A Daring Desire (Dare Menage Series Book 4)

by Jeanne St. James

  Gryff’s gaze glued to their hands. Hands that weren’t shaking in greeting, just holding. Did his finger tickle her palm? Trey gave her a suggestive smile and raised her hand to his mouth, kissing her knuckles. “And you are?”

  That seemed to jump start Rayne. “Oh, uh... Rayne. Rayne Jordan.”

  “Nice to meet you, Ms. Jordan.”

  “Uh, just Rayne.” Holy shit, she just batted her eyelashes at him.

  Gryff coughed loudly and both their heads spun toward him. “Holloway, take a seat. Rayne, what do you need?”

  “Oh, it can wait, Boss.”

  She didn’t move to leave. Oh, hell no. Instead, she moved to stand almost directly in front of Trey’s chair and parked her ass on the edge of Gryff’s desk. Just like that.

  “Are you a new client?” Rayne asked Trey. Was she panting?

  “Yes,” he said, giving her a blinding smile.

  Trey was the kind of guy who thought his looks and charm would get him through life. He needed a rude awakening. You’d think after getting arrested—and not for the first time—with a felony assault, a good ass kicking and then being suspended from the team, would have done it. Apparently not.

  “We don’t know yet,” Gryff corrected. “We’re still talking terms.”

  Without breaking eye contact with Rayne, Trey said, “There’s nothing to talk about. I’ll meet the terms.”

  A muscle in Gryff’s jaw jumped. And jumped again. He was going to kill his brother.

  Chapter 2

  As soon as the door closed behind Rayne, Trey pinned him with his gaze. “Damn. Have you hit that?”

  Gryff fought to keep his expression neutral. “Now, I see why you got your ass kicked.”

  “Hey, I held my own against four guys.”

  His apparent interest in Rayne made him wonder... “So, you like women, too?”

  Trey gave a him a lazy shrug. “Why limit yourself to only half the population?”

  Why indeed.

  “I’m serious about these terms, Holloway. Keep your nose clean. I don’t want to see you on the news. I don’t want to even hear you made some woman cry. No drinking, no whoring, no fighting. Nothing. You will be an altar boy until this whole thing is over.”

  “Fine.”

  “And keep your dick out of my best attorney.”

  One side of Trey’s mouth lifted. “You got dibs on her.”

  Gryff sighed. “No. But, if you fuck her then she can’t represent you. So, I don’t care if you have to jerk off a hundred times a day. Don’t touch her.”

  “What if she touches me?”

  Gryff raised an eyebrow and Trey lifted his hands in surrender.

  “Okay. Okay. Nose clean. Dick zipped.”

  Gryff pushed himself to his feet. “Let’s go.”

  With a curious look, Trey stood and followed him out of the office, past Dani’s gaped and drooling mouth and down the hall. Stopping in front of Rayne’s office door, he rapped a knuckle against it before pushing it open. Rayne looked up from her desk, looking sexy as hell and when she saw who was behind him, her eyes widened and her mouth made an O.

  “Holloway’s all yours,” Gryff told her and shoved Trey into the room, shutting the door behind him.

  Rayne was the best, and if anyone could get his charges dismissed, it was her. He didn’t have the patience to deal with an irresponsible athlete himself. But damn, as he strode back to his office he couldn’t shake the feeling he just made a big mistake.

  “Boss?”

  Rayne peeked around the partially open door of Gryff’s office. It was late and the rest of the firm had cleared out like normal people.

  She’d gotten tied up reading Trey’s files and formulating a defense plan for the football player. Before she knew it, it was two hours past her normal quitting time.

  She couldn’t help that she had to surf the Internet “researching” her new client. Or stare at hundreds of pictures of the hot and handsome Trey Holloway. Some good, some downright delicious, and some bad, like his mugshots. Though, admittedly, he had still looked good in those. He wore a cocky smile in each one of them, as well.

