by Fallon Hart
When Griff left me to use the restroom we’d been in the middle of a conversation with a couple, Jack and Laura, who were complaining that they couldn’t find a decent nanny. When I realized Laura didn’t have a job I asked if she’d considered looking after the children without a nanny. Both of them stared at me in obvious discomfort at the question.
Uncomfortable by the idea of raising their own children?
Seriously?
I needed a break.
Politely excusing myself from their company, I slipped out of the backyard, taking the steps down to the dark beach that was lit only by the moon and the lights from the houses sprawled along it.
Untying the satin ribbons around my ankles I took off my sandals and carried them as I began to stroll slowly along the grainy beach. I stepped closer to the shore, enjoying the rush of startling cold against my feet every time the water lapped at my skin. The tension melted out of my body the further I got away from the house party. The mixture between deception and conversing with people I didn’t quite understand was exhausting.
Sighing I closed my eyes, letting the breeze ruffle through my little dress and long hair. Goosebumps prickled all over my skin but I didn’t care. I felt like I could breathe for the first time in four hours.
When I could no longer hear the laughter from the party, I stopped and looked out at the inky water, watching moonlight dance across its gentle waves. It was so beautiful here. I could understand why Quentin and Amelia bought the place.
I smiled thinking of Quentin. He seemed to unnerve everyone else but he was actually the one person that put me at ease. Although quietly intimidating with his piercing gaze and perpetual scowl, he never spoke without thinking. And every time he did speak I couldn’t say I didn’t agree with everything he had to say. He was intelligent, unpretentious and exactly what Amelia needed to keep her feet on the ground.
Unfortunately, as the hosts they couldn’t stay huddled in a corner with just me and Griff all night so I’d had to be social with everyone. Hence my exhaustion.
The hair on the back of my neck prickled and I knew before turning my head that Griff had followed me. Instantly, my weariness was zapped by the electric feeling he elicited in me. I looked left to see him approaching. He’d turned the hem up on his jeans, his shoes were nowhere to be seen, and the sight of his bare feet did something funny to my insides. His hands were tucked casually into his pockets as he came to a stop beside me, his expression unreadable.
I looked back out at the harbor and felt him do the same.
For a while we just stood in silence, enjoying the quiet, restful lull of the sounds of the water.
“You don’t like them.” Griff finally broke the silence.
I shrugged, knowing he meant the guests in general. “Some of them are nice enough.”
“And the others?”
“Privilege can make pricks of people.” I threw him a wry grin to soften the opinion.
Griff laughed quietly. “Very true.”
That splendid quiet fell between us until his deep rumble of a voice cut through it again. “May I ask you something?”
“You may,” I replied in a tone that suggested he could ask but I might not answer.
“You’re not what I expected.”
Tamping down my panic at the statement, I turned toward him, tilting my head in thought as I stared at his moonlit features. “That’s not a question.”
Unable to make out his expression I was surprised by the bite in his voice when he gestured to me. “Why this?”
Those shaky nerves from earlier returned when I realized his meaning. “You mean why did I become an escort?” The lie felt like dirt in my mouth.
“Yes.” He stepped closer to me and there was no misreading his glare. “You are capable of so much more.”
The compliment shocked me and I stumbled back a foot, having not expected it or the depth of feeling in which he’d said it.
For a moment I couldn’t answer as I sought to ignore the emotions he provoked in me and attempted to think of Mel and her reasons. Griff and I had already discussed it but obviously my answer wasn’t enough. Mel was mercenary and always had been. She’d also become emotionally detached since the death of our parents.
“Well?” Griff took another step toward me.
Not knowing how to answer, to give him whatever it was that he suddenly wanted from me, I shook my head. “I told you why before.”
“I don’t believe it. You’re too smart not to have found another way. You don’t seem…” he shook his head. “It doesn’t make sense, Melanie.”
