CHAPTER 13

Elaine was walking out of Jonathan’s office, just as Grace entered. She looked straight into Grace’s eyes, smiled then said, “I will see you at the party, Jonathan,” in a smooth seductive tone. She walked past Sydney’s desk to greet Grace. “If you are going in to see Jonathan, you may want to give him a minute to…put himself back together. We had a bit of an explosive meeting.”

“Don’t you think you are a little too old to still be playing those games, Elaine?” Grace replied in a cool, smooth voice. “You used what some may consider charm on Mitch and damn near cost him his life. You tried it on my father and it damn near cost you…your life. Now, you are trying it on Jonathan.” She took a step closer to Elaine and whispered, “Come after him and I will not try to force feed you like my mother did. I’ll shove the damn fork down your throat so deep it will scrape across the cobwebs you call a vagina.”

“Excuse you!”

“There is no excuse for you, Elaine.”

“Your mouth is edging you close to a can of whoop ass, Grace,” Elaine spat.

Grace laughed out loud as she looked up. “From who? You? Look, Elaine, this time of night I only speak smartass. If you want professionalism, you need to reach me between the hours of 9 to 5.” She glanced at her watch. “It is after five. Get out of my face.” She smiled sweetly, then turned to continue on her mission.

Sydney laughed as Elaine left the office. “From the expression on her face you gave her a piece of your mind. What in the bloody hell did you say to her?”

Grace glared at Sydney with an eyebrow raised. “I told her to stay away from my man.”

“I like a direct woman,” Sydney laughed. “That is a wanker for sure. Are you here to see Jonathan? Go right in, he is expecting you.”

Grace stopped before she entered the office. “I’m pretty up on British terminology, but what is a wanker? In English, if you don’t mind.”

“An asshole.”

“Ah yes, she is a wanker,” Grace agreed, then decided it was time to clear up something else. “Are you involved with Jonathan, Sydney?”

“No,” Sydney answered. “Oh, make no mistake, Grace. I love Mr. Michael. Not in the man-woman kind of way. I respect and adore everything about him. However, I am not, nor will I ever be romantically interested in him; although, he is a looker, but he is a nerd. I need a bloke with a little mystery and excitement. Besides, Jonathan lost his heart to a two-sided coin when he was in college.”

The bluntness of the woman surprised her and she liked that. In an instant her opinion of Sydney changed. “I’ve met a few that could use a woman in search of a little excitement. I will see who is available and hook you up.”

“I’ll look forward to it.” Sydney smiled. “I’m happy we had this chat to clear the air.”

“Me too,” Grace nodded. “Now, I have to get him straight on a few things.”

“Be my guest. Will you tell him I am going to the do in the atrium?”

“Sure.”

“Shall I lock the door?”

Grace beamed. “I like the way you think.” She walked in, closed the door behind her then leaned back against it. She heard the lock go into place. “I like Sydney,” she said as Jonathan looked up from his desk.

He sat back in his chair placing the pen he held on the desk. “Do you now?”

“I do.” She slowly walked to his desk, kicking her heels off along the way. “She said to tell you she was going to the party in the atrium,” Grace said as she pushed him and the chair he sat in away from the desk. She placed her behind on his workspace, propped her feet on the sides of his hips in the chair, then pulled him back to his original position.

“I think we need to clear the air of all pretenses.”

“Do you now?” He responded as his eyes roamed her thighs where her skirt had risen exposing a generous amount of her for his viewing.

“I do.” She pulled her skirt up higher, giving her the freedom to spread her legs a little wider. “I have been in need of a good stiff dick for days now. Any other time I would have found some man to handle that for me. However.” She grabbed his tie bringing his face closer to hers. “None seemed to be the least bit interesting. I have come to the conclusion that it is your fault.” She gazed directly into his eyes. “Since you have been back in the States, no other man has appealed to me.”

“Is that so?” The tone of his voice had deepened as his eyes moved from her eyes to her lips.

“It is.” She leaned forward a breath away from his lips. “Since you are the cause, I figure you will have to be the cure.”

What happened next surprised the hell out of her. Grace was used to having her way with men. Few had ever met her boldness with a little of their own. She should have known better than to put Jonathan in the same class. He was far above them all.

