by Lexi Blake
“Matt!” Grace pushed at him, the feel of his hands on her ass pushing her out of shock and into action. “What the hell are you doing?”
He smiled sheepishly. “Something I should have done a long time ago.” He held his hands up in mock surrender. “And I’m moving way too fast, as usual. Look, I just wanted to warn you about Johansson. I don’t want that bastard to break your heart. You’ve been through enough. You need a man who’ll take care of you.”
Given the way she’d spent the entire evening dealing with Matt’s shit, she seriously doubted he was the one to take care of her. A million and one thoughts flittered through her head, each trying and not finding purchase. She was flustered, and it must have shown on her face.
Matt pushed back a piece of hair that had come loose. “Let’s forget that whole kissing thing happened, okay?”
Grace nodded eagerly. She was more than willing to forget that bit of idiocy. She’d never once thought of Matt in any terms other than friend and boss and sometime burden. “No problem. We can blame it on the tequila.”
He nodded. “But I want you to think about it, Grace. I think we could make something work. I think we could be happy.”
“Matt…”
He put a finger over her lip. “Hush. I just asked you to think about it. Can you do that?”
Grace nodded. She doubted she would be able to think about anything else.
Chapter Four
Grace set her laptop bag at her feet as she scooted into the booth at O’Hagen’s. The small pub was half a block away from the office, making it the perfect place to end the very long and frustrating day. When Adam had shown up at her desk at four, she’d leapt at the chance to spend a little time with him and Jake.
“Hey, do you want me to move that over here?” Adam asked, indicating the heavy bag.
Grace shook her head. “No. It’s fine. I like to keep it close. It’s kind of got my whole life in it. I never let that sucker out of my sight.”
Adam leaned back, his masculine beauty a study in negligent grace. “I bet it’s not your whole life, sweetheart.”
She sank into the comfortable booth, every muscle in her body relaxing after a taxing day. She needed this. She needed to sit and talk to friends and drink a glass of wine. It reminded her that she really did have a life. “You would be surprised. My kids are in college. I live alone. Work is pretty much my life.”
And she’d been all right with that for the last few years. After her husband died, sinking into work and family had been comforting. But lately, she’d felt how alone she was. Watching Adam and Jake connect was a bittersweet reminder of how much she’d missed having a man in her life.
“Two Cosmos.” Jake smiled down at Grace as he passed her a frosty pink drink. He set one in front of Adam as well. Grace noted that Jake already had a beer sitting in front of his seat.
“Seriously?” Adam asked, staring at the drink.
Jake grinned at his new boyfriend. They were so cute together. “I remember you talking about how much you loved Cosmos. And I know Grace likes them. Look at how cute she looks with a pink drink in her hand. Very festive.”
Grace took a sip. She really did love Cosmos.
Adam reached out for his. “Nice beer you have there, Jake.”
Jake slid into the booth next to Adam. He picked up his beer and tipped it toward his partner. “I’m not as urbane as you, love. I’m afraid I’m still a country boy at heart. I just love a nice, cold beer.”
Adam’s eyes narrowed briefly and then he smiled that sweet, smooth smile Grace was coming to love. His shoulders came up in a negligent shrug. “Well, it’s your ruggedness I find truly attractive.” He turned to Grace. “Although softness is infinitely appealing, too.”
She rolled her eyes as she took another sip of her icy cold drink. Adam was a ridiculous flirt. He seemed to prefer to flirt with women though, she’d noticed. She supposed women were safe to flirt with. Jake didn’t seem at all jealous as Adam’s hand found hers across the table and entwined their fingers together. Adam really was a tactile person. He was always hugging her and taking her hand.
“I’m not so soft, you know,” Grace countered. “Just today, I had to put a man in his place.”
She grinned, thinking about it. Sean Johansson had tried to maneuver her into spending the afternoon with him. He’d had all kinds of excuses for why she should sit in on the meeting between him and Matt. She had only really needed one reason to not sit close to Sean. Last night’s episode with Matt had her thinking. She had to keep Sean at arm’s length. He was too tempting. If she let herself go along with his playful flirtation, she was going to end up the laughingstock of the office.
