She pulled his hands to her lips and kissed them both.
“I don’t want to spoil our last day together with melancholia. I signed up for this, and I’ve had the best time. I want to end this in a good place, the way it started. Just give me that, okay?”
* * * *
Grey pulled her body as close to himself as he could get her. He’d fallen in love so deeply with her, but he would never tell her. It would only hurt more than it already did.
“Anne, I’d give you the world if I could.”
Yeah, the world, but not a place in my life, shithead.
But he couldn’t see any way around it.
He kissed the top of her head and stroked her neck and back. He brought her mouth to his and slowly captured everything she was as he pushed his tongue inside. He pulled the light sweater she wore over her head, and of course she let him. He fondled her breasts through the sweet, pink, lacy bra she wore. A particularly large wave crashed through the rock-wall opening that faced the sea, and water flooded in nearly to their feet.
Their kisses grew even more intimate as he slowly explored her mouth, taking in every sensation and nuance of flavor she held. He grew achingly hard and soon placed her on her feet off his lap. He kissed her deeply once again then slowly entwined her scarf around her wrists. He stripped naked for her and laid out his clothes as a blanket on the sand.
“I want you completely naked for me, Anne.”
She swallowed her nerves, but he knew this was exactly what she wanted. There was a piece of heavy driftwood calcified into the stone, and once she stripped, he laid her on their clothing and tied the other end of the scarf above her head to the driftwood.
“Spread your legs for me, Anne.”
She closed her eyes as a wave of lust clearly washed over her. He loved that she really needed nothing more than the sound of his voice and she was wet and ready. She obeyed him and spread her legs. She was a vision.
He tore open the condom he was holding in his hand and stroked himself until he was good and hard. There were still so many ways he wanted her, but there on the sand, near the sea, with the tender look of love in her eyes, all he wanted was to make love to her deep and slow.
He slipped on the condom and bent between her legs. He slid his tongue over her pussy, the sweet, enduring taste of her penetrating his deepest parts. He licked and fucked her with his tongue until she came, and he released her hands because, God help him, he just wanted to feel the touch of her fingers on his skin.
He rose up over her body and kissed her, and she didn’t fail him. Her hands skimmed his back and grabbed at his ass. He smoothly impaled her hard on his cock, and she moaned.
“Yes, Grey.”
His sweet Anne was everything. He moved his hips, giving her a smooth ride, sucking her nipples into his mouth and pulling her hips so he could thrust inside her as deep as possible. He wanted to imprint himself on her body, her mind, her soul. He knew it wasn’t fair, but he never wanted another man to be able to replace him in her memory.
“Can you come for me, angel?”
“Uh-huh.” She was half out of her mind, but she stared directly into his eyes at the same time.
He shifted so the movement of his cock would rub her clit with every time he entered her, and he felt her core spasm around him, sending him over the edge as well. He couldn’t let her go. He kept plunging deep into her body until both their orgasms were entirely spent, then he pulled her into his arms and rocked her softly with the sound of the pounding sea in the background. Her heart beat so fast, and he placed kisses along the top of her head.
I love you, Anne Ruby. I love you to the core of who I am.
But he knew he’d never tell her.
Chapter Twenty-Three
Grey ached everywhere as he stepped into his empty foyer. He dropped the light bag he’d packed for his last rendezvous with Anne onto the slate tile beneath his feet. He felt slightly numb with the look in Anne’s eyes as he finally said good-bye for the last time burned into his retinas. What ached the most, though, was his heart.
“Mr. Hendrix, the staff did not realize you were to return tonight. I’m afraid we are understaffed.”
He smiled at his butler and patted him on the shoulder. “It really doesn’t matter, Howard. I’m going to go take a long soak in my tub then turn in. You probably won’t see me until Monday.”
On Monday, he had an all-day meeting with his lawyers to begin preparations for the hearings that would decide where his daughter would grow up.
“I’ll be up as usual, should you change your mind.”
“Thank you, Howard.”
He left his bag on the foyer floor and began to ascend the circular staircase to the second floor of a home that was genuinely too big for only him. He had a list in his mind of things he needed to take care of, knowing Anne would hate everything he intended to do for her, but he didn’t care. She’d given him more than he ever had a right to take from her, and he was somehow going to make an attempt to show her in a way he knew he could.
“Mr. Hendrix.”
He had barely made it to the landing when Howard called up to him.
“Yes?”
“Mr. Barings has just arrived. Would you care to greet him?”
He knew without asking it was very late. He had lingered with Anne until the very last moment he could. Why would Liam be here? He was going to see him in a day at his office.
“Thank you, yes, I’ll answer the door.”
He came back down the stairs, his stomach in a knot. Besides being a damn fine attorney, Liam and he had been friends for a very long time also, but Liam was a man of order and rules. He wouldn’t just drop by unannounced on a social call, so it had to be about the custody case.
“Liam.” He extended his hand at nearly the same time he opened the door.
