Two phone calls later and he’d nailed a prime location. Making an offer that couldn’t be refused on the house he wanted didn’t cause him one bit of pain. He could afford it. The business had taken off. His company was the best, and only the best could afford him. It wasn’t that he didn’t have a life to spend his money on, it was more that he seriously didn’t need much to survive and never wasted his time acquiring more than he needed—until now. His needs changed completely the moment Prin walked through the door last Friday night.
By Thursday evening, Gray was pulling his Mercedes E Class into his new driveway. The quick flight to Miami to pack essentials and drive back was done in less than twenty-four hours after the house closing Wednesday. The amount of money required to have the place emptied and cleaned by the time he pulled up would have seemed excessive a week ago. Now, it was simply what it took to get the job done.
Glancing over into his neighbor’s backyard where a man was standing in front of his sizzling grill, Gray grinned as he met Dave’s eyes.
Dave’s brows went up as he watched Gray heft the suitcase and bag out of his trunk and take them in the front door. Two seconds later Gray’s cell phone rang.
“I just threw another steak on the grill. I take it you’re the idiot who bought the judge’s house?” Dave questioned into Gray’s ear.
“Yeah. Thanks for the steak. I’ll be right over.” Twenty minutes later, Gray was slicing into a succulent, inch-thick steak at Dave and Marisa’s patio table.
“So is this a new hobby for you, buddy? Tossing around stupid money on houses?” Dave asked casually. “I know you’ve always liked us. But hell, you could’ve rented the room over the garage if you needed our company that badly. The judge was nearly pissing his pants when he told me how much you paid. It’s just cruel to get a guy that old so excited.”
“Nice of you to offer the room. But I figure Prin will want her own house,” Gray answered around a mouthful of steak.
“Ah. How are you thinking of getting her in there? She’s already has a house, you know,” Dave mused.
“Her place isn’t really big enough for someone my size.” Gray shifted in his chair. “This one seemed like it would suit us both.”
Marisa laughed and put down her fork. “That place could house a small army, Gray. Is there anything in there? What are you planning to do with all that space?” Marisa asked in amazement then added the invitation of a bed as she realized the huge house had to be empty. “You’re welcome to the guest room if you need it.”
“Well, I thought we’d fill it.” Gray smiled and raised his brows, the suggestive nature of how they’d fill it clear. “Thanks for the offer tonight. The bed and kitchen table are being delivered tomorrow,” Gray added.
Both Dave and Marisa sat back and grinned.
“So how come she hasn’t told me about the army you all are planning on?” Marisa asked around her smile. “I spoke to her just this morning and she didn’t mention being pregnant.”
“Haven’t really run the plan by her yet,” Gray murmured as he finished the last bite of meat. Purposely he concentrated on enjoying the taste, allowing his statement to drift off into the twilight.
“She hasn’t called you?” Dave questioned with dawning concern.
“Not yet.” Gray took time to enjoy the truly fine red wine Dave served with the meal.
The other two regarded him with a mixture of amusement and surprise.
“I looked over that contract before I handed it to her, Gray. It’s a fine piece of ironclad writing there,” Dave commented. “I’ve never known you to break your word.”
“Isn’t it though?” Gray leaned back and stretched his legs. “I outdid myself with that damn thing, I’ll give you that, but if she contacts me, it’s no longer binding.”
Dave rubbed his chin and considered that. “Yeah. I guess you could read it that way.”
“But she hasn’t called you. How could you pay that much money for a house when she hasn’t even called you yet?” Marisa wanted to know, her brow wrinkled in concern.
Gray gently smiled at her. “I need her to know I’m serious about us. I thought she’d like living next door to you, her oldest friend, so I bought it.”
“It has nothing to do with the fact that she’s here every weekend and will have to trip over you to get in the door?” Dave ribbed him.