The use of my sister’s name tugged me out of the spell his dark eyes were casting over me, reminding me that being physically attracted to Griff was bad enough. Developing feelings for him was a disaster waiting to happen.
“You don’t get that from me,” I finally whispered. “I’m sorry.”
Griff didn’t hide his frustration. He made a scoffing sound and glowered out at the water. “Fair enough.”
The silence between us was no longer enjoyable.
“We haven’t kissed since our arrival,” he said suddenly, his tone matter-of-fact. “They’ll grow curious if we don’t rectify that.”
I thought Griff had been doing a pretty convincing job of acting the possessive boyfriend but what did I know? “Fine.”
“You’re going to take my hand and walk back to the house with me. And when we get inside, I’m going to kiss you where we’ll be seen. Is that alright with you?”
My skin was abruptly on fire at the thought. “That’s fine with me.”
He reached for me, his strong warm hand taking hold of mine. “Let’s get you inside. You’re cold.”
Not for long, I thought.
It was a peculiar feeling walking down the beach hand-in-hand with Griff. His thumb absently caressed the top of my hand as we strolled and I had to stop myself from squeezing his fingers in reaction.
My pulse was racing and not even the ocean breeze could cool my now heated skin. Every part of me was aware of every part of him and he had the unsettling ability to turn my thoughts lurid. For instance, I kept imagining what he would do if I took his hand and slid it under my dress where I wanted his touch the most.
Shivering, I threw away the thought as we came to the gate. Griff had left his shoes there and he picked them up without putting them on.
Leading me back up the yard to the pool, guests smiled and nodded at us, looking amused as Griff rudely cut through them all and dragged me into the house. The back of the house wasn’t open-plan. There was a separate kitchen, dining room, utility room and family room at the back. Griff pulled me into the dark corridor between the kitchen and utility room, where anyone coming out of the kitchen would see us.
I found myself pushed none-too-gently against the wall facing the kitchen door and caught a flash of Griff’s hard expression before his mouth crashed down on mine. The clatter of shoes hitting the floor barely registered as he kissed me. There was no seductive lip brushes or sweet kisses. He took us straight to hungry, open-mouthed kisses that left me breathless. Pleasurable shock jolted through me as his large hand cupped my breast and squeezed. Lust shot straight through my belly and pulsed in my sex. I moaned into Griff’s mouth as he brushed his thumb over the fabric of the dress, catching my nipple, and immediately felt his arousal harden against my stomach.
My fingers curled into his hair as I held him close for deeper, wetter kisses that burned me up from the inside out. He squeezed my breast harder while his other hand dropped to the hem of my dress. His fingertips trailed along the inside of my thigh, and that soft, teasing touch caused a ripple of desire low in my belly. Wet heat slickened my sex and I moaned, desperate for him to touch me there.
But suddenly his mouth was gone and both his hands moved to my waist as he cursed and looked over his shoulder. Dazed, I followed his gaze.
A woman holding a glass of wine stared open-mouthed at us. “Sorry.” She giggled. “I didn’t m
ean to… interrupt.” She hurried off, her sundress flapping around her thighs as she practically ran down the hall out of sight.
I wanted to scream at her as my whole body throbbed with unfulfilled desire.
I wanted to scream at myself as I realized that I’d forgotten what was true as Griff kissed and touched me. In that moment I’d just wanted him and nothing else had mattered.
His dark gaze cut to me and there was no mistaking the heat of arousal in them. His eyes flickered to my heaving bosom before coming back to mine. “That was Maggie Ostermeier.” His voice was hoarse. “She’s the biggest gossip here so we couldn’t have timed it better.”
There was the reminder. We were pretending.
Then again his hard cock was still pressed against my stomach.
As if he’d heard my thought his hips moved downward and then back up to grind his cock between my legs. Heat flushed through me and my sex pulsed harder as I gasped, my grip on his neck tightening. “Griff?”