Gently, he kissed her lips, then lowered his head to kiss the inside of her arms, then her thighs. After the kiss, he placed her thigh over his shoulder, resting it on the back of the chair. A moment and another kiss later, her other thigh joined it. With his hands on her hips, he pulled her core to him giving her no time to prepare for the onslaught of his lips. The thin piece of material of the thong was pushed aside as his mouth covered her completely.

Taken by surprise, Grace grabbed his shoulders as she leaned back on the desk. The sensations, from his lips sucking her core, raced through her body like a high speed locomotive. The rough, stiff flips of his tongue up, then down, her clitoris sent shivers spiking through her body. The moisture from his mouth mixed with the juices flowing from her. His lips sucking so vigorously she did not have time to recover from one jolt to her system to the next. The stroking of his tongue pushing deep inside of her, then pulling out, flicking her clitoris, then back inside continuously building the fire raging out of control. It was not supposed to happen this fast, she thought as her head thrashed from side to side, her breath hitched, her nails dug into his shoulders searching for some kind of leverage against him. But…there was none, not against him. Searching deep for some control within her to block the intensity of his touch was fruitless. She stopped fighting the tremendous feelings engulfing her, threw back her head and allowed the explosion to rock the very core of her. Her heart skipped a beat as wave after wave of sensations rolled through her. The experience, known as Jonathan Royal Michael, was what had just been the rough surface of his tongue only moments ago, to what was now a soothing stroking, like a tiger cleaning her cub, tenderly licking her dry.

One by one, Jonathan kissed her legs, then eased them down to their original position. He stood between them, pulling her limp body up to meet his, resting her head against his chest.

Grace purred like a kitten. “Your nipples are hard,” she whispered against his chest.

“That is not all that is hard, Love,” he chuckled. “You said you needed a good stiff one. Now you have it. What are you going to do about it?”

Grace smiled against his chest as her hands roamed up his arms. She had waited years to feel this man’s arms around her again. Years more to feel him inside of her, she thought as his hardness weighed heavily against her thigh. Lifting her gaze to his, she wrapped her arms around his neck, then brought his lips to hers. Her tongue licked his lips, tasting a bit of her essence on them as she pushed them apart. Their tongues tangled together in a battle of longing for the ecstasy of their hearts. Their bodies, pulsating for more as the years of wondering eased away. Her hands roamed, down his back, to his firm ass, around the hard thighs until she felt his erection. Lord how she wished she had time to explore that more as they kissed. She squeezed, he moaned. She rubbed her hand up and down his shaft as her tongue continued to tango with his. She wrapped one leg around his waist, giving his hard shaft a feel of the heat between her legs, as she brought the kiss to an end. His hands cupped her butt holding her tight against him.

She lowered her leg, then gazed into his eyes. She could see the anticipation, the longing.

“I have to go,” she said abruptly as she stepped to the side breaking contact with his body.

“Go? What? Go..go where?”

Grace smirked at him as she stepped into her shoes. “People are waiting for us at the party, Love.” She hurried to the door. Unlocked it, then gazed back at him. “This is going to be fun. Catch me if you can,” she giggled then ran out of the door.

Jonathan was paralyzed. The rhythm of his heart was still speeding at a rate that prevented him from thinking clearly. She left. Literally walked out of the door knowing the state he was in. How in the bloody hell could she do that? He was so weak from the brief, yes, brief in his mind, encounter. There was so much more he wanted to do to her, with her.

He fell back into his chair. There was no way in bloody hell he could leave the office, much less be around people. It took him a moment to get his breathing under control. Closing his eyes, he licked his lips. The essence of her was still there, lingering to a point where he could feel himself growing more. Longing from over the years filled him with a different determination. Over the years there was never a doubt in his mind that Grace Heather Dunning was going to be his wife. How that came about was more important to him than anything else in his life. The one trait that frustrated him was the very one that fascinated him. That fact that he was sitting there, hard as steel and the laughter in her eyes when she walked out the door made him laugh at his situation. Her free spirit was something he loved and never wanted to shatter. However, it was time for Grace to understand who was going to wear the bloomers in this relationship. But first, he had to take a shower, he thought as he stood. “Thank the bloody heavens for luxury offices.” For there was no way in hell he would have been able to walk into a do with a stiff pecker.