by Lori Foster
With shaking hands he smoothed her hair and then carefully, tenderly, tilted her face up to him.
Grace loved him so much, keeping the words inside was nearly impossible. She managed, but something must have shown in her face.
Noah stared down at her for a long time while he struggled to catch his breath. His eyes were the darkest midnight, filled with turbulent emotion. Finally he sank down to sit in front of Grace, then pulled her close, rocking her into his naked body, his face pressed to her throat.
“Amazing Grace,” he whispered, and a second later she felt his smile.
Chapter Eleven
Noah woke with a dash of realization. Grace’s bedroom was now dark, her sheets heated from their bodies. Grace was curled close to his side like a small cat and it felt right, even comfortable, to have her there. She had one leg over his lap, one arm over his chest, with her palm resting on his nipple.
Wide awake now, Noah turned his head to look at Grace in the shadows, and he heard her mumble something in her sleep. She stirred, snuggling tighter to his side, and her hand curled, inadvertently stroking him.
Damn. He silently commanded his cock to behave, but it was an impossible order around Grace. She grouched at him and he wanted her. She smiled at him and his blood heated.
She got to her knees in front of him and he caught on fire. He hadn’t been this goddamned randy since his teenage years, when the only respite from life was wild, mind-numbing sex.
Well, Grace was here by her own volition, a decision she’d made without coercion. And better still, she enjoyed his excesses, and matched them with her own. He might as well take advantage of it.
But first he had a few questions for her.
Noah woke her by stroking her behind. Grace wriggled, moaned softly, shifted her leg over his crotch. Damn.
“Gracie?” He kissed her forehead, her upturned nose. Her fabulous hair trailed over them both in a wild tangle. “Wake up, Grace.”
She moved again, then stilled with awareness. “Noah?” Her head lifted. “What’s wrong?”
“Not a damn thing.” He stroked her tush again, then gave it a squeeze. “Except that I want to know why you had that uniform on.”
“What uniform?” she asked around a wide yawn. “What time is it?”
“The uniform you had on when I arrived, and I have no idea what time it is. What does it matter?”
Grace appeared to be pondering that, then he felt her shoulder shrug into his side. “It doesn’t. I don’t have to be at work till late afternoon tomorrow. I can sleep in.” She shifted around until she was half atop his chest. She toyed with his chest hair, then asked in a husky, hopeful voice, “Did you want me again?”
Noah tried and failed to hide his smile. God, after she’d used her sweet mouth on him, he should have been dead to the world, down for the count with the way his body had exploded. Instead, he’d been insatiable.
Each time he loved Grace made him want her that much more. Where she was concerned, his body showed no moderation, and his stamina seemed inexhaustible.
“You like this slave business, don’t you?”
She rubbed her breasts against his chest, nipped his chin, and purred, “Yes.”
“Grace,” he admonished, catching her bottom in his hands and holding her still before she swayed him from his purpose. “I want to talk.”
“Oh.” Her tone was filled with disappointment. “We could talk later.”
“We’ll talk now.”
She sighed long and drawn out. “Okay. About what?”
Noah laughed. “You haven’t been paying attention, Grace.”
“Well,” she teased, now nibbling on his bottom lip, “I’ve got this big, gorgeous, buck-naked hunk in my bed. If that’s not enough to stop a woman’s heart and scatter her wits, I don’t know what is.” And then, more seriously, “I never, ever thought anything like this would happen to me, Noah. I can hardly believe it. I want to relish every moment.”
“Grace.” Damn, she twisted his guts and tore at his heart. “I bet you’ve left a string of broken hearts behind.”
She laughed. “Don’t be ridiculous. Men never notice me.”
“You, sweetheart, are just oblivious. I’ve sneaked plenty of looks at you over the years.”
“Uh-huh.” Disbelief dripped from her tone. “Sure you did.”
“It’s true,” Noah insisted. Something about Grace had always drawn him. He’d told himself it was her quirky nature, her vibrating energy, and her staunch loyalty to her employer. He’d convinced himself it was respect and admiration.