“I heard that big blond guy was hitting on you pretty hard,” Jake said. He’d taken off his tie and unbuttoned the top two buttons of his immaculate dress shirt, showing off several inches of tan, muscular skin. No wonder Adam was so into him.
Grace waved off his words with the hand Adam wasn’t holding. “He’s a man after a good deal. I think he’s figured out the way to the boss’s heart is through his admin.”
“Then why was Kayla playing admin today?” Adam asked.
That had been her solution. Kayla had been more than amenable. Sean had told her that he required someone to take notes and type them up so he would have a hard copy of all the meeting’s high points. Grace had given him Kayla, who was more than happy to stare at the gorgeous man all day long. Grace had beaten a hasty retreat, holing up in the supply closet doing an inventory that wasn’t really due for another two weeks and that should have been handled by someone else.
She’d run like the coward she was, and she wasn’t ashamed. “I had some other things to do. Kayla didn’t mind.”
Adam chuckled a bit. “Give him hell, sweetheart. Don’t you let that big bastard charm you. I know the type.”
“Really?” Jake asked, staring pointedly at Adam.
“I do. He looks like the ‘love ’em and leave ’em’ type. He’s not right for our Grace.” Adam’s hand stroked across hers sweetly. “Grace needs someone different. She needs someone who’s in it for the long haul.”
A long shadow fell over the table. “What are we hauling? Dare I take a wild guess?”
Grace pulled her hand back from Adam’s. Sean stood at the head of their table, his jacket held over one shoulder. Like Jake, he’d ditched the tie and looked gorgeous and casual. He stared down at Adam, a fierce frown on his face.
Adam sat back. If he was intimidated by Sean’s caveman act, he wasn’t showing it. “I was just telling my dear friend here how she has to watch out for men who would take advantage of her.”
“Yes, she should be careful of that. She’s a beautiful woman. There are a lot of liars out there. There are a lot of men who would misrepresent themselves in order to get close to a woman like Grace.”
Grace looked between Adam and Sean, trying to figure out the weird tension between the two of them. “Do you two know each other?”
Sean’s face changed in an instant. His smile grew wide, and he ignored Adam. He laid his jacket over the back of the booth and held out his hand. “Not at all, sweetheart. I’m just jealous that you avoided me all day, but you seek him out. Dance with me, Grace.”
She actually felt her heart speed up. O’Hagen’s had a small dance floor, but despite the music playing, almost no one ever used it. The song had switched from a bouncy pop tune to a slow, sexy ballad. No one danced to music like this. This was the type of music a man used as an excuse to plaster himself all over a lover in public. “Oh, I don’t think that’s a good idea.”
His jaw hardened, and his voice was deeper as he spoke to her. “Grace, it would please me greatly if you would dance with me.”
He knew exactly what to say to her. She started to slide out of the bench. Sean took her hand and helped her out. She stood, and he was standing so close she could feel the heat from his body. She had to tilt her head up to see his face.
“Thank you, Grac
e.” His voice seemed deeper. His lips quirked up in a sexy half-smile. “I’m not so bad, you know. You don’t have to hide in a closet to avoid me.”
She felt herself flush. She’d hoped he hadn’t figured that out. “I had to do inventory.”
His eyes narrowed, and she felt like he could see through her. “I would prefer honesty, Grace, but I don’t suppose we’re there yet. Fine. I can play the game for awhile.” He looked down at Jake. “When the waitress comes by, could you order me a beer?”
Grace barely heard Jake’s “yes” before Sean was leading her toward the dance floor. Her hand felt small engulfed in his large one. God, he made her feel petite, and she wasn’t small in any way. Grace glanced around the bar. No one else was dancing. Everyone was going to be watching the big girl and the guy who was obviously out of her league.
