He chuckled, kissing her on the nose. “I’m sure, baby. Whatever they’re into, I don’t want any part of it. There’s a company that’s trying to take over Steele Industries, and they’re using underhanded tactics to do it. I’ve had enough, doll. I just want to live my life the way I want to.”
Blaise listened closely to everything Greyson said. She also heard what he wasn’t saying. “Does this have anything to do with me?”
He shrugged. “Maybe. My mother has used my loyalty to the family to her advantage for far too long. She lied to me. She tried to use me. She tried to marry me off to the highest bidder, for fuck’s sake.”
Blaise frowned. “Is she still trying to get you to stop seeing me?” She thought of her own ‘warning’ text then. Surely Mrs. Steele wouldn’t go that far. Blaise shook off the idea. She could believe it was someone like Pricilla. She couldn’t help but imagine Nora Steele would be anything but forthcoming.
“She still wants to meet you,” he said by way of an answer.
“So she can make an ‘educated’ assessment of whether I’m a gold-digger or not?” Blaise guessed.
Greyson let out another frustrated sigh. “I’m sorry, doll.”
“Don’t be. It’s not your fault. Maybe we should go on Sunday, just to get it over with.”
Greyson was shaking his head before she even finished the statement. “I’m not going to sacrifice your comfort just to please Nora.”
“It’s fine, Greyson. I can hold my own.”
“I know you can, but…”
“But nothing. You want your mother to stop trying to set you up with tall, skinny bitch, I want her to see that I’m not after your money.” She shrugged. “Two birds, one stone.”
“Are you sure about this?”
It was the concern in his eyes that got her. She brought her hand up, cupping his cheek in her palm. “Yes.”
He leaned in to her touch. “You sure I can’t convince you to spend the night with me?” he asked wistfully.
Blaise felt bad having to choose between her boyfriend and her best friend. If she hadn’t already hurt Ellie with her forgetfulness, she would go with Greyson. She glanced at the car they were currently leaning against. When she looked back at this moment, she would blame her momentary loss of intelligence on the deadly combination of an incredibly sexy man standing next to his incredibly sexy machine. Without much thought to where they were, Blaise dropped to her knees in front of Greyson.
“Whoa, doll! What? Oh fuck!”
Blaise grinned at Greyson’s inability to be articulate as she opened his button-fly jeans. She had no idea what was possessing her to do this particular act, since she had always tried to stay away from it. One time had been enough for her. Still she found herself wanting Greyson in her mouth.
“You don’t have to do this, doll,” he said through clenched teeth as her fingers grazed his now rock hard cock.
She looked up at him, and grinned as she slipped her hand into the waistband of his Calvin Klein boxer briefs. Blaise was nervous, but she wasn’t about to let that stop her. She pulled the briefs down, exposing him to her. Blaise already knew he was impressive, but seeing him this up close and personal was awe-inspiring.
Tentatively, she ran her tongue around the tip of him, tasting him. Not bad, she thought with relief. Once she became associated with his essence, she began to work him tirelessly with her mouth, tongue, teeth and hands. The velvety smoothness, coupled with the hardness of him turned her on like never before. She would tug with her hand, while sucking until her cheeks hollowed out, taking him in as far as she could. When her jaw needed a break from the thickness of him, she would resort to licking his shaft from base to tip. If his grunts, and the tightening of his hands in her hair, were anything to go by, she was doing a pretty damn good job.
“Blaise!” Greyson tapped her lightly on the cheek, and she let him go with a distinctive pop.
“Yes?”
“Come up here, baby. I want to be inside you.”
The desire in his eyes and voice, spurred on her own passion, and she could feel how wet she was for him.
“Did you buy more condoms?” she panted as he kissed her neck, and attacked the button on her jeans.
Greyson laughed. “Yes, doll.” He reached into his back pocket to bring out his wallet.
“Turn on the car,” Blaise commanded huskily.
“What?”
“Turn on the car, Greyson. Then fuck me on the hood.”
Greyson growled his approval. “Get ready for me, doll. It’s going to be fast, and it’s going to be hard.”
