by Ally Summers
The way his eyes flickered I realized I had struck a nerve. One that was too personal for me to touch. I had crossed a line.
“Your recommendation is noted.”
“I’m sorry. I think I said too much.”
He waved a hand in front of me and returned to his desk. “Continue with what you’re doing.”
“But I—”
“There is nothing else to discuss.”
I clamped my lips together. I didn’t make a peep the rest of the day. I worked thirty feet from Grayson Hawthorne, and it felt as if there was an ocean between us. I wished I could have zipped my opinionated mouth, but when did I ever follow my own advice.
At the end of the day I closed my laptop and slung it into a messenger bag. Grayson was typing on his computer.
“I think I’m going to head home.”
“Good night, Sienna.”
I hesitated by the door. “I guess I’ll see you in the morning.”
He nodded, without looking at me. I expelled a pent-up breath. I had royally screwed this up.
“Leaving?” Celia waited for me in the foyer.
“Yes. Have a good night.”
She rolled her eyes.
I shook my head. I didn’t know how much longer I would make it at Hawthorne Global.
Nine
Grayson
Every night ended the same way. For a week, I had let Sienna waltz out of the office without so much as an offer to buy her a drink or dinner. I had to fight my bear. It was getting harder to work in the same space with her.
The sound of her voice. The way her perfume made me weak. The way her blue eyes lit up when she figured out how to solve a design problem. All of it was chipping away at a wall I had thought was impenetrable.
The chopper landed on the roof. I had been scouting tracts of land to replace Silverstone.
As soon as it touched down my impulse was to run to the executive suite. It was late in the afternoon, but Sienna should still be there.
I found her struggling with a piece of furniture.
“Need some help?” I walked over, lifting one end of a coffee table.
She jumped. “You scared me. I didn’t know you were back.”
I smiled. “Might be the first time someone accused me of being quiet.”
She giggled. “You are kind of loud.”
I handled the table. “Is this where you want it?”
She stood back, realizing I could move the furniture with little effort. “I’m not sure this is the right table. I think I’m going to have to send it back.”
I stared at it. It looked like a table to me. I didn’t see what was wrong with it. I glanced at Sienna. Her nose was scrunched. She was visibly unhappy with it.
“Want me to carry it out?” I offered.
She bit her bottom lip. Her eyes had dropped to my bicep. It flexed with the weight of the table.
“I-uh… no. I’ll call the company and have them collect it.”
I placed the legs back on the floor. I hurried past her, but I moved too quickly and my arm knocked into her shoulder, brushing her with the momentum of a linebacker. She teetered backward on her heels. My arm snaked around her waist just before she tumbled to the floor.
I grasped her waist in my hand and made the mistake of looking in her eyes. They were endless pools of blue.
My chest seized and my heart hammered so loudly I couldn’t hear her gasp. Holding her against me the world flipped upside down. Her eyes slayed me.
She blinked. “Wow.”
I knew I was supposed to put her feet back on the floor, but I couldn’t let go. The heat from her body melted into my chest. She felt soft and warm. Perfect and desirable. It happened before I could stop it. It happened before I could put the chains back on my bear.
I leaned forward, sweeping my lips over hers. The fire from her touch seared my skin. I kissed her. My tongue twined along hers. The softness of her fingertips traced my neck as she held onto it while the kiss deepened.
My bear was hungry. He had been hungry for her his entire life.
I pressed my mouth against hers, needing the taste of her like wine to drink. She was finally in my arms.
As I kissed Sienna, wrapping my body around hers, I knew I had finally found my mate.
Everything changed with that kiss.
I stared at her, finally letting her find her balance.
“I-I…”
“Don’t say anything,” I warned her.
“But I—”
She was my mate. I needed a damn second to figure this out. We’d been together all week. My bear had been trying to tell me. I had done everything I could not to touch her, but it happened anyway. And now I knew the truth.
“Hey, Grayson.”
I looked up to see Oliver in the doorway.
Sienna walked to her desk.
“Did I interrupt something?” He looked between us.
“No. What’s up?”
He nodded toward the lobby. “Want to talk out here for a second?”
Sienna hadn’t moved. “Sure.” I followed my brother to the reception area.
“You couldn’t have picked a worse time,” I whispered harshly.
“Seemed like something was going on between you two when I walked in.”
“Not really any of your damn business. I just got back from the flight. I scouted a few different sites today.”
He shook his head. “Not why I came up here. Remember that conversation we had a few days ago about Promise Lake?”
“What about it?”
He held up his phone. “I texted Stansbury and it’s taken care of.”
“What’s taken care of?”
“You and that girl of yours are going to Promise Lake this weekend. The house will be fully operational.”
I growled. “You and Jackson.”
He smiled. “You’ll thank us one day when you’re surrounded by cubs and not quarterly reports.”
“I didn’t ask you two to interfere.”
“If I had found a beautiful woman, I wouldn’t be arguing with my little brother about her. I’d take her to Promise Lake and claim the hell out of her.” He winked. “Which is exactly what you should be doing.”
