Private Pleasures

Chapter Five

Mariah's jaw dropped as she stared at Grey. Kidnapping her? "You can't be serious."

"I'm very serious," he said, taking his eyes off the road long enough to glance at her. Even though he wore reflective sunglasses, she could feel his intense gaze as strongly as if the lenses were nonexistent. "Have you ever known me to lie?"

Never, but she couldn't fathom why he'd go to this extreme. "Why would you want to kidnap me?"

"So we can be alone," he stated simply.

She frowned at his logic. "We're alone now."

He sped up to pass an old Buick poking along in the fast lane. "It's not enough. I want the weekend."

Three days and two nights of Grey's company. There was a time when she would have been thrilled to have him all to herself for forty-eight hours. Now, it would be pure torture. "This is insane, Grey." His crazy antic caused an equal dose of frustration and anger to course through her. "You can't just kidnap me off the street and whisk me away without anyone knowing where I am."

A smug smile lifted the corners of his mouth, matching the arrogance in his voice when he spoke. "If you haven't noticed, I already have."

With effort, she held her rising temper in check. "Take me back to the shop."

"I will," he promised, "on Sunday."

She tried a more rational approach. "Grey, even if I wanted to-" which she didn't, she tried telling herself "-I can't go somewhere with you for the weekend. I have no extra clothes, no makeup or shampoo-"

"I'll buy whatever you need."

She shook her head. "Jade is going to freak if I don't come home tonight. We were supposed to go out this evening."

His body tensed, and she couldn't help but notice the way the muscles in his thighs rippled beneath the soft denim of his jeans. "To Roxy's?" His voice was tight and disapproving.

She swallowed and lifted her gaze back to his face. "It doesn't matter where, only that I have other plans and Jade is going to worry if she doesn't hear from me."

"We'll stop in a bit and you can call her," he offered.

"How generous," she muttered, knowing it was futile to argue with Grey once he'd set his mind to something. "Where, exactly, are you taking me?"

"Lake Arrowhead."

Other than that Lake Arrowhead was a quaint city in the mountains, she couldn't imagine why he'd take her there. "What's in Lake Arrowhead?"

"Privacy."

"I don't understand." And she truly didn't. Why would they need privacy when she'd made it abundantly clear over the past couple of weeks that they were no longer a couple? Not that he'd respected her many requests to keep his distance or let her get on with her personal life. "Why are you making this so difficult?"

He cast her a quick glance. "All I want is one weekend alone with you. No one to bother us, no interrupting phone calls." A lopsided grin creased his face. "Hell, I even left my pager and cell phone at home."

"I'm impressed," she said wryly.

"You should be, considering I've never done this for anyone." Sobering, he reached across the distance separating them and rested his hand on her nylon-clad knee. "Please, Mariah?"

Mariah couldn't breathe for the heat his hand generated, and the sparks created by the fingers lightly stroking the sensitive curve of her leg.

"One weekend," he implored, his voice husky.

Gathering her wits before she softened to his will, she lifted his hand and placed it on the console. "Why should I? It won't change anything between us, and I don't want to spend the entire weekend rehashing our nonrelationship."

"No rehashing, I promise."

"If you haven't noticed, any time we're alone lately all we do is argue, fight and dredge up issues that never get resolved."

"Yeah, I've noticed," he said grimly. Taking off his glasses, he set them on the dash and looked at her for as long as was reasonable considering he was navigating the road. Only then did she see the weariness lining his features and the dullness in his eyes. "Mariah, I've been miserable. I was hoping if we spent the weekend alone, without any interruptions, we could work things out."

A huge lump formed in her throat. More than anything she wanted their relationship to work, but their ideals for the future were too vast. She wanted and needed a husband and babies. He wanted the convenience of having her live with him without the total commitment of marriage. Their opposing views seemed cut-and-dried to her, and not something she was willing to negotiate.

"There's nothing to work out," she said quietly.

