He groaned. “It’s not a sex club.”
“We just had sex.” She scraped her nails along the back of his neck. He rolled his shoulders, clearly enjoying it. “What do you call it?”
“Excalibur.” His beautiful mouth twitched with suppressed laughter. “Sword in the stone and all that.”
She snorted. “Subtle.”
“We thought so.”
He’d never discussed his club’s business with her. The first she and his brothers had known of it was after it was a done deal. And when she found out just how exclusive Excalibur was, her plans of scoping out the place with her friends had died a sorry death.
“How did all this come about then?” Sure she knew one of the other partners from way back, and she might’ve done a bit of undercover research on the other two last year, but she hadn’t turned up anything interesting. Just information in public records, which wasn’t what she’d been looking for. Then again, the business seemed to be doing well, and as long as he wasn’t being screwed over by his partners, that’s all she cared about. But she was still curious, and until now she’d never been comfortable enough to ask him about it.
Alex couldn’t remember the last time he’d been so—what was the word he was looking for? Relaxed?
It didn’t really cover it. Neither did sexually satisfied. He’d been relaxed and sated countless times in the past. But nothing like this.
Ella’s makeup was smudged and her body pressed against his as though she belonged there. Her bound hands wrapped around his neck and she’d slid her leg between his.
He always spent time afterward making sure his sub was okay. But this…hell, this didn’t come close to anything he’d done before.
It’s only because you know her. And that was the only reason he didn’t mind her questions.
“Dale and I had talked about opening something like this for a couple of years.” Dale was one of his oldest friends, and the guy Cooper was now working for. Alex still couldn’t figure out how he felt about that. “And we’ve both known Pete and Lisa for about seven years.”
Pete and Lisa had saved his sanity seven years ago. Could almost say they were his mentors. They’d met in a bar through mutual acquaintances, but by the end of the night a friendship had formed, despite the fifteen-year age difference. It wasn’t long after that they’d invited him and Dale to a local club as their guests, and he’d seen a whole new world. One where his needs and preferences fit right in and there was no danger of a woman expecting anything more from him than a hot scene.
“Must’ve cost a fortune setting this place up.”
Trust her to think of the practical side of things. He twisted a short length of her rainbow-streaked hair around his finger. “Yeah. Mortgaged up to the hilt. But we’re breaking even. Lisa has a ferocious business head on her. Reminds me of you.”
She started and looked as though she couldn’t believe her ears. “You think I have a ferocious business head?”
He gave her hair a gentle tug. “Do you think Grayson’s would be in such good shape without you?”
She cleared her throat. “You would always have made it, Alex. You’re the driving force behind Grayson’s, and we all know it.”
“But you organized us. Even at nineteen you were a scary-ass chick when it came to telling us to straighten our shit.”
“Yeah, funny how you all thought you could run a business without any admin.”
“That’s why it had to be you. Right from the start.” He’d never even considered anyone else for the job. Even though it had been torture working with her every day, he couldn’t imagine anyone else putting up with him, or letting him know when he was screwing up. How the hell could anyone take her place?
“I guessed we’ve all learned a lot over the last five years.”
“Do you think Cooper’ll come back to Grayson’s?” Sure, he knew his brother was doing well at Dale’s. And he was gaining experience that he’d never get if he’d stayed in L.A.
But he’d set the firm up to keep his brothers out of trouble. To give them a future that didn’t include prison. He’d never really thought as far ahead as when they might want to go their own ways.
“I don’t know.” She shifted as though she was uncomfortable. He should release her restraints but they were so damn hot. “But you can’t take it personally. He needed to get away and do his own thing. You know that, right?”
Deep down, he always had. “Yeah. I’m getting used to it. Listen, the next time you talk to him, remind him it doesn’t matter how many new guys we take on. There’ll always be a place for him.”
She sighed. “He knows that. You made that real clear before he left.”
“Guess I need to be more open to change, huh?” He grinned down at her, because, hell…Ella was in his arms. He no longer had to try and fool himself that she belonged with Cooper. She’d never been right for his brother. He had just never wanted to admit it before.
“Change is good.” Her fingers played with the back of his neck. “I mean, we all need to try different things don’t we?”
She’d been the one to suggest they look at expanding nationally, instead of just locally, and it was something he was considering. Even if Grayson’s now employed more guys who didn’t share the name than those who did, it still belonged to him and his brothers.
And her. Even if she no longer worked there. Did she know that?
“Same goes for you. Any time you want to come back. Just let me know.” He knew she never would. It wasn’t like she was leaving for a regular job. Nothing would ever be able to compete with working at the animal sanctuary she loved.
“Umm…” Ella frowned, as though she didn’t understand.
He raked his fingers through her hair. He didn’t want her to leave Grayson’s, but this was the payoff, and it was worth the upheaval of finding someone to try and take her place. It was more than a one-night hook-up. She wanted more, and he sure as hell did. This can work. He didn’t even try figuring out what this might be.
“Hope they know how lucky they are in getting you.”
She blinked at him. “Okay, who are you, and what’ve you done with Alex Grayson?”