Liam was dressed in a very expensive Italian suit in charcoal-gray and didn’t look the teeniest bit wrinkled despite the hour and the fact that he must have been wearing the thing all damn day.
“I’m sorry to drop by so late without calling, but I felt telling you this in person would be best.”
His words did nothing to alleviate the knots in his stomach. Grey extended his arm, gesturing toward the formal living room to the left.
“All right. Let’s go in there.” Once inside the room, Grey went toward the bar he kept stocked. At times, he thought it was only to prove to himself how strong he’d become. “Can I mix you a drink?”
“No, Grey, this really is urgent.” He reached into a briefcase and pulled out a hardback book with a green dust jacket and held it out before him. “I have a connection at the publisher. This comes out Tuesday.”
Grey knew immediately what it was, but his blood ran cold seeing the tangible proof that she’d actually gone through with it. For a month, she’d been playing cat and mouse with him, refusing to return his calls, forgetting meetings, but he’d heard all the rumors and knew what she’d been up to. Still, to see the solid proof of her betrayal hit him harder than he expected.
He drew a breath, attempting to calm his temper, then reached for the book. A picture of Brittany looking particularly alluring appeared on the cover.
“Restless Nights—My life with Grey Hendrix.” He drew another breath, hoping he could stay calm, but resting beneath his fingers, he knew, was his ruin. “Fucking bitch!”
He hated the slur the second he used it. She was the mother of his child, which was lucky for her because, had it been anyone else, he would have wrapped his fingers around her scrawny little neck until he saw the panic in her eyes.
“Have you read it?”
He saw a muscle tic in Liam’s jaw. “I have.”
Grey sank to the sofa, the fight draining from him as he realized just how fucked he really was. “It’s that bad?”
Liam drew a breath and took a seat in a chair across from Grey. “It’s not good when you’re trying to win sole custody. Otherwise, I mean, Grey, it’s your life. If you a
ren’t hurting anyone, no one has any business sticking their nose in. Sadly, that’s not the way the Hollywood community plays.”
Grey rested his elbow on his knees, his fingers weighed down with the book he still held but hadn’t opened. “So that’s a ‘yes?’”
“For our purposes, yes, it’s bad. I’m not sure how it will affect your image or your career. I mean, you’re already known for being a wild man. This will probably just make you more desirable, if anything.”
“I don’t give a fuck about my career, Liam! I care about Sophie! I mean, doesn’t the fact that Brittany did this show some kind of disregard for her well-being?”
“I can argue a lot from this book for you favor, but at the end of the day, she essentially says you kept her a sex slave and that you have wild orgies at your place every weekend. Now in a perfect world, this book shouldn’t even be relevant, but Grey, you and I both know this isn’t a perfect world, and if the judge sees this before he comes to the bench—” His gaze brushed along the twelve-foot ceilings then settled back down on Grey. “There are some pretty vivid word pictures in there.”
“Fuck.”
Liam stood. “We’ll handle it, Grey. I only came by because I didn’t want you blindsided.”
Grey stood also, dropping the book onto the sofa behind him.
“You know I believe you to be the best parent, Grey. I’m going to fight for you with everything I’ve got. I still think you have an excellent shot of winning this, but…”
“I know.” Liam had told him repeatedly. “Always prepare for the ten percent you can’t control, no matter what. I guess this would be it.”
He smiled softly. “At least this gives us an idea of what their case will be based on, and we can prepare for that. Get some sleep, Grey, and I’ll see you Monday.” He picked up his briefcase and started to the foyer with Grey right behind. “I can see myself out, Grey, but maybe you don’t want to be alone this weekend? Just be discreet, all right? We don’t need you getting caught at the Red Diamond or anything.”
Grey’s heart skipped a beat at the mention of the sex club. He wanted to take Anne there, but every time they were together, he worried about being discovered with her, so he had settled for ravishing her in private. Well, mostly private.
“I’m not going to any clubs, and I’m not having anyone over. I’m the good boy from now until the day I hear the case is decided in my favor!”
“I’ll do everything I can. Night, Grey.”
“Night.” He heard the door click shut as Liam left.
He went to the glass pocket doors and opened them wide, letting the scent of chlorine and grass and cedar enter the room. Steam rose off the pool, sending tendrils into the cool air, and the bright lights under the water contrasting with the darkness of the night called to him. He slipped off his clothing and dove in.
The sounds, scents, and sights of the world disappeared as he slipped under the water and began to swim to the other end of the pool. He’d given up Anne. He didn’t know if he’d get Sophie. He resurfaced. His head now bobbing above the waterline, he couldn’t remember another time when he felt so alone in all his life.
* * * *
Grey sat nervously shaking his leg and playing with a thumb ring, twirling it around and around while listening to Brittany testify to all the reasons he was an unfit father. He knew he should have been paying closer attention, but he couldn’t get his mind off Anne.
It had been two months since he’d last seen her, last tasted her, yet he still couldn’t shake her memory. He longed for her, dreamt about her at night, and every time woke up hard and aching in his soul for her.