Suddenly he pulled back but only to grab one of my hands from his neck to haul me along the corridor and out into the front of the house. We rounded the staircase, unaware of the small group of guests in the living room until I heard their amused chuckles as Griff hurried us upstairs. I could barely catch a breath, afraid to speak in case it shattered the moment.
All I cared about was his hands and his mouth. On me. In me. I needed satisfaction and in that moment I felt like I’d do anything to get it.
We flew through our bedroom door and Griff spun around slamming it shut with our bodies as he kissed me. Hard. Almost punishing. Our tongues tangled, moving against each other in rhythm to our bodies as our hips ground together. Griff’s hands were everywhere, frantically seeking skin. I lifted my right leg, curling it around his hip to draw him closer. He accepted the invitation and slipped his hand between my legs as he began to scatter kisses down my chest. I clutched onto his shoulders as he kissed over the plump rise of my breast and I whimpered his name as he clamped his mouth over my still-covered nipple. The heat of his mouth, the wet fabric abrading me, sent sensation soaring through me. His fingers tickled the edge of my panties at the same time and just as he’d slipped beneath them a loud thump outside in the hallway, followed by laughter, destroyed everything.
Griff pulled away from me so fast I stumbled, even with the door at my back.
“Fuck,” he bit out, glaring at me. He ran a shaky hand through his hair. “Fuck!”
My poor body trembled for once again being brought so close to satisfaction and then left high and dry. I readjusted my dress, not sure what to say. Our attraction toward each other was a complication, yes, but I didn’t know if we could continue to ignore it. “Griff—”
He held up a hand to cut me off. “Just go to bed.”
I stepped away from the door, trying to think of something to say to… what, I actually didn’t know. But Griff strode by me to the door. He was still visibly aroused.
“Where are you going?”
He cut me a dark look. “To take the edge off.”
What the hell did that mean? Indignation (and fury) flooded me and I spoke without thinking. “If you fuck another woman at this party no one is going to believe you’re serious about me.”
Apparently outraged by the suggestion he hissed, “I am more committed to this ruse than you are. I’ve already told you that I haven’t fucked another woman since you moved into the club so no one would suspect the lie.” He dragged his gaze over me in the most unflattering way. “Suffice it to say I’m sexually frustrated, which, by the way, is the only reason I almost fucked you.” He slammed out of the bedroom.
His words rung in my head, leaving me humiliated and hurt.
Of course he only wanted me because he was sexually frustrated. In his mind I was an ill-educated glorified prostitute he wouldn’t touch with a barge pole otherwise.
Feeling suddenly used and very vulnerable, I hated him.
I grabbed my things and got into the shower, where I allowed myself to cry quietly as I wished for my life back, away from here, away from The Patrician and away from Griffin Mandeville.
I wished I’d never met him.
I wished my sister wasn’t such a selfish train wreck.
As soon as the shower stopped I forced my tears to stop too. Instead I found the hairdryer Amelia, ever the hostess, had left in the bedside table. Once my hair was dry I plaited it and then slipped on the pajamas I’d brought. Anna had chosen nightgowns for the trip but I thought they were too sexy for Griffin to see. Instead I’d brought a white camisole and matching short shorts. They revealed a lot but it was summer and anything else was too hot. At least they weren’t overtly sexual. I didn’t want Griff to think of my nightwear as an invitation.
Okay, maybe buried somewhere deep down I had.
Not now.
I bit back more angry, humiliated tears, and drew the sheet up over my body before switching out the light.
It took me a while to find sleep, what with the sound of laughter and chatter drifting up from the pool, but just as I was melting into sleep I heard the bedroom door open. I was suddenly very awake.
I tensed, my back to him, as I listened to him undress and open the dresser. He’d brought pajamas thank God.
My muscles locked completely, and I squeezed my eyes closed as the mattress moved beneath me. The sheet tightened over my body and I realized he’d gotten in on top of the bed clothes so there was a barrier between us.
There was silence, except for the light sound of his breathing.
And then, “You’re awake?”
