Gaming Grace

by Piper J. Drake

  Now, he was a privileged adult and it was a miracle he wasn’t a complete asshole. Something he attributed completely to his mother and grandmother, mostly, though his dad was a reasonably good man too. His parents lived well, but made certain he and his siblings were aware of the generations of hard work that’d gone into the family businesses and the careful management it took to maintain their success. He’d grown up surrounded by peers from similar families and some of them were crazy in their wealth, or they just didn’t care. His family at least gave back to the community in some ways, while carefully protecting their business interests. He had a family he could be proud of, really, and it was sheer stubbornness and probably a generous dose of prideful self-interest that he was trying to build something new on his own.

  But here was Grace, enthusiastic about his project and earnestly providing constructive feedback. She believed in his project, and him, based solely on what she’d experienced of him over the last several days. She was like his app, a fresh start with no legacy to influence the development in these early days. It was an incredible feeling, being with her.

  “Where are we going?” Grace didn’t seem worried, but she was eyeing up the bar where he’d found her. “They served lunch over there, I think.”

  “There’s lunch.” He patted her hand to reassure her. “Just over here.”

  She craned her neck in the direction he’d indicated. “There’s just a whole lot of palm trees and a few private cabanas over this…no way.”

  He kept her hand tucked in the crook of his arm when she would’ve pulled free. “The trees offer shade and you definitely need to hide from the sun for a bit. This will give us enough privacy to hide from everyone.”

  There were two lounge chairs next to the cabana and white curtains hung all around the structure itself. As Grace stepped forward to investigate the sectional sofa inside, he tugged on the fabric to create an airy, shaded refuge from the sun. The curtains were opaque enough that he could see the shapes of anyone approaching, but no details, and that was perfect as far as he was concerned.

  “We’re steps away from the ocean.” Grace peeked out between the curtains. “This is lovely.”

  Right on cue, a staff member stopped by with a cooler and their lunch. Grace rushed to help the man place the packages on the table, so Bryan tipped him and grabbed a bottle of water.

  “Oooh, what are these fried things? Mmm. Conch fritters! Bryan, you have to taste these. The breading is super light and there’s just a hint of white pepper. The shellfish is cooked just right with a nice bite to it and not chewy at all. So succulent. Ah, and the sauce is just the right balance of creamy and zesty.”

  His cock jumped in his swimsuit listening to her groan in pleasure as she sampled the rest of the food. Wow. Grace created new definitions for the term “food porn.” She wasn’t even making an effort to be seductive and his mind was filled with all the possibilities of feeding her delicious tidbits while he moved inside her. He shook his head. Maybe after he suggested it to her, but he wasn’t going to ambush her with this fantasy right now.

  As soon as she was sitting again, he offered her the bottle. “Hydrate. You’ve been out in the sun a while.”

  She took a sip, her eyes twinkling with good humor, then held it out for him. “You too.”

  He took it from her and sipped, chuckling.

  “What?”

  He handed the bottle back to her, thinking about how to answer her. This time, he wasn’t going to make light of his thoughts. “You are such a generous person, it blows my mind.”

  She blinked and clasped her hands in her lap, hunching her shoulders slightly. “It was water you gave me and you ordered lunch too. You arranged this whole thing.”

  He sat down next to her, not sure why she was unsettled. “It was the truth. You don’t have to think to share. It’s just your nature. You give parts of yourself in a thousand ways and it invites people to join you in whatever you’re doing. You’ve got an amazing kind of charisma. Please accept that as it’s meant, a serious compliment.”

  She sneaked a glance up at him, then relaxed her shoulders, reaching out to trace her fingertips over the back of his hand. “I guess my first reaction to compliments is always this awkward discomfort.”

  He extended his fingers to interlace with hers. “We’re raised to be humble. Probably you even more than me because I’m a guy.”

  She blew out a breath. “Yes.”

  “Thing is, there’s a lot of nuances to humble.” He waited until she looked him in the eye. “You’re probably a lot more comfortable acknowledging your skills sets and strengths in your work life.”

  She huffed out a laugh. “Have to be. Otherwise, I wouldn’t advance in a corporate world no matter how much corporate training there is on equality and inclusivity at any company.”

  He curled his fingers around her palm. “So why not here, with me?”

  Her lips parted and she hesitated before she answered, “Because I’m not particularly skilled at this kind of interaction.”

  Oh, but she was. She had him wrapped around her little finger and she wasn’t even trying.

  “I’m going to kiss you now, Grace, unless you don’t want me to.”

  Her lips curved in a smile. “I want you to.”

  She was sweet with a touch of sea salt, and without thinking, Bryan had tugged her close. She was leaning over, the curve of her breasts tantalizing in the modest tankini top.

  “Come here.” He urged her to stand in front of him and he lifted the bottom hem of her tankini to taste the skin over her abdomen.

  “This is a little…exposed.” She was looking out between the slight gap in the curtains.