Sean halted in the middle of the floor and pulled her close. “Stop it.”
“Stop what?” She was doing as he asked. She just wasn’t a very good dancer. “If you would prefer someone who knows what they’re doing, please feel free to choose another partner.”
She started to pull away, her face flaming. She should have known better. Sean’s arm tightened around her waist, pulling them closer together. “That wasn’t what I meant. I meant for you to stop stressing about what everyone else thinks.”
“How did you know?” she asked, trying to follow his lead. It was obvious she wasn’t leaving anytime soon.
His arm relaxed as though he understood she was resigned. His hand found the small of her back, and she could feel him leading her gently. “I watched you. Your shoulders come up when you get stressed or nervous. And your jaw locks when you lie.”
“I didn’t lie.”
“You said you didn’t want to dance with me. That was a lie. I saw the way your eyes flared and your jaw clenched when I asked you. You were looking at me the same way you looked at that decadent piece of chocolate cake at the restaurant, and you turned me down the same way you turned down dessert yesterday.”
He was right about that. She was horrifically embarrassed that he could see through her so plainly, but there was a part of her that was amazed he’d learned so much about her. Her husband, God rest his soul, had never figured out those things. “Well, I think you’re both bad for me.”
He surprised her by laughing, the sound as rich as any chocolate. Yep, he was bad for her. He had her thinking all kinds of dirty things. “That is such bullshit, Grace. Everyone needs a little decadence. It makes life worth living.”
Sean moved her around the floor, his grace and rhythm evident in his easy motions. Grace gave over and stopped fighting him. She let him lead. The only problem with chocolate was that it was highly addictive. Once Grace had a little taste, she wanted more. She was pretty damn sure Sean Johansson was going to be very similar.
“So says the man without an ounce of fat on him,” Grace grumbled. Not an ounce. So close to him, she could feel how cut he was. She tried to keep her hands still, but his every muscle seemed rock hard. He enveloped her. She was surrounded by his heat and his very masculine, clean smell. Despite her every misgiving, she found herself relaxing into him. It felt so good to be close to someone.
She felt him sigh, and his arms left their proper dance position and simply wrapped around her. He swayed to the music. “Is that what the problem is? Grace, love, do you look in the mirror?”
“All too often,” Grace replied.
It was time to let him know she was onto his game. She turned her head up, and found him staring down at her with the sweetest smile on his gorgeous face. It took her breath for a minute. Maybe it wouldn’t hurt to just dance. She wouldn’t let it go any further. If she was careful, she could enjoy a night out with an amazing man and not get hurt.
“I don’t think you’re looking at the same thing I am,” Sean said. “Now, relax. Are you enjoying yourself?”
“Yes,” she answered honestly. She liked being close to him far too much, but it felt so good to forget about all the reasons she shouldn’t be here and just dance.
“I’m glad. I don’t think you have enough fun, Grace.” His hand moved to cradle her head. He pressed her gently to his chest.
The music swelled around them, and Grace simply forgot about all the people watching them and let herself feel. She wanted. She’d wanted for so long.
The music changed suddenly to a faster pace. Grace reluctantly brought her head up. That hadn’t lasted nearly as long as she’d hoped. She gave Sean a smile.
He shook his head and held her hand. He winked as he twirled her around and brought her back into his arms. “I can do this all night long, Grace. Dance with me.”
Grace felt a smile spread across her face as Sean picked up the pace. The man could dance. Grace relaxed and followed his lead.
* * * *
“What do you mean you didn’t go through her briefcase?” Sean asked. The words came out more harshly than he’d intended, but it had been a rough night.
He’d spent at least a full hour dancing with Grace, her lovely, curvy body pressed against his. He’d been in agony. His cock had been harder than iron, and he’d had to keep himself carefully angled away from her body. He wasn’t sure what Grace would have done had he followed through on his instinct which screamed at him to rub his cock all over her and make sure she was absolutely certain of his interest.