He’d been so damn blind. “I was just subtle about it.”
Grace tucked her head under his chin, rested her cheek on his sternum. In a small voice, she said, “Because you were in love with Kara.”
“No.” Noah traced her spine, loving the sleek feel of her skin, the voluptuous upward curve of her bottom. “Because I was engaged to her. I never loved her, not the way I should have loved a woman I was going to marry. I know that now.”
“But you’re worried about her.”
Noah shrugged, admitting the truth of that. “I’m fond of Kara. She’s a nice person, and in a lot of ways she’s still like a child. I don’t want to see her hurt. But I’m not in love with her and I never was.”
Grace nodded in understanding and again leaned up to look at him. Noah could see the deep glitter of her eyes, the pale glow of her shoulders and breasts. “You’re her friend, and you’re afraid that whoever she’s involved with will hurt her.”
Noah stilled. “What are you talking about?”
She touched her nose to his. “I’m not an idiot, Noah. I know that Kara is involved with someone else. That’s why you broke the engagement. I’m assuming it’s someone at the restaurant, which is why she wants to hang out there.”
Noah shook his head in wonder. “That quick mind of yours never rests, does it?” He was amazed at her observation, at her sensitivity to others.
Grace resettled herself, trying to get comfortable. She squirmed in a way that quickly made Noah hard. “It’s obvious to anyone who knows you. It had to be something really personal, something insurmountable to cause you to call off the wedding. I’d say having a lover on the side would qualify.”
Noah hadn’t intended to discuss the situation with anyone other than his brother, and that had only been to let off steam. He’d known exactly how Ben would react, cursing them all and offering Noah his support in whatever way he needed.
He hadn’t discussed it with anyone else because he felt a lingering sense of protectiveness toward Kara. He didn’t want to see her reputation ruined, didn’t want to hear others condemn her.
But Grace wasn’t accusing. The night was dark, the room quiet except for their hushed conversation. And Grace was a warm, gentle weight atop his heart.
Noah realized he wanted more than the blind support his brother so freely gave. He wanted understanding; he wanted vindication.
He wanted to talk out his thoughts with someone unbiased.
“I wasn’t hurt when I found them.”
Grace hugged herself closer to him. She was silent for a long time, then asked, “You found them…together?”
“Yeah.”
“Must have been something of a shock.”
He shrugged. “You’d think so, wouldn’t you? I thought I had my life all figured out, thought I knew what I was doing. But damn…” Noah shook his head. “I walked in on them naked in the bed, literally in the act. And that’s when I realized I didn’t love her, because my biggest concern was how everyone else would take the breakup. For the longest time my grandmother planned on us marrying. She loves Kara.”
“She loves you, too.”
Noah laughed at that. “Yeah, so much so, she disowned me.”
Grace stiffened, then pushed herself up and spoke not two inches from his face. “Oh, Noah, don’t think that way. You know Agatha reacts with her pride first and later regrets it.”
“It’
s all right, Grace,” he told her gently, feeling like a fool. How did Grace keep getting him to act so melodramatic? It was totally unlike him and left him feeling foolish. “I’m a grown man, not a little boy.” Not anymore.
“But…Noah, I’m willing to bet that even now Agatha is trying to figure out how to get you back without losing face.”
“You think so, do you?”
Grace nodded. “Everything is a strategy to Agatha. She thinks in terms of maintaining control. That’s important to her.”
Grace was very astute when it came to his grandmother. “All she has to do is ask me.” Noah gave a wry smile. “Hell, I love the old witch.”
In her gruff, strict manner, Agatha had taught Noah savvy business sense and the finer nuances to success. She’d shown him how to fit in with society, how to adjust.
For all that, he owed her.
What Agatha hadn’t given him was pride and self-worth, because Noah had always had that, even when he’d had nothing else. Perhaps it was inherited, or maybe it had been formed from necessity. Noah didn’t discount what Agatha had done for him, but he knew in his heart that somehow, some way, he’d have changed the circumstances of his youth with or without her assistance.