“Don’t be like that. You know your worth, Ella. I’ll go tell them if you like. Give them a personal reference.”
She gave a snort of laughter. “You’re not just saying all this because we’ve had sex, right?”
He didn’t answer right away. Because the truth was…he was saying this because they’d just had sex. Didn’t make it any less true, though.
Unease snaked through him. Even straight after sex he never let his guard down this much. Sure, this was Ella. Even so it was kind of weird just how right this felt.
All he wanted to do was stay like this all night. For a second he almost caved. But she needed to eat, and he needed to get his priorities back on track.
He ignored the stab of regret and pulled her arms over his head. Before she could do more than murmur in protest, he fixed the strap to the iron wall ring again.
“Alex.” She pouted her tempting lips and frowned up at him.
She looked so gorgeous stretched out on the bed. He grabbed his pants and pulled them on before lust overrode his control. But he still couldn’t stop himself from running his palm over her ass.
Mine.
He jerked back from the bed. What the hell…
“Don’t move,” he said. “I’m getting some food. And then I’m going to feed you.”
Chapter Seven
Ella stretched. Her body ached in all sorts of wonderful places and all she wanted to do was snuggle back into the bed and stay there all day.
The covers slid off her and she forced open her eyes. Alex was standing by the bed, a wicked smile on his face as he tossed the covers aside.
He was also fully dressed and looked as though he’d just had a shower.
She groaned and tried to reach for a sheet. It was one thing being naked when having amazing sex. It was another in th
e cold light of morning with Alex looking at her like she was his breakfast or something.
I don’t mind being his breakfast.
“There’s a private bathroom you can use if you want,” he said as he released her ankle from its restraint. A delicious shiver inched through her at the way he’d used those leather cuffs last night. “Or do you want me to drop you home so you can freshen up?”
She pushed her fingers through her hair. “What time is it?”
“Just gone seven.”
She sighed and gave up trying to grab the sheet. He obviously enjoyed the view. “I might be late for work this morning.”
“Yeah, I think you might.”
Since he didn’t appear inclined to join her, she slid off the bed and hunted for her clothes. “I had a good time last night.” She didn’t quite have the nerve to face him as she said that, and pulled on her thong. She was all tender and swollen and the skimpy underwear just made her want to pin him against the nearest wall.
“Good. I’ll bring you here again tomorrow night.”
Yes. She hid her grin of triumph and glanced over her shoulder. He was watching her as though she was putting on a special show just for him.
“Okay,” she said, as though coming to Excalibur again was no huge deal. It looked like she wouldn’t need to run off and hide in Paris’ mountain cabin after all.
Mitch Chandler strolled into the office and grinned at Ella. He was a friend of J’s and had started working at Grayson’s a month or so ago. She flirted with him, but her mind wasn’t on it. When Mitch winked at her and then went into Alex’s office, she finally faced what had been bugging her all day.
Alex was behaving as though nothing had happened between them.
Sure, she hadn’t expected him to be all over her. That was unprofessional. Although was a quick hug and kiss really that unprofessional if they were the only two in the office?
Whatever. It was business as usual. He didn’t even seem inclined for them to touch hands, never mind anything else. If he hadn’t already asked her out for the following night, she’d seriously think he wanted nothing more to do with her.
She shifted on her chair. Her butt was getting uncomfortable. Strangely, it didn’t bother her as much as she’d thought. It was a constant low-level reminder of everything Alex had done to her. Which meant she’d spent the day in a constant state of arousal.
She glanced at the time. Gone five. Any other day she’d wait until he’d finished his meeting before she left. But she had to go visit her mom after she’d checked on her kittens, and Alex could be ages yet.
That’s not the reason I’m thinking of leaving.
No, it wasn’t. It was because from the second she’d walked into the office, he hadn’t acknowledged how things had changed between them.
Did I really think he would?
That was beside the point. Would it really have killed him to give her a secret smile or something? It wasn’t as if she expected him to tell his brothers what had happened. Even she didn’t want to tell his brothers about what had gone down last night. She didn’t mind keeping things a secret. But she wasn’t sure she liked the way he could so completely switch himself off.
Decision made, she cleared her desk, picked up her purse and left.
A couple of hours later she parked outside her mom’s house and took a deep breath. The thought of moving back was a real downer, but she didn’t have a choice.
She rapped on the front door and pulled out the key just in case her mom was in one of her leave-me-the-fuck-alone moods, in which case she wouldn’t open the door even if there was an earthquake.
At least she was no longer stewing over Alex. He’d sent her a text about an hour ago. Everything OK?
It was hardly poetry but it made her feel better that he’d even noticed she’d gone. I’m fine. Going to visit mom.
She could hear his voice, clear as anything, in his response to that. Have fun. Don’t forget we have a date tomorrow night.
Her mom opened the door, and she hastily wiped the dreamy smile from her face. “Hey, Mom. I need to talk to you.”
Her mom shambled up the hallway toward the kitchen. Ella gave a silent sigh and shut the door. It was hard work being an only child. When she settled down, she planned to have at least four. Spread the burden around.
Not that she intended to be a burden to her kids. Wait, what was she saying? She had no intention of settling down yet.
