Standing there at the vanity as Gray brushed her hair out, he told her his cell phone number and made her repeat it back to him six times. Then his web address went through the same process. By this time, her hair was rippling down her back and her stormy eyes were snapping at him in the mirror.
They both used the toilet and he cleaned her as before. Back in the bedroom he slid one of his shirts on her, buttoning it up while he made her repeat his home address and number back to him with each button. He shrugged back into his robe.
A knock at the suite door announced the arrival of the coffee and croissants he had ordered for 5:15 a.m. delivery. Swinging her up into his arms, he carried her into the sitting room and deposited her on the couch. The bellman received his tip at the door and Gray wheeled the tray into the room himself. He parked it beside the arm of the couch where she sat. Scooping her up again, he settled into the seat under her and turned to the tray.
“How do you like your coffee, Baby Girl? Or do you prefer tea? I ordered both,” he questioned.
“Coffee, black, one sweetener.” Prin responded in clipped tones.
“Mmm, good. Me, too,” he murmured. Ignoring her attitude he prepared one cup of coffee for them to share. Gray tested it against his lips and blew on it a few seconds before testing it again. Then held it to her mouth. Prin sipped gingerly at first then took a little more. Only then did he have some himself.
Gray’s actions with the coffee demonstrated his care of her. Although he was a full Dom, not once had he taken a drink before he made sure she had one, he even monitored her intake to ensure she wasn’t in danger of dehydration. That never occurred to her before. Not a morsel of food passed his lips before he made sure she had all she needed. He washed her and groomed her before seeing to his own needs at every turn. Prin felt his care on a cellular level. It bound her to him in ways she dare not accept. Her heart wept in desperate pain at each gentle touch. It wasn’t supposed to be like this.
The need to protect him from the harsh reality of where her life was headed overwhelmed her. The strength to resist him built with each amazing moment in this man’s care. Gray would not feel the pain she’d experienced with the death of her husband. Nothing on earth could now induce her to put him through that. She knew she loved him, loved him more than she’d ever loved before. Even the relationship with her husband paled in comparison, all the more reason to protect him.
Steely resolve crept up her spine. The coming pain would be hers alone. He’d eventually remember her fondly as one night of fun. There would be no lasting consequences, no lingering loneliness. She would miss him desperately until the day she died, but she refused to consign him to that fate. The day she died was likely to be many long years before he did.
When they were done with their second cup of coffee, he stood up and carried her into the bedroom with him. Setting her on the bed, he proceeded to dress. His office numbers were drilled into her until he was done.
Carrying her back into the living room, he gently sat her on the couch again. She figured that letting her walk had developed into a real problem for him. Grabbing her shoes, he slipped them on her and finally pulled her to her feet. Gray stepped behind her to help her into the coat she’d worn when she’d arrived, which seemed an eternity ago.
He again gave her that grin dipped in original sin as he buttoned it up and belted it tightly around her saying, “Keep the shirt. I don’t want Dave getting a sneak peek on the way home.”
Framing her face in his hands, Gray gazed seriously into her eyes. “You know my numbers, baby. You know how to get in touch with me, twenty-four/seven. I want to hear from you. I want to get together and talk about a relationship. I want you,” he stated boldly. “You know I’m a Dom in the bedroom. What happens outside of it is up to us. I’ll be whatever you need, honey. As little or as much as you want.”
His eyes burned into hers with laser-like intensity and he didn’t hide the emotion in them. It was tender and hot, even needy. He wanted her any way he could get her and he was letting her see it. This intensely dominant, arrogant male fearlessly handed her his vulnerability.
She gazed up into his serious eyes and started to tremble again. He’d asked for the very thing she must refuse to give him. Her future was no longer hers to hand out. An ugly turn of events last Thursday snatched that freedom from her. Dying inside, she stared up at him mutely. He gathered her into his arms and hugged her close for a long minute.
