Hold Me Until Forever

by Christina Phillips

  Fuck this. He unpeeled her fingers from his arm and stepped back. “No, we don’t work together. I didn’t mean to interrupt. Catch you later, Dale.”

  He turned back toward the mansion and exhaled a long breath. Most guys would love having a gorgeous girl throw herself at them. All it did for him was make him feel cornered.

  As he reentered the mansion, Dale slapped him on the shoulder and pulled him to a halt. “What’s Coop up to?”

  “No idea. If that’s his idea of matchmaking he fucking sucks.”

  “Maybe he just wanted to get you away from someone. Who were you checking out?”

  “Don’t be such a dick.” He’d been talking to Ella. There was no way his brother could guess he and Ella had crossed the line. Neither of them wanted their families knowing.

  I wouldn’t mind…

  “Fuck you,” Dale said with a grin. “If you hook up with the wrong woman here, it could be splashed across all the gossip columns by tomorrow. Doubt he wants Paris’ name involved in any of the shit you get up to.”

  “You can talk.” He gave a pointed glance in the direction of the two girls and tried to ignore the alarming urge to tell Dale he was with Ella. “Are they even legal?”

  Dale shrugged. “Just passing the time with them. And yeah, they’re both over twenty-one. Believe it or not.”

  He grunted. “I’m not looking to score at my own brother’s engagement party.”

  I could always sleep with Ella tonight.

  It was too damn tempting. What would she say if he asked her for more than what they shared at Excalibur? He sucked in a harsh breath. Never going to happen.

  “I’m not flying back until Wednesday. We can hit Excalibur tomorrow, make a night of it.”

  He only just stopped himself from frowning. That meant his plans of taking Ella to the club tomorrow were screwed. Despite his crazy impulse a minute ago, no way did he want Dale knowing that he was seeing her there. Dale had grown up in their neighborhood. Knew her from way back. He had a strong suspicion his best friend wouldn’t think much of his and Ella’s arrangement.

  It’s none of his business.

  True. He still didn’t want to discuss it if he could avoid it instead.

  It’d be different if we were seeing each other officially…

  “Sure.” What the hell was wrong with him? Dating Ella wasn’t an option. Never had been. He raked his gaze across the party guests but still couldn’t see her.

  Stop wishing for the impossible.

  “You see anything of Cooper outside of work?”

  Almost four months ago his brother and Paris had moved to the East Coast. Paris was combining a Hollywood career with going to college, and Cooper was working for Dale. He was also going to night school.

  Why didn’t I know he wanted to finish school? He’d been so single minded in his determination to make sure his brothers got off the streets, it’d never occurred to him either of them might’ve wanted to get a degree.

  “No. Paris’ got him well and truly wrapped round her little finger.” Dale grinned. “Then again, can’t say I’d mind being wrapped round her little finger, either.”

  “Watch it. That’s my future sister-in-law you’re talking about.”

  “How the fuck did Coop end up with a Hollywood star, huh?”

  Alex laughed. “Beats me.”

  He’d not say that to anyone else. But this was Dale. They’d been friends since they were eight years old, and Dale had stuck by him through all the shit that had followed after the death of his father.

  After I killed that motherfucking bastard.

  A shudder inched along his spine, and he rolled his shoulders in a desperate attempt to disguise it. He’d been arrested that night, but even the cops at the scene hadn’t been able to hide what they really thought. Not when his two younger brothers had been bleeding and unconscious on the floor.

  He deserved it.

  Yeah, maybe the prick had. But he’d still had to live with what he’d done—to find a way to survive the nightmares that’d haunted him for years afterward.

  That still haunted him.

  “Looks like Ella’s made a conquest.”

  He frowned. “What?”

  “That guy who’s built like a tank. The Destroyer actor. Poor bastard looks like he thinks it’s his lucky night.”

  He swung round. On the far side of the room, by a statue of some naked Greek god, Ella was laughing at something the guy was saying. There was no sign of his gran, and the actor no longer looked as though he wanted to sink through the floor.