I couldn’t read his tone. “Yes,” I replied dully.
“I didn’t mean it,” he bit out and then his tone softened, “It was a shitty thing to say and it wasn’t true…” he took a breath. “I touched you because I want you.”
My muscles unwittingly relaxed and relief I didn’t want to feel moved through me.
“But I won’t do anything about it,” Griff continued. “And not just because I need to keep this business-only between us.”
Just like that all the tension flooded back into me and I braced my heart for impact.
His voice gentled again. “I know you think I don’t respect you because of what you do no matter my previous assurances. But I do respect you, Melanie. I don’t understand it but I respect your choice. I’m just not the kind of man who could ever pay for sex. I have too much pride and as arrogant as it might sound I’ve never needed to. But if I fucked you when I’ve paid you to be here in my bed… I’d never know if you were fucking me because you wanted to or because I’d paid you to.”
That hurt more than anything because how could he not know that the passion between us was genuine? Sex, attraction, it had never been like how it was with Griff. Wild, uncontrollable, hedonistic. However, obviously it was always that way for him if he couldn’t tell the difference between what we had and what he’d had with women who just wanted his money. I wasn’t anything special to him. I was just another woman he had wanted to stick his cock into.
I flinched at the crude thought, the reality of the situation so much less romantic and passionate than it felt when we were kissing and touching.
“Melanie?”
I flinched at my sister’s name but managed to whisper, “Go to sleep, Griff.”
CHAPTER TEN
We both woke early that morning and silently got ready for the day, taking turns in the bathroom. I put a bikini on underneath a white V-neck tennis dress. However, when I thought about putting on shoes I remembered I’d left my espadrilles downstairs when Griff attacked me with his sexy mouth.
When I mentioned the sandals, Griff shook his head and lifted them up from beside the bedside table. “I recovered our shoes when I left the room last night.”
Not wanting a reminder of that unpleasantness, especially since I had to spend the rest of the day pretending to love him, I took the sandals and sat down to put them on.
I was extremely aware of Griff’s eye
s on me the entire time but I refused to look at him.
When we walked downstairs we found only Amelia and Quentin were awake. As we wandered out onto the back porch where they were eating breakfast, we moved aside to let their hired caterer past.
“Company.” Amelia beamed. “We thought everyone would stay abed longer.”
“Griff doesn’t know what a lie-in is.” Quentin smirked at his friend as we took a seat at the pastry-laden table.
“Like you do,” Griff replied.
“Eat, help yourself. We have coffee and English Breakfast tea but there are more options over there.” She gestured behind us where a long table had been laid out on the porch with drinks and more pastries.
“Everything looks delicious.” I reached for a croissant as Griff poured a coffee.
He pushed the cup toward me and I realized he’d made it exactly how I took it. I tried not to show my surprise. “Thanks,” I murmured.
“So, Griffin,” Amelia stared across the top of her tea cup, her eyebrows raised, “Are you planning to apologize to Michael anytime soon?”
Confused, I raised an eyebrow. Quentin saw and his lips twitched. “While you were sleeping, Griff threatened to cut off Michael Pennyworth’s balls.”
I almost choked on my croissant, turning to Griff in question.
He shrugged nonchalantly as he cut open his own croissant to smear jam inside it. “It was nothing.”
“All he said was that he was surprised you’d left Melanie alone in her room. We all were?” Amelia prodded.
“She was exhausted.” Griff gave her a tight smile as if to say, “take that as you will”, and I tried not to blush.
“Yes, well, Michael feels an apology is necessary.”
“Griff never apologizes,” Quentin cut in. “He’s not capable of it.”
I frowned, thinking of the numerous times Griff had apologized to me. “That’s not fair or true.”
Quentin shot me a look of disbelief. “You’re saying Griff has apologized to you?” At my nod, he turned to Griff. “You always told me you never do anything you regret so much you’d ever need to apologize for it. And I’ve seen you say and do things that an ordinary man would apologize for.”
