Boycotts and Barflies (46 page)

Michael looked stunning. He was wearing a black leather jacket with a white button down shirt underneath. The first three or four buttons of the shirt remained open, showing a tantalizing sliver of his chest. The scent of his spicy cologne reached Grace’s nose, making her want to throw herself at him right then and there.

Grace’s eyes move d from his chest back to his face, settling on the perfect curve of his lips. She felt him move closer. “Happy New Year,” Grace purred as he wrapped his arms around her waist and kissed her … really kissed her. At first the contact was gentle, but the longer their lips stayed connected, the more urgent the kiss became until Grace felt her legs wobble. The only thing that made her pull away was knowing that they were being watched.

“Are you ready to go?” Michael asked as his fingers softly swept a stray hair out of her face. When she nodded, he walked over to the table, picked up her coat, and held it out so Grace could slip her arms into the sleeves. He lifted the coat up and over her shoulders, then spun her around to make it easier for him to button the coat. His fingers slowly brushed against her neck as he wrapped the green cashmere scarf around Grace’s neck as he kissed her cheek.

“Are you bringing anything with you?” he asked h opefully, eyeing the bags on the table.

Suddenly feeling quite timid, Grace picked an imaginary piece of lint from the front of her dress, knowing that by grabbing one of these bags, Michael would understand that she was planning on spending the night with him. She looked up at him as he stood there, his hands innocently tucked into his pockets and a hopeful expression on his face, and then she didn’t care about being embarrassed.

Spending the night with him was exactly where she wanted to be, and instead

of being shy, she was going to go after what she wanted. And she wanted this

night with Michael.

As her fingers wrapped around the handle of the bag, she felt Michael’s eyes on

her, his face now glowing as she gently set it down at his feet.

He crouched to  pick up the bag, and Grace was taken by surprise when she

suddenly felt his fingers skimming over her ankle, examining her new shoes.

With a smirk on his face, he stood up and held his arm out. “Your shoes are

beautiful.”

“Thank you.” Grace returned his smile with a kiss on the cheek. With a twinkle  in her eye she added, “Now, let’s get out of here.”

Grace didn’t have to repeat herself. The moment the words crossed her lips,  Michael squeezed her hand and started briskly walking them over to the front  359

door, oblivious to Meg and Bianca screaming “Wait!” from the family room,  until they nearly tackled him.

“Where are you two rushing off to without saying goodbye?” Bianca asked  smugly. “Got a hot date or something?”

“Don’t do  anything I wouldn’t do!” Jack called from the couch, earning himself a  dirty look not only from Michael, but Bianca as well.

“Have fun,” Meg whispered in Grace’s ear as she kissed her cheek.

“Details …” Bianca reminded, as she wrapped her friend up into a  big hug. Waving over her shoulder, Grace yelled, “I’ll call you.” Then Michael coaxed her  out the door.

They walked in comfortable silence past the wall of mailboxes to the front door  of the apartment building. “So are you going to tell me where we’re going?” Michael smiled smugly, holding the door open as a blast of cold air hit her face.  “Nope.”

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Chapter 29

Grace took two steps outside and stopped dead in her tracks. In front of the building, parked at the curb, was a shiny black stretch limo. The driver was bundled up in a winter coat and scarf, holding the door open. Michael placed his hand on the small of her back and led her to the limo. “What did you do?”  Grace hissed in shock as she reached for the driver’s outstretched hand. He

simply shrugged his shoulders and winked. As she slid onto the leather seat,

Grace heard the door close behind her and then the sound of two muffled voices speaking softly as the trunk closed.

Excited by her surroundings, Grace was fiddling with all the different buttons

on the ceiling when she felt a sudden chill as Michael climbed into the limo.

“A limo?” she asked, waving at the astounding accommodations. “Michael, you

didn’t have to  ”—

His finger came up and pressed to her lips, stopping any further discussion of the topi c. “I plan on spoiling you every chance I get; you need to understand that. And I just recently came into some money.” He lowered his finger, but when she opened her mouth and tried to protest, his lips took the place of his finger, again silencing her.