“I wouldn’t want to be un-neighborly.” Gray shot back. “One has to work hard at being friendly when moving into a new neighborhood. I’m sure I read that in a magazine somewhere. I plan to make sure you guys are really secure in the fact that I want to fit in around here.” Gray grinned as he leaned back and warmly regarded his friends.
Dave chuckled and Marisa shook her head. “So what? You’re basically going to stalk her?” Marisa asked.
“If I have to,” Gray conceded seriously.
“Careful with that, Gray,” Dave cautioned. “She’s not an idiot. Whatever her reasons are for not calling, they’re not stupid or trivial. And she’s not a pushover. Don’t do something you will both regret.”
“What happens between us is a private thing, Dave,” Gray murmured softly. “You’re not her father.”
“No. But she doesn’t have a father around anymore to look out for her.” Dave’s voice was no longer light or amused. Man-to-man talk was serious business. “We’re pretty much it for her, if she’s counting family members, Gray. Don’t expect my loyalties to be with the big Special Forces guy if this doesn’t go how you want it to. You can take care of yourself.”
Gray grinned, and then chuckled. “Damn, I’m glad she’s had the two of you around. I couldn’t ask for a better set of friends for my wife. You stay in her corner, Dave. I wouldn’t want it any other way.”
“Wife?” Marisa squeaked. “You guys didn’t fly to Vegas the other night, did you?”
“No, hon. When a guy like me makes up his mind, well, he’s done. The ceremony makes absolutely no difference,” Gray explained. “Men are sort of single-minded animals. Either a thing is on or off. No middle ground. I’m sure you’ve noticed that some time in the last eight years with this bas…uh, guy you decided to rehabilitate.” Gray nodded toward Dave who was laughing and shaking his head.
“Ceremony might make no difference to you, buddy. But you’re about to find out it’s of pivotal importance to the sweet woman you think you’re going to corral.” Dave wrapped an arm around Marisa and nuzzled her ear. “I thought the whole ceremony thing would kill me before I managed to drag her down the aisle.”
“Beast.” Marisa laughed with Dave. “He was the worst. But seriously, Gray, just because it’s a black and white world for you—do not think it is for her. We women don’t just flip a switch like men seem to. It’ll involve a lot more considerations for Prin.”
“And I plan to be right there to help her with those considerations, Marisa,” Gray smoothly confirmed.
“But buying a house and moving up here is pretty intimidating. You’re used to being in command. Prin is not one of your little soldiers who’s just going to fall in line as ordered.” Marisa sat back and sadly shook her head at Gray.
“You looked at those guys lately, Marisa?” Gray smiled at her. “Not one of them could be called little, darlin’. But I understand what you’re saying. I don’t expect her to follow orders. I’m just removing obstacles. I don’t want a long-distance relationship. I’m doing what it takes to move toward the objective, that’s all. She doesn’t have to do a thing except walk through that door over there. I don’t expect her to uproot her life or leave the place she calls home. I’m willing to do all that. How is that bad?”
Dave was chuckling quietly. “Go ahead, Marisa. Explain it to him.”
“Oh sure, leave me to do all the hard stuff. It’s like talking to a brick wall,” Marisa grumped to her husband. “Look, Gray. You’ve taken some really big steps here that involve both of you. Don’t you see? Prin will feel like you’re crowding her. Like you’re sort of forcing her into accep
ting you.”
“No. I haven’t asked her to change a thing. I am simply willing to be present in her life,” Gray defended himself. “I’d never force her into anything, Marisa. You know that.”
“You just don’t get it, do you?” Marisa sighed and shook her head. “Well, all I can say is good luck, ‘cause you’re gonna need it.”
The early summer evening melted around them as they sat there on the patio. Gray and Dave chatted about sports and mutual acquaintances for a while. Marisa slid onto Dave’s lap and soon drifted off to sleep as the low timbre of the male voices lulled her.