He stared straight ahead, his jaw tightening. He was silent for so long she wondered if her words had finally given him the jolt of reality he needed to face the truth-that their relationship was over. For good.

His fingers gripped the leather steering wheel until his knuckles turned white. "Do you remember the day at the park when you said I don't share?"

She remembered everything about that day in the park: his teasing, the press of his body against hers when they'd fallen, their heated debate about love and sharing and especially the anguish in his eyes just before she'd walked away. "Yes, I remember."

"Well, you're right about me not sharing certain aspects of my life, especially my past."

She tilted her head and studied his strong profile, wondering why he was admitting all this now. She didn't have to wait long to find out.

"I've closed myself off to certain emotions for so long, I don't know how to share anything personal. But I'm willing to try…with you."

His willingness to finally open up enough to confide in her surprised and pleased her, yet a part of her remained skeptical. She didn't want to be disappointed again when he found old memories too painful or disturbing to share, and ultimately failed to deliver on his promise.

"Really?" she asked cautiously.

He gave a short nod. "Yes. Can you at least give me a chance?"

Repairing their relationship would take so much more than Grey sharing his past; it would require that he share her goals for the future, goals he didn't envision as his own. A crushing pressure filled her chest, and confusion swirled in her mind. "Grey, I'm all tapped out emotionally-"

"Please?" A desperation like none she'd ever seen flashed in his eyes. Gone was the self-confident, arrogant attitude he always displayed to the rest of the world. "And if it doesn't work out after this weekend, I'll leave you alone for good. I swear it."

Leaning her head back against the seat, she closed her eyes, wishing things weren't so complicated. Dammit, she didn't want to care about Grey's past or the heartache attached to it, but she loved him too much not to. Didn't she owe him this one small favor? If not for them, then at least to give him the chance to purge himself of the bad memories that kept him from giving her his heart.

The light touch of his fingers fluttered along her cheek. She opened her eyes and met his gaze.

"Please?" he whispered.

She melted, her heart softening just for him. Jade would call her weak and foolish for giving in to Grey, but what was one last weekend with him compared to an eternity without him?

"I'll stay…on two conditions," she finally said.

"Anything."

A small smile touched her mouth. "That we spend the time talking and getting to know one another. I want complete openness and honesty between us."

His dark brows pulled together in a frown. "I've always been honest with you."

"Honest, yes, but not open, especially about your family and your past."

He winced slightly. "Yeah, well, family ties aren't a favorite topic of mine."

"Regardless, that's part of the deal."

"Fine," he said. "And the second condition?"

"We don't make love." Because if they did, she knew they'd spend the entire weekend in bed and not get anything resolved or accomplished.

"You drive a hard bargain, sweetheart," he muttered in disgust.

She smothered a grin. "Deal?"

He drew a deep reluctant breath, but when he looked at her there was a glint in his eyes she didn't quite trust. "Deal."

She never said anything about touching or kissing in her stipulations for spending the weekend with him. Grey might have agreed not to make love to her, but he sure as heck didn't plan on being on his best gentlemanly behavior. He'd always found foreplay-mental and physical stimulation-to be the most exciting part of sex. He enjoyed bringing Mariah to a slow, escalating peak of want and need with nothing more than sexy words, the slide of his hands on her body and the caress of his mouth in all the places that made her shiver and moan. No, they wouldn't make love in its purest sense but he planned to heighten her awareness of him every chance he got.

Touching his fingers to the base of her spine, and hiding a smile at the subtle catch of her breath, he walked beside her on the cobblestone path leading to the custom-built cabin overlooking Lake Arrowhead. The trees around them were green and lush, the lake beyond a clear blue. The area was peaceful and quiet, a perfect, private retreat.

"Whose place is this?" Mariah asked curiously.

Retrieving the single house key from his front pocket, he slipped it into the lock and opened the door. "It's Mark's."

Hesitantly she stepped into the foyer and looked around. "I didn't know he had a mountain place."

"It was part of his divorce settlement," he explained. "His wife got the Mercedes and the house in Laguna Niguel, and he was awarded this cabin. He still brings his boys up occasionally."