  He ran his hands over her hips, down the sides of her shapely thighs, and back up over the curve of her behind. “It’s a private area of the beach and the staff won’t approach unless we call them. Anyone else would only catch a glimpse with the breeze and only if they were way closer. No one has any reason to come closer.”

  He slipped his hand into the front of her swimsuit bottom and cupped her. “You’re hot and wet, here. Maybe the slight chance of being seen is just a little bit exciting?”

  She bit her lip as she looked down into his face, her expression a mixture of hesitation and excitement. “Yes.”

  He grinned and slid a finger inside her. She gasped and lurched forward slightly, holding onto his shoulders for balance. He put his hand on her hip to help steady her. “I love the expressions on your face when I make you feel good.”

  “Ng.” She leaned closer, and he could see the mark he’d accidentally left on her.

  The hickey was on her shoulder and he closed the distance between them so he could suck the same spot. Her fingers dug into his shoulders in response. He lifted his head to drift kisses along her neck until he could whisper in her ear as he continued to pump his fingers inside her. “No one can see. Come for me.”

  She dropped her head to his shoulder, muffling her cry against him as she came on his hand. He gently disengaged his hand and gathered her into his lap until she was straddling him, then shifted his hips until he had his swimsuit down enough to free his cock. Luckily, the condoms provided by the ship were all foil wrapped in water proof packaging. It took him a second to retrieve one from his swimsuit pocket.

  “Can I come inside you?” He whispered the request into her hair and waited. He wanted to be inside her so bad, but he needed to hear her answer.

  She raised her head and looked into his eyes, lashes at half mast and her face suffused with her recent pleasure. “Please.”

  “Thank you,” he muttered reverently, ripping the foil package open and rolling the condom over his hard erection.

  He fought himself to be careful as he pulled the gusset of her swimsuit bottom aside and fitted the tip of his cock at her entrance. She helped him, lowering herself over him as he pressed inside her. Tight, still so tight, and she felt so good. The heat of her surrounded his cock and he struggled to hold on as he
caught her mouth in a desperate kiss. She unhinged him. When he was fully inside her, he held them both still as they drowned in each other in a long, hungry kiss.

  Her hands were in his hair and her inner muscles were already squeezing him. Her voice was breathless as she whispered, “Bryan.”

  He groaned. Control? What control? “Hang on, Grace.”

  He rocked his hips up into hers and pleasure crashed through him. He gripped her hips in his hands and took them both for a wild ride.

  11

  Grace looked in the mirror and decided the woman in the reflection was definitely glowy. Like Kendall, like Aubrey, like Liv, and like Benjamin. All of them had gotten caught up in the impulsive energy of this cruise and it was doing each of them a world of good.

  She ran her hands over the deceptively simple sheath dress with its overlay of lace. Both layers were dyed to match in the same jewel-tone ruby red. It was a power color, one she wore for her company’s holiday party last year, but she’d never worn it since because it just wasn’t something one wore to a wedding or other similarly formal events. At least, she’d never felt comfortable wearing it elsewhere.

  But here, tonight, she felt gorgeous in this dress and more so because she thought Bryan would enjoy seeing her feel confident in it. That was the thing she was getting from him. He didn’t ever express a desire to see her wear or do anything specific, so much as he wanted to see her happy as she did what she chose to do. It was a really wonderful experience.

  A knock sounded at her door and she took one more look in the mirror, snagged her little black clutch with her key card in it, and stepped out into the hallway.

  Bryan was standing there in black on black, his suit perfectly tailored to fit his physique. She stopped in her tracks, taking in the effect. “Wow.”

  He smiled and offered her a long stem rose. “Thank you. You are going to stop the heartbeat of every person on this boat, regardless of their orientation.”

  She laughed. “Thank you.”

  He offered her his arm.

  She took it and shook her head as they walked. “You’re a mean man, wishing everyone a heart attack.”

  “I’m not kidding, though. You make that dress look amazing.”

  She bit her lower lip. He hadn’t complimented the dress. It hadn’t been about how the dress fit her or whether the color went with her skin tone. He’d said she made the dress look good.

  Her heart expanded until she thought it might burst from her chest.

  “You sure you wouldn’t rather join your friends for dinner?” He stopped and took both her hands in his as they waited for the elevator. “I promised to respect your time with them.”

  It was hard to believe this man was real. She gave his hands a squeeze. “We all either texted each other before the ship left port or left notes. Everyone is having a date night or doing their own thing in some form or another.”

  “Then I’ll do my best to make sure this is a date to remember.” He grinned and maybe her own heart skipped a beat.

  Even if her friends had planned on meeting for dinner, she wasn’t ready to give up time with him yet. She might feel guilty about that later, but no one had to know but her. With everyone doing their own thing tonight, it’d worked out that she hadn’t had to make the choice.

  A few minutes later, they were seated at a table for two in one of the high end specialty restaurants on the ship. She made her selections from the menu and opted for sparkling water with lime so she could hydrate after the day of sun and shade on the island. Remembering what they’d done in the shade kicked her heart into gear at a slightly more accelerated pace.

