Give Me Grace (18 page)

Jared pointed his fork at me.
“Exactly.”

“Get
a room you two if eating a bunch of lettuce gets you so hot,” Evie bitched.

Jared arched a brow as he glanced at her bel
ly. “That’s my baby in there. I should get a say in what you feed it.”

Evie, who’d announced her pregnancy just shy of two weeks ago, gasped. “You did
not
just say that.”

Everyone at the table began
weighing in with their opinion on what Evie should be eating. I cringed at somehow being the instigator. Mouthing a quick “Sorry,” her way, I reached for my glass and downed the remaining contents quickly.

Cooper topped it up again without missing a beat.

I glanced sideways. “Are you trying to get me drunk?”

He leaned in, whispering, “Yes. Is it working? You seem a bit edgy.”

That was because my body craved sex. Lots of it. With Casey. A quick check across the table found him watching our exchange intently.

Between the revolving front door of the duplex and his roommate, finding privacy was going to be more complex than long division. He would either have to climb a ladder to my window or sex was going to happen in the back of his car, and because he was yet to mention anything about the damaged backseat, that option was off the table. The man was either biding his time or he hadn’t yet seen it. Considering I was still alive, I was voting for the latter, but it was only a matter of time.

Focusing on my plate, I picked up a piece of chicken and peeled the skin away. “Can you pass me a napkin?” I asked Mac on my left as I licked my finger.

My phone vibrated in the pocket of my dress as she handed it over. Pulling it out, I saw a text message from Casey. I glanced at him across the table
, but he appeared in deep conversation with Travis. Swiping a finger across the cracked screen, I read the message.

Do that again.

Do
what
again? Lick my finger? I put my phone down, and after a quick glance around the table, I slid my finger in my mouth, sucking gently before dragging it slowly from between my lips. Finished with the slightly erotic display, I glanced over at Casey. His eyes were locked on my mouth, dark with hunger. Wincing slightly, he reached down and with a quick, casual movement, adjusted himself in his pants.

I quickly tapped out a return message.

Do that again.

He did.

After reading my reply, he actually reached down, cupped the bulge in his pants and squeezed. My entire body clenched at the sight, forcing a light sweat to break out across my brow. I reached for the wine Cooper poured, feeling the urge to rub the ice-cold glass soothingly across my forehead.

After downing another half glass, I set the
wine down and caught Casey intent on his phone, his fingers tapping away.

This was
sexting? How did people survive it?

Mac was talking to me when my phone eventually alerted the incoming message. After taking a bite of chicken, I picked it up and promptly began choking.

If my cock looks half as good as your finger did the way it slid in and out of your mouth, then I want in.

Mac pounded me on the back with surprising force while I choked and wheezed.
Jesus
. The message basically said
blow me now
, yet he’d managed to word in such a way that I was ready to get on my knees right then and there. I put my phone down to grab at the napkin Cooper waved in my face. Casey sat across from the table laughing at me while I dabbed at my watery eyes.

I narrowed my gaze on him with deliberate intent before
putting down my napkin and tapping out another message.

You said you were good with your tongue, Casey. Prove it.

Travis was talking to him when he opened the message. I watched his eyes flare wide before he typed out a quick reply and pocketed his phone.

Upstairs. You’ve got five minutes.

I should’ve known better than to issue a challenge to Casey of all people. He was the type of man you saw running towards danger while everyone else ran in the opposite direction.

I utilised a good three minutes eating another piece of chicken, finishing off my wine
, and getting caught in conversation with Cooper. I spent another minute wondering what the hell I’d gotten myself into. In the last minute left, I excused myself from the table and stood on unsteady legs. I glanced behind me as I walked inside. Casey was laughing at some comment Travis made that I didn’t quite catch. His eyes met mine for a split second as he said something in reply, and they were on fire. That was all it took to know I’d never wanted anything more in my life than I wanted him right now.

No sooner had I closed the bedroom door behind me
, it opened and Casey slipped inside. I barely had time to whisper, “This is crazy,” before his mouth crashed down on mine. It wasn’t a sweet kiss. It was hard and wild and almost painful. His hands gripped my shoulders, nudging me backwards until my knees hit the bed.

“
We need to hurry,” he muttered, and with a shove, I fell on the bed, crawling backwards to make room when he climbed on above me, wedging his hips between my legs and fusing his mouth to mine. He placed his palms on my outer thighs, pushing upwards until my dress bunched around my hips. Moving from my lips, he began licking and kissing his way along my neck.