“Stay out of it, Oliver. You don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“By the look on her face when I walked in, I think I do.” He walked backward to the elevator. “You’ll be thanking me Monday. Oh, and Stansbury knows to stock the fridge and unlock the wine cellar.”
I closed my eyes, but instead of anger for my brother there was excitement. Was there a better place to take Sienna and tell her she was my mate than our remote chateau? Was there anywhere else in the world to confess to this woman that I was her bear, meant only for her? That she was meant to have my cubs? That I wanted to spend the weekend buried inside her, claiming her over and over again?
The doors started to close. Oliver laughed. “Have fun, brother.”
Ten
Sienna
I waited in the office while the Hawthorne brothers talked in the foyer. I touched my lips. They burned from that kiss.
I was falling, tripping to the ground when Grayson caught me. When his lips landed on mine I saw stars and flames. Everything was dizzying and satisfying. I’d never been kissed like that. I was certain in that moment that if another man kissed me it would never live up to what I just experienced.
Grayson walked back inside.
I tucked my hair behind my ears, smiling shyly. Things were different and complicated now. I didn’t know how to act.
“I need your address,” he stated bluntly.
“Is there a problem? Do you need to speak to Jennifer?” I asked. What if he decided I needed to be replaced? Did he consider me to be the unprofessional one? He kissed me. I felt tiny bubbles of fury.
“No. I need you to go home to pack. I have a car picking you up in two hours. I need your address.”
The words hadn’t registered. “Pack for what?”
“Hawthorne Global needs your consultation and design skills in another location.”
“Are you not happy with what I’m doing here?” I looked around the office. I hadn’t touched anything other than with a tape measure. He couldn’t possibly be upset with me, but his voice was rough. He seemed to have come back from the conversation with Oliver annoyed or irritated with me and I didn’t have a clue why.
“I need you at Promise Lake.”
He was acting as if we had not had the most epic kiss. What in the hell was going on?
“Is that another office complex?” I asked.
He turned his back to me. I could feel the darkness rolling off him. I didn’t need to see his face to realize how upset he was. I just didn’t know what I had done.
“No, Sienna. It’s part of the Hawthorne family. I need your eyes on it. All right?”
Was it all right? Did he think he could order me around and change my assignment because he felt like it? I wasn’t at his beck and call. The kiss was obviously a mistake.
“How far away is it?”
“It’s an hour out of the city.”
I licked my lips. I felt as if I needed to be cautious. “And you said I had to pack. How long am I needed at Promise Lake?”
He looked at me over his shoulder. His jaw was clenched. His eyes narrowed. “We will stay as long as it takes.”
I swallowed. What in the hell was happening? My pulse raced. I was excited. A current ran from my core to my breasts. I tingled in places I shouldn’t. Grayson Hawthorne wanted me to go away with him to his family estate. I should be shouting it from the rooftop, but I swallowed hard. I was nervous. In a matter of minutes he had shown me he could go from fiery passion to coldness.
“Design doesn’t have to be this intense, Grayson.” I tried to lighten the mood. “I’m sure it will be a fun project.”
His palms planted on the desk. “You have no idea what you’re talking about.”
I took a step backward.
He lowered his head. “I’m sorry. My day hasn’t gone well. Full of the unexpected. I’m sorry.”
“It’s all right,” I answered him softly. “If you think Promise Lake takes priority over the corporate office remodel, it’s not a problem. I can shift my focus.” I wondered if I was one of the unexpected problems that had angered him.
“Shift?” He chuckled.
I was glad to see his gorgeous smile. His teeth were lined in perfect straight rows.
“I’ll do whatever I need to meet your needs. Bubble Design doesn’t want to disappoint you.”
His eyes flared. “I’m not worried about you disappointing me, Sienna McKenzie.”
The nervousness in my belly melted into something sensual.
“Then I’ll go pack.” I bent over the table and jotted down my address on a piece of sticky paper. I collected my laptop.
I tapped his desk, depositing my address in front of him. “Two hours?”
He nodded. “Two hours.”
I walked out into the reception area.
“Leaving so soon?” Celia asked with a touch of venom in her words.
I don’t know why I did it. Maybe because I was tired of her being nasty to me all week. I was tired of the side-eye glances and the constant reminders she knew Grayson well.
“Just off to pack.” I smiled. “We’ll be at Promise Lake. Have a good weekend, Celia.”
I entered the elevator, plastering a smile on my face. I didn’t know what Grayson had in store for me, but I knew I whatever it was, I wanted Celia to know there wasn’t anything she could do about it.
Eleven
Grayson
I couldn’t leave everything up to my brothers. I called Stansbury myself to make sure all the arrangements were properly made. And to ensure the most important thing—solitude.
I didn’t want a single member of the staff anywhere near the estate. No yard crew. No maintenance. No security. Not even one of the cooks.
It was becoming clear that I wasn’t going to be able to tell my bear no. The only one who could do that was Sienna. She was the only one he would listen to. If I went through with this—if I claimed my mate I wasn’t going to do it with a house full of people.
