The water had cooled, but Eve was still content to just lie there and relax. The quiet of her home was a welcome reprieve. She’d been in meetings all day, had made numerous decisions regarding offices in several different countries. She wasn’t one to have idle time, but she had to admit this felt amazing.
She definitely had to listen to her body, and her body was tired and in need of some downtime.
“Eve.”
Water sloshed as she jerked and opened her eyes to see Graham standing in the door separating her bedroom from the bath. Her heart beat out of control in her chest. He’d scared the hell out of her.
She blinked, realizing she’d fallen asleep. The water chilled her now and she shivered as she started to get up.
“What are you doing here?” she asked, stepping from the tub to reach for the towel from the heated bar. “How did you get in?”
His eyes raked over her, causing her chills to multiply for a totally different reason. “You were supposed to meet me an hour ago.”
Eve wrapped herself in the towel and secured the edge between her breasts. She’d been asleep that long? Maybe she was more tired than she’d thought.
“First, I never agreed to meet you after you demanded it.” She crossed her arms, rolling her eyes when his gaze dipped to her cleavage. “Second, you didn’t tell me how you got into my house.”
One slow step turned into two and suddenly he was in front of her. His fingertips trailed up her bare arms and shivers wracked her body. Without a word, he tipped his head to rake his lips lightly across her jawline. Eve fisted her hands at her sides. She wanted to clutch him and give in to what he was obviously offering, but she had to think with her head, too.
“You smell amazing,” he muttered as his mouth continued to explore her skin. “I worried when you didn’t show up.”
Eve cursed herself when her head tipped back. With this man, she didn’t have control over her body. The fact that he worried about her warmed her, but she couldn’t think like that. They weren’t in a relationship. In fact, last time she’d talked to him, they were more divided than ever.
“Graham.” She pushed at his chest. “We can’t do this.”
Her slight shove did nothing to budge him. Wrapping his arms around her, he met her eyes.
“Brooks and I have an unspoken understanding.”
Eve narrowed her gaze, waiting for him to elaborate. “And that’s him keeping his investigator out of my family’s business?” she asked when it was clear he wasn’t going to go into detail.
“He’s staying out of this for now. I don’t want to talk about my brothers or your father.” He nipped at her lips. “Trust me, Eve. I won’t hurt you.”
Trust him. Oh, how she wished she could. She had a secret she wasn’t ready to reveal and he wanted her trust. And he may not intend to hurt her, but he was hell-bent on destroying her father, which in turn would most definitely hurt her.
With an expert flick, he had her towel open and gliding to the floor before she could stop him. Every intimate encounter before now had been frenzied, frantic, clothes flying and lips exploring. Something about this slow seduction in her bathroom seemed even more...intimate. Were they crossing a line or was she just reading into this?
“Stop thinking,” he demanded in a whisper against her ear. “Feel, Eve. Only feel.”
As if she had any other choice.
Four (#u8b889e87-879a-57d3-9855-18449d0f6066)
He couldn’t touch her, taste her enough. When she hadn’t shown, he’d wondered if she was working, but then she hadn’t even replied so he’d panicked like some lovestruck fool. Considering he was neither in love, nor a fool, Graham hated how he’d let his imagination run away from him.
But then he’d gotten into her place, using the security code he’d seen her type in one other time, and every worry fled. Seeing her wet in that tub full of disappearing bubbles, he’d had one mission and that was to get his body on hers as soon as possible.
But he wanted to go slow. She looked positively exhausted, not that he’d ever tell her. He wasn’t an idiot when it came to women. Something about how vulnerable Eve looked resting in the bath stirred deeper feelings in him that he’d quickly tamped down, but he welcomed the rush of lust and desire.
He wanted her, he needed her and he planned on having her. Now.
Her bathroom was spacious, complete with a vanity island in the middle. Perfect. He scooped her up, sat her on the edge and stepped between her thighs.
Running his hands up her legs, over those rounded hips and over her waist, Graham wasn’t surprised when she trembled beneath his touch. Trembling was a nice start, but he planned on having her writhing, panting his name.
Her fingers curled around his shoulders. “We shouldn’t do this anymore,” she argued, but her words came out on a whisper, betraying her true feelings.
Graham slid one fingertip between her breasts and down to her abdomen. “And why is that?”
Eve sucked in a breath as her lids lowered. Yes. That was the reaction he wanted to see. Complete surrender.
“B-because. We want...”
Graham leaned forward, his mouth trailing along the path his finger had just traveled. “Oh, yes. We want.”
Her hands framed his face as she urged him back up to look at her. “We want different things,” she stated, her eyes holding on to his.
“Right now I’d say we want the exact same thing.”
“It’s not in here that I’m worried about.”
She had every reason to worry, but he meant it when he said he wouldn’t hurt her. Eve was innocent, but she may feel some of the aftershock of her father’s wrath. Everything that was coming down on them was a result of Sutton’s actions. If anyone was hurting Eve, it was her father. Couldn’t she see that?
“I told you to trust me,” Graham reminded her. His hand settled between her thighs. “No more talking.”
The second he touched her, she moaned. Leaning back on her hands, she offered herself up exactly the way he’d been fantasizing about all day. He’d wanted her in his penthouse with the city lights flooding into his living room, but this was fine, too. If anyone stopped by to visit, they wouldn’t see his car because she’d given him a bay in the second garage in the back of the house for such eventualities. This sneaking around only amped up his desire. Graham never backed away from a challenge and he damn well wouldn’t start now that Eve was having doubts.
The more his hand moved over her center, the more she let out those sexy little moans. Then she’d bite her lip as if she hadn’t meant to show how much she enjoyed what they were doing.
He wanted to bite that lip.
Graham continued stroking her as he leaned forward and took her mouth with his. She instantly opened to him, matching his need with her own. And that’s what made Eve so perfect in the bedroom. They had the exact same needs, they knew how to pleasure each other without a single word and neither of them expected anything beyond exactly this.
Eve tore her mouth away and shut her eyes as her entire body tightened. Watching her come undone was the sexiest experience of his entire life. She had no qualms about the noises she made, or the way her damp hair clung to the side of her cheek when she’d thrown her head to the side. This was Eve. His Eve.
No. Not his. She would never be his. This was temporary, no more.
The moment her body relaxed, Graham jerked her to the edge of the counter and unfastened his pants. He couldn’t wait another minute. He needed to have her and didn’t want her coming off the high she’d just had. She was everything he needed at this exact moment, and he refused to look beyond that. There was no future...not for them.
Her arms wrapped around his neck, her breasts pressed up against his dress shirt and he didn’t even care that he was still technically fully clothed. That was the need he had for this woman.
Eve’s ankles locked behind him and Graham bent his head to claim that precious mouth once more as he joined their bodies.
Would he ever get enough of her? He kept waiting for this new sensation to wear off, but it had been several weeks now and he was just as achy for her as ever. There was a desire inside him that he hadn’t known before her. Part of him wondered if they’d still sneak around if their families weren’t the Newports and the Winchesters.
When Eve arched her back, pulling her mouth from his, he took the opportunity to capture one perfect breast with his lips. His actions were rewarded with another soft moan as she gripped his shoulders. Her body quickened the pace, and he was all too eager to join her.
When she cried out his name, it was the green light he needed from her to follow her over the edge. He held her as they trembled together, held her after their bodies had cooled and then carried her into her bed.