Their kiss was interrupted by the buzzing of the opaque divider being lowered.

“Mr. Andris, Miss Grace?” the driver called over his shoulder. “Are we ready to head out?” He glanced at the two of them in the rear view mirror,

smiling warmly.

“Yes, George, thank you,” Michael replied.

“If you need anything, just lower the divider.” George pointed into the

backseat. “It’s the blue button on the console.”

“Thanks, I think we’ll be fine.” As the divider went back up, Michael slid cl oser  to Grace across the leather seat. His fingers rapidly unbuttoned her jacket,  revealing the gorgeous dress underneath. He mumbled something under his  breath that she missed, but by the way his eyes devoured her, she was certain  he was pleased with what he saw.

As he adjusted the temperature controls, Grace slipped her arms out of her  jacket, laying it neatly on the seat. Michael made himself more comfortable and  took off his jacket as well, tossing it with hers, before reaching for the bottle of  champagne. Grace watched as he peeled the foil back and began loosening the  tiny lacing of wires that held the cork in place. He pressed a button and the  sunroof opened as he aimed the top of the bottle upwards, wiggling the cork  back and forth until it exploded, flying out into the night sky. He closed the  sunroof quickly, and then laughter tumbled from Grace’s lips as a tiny trickle of  bubbles spilled onto Michael’s hand while he tried to fill their glasses.

“Here, let me help.” Grace grabbed the glasses and held them steady as he filled  them. She handed him one of the glasses, keeping the other for herself.

As she looked into his baby blue eyes, she raised her glass. “To our first date.” “To the beginning of forever,” he replied as he clinked his glass against hers,

never taking his eyes off of hers. Grace’s heart melted at his words.

She took a small sip of the champagne and then set the glass into a nearby cup holder. Michael leaned back into the seat, looking very relaxed and content, so  Grace scooted over and curled up next to him, resting her head on his chest.

“I love you,” she murmured as her fingers began to explore the section of his chest that was exposed by the unbuttoned portion of his shirt. He jumped as her nails teased their way across his chest. “I’m sorry, are my fingers cold?” she asked, quickly trying to pull them away but his hand covered hers, holding it in place against his chest.

“No. God no, Grace. That just feels so good. You have no idea …” He released her hand and relaxed when she went back to her somewhat timid exploration of his body. His hand ran up and down her back in a steady rhythm, slowly soothing away her nerves. “Come here, you.” He put his hands 362

on her hips and repositioned her so that she was once again in the very

pleasant position of straddling his lap.

As he looked lovingly into her eyes, his hand moved up to her hair and touched

the clip that was holding it up off her shoulders. “May I?” His normally silky

voice had turned low and husky as he spoke, sending a delicious tingle down

Grace’s spine.

“Whatever you want,” she said softly, biting her lower lip.

There was a gentle tug on the clip, and then her hair fell down, cascading

across her shoulders.

“Exquisite …” he whispered as he ran his fingers through her thick waves

letting his fingers explore the softness of the strands. “I’m sorry; I just had to

touch your hair. You have no idea how sexy you look right now.”

He took her face in his hands and pulled her to him. Their lips gently brushed

once, twice, and then no longer able to stand it, Michael’s lips col -lided with  hers.

A moan escaped Grace as she felt the warmth of his tongue brush against hers.  She could still taste the sweetness of the champagne in his mouth. A fire spread  throughout her b ody when his kisses became more passionate, more urgent.  The need between them was growing exponentially with every second that  passed. Grace could feel just how much he wanted her with every stroke of his  tongue, every touch of his lips.

“I love you, Grace … so much.” He dropped his hands to her bare shoulders and  arms, sliding them further down until he ended at her fingertips. Teasing her  almost to the point of madness, Grace felt both of Michael’s hands shift and  begin creeping up her thighs, finally slipping underneath the hem of her dress.