“So these parties, Mr. Hendrix forced you to participate in, and even host, these were at your own residence regularly?”
Grey cringed.
He wanted to jump up and tell the judge that he wouldn’t be hosting any sex parties in a home where his daughter lived, which should be common sense, but as Brittany’s attorney continued, he saw more and more clearly how badly he was coming off in these proceedings. He leaned over and grabbed Liam’s arm.
“You’ll tell them that was very case specific, right? That there’s no way in hell I’ll be having any kind of parties so long as I have Sophie.”
Liam looked at him with the same look he’d had on his face since the hearings started, a look of tired forbearance.
He whispered back, “Grey, we’ll have our chance to present evidence soon. Be quiet.”
Grey sighed and went back to attempting to listen. He could have gone for joint custody. It was Brittany who’d pushed—Brittany who threatened to take his child from him if he ever left her. He leaned back toward Liam.
“You’re going to ask to have her drug tested, right?”
“Grey…” The growl was warning enough. Grey, shut up.
He could tell she was using again from the first day she’d walked into court. He wasn’t panicked about it though because he also knew that she spent very little, if any, time with Sophie, and the nanny he’d procured for her was top rate.
His mind started drifting back to Anne and wondering if it would be fair of him to ask her to be his mistress. Have her at his beck and call for any time when he had a spare moment to fuck her.
His heart squeezed.
It’s not fair.
Any spare time he was going to have from his daughter he needed to devote to his career anyway. He wouldn’t be doing any movies for a while, but he had committed to a project at Christmas in Australia. Sophie was still young enough to travel with. He figured when she hit school age, maybe he’d look into a television gig. One of those HBO original series could be great for him. He had no doubts he could work out his career and Sophie. He needed to cut down, couldn’t go all out on the junkets, and there was no question he’d have to keep appearances at charity and red-carpet functions to a minimum, but it would work. People did it all the time, and he’d been soaking in all the advice he could get from his friends in the business with flourishing children.
But what of Anne?
Two months, and he still couldn’t get her out of his head, but maybe she had been able to move on. Perhaps she was happy. He had asked Vaughn to check in with Jordan a few times, but all he reported back was that she shut him down. He didn’t want to risk upsetting Anne’s world by showing up simply to see if she’d gone on without him without skipping a beat, but he really wanted to know, so he turned to Thorton and had found out that weasel of an ex of hers was still harassing her. If not for Thorton’s promise to keep watch on her, he didn’t think there was any way he could have stayed away after hearing that.
He realized everyone was standing, so he stood also, having no idea what was happening.
He watched the judge leave and could have hung himself for not being able to focus. After the judge left, he turned to Liam, “What happened?”
“Grey, you’re a good man, but you can’t focus or follow rules worth a damn. The judge ended for the day. You’ll be up in the morning. We need to go back to my office and prepare and take in the new information that came up today. Say in an hour?”
Grey exhaled. “Yeah.”
Nothing was more important than this, and it wasn’t as if he could go sink his body into the amazing awaiting Anne anyway. He needed to get his thoughts straight, and the only way he knew to do that was prayer and meditation. He’d go to the church he loved in West Hollywood with the big stained-glass windows and see if he could find calm before he met with Liam and the others. He had to forget her. Just had to, there was no other way of it, but trying not to love her was tearing him apart at the seams.
Chapter Twenty-Four
“And until this court is satisfied that Mrs. Hendrix has completed the drug rehabilitation program and satisfies this court that she is no longer under the influence of any substances, all visitation will be supervised and at the discretion of the Department of Child Protective Services.”
Grey listened to the judge’s ruling in a nearly out-of-
body moment.
“I won,” he whispered to Liam, who instantly shushed him.
“Mr. Hendrix, though this court has deemed you the better parent, there will be scheduled visits from the department of child services for one full year to make certain your home is indeed suitable for raising a child. You both are ordered to comply with my ruling, and any deviation will put you at risk of being in contempt. Am I clear?”
“Yes, sir.” Grey was becoming giddy.
The judge banged his gavel and left the bench. Grey couldn’t believe it. Jake came up behind him and hugged him. Vaughn gave him a hard slap on the back.
I won.
It’s over.
His thoughts immediately went to Anne. He saw her beautiful face in his mind and instantly felt the hard punch of lust he always did whenever she came to mind, which was just as frequently now as ever. He had hoped the feelings for her would dim as time slipped away, but if anything, they were growing stronger.
“Let’s go to Animal and have a celebratory dinner.”
Grey watched Brittany’s team of lawyers maneuver her out the side door. They’d probably be taking her down the back way. The front was mobbed with press, and as she had lost, he knew her well enough to know she wouldn’t want to be faced with them. He didn’t want to face them either, but dinner with his friends sounded good.
“Yeah, let’s make it late, though. I want to go make sure everything is ready for Sophie coming home tomorrow.”
Lucas, Samantha - The Seduction of Anne Ruby [The Seduction 2] (Siren Publishing Classic) Page 25