I breathed in sha
llow pants as his hand found its way between my thighs. Using his thumb, he began stroking me over the thin, silky fabric.

He
pulled back, breathing harshly, and hooked his thumbs in the waistband of my panties, yanking them down forcefully. Sitting back, he spread my legs, baring me to his gaze.

“That is the hottest motherfucking thing I’ve ever seen,” he rasped. Moments later
, I felt the warmth of his breath between my legs before he pressed his lips there, kissing me so lightly I wanted to scream with frustration. I bit my lip to keep from crying out when his tongue came out, licking me in one long, hot stroke.

“
Casey,” I moaned, my back arching off the bed from pleasure. “More, please.”

“
Whatever you say, baby,” he murmured against me, and I could feel his chuckle.

I laughed breathlessly and it ended on a moan when he circled his tongue around my clit, rubbing and teasing me. My hands found the softness of his hair
, and I scraped my nails gently through the strands.

“Don’t stop
,” I panted, completely overwhelmed when he slid a finger inside me while still working me with his tongue.

“So hot,” he groaned.

I couldn’t remember this ever feeling so good. I’d never been one to let go during sex, but Casey kept up some kind of wild assault I couldn’t fight. He slid another finger inside me and tingling pressure rose with mind blowing intensity. I held my breath, knowing I wasn’t able to do anything with this man other than
feel
.

“Fuck
… Grace …”

He sat back on his heels and grabbed at
his belt buckle, undoing it swiftly. With a yank of his zipper, he shoved his pants halfway down his ass, releasing his erection. He took it in his hand and began stroking as he looked at me. “You’re so beautiful. I want to jack off until I come all over you,” he muttered.

I sat up, reaching for him, but he planted his free hand on my chest and shoved me back,
working his erection as he pinned me to the bed. After a minute, his tongue found its way back between my legs.

“Casey
…” I breathed, sinking back into the bed with a groan.

“I want to
feel you come against my tongue.”

There was no way I wasn’t going to. His mouth was hot and wet, lapping at me with an u
nrestrained rhythm that would
not
let up. I watched his hips move against the bed. With his pants halfway down his hips, I could see his firm, muscular ass moving up and down as he rubbed his erection against the sheets. The sight of him getting himself off while his tongue teased and tasted me made me lose the last of my control. Panting, I bit down hard on my lip, trying to draw out the delicious tingles he stirred inside me but I couldn’t. I came hard against his mouth. I knew he could feel it because he sucked hard at my clit, groaning as he ground his hips hard into the bed.

I tried not to cry out, but
everything blacked out for a moment, so I wasn’t sure if I did or not. When the world came back into focus, Casey was sitting on his heels between my legs, gorgeous, masculine, and so damn sexy.

“God,” I moaned, blinking as reality returned.

He pressed a quick kiss to my inner thigh and winked. “You can call me Casey.”

I groaned, laughing, and h
e grinned, dimples popping as he tucked himself back in his pants and yanked his zipper upwards. His eyes fell on the bedspread in front of him. “I made a mess on your sheets.”

I couldn’t summon the will
to care about any mess. Casey was right. He really
was
good with his tongue. The next few weeks were going to kill me.

He slapped me lightly on the rump.
“Get up, Slim. We need to get back downstairs. Quick. Before I get my second wind and decide to fuck you so hard, you scream my name loud enough for everyone in the whole damn house to hear.”

Subterfuge.

Casey ‘Subterfuge’ Daniels.
That was a new low for me.

I sighed heavily at my desk on Monday morning
, tossing my pen down with irritation. I wouldn’t tolerate going behind Henry’s back with Grace, so why was I doing it to Grace with Morgan?

Because
you’re a dumb prick, that’s why.

Leaning forward, I tapped at my keyboard,
googling the word as though I had nothing better to do.

Deceit used in order to achieve one’s goal.

I laughed humourlessly because whatever my goal was supposed to be, I hadn’t achieved it. I’d been avoiding Morgan and it had been over a week since I last got my hands on Grace. Getting a taste of her hadn’t been anywhere near enough and that eight weeks had now dwindled to six. Why did time always move so damn fast?