She strolled into the cozy kitchen and set her purse on the dinette table situated in front of a bay window. "It was nice of him to let you use the place."

Mark had been more than happy to hand over the key, along with the suggestion to heat up the spa and take advantage of the romantic atmosphere. Grey intended to do both. "If you'll open up the place, I'll bring in the groceries and other things."

"Okay," she said, moving into the living room and toward the sliding doors that led to a redwood balcony.

Jogging back to the Jeep, Grey opened the rear door and hefted a couple of bags of groceries into his arms. They'd stopped at the market for some basic staples and the necessary toiletries for Mariah. The market's deli special of lasagna and garlic bread was their dinner. When she'd gone to call her sister on a pay phone, he'd slipped into an exclusive boutique a couple of doors down and bought her a few outfits for the weekend, along with some underthings and a pair of leather sandals.

Once the car was unloaded and a cool breeze flowed through the house, Grey warmed their dinner in the oven and they sat at the kitchen table to eat. Outside, dusk moved- in, bringing with it the serenade of crickets. He kept the conversation light, establishing an easy, comfortable setting.

Once dinner was finished and the kitchen cleaned, he turned to Mariah, ready to put his plan of seduction into action. "How about a dip in the hot tub outside?" he asked.

She folded a dish towel and placed it on the counter, suspicion filling her eyes. "I thought we were going to use this time together to talk."

He grinned to put her at ease. "No reason why we can't do that while relaxing in the spa."

"I didn't have time to pack a swimsuit," she said sardonically.

"You don't need one." She opened her mouth to protest, and he cut her off. "If it makes you feel any better, I didn't bring one, either."

She crossed her arms over her chest, though a half smile curved her mouth. "This sounds just a little too convenient."

He couldn't deny her claim. The suggestion was convenient, one he'd be a fool not to take advantage of. "No funny stuff, I promise." He held his hands out in a show of trust. "We'll even sit across from each other."

Mariah stared at Grey, weighing his sincerity. The man could be so charming and persuasive, she found it difficult to deny him something so casual as sitting and relaxing in a hot tub together. It was the "naked" part she had a problem with. But it was getting dark outside, and they were both adults capable of keeping their desires on a tight rein. At least, she was.

"Well?" he prompted. "Should I go heat up the spa?"

She could do this and be totally unaffected by Grey. She needed to learn that particular discipline, and this was as good a time as any to show herself just how much willpower she possessed. To prove her determination, she lifted her chin and said, "Go ahead. I'll be out in a few minutes."

With a triumphant grin Grey slipped out onto the redwood deck. Seconds later the sound of the spa's jets could be heard as they sputtered and chugged to life.

Grabbing her purse, Mariah enclosed herself in the bathroom and stripped out of her shoes, outfit and underthings. She wrapped a towel around her and tucked the end securely, covering herself decently from her breasts to just above the knee. Finding a barrette in her purse, she piled her hair on top of her head the best she could. There was nothing she could do for the shorter strands that fell free and wisped around her face and neck.

By the time she returned to the deck, steam curled from the rapidly bubbling water. Grey sat on a redwood chair, bare feet propped on the railing and his hands clasped on his belly as he gazed out at the full moon that had risen above the lake over the past hour. He looked altogether too sexy and tempting and he'd yet to shed his clothing. Awareness unfurled within her, spreading a pleasant tingling along her nerve endings and making the towel around her body feel coarser against her skin than it actually was.

She shifted restlessly on her feet. So much for being unaffected. So much for willpower.

Picking up one of the two glasses of wine on the small round table beside him, he took a deep swallow of the drink, then refilled his glass before glancing at her. "Beautiful night, isn't it?"

All of a sudden she felt like a schoolgirl, which was ridiculous considering how intimate she and Grey had been. Absently double-checking the knot holding the towel in place, she looked up at the twinkling stars in the clear night sky. "Uh, yes, it is."