  The only light on in her boss’s office was the one on his desk. The overhead fluorescents had been turned off and he leaned back in his chair, a hand covering his eyes. The knot in his tie had been pulled loose and the top button of his dress shirt undone. His suit jacket had been tossed over one of the chairs and his sleeves rolled up. This was the most skin she’d ever seen him show. His dark skin reminded her of a ripe plum. His forearms appeared solid and without his jacket on, she could see how broad his shoulders really were. This man needed no shoulder padding.

  Rayne swallowed hard. Ever since joining his firm, she’d been fighting her attraction to him. Some of the other female associates said that he refused to play where he worked.

  But, damn, the power that emanated from this man made her want him desperately. She pushed the door open wider, enough for her to slip through and then shut it quietly. She winced when the latch clicked, worried she’d disturb him.

  Taking careful, quiet steps to his desk, she studied him. He wore no jewelry, only a gold watch that complimented his skin tone. She could see what looked like a dark tattoo peeking past one of his rolled-up sleeves.

  The man had a tattoo? He seemed way too conservative for that. In the few months since she’d joined the firm, she never saw him dressed in anything but a suit and rarely without his jacket outside his own office.

  “Boss?” she whispered again, not sure if she really wanted to disturb him. His fingers twitched over his eyes but there was no other reaction. Then he heaved a breath and sat straight up, pinning her in place with his dark gaze.

  A frown marred his expression. “What are you doing in here?”

  “I wanted to run something by you about the Holloway case.”

  He rubbed a hand down his face and then glanced at his watch. “It’s late. You should go home. We can talk about it tomorrow.”

  “You’re still here.”

  “I need to head home, too.”

  She wondered if anyone waited for him at home. The office rumor mill said no. That he lived alone and didn’t even have a pet.

  “Is that a tattoo?” she asked, tilting her chin toward his arm. Oh, please say yes.

  He tugged at his sleeve self-consciously as if trying to hide it. “Rayne,” he said, his voice a gentle warning.

  “I’m just curious.” But, please, please say yes.

  One heartbeat, two. “Yes.”

  A fire ignited in Rayne’s belly. And it wasn’t because she’d eaten bad Mexican food. She tried to control the exhilaration in her voice. “What is it?”

  He tilted his head and studied her for a moment. “A mistake.”

  His response didn’t surprise her. “You regret it.”

  “I was young and foolish,” he answered.

  Though, she couldn’t imagine him young and foolish. He was so well put together. At only thirty-six, he owned the best criminal law practice in the area. There was something to be said about that.

  “Weren’t we all,” she murmured. “Can I see it?”

  Shit. She just asked her boss to take off his shirt. No wonder he stiffened at her request.

  She was going to get her ass fired.

  She scrambled for cover. “I... I just love body art. I’m fascinated by it.”

  He pinned her with a stare. “It’s hard to see. Black ink on dark skin doesn’t show up well.”

  Rayne lifted a shoulder. “I can be the judge of that.”

  Fuck. She was pushing her luck. If he handed her a pink slip tomorrow, she was screwed. She finally landed at a firm where she might be able to make partner. A firm where she wanted to make partner, one she was proud to be part of. But, her raging hormones were going to screw that all up.

  She needed to keep her mouth and her legs shut. When his fingers ripped the loosened tie from his neck and began to slip the buttons out of their holes, she found
herself melting into a puddle.

  He was actually removing his shirt.

  Holy hell.

  When he got down to the buttons at his waist, he stood up abruptly, his rolling chair slamming the wall behind him. He tugged the shirt tails out of his pants and finished removing it.

  All the while, his eyes never left hers.

  Rayne froze in place, like a deer stuck in headlights. She never expected him to take off his shirt. She didn’t know what to do. She usually wasn’t at a loss for words or actions.

  But, it seemed so inappropriate.

  And she fucking loved it.

  He stood for a moment in his undershirt and suit pants, studying her. “Are you sure?” he finally asked.

  The deep-timbre of his voice made her quiver and her nipples pebble painfully. She nodded her head and said with a shaky voice, “Yes.”