  “He can think whatever the hell he wants.”

  Dale snorted. “She never needed an older brother with you around. You can finally back off. She’s never going to end up with Cooper now.”

  Thank God for that. “I’ll back off when she finds someone who deserves her.” Yeah, right…

  “Coop said she’s moving on in a couple of weeks. That’ll be strange, having someone new doing her job after all this time.”

  He was coming round to the idea. Not that he had a choice. “You should see her interview technique. Glad I wasn’t on the receiving end. I just had to sit there and look,” what had she told him? “Imposing.”

  “She’s going to be wasted at the animal sanctuary. I’ve told her she only needs to say the word and I’ll get onto my contacts. She’d do great in New York.”

  “I know she would.” He leaned against the doorjamb and folded his arms. Ella appeared to have Destroyer guy well and truly under her spell. “There’s no way she’d leave Gaia for New York, though.”

  Ella took a reviving sip of champagne as Henry, aka “Destroyer” from two smash hit movies, regaled her with another behind the scenes piece of gossip. In the movies he seemed to originate from the deep South, despite living on another planet. In real life he was British and his accent was to die for.

  “Hey.” Alex appeared by their side and offered her a faint smile.

  “Hello,” Henry said, sticking out his hand. “Don’t tell me. You’re the brother of the groom-to-be. Grandson of the charming Mrs. Flanagan. You all have similarly striking facial genetics.”

  She snorted into her flute at the look on Alex’s face. He clearly wasn’t sure whether Henry was being serious or not.

  “That’s right,” he said, shaking Henry’s hand.

  “Which means Ella’s like your adopted sister, and you haven’t come over here to punch me in the face.”

  This time she choked on her drink. She had no idea whether Henry was serious or full of bullshit, but either way he wasn’t a bit like she’d imagined.

  “I’ve never thought of Ella as my sister.”

  Wait. What? She eyed Alex over the top of her flute. He had his professional mask on, where he smiled but it didn’t reach his eyes. And while she knew damn well he didn’t think of her as his sister, he hadn’t been inclined to challenge that perception with anyone over the last three weeks.

  She glanced at Henry. He apparently had no idea he’d just poked a sleeping bear.

  “Interesting. In that case, Ella, do you want to dance?”

  She waited a heartbeat for Alex to say no way, she’s with me. The silence screamed in her ears. His mask was so firmly in place he wasn’t even smiling anymore.

  Fine. It wasn’t as though he liked dancing in any case.

  He didn’t have a problem at J’s wedding.

  She thrust her empty flute at him and turned back to Henry. “I’d love to.”

  He took her hand and led her into the adjoining room, which was just as breathtakingly gorgeous as the rest of the house except the furniture had been pushed back to the walls to create a dance floor.

  “If looks could kill I’d be six feet under by now,” Henry said cheerfully as he swung her around and into his arms. “He’s obviously the reason why Mrs. Flanagan warned me off you.”

  That got her attention. “What?”

  “Yes. Don’t know how she saw me eyeing you from across the ro
om, but she told me flat out to keep my grubby paws off the girl with the green hair. Or else,” he added dramatically.

  She laughed. “You’re so full of it.” At least, she hoped he was. She’d die if Alice Flanagan had really said that to him.

  Henry grinned and continued to flirt like it was going out of fashion. From the corner of her eye she saw Alex and Dale stroll into the room, accompanied by a couple of models.

  The four of them looked great together. Like they’d just finished a photo shoot for a top fashion spread. The girls were tall and slinky, with long sleek hair. Total opposite of me.

  She stumbled on her heels as Henry spun her around again. Alex looked her way and even from across the room he managed to take her breath away.

  And then he smiled. A slow, sexy smile that told her all she needed to know.

  You’re mine.

  Chapter Twelve

  Jackson and Scarlett were staying in the mansion overnight, but Alex, his gran, and Ella had a three-bedroom guest apartment over the garages.

