Satisfaction: The Collection

by Tori Scott

  "No sex?" Cara shook her head, a confused look on her face. And what looked like relief.

  "No sex, unless you change your mind." God, that was gonna cost him. How in the hell could he spend the night with her and not take her to bed? He’d just have to find a way to convince her that she wanted him.

  This was all his fault, anyway. He’d been so full of teenaged pride that he’d pushed away the best friend he’d ever had when she’d rejected him. And then later he’d gotten so caught up in starting his business and dating all the wrong women, he’d lost sight of the best thing that had ever happened to him.

  He was an idiot.

  But he was here, she was still here, and he had twenty-three hours to make her see they belonged together.

  He held out his hand and she slipped hers into it. "Come on. Let’s go to the diner and eat some real food. I’m starving."

  ***

  Reggie glanced up from her burger just in time to see Gray and Cara emerge from the hotel and stop at the crosswalk to wait for the light. "Oh, geez Sam. They’re headed this way." She looked around and spotted a booth in the far corner of the diner that would give them some measure of cover in case Gray or Cara looked in the window. "Come on. Grab your food."

  Before Sam could argue, Reggie picked up her tray and drink and headed for the corner booth. He shrugged and followed suit. Only one raised eyebrow let her know he thought there was anything strange about her behavior. But then, Sam was used to strange when it came to her.

  Reggie settled on the side of the booth facing the room so she could see if Cara and Gray passed by. To her surprise, Sam slid in beside her instead of across the table. "Are you sure you saw them? I didn’t see anything."

  Reggie nodded. "That’s because your back was to them. I wonder what happened? I didn’t think they’d come up for air before morning."

  Sam took a bite of his burger, dabbing the corner of his mouth with his napkin to mop up any potential drips. "Told you this was a bad idea. Told Gray too. But would either of you listen to me? No, of course not."

  "It wasn’t a bad idea. They’ve been in love with each other for years. They just needed a little nudge to get them together."

  Sam looked at Reggie, puzzled. "What’s love got to do with it? You don’t marry for love. You marry for partnership, someone who can bring certain qualities to the union. Love is for romance novels."

  Reggie’s fingers curled into a fist in her lap. Of all the stupid, asinine… "Oh, boy, do I hear your mother’s voice in that statement. Please tell me you don’t honestly believe that crap? It might have worked in the nineteenth century, but--hello--we’re in the twenty-first century now, pal."

  Sam’s ears turned red. "It has served my family well in the past."

  "Oh, yeah, right. Your mother was totally fulfilled by her bridge and garden club, your father kept a mistress, and you had your nanny. How’d that work out for you, Sam? Seriously. You need to break away from the trappings of tradition and try to live for yourself for a change."

  Sam dropped his hands to his lap, his jaw set. "I did all right."

  Reggie started to shoot off a snarky reply, but his quiet, serious tone stopped her. And then Gray opened the door and ushered Cara inside. Reggie grabbed Sam’s hand and whispered, "Duck!"

  ***

  Cara and Gray opted to eat outside on the covered patio, not wanting to listen to the conversations of the other diners. The only voices they wanted to hear right now were their own.

  Gray ordered double medium-rare burgers for both of them, with fries and chocolate shakes. They’d shared the exact same meal dozens of times in high school.

  Cara wiped her mouth with the corner of a paper napkin. "That was wonderful. I guess some people really enjoy eating goose liver, but I’m not one of them."

  Gray laughed and leaned back, sipping his shake. "To be honest, when Sam asked me what I wanted from the list you gave him, I told him to choose. I figured he’d know what was good. Next time, I’ll know better."

  "Poor Sam. It must have been hard for him, growing up in that house with no other kids to play with. Remember when Reggie gave him a black eye his first day of school?"

  "Yeah. And I remember when you kissed it to make it better. I nearly gave him a second shiner."

  "You didn’t!"

  Gray nodded. "If it hadn’t been for that bodyguard of a nanny he had, I’d have laid him out after school."