His warm and lazy gaze did a slow, appreciative perusal, from the haphazard knot of hair on her head to the tips of her bare toes. "You gonna get in or are you gonna stand there all night?" Amusement tinged his voice, but his eyes were all golden heat.

Her stomach fluttered. "I'm, um, not dressed."

Standing, he set their glasses of wine on the rim of the tub, then stripped off his shirt and tossed it on the chair he'd just vacated. "I won't be either in a second." Unbuckling his leather belt, he unzipped his fly and hooked his fingers into the waistband of his jeans and briefs.

She sucked in a breath, though his boldness shouldn't have surprised her. The man didn't possess an ounce of modesty. "Grey!"

"What?" The look he gave her was a stirring combination of innocence and sin. "It's not like you've never seen me naked." The jeans and briefs whooshed down his legs, and she averted her gaze, though from the corner of her eye she saw a flash of smooth, muscled skin and the toned curve of his buttocks as he stepped into the spa.

"Ahh." He sighed contentedly as he stretched his arms along the rim. "This feels great. Your turn."

She wasn't about to give him a free show. "Close your eyes."

The rogue laughed, the sound deep and throaty. "I thought I'd stripped you of all inhibition long ago."

He had, and she'd be the first to admit that she'd done things with him that had shocked her sensibilities in the beginning. Eventually, though, she'd gained enough confidence to freely explore her sensuality and desires. But that had been before, when she'd believed they had a future together. The uncertainty of their relationship made her more discreet.

"Eyes closed, Nichols."

He grunted a complaint but complied. "For crying out loud, Mariah, I've been intimate with that cute little mole on the inside of your thigh and that bunny-shaped birthmark on the curve of your breast and you're worried about me seeing a glimpse of…oh, man," he groaned as she stepped into the spa, completely naked.

Mariah froze, her gaze darting to his wide-eyed one as he stared at her breasts, the indentation of her waist and the juncture of her thighs with a hunger that sent her pulse into a tailspin. Quickly, she sat across from him, submersing herself to her shoulders in the hot water.

She glared at him. "You promised not to look!"

He dragged a wet hand over his jaw. "I'd never be so foolish as to promise any such thing. Do you realize how long it's been since I've seen you naked? Since we've made love? Really made love?" Need thickened his voice.

Beneath the froth and caress of water her nipples tightened into aching points. She could give him the exact days, narrowed down to the hours and minutes if he really wanted to know. "I have no idea."

"It's been too long," he said. "Much too long, don't you think?"

She gave a one-shoulder shrug. "I haven't thought much about it at all." Liar, her body taunted.

He took a drink of wine. "So, is Richard going to wonder where you are this weekend?" The change of subject made his features tighten and turn grim.

She wasn't sure why, but she took pity on him and divulged the truth. "Richard and I aren't dating any longer."

A low, audible sigh of relief escaped him, though his gaze never left her face. "Why not?"

She stretched out her legs and her foot touched his at the bottom of the spa. Because he's not you. Because you hold my heart and soul. Because I can't forget you, even when I do my best to try. "It's none of your business."

Grey trapped her foot between his ankles, and before she could rescind the move he reached down and caught her leg and settled her foot on his hard thighs. She gasped and jerked back, but lost the match.

"Relax, sweetheart. I only want to massage your foot."

She should tell him no, but he was already rubbing those incredible hands and fingers of his along her sole and heel. It felt too wonderful to fight, and as long as he didn't explore above the calf, she'd be okay. She relaxed slightly, trying not to think how close the foot resting in his lap was to his-

"Richard wasn't any good in bed, was he?" Grey asked abruptly.

She choked on incredulous laughter. "We never got that far!"

"Good." His thumbs pressed into her arch, the satisfied gleam in his eyes slowly fading. "Who's next on Jade's list of eligible bachelors?"

"No one." Thank God.

"And what about your father's?"

She smiled and sank deeper into the water until her neck rested on the rim. Her earlier tension gradually ebbed from her body. "Don't you think I can find my own dates?"