  “I wouldn’t mind living in this full-time.” From the terracotta floors to the rustic timber furniture, the whole place looked like a Mediterranean villa. My cats would ruin those table legs in five minutes flat. She collapsed onto the sofa that looked like it had never been used before and toed off her shoes. “My feet are killing me.”

  “I’ll make tea,” announced Gran, who appeared in no hurry to fall into bed despite the fact it was two in the morning. “I brought my own with me.”

  Ella shared a look with Alex as his gran disappeared into the gourmet kitchen. The last thing she wanted was a cup of that disgusting tea. He sat at the other end of the sofa, and before she guessed his intention he grabbed her ankles and swung her legs around so her feet rested in his lap.

  “I don’t know why you wear shoes that hurt your feet.” He began to massage her toes. She stared at him, speechless. “How’s that feel?”

  It felt like heaven.

  “Good,” she croaked and tried not to curl her toes in orgasmic bliss.

  “Can’t you get shoes that fit properly?” He rubbed the balls of her feet and it was all she could do not to slide down the sofa and whimper with pleasure.

  “They do fit. But when you’re as short as me you need four-inch heels, believe me.”

  “No, you don’t.” He shot her a grin. “You’re not that short.”

  She thought of those models. “Trust me, it’s no fun being a half-foot shorter than most other women in the room.”

  He looked as though he had no idea what she was talking about. “I think you’re paranoid. I didn’t notice.”

  She curled her toes around his thumb. It was crazily suggestive. My dirty mind…

  “That’s because I was wearing heels.” She laughed when he rolled his eyes in mock disgust.

  His gran came back in and placed their tea on a small coffee table. “I’m going to bed now,” she announced, as though there was nothing at all weird about the fact Alex was massaging her feet. Ella gave an awkward smile and tried to unobtrusively tug down the hem of her dress. Why hadn’t she noticed it’d slid almost up to her ass?

  Alex didn’t seem fazed at all. And that was really strange because usually he went out of his way not to touch her whenever any of his family was around.

  Maybe, finally, he was coming round to the fact the world wouldn’t end if they told everyone they were together?

  Once they were alone in the room, she stealthily shifted her feet closer to his package. “In spite of Paris’ mom, tonight went really well. I think Paris is really good for Coop.”

  “Yeah.” He began to stroke her ankles. Was he going to give her a full body massage? If only we were alone in this apartment. “Kind of crazy. Never guessed either of them would end up with a socialite or Hollywood star.”

  “Well, looks like your work here is done. I don’t think you need to worry about your brothers anymore.”

  “Guess you’re right.” He didn’t sound too sure about it though.

  “You always looked out for them.” Even before that night he always made sure his younger brothers were all right. No one messed with a Grayson unless they wanted to take on all three. And after their father died no one in their right mind wanted to take on all three Graysons. Look at what’d happened to the dipshit who’d tried to take out Jackson with a knife in the back. After the three brothers had paid him a visit, he’d hardly shown his face in the neighborhood again.

  “Didn’t want them to end up like me.” There was a faint frown on his face.

  “They should be so lucky.” She gently prodded him on his thigh with the heel of her foot. “Nothing wrong with the way you turned out.”

  His hand was warm and firm where he clasped her just below the knee. Unfortunately he didn’t seem inclined to go any further. “I’m a screwed up fuck, Ella. Always have been.”

  Pain squeezed her heart. He never said things like that. She had no idea what to say to him, because how could she tell him she didn’t think he was fucked up at all for what he’d done to that piece of shit he called a father?

  “No, you’re not.” How lame is that? She desperately wanted to say something clever and profound. “No one thinks you should’ve been put away for… for what happened. You know that, right?”

  For an eerie second she had the strangest sensation that he didn’t have a clue what she was talking about. Then he let out a measured breath and relaxed his grip on her leg.

  “I swore I’d do anything to keep my brothers from going inside. I was lucky. They might not’ve been.”