  Cara rested her chin on her hand and studied his face. He was dead serious about being jealous all the way back in third grade. That surprised her. While they’d been hot for each other for a time in high school, she’d since written that off as raging hormones. She’d thought any girl would have been fine for Gray; she’d just happened to be handy. She could see now that she’d been wrong.

  Why hadn’t he told her? They’d wasted so much time.

  "You look awfully serious. Anything I should know? Like maybe you’re contemplating my untimely demise, or about to call the cops to tell them you’ve been kidnapped by a sex-crazed maniac?"

  Cara smiled and shook her head. The breeze from an overhead fan caught a wisp of hair and blew it into her face. She pushed it back. "No. Just marveling over the fact that I’ve gone all these years without inspiring serious lust in anyone, and now all of a sudden here you are, telling me you’ve lusted after my body since elementary school."

  "Well, I have to admit that back then I lusted more over your ponytail than your body."

  "My ponytail, huh? That’s a new one." Cara put her napkin over her plate and sighed. "I’m stuffed."

  "Are you ready to go?"

  Cara nodded. "Sure. Where to?"

  "Let’s take a walk along the lake shore." He took her hand and helped her from the chair, but instead of letting go once she was on her feet, he tucked her hand in his elbow and led her off the patio onto the sidewalk.

  They walked in companionable silence until they reached the water’s edge, where they stopped to admire the sight of the lights reflected on the still water. "It’s beautiful," Cara whispered.

  "Yeah. I love the view. That’s why I built my house out here."

  She turned to look up at him. "You have a house on the lake?"

  "Why so surprised? Where did you think I lived?"

  She shrugged and said, "I don’t know. I guess I’ve always pictured you living where you grew up."

  "I’m a little old to live with my parents." He slid his arm around her shoulders and turned her toward the south, pointing. "See that string of lights over there, the one with the red light at the end?"

  She nodded.

  "That’s my boat dock."

  "When did you buy the house? Recently, or have you been there a while?"

  "I built it two years ago. Designed it and built it myself."

  "Really? I didn’t know you could build houses."

  He pulled her in close and turned her to face him so they were toe to toe, nose to nose. "Haven’t I already told you I’m multi-talented?"

  His lips descended, his tongue teased at the corners of her mouth until she gave in and granted him access. As his tongue swept across hers, inviting her to join him in an erotic dance of the senses, she had to admit he was right. He was a man of many talents. When he finally let her up for air, she sighed and snuggled against his chest.

  "I’d love to see your house someday," she murmured.

  He hugged her tightly, then released her. "There’s no time like the present."

  They took his vehicle, a sleek, black crew-cab truck that looked more like a luxury car on the inside. Deep, soft leather seats, a gleaming wood console and dash, even a built-in cooler. He helped her up into the passenger side and closed the door.

  She watched him as he rounded the front of the truck, his strong profile lit by the streetlights. Why hadn’t she noticed before how ruggedly handsome he’d become in the last few years? She’d deliberately kept things casual when their paths had crossed, and now she couldn’t remember why.
/>   He drove like he did everything else--with confidence and boldness. He was polite, letting people in line ahead of him, but he didn't hesitate to pass when someone was lagging below the speed limit. Bold, yet polite. Yep, that was Gray in a nutshell.

  He glanced her way, then back at the road ahead. "How's your mom? I haven't seen her in years."

  "She's fine. I think she's missed you. She asks about you every once in a while."

  He signaled, moved into the right lane, and slowed. At the next crossroad, he turned. "I've missed her, too. I've especially missed her cookies. She might have seemed like a pain in the ass to a horny teenaged kid, but she made the best cookies I'd ever had."

  "She bugged me a lot as a kid, because she was so over-protective. But I understand more now that I'm older, and we get along pretty well. Better than I get along with Angel."

  "Your sister? Why don't y'all get along? I thought you were pretty good friends, once."