Blaise did as she was asked, losing the barriers between her and what she needed, and sat up on the hood. She moaned loudly as the car purred to life under her. Oh yeah. This is going to be so good.
A LITTLE WHILE later, Blaise let herself back in Ellie’s apartment. Part of her hoped Ellie and Jessie had given up on her, and decided to go watch a movie. The other part really wanted that facial. She heard the snickers as soon as she came through the living room.
“What?” Blaise asked innocently.
Jessie just laughed harder. “I gotta pee!”
Blaise watched her go with her hands on her hips. “Have you been telling your daughter that I’m down there having sex or something?”
“Nope,” Ellie answered with a smirk. “You should probably change into your pajamas.”
“Are we going to bed already?”
“No, but the faster you treat those stains, the better chance you have of getting them out.”
She watched as Ellie’s eyes traveled down to look pointedly at Blaise’s knees. Oh fuck.
“I hate you,” Blaise muttered as she marched out of the room.
“You love me!”
Blaise couldn’t help but laugh at Ellie’s sing-song reply. She was right. She did love her. Otherwise, she would still be with Greyson having more incredible sex.
GREYSON THREW HIS keys on the marble table next to the door of his penthouse apartment. He scrubbed his hands over his face, unable to get rid of the permanent grin he had been sporting since his time with Blaise. Good lord, that woman is going to be the death of me. But what a fucking beautiful way to go.
Walking into the living room, he looked around as if seeing the place for the first time. Cold. That was the first thing he saw when he really saw what was in front of him. The place had served its purpose when he had gotten out of the army, but now all it did was keep Blaise at arm’s length. Of course, Greyson didn’t blame Blaise for not wanting to sleep here. As harsh as it was, she was right. This is a fuck pad. It was for all of the Steele men before him, and it was for Greyson. That was something he didn’t want or need anymore.
“A lot of changes in such a short period of time,” Greyson said aloud into the impersonal apartment. He could wonder why it wasn’t causing him to hyperventilate, but Greyson just couldn’t find anything to be apprehensive about. Perhaps it was because his fortieth birthday was approaching, and he was ready to become that adult. Or, perhaps it was Blaise. He wasn’t going to dwell on the why, content to just follow his heart no matter where it took him.
“Guess I’ll be looking for another place.” He chuckled, bringing out his phone. Greyson knew Cade would still be awake, so he didn’t feel bad about sending him a text. If Cade was otherwise engaged, well that was just an added bonus, Greyson thought with a mischievous grin.
Set up the office. Need a new place, so we’ll negotiate a good salary. He knew he had nothing to worry about in that department. Cade would be generous and fair. He also knew that Cade would understand Greyson’s sense of humor. He hit send, and silently began counting down from five. When he got to two, his phone began ringing.
“A little quick on the draw,” he said by way of answering.
“Huh?” Cade’s confusion caused Greyson to chuckle. “Are you serious, brother?” he asked, not waiting for further explanation.
“Yeah, man. It’s time.”
“Fuck
yeah! God bless Blaise!”
“You think this is Blaise’s doing?” Greyson asked with a smile. Truth is, Blaise was a huge factor in his decision, but she wasn’t the only factor.
“Whether that woman fucked you into it, talked you into it, or just the mere presence of her has made you smart, it doesn’t matter. God bless Blaise,” Cade stated again, triumphantly.
Greyson barked out a laugh full of something he hadn’t fully felt before. Happiness.
“You’re an asshole, Cade.”
“Yeah, but now you get to call this asshole partner.”
“Wait. I don’t want charity…”
“Fuck that, Grey. You helped me start this company. It was our vision. You’ve already invested money. All that was missing was you.” He continued before Greyson could argue. “It’s not charity, brother. It’s just you taking your place where you belong.”
Greyson sat heavily on the couch, frowning slightly. This really is a fucking uncomfortable couch, he brooded, wondering why he had never realized it before.
“Fine,” he conceded. “I’m not released from the company yet, but I told Nora tonight that I’m done.”
Cade whistled. “Bet she took that like a champ.”
“She’s not happy about it, but I didn’t leave room for argument.” Greyson paused. “Blaise has agreed to meet them.”