Closing the Google tab, I called up Facebook instead, clicking on her page before I could stop myself. She hadn’t updated it in a couple of days. Her last post was an update to her profile
picture. It showed a photo of her and Henry, hugging close and smiling at the camera.

Picking up my phone, I sent her a message.

What are you doing today?

After hitting send, I realised I was a stalker now. I
sat at my desk, stalking Grace on a Monday morning. That was fucking sad. I was a sad, pathetic bastard. And a stalker.

“On the phone again?” Tim appeared in my office, holding aloft my customary Monday morning cup of piss-weak coffee.

“Really? You’re investigative powers of deduction dazzle me,” I replied dryly as he set the coffee on my desk.

I tucked my phone away, knowing I needed to get a hold of myself. Maybe getting a
real
coffee would go a long way towards achieving that. I got to my feet, snatched up the takeaway cup, and started for the door.

“Where are you going?” Tim called to my retreating back. “You’ve got a meeting with Frank in ten minutes.”

Hell.

I’d forgotten about that.

Frank had resigned last week. The news was not unexpected. He’d been making noises about retiring for over a year now, yet every time he mentioned it we played deaf. Now my Monday was lined with screening potential new employees, and because Frank knew the job better than anyone, he was sitting in on them with me.

I waved the cup as I kept walking. “I’m going to sort out this problem with your barista, Tim.
I can’t function properly without decent coffee.”

“Wait!” The sound of rapid footsteps came from behind me. “He’s not
my
barista. You can’t just—”

“Shit,” I muttered when I tripped over a box in the front reception. I rescu
ed the cup before it flew from my hands. Why, I don’t know. It would have been better off smeared all over the sleek timber flooring. “What the hell is with all these boxes?” I asked no one in particular. Having come through the back entry from our underground car park, I’d completely missed seeing them earlier.

They were stacked precariously throughout the front entryway, creating a safety hazard for any sad, pathetic stalker bastard
who happened to walk through.

“Um
…”

I turned, directing my gaze on our receptionist, Alice. She’d taken over from Tim when he was promoted. She seemed a little too timid for the role in my o
pinion. No one else had agreed and when put to a vote, majority ruled.

“They um
…”

“
They …?” I prompted after a moment of silence.

Alice flushed. Seriously. Had she forgotten what she wanted to say in just a matter of moments?

“It’s Jared’s fault,” Tim said from behind me, quick to cast blame on the situation.

I spun around, dismissing Alice. Tim’s eyes flew up quickly. Was he staring at my ass? Goddamn, but this office was going to the dogs. “Why?”

“He worked all day Saturday clearing out all our old files from archives. I think he might be nesting.”

My brow furrowed. “Nesting?”

Tim nodded. “Yes, nesting. You know, that thing people do when they have babies?”

I pinched the bridge of my nose with my
thumb and forefinger, needing caffeine so desperately I wanted weep. “Do I look like I know anything about what people do when they have babies?” I asked irritably.

“Not really,” Tim admitted, “but you
do
look like someone who knows a hell of a lot about what people do to make them.”

“Amen,”
Alice muttered under her breath.

My brows flew up as
I turned back to look at her. Did she just say
Amen
? “You know what?” I set the takeaway coffee cup on the reception counter and held my hands up in surrender. “Never mind the coffee. Let’s just get rid of these damn boxes. We can’t have them piled up here when we’re trying to interview potential employees. Not only does it make us look like some half-assed operation, it’s not safe.”

“Where should we put them?” Tim asked as he stood staring at them, one hand on his hip, the other fussing with his hair.

Alice cleared her throat so I gave her my attention. “Document destruction.”

I waited for
her to supply more information but none was forthcoming. Should I ask to buy a vowel? “What about them?”

Tim spoke up. “They were supposed to stop by Saturday afternoon to collect them, but they never arrived.”

“Has someone rung them?” I asked.

Tim started for his desk, saying, “I’ll go do it now.”

“No.” Tim halted while I dug my car keys from my back pocket. “Alice, you ring them, tell them I’ll take them over.” I tossed the keys at Tim, who fumbled and dropped them. “Go unlock my car. I’ll start bringing all the boxes out.”

Tim started for the back entrance and Alice picked up the phone and started dialling.

“Fucking Mondays,” I growled under my breath when I picked up the first box and followed Tim to the car park. He was unlocking my car when I arrived behind him. “How do you think Alice is going, really?” I asked. Tim was the one that trained her to take over his position. He would be honest if he thought she wasn’t doing okay.