  He ripped his undershirt over his head and tossed it on the desk. In the soft glow from his desk lamp, she ran her gaze over his body. He was thick with muscle, his skin so dark that he was right, it was hard to clearly see the tattoo. As she stepped closer, she could tell it was a dragon. A very large dragon. This was no youthful impulse tattoo. This one took thought, planning. Multiple sittings. The tail ended just past his right elbow, the rest of its length wrapped around his arm, the body of the beast came over his shoulder and down his back, the head resting over his left shoulder. It appeared he carried the weight of the dragon across his shoulders. She wondered what it signified.

  As she lightly ran her fingers over his skin, following the pointy spine of the reptile, she wanted to see it in full light.

  She wondered how many people knew he had it.

  Standing close behind him, she studied the markings, then traced her fingertips up his neck and over his tightly trimmed hair, then around the curves of his ears. He shuddered beneath her touch.

  “Have you seen enough?” The question sounded strained.

  “No,” she whispered. And she hadn’t.

  “Rayne,” came the low warning.

  “Boss.”

  He spun on her and grabbed her shoulders, giving her a little shake. “I told you not to call me that.” Then he kissed her.

  No, he didn’t kiss her. He crushed his lips against her mouth like he owned it. He forced his tongue between her lips and took complete control. His fingers gripped her chin tightly, while his other hand snaked between them to jerk at his belt, rip open his pants, and yank his zipper down.

  She struggled for breath as she blindly reached for him, finding his erection, long, hard, thick, and she squeezed. His groan filled her mouth and he struggled to pull her skirt up, but it was too tight to rise high enough to give him access.

  With a frustrated growl, he tore away from her and spun her around, unzipping her skirt and pushing it down her hips until it fell around her feet. With a hand to the back of her head, he bent her over and she caught herself by grabbing onto his desk chair. She jerked when he tore a hole in her stockings and yanked her panties aside.

  Before she could prepare herself, he pushed inside her with a grunt. He wasn’t gentle, there were no soothing words. This was not, in any way, romantic. This was raw fucking. He grabbed her hips and gave it to her as hard and as fast as he could.

  With a cry, she closed her eyes as he filled her, stretched her. She’d wanted him from the moment she saw him. But, never expected it to happen, and certainly not like this. Though her fantasies had been close.

  His fingers dug into the flesh at her hips and their skin slapped together. Her body tried to accommodate him, but she never expected his size. She tried to relax and open herself up to him, but being in this position didn’t help.

  But, fuck, when he reached around and jammed his hand down the front of her panties to find her clit, she bit her bottom lip as her inner walls clenched around him, squeezing.

  His fast and furious thrusting brought her quickly to the edge. His thumb pressed and circled her sensitive nub until she couldn’t take anymore. No more.

  As she screamed and her body rippled around him, he released her hip to grab her hair, yanking her head back as he bottomed out one more time, spilling into her. His cock pulsated deep inside her, making her squirm for more. But, he was done. Spent.

  Suddenly he stiffened, released her hair, slipped his hand out of her panties, and then slid out of her completely. She didn’t move for a moment and only heard his breathing. Fast, heavy, uneven. Then, a curse ripped from him and he stepped back.

  Rayne straightened and tugged her skirt up from around her ankles and over her torn stockings, zipping it closed. She didn’t turn yet because she didn’t know what to expect from him. What to say.

  The curse had sounded angry. Full of regret.

  Though, she had none of her own.

  She’d gotten what she’d wanted. Maybe not how she’d hoped. But—

  Then reality hit her like a splash of cold water and a chill went through her.

  Still facing the windows, she said, “Oh my God. I need this job. Please. This never happened.”

  He stood only inches away, but it felt like a mile on a cold winter’s day. “Right. This never happened,” he repeated in a flat tone from behind her.

  She glanced up, met his eyes in the reflection of the glass, then pushed past him in a rush to escape his office.

  He had no right to call Holloway irresponsible. What he did with Rayne was just as bad.

  No condom. An employee. In his office, no less.

  He’d been avoiding her for the past couple of weeks. Keeping his office door closed, coming in early, leaving late. Anything to keep from facing her. From facing the reality of his own loss of control.

  Hell, anything to keep from bending her over and fucking her again and again.