"Oh, absolutely. I just know your father when it comes to his single, available daughters."

She tilted her head and bravely settled her other foot on his knee for equal treatment, wiggling her toes. "Do you now?"

"Yep." Beneath the eddying water, his finger slowly slid between her toes, caressing the sensitive skin there. She shivered, and a smile lifted his mouth. "Remember how we met?"

How could she forget that monumental moment when she'd looked into his gold-brown eyes for the first time and become a devout believer in love at first sight? "Yes, I remember. We met through a consultation appointment."

"Your father set us up."

"He referred you to Casual Elegance," she corrected. Lifting her glass of wine from the side of the spa, she drained the rest of the pale liquid. A languid warmth within her mingled with the heat of the spa's jets, making her lazy and lethargic.

"He set us up, Mariah," he said, the skin around his eyes crinkling in humor. "As soon as I mentioned I was building a house he told me his daughter was the best interior designer in southern California. So I let him set up an appointment with you."

She frowned, recalling her father's enthusiasm when he'd called months ago to set her up with a potential client who owned his own security firm. As much as she loved and adored her father, she wouldn't put it past him to do a little matchmaking, just to speed up the process of one of his daughters getting married.

"You didn't have to see me," she said quietly.

"Your father insisted, and since he was about to become a major account for Nichols' Security I figured it couldn't hurt to see his daughter about a consultation." He stroked his hand along her ankle and cupped her calf in his palm before kneading the taut flesh, loosening the muscle. "Though I have to admit I expected to find a spinster."

A tiny groan of pleasure slipped from her. Instinctively she flexed her foot. "And what did you find instead?"

He gazed at her with a tenderness he rarely displayed. "Instead I found the woman of my dreams."

She rolled her eyes to dispel the softening of her heart. "And I thought you were the most arrogant man I'd ever met."

He grinned wolfishly. "I knew what I wanted."

She shook her head at his presumptuousness. "And it wasn't to see carpet samples."

"No, it certainly wasn't that," he agreed. "And we didn't get much business done that night, did we?"

She reflected on that evening, and how he'd deliberately steered their conversation away from business, and onto more personal topics…such as, was she seeing anyone? "Not after you said you just had to kiss me, then did just that without my permission."

"I didn't need it. Your eyes said you wanted the kiss as much as I did."

Scooping a handful of frothing water, she trickled it over a dry patch on her shoulder. "You obviously saw what you wanted to."

"You didn't object." He leaned forward, his thigh flexing where her foot rested. "In fact, if I recall correctly, your mouth opened beneath mine for a deeper kiss when I'd only intended to give you a chaste one."

She lifted a brow. Nothing about Grey had ever been chaste. Not the way he'd relentlessly pursued her, not the way he made love to her the first time and every time since and certainly not the way he kissed. She was certain that if she hadn't parted her lips beneath his he would have found a way to coax her into giving him the taste he really wanted.

His thumb pressed into the ball of her foot and rubbed in sensuous circles. "Admit it, sweetheart, you wanted it every bit as much as I did."

"You think too highly of yourself, Nichols."

His gaze narrowed challengingly and dropped to her mouth. "You gonna make me prove how much you want it, and like it?"

Her heart raced. She wouldn't put it past him to make good on his threat. Summoning strength against the desire ribboning within her, she removed her feet from his lap and gave him the confession he sought. "Okay, I'll admit I was attracted to you."

His expression turned cocky. "So much so that when I asked for another appointment you gave me one."

"To talk business!" Not to be swept off my feet by you. Which is exactly what he'd intended, and exactly what had happened. "You hired me as a consultant, Grey."

Grinning, he dipped his hands into the water and ran all ten fingers through his hair, dampening the strands away from his face. "It was the only way I could get you to see me. I've never had to work so hard at getting a woman the way I had to work to get you."

His admission secretly pleased her. "It was good for you."

He wiggled his dark brows. "The chase wasn't half as much fun as your surrender."

