him sliding in and out of her. Feeling it. Invigorating her. Making her heart pound.
Tires screeched and she came back to life as hot coffee splashed across her white tee-shirt. Getting past the burning sting, she stared at the windshield of a car. The olive-green convertible. Grayson behind the wheel, leaving his underground garage.
His jaw dropped seeing her. “I’m sorry, Sabine. I’m heading east. You’ll just have to trust me. You’ll get your money.”
No. Her throat tightened. She wasn’t ready to let him go. Shaking her head, she dumped the tray of spilled coffees and took a step to climb into the car, only he inched forward again.
“Sorry. You’re not coming with me,” he yelled over the purring engine. “I left the apartment door open for you. Your orange bag is in the kitchen, please lock up when you leave. Goodbye, Sabine.”
She breathed heavily watching him. As long as she didn’t move, he couldn’t leave. It was a nice car but...
Sabine lifted her leg and with a foot planted on the front chrome bumper, she climbed across the hood.
“Are you crazy?” he shouted, standing in the driver’s seat. “Do you know how much this car costs?”
Straddling the windshield, she looked back at the ding marks. “No. How much?”
Grayson’s jaw looked so tight it could snap. “One point three million.”
“Dollars?” She plopped down in the passenger seat. Oops.
He didn’t respond, just sat back, and laid his head on the steering wheel. She wasn’t sure what he was pissed at. He had that money somewhere in a bank. But she had to get him home to turn his finances back on.
“I’m sorry, Grayson. And dun’t scream at me, but it’s yer own fault. We had a deal. And ye broke it.” When he shook his head, she noticed his hair wasn’t wet. “Ye didn’t shower?”
“I’ll shower when I get to where I’m going. Please get out of the car. I will walk around and lift you out. As gently as I can. I promise. But you’re not coming with me.”
“Why?” she squeaked out and hated how vulnerable she sounded.
Instead of giving her the same bollocks he’d been slinging since she met him, he turned his head toward her and took off his shades. “I can’t tell you. It’s my own shit. Please get out of the car. You’re only doing this for the money. I’ll make sure you get paid.”
She shrugged. “I can’t take money for something I didn’t earn. I won’t.”
The dream of her business expanding faded with every breath. He had the power to lift her out of the car. He could take off down the street at full speed and she’d never catch up to him. She sat at the losing end of this battle.
Exhaling, she gave up. “I hope ye make it home safe. Yer brothers want to see ye. Yer sister misses ye. Ye have everyone ye love wanting to do nothing but love ye back, ye tool. All I have in New York is...”
“My sister? You mean my sister-in-law?”
“Lexi. We dun’t demean family with those kinds of in-law labels.”
“Lexi emailed you?” When she nodded, he looked down. “Wait, what did you mean, all you have is... What?”
She scoffed and pulled on the door handle. “Like ye care. Have a nice life, Grayson Hart with all yer billions.”
“That money can’t buy me a movie role, Sabine. That’s not fair. I don’t care about my family’s money.”
“That’s what all rich people say.” She yanked again.
“The door’s locked.” He reached over to pry the latch up, but stopped. “Is there some other reason why you can’t work with your brothers in New York? They have a top-notch firm. Why are you reinventing the wheel all the way out here?”
“They just want me married off to...” She bit her lip.
“Married off to who? Are you engaged to someone?” The horror on his face crushed her.
Technically, being promised to Kieran O’Rourke was an engagement according to the old Astoria street rules. Even if she hadn’t agreed to it herself.
“No. Not really.” That was her story since Kieran never asked her. Ewan arranged it behind her back.
“You’re twenty-four, and this is the United States. You don’t have to marry someone you don’t want to.”
Sabine mused all this in her head, wondering what to spill. What part of her shitty situation would make Grayson want to help her? Or would it scare the daylights out of him to be flirting with and stroking himself in front of an Irish mob boss’s promised lassie?