“I know this is scary for you, baby, even if I don’t know why. I can’t ask about that now, but I would like to as soon as you’re ready.” His quiet voice soothed her as it broke her heart.
Her arms were clutched around him tightly when he gently pulled them away and turned her toward the door. His hand at her back, he walked her out of the suite to the elevators. The lobby was empty as they strolled through it. Walking her out the front doors, Gray saw Dave’s car pull up. He turned her to him and bent down to drink from her sweet mouth one more time.
The kiss was intense as he thrust his tongue deep into her addictive, coffee-flavored mouth. Steel-roped arms plastered her body to him and let her feel his immediate reaction to her. His kiss claimed her, cajoled her, and above all, loved her.
She was dizzy and blinked dazedly as he slowly drew back from her. Dave parked right beside them and leaned against the car as he watched with unabashed amusement.
Gray slashed him a scathing glance when he bent to open her door. Dropping another kiss on the top of her head, he bent across her to fasten the seat belt. Her door closed gently as Gray straightened and looked across the car roof at Dave.
Narrowing his eyes at the laughter he saw in his buddy’s face, Gray growled, “Drive carefully. Anything happens to her and I’m coming for you.”
Dave snickered and shook his head. “This from the ‘Iron Man’. I take it you’re gonna thank me later?” He chuckled as he slid into the car.
A deep rumble vibrated up Gray’s chest at Dave. He didn’t have time for the cocky attitude. Gray turned his attention back to the beautiful face gazing up at him while the car eased away from the curb. He stood there until it disappeared from view.
Six blocks later Prin still hadn’t said a word. Dave reached over and squeezed one of Prin’s limp hands. When he’d gently tried to ask her how it went, she’d mumbled something and turned toward the window. Now he was getting worried.
“Come on, honey. Do I need to go back there and beat him to a pulp?” Dave slid another worried glance at her.
She turned a wan smile on him. “No, no. I’m fine, really. Just tired.”
“Do you want to come over to our house so you and Marisa can chat? I know I’m not the one you need right now. Would that help?” he asked. Her face seemed very pale to him and her hands were now trembling in her lap.
Dave’s lips tightened as he started to have some serious doubts about his buddy Gray. Could this have gone terribly wrong? Dave was confident that he knew Gray, but after ten months in South America, the guy had changed. How much he’d changed wasn’t something that had occurred to Dave before. Now doubts were creeping in.
She just shook her head no and gazed out the window.
“Did he hurt you, honey? Just tell me if he did and I’ll go back there and take a piece out of his ass with pleasure,” Dave asked, his grip on the wheel turned white-knuckle hard.
Prin glanced at him and recognized the grim look on his face for what it was. He was a Dom also. In a male-mind sort of way, he felt very responsible for her. He would never be anything but faithful to Mar, but the protective instincts of an Alpha male demanded he look after and defend his own. Dave was totally serious and intended to confront the big, dangerous man they’d left back at the hotel if she asked him to. Gray had four inches on him and around sixty pounds, as well as obvious experience in combat situations. But Dave was ready to take him on.
She laughed weakly, and gently squeezed his arm reassuringly as he drove. “No, Dave. He was great. He was wonderf
ul, in fact. Stop worrying. It’s not him. I just have some things to work out.” Territorial men! Prin snorted to herself. God help her.
Dave grunted, but wasn’t convinced. “How come it looks like you’re about to pass out or cry then?” he demanded belligerently. Either prospect would be equally horrifying in Dave’s mind. The responsibility for her pale visage weighed heavy on him. It’d been his idea, really. Damn. He couldn’t live with himself if he’d exposed her to a dangerous situation.
“I’m not, believe me. Just get me home so I can sleep. I’m sure you understand when I say we didn’t do much of that last night,” Prin assured him softly.
Dave grinned cautiously and shot her a glance. “So it worked out then?”
Prin sighed, “Yeah.”
Thankfully, they were pulling into her driveway. By the time he came around the car, she was out and walking up to the front door. He trailed along, still not happy about her pale face and shaky hands as she fit her key into the lock.