  "It's more that we have nothing in common. She spends all her time online when she's not out shooting pictures. She has no friends, never goes out. I worry about her. She's become something of a recluse since high school."

  At the end of a winding road, Gray turned into a wide driveway flanked by brick pillars. Cara forgot all about her sister when she saw the native stone house, lit by spotlights in the shrubs along the front. "It's beautiful."

  ***

  "I wonder what happened?" Reggie asked Sam once Cara and Gray had left.

  "I guess they didn’t like the food," Sam said. "Though I can't imagine why. It was the best stuff I could think of."

  "Damn. It was expensive, too. And I didn’t think they’d ever get around to eating, anyway. Shouldn’t they be in bed by now?"

  Sam checked his watch. "It’s only six-thirty. Too early for bed."

  "Come on, Sam. You know what I mean."

  "Yes, I do. But there was never any guarantee this scheme of yours would work, you know."

  Reggie bit her lip. "It has to work. Cara loves Gray. She just needs a chance to remember."

  "There you go with that love stuff again. What makes you think there is such a thing? It's all hype built up by movies and romance novels until people have impossible expectations."

  "By people, I'm guessing you mean women?"

  "Well, they're the ones who write most of it, aren't they? Bored housewives who wish their lives were different, so they make up this fairy tale where everything's perfect."

  "Oh, you’re impossible." Reggie shook her head. "You wouldn’t know romance if it bit you in the butt."

  "I know romance. I just don’t see the point. I mean, you don’t need it for sex, it doesn’t pay off in dividends, does it? So what’s the big deal?"

  "You know nothing about it." She rounded on him, hands on her hips. "And for your information, most of those writers are career women with advanced degrees, who have very fulfilled lives of their own. And quite a few of them are men." Reggie tossed her napkin on the table, grabbed her purse, and stormed toward the exit. "You can pay the bill, you idiot. I’m outta here."

  Sam tossed a fifty on the table and hurried to catch up with her rapidly retreating figure. Quite a nice figure, too, from this angle. Funny he hadn’t noticed that before.

  ***

  Cara felt at home as soon as she stepped through Gray’s front door. The entry opened into a large multi-purpose room with a rock fireplace at one end and floor to ceiling windows framing a stunning view of the lake. He’d furnished the room with comfortable leather couches and chairs grouped around the fireplace, and more chairs facing a plasma television on the opposite wall.

  Cowboy art decorated the walls and exquisitely-carved statues of horses and riders were scattered on shelves around the room. What looked like an original Bill Anton pencil sketch hung above the mantle.

  "It’s perfect," she said, wandering around the room to examine the statues more closely. "Are these Red Mars sculptures?"

  "Yes. I’ve admired his work for years, but only started collecting his pieces after I built the house."

  Gray led her through an arched doorway into a gourmet kitchen with black granite countertops and gleaming stainless steel appliances. Those might have been stark in another setting, but he’d softened the look with warm oak cabinets and a polished hardwood floor. "Want something to drink?"

  When Cara nodded, he pulled two Shiner Bock’s from the fridge. "Beer okay?"

  "That’s fine."

  He popped the lids and handed her a bottle. "Let’s go sit on the deck."

  The deck consisted of three levels, the bottom one only yards from the lake. A pristine white sailboat bobbed softly in the water at the end of a short pier. "Can I walk down to the boat?" she asked.

  "Sure." He steadied her with a hand under her elbow as they navigated the steps to the sidewalk and covered the short distance to the pier.

  "It’s beautiful." Cara walked to the end of the pier to admire the sleek craft. "I can’t see her name. What do you call her?"

  Gray hesitated. "My Heart. And you know, I never consciously realized I’d named her for you. Until now."

  Cara cleared her throat. Why was it difficult to talk all of a sudden? "Well, it’s not an exact translation, but close."

  Gray turned and tugged her into his arms, cradling her head against his shoulder. "Why did we waste all those years? So much time we can’t get back."

  "My mother always said things happen for a reason."

  He rested his chin on the top of her head, his hands sliding up and down her back in a soft caress. "Maybe."

