me to understand what
she was saying. And I did. My expression softened and I leant into her gently. “I’ll go slow.”
She nodded. As I moved forward to kiss her again, she pulled away slightly and said, “Just let me…” She frowned like she was confused or annoyed.
“Tell me what you want, what you need.”
She pressed her lips together tightly before saying, “It might sound stupid, but I just need to remember it’s you.”
I shook my head, brushing my nose lightly against hers purposefully. “It doesn’t sound stupid at all.” Slowly, I dragged my hands from her and placed them on the kitchen counter on either side of her legs.
“What are you–?”
“Shh,” I breathed, leaning my lips to her ear. “Before I touch you, I want to tell you exactly what I plan to do to you…”
I felt and heard her suck a quick breath in and I was sure she leant towards me ever so slightly.
“I’m going to kiss you until you melt into me. I’m going to gently trace the soft skin of your inner thigh with my finger until I feel the heat between your legs. I’m going to kiss you until you feel nothing but me. I’m going to stroke you gently, bringing you to the brink of pleasure…” It wasn’t until I felt her legs part further that I knew she really wanted it, that she was more mentally ready for it. So, I finished with, “And then, Amber, you’re going to come for me.”
I felt her jump a little and she pulled back to look at me. “What?”
My mouth twisted in a smirk. “You don’t want to come for me?”
She opened her mouth, then snapped it shut. The look of total defiance that suddenly crossed her face was at odds with the heat of desire in her eyes. Finally, she cocked an eyebrow and said, “Willing and able are two very different things.”
I leant into her and she watched me carefully, humour playing in her eyes. “By the time I’m finished with you, you’ll be lost in such a haze of pleasure you’ll have forgotten your own name.”
“Those are mighty big words to say to a girl who’s never had a single orgasm, Christopher.”
I couldn’t help but grin at her. “Oh, I plan to more than make up for that.”
Chaos & the Geek (Grace Grayson Security Book 1) Page 13