“All right, Prin,” he said. “Please call Marisa. She’ll be worried until she hears from you.”
Prin smiled back at him as she stepped through the door. “Sure, but it will be late tomorrow. Don’t worry. I’m fine.” She felt a bit desperate to get rid of him as he stood there frowning at her. He nodded once and turned back to his car. Prin shut the door, leaned up against it and tiredly closed her eyes.
Shaking her head, she pushed away from the door and started to undo the coat. If she didn’t get a move on, she’d sink to the floor right here and not get up. Carelessly shedding the coat, Prin let it drop while she toed off her heels and left them where they lay. Barely making it to her bed, she crawled in and pulled Gray’s shirt tight around her. Sighing again deeply, she passed out.
* * * * *
Gray called Dave Monday morning to ask how his Sweet Baby Girl was doing. His legendary patience had run out by Sunday night. He’d been known to lie unmoving for up to forty-eight hours at a time to acquire his mark, then spend another three days stalking just to be sure no civilians were involved in the action. However, by Monday morning, he was ready to claw through concrete to see her.
Dave snarled at him. “How the hell should I know, man? I dropped her off and she hasn’t been over since.”
Gray sucked in his temper at Dave’s inexplicable attitude and asked as calmly as possible, “Look, just go over there and check on her, okay? She looked pale when she left Saturday.”
“I know she was fucking pale! I was afraid she might pass out in the car. If I ever find out you hurt her, I don’t care what kind of Special Forces you were—I’m going to take a pound of flesh off your ass!” Dave’s volume steadily rose with each word.
“Look,” Gray’s voice lowered warningly. “Just tell me where she is and I’ll take care of it. If I did something to hurt her, I’ll hand you the carving knife to work on me. But I need to know she’s doing all right.”
“Why are you yelling?” Marisa’s faraway voice floated through the phone.
“It’s Gray. He wants to know how Prin is.” Dave made no effort to cover the phone as he answered his wife.
“Give me that,” she demanded. Then a shuffle as the phone passed hands.
“Hi, Gray,” Marisa’s chipper voice sounded in his ear. “How are you doing?” she asked politely and waited for his response.
Gray gritted his teeth and stretched his back, arching his torso over the desk chair as he attempted to restrain his impatience and make polite conversation with her. He was willing to do anything for information at this point. He didn’t really want to use all the tools at his disposal to hunt down Baby Girl, but he damn well would if this didn’t yield the information he needed. What he was capable of was so far beyond stalking it was laughable. Not that she’d ever know it, but still, it might put a crimp in his trustworthiness if she ever happened to find out.
“I’m fine, Marisa. I’m just a bit worried about Prin.” Gray slid in the name he’d heard Dave use and sure enough, Marisa didn’t turn a hair.
“I talked to Prin yesterday, and she said she would be by next Sunday as usual. I think she’s all right, though she sounded a bit tired. Of course, she’s been that way a lot lately. Prin said she didn’t want to talk about your evening, Gray. She wouldn’t, you know.”
Marisa prattled on as Gray listened quietly, gaining an astounding amount of information.
“She not that kind, Gray. She’s a very private person.” He made an agreeing noise, encouraging her to continue.
“In fact,” Marisa plunged on. “She’s been so tired lately that I insisted she get a checkup. Prin wouldn’t even tell me what the doctor said.”
Gray’s head snapped up. Ninety percent of picking up information involved knowing what was important from what was garbage. That bit was not garbage. Silver eyes narrowed as the number of possibilities that statement opened washed over him.
“She just waved it off and changed the subject.” Marisa blithely continued, “Said it wasn’t importan—”
“When was she at the doctor again?” Gray interrupted with a gentle murmur designed to get information without disrupting her train of thought.