  Her normal habit of “popping into his office” had stopped since that night. He figured she regretted their actions as much as he did.

  He had to man up and stop avoiding her. As her boss, he should be her mentor.

  What a fine one he turned out to be.

  So today, he kept his door open like normal hoping to catch a peek of her as she walked by in those sexy high heels of hers. Or, hoping she’d pop her head in, acting like nothing happened and things were back to normal.

  Gryff blew out a noisy breath. Normal. Right.

  A ruckus sounded from down the hallway, passed his door, and headed in the direction of Rayne’s office. He thought he caught a glimpse of tanned skin and dark blond shaggy hair.

  He stared at his computer screen and saw nothing. He read the same line of the email over and over, none of it sinking in.

  He’d lost his damn mind.

  Unable to resist anymore, he called out to Dani. “Did I hear Holloway out there?

  “Yes! He has an appointment with Rayne.”

  Gryff frowned at the excitement in his secretary’s voice. What the fuck. Did Trey have this effect on all women?

  He closed his eyes and clenched his fingers into fists, fighting the urge to rush down the hall to interrupt them, make sure they weren’t being inappropriate, being too friendly.

  Touching.

  He sat there for two more beats before pushing to his feet. “Hold my calls,” Gryff called over his shoulder to Dani as he strode past her and down the hallway, not even skipping a beat.

  With legs wide and fists pinned to his side, he stood staring at Rayne’s closed office door. Then he heard noises, voices, and he shoved the door open, the blood rushing in his ears.

  Trey’s hands gripped her shoulders as he stood behind her, leaning over, his face almost pressed to hers. He spoke low into her ear.

  Her eyes were bright, her face flushed.

  Gryff couldn’t miss her hard nipples pressing against her tight, satin blouse. As he watched her lips part and her pink tongue sweep across the bottom one, he felt a painful squeeze all the way down to his balls.

  Trey didn’t bother to straighten, just flashed Gryff a Cheshire cat smile instead.


  It took everything Gryff had to not leap over the desk and pound the shit out of him.

  Trey must have noticed his murderous look because the twinkle left his eye and he slowly straightened but not before saying something quietly into her ear.

  That bothered him, but not as much as what the man said next.

  “You said you didn’t have dibs.”

  “And I said to keep your dick out of my best attorney.”

  Rayne’s mouth dropped and her brows furrowed. She shifted forward in her chair to dislodge Trey’s hands from her shoulders. “What?”

  Her gaze bounced from one to the other, but Gryff ignored her to stare down Trey instead.

  Finally, Trey stepped away from her, holding his palms out in surrender.

  “He’s here to sign his agreement of terms and give me the retainer,” Rayne said, her voice tinged with anger. She waved the check at Gryff.

  “Five hundred G’s as agreed,” Trey said, coming around Rayne’s desk and patting Gryff on the back. He leaned close, his hand landing on Gryff’s ass. “You know you can join us. There’s nothing wrong with a good threesome. Ask your brother.”

  Gryff’s nostrils flared and a muscle in his jaw popped. He turned his head only long enough to ask Rayne, “Are you done with your business?”

  “Yes.”

  He turned back to Trey, dislodging his hand. “Then get out.”

  Gryff was going to kill his brother.

  Trey smiled. “You have a great ass, Gryff. I bet the three of us could have a good time together. Think about it.”

  Before Gryff knew what he was doing, he had Trey pinned to the wall with a forearm pressed against the other man’s throat. He shoved his face into Trey’s. His breathing came harsh, as did Trey’s. They stared each other down for a second. Two.

  He ignored the noise coming from the direction of Rayne’s desk.

  “I don’t need to think about it,” Gryff growled. “You’re not going to fuck either one of us.”

  Trey’s jaw tightened, like he instinctively wanted to fight back, but he didn’t. He allowed Gryff to overpower him. Which was smart. Trey might be a professional athlete, but Gryff was bigger, heavier, and stronger than the quarterback. It wouldn’t take much to pound the guy into the ground. The four guys he beat up must have been pussies.