  Being in Gray’s arms again felt so right. Maybe he was right, maybe she did think too much. Maybe they had wasted years because she was so determined not to be like her mother and sister. Or maybe her mom was right and things did happen for a reason. Whatever. He was here, and finally the time was right.

  Gray released her and grabbed her hand, pulling her to the edge of the dock. "Want to take her out for a quick tour of the neighborhood?"

  "I’d love to."

  He climbed into the boat and held her hand as she stepped over the side. "We’ll use the motor tonight instead of the sail. We don’t want to get stuck since there’s not much of a breeze." Within moments he’d untied the sleek craft and maneuvered it away from the dock.

  Cara admired Gray’s smooth, easy movements as he steered the craft out toward the middle of the lake. "This really is a beautiful boat," she said, running her hand along the polished brass rail. "You take very good care of her."

  "My cousin Mitch and I built her. She means a lot to me." Gray reached a hand toward her and she took it. He pulled her toward him, settling her against his chest. "Here, you steer."

  She shook her head. "No way."

  "Yes, way. Here, I’ll help you." His hand covered hers. "There’s nothing quite like the feeling of steering a boat. Everything’s up to you. You choose your own path."

  Once Cara got over the fear of doing something wrong and landing them upside down in the water, she knew he was right. She felt powerful with the smooth wood under her palm, free with the breeze blowing through her hair.

  Her let her drive to the far end of the lake, where he took over to make the turn back toward his house. Then she took over the wheel once more for the trip back. She tried to imagine what it would be like, married to Gray and spending weekends on the lake, swimming and boating and being a part of his adventures. But Gray’s warm body against her back made it difficult to think. She could feel his burgeoning erection as the swaying of the boat rubbed their bodies together.

  A frisson of excitement raced through her. This was how she’d felt at fifteen, like it was only a matter of time before they’d be naked, joined together, moving together to what was then an unknown destination.

  And she knew now where she wanted to go, what she wanted to do. With Gray.

  Cara leaned her head back against his shoulder. "Let’s go back to the hotel."

  CHAPTER FOUR

  Sam c
aught up with Reggie at her car. "Hey, Reg." She ignored him and stuck her key in the lock. Not an easy task with her hand shaking. Sam reached around her and turned the key.

  "Look, I’m sorry, okay? I never knew you were the romantic type. I didn’t mean to offend you."

  Reggie leaned her forehead against the car’s cool metal roof. Why had she ever had a crush on Sam? If she were Cinderella and he was the prince, they’d still never find a happily ever after. That only happened in the movies. "Don’t worry about it, Sam. I’m just touchy tonight, I guess. Anyway, I think Cara and Gray can handle this on their own from here on out. They looked pretty chummy at the diner." She raised her head and pulled herself together. "You’d better get home before George calls out the National Guard."

  "Yeah, you’re right." Sam took a step back and shoved his hands into his pockets. "Are you coming by tomorrow?"

  "I’ll be there bright and early to get that tree in the ground. Once we landscape around it, I should be out of your hair for a while. You can leave a check with George." Reggie yanked the door open and climbed in the car, closing the door quickly to extinguish the light before Sam could see the tears gathering in her eyes.

  She’d be damned if she'd let him see her cry.

  "Reggie…"

  She almost caved at the way he said her name, half pleading, half resignation.

  "Good night, Sam." Before she could change her mind, Reggie started the car, shoved the gearshift to drive, and pulled away from the curb. When she glanced in the rearview mirror, she could almost swear she saw a little boy looking sadly through a chain link fence.

  ***

  Gray kicked the hotel room door closed behind them. The moment he turned around, Cara wrapped her arms around his neck and lifted her lips to his. The kiss was everything she’d hoped it would be. She felt as though he would devour her, starting with her lips, her tongue, sliding down her neck to the curve of her breast.

  A shudder rippled through her as he ran his tongue across her shoulder. She held his head close with one hand, the other reaching for his belt.