“Wow. That’s like taking an unarmed soldier on the front lines,” Cade grumbled.
“Blaise is anything but unarmed. I wouldn’t be surprised if she knocked Nora down a couple of notches.” Greyson was confident in Blaise’s ability to hold her own with his family. And, if he felt she was getting uncomfortable, he would step in. If Nora, Preston or Courtney tried hurting Blaise in any way, it would be the last time Sunday family lunch would include Greyson.
“I can see that,” Cade agreed readily. “What’s this about a new place?”
“It’s time to grow up. No more living in the family apartment.”
“Blaise doesn’t like, it does she?” Cade laughed.
“No,” Greyson answered honestly. “Nor do I. Fuck, Cade, why didn’t you tell me this place was a cold as…” he searched for a comparison that fit.
“As Pricilla’s pussy?” Cade offered, making Greyson snort out a surprised laugh.
“Not nice, man.” Greyson tried sounding stern, but didn’t exactly succeed. It’s not like Cade was wrong.
“Truth usually isn’t, brother.”
GREYSON HAD COMPROMISED with Blaise, deciding to give her another week before subjecting her to his family. She had insisted that she was ready, but Greyson could see the nervousness in her eyes. He finally got her to see that waiting one more week wasn’t going to hurt. It would give Blaise more time to get to know him more, and ask questions about his family. And, it would give Nora more time to prepare something over-the-top extravagant in an attempt to impress Blaise. She countered by telling him it would probably be more about intimidating her than impressing her. Unfortunately, Greyson couldn’t argue with that. In the end, she agreed when he mentioned a certain sex act that Blaise was particularly fond of.
During that week, Greyson occupied his time by setting his office up at Drake & Associates. Cade had offered to change the name of the business to include Greyson’s name, but Greyson declined. He was perfectly fine with being the ‘associate’. There was already a business out there with his name on it. That was enough. It was an adjustment, switching his mind from the business of Steele Industries to thinking like a soldier again for Drake & Associates. Cade had more military contracts than Greyson had expected, and that suited Greyson just fine. The one contract Greyson stayed away from was EK Enterprises. Not only did he not want anything to do with Steele Industries anymore, he also didn’t think it was ethical for him to be involved in the arrangement between Drake & Associated and a rival company. Former or not.
Blaise had been worried that he would have to go on dangerous missions, but Greyson had assured her that that’s what the associates were for. He had no desire to go out on dangerous missions anymore. That part of his life was over. He wanted to live, and now he had someone to live for. He had been rewarded extremely well for that answer.
He and Blaise were becoming closer, and she was slowly becoming more at ease with him being in her sanctuary. She had invited him over a couple more times, and each time he stayed over. It was when she spent time with Ellie, or decided that she needed the night to herself, that he wasn’t thrilled with. If it were up to him, they’d spend every night together. But Greyson was a patient man—most of the time—and he wouldn’t pressure Blaise for more.
In the meantime, he secretly looked for a home that he thought Blaise would be pleased with. He didn’t tell her for fear she would get spooked, but he couldn’t deny that every time he looked at a place, he imagined Blaise there with him.
Nora implored Greyson to come back to the company. At least until they were out of the crosshairs of EK Enterprises. She had tried guilting him, bribing him, and getting downright nasty. It didn’t work, and if she ever did manage to get under his skin, Blaise always seemed to make it better.
The Saturday before family lunch had arrived much faster than he would have preferred. The past few days Blaise had been distracted, and Greyson chalked it up to nerves. Today, in particular, he found Blaise fidgeting more than usual. They had decided to eat dinner at Ellie’s, and Greyson had been in the middle of a particularly funny anecdote involving Cade, who had unknowingly hit on a prostitute. He began to laugh, but when Greyson glanced up, he noticed that Blaise had not heard a single word he had just said. He placed a hand over smaller ones that were currently twisting her cloth napkin.
“I can cancel tomorrow, doll,” he offered.
“Hmm?” Distracted eyes raised to his. They cleared when she seemed to comprehend what he had just said. “What? Why?”