Perspiration beaded on her upper lip, as much from the steam rising off the water as the hot look in Grey's eyes. The man was a master in seduction, wearing down her resistance with kisses and intimate caresses that shattered all coherent thought, until she surrendered heart, body and soul. "You didn't play fair."

"I was crazy about you," he said softly, meaningfully. "I still am."

Her throat closed up with emotion, and she looked away, out into the darkened woods around Mark's cabin. She believed Grey, which made their breakup all the more difficult to handle. But the difference between being crazy about someone and loving someone was too great when it came to making a commitment.

Suddenly tired and weary of trying to sort out her feelings for Grey, she started to stand. But remembering her state of undress, she promptly sat back down. "I, uh, think I need to get out before I shrivel up."

Grey nodded his agreement, knowing they were close to the "rehashing" point. He didn't want to end their relaxing evening with an argument. Apparently neither did she.

While she kept her gaze averted, he stepped from the tub and quickly dried off with her towel. Tugging his jeans over his damp skin proved to be a challenge. Once he'd zipped his fly and was decently dressed, he handed her the towel.

"I don't suppose you need help drying off?" he asked.

Her fingers brushed his as she reached for the towel. Desire flared in her gaze, the only sign that his touch and nearness had any affect on her. "I think I can manage on my own, thanks."

He grinned. "Doesn't hurt to ask."

Giving her some privacy, he turned toward the deck railing and listened to her step from the spa. The image of her body glistening with water and moonlight taunted him, and it took an incredible amount of control to keep from turning back around and looking his fill…and taking his fill. Grinding his jaw against the rush of heat pooling low in his belly, he wrapped his fingers around the railing and eased out a tight breath.

"Do you have a shirt I can sleep in?" she asked.

He took that as his cue that he could turn around, and did so. The twisting in his gut increased. She looked like a night nymph…a vision of purity and innocence that grabbed him hard. Her damp hair was loose around her face, and her flushed skin was beaded with drops of water that trickled from her neck to the cleavage swelling above the top of the towel. He wanted to lap the trail with his tongue, taste her skin, her breasts, her belly…

"Grey?"

Jerking his gaze back to her face, he searched his memory for what she'd asked. Oh, yeah, something to sleep in.

"I bought you a nightgown at that boutique I stopped at." Turning off the spa's jets, he pulled the cover over the top.

She fingered the hem of the towel. "Did you buy it for my comfort or your pleasure?"

He laughed deeply. "Come see for yourself, Ms. Skeptic. I was on my best behavior."

She followed him inside the house and waited while he rummaged through the bags the boutique had given him. Into the fourth package, he finally found what he'd been searching for.

He held up the simple peach chemise for her inspection. "Not a bit of silk or lace, and the hem hits below the knee. Does it meet with your approval?"

Pleasure lit her gaze and she smiled. "You surprise me sometimes, Grey. It's perfect." Taking the gown from him, she sashayed toward the bathroom.

Grey watched her swaying hips the entire way, wondering what she'd say if he told her he'd also bought her a red silk-and-lace number that left little to one's imagination. A smile twitched his mouth. He was saving that scrap of nothing for later, when she finally came to her senses and realized they belonged together.

Digging through the duffel he'd packed for himself, he withdrew a pair of sweatpants and changed while waiting for Mariah. She emerged from the bathroom, her face freshly scrubbed and the scent of mint toothpaste clinging to her.

She placed her bundle of clothing on a nearby chair and tried to hide a yawn behind the back of her hand. "Where am I sleeping?"

"I know where I'd like you to sleep." In his arms, snuggled against him like a warm, content kitten; her breath sighing on his chest; the fragrant, feminine scent of her surrounding him. And in the middle of the night her hands would roam, stroking over his belly, down his thigh until she found him hard and ready for her. God, he missed the intimacy and closeness of sleeping together, of reaching for Mariah, pulling her beneath him and them coming together in moans of mutual pleasure.

"We wouldn't sleep," she said huskily, reading his mind.