Grace gasped when she felt his fingertips meet the edge of her lace panties, her legs tightening on either side of him. As his fingers moved over the round curve of her bottom, tracing the delicate pattern of the lace, Grace whispered his name as she clutched the front of his shirt. “Michael … What are you doing?” “I’ve been imagining how this lace would feel all night. I couldn’t wait any longer to find out. Do you want me to stop?” he asked as he looked into her eyes, which most certainly revealed the raging desire she was feeling at that moment. The sexy curve of his lips let Grace know he liked what he saw.

“No, don’t stop. Don’t ever stop.” She threw her body against his, wrapping her hands into his hair and kissing him without any inhibitions as a wild 363

current of excitement poured out of her. Grace’s breathing grew erratic as she  became more and more caught up in Michael and how good he felt in her

hands, on her lips, and against her skin. She forgot they were in a car, or that  there was another person a few feet away. Only Michael existed. He filled her  every thought, and the rest of the world simply disappeared.

His fingers touched her shoulder, and Grace felt one side of her dress glide  effortlessly off her shoulder, coming to rest near her elbow. His eager kisses  covered the newly exposed skin of her collarbone and trailed his fingertips  down to the lacy curve of her bra. The heat of his breath on her skin set  everything in its path aflame. The tingling in her chest immediately spread out  to her arms and down to the rest of Grace’s body, filling her with desire. Michael moved to the edge of the seat and without separating their lips, he  rolled her onto her back. The slight chill of the leather sent goose bumps up her  arms, making Michael laugh. “Cold, sweetheart?”

“No.” She kissed his neck. “Actually, I feel incredibly hot right now.” Grace  smiled as she felt him hike her skirt higher, his hand now running along the  smooth skin  of her abdomen.

“We’d better do something about that then.” He lowered his body onto her,  pushing Grace deeper into the seat, and she gasped in pleasure at the sensation  of his body against hers. She only wished he wasn’t wearing so many clothes.  “Do you have any idea how badly I want you right now?” he asked, as he slid

his tongue slowly down the center of Grace’s chest.

Her hands frantically tugged on his shirt, untucking it from his pants and  allowing her better access to his chest as she moved her hands under the

fabric. The smooth muscles of his abdomen were so soft, yet solid underneath. As her hands moved over his skin, Grace heard him moan her name in a deep,  husky voice that made her body quiver.

Once she heard that, Grace couldn’t get the buttons on the front of his shirt freed fast enough. Her fingers fluttered over the tiny plastic circles, and as the last one popped open, she paused to drink in the sight of his bare chest only inches away from her. Just as her lips made contact with his now heaving chest, she felt the limo come to a stop.

Michael must have felt it too, because he gave her a quick kiss then sat up in case the divider lowered a crack.

“We’re here, Mr. Andris, and they’re just about to start,” George said over the

intercom, wisely giving them their privacy.

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Grace let out a small groan of frustration, but Michael easily kissed her irritation away befo re he paused to button his shirt. As Grace ran her fingers over her swollen and freshly kissed lips, Michael reached over to retrieve their coats which had been knocked onto the floor in their romantic haste. He helped  Grace back into her jacket and pulled a blanket from a hidden shelf before opening the sunroof again.

“What are we doing now?” Grace watched as Michael popped his head up through the top of the limo, holding a hand out for her to join him. She squeezed out through the hole in the ceiling to find them parked along the river downtown, with a perfect view of the cityscape. They were the only car in the parking lot as Grace looked up at the beautiful starry sky.

Michael wrapped the blanket around her shoulders and pulled Grace to his chest in an effort to keep her warm. “It’s almost midnight,” he whispered against her cheek as he glanced down at his watch. “Five, four, three, two, one. Happy New Year, Grace.” He ran his fingers through her hair, bringing them around to her chin and then drawing Grace’s body closer to him. “I love you.” “Happy New Year. I love you, too. More than you could possibly know,”