“She’s amazing.” He paused in the act of opening the rear passenger door. “Why? You’re not going to fire her, are you?”

The odds of that were low. No one else seemed to have an issue with her
.
“No, but a receptionist is the face of the company. They’re the ones who answer phones and greet clients. For someone who never speaks, I’m not sure if Alice is suited to that type of role.”

With a shake of his head, Tim swung the back door wide. “I barely spoke to you for the entire first year I worked here, remember? She’ll
…”

“She’ll what?” I prompted when he trailed off, his eyes wide on the backseat of my car. I looked from him to the se
at. “What the fuck?” I breathed, the bottom falling out of my stomach. I dropped the box in my arms. It landed on my foot but I barely noticed as I stepped over it to get a better look at the … the … “What the fuck is that?”

Tim leaned in for a closer inspection, his shoulder jostling mine as we both stared at the torn and mangled leather. “It looks like some kind of
… small animal has attacked your car.”

I ran
a hand over the shredded pieces of leather, feeling ready to puke. I’d spent
years
restoring this car. The backseat had been shipped from the States for the same price it cost to buy a small aeroplane. I looked at Tim. “You think an animal somehow infiltrated my car, climbed onto the backseat, and in a sudden fit of rage just …” I closed my eyes, swallowing. “Grace,” I muttered.

“Grace? You think
Grace
chewed your backseat?”

Opening my eyes,
I snatched the car keys from Tim’s hand and started for the driver’s side door. I jabbed a finger at Tim. “Ring all my appointments for today. Tell them I’ll be late.”

“How late?” he called as I swung the driver’s door open and slid inside the car. I turned the key in the
ignition, surprised I was even able to see it over the red haze of fury.

“However long it takes to kill someone and hide the body,” I yelled as the engine came to l
ife with a loud, throaty growl.

I pulled
into the driveway of the duplex in record time. I could see Grace standing by the front door already. I didn’t have much room in my schedule for a killing today so that made it convenient. I got out and slammed the door with force before whispering a silent apology to my car.

The sky was clear and the sun bright, warming an otherwise cool day as I strode up the drive. I ran my eyes over Grace
when I got near, feeling that familiar pull in my groin as though she was a shining beacon and my cock had just seen the light.

Her skin glowed with a
light sheen of sweat. A white tank top was plastered to her chest and a tiny pair of hot pink Adidas running shorts showcased her legs perfectly. They were the kind of shorts you knew were designed by a man because the little splits up the sides were more than just aerodynamic, they were a cocktease. Combine all that with her flushed cheeks, and Grace was the perfect combination of athleticism and raw, sweaty animal sex.

Focus,
asshole! You’re here to kill Grace, not fuck her.

I took a steadying breath and dragged my eyes away, letting them fall
on the two guys standing on the timber porch facing her. I figured it must have been Rage Monday all round because Grace was ranting at them, her eyes flashing fire. My brows drew together, wondering what they’d done to incur her wrath. They had their backs to me, but that was enough for me to know I didn’t recognise them. She obviously knew who they were or they wouldn’t have been let inside the gates.

My eyes scanned guy number one. I didn’t need to see his
face to know he was a complete wankjob. His jeans weren’t just tight, they were
white
for fuck’s sake. I was sure his brown shoes had a heel on them, and the sides of his blond hair were buzzed with the top gelled in a pompadour. He was in complete contrast to guy number two who looked like he’d just rolled out of bed. A crumpled tee shirt, old ripped jeans, and a cigarette dangling from his right hand completed the look. He turned slightly and I got a glimpse of beard—like he’d not bothered shaving for a couple of weeks—and a pair of expensive aviators that were at odds with his whole don’t-give-a-fuck appearance. I knew they were expensive because I had the exact same pair. I ripped mine away from my eyes, tucking them into the neckline of my shirt as I arrived at the little scene.

“Grace,” I growled, interrupting
her rant because I didn’t have the time or the patience to wait for her to finish.

Three pairs of eyeballs shot my way, Grace’s mouth falling open in surprise at finding me standing there.
She must have been so focused on delivering her wrath that she hadn’t seen me arrive.

I ignored
the two guys, choosing to favour Grace with a hard glare instead. “I’m here to kill you. If you come quietly, I’ll make it quick rather than drawing it out in a long, torturous process.”