Considering the arousal he hadn't been able to tame since slipping into the spa with her, she was right. "Would that be so bad?"

She ran her hand over the back of the tweed sofa separating them. "We made a deal, Grey, and we haven't even fulfilled the first condition, let alone dealt with the second one."

"We'll talk," he promised in a low, frustrated growl. Stepping around the sofa, he grabbed her hand and led her down the hall to the master bedroom. "We've got two more days to talk about anything and everything."

She dug her heels in at the bedroom door, bringing them both to a sudden halt. "Good night, Grey."

He didn't like being dismissed, not when he knew he was going to spend a sleepless night tossing and turning on the couch while she slept snug and sound in a soft bed. Alone.

Giving in to the urge to do what he'd been dying to do the entire evening, he slid a hand into the hair at the side of her face and guided her two feet back until her spine pressed against the wall. Her lips parted on a gasp and her eyes widened. He lowered his head to steal a kiss. At the last second she turned her face and his lips grazed her jaw. Damn, he should've known she'd do that!

"Grey, no," she said, a wispy catch to her voice.

He chuckled and pulled back, stroking his thumb over her cheek. "Your willpower amazes me."

She looked up at him with stormy blue eyes. "Yeah, me, too. You're hard to resist, Nichols."

His fingers massaged her scalp and tangled through her hair. He missed her long hair, but he was getting used to this shorter sophisticated cut and the way the strands filtered through his fingers like skeins of silk. "Then why are you resisting what we both know you want?"

"Because I've never been one for gratuitous sex." Taking his hand away from her face, she attempted to step around him.

He trapped her with his hands on either side of her head. "Is that what you think it would be? Gratuitous sex? A wham-bam-thank-you-ma'am kind of romp?" He was annoyed that she'd even suggest such a thing.

That stubborn chin of hers lifted. "In some ways, yes. You've always had a healthy sexual drive and I'm sure you're not used to abstinence. That is, if you have been," she added.

His irritation level climbed a notch. "Of course I have been!"

She looked startled by his snappish tone. "I didn't mean that insultingly."

"Well, it sure as hell came across that way," he said gruffly, scowling down at her.

She let out a long sigh and turned her head away, as if it pained her to be this close to him, to look at him. "You're free to date other women, Grey, just like I dated Richard. And what you do with those women is your own business."

Furious with her impersonal tone, he grasped her hand, pulled it between them and pressed her palm against the erection straining the front of his sweats. Her gaze flew to his and a strangled sound hitched in her throat. The shock value was worth the pure torment of having her hand cup him so perfectly.

He leaned close, brushing his lips across her cheek, her throat, just beneath her ear. "Thanks for your permission, sweetheart. Unfortunately there's only one woman who turns me on." He rocked into her palm, squeezed her fingers along his ridged length and grew impossibly harder, thicker. He closed his eyes and groaned at the sensation of both pain and pleasure. "Only you, Mariah," he rasped. "My reaction to any other woman pales in comparison to how you make me feel."

Her breathing grew shallow, and when he eased up the pressure of her hand, she didn't let him go. Instead, her fingers stroked him rhythmically. "And what do I make you feel, Grey?"

His head fell back and he tried to think with his brain, not that other part of his anatomy ready to explode. What did she make him feel? She made him feel…warm, cherished and needed. No one had ever made him feel those things, not his parents or any other woman he'd ever dated. And he had no idea how to express his emotions without sounding like a sap.

So, instead, he focused on the physical sensations rippling through his body. "I think the answer is obvious."

Disappointment clouded her features, and she pulled her hand away. "Yeah, I guess it is," she said regretfully. "Good night, Grey." She slipped into the bedroom and closed the door. The lock clicked softly, solidly.

He stared in bewilderment at the oak door, unable to believe she actually felt as though she needed to secure herself from him.

Resting his head against the wall, he squeezed his eyes shut, swearing at his own stupidity. "Nothing like taking the subtle approach, Nichols," he muttered in self-disgust.