  She had massive issues with him thinking he’d been lucky. Sure, he’d been found not guilty due to the fact he’d acted in self defense to keep his brother from being murdered. But he’d still gone through the system. Still had all the fingers pointing at him.

  Now wasn’t the time to argue the point. He’d never brought up the subject before. It wasn’t exactly taboo, but it wasn’t something she’d ever had the nerve to broach.

  You were different when you came home.

  Of course he would be. Deep down she knew that. But her uneasy feeling that something had happened at juvie had never really died over the years.

  “Was it really bad?” Of all the questions she could’ve asked, she came up with that? I can’t ask him what I really mean. She wasn’t sure if she even wanted to know the answer to what she really meant. Were you abused in there?

  His hand slid along her leg to her foot. She tried not to shiver but it was impossible. She wanted him. Did it matter if he knew it?

  “Yeah, it was bad.” His voice was flat. “No one messed with me but I saw it happen. And I couldn’t help thinking…” He let out a harsh breath and tore his gaze from her.

  Her chest ached. He came across as such a tough bastard to those who didn’t know him, but his whole life he’d been committed to looking out for his younger brothers. She leaned toward him and threaded her fingers through his. “I’m sorry, Alex.” When she was twelve he’d seemed so grown up to her. But you were only sixteen.

  “Not your fault.” He squeezed her fingers. “Things worked out in the end.”

  She untangled her legs from his lap and shuffled next to him. “Want to go to bed?”

  He didn’t answer right away, but his body tensed. “Guess so.” He sounded oddly restrained.

  “My room or yours?” She leaned into him, intending to kiss him, but he edged back.

  “No condoms, babe.” His smile seemed a bit…off.

  She shoved the thought aside. “I’m on the pill, remember?” So far he hadn’t seemed inclined to take advantage of it. She didn’t know why. They’d had the safe sex talk and they were being exclusive. Truth was she was dying to have sex with him without having to use a condom. She’d never done it without using one before. It was becoming a kind of obsession.

  “Doubt these walls are sound proofed. Do you really want my gran hearing us?”

  Something’s not right. She shou
ldn’t have to try and persuade him to sleep with her, should she?

  Except the thought of his gran walking in on them was totally revolting.

  “I’m sure I can keep the noise down for one night.” Well, shit. Now she sounded like she was completely desperate for it.

  That’s because I am. Why the hell wasn’t he?

  His smile almost made up for his lack of enthusiasm in taking up her offer. “I don’t want you to keep the noise down. We’ll go to the club Monday night, okay?”

  He framed it as a question but he wasn’t really asking her. He just assumed she’d be okay with it.

  And she was. Up to a point. She loved going to Excalibur. But that didn’t mean she only ever wanted to have sex with him at his club.

  So tell him that. Except she couldn’t find the words. And she didn’t want to start a conversation right now that, deep down, she wasn’t sure she wanted to have.

  “Sure.” She shrugged, just to show him she wasn’t at all bothered he’d rather wait a couple of nights than take her right here, right now. She tore her gaze from him before he saw how badly she was lying. “You going to drink your tea?”

  “No way. You go to bed, I’ll get rid of the evidence.”

  And now he was dismissing her. Oh, get over yourself. She pasted on one of her smiles, gave him a quick kiss on the cheek and went into her room.

  It was more than an hour later before he finally closed the door of his bedroom.

  He really wasn’t going to spend the night with her.

  “I can’t believe I’m leaving Grayson’s in just two days.” Ella sat on the bed in the private room in the club and pulled on her ankle boots as she watched Alex button up his shirt. He was so sexy the way he got dressed. Almost as sexy as the way he undressed. She dragged her attention back to her boots before he saw the way she was drooling all over him.

  “Nor can I.” He sat next to her and his body heat did all sorts of magical things to her insides. Which was crazy, since they’d just had another scorching scene, and by rights she should be spread eagled on the floor with exhaustion, unable to move for at least a week. “At least Meg seems to know what she’s doing.”