“I guess it was last Thursday. That appointment took her all day for some reason. We were going to go out shopping that evening, but she had to cancel on me. Said there had been a long wait. You know how doctors are,” Marisa mused. “Anyway, you really don’t need to worry about her. I’m sure she’s fine. She would tell me if she weren’t.” Marisa paused and slyly inquired, “You guys got along, didn’t you?”
Gray smiled into the phone. Dave obviously had left the room because he’d never let his sweet little wife chatter on like that. Marisa didn’t have a clue how much information she gave away in her efforts to soften him up and get some details. Why not give her what she wanted? Getting her on his side could only help.
“Oh, we got along all right,” Gray smoothly assured her. “Actually, I’m crazy about Prin and would really like to see her again. Just to talk. Work something out…” Gray trailed off knowing Marisa would jump right in.
“I’m so happy to hear that, Gray,” Marisa enthused. “She hasn’t seen anyone since Kurt died. It’s been over four years, and I was getting worried about her. She lives alone and refuses to let anyone help her most of the time. She won’t even let Dave take her car into the shop for service. I think that McFarley guy is ripping her off.”
“She’s been having car trouble?” Gray asked interestedly.
“I think so. She said she couldn’t make it over here last Sunday, and I just assumed it was her car again. It’s a lemon if you ask me. Of course, she had to go buy it herself. She wouldn’t let Dave take a look at it first.” Marisa snorted disgustedly. “Said she didn’t want to be a bother. As if!”
Gray’s grin widened and he settled back into the chair. He was already feeling better. Baby Girl was independent as hell. He liked that. Not having to beat off a flock of men who wanted to look after her saved him a lot of hassle, though this McFarley guy warranted some attention.
“I’ve known her since we were four and she has never been a bother to anyone in her life,” Marisa stated in disgust over the very thought of that ridiculous notion.
Sinking further down in his chair and getting truly comfortable, Gray murmured another agreeing noise and let Marisa go.
“Why, at work, she’s always the one who gets stuck there late. I think she lets them dump the hard projects on her because she doesn’t want to go home to an empty house. That little cottage is not even the one she and Kurt had. Prin sold the old house three years ago. She said it was just too big to keep. But when she went back to work, I began to worry maybe there were some debts that no one else knew about. Still, she’s a computer technician for gosh sakes, not an architect. Those high-falutin architects are just lazy, if you ask me. She spends fourteen hours a day at that office and brings home work on the weekends!”
Gray’s eyebrows drew together as he digested the
architects’ office thing. Those places were filled with men. He scowled. Fourteen hours a day? That had to stop. Marisa paused for a breath and seemed to realize what she was doing.
“I guess all this isn’t why you called. But I just wanted you to know that we see her every Sunday afternoon and I talk to her almost every day.”
“I appreciate that Marisa. I really do. Do you think you could let her know I’d like to talk to her?” Gray’s voice purred over the phone convincingly. “I’m really concerned about her and need to know everything is all right.”
“Sure, Gray,” Marisa agreed. “I’ll see what I can do. It’s been nice chatting with you. I hope this works out for you guys. It would be so good for her.”
“Me too, Marisa, me too. Well, let me know when you talk to her.” He waited for her agreement.
“All right, Gray,” Marisa murmured.
They said goodbye and hung up.
Gaining access to her full name, home address and phone number, work address and number was no trick for a man in his business. A relatively short time later, he sat back from the computer. Now he could think of her by her real name. Princess Lilah Turner. He grinned at the name. Who would’ve believed her given name was Princess? He chuckled. No wonder she preferred Prin.
A bit more investigating and an hour later, her life was all but laid out before him. Possessing those facts directed him to an obvious plan of action. Get as close to this woman as possible. All he needed to do was find a way to seamlessly insert himself into her life.
Work involved extensive traveling. No problem moving his home base. Finding the right house here was the challenge. Where would she like to live? Gray was a master of assessing his options and coming up with tactical advantages. Position on a battlefield often decided the outcome. After Marisa’s helpful chat, it took two seconds to figure out the “high ground” in this situation.
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