Gray looked at the contented couple and felt a burning ache in his chest. The relationship in front of him was the kind he wanted with Prin. Marisa was tired and not all that interested in the conversation. Instead of going in like most women would have, she would rather curl into the security of her husband’s arms and drift off there. The complete commitment and loving trust between them was almost blinding. It burned into someone looking in from the outside. They didn’t even know what they were showing him.
He missed Prin with every fiber of his being. Lonely and aching for the one soft body that belonged in his arms was a new and distinctly unpleasant feeling he seemed to be cultivating this week.
Chapter Six
Friday morning came and Gray swore furiously as he paced back and forth across the den. He whipped around and paced back to the only bit of furniture in the room, his desk, and picked up the phone, only to slam it back down. A week, damn it! When he got his hands on her and finished taking her, she was going to find out just how bad an idea it was to make him wait.
He’d slipped into her dreams twice this week. Now that he knew what they did to her, he’d simply gone to her and held her. She’d been distressed and restless. He hoped it was the situation between them keeping her up. Holding Prin in his dreams was enough to tide him over, but he wanted her wide awake. He wanted her willing and trusting him. Dream Walking would no longer be enough.
He wanted her to acknowledge him as her man! He wanted to beat his chest and yell as loud as possible that she was his. Every male that crossed her path had to know she was his. The primitive necessity to mark her, to publicly declare his possession of her, was growing stronger every day.
For a week, his inner beast had been going nuts. That internal moron didn’t give a damn about the acknowledgment issues. He just wanted her under him. The beast wanted his scent on her, in her. Every minute she wasn’t in his sight he felt deprived, jealous and every obsessive emotion in the book. It was immature, intensely irritating and he hated it!
Gray stalked over to the bay window and scowled out at the wide expanse of manicured lawn. After watching Dave and Marisa last night, he felt his aloneness with a ferocity that twisted in his gut. She completed him in every way. Her sweet face soothed every past pain. She healed him in ways that he didn’t even know he needed. Not having her was minute-by-minute survival. It wasn’t living.
Gray’s hand rested on the phone and he wrestled with simply calling her. Still, calling her would be breaking his word. She had to trust him for any kind of a relationship to work. She needed to know he would never, ever go back on a promise. He intended to make a lot of promises to her in the future, and he needed her to believe in them. His hands were tied by that fucking contract. Expletives hissed from between clenched teeth in a steady stream. He couldn’t do it. Damn, he wanted to hit something.
His computer dinged the incoming instant message tone. He considered ignoring it. Hell, any distraction would be better than this! Gray slid into the desk chair and opened the message.
Prinlilah: Hello, Gray. I hope this isn’t interrupting something important. I just wanted to let you know I’m fine. Mar said you were asking. Sorry for the inconvenience. Thanks
Gray sat there and gaped at the shy little statement on his computer. It was impersonal, to the point and intended to put a period on his concern. Not in this lifetime, Baby Girl. She’d opened this door of communication and by God it was his now. He almost grinned as his fingers flew across the keys in response.
Winstonsecur: Hello, Baby Girl. You are never an interruption. How are you feeling, hon? I’ve been worried about you. What’s wrong? I can feel something bothering you.
He sat back and waited. Let her deal with that. She may not want to admit to Dream Walking, but she wasn’t going to escape him and retreat back into some narrow Anglo-logic world. He could not allow her to dismiss him or what they had as simply an evening between strangers. God knew he could be patient, but apparently not about her acceptance of him. Baby Girl had no idea what she was in for if she thought he was going to let her curvy little self go!
Prinlilah: I am fine. REALLY. I just had a minute at work and wanted to let you know. Got to go. Bye
Oh no. Not so quickly, darling mine. This was not ending here. Gray slashed his response across the keys.
Winstonsecur: OK. When you get off work, we’ll talk. What time will you be home? And, Baby Girl, I will go ahead and say what I have to say right here and now in front of whoever is leaning over your desk if that’s what you want. Your choice.
Prinlilah: Fine. I’ll contact you tonight when I get in.