I wanted freedom. I wanted sanctuary. I wanted to claim my mate in every fucking room of that house as many times as she asked. Until we were starving for air and thirsting for water. Until she was carrying my cubs.
I glanced over at Sienna in the car. My eyes fell to her stomach. The depth of instinct in me was unreal. I’d slept with thirty women, probably more. But never had I looked at one with the kind of longing I had for this woman. The harder I fought against it, the harder it tied me to her.
“It’s so beautiful out here.” She smiled as we passed an open field.
“It’s good to get out of the city.” I was in pain. I wanted to touch her. I wanted to kiss her. Draw her lips under mine. Inch my hands under her dress. Taste every drop of her honey.
“Do you come out here often?” she asked. “To the estate?”
“No.” Every word was a struggle. I couldn’t think about conversation when I wanted her.
“Oh.”
“We used to—all of us. My brothers and I. And our parents.”
She shifted her body toward me. “Are there problems with the house? Is that why you stopped?”
“It hasn’t been the same since my parents died.” I cleared my throat. “And I don’t have time to leave the office much.”
“I’m sorry about your parents. You’re so young to have lost them both.”
“It was a while ago.”
She smiled sadly. “Doesn’t mean you don’t still carry pain.”
I flinched when her hand slid over mine. It was like fire tearing through my veins.
“Sienna,” I warned.
She quickly retrieved her hand and I felt instant coldness where he skin had grazed mine. Fuck.
“Sorry,” she whispered.
I wanted to explain what was happening. How I didn’t have the strength to do anything but make her mine, but in the back seat of a Towne car didn’t feel right. We were only a few miles from the estate. I would tell her tonight.
I would tell her everything. And I would ask her to be mine. I’d ask her for the words that would unlock the magic between us. The words that would bind us together as fiercely as when our bodies united.
My mate deserved to know what the hell she was getting into and my bear had to have his answer. Either way, this agony would be over. I’d either wake up with my mate in my arms or I’d wake up alone.
“I can’t get over this place. It’s unreal.” I walked Sienna through the south wing of the house. It was my favorite part of the estate.
“I’m glad you like it.” I smiled.
She clutched a glass of wine. I had poured drinks for our tour. I wanted to show her the art gallery. I had a feeling she would appreciate it, maybe more than the other parts of the house.
I pushed open the French doors. We stepped inside.
“Oh my God.” She covered her mouth with one hand. “This is real? You have a Degas?” She walked slowly to the ballet painting.
“I do.” I watched her amazement with pleasure. Everything she did seemed to give me pleasure.
“Where? How?”
“I can’t take credit. It’s my mother’s collection. She loved art. She traveled all over the world to collect. Other than her sons, I think it was her proudest accomplishment.”
Sienna moved to the next painting. “She should have been proud. It’s unbelievable. Truly amazing, Grayson. And it’s been locked up here?”
I took a sip of the bourbon I had poured for myself. “Yes.”
“Doesn’t that make you sad? No one can enjoy this beautiful art.”
“I think what makes me sad about it is that my mother isn’t here to enjoy it.”
She paused her orbit around the room. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to sound thoughtless. Of course this is pa
inful for you.”
“It’s all right. The collection is one-of-a-kind and I have been hiding it. Maybe I should rethink that.”
She grinned. I could see a glimmer in those baby blues of hers. “I think that would be wonderful. Maybe open it up for a house tour—like at the holidays?”
“Maybe.”
I stepped closer to her. I could smell the shampoo wafting from her hair. I saw the pulse in her neck beat erratically. My eyes traced the line of her lips. Her eyes flashed to mine as she dragged her bottom lip under her teeth.
I lost the reign I had on my bear. With one arm, I wrapped my hand around her waist, pulling her toward me as my lips crashed against hers. I kissed her with power and possession. I pushed my tongue between her soft lips while she whimpered and sighed. Her tongue twisting with mine in passionate strokes. I wanted to ravage her. Take her here against the wall. Over the velvet settee in the corner. On the floor where she could ride me wildly.
I broke away and caught the fire in her eyes.
“Wow,” she whispered, taking a step back. “Your kisses. I don’t have words actually.”
I threaded my fingers through hers. There was a reason the passion between us was cataclysmic.
“I have more to show you.” I led her down the hall.
Twelve
Sienna
I couldn’t believe it. Grayson Hawthorne had kissed me again. And it wasn’t just any kind of kiss. It was earth-shattering and toe-curling. My lips felt bruised and owned by this man. I looked up at him as he escorted me along the hallway. He was enjoying showing me around the house. And I was happy to see all of it. Any of it. I would have been happy if he had given me a tour of the pantry or the linen closet. I only wanted to spend more time with him. And if that meant more kisses that melted my panties off—I was ok with that too.
It made sense I had a crush on him. He was insanely good looking. He was famous. Rich. And a notorious bachelor. Unlike his brothers, Grayson didn’t have the same playboy reputation. It had to be his rough exterior that rubbed women the wrong way, but I knew it was because he was pre-occupied with work or frustrated with running the company.