Adam took a long pull off his beer. The minute Grace and the others had disappeared, Adam had ordered a beer as fast as he could get the words out of his mouth. “Kayla showed up. What did you expect me to do? Tell her I’m sorry, you can’t sit with us because I have to rifle through your friend’s briefcase? God, this beer tastes so fucking good. You suck, Jake. I will get you back for that.”
Jake laughed, his head falling back. “The look on your face was so funny.”
Sean slapped at the table to get their attention. “Both of your faces are going to look funny if I don’t get a decent explanation as to why this little mission of ours turned into a complete waste of time.”
It hadn’t been, but he wasn’t willing to admit that. He’d enjoyed Grace’s company far more than he should. She was sweet and funny and so smart. After they’d finished dancing, they’d sat with Adam and Jake and the others from the office who came in and crowded around Grace. Kayla had been there, but so had a bunch of men. Several of them had been watching Grace. She hadn’t noticed at all, but Sean had made damn sure to stare them all down.
But he hadn’t achieved what he’d come in here to do—give Adam and Jake time to go through Grace’s briefcase and potentially download the contents of her hard drive. He’d known the second would be tough. Adam was supposed to take it with him into the bathroom, and if Grace said anything, he could claim to have just been watching out for it. But Adam hadn’t gotten that far. They had sat in the bar for two hours, surrounded by co-workers. By the time Grace had declared it was time to go home, they had blown their opportunity. Sean knew exactly who to blame.
“Maybe you were just too busy hitting on the target to do your actual job.” Sean was just about ready to throw down with Adam. Adam had done his damndest to steal Grace’s attention away.
Adam slammed his beer down. “You practically fucked her on the dance floor. What was up with that?”
“Not even close. I kept my hands to myself.” And that had been incredibly hard. All he’d wanted was to sink his fingers into her soft hair and tilt her head up for a kiss. After she’d relaxed and snuggled against him, Sean had remembered all the wonderful things about taking a submissive. Grace was wound too tight. She didn’t give herself permission to enjoy anything. He could change that for her. She needed someone, someone with her best interests at heart. Getting to know her had proven to Sean that she was a natural submissive. She wasn’t a pushover. She just placed almost everyone else’s needs before her own. She required a strong partner who could watch out for her and make sure she got what she needed.
He couldn’t be that man.
“That’s not what it looked like from where I was sitting,” Adam shot back.
Jake rolled his eyes. “Why don’t you two just beat the shit out of each and get it over with? Sean, the minute Kayla showed up, I asked her to dance. You didn’t notice that, did you? We were right beside you and Grace, but you didn’t notice, so don’t tell me we’re the only ones who fucked this up.”
“Eric Klein from HR walked up to the table just as I was getting ready to take the briefcase with me. He asked me a question, and by the time I was finished answering him, Kayla and Jake were back.” Adam frowned as he loosened his tie. “After that, we were surrounded. You knew this wasn’t a sure thing.”
But he’d hoped. He’d hoped this would be easy and then he could step back from Grace since he seemed to be getting in over his head. But busting Jake’s balls wouldn’t help anything. Taking off Adam’s might make him feel better, though.
Jake scooted out of the booth, his beer finished. “You know what you have to do, Sean. It won’t be the first time you’ve taken one for the team. I don’t understand why you’re so reluctant. Seriously, if you don’t want to sleep with Grace, we don’t mind.”
Adam’s fist pumped in victory. “That’s a plan, my brother. We’re better equipped to do it anyway. One of us can keep Grace happily occupied while the other gets the job done.”
Jake laughed. “Yeah, you just remember who takes care of communications. Have fun working, computer geek.”
“Stop it, both of you.” Sean knew he’d fucked up when every head in the place turned. He forced himself to smile. He lowered his voice. “You’re not sleeping with Grace.”
He wasn’t going to allow that to happen. He could handle this. He could handle Grace. She wasn’t different from the other subs he’d known. She was sweet and lovely, and he would walk away from her. She was just a job.
