“Anson received a call from their HR, checking on your references.” He must see my next question in my eyes, because he explains, “He told me in Ohio. I didn’t mention it because I figured if you wanted to talk about it with me,youwould bring it up. I mean,” the knob of his throat rolls, “Iwantedto mention it. Give you support. But with Anson’s offer…you know what I want. I was afraid I’d end up pressuring you.”
“And whatdoyou want?” I’m pretty sure I know, but I’m greedy enough to want to hear it from him.
He doesn’t mince words. “I wantyou.” His thumbs sweep across my skin. “And for you to stay here, where I think you’ll be happy—though I can work around that if it doesn’t pan out.”
The statements come out of him so easily, as if we’ve already addressed this topic. As if it’s common knowledge. Our daily calls over the last week, our little lines ofhonesty…we’ve implied theheckout of it, but we have yet to lay it out so directly.
It snaps a final puzzle piece into place.
A dorky smile spreads across my lips. “You were concerned about pressuring me. But the thing is, you can’t pressure me when I’ve already made my decision.”
“Did you? Make a decision?” Unlike me, Grayson isn’t smiling. His face isn’t drawn in worry, but the tension along his jaw gives him away. I don’t even know if he realizes he’s being so expressive.
“Mm-hmm.” I reach up and smooth my thumb over his jaw, his scruff scratching my skin. “And I just sealed that decision with an email to your brother. All I need to do now is sign the formal contract when he sends it over.”
Watching realization dawn on his face is better than seeing Garnet Shores’ sunrise from the boat. I commit it to memory, the way his eyes subtly widen, the happy creases that appear beside them, how his mouth softens. The liquid warmth that washes in behind it.
His fingers tighten on my waist as he murmurs, “You reallyweremaking yourself at home.”
My chest brushes his as I lean into his heat. “I’m going to find my own place, Grayson.”
“Yeah.” One of his hands slides lower, sweeping across my hip bone. “But you’ll be spending a lot of time here, too.”
I bite my lip. “You sound so confident.”
Through a chuckle, he says, “Yeah, Boston. ‘Cause I am.” Then he lifts me and smashes his mouth into mine.
His hands secure my legs around his waist, and he carries me to the bedroom for thesecondtime in a week—which I gleefully confirm is just as hot as the first time.
I didn’t know I was into Neanderthal behavior,but wrapped up in a rough-hewn, Grayson-shaped package, it’s as arousing as it is addictive.
Boston sure as heck never gave me this.
He shuts us inside his bedroom and tosses me onto the bed, stripping his shirt away to reveal his perfectly carved body and that dark trail of hair leading toanotherperfect part of his anatomy.
I nervously lick my lips and shove to the edge of the bed. I made my plan a few days ago—did some research to brush up on skills that have never been very good in the first place—and I intend to follow through.
Until Grayson stops me with a hand on my shoulder, planting me firmly on the bed, his other hand pausing on his pant button. “Nope. Scoot that sweet little ass back for me.”
“But I wanted to?—”
“I know.”
“What, are you a mind-reader now?”
“Baby, you just zeroed in on my cock like a homing beacon and licked your lips.” Even threaded with humor, his low timbre rumbles through me, flipping any remaining switches that have yet to go haywire.
“Your intent was pretty clear. And while I really fucking want that, you’re gonna have to save it for later, ‘cause this one’s all about you.”
Ignoring him, I reach for his pants, only for him to catch my hand and place it back on the bed. The ridges of his abs are inches from my nose, and I’m hit with the absurd urge to open my mouth andlick. Maybe it’s a good thing, then, that I have an argument to make.
“I’m not the one who had a tough week. I want to do this for you. It was part of the planning I did.”
He lightly laughs as he shakes his head. “Too bad, Boston.”
Too bad?
His hands snake to my waist, lifting the hem of my tank top and resting on my skin. “Youjust accepted a hard-earned job offer, and I want to celebrate that.” He secures his grip as he smirks. “And even before you shared that news, I’d already made some plans of my own.”
