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Jealousy flared through me for a brief moment as I wondered who she’d been thinking of when she’d packed that condom, but then I got over myself and focused on being grateful she was prepared.
I found the condom and rolled it along my length. Grace parted her thighs and offered herself to me. I paused to feast my eyes on the vision she presented, then moved forward and slowly pushed into her. She was tight, so I waited for her muscles to ease before drawing back and thrusting again. She wrapped her legs around me and crossed her ankles at my lower back, bringing me even deeper inside her.
My eyes rolled back. “God, Gracie. It’s like you were made for me.”
“I’m yours.” She clasped me tight, rocking her hips in time with the rhythm I’d set. “Always have been, even if you didn’t know it.”
“Mine,” I agreed. “And I’m yours.”
Her breath stuttered and she contracted around me. I gritted my teeth, determined this wouldn’t end too soon. I gathered her close. Kissed her. Wrapped her silken hair around my fist and gently guided her head back, exposing her throat and the rapid pulse that beat within. I latched onto the tender skin and sucked. She whimpered in response. I released her hair and plunged into her, unable to think of anything but how perfectly we were matched. With every stroke, she met me halfway. Her eyes caught mine, flecks of emerald sparkling in their depths. Her lips parted. My own stark desire reflected back at me along with something else. Something more.
But before I could identify it, she cried out, clamping down around me. I jerked inside her. She felt so good. Her channel rippled around me, tugging me under, and I buried my face in her hair as pleasure tore through me.
We stayed where we were for several minutes, catching our breaths until Grace finally gave me a little shove.
“You’re too heavy,” she complained. “I can’t breathe.”
I laughed, flopping onto my side. “I just had the best sex of my life, and you’re moaning about my weight? You know how to stroke a man’s ego.”
She smiled, her eyes telling me everything her words didn’t. This meant every bit as much to her as it did to me. “You know I didn’t mean it like that.”
I disposed of the condom and tucked her against my side. She rested her cheek over my heart. It felt like she belonged there. As though I’d bear an impression of her on my skin from this moment forward, just waiting for her to return.
“This is really happening.” She sounded like she was only just beginning to believe it, but I’d make sure she didn’t have any reason to doubt.
“It is, and I couldn’t be happier.”
40
GRACE
Despite the note,the ring theft, and temporarily moving out of my home for my own safety, the next two days were among the best of my life. I stayed with Nate, and he and I couldn’t keep our hands off each other. We made up for lost time, and now my body was pleasantly sore from making love with him over and over again.
During the quieter moments, we just cuddled with each other—and Duke—and talked. It was so close to the life I used to dream about that I had to remind myself not to get caught up in it. Nate and I were together, and we were committed to seeing where this change in our relationship led, but I was in love with him, and he hadn’t given any indication he felt the same. He cared for me and was attracted to me, but this could still implode, and I needed to be mentally prepared in case it did.
I was in my office on Friday morning, working on Rocky and Jewel’s story, when my phone pinged. I considered ignoring it, but I’d hit a paragraph that needed a bit more thought, so I checked the phone and frowned. It was a notification from the bank that my everyday account had gone into overdraft. But how was that possible? I hadn’t made any transactions this morning, and I earned plenty enough that the days of going into overdraft in order to pay one of the bills were long behind me.
I opened the mobile banking app and my stomach hollowed out with shock. Last I’d checked, there had been over a thousand dollars in my account, but now it was one hundred dollars overdrawn. I tapped the screen to open the transaction details.
What on earth?
There were a series of withdrawals from the local ATM, each for $200, the maximum that could be withdrawn at a time.
My fingers trembled. I glanced over at Alice, who was engrossed in something on her computer. I looked back at the phone, but the text on the screen hadn’t magically changed while I’d been looking away.
Perhaps there was a reasonable explanation. I separated business finances from personal finances, but it was possible Alice had taken the wrong card when she needed cash out for something related to the business. It would be unusual for her to use cash or to make a withdrawal without consulting me, but it could have happened.
“Alice,” I said tentatively. “Have you used my debit card today?”
“Huh?” Alice glanced up, her bemused expression showing she hadn’t heard me properly.
“My debit card.” I forced myself to be calm. “Have you used it today?”
“Um, I don’t think so. Just let me check what I’ve done this morning.” She returned her attention to the screen, clicked, scrolled, and shook her head. “Nope. Why’s that?”
My insides knotted. “You haven’t visited an ATM today?”
“No.” She finally gave me her full attention. “What’s going on, Grace?”
