“Hi, Gabby.” He nodded and walked closer to shake her hand.
“Shut up before she notices we’re here,” Gloria warned, and Gabby rolled her eyes playfully before letting go of his hand.
“Look, I probably have less than two minutes to tell you what normally would take about twenty. So, sorry if it sounds… cold.”
“Cold? God, Gloria, you could go up against Elsa and compete for the icy throne,” Gabby chimed in as she sat down next to her sister, fixing her glasses. He leaned against the counter and crossed his arms.
“By all means, go ahead.” And he was serious. He wanted her to lay it all out for him so that he could state his own intentions. His own intentions?
“I don’t know you. I don’t care about you being the pretty boy Hollywood has declared you to be. She is my little sister and Lexi is my only niece. You hurt them…”
“You’ll hurt me?” he guessed, and she smiled
“No, honey, I will ruin you,” she coolly replied, and he had no doubt she would.
“Okay. Can I say something?” he asked
“Go for it. We probably have a minute,” she appeased him. He smiled.
“I like your sister, a lot. I think Lexi is adorable and smart. I would rather walk through crushed, heated glass than hurt or disappoint either one of them.”
“Don’t try to butter me up. I know you want her book.”
“I do. But that’s not why I’m here right now,” he shared, straightforward but as politely as he could, even if she was starting to aggravate him.
“Why are you here?” Gabby asked softly, and he smiled.
“Lexi was sick and I figured Gracie needed some help.”
“Gracie,” Gabby repeated almost in a whisper as she smiled.
“I canceled my day, went shopping, came here, and hung out with them. I also asked Grace to be my girlfriend, and I asked Lexi for permission,” he added.
“You what?” Gloria’s eyebrows scrunched in.
“They gave me the go-ahead,” he felt the need to add.
“Of course, they did.” Gloria shook her head and looked toward the hallway.
“I won’t hurt them.”
“Not intentionally, I don’t think you will,” Gloria answered in a hushed tone.
“Glo, be nice,” Gabby nudged.
“I will keep them safe,” he kept adding and was met with Gloria’s serious stare. “You know about the guy who followed Grace yesterday. You know I put a guard on Lexi. I will take every precaution.”
“What about the media?”
“What about them, Gloria?” Grace asked as she stepped into the kitchen with Lexi at her side.
“Graciela—”
“Gloria.” Grace and Gloria stared one another down, then with a playful huff, Gabby jumped off the stool.
“How’s my Lexi-bell feeling?” she asked as she went to hug Lexi.
“A lot better!” Lexi hugged her aunt back.
“Help me set the table. Marc made dinner,” Gabby told Lexi, and they got to work.
“We aren’t done talking,” Gloria chirped, making Grace roll her eyes.
“I didn’t think we were,” he agreed and could tell she had not expected that from him. As aggravating as she could obviously be, he not only understood where Gloria was coming from, but he respected it. She was the oldest sibling watching out for her younger sister and niece. He would do the same for Bryan. Hell, in his own fucked-up way, Garrett did it for Marc and Bryan.
“Yes, you are,” Grace warned as she closed the space between them. He wrapped her up in his arms.
“Keep an eye on the chicken. Just stir it around a little. I’ll be right back,” he mumbled against her temple, and she looked up at him.
“Marc—” she tried to argue, but he shook his head.
“Gloria needs a word, baby. Okay?” His voice sounded gentler than he had ever heard to his own ears. He wondered what it was about Grace that brought out a whole other man. One he had no idea existed. One he really liked. Kissing the top of her head, he felt her gently nod then let her go.
He walked to the front door and held it open for Gloria. He shook his head when she walked past him without a glance. Tough cookie was all he could think. Stepping out, he followed her and sat in one of the three rocking chairs Grace had on her small front porch, leaving the one in the middle empty. He looked out to the small front yard with green grass that was neatly mowed and a small flowerbed to the side. He took in the quiet neighborhood as the soft glow of the setting sun illuminated everything around.
Silence surrounded them momentarily before she sighed. “You probably think I’m being a bitch.”
“I don’t.” He shook his head then turned it to look at her. “I think you are being the older sibling. The one who watches over everyone else. My brother Garrett is the same way. Push comes to shove, even if he is a dick, he’d do the same.”
She ignored his comment and turned to look at him. “The media catches wind of you two playing house, they are going to go wild.” Ah, the bane of his existence was what was worrying her. He nodded.
“You’re right.” The thought of how right Gloria was formed a knot in the pit of his stomach. “But other couples have made it work.” He hoped that somehow Grace and he could be one of the lucky ones that did.
“I just worry about her. About Lexi. You sent a guard yesterday, for God’s sake. I don’t think she really understands what is at risk, other than her heart.”
“Can I be blunt here for a second?”
“Please.” She motioned at him in invitation, barely giving him a second glance. He turned to look at the street. An older woman was walking her dog, and two little boys were playing with Hot Wheels across the street.
“I’m falling for her,” he admitted. “I know it sounds crazy. I only met her a few days ago. If anyone had ever told me they felt what I do about your sister after less than a week, I would have laughed in their face and thought they were full of shit. But I am.” She turned and rolled her eyes. That was unexpected. He was about to tell her he was being sincere when she floored him.