What he wanted most from Agatha—unconditional trust and love and loyalty—she hadn’t given him.
Grace replied, as if she’d read his thoughts. “Agatha loves you, too, Noah, and she’s proud of you. I think she’d like to take credit for all your successes, but she knows the truth, just as I do. You’re the most capable man I’ve ever known. I would never doubt your ability to get ahead, with or without Agatha��s influence.”
Noah hugged Grace tight. He didn’t have to guess at her motives, or her sincerity, because she spoke her mind and gave of herself with equal gusto. She was the type of woman who would open her heart completely to a man she loved.
She’d already opened herself to him.
That fact had become a burning awareness in Noah’s conscience, sharper with each minute he spent near her. It disturbed him on many levels—especially since he found the idea so intriguing.
Noah changed the subject, saying, “I just realized, you haven’t asked me who Kara is sleeping with.”
“It’s none of my business.” Grace licked his throat, bit him gently. “But I’ll admit, I’m glad she’s not sleeping with you.”
“Grace.” Noah turned, pinning her beneath him. She was a soft cushion, inciting him, stirring him on so many levels. Without him asking, she opened her arms—and her thighs—to hold him close. “I want you to promise me something.”
She didn’t hesitate. “Anything.”
Grim, hating himself but unable to keep the demand inside, Noah said, “Swear to me that for as long as we’re involved, you won’t let another man touch you.”
It amazed Noah, but the idea of Grace lying down with someone else filled him with a killing rage. Seeing Kara naked and moaning with her lover hadn’t really touched him, but if Grace did the same…
Her gentle smile was barely discernible in the quiet night. He expected her quick agreement, but she took him by surprise. “Noah, no other man wants me.”
“Bullshit.” How could she be so oblivious to her sex appeal? Her lack of confidence annoyed him. “Promise me, Grace.”
She put her arms around his neck and pulled his mouth down to hers. “There’s no need,” she said, making him stiffen, and then she added, “But if that’s what you want, then sure, I swear.”
Noah kissed her hard, thrusting his tongue deep, biting her bottom lip. He was angry at himself, confused, but Grace gentled him just by stroking his hair, his shoulders. She made him feel both strong and weak with her complete giving.
By small degrees, Noah ended the kiss. He wanted Grace, wanted to lose himself in the warm, wet clasp of her body, in the sweet friction. But he was determined to get some of the talking done first.
“Why were you wearing that uniform, Grace?”
“Ben insists,” she murmured, trying to catch his mouth again.
His suspicions confirmed, Noah jerked upright to sit in the bed. He glared at the small lump her shadowed form made in the bedclothes. “Goddamn it, Grace, I knew that dress looked familiar. Don’t tell me this new job of yours is working for Ben.”
The room was silent.
“Well?” he demanded.
The bed shook with Grace’s philosophical shrug. “Do you want me to tell you or not?”
“Fuck. You are, aren’t you?”
Slowly, Grace sat up. “Noah Harper, using that word for sex, during sex, is not the same as cursing at me!”
Anger roiled inside him, spurred on by worry, by possessiveness. He could just imagine Grace bopping around Ben’s bar in that getup, making every guy in attendance hot. It was intolerable.
He gripped her shoulders and bore her back down on the bed. He loomed over her, his nose touching her own, his breath on her mouth.
Punctuating his words with a small shake, Noah said, “I don’t want you working there, Grace.”
She huffed, and though he could barely see her, he knew she was glaring. “I never asked you.”
An undeniable truth, and one he didn’t like at all. “It’s dangerous.”
“I’m a big girl.”
Her emphasis on big pushed Noah right over the edge. He growled and shook her again. “Damn it, Grace. You’re gonna make one too many cracks on weight and I swear to God, I’m going to put you over my knee.”
Her eyes widened, looking opalescent in the darkness. Breathless, she asked, “Really?” and damned if she didn’t sound intrigued.