“This has been eating you up for the past couple of days, Blaise. It’s not important enough to make you crazy.”
“That’s not, I’m not.” She stopped, blowing what he interpreted as a frustrated breath out. “I don’t want you to cancel, Greyson. I’m sorry. I just have things on my mind.”
Greyson frowned slightly. He didn’t like thinking that Blaise was going through something, and hadn’t at least talked to him. “Can I help?”
He watched as Blaise focused on him, giving him a smile that didn’t quite reach her eyes. “There’s nothing for you to do, baby. It’s just… work stuff.”
She was lying to him. He could see it in the way she glanced down when she spoke to him. Unease twisted his gut, but he fought to keep his tone even.
“I know I don’t have a clue about flowers, but I’m a great listener,” he tried again.
She smiled again, and patted his hand. “It’s nothing to worry about, Greyson. What time do we have to leave tomorrow? How should I dress?”
Greyson wasn’t accepting the change of topic. If Blaise was having second thoughts about him, about them, he needed to know now. Intel. That was the only way to get through any situation. So, he would meet this head on.
“You having second thoughts about us, doll?”
When her eyes widened, he felt a tiny ray of hope start to unravel his twisted gut.
“No! I want this, Greyson. I want you.” She pushed her bangs away from her whiskey eyes, and Greyson could see the truth in them. “I know I’ve been a little distracted, but that ends now. Maybe I was just feeling a little overwhelmed.” Her shoulders lifted in a slight shrug. “Everything is so new, and so fast.”
“And, now I’m subjecting you to my family,” he added apologetically.
“I agreed to that, stud.” Blaise squeezed his hand. “We’ll get this over with, your mom will see I have no interest in your money, and then we can focus on just being us. How does that sound?”
Greyson flashed his best grin. “Sounds like a fantastic plan, doll.” He pulled her hand to his lips, and kissed her knuckles softly. “I need you to be ho
nest with me. I know this can be overwhelming, but if it gets too much for you, come to me. Talk to me, doll. We’re in this together, yeah?”
Blaise’s nose crinkled in the cutest way as the twinkle finally returned to her eyes. Her smile was sincere and sweet. “Yeah,” she agreed, kissing him enthusiastically, making his heart swell with joy.
THIS IS IT, Blaise thought as she finished getting ready for the big lunch. She wasn’t nervous. Okay, she wasn’t that nervous. Actually, Blaise was just ready to get this over with. She had never ‘met the parents’ before. In fact, she couldn’t recall ever meeting anyone’s parents before. Except Ellie’s. But that didn’t count because they were scary, and according to Ellie, they hated pretty much anyone that wasn’t a devout Christian.
Blaise was feeling good today. Much better than the last week. The past week, Blaise had gotten more of the ‘threat texts’, and though she was beginning to get concerned, she refused to tell anyone about them. Certainly not Greyson. He was already worried about her being distracted, thinking it was his fault for suggesting lunch with his family. Hell, she didn’t even tell Ellie. Her best friend would just “remind” Blaise that she should have gone to Greyson when Pricilla had tried intimidating her to stop seeing Greyson. Blaise wasn’t about to be bullied by some tall, skinny bitch. And, she certainly wasn’t going to run to her boyfriend with drama.
She snickered to herself as the word boyfriend entered her mind. Thirty-two years old, and here she was with a boyfriend. Of course, she couldn’t complain. Not when said boyfriend looked like Greyson Steele. A spade is a spade, she reminded herself.
She put the final touches on her Sunday lunch ensemble, deciding on a simple, yet elegant, cream colored maxi dress. The halter bodice was decorated in intricate lines of black cord, and she finished off the look with black sandals. With minimal make-up, a few simple accessories, Blaise was good to go. Just as she settled the delicate gold bracelet around her slim wrist, the doorbell chimed out through the apartment.
Pulling open the door, she was struck mute—and, perhaps drooling a little, which seemed to happen a lot around Greyson. His gray chinos were paired with a powder blue, V-neck sweater that brought out the color of his eyes. It wasn’t a look that Blaise normally went for, but on Greyson it was perfection.
Coming Home: An LA Lovers Book Page 26