His reply to her clipped little statement came back to show him Prin was off-line. A few seconds of hacking let him know she’d turned off the computer. He laughed and ran his fingers through his hair. Oh, yeah, Baby Girl was going to hear from him tonight!
Prin frowned darkly at her computer and flipped it off with a vengeance. Darrick was standing behind her reading her screen with interest. Turning jerkily to her boss she barely refrained from snapping at him just for being male. He chuckled as her stormy eyes rose to his.
“A new friend, Prin?” Darrick’s voice rumbled in obvious amusement.
Darrick was a brilliant architect. His wiry frame and slightly balding head disguised a man in his prime. He looked unassuming and calmly allowed others to see him that way when it suited him, but it was a mistake to discount him in any area. He gave people all the room they needed to hang themselves, and quietly finished the job when they got to the hanging part. In business, it had made him obscenely rich at a very young age. Well, that coupled with a talent that hadn’t yet reached its zenith. He was also a very good friend.
When Prin had first come to work here, she’d appreciated his gentle admiration. If she’d wanted it, they could have been an item immediately. He’d taken her tactful refusal in stride and they became friends. He never pressed her for reasons. For that, she was grateful. He never made her feel uncomfortable either. Right now, she was just happy he never pried as well.
“Mmm. Let me show you where I stored all the McDavish Building stuff.” Prin ignored his question and got straight to business, hopping out of her chair to drag him off.
She’d just stopped in at work to tie up some loose ends. The events of the last two weeks required she take some time off. Upon hearing her news, Derrick assured her the job was secure and held her tightly in the warm embrace of a friend.
Comforting her didn’t faze this man. Women were not the scary mystery to him that most men found them to be. He was that rare breed of man who understood women with sensitivity that never felt feminine itself. It wasn’t just young women or pretty women. It was all women. Women knew it. It was scary actually. Prin didn’t think he’d met a woman he couldn’t charm. He didn’t look like a lady-killer at first glance, but she was the only female that she knew of to turn him down. Even when his brief relationships were over, the friendship, or at the very least, gentle affection remained. Not once had she seen a pissed off, rejected female leave his presence.
His gentle empathy undid her there for a minute. When she got her emotions under control again, he sent her off to the bathroom to clean up her face. It was when she got back to her desk and saw that Darrick was tied up on the phone that she had screwed up her courage and sent the Instant Message to Gray.
Now, all too quickly, she and Der
rick covered all the projects she was working on. By early afternoon, Derrick shipped her off home to take care of things there. He left her with a twinkle in his eye as he advised her not to keep her “barbarian” waiting.
It was nine p.m. Friday night. Her entire house was cleaned. The wash done and every possible detail attended to from lawn service to scheduling grocery delivery for the time she wouldn’t be able to drive. Prin reluctantly sat down and stared at her computer. She still had no idea what to say to Gray. Prin suspected it would be a mistake to wait much longer. Flipping on the machine, she wasn’t surprised when a message flashed across her screen as soon as she got on the ‘net.
Winstonsecur: Hello, Baby Girl. It took you long enough to get home. Do I need to have a chat with someone at that office?? Just kidding. How are you?
Prinlilah: NO! You better be kidding. I take my job seriously, and I would take any interference there seriously. Am I making myself clear?
Winstonsecur: Calm down. I told you I was kidding. Now, what are you wearing?
Prin glanced down at her old sweats and raggedy football jersey. Why not? Computer land was just as make believe as the set-up in which they met. If he wanted to play, she could show him a thing or two. Letting her troubles lift for a moment, she giggled as her fingers glided across the keys.
Again, he had taken them in an unexpected direction. She’d worried all afternoon and evening about this conversation, dreading it, yet almost unable to stand the wait. But suddenly they were playing and she was laughing. How did he do that?
Prinlilah: Oh, a little of this and…well…none of that.
Winstonsecur: Ah…none of “that” you say? Good girl. No need for “that” between us. Now what’s the little “this”?
Full Ride Page 9