Not even if Alex asks me to?
She could feel another ridiculous smile spreading across her face and quickly went over to the coffee machine before her mom commented on it.
Her mom spent the next ten minutes telling her about the state of her health. Nothing had changed since she’d last visited a few days ago. Her high blood pressure was no fun, but her mom took morbid delight in describing every single twinge in graphic detail.
It’d help if you took your meds. No point saying that. She’d been telling her mom as much for years, and all she got back was abuse for sticking her nose in where it wasn’t wanted.
She put a mug of coffee in front of her mom, sat opposite her, and steeled her nerves. “So, I’m thinking of moving back here next month.”
Her mom stared at her as though she’d just announced she was going to run through the street stark-naked. “Why’d you get evicted?”
Her foot began to jiggle. Why did her mom always have to think the worst of her?
“I didn’t get evicted. I’ve handed in my notice. I’m—”
“Huh.” Her mom rolled her eyes and appealed to the ceiling. “So Alex Grayson fired you then. Fucking no good bastard.”
Ella took a sip of coffee. It didn’t help. “No, he didn’t fire me.” Why the hell would her mom think she’d been fired? She forced a lid on the injustice. That wouldn’t get her anywhere.
But damn, she wasn’t looking forward to moving back here.
“What happened then?” Her mom’s eyes narrowed. “You got yourself pregnant?”
She took a deep breath. Her blood pressure didn’t do too well here, either. “No, I’m not pregnant. Thanks,” she added, but the sarcasm was lost on her mom.
“You’ll never find a proper job looking like that.” Her mom jabbed her finger in the general direction of Ella’s hair and face. “You need to smarten up, girl. Stop screwing around.”
It was crazy. Her mom had never considered her job at Grayson’s a real one. Probably had a lot to do with the fact she didn’t get on with her neighbor, Alice Flanagan, and so by extension she’d never been a big fan of any of the Grayson boys.
She couldn’t remember her mom taking exception to Alex’s dad, that rotten shit head. It was hard to push the thought aside. “I’m moving back because I’ve accepted a job at Gaia, and it means a salary cut.”
Her mom frowned. “Why’ve you taken a pay cut? So you can work with animals? Are you crazy?”
I must be crazy to be moving back here. “No. It’s what I’ve always wanted.” And if her mom could stop being such a bitch about everything, she’d know that.
She barely managed to finish her coffee before she left. Her mom even had the nerve to suggest she should pay more toward the rent when she moved back in.
No way. She gave her mom a perfunctory kiss on the cheek and hunched her shoulders when the door slammed behind her. God, she needed a drink.
“Hey, Ella.” Alice Flanagan stood at her front door and beckoned her over. “You got a minute?”
“Sure.” She followed her into the house. After Alex’s gran had moved in next door when Ella was twelve, she’d spent so much time there with Cooper that Mrs. Flanagan told her to call her Gran, too. “Great wedding, huh?”
“Oh yeah.” Gran took her into the living room, where framed photos of her grandsons growing up covered every available surface. Ella caught sight of a pot of tea on the largest of the three occasional tables. Oh hell, not tea. You never knew what kind of shit Gran would serve up once she got her pot out. “That Scarlet
t, she’s good for Jackson. Made him finally see his true worth.”
A freaky shiver slid over Ella’s arms. Alex had said something similar about her last night. “Yeah, she’s okay. Not a bit like you’d imagine, seeing who her family is.” Scarlett’s family owned one of the biggest media corporations in the Western world, but she never acted like an entitled bitch.
Then again if she did, J would never have fallen for her.
“And I guess you heard from Cooper over the weekend?” Gran settled herself in her favorite chair and looked hugely satisfied with herself.
Ella knew the drill. She poured the tea into two floral china cups that were already on the table. Obviously Gran had seen her arrive next door, and had somehow known when she was about to leave. It was strange the way she just seemed to know things.
“Coop is very pleased with himself.” She grinned as she handed a cup to Gran. “Looks like you’ll be getting a Hollywood movie star in the family.”
“Paris is a doll.” Gran took a sip of tea. She didn’t appear to find the pungent smell off-putting. “Just what Cooper needs.” Then she gave her a calculating look. “That just leaves Alex now.”
“Mm,” she agreed, taking a tiny sip of tea so she didn’t have to look Gran in the eyes. When she’d been a kid she thought the Grayson boys’ gran was a witch. She hadn’t really changed her mind much over the years. The last thing she wanted was for her to guess what she and Alex had been up to last night. Because that would lead to all sorts of questions that she didn’t have the first clue how to answer.
“Now that he can stop worrying about his brothers, he can get his own life in order.”
She smothered a shudder as the revolting tea slithered down her throat. “Alex’s life is well in order. Has been for years.”
Gran sniffed. “You know what I’m talking about.”
“I can’t see him ending up with a princess or a movie star.” She really didn’t want to talk about Alex’s personal life with his gran.
“Of course not. That’s not what he needs.”
She resisted the urge to squirm. She didn’t like the gleam in Gran’s eye. “I don’t know why you’re telling me this.”
Hold Me Until Forever Page 6
