pulled up in front of the building, the light from the doorway illuminating Grace in the car.
“You really don’t like me?” I prodded as we stepped out of the car. I picked up all her bags and lights, ignoring her protests to let her carry something.
“I despise you,” she said as we headed to the private elevator to take me to my penthouse.
“Liar.”
She glared at me from the other side of the elevator. It was all I could do not to close the distance and take her mouth.
You should listen to her. This isn’t going to end well.
But it was Grace—Grace who had cooked me breakfast then pulled a fourteen-hour day. One kiss wasn’t going to ruin things between us; Grace wasn’t Addison.
The elevator dinged. We were at the penthouse. I carried Grace’s stuff inside while she hovered around me to make sure I didn’t jostle anything. I set all the bags carefully down on the table. Then I gently held her arms.
“So you don’t like me at all?” I asked.
“Nope.”
“Not one little bit?”
She shook her head, biting her lip, not pulling away from me.
“That’s too bad,” I whispered, “because I like you a lot.”
Her eyes widened.
“I thought we had mutually agreed to despise each other and suffer through this marriage,” she croaked.
“Honestly,” I breathed, inches away from the mouth that I wanted to kiss again. “This marriage thing is starting to grow on me.”
Her lips were half parted. It was too easy to simply lean forward and press my mouth against hers. The way she moaned slightly and leaned against me was quickly my new addiction. I kissed her softly at first, waiting for her to push me away.
After a few moments, I leaned back. Grace’s brown eyes were slightly glazed.
I smirked. “So much for despising me.”
“You are such an asshole,” Grace said, grabbing me by the collar and pulling me back down.
I kissed her harder this time. We were not in public, and now I could kiss her like I meant it, like I was about to fuck her. My hands roamed along the curves of her back, folding her body against mine. My hands went up to cup her head, tangling in her hair and tipping her head back so I could fully claim her mouth.
I needed more of her. But when my hand trailed around to cup one of her soft round tits, she pushed me away.
“You can’t tell me you despised that,” I said, my voice rough.
“I’m not doing…” She made a frustrated noise. “That with you.”
“You mean, fuck your husband?”
She reddened in the soft light.
“Might as well get something out of this shit show.”
“You need to stop thinking with your junk,” she chastised me. “This could still turn out to be a huge disaster.” She picked up her bag. “I’m going to sleep. I need to work tomorrow. And no, you are not coming with me.”
“I pride myself on making sure everyone comes together,” I quipped.
Her eyes widened slightly, then she forced the glower back onto her face. “Don’t follow me.”
I didn’t. Instead I watched her as she walked down the hallway. I wanted nothing more than to grab her, take her into my bed, and…
I mentally slapped myself, my father’s warning coming back.
What the hell are you doing, dude? You’re not some sex-starved teenager. Get it the fuck together. You cannot sleep with Grace.
That would ruin any hopes of securing an annulment. Then I’d have to file for a divorce, and even though Grace had shook on it, there wasn’t really any way to secure my wealth against her if she decided to take a portion of it.
She could ruin me. We were already living together. If the courts saw that we were also sleeping together, it would spell the end of my hedge fund.
You can have any other woman in the world after this marriage is annulled, I promised my half-hard cock as I headed back to my bedroom.
But I didn’t want any other woman in the world. I only wanted Grace.
29
Grace
“I just don’t understand what came over me!” I wailed to my friends the next morning.
“Who would have thought that after years of no action, your subconscious wants you to take advantage of the hot guy in your proximity?” Ivy joked.
“I should have told him to get lost,” I fretted. “I live in his penthouse! My grandmother and, God help me, the rescue parrot are completely dependent on him. Gran’s apartment is rent-controlled. I can’t afford anything in the city for