  Bryan might have noticed. If he did, he didn’t mention it, instead keeping their conversation light. He was intent on learning more about her and for once, she didn’t mind sharing.

  “Have you ever given less than one hundred percent to a project?” he asked.

  She laughed. “No. Not even as a kid.”

  “I can just imagine.” He popped a thin wedge of smoked gouda into his mouth and chewed thoughtfully. “Tell me about one of your childhood projects, one of those ones that rendered your teachers speechless.”

  She gave him a wide eyed look, feeling seriously called out. “How do you know if that ever happened?”

  He just looked at her with a raised eyebrow.

  “Fine.” She thought quickly, but really, there was a childhood story that matched what he’d said to a T. “In elementary school, I was supposed to do a project on mythology but we were only allowed to choose Greek or Roman. I was frustrated because there’s so much good folklore all around the world but my teacher said I had to choose Greek or Roman because that was what we were reading in class. She said I had plenty to choose from, any of the Greek or Roman stories taking place between heaven and earth. So I researched the constellations associated with both Greek and Roman mythology and put together my report matching drawings of the constellations to each myth, comparing and contrasting the differences between the Greek and Roman versions. The report only had to be ten pages long but mine was over sixty pages.”

  He laughed. “That’s fantastic.”

  She chuckled at the memory. “My handwriting was tiny back then too. So tiny it took up less than a quarter of the height of a single line of ruled paper. My teacher was horrified when she realized she’d have to read it all.”

  “Tell me that project still exists somewhere.” He wiped the corner of one eye, having laughed so hard he actually teared up some.

  She nodded, looking down to refold her napkin in her lap. He didn’t worry about filters or restraint. If he felt something, he made it known, and no emotion was something to be embarrassed about at all. She admired that about him, along with so many other things. “My mom has it tucked away somewhere with my research papers and other projects from my school days. How did you know I had a project like that?”

  More than one, actually. The mythology project was just the one she’d been most proud of in her school days. It was maybe the last one she did combining her imagination with a touch of artistic expression. Everything after elementary school had been geared toward positioning her for getting into college and being accepted by the best academic programs possible.

  “Call it a gut feeling.” He held out a slice of toasted bread spread with soft cheese and drizzled with honey, waiting until she leaned forward and took a bite. “You’re an overachiever through and through. That kind of thing generally starts real early. I have at least two brothers like that. I grew up knowing it wasn’t worth even trying to measure up. Unless you can surpass the siblings that came before you, you’ve got to be something completely different to stand out at all.”

  She frowned. She didn’t like it when he compared himself to his siblings. He always portrayed himself as so much less than them. “That sounds like an easy out.”

  He shrugged, his expression still cheerful but the spark had gone from his eyes.

  “You’re brilliant. You’ve got charisma like no one I’ve ever met before and you connect with people so easily, it’s like a super power.” She shook her head. “I’m struggling to understand why you’re so mean to yourself.”

  He wiggled the grape at her until she finally gave in and nipped it out of his fingertips.

  “You’re fierce when you get angry,” he murmured. But he didn’t make any further jokes.

  She reached out and tapped the smartphone laying face down on the table. “Your app is a good concept. You’ve talked about testing it but what are your plans to market after testing is done?”

  He sat back in his chair. “I have plans.”

  “But you haven’t talked about them.” She gave him her best pointed look.

  For once, his face was serious. “I don’t want to jinx it. Why pour effort into something that’s not ready to happen yet?”

  “Because you’re not completely committed to making this app a success. It’s one thing to design it up to this point and to do the testing.” She stu
died him. He was having fun and this app mattered to him, it did. But he wasn’t all in. “Are you afraid it’s going to fail in the testing phase?”

  His brows drew together in a scowl, but he didn’t snap. Instead, he blew out a slow breath. “Yes.”

  The admission ripped him open and laid him bare. Bryan waited for Grace to respond, for her expression to change from one of light and affection to cynical disappointment. Outwardly, he made sure his limbs remained relaxed but inwardly he was bracing himself for her judgment.

  Her opinion of him mattered. He wasn’t sure when he’d accepted that. It was simply fact.

  He’d spent a lifetime embracing his shortcomings so the people couldn’t use them as ways to get at him. He’d owned his failings, turned them into armor, and now only the very few in his life who mattered could do him damage. In just a few days, Grace had become one of those people.

  Grace sat across the table from him, looking straight through him to the core of who he was. Or at least it felt that way. After a moment, she tilted her head to one side. “Tell me about one of your childhood projects.”

  He opened his mouth, then closed it. After a few seconds, he decided on an answer. “Schools are different in Thailand.”

  She nodded at the waiter as a small plate course was served. Once the waiter had left, she pinned Bryan with that look of hers that called him on his bullshit. “Different, yes, but that’s not an answer to my question.”

  He picked up his fork and speared the hapless slice of beef carpaccio, shredding the delicate protein on the plate. “I didn’t.”