“Of course you would! She’s great! There would be something really fucked up with you if you didn’t fall for Grace.” He tried not to smile at the sweet way she protected her younger sister.
“I just meant, I wasn’t planning on this.”
“I don’t think anyone plans on falling in love.” Whatever smile had threatened, faltered. Falling in love? Fuck. He’d gone out and done just that. In a span of a few days he had fallen in love with Grace. He waited for panic and dread to set in, but it didn’t. Instead, a calm he had never known settled throughout him, and he just smiled.
“You’re probably right.” He shrugged and glanced over at her.
“You should get used to that,” she clipped, and he laughed out loud. With a frown that he could see she was trying to hold in place, Gloria continued, “When the media finds out, we need to make sure Lexi is covered at school. Grace usually works from home, but sometimes she likes to go to the public library to work.”
“Not a Starbucks or some other coffee shop?” he asked, a little surprised.
“No. She says coffee shops are too distracting.” He nodded. “When she goes out, she’s going to need someone on her. If you got it, awesome; if not, I have a meeting set up to talk to a new personal safety company. Pierce & Brand.”
“You just found out about me asking your sister to be my girlfriend. When did you even—” She met his gaze head-on. He stopped talking.
“You sent a guard to watch over Lexi yesterday,” she reminded him.
“I know, but—”
“It was only precautionary?” she asked, and he ran his hands through his hair, knowing he was going to have his hands full with all the Rivera women.
“Yes.”
“So is my meeting with Pierce & Brand.”
“Can Grace afford them?” he stupidly asked, because there was no way he would let Grace worry about that, o
r anything else she didn’t have to. But before he could take it back and reassure her he would take care of everything, she kept sharing.
“She won’t even know about them.” He nodded.
“I got it.” He still felt the need to tell her and almost thought her gaze softened, but before he was sure, she shrugged.
“In case you don’t, I will.”
“You’re going to like me one day,” he told her, and she rolled her eyes.
“As long as they like you,” she pointed to the house, “I don’t care. Make her cry, though, and—”
“I know. Ruin and a world of pain. Got it. So we’re good?” he asked, wanting to go get back into the house.
“Sure,” she nodded, then stood and walked back into the house without giving him a second look. He shook his head, chuckling silently.
***
They had been parked in his driveway for the past twenty minutes. His hands were tangled in her silky hair. Their mouths fused together. Nipping, licking, and sucking. Teeth grazed, tongues battled.
It had started the moment she put the car in park. Without a second to spare, he unbuckled his seatbelt, undid hers, and pulled her closer to him. Somehow in the last twenty minutes, the passenger seat had moved all the way back, fully laid down, her body completely covering his.
“I should go,” she breathlessly murmured, parting her mouth a tiny bit away from his. He could feel her warm hands on his chest. Her leaving him was the last thing he wanted.
Marcus had taken a car to her house from the small airport the helicopter had dropped him off at. He had planned on calling a car to pick him up, but with her sisters there and Lexi already in bed, Grace insisted on taking him home.
“Not yet,” he insisted. Her lips parted, and he took advantage of the moment, sliding his tongue back into her mouth. He was so damn hard and she felt so damn good. He had to get them inside the house before things got out of hand.
Calling upon strength he had no idea he possessed, he pulled away. “Let’s go inside.”
“Your brothers…” she breathed, pulling away from his lips and moving to his jaw.
Shit. His brothers and Donnie.
“Fuck,” he growled. “You’re going to kill me.” She laughed softly. Her breath whispered against his skin as her lips moved to his neck. He shivered. Fuck! His hands tightened at her hips.
“Marc?” she sighed, and he grunted, loving the way her lips felt on his skin. “Can I touch you?” she asked, and in the lust-filled fog they had been in, he finally realized her hands had been slowly moving north.
“Baby…”
“Please.” She pulled away, looking at him with those dark doe eyes. He didn’t think he could ever deny her anything. When she seductively bit down on her puffy lower lip, he was a goner.
He couldn’t help the way his breathing picked up at the sight of her sexy little grin. She licked her lips as her hands quickly undid his jeans. Her mouth on the side of his neck, her body pressed close, was too fucking good. “Grace,” he rasped.
“Shhh… I’ll make it good for you,” she repeated his own words back to him, and he smirked. She kept him on his toes.
“Baby…” he started to say in a gruff voice, but stopped talking the moment he felt her delicate hand touching his abs. His muscles twitched. Beneath his shirt, her fingertips lightly raked their way down and into his boxer briefs. It was Heaven and Hell all at the same time. His hands fisted at his sides, holding on to the outer edge of the car seat. “Shit,” he cursed and felt her smile against his neck.
“You feel like you’re made of granite,” she whispered, and he tipped his head closer to hers.
“Grace,” he whispered hoarsely, needing her to touch him, hold him, stroke him. He wanted any little thing she wanted to do to him. Fuck, he was losing control.
“Granite wrapped in warm silk,” she whispered, and his toes curled. Her voice. Her touch.
He opened his mouth to tell her to stop and somehow convince her to go inside when her hand lightly wrapped itself around the base of his shaft. He let out a guttural moan from deep within.
With a warm and tight hold, she started to slide her hand up and down. A little higher, with each stroke ending at the base. His neck arched, leaning his head to the headrest. His body tightened like a live electric coil. His mind felt like it was going to short circuit soon.
“Wow,” she sighed, her thumb swiping the sensitive tip of his dick, spreading the bead of moisture that had accumulated. He shut his eyes tightly. The lubrication, the heat of her hand, it was so damn good. “You’re perfect everywhere."
“Grace,” he hissed in a breath. Her licking his neck while stroking him was making his body tighten.
“So big.” The awe in her voice mixed with the sensation of her hand working him was putting him on edge. Her lips moved to his lobe. His back arched a little, his hips moving in sync with her hand.
“Babe…” He was hoarse and out of breath from a fucking hand job. Shit. He was too damn close. He was going to embarrass himself.
She worked him, kissing and biting his neck, whispering dirty things, and he let her. The next thing he knew, she slipped down, in between his legs, and he shifted
“What are you…” he started to ask, but the words got caught in his throat when she lifted her top of and threw it at him.
“Shh…” She smiled. His eyes fixated on her. In just a bra, she looked too damn good.
She leaned forward, her long, dark hair skimming his thighs, then leaned down until her tongue could take a swipe of his mushroom tip. He moaned, his eyes rolling to the back of his head.
“You taste good,” she whispered hoarsely. His hands trembled before going into her hair.
She opened her mouth and took him in. Her mouth was the sweetest torture imaginable. His hips lifted on their own accord, meeting her wet warmth. She took him in and out, a little further each time, and it felt too damn good.
He wasn’t going to last.
He was too close to the edge.
“Grace,” he rasped, trying to warn her, but she kept going. Her eyes were even darker in the private seclusion of her car. Their deep, dark depths seemed to glitter at him. Her hand slipped lower, cupping his balls softly, just as she licked his shaft. Her hand took over, the wetness of her saliva the best lubrication. She tightened her light hold around him.
“Fuck,” he cursed under his breath and shut his eyes tightly. Loving the wetness, the tightness. Imagining what it would be like to sink deep into her. Or, shit, better yet, have her ride him. Opening his eyes, his breathing coming in pants now, he watched her intense gaze turn into a sneaky little smile.
“Let go,” she goaded him, and he tried to breathe deeply through his nose.
“No,” he gritted tightly, trying to hold on.
Trying to make the sweet torturous pleasure she was bringing to him last even longer.
Her mouth joined her hands.
Her lips at his sensitive tip, her grip gliding up and down the base of his shaft, she moaned deeply as she took him in further. The vibrations sent him to the ledge, and when she repeated that movements, he knew he was done for. There was no way to stop it. He couldn’t even warn her. His body tightened, the tingle at the base of his spine like a bolt of electricity as his hips surged forward and his release shot out of him with her name on his lips. His body had been tight and tense one second, and the next moment, it was as if he had free fallen off a cliff and right into a heaven-like euphoria. His release spurt out, but she didn’t stop. The vision of her eyes meeting his, his cum on her hand, was a thing of fucking beauty. He had the primal urge to rub it into her skin to mark her as his. He’d never had an urge to do anything like that. Only with her. She smiled softly at him, her eyes hooded, and leaned down, licking the tip of him. His senses were off, but he could have sworn she said he tasted good.
The buzzing in his ears was smoothing out to a light murmur as he opened his eyes. She was back to lying in his arms, and he
held her tighter. Loving the light smell of her shampoo mixed with the vanilla lotion he noticed she liked to wear.
“You okay?” she mumbled against his neck, and he grunted. He felt her smile, and it was like a pang in his chest. He was in love.
“Damn,” he sighed, and she softly laughed. The sound was like music to his ears. The orgasm she had just given him had obliterated all and any vocabulary from his brain.
“Marc?”
“Hmm?”
“That was fun.” She kept smiling. He grinned.
“Hell, yeah, it was,” his voice rasped. He turned to look at her. “Any chance I can talk you into going inside so I can return the favor?” he asked, but she simply shook her head. “How about the backseat?” he pushed, and she shook her head again.
“I liked it being about you.”
“Funny, I like when it’s about giving it to you.”
“You know what I mean.” He grunted, letting her face go back into his neck. It was comfortable, and he liked the feel of her there. He liked the steady hum of her breathing. The warmth of her body that not only seeped through their clothes but into his bones. To his soul.
“Marc?” she uttered again, and his lips twitched.
He liked the soft way she said his name. He couldn’t wait to hear her say it when he was balls deep in her. But that could wait. They had all the time in the world.
“Hmm?”
“You’re huge,” she said, and he turned his head to look at her. “Scary big.” His hand cupped her check, where he stroked her face with his thumb.
“We’ll fit,” he told her, his body coming awake at the way she licked her lips.
“I haven’t in a while—”
“We will fit,” he repeated gently, giving her a smile.
“How can you be so sure?” Her voice was laced with vulnerability.
“You were made for me,” he answered sincerely and felt her body go still.
LIE (Right Men Book 1) Page 14