Noah burned, but he wasn’t about to be sidetracked by sex. Not this time. “I can promise you won’t like it.”
In a huff, Grace flattened her hands hard against his chest and shoved. “Then forget it.”
Noah refused to budge. “I wasn’t asking your permission.”
“And I wasn’t asking for yours. We agreed to obedience in the bedroom, Noah, not in my entire life. Where I work is none of your business.”
And that was what really pissed him off. He wanted everything that concerned Grace to be his business. He wanted to know that she was safe and happy and that she was…his.
Shit. Noah shoved himself away from her. Confusion churned inside him, making his head pound, his heart race. He’d just ended a long-term, complicated engagement, just ruined a close family relationship. His life, his future, was all up in the air.
Oh, he had no doubt he’d do fine; as Grace had pointed out, he knew how to take care of himself. He’d been a survivalist from birth.
But he had to get his life settled, had to put out the other fires before starting a new blaze. The last thing Noah wanted or needed was another entanglement in his life, and Grace was most definitely entangling him. She’d already turned him inside out.
Sex with Grace had seemed like such a great idea, a way to relieve his tension and stay unattached. In his usual fashion, he had made his decision to become involved with her. But he’d veered from his original plan in a big way, which was something he never did.
Now he wanted more than just the bone-melting sex, when he knew more was the worst thing. “I’m sorry.”
Grace let out a long sigh. “I had no idea you’d react like this.”
How could she have known? He hadn’t known. He’d been engaged to Kara for years and had never been so controlling.
“Forget it.” But then, because the worry was still there, despite everything he’d just told himself, Noah twisted to face her. “Grace, it really isn’t the best place to work.”
“Ben told me you wouldn’t like it, but I promised him you wouldn’t care.”
He’d strangle Ben. “My brother can be astute on occasion, but this time his judgment was off. He should never have hired you.”
Grace dropped back on the bed. “Here we go again.”
“Don’t be sarcastic, Grace. Ben runs a tight business, and I’m damn proud of him. But he
caters to a lot of rough customers. It’s not too bad during the week, but on the weekends, especially in the evening, it can get rowdy, even dangerous.”
“He told me no one had ever been seriously hurt.”
He supposed Ben didn’t count his own stitches, bruises, and cuts as serious. Noah would have a long, serious talk with his little brother very soon. “It’s only a matter of time. That’s no place for a lady.”
“He has other women working for him.”
Grace’s arguments were grating. Through his teeth, Noah said, “They’re not you, Grace.”
“And just what does that mean?”
She sounded so insulted, Noah shook his head. “You’ve never lived in that type of environment. You’re not street smart. I’ve met Ben’s other waitresses. Hell, I grew up with women like them. They know the score.”
“And you’re saying I don’t?”
Hoping to sooth her growing temper, Noah stroked her thigh through the blankets. “I’m saying you’re sweet and naïve.”
“I am not.”
“You just told me men don’t notice you. If that’s not naïve, then what is?”
“It’s the truth, Noah. Men don’t look at women who are…”
She hesitated, and he grinned evilly. “Remember my warning, babe. My palm is itching.” He released her thigh and found her hip. He squeezed suggestively.
Grace scoffed at him. “You’d never hit me in anger, Noah, and we both know it.”
She was right, damn it. Her faith in him was humbling.
Noah decided he’d just have to find another way to dissuade her. The answer came to him in a flash. “I wanted you to go to Florida with me.”
“Florida?” Grace shoved up on her elbows. Moonlight fell softly over her breasts, making a pretty picture. “What’s in Florida?”
Distracted, Noah said, “Rental property I bought. I already owned one condo complex there, but another has gone up for sale next door.”
“You own a condo in Florida?”
Noah wondered if she had any real idea of his monetary worth. Agatha had shown him the value of owning land and property, and he’d quickly begun acquiring his own. But even Agatha hadn’t been informed of all his purchases. For some time now, Noah had felt the need to